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Do You Have the "Drang" to Learn German?
In German, "Drang" expresses an "urge," like an itch you have to scratch. Are you itching to learn German? If indeed you have a "Deutschdrang," our website can help you learn German by providing you with lots of free resources like beginner, intermediate, and advanced worksheets; self-grading online exercises; powerpoints; audio, video, and vocab activities, webquests, and grammar handouts. While the focus of this website is on practicing concepts or vocabulary, our resource page does provide additional resources to help you understand German grammar. For fun, we offer a smattering of brief articles on German customs and Swiss oddities. Our deutschdrang blog has short bilingual entries on all kinds of things related to the German-speaking sphere, usually with a corresponding grammar or vocabulary exercise. Finally, for those interested in traveling to Germany, we suggest our pages on travel info and conversion links. Many of the materials on this site are suitable for classroom use, and teachers are welcome to use or adapt them. HOWEVER: The materials presented are for private or classroom use only and may not be used in any publication or for-profit purpose without prior written consent. By downloading or copying these materials, you agree to these terms of use.
Wherever you are in your journey towards German perfection (beginner, intermediate, or advanced), deutschdrang can get you a little closer to your goal. Mark Twain called it "The Awful German Language", but of course he was (half) kidding.
"Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless,"
and so slippery and elusive to the grasp."
Mark Twain, "The Awful German Language"
While I disagree with the first part of Mark Twain's statement–German is by no means "slipshod" or "systemless"–I must admit that it is very "slippery and elusive to the grasp." I have over twenty years of teaching experience with German, but it never ceases to amaze me how difficult it must be for a non-native speaker to learn the language. Growing up with German as my native language, I took its complexities for granted, and only through teaching it did I come to truly appreciate the fact that I was "born into it" and did not have to learn German as a foreign language. That said, I admire anyone who attempts it and more so anyone who persists, and I hope that my pages will
* open your mind to other cultures
* provide useful links to other resources
* increase your desire to learn
* and maybe even entertain a little.
So scratch that itch and follow your "Deutschdrang"! Viel Spaß!
Read the complete text of Twain's essay or listen to an audio version online.The essay is most entertaining for those who have already studied German to some extent and can relate to the language concepts lampooned by the author. English worksheet with questions about the essay. Easy-to-read pdf of the text that could be used to answer the questions.
If you want to compare German and English next to each other, check out our deutschdrang blog, which includes short BILINGUAL articles on various topics related to German and/or German-speaking countries. Each article features a short learning activity. Levels vary, but most appropriate for upper-level beginners and up.


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Los Angeles — The Sports Club Co. Inc., Los Angeles, had a decrease in revenues for second quarter 2009, as well as for the first six months of this year, according to financial results the company released last month.
The Sports Club Co. had second quarter revenues of $14 million compared to $16.4 million for the second quarter of 2008, a decrease of 14 percent. Membership revenue was $9.7 million in the second quarter compared to $11 million in second quarter 2008, a decrease of 12 percent.
The company also had revenues of $28.1 million for the first six months ended June 30, 2009, compared to $32.4 million for the same period in 2008, a decrease of 13.1 percent. Membership revenue for the first six months of this year was $19.6 million compared to $21.9 million for the same period in 2008, a decrease of 11 percent.
The Sports Club Co. owns and operates luxury health clubs under the name The Sports Club/LA and is traded on the Pink Sheets.

subset: commoncrawl


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text: Tamilnadu 2016 assembly elections are on due this year, Hopefully in first half of the year it will be conducted so media have started the opinion polls already. Which party will more seats and Who will be the next CM of Tamilnadu are the interested topics going around Tamil people now. Current CM Jayalalitha hold a strong position although opponents from DMK and others are giving tough competition accroding to the opinion poll results. There are names like Vijayakanth from DMDK, EVKS Ilangovan from Congress, Actors Vijay, Ajith, Rajinikanth and Tamilisai Soundarajan from BJP are the names opted. Just go through the images here and know what exactly is been told in the survey done by NEWS7 media channel.


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No old barns here...
The barn on the right was built recently and is already filled with burley tobacco. You can see the tobacco leaves hanging down below the side walls. That barn should have very good air flow with all sides open at the bottom.
I'm not sure what the other barn will be, but I am guessing (only guessing!) that it might be a curing barn for dark tobacco. In dark barns, a smoky sawdust and hardwood-slab fire is kept burning on the barn's floor. As the smoke rises through the tobacco leaves, they are flavored and colored.
These barns are located near Fairview, Kentucky. I think they're still in Christian County, but just barely.


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Studying Theology+RS
The theolog's survival pack
Developing a Christian Mind at University
Mark Meynell
- Mark Meynell is Senior Associate Minister at All Souls Church, Langham Place, in London. View all resources by Mark Meynell
View this article in PDF format
Let me open with a strange question. Do you actually enjoy learning? Do you look forward to the start of a new term of lectures or lab work? Perhaps you think the very notion is absurd! Many students do. Universitys no time for work. Not until the last minute, that is!1
Now, if were honest, there are all kinds of reasons for not showing much glee at thought of work. For example, there is such a phenomenon as bad lecturers who have little concern for their students. Or we might be facing the stress of parental expectations to achieve. Or it might be gradually dawning on you that you are the wrong course.
These are all difficult enough, and need support - but they are not my subject here. Apart from anything else, I dont have power to sack lecturers. But I do want to engage with two other important reasons for people not especially looking forward to their work.
Learning as a chore?
This is the sort of idea that always sees education as a means to an end and therefore to be endured. But the question then quickly rears its head: to what end?
Sheffield University actually has two Latin mottos. One is Disce Doce (meaning "learn / teach") and the other is Rerum Cognoscere Causas (meaning, "to understand the reason for things"). Now they both hide all kinds of assumptions. But at a basic level, its not hard to see them as noble aims.
But how many people actually take them seriously? They are only mottos, but the sentiments behind them are important. My guess is that only a few do. For these days, the driving force for the majority is purely what happens after leaving university, and who can blame them? The graduate job market is tougher than ever, after all.
Some years ago, Allan Bloom wrote what is regarded on both sides of the Atlantic as an important book The Closing of the American Mind. He notes in the book the extreme to which this trend went at Cornell University in the USA. His controversial analysis may seem exaggerated, perhaps, but it comes in context of his defence of offering widely based education that broadens mind in several disciplines. While this will not apply directly to most UK courses, I suspect it comes uncomfortably close to some:
No public career these days not doctor nor lawyer nor politician nor journalist nor businessman nor entertainer has much to do with humane learning. An education other than purely professional or technical can even seem to be an impediment
Cornell was, as in so many other things, in advance of its time The six-year PhD program, richly supported by the Ford Foundation, was directed specifically to high school students who had already made a firm career choice and was intended to rush them through to the start of those careers. A sop was given to desolate [arts professors] in the form of money to fund seminars that these young careerists could take on their way through the College of Arts and Sciences. For the rest, the educators could devote their energies to arranging and packaging the program without having to provide it with any substance. That kept them busy enough to avoid thinking about the nothingness of their endeavour. This has been the preferred mode of not looking the Beast in the Jungle in the face structure not content. The Cornell plan for dealing with the problem of liberal education was to suppress the students longing for liberal education by encouraging their professionalism and their avarice, providing money and all the prestige the university had available to make careerism the centrepiece of the university.2
When seen as the means to that end, rather than to feed intellectual curiosity, say, is it any wonder that learning seems a chore? It is something that has to be endured; and it may ultimately be futile if a job is not waiting at the end. Unsurprisingly, many people begin to wonder what the point is. This is, I fear, one of the key factors in the prevailing cynicism about learning.
Growing cynicism about learning?
A cynic, according to one definition is one who has little faith in human sincerity, and/or despises all comfort and pleasure. It comes from the ancient Greek word kunos, meaning a dog. It seems that there had been a group of people who deliberately rejected a life of ease out of philosophical conviction, and were thus branded as living doglike lifestyles. So to be cynical about education could simply boil down to refusing to reap the benefits of what is on offer.
The problem is that people dont actually believe there are any benefits to be reaped anymore. Bloom compares the situation with people coming off drugs:
In my experience, students who have had a serious fling with drugs and gotten over it find it difficult to have enthusiasms or great expectations. It is as though the colour has been drained out of their lives and they see everything in black and white. The pleasure they experienced in the beginning was so intense that they no longer look for it at the end, or as the end.3
The assumption is that pleasures and joys are to be found elsewhere, in clubs or the SU bar, but never in learning. Im not suggesting that if you find work a chore, you must have been a druggie but merely pointing out that if perhaps you have found joys elsewhere that have evaporated, then the chances are that you will be cynical about being able to find them anywhere, quite apart from in work and learning.
University as a threat?
A large proportion of Christians can date their conversions to their student time. But conversely, a significant proportion of those with inherited faith lose it as students. We will probably know people in both groups.
Cynicism affects us all, whether were Christian or not. As the result of in peer pressure, it is important not to be too keen about anything, except perhaps sport. Its trendy to despise what is required of us or what the older lecturers teach; its trendy to say how boring it all is or that theres too much work to do - so lets head off to the bar. Or if someone does work hard, its perhaps acceptable to claim that it is only because it is necessary for a certain career path. But a big irony these days is that people no longer seem particularly bothered about that either.
Why? Well, I suppose in some ways, this is merely a reflection of what time at university should be like. It should be a crucible of ideas, a time to test former beliefs and sift through new ones. It should be a time to test ones foundations, to doubt ones doubts and believe ones beliefs. Sadly it degenerates into the opposite: carelessly doubting ones beliefs while defiantly believing ones doubts.
No wonder, then, that Christians are fearful of the intellectual challenges of university. No wonder some bury their heads in the sand and have as little to do with the implications of what they are learning as possible. At best, this is puzzling to non-believing friends; at worst, it is despised as simply a deliberate evasion of the overwhelming evidence against them.
It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you!
Many have a growing perception of an outright hostility to Christianity on campuses across the UK. Of course, people pour scorn on this, & dismiss it as feeble paranoia. But this sense is not without foundation. Just think: who is likely to encounter more opposition in a student union the Green eco-evangelist or Christian activist?
Now of course, it is not always the case, and we must not descend into a victim mentality. But we must face the fact that many different agendas floating round lecture rooms and some are explicitly anti-Christian. It is no surprise that Christians are fearful. Richard Dawkins was for many years a Tutor at my old college and I vividly remember one of those classic library moments when I was having to write an essay. Of course, this meant that anything else was more interesting than the task in hand. Im sure you have been there. So I picked up a book lying on the table, which happened to be about microbiology (which, as far as I know, is not Dawkins specialist field). Nevertheless, he had written the preface. Within 3 lines of the opening paragraph, he was busy smashing the icons of Christianity, a target which seemed entirely tangential to the books primary purpose. It struck me at the time that using a microbiology text book preface to propagate atheism demonstrates quite a real hang-up. But in his mind, the gospel is fair game as an irrational superstition. Dealing with this can be very hard - especially for a student straight from school who is encountering the reputation, intellectual prowess and experience of professors who have seen such Christian naivety all before. However, such overt animosity is not the most common threat.
The incessant drip-drip?
More familiar is what we might call the incessant drip-drip of studying everything without reference to God at all. We may be studying what seems a perfectly neutral and unreligious subject; but, even if we arent, God is unlikely to get a look in. It is simply the culture of university education in the west: we leave God at the lecture or lab room door. To help deal with this, we need grasp something of how this has come about.
For centuries, the study of religion focused on just three areas of (what was assumed) to be cosmic reality.4 Other aspects of reality were of course important to a theological mindset, but they were covered primarily by other areas of learning. The topics specific to theological studies were:
The Supernatural
The Invisible
The Mysterious
It was almost universally understood that each one had a vital part to play in our understanding of life, the universe and everything.
My hunch is that your immediate reaction to the list was to assume that each is irrelevant to your studies, let alone to real life. In which case, the Enlightenment have shaped you. For western thinking has had a secularising tendency over the last four centuries, and it has gradually but successfully erased all three from shared understandings of reality. Once that happens, religious faith inevitably has no place in our education what you believe is up to you in private, but has nothing to do with the Lecture Hall.
It is a short step from there to some recent headlines about Christians in the workplace. Whether or not one agrees with the significance of being able to wear a crucifix, it is surely concerning to find a legal argument couched in these terms (in an article headlined Christians should 'leave their beliefs at home or get another job):
James Eadie QC, acting for the government, told the European court that the refusal to allow an NHS nurse and a British Airways worker to visibly wear a crucifix at work did not prevent either of them practicing religion in private, which would be protected by human rights law There is a difference between the professional sphere where your religious freedoms necessarily abut onto and confront other interests and the private sphere. The employees concerned could indeed pursue all the generally recognised manifestations of their religion outside the work sphere.5
Losing the worldview glue?
I wonder if you realised that Theology used to be known as The Queen of Sciences. The reason was simple. Theology was assumed to provide the framework by which to understand everything in world, its use & morality. It was the glue that held everything together. But this is widely rejected now. The thought seems absurd. Not only is theology based on superstitions, in common with most humanities subjects (apart from languages), it appears to offer no professional qualifications or obvious careers. If theological studies deemed to have any value, it is a reduced to merely examining the phenomenon of faith in human culture, rather than any grounds for faith.
Now, to be fair, not all scientists have accepted this secularizing instinct, even in the twentieth century.
Albert Einstein observed that science can help human beings attain their goals; science cannot, however, supply the goals. If we desire to feed the world, science can help us to do so. If we decide to exterminate the world, science can help us to do that also. Science, though, as a method and as a field of knowledge is simply unable, by its very nature, to make the decision for us. Many people assume that what is scientifically possible is always desirable. Einstein would disagree. What is possible and what is desirable involve two separate realms of knowledge. Whether to abort a foetus or to save a foetus life through high-tech surgical techniques are not questions science can answer for us.6
The queen has been dethroned - but the world searches vainly for reliable alternatives to take her place. We need to realise what weve lost: a cohesive view of the world in general, and therefore of education in particular. We have lost a view of the inter-connectedness of reality.
Do you know what University originally meant? It comes from the Latin universitas meaning the whole world, everything together the Greek equivalent is roughly the word cosmos. People used to go to university to learn about everything. Of course, that didnt mean that they literally discovered everything, but that it would help them grasp the big picture. For mediaeval students, the possibility of a cohesive worldview might be illustrated in quite obvious ways:
Everything under one roof
If you visit the heart of Oxfords Bodleian Library, founded over 400 years ago (and still the university library) you can see that it is made up of an internal quadrangle (see right). On each inner wall there are doors with ancient signs above them relating to the different disciplines then taught at Oxford: Music, Moral Philosophy, Logic, Jurisprudence, Hebrew & Greek, Geometry and Arithmetic, and so on. They were all in one building. Of course, such an arrangement would be quite impossible today. Faculties, student populations and education resources require huge geographical areas. Nevertheless, there was a symbolic value in a university housing everything under one roof.
Access through one language
Until surprisingly recently, Latin was an entry requirement for many Universities. Today, such a requirement would be dismissed as hopelessly elitist and pointless. But the original intention was very positive. Latin gave access to all types of learning, regardless of where in Europe it was being taught. With Latin under the belt, a student had access to explore fresh areas of learning from far beyond their specific field. In many ways, (fortunately for us here), English currently enjoys a similar status. English is now a requirement for post-graduate studies in most parts of the world.
However, note the purpose in the medieval world: using a common language opened possibilities for learning anything.
The over-specialisation of knowledge
These days, faculties of every university are spread far and wide - and logistics aside, that too has symbolic significance. It illustrates a simple reality each academic discipline is separate and distinct from every other, with hardly any cross-fertilisation between them. So for instance, how much does the History faculty have to do with the English department, or any of the Sciences? But this fragmentation of university life has gone further than that. It occurs within faculties as well. You would be surprised how little academic interaction there is, say, between OT & NT scholars within a theology department.
Part of the reason is that disciplines are growing ever more complex, and basic bibliographies ever longer - it is hard enough to keep abreast of ones own specialism, let alone engaging with someone elses. But there is a sadder reason for this. This is that each of us is, in effect, at a multiversity. We plod on in own corner, while ignoring the rest. There is simply too much to learn to do more than that. Worse, many dont even want to integrate their thinking with others - to do so is deemed both impossible and unnecessary. A cohesive, all-embracing worldview (a metanarrative) is regarded as dangerous and unattainable. Which of course presents Christians with a fundamental problem: for we claim the truth of what could be described as the ultimate metanarrative.
So we can understand the threat many Christians at university feel: God is left out in the cold as irrelevant, or attacked as a dangerous superstition. So drip by drip, either our confidence in the value of what we are learning evaporates, or our confidence in the Christian message does.
So what do we do?
In Deuteronomy 6:4-5, we find the first summary of Gods Law:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Do you remember what Jesus does with it?
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Mark12:28-30)
Interesting, isnt it?
If we find Jesus addition of with all your mind odd, it probably means that we dont really understand love. If we assume it is just feelings & emotions, the mind will have little to do with it. But even at a human level, if love is the highest honour we can give someone, whereby we are willing to share everything with them, then of course the mind will be involved. We will want to be interested in them, and in their lives. It will involve curiosity and compassion, understanding and insight. It might also involve defending their reputation when it seems damaged or under threat, which again will involve the mind. So for example, you would actually be concerned about my marriage if I claimed to love Rachel, while being not the slightest bit interested in her childhood in Africa or her time as a midwife in East London.
Why should there be a difference with God? He wants us to love him with everything including our minds, whoever we are.
When he says all your mind, He is applying this claim in a very personal way. Not everyone has the same ability. Someone who is physically handicapped may not have the same physical strength that a star athlete does. That does not matter. Whether it means serving God from a hospital bed or from an Olympic pavilion, both are called to love God with all of their strength. In the same way, all of your mind encompasses a wide range of talents and abilities. Some minds are gifted in the sciences; some in the arts. Some minds are oriented to academia and higher education. Some are not. No one set of talents is better than any other. The point is, God demands all that we can do and all that we can think.7
To love God involves many things it will involve enjoying the privilege of getting to know him, it will involve gratitude, praise and adoration, obedience but the bottom line must always be at least a desire to KNOW ABOUT HIM & his world. That is why the Bible has lot to say about God, to inform us of what we could not otherwise know.
But that is not the only essential ingredient to loving God with our minds. We should also seek to defend his work and reputation.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)
So this gives us 2 major aims as thinking and integrated Christians at university
Understand God and His world
Defend God and His work
This is a very exciting adventure to set out on and it gives University a far greater meaning and purpose than merely getting job at the end of it. Even better, I would suggest that it is a great antidote to the cynicism we see all around us.
Understanding God and his world
I am no scientist at all. But that doesnt stop me being amazed by footage of human egg fertilisation. It blows my mind to think of that happening every day all around the world, completely out of sight. In fact, anyone involved in scientific research has a real privilege the privilege of actually being able to delve more deeply into Gods world. It is irrelevant if ones lecturers dont share such a view or appreciation nothing like that should stop us getting interested with the divine perspective.
But it doesnt have to be in the area of science, whether pure or applied. In the Arts, we can marvel at the abilities and gifts and insights of the people Go d h a s ma d e t o inhabi t hi s wo r ld. Everyone is different. Someone once said that God breaks the mould every time he makes someone. Each of us all unique. That is what makes people so fascinating. So we can appreciate that as we read their writings, look at their pictures, assess their actions, and listen to their music. This is not to say that we have to admire or agree with everything. We can look at something in appropriate shock or be appalled. We might have to weep tears at someones death or the terrible sin that has gripped the world. But we can still be amazed at God not that he caused the terrors of the world but that he opens his arms wide in mercy to just this sort of world.
All I am trying to do is to urge you to be interested in the world you live in because it is interesting! Find out about things even if they dont seem to have much to do with your course. In fact, thats all more reason to do just that how about going to different lecture or ask a friend on another course what theyd suggest as most interesting to learn about give it ago & consider what impact this has on belief in the God who made world. Remember the psalmist
The earth is the Lords, and everything in it;
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
and established it on the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2)
If that thought alone doesnt give us pause, I dont know what will! If everything belongs to God because everything was created by God, then how can there be any gaps between sacred or secular, public or private, or even between natural or supernatural. It is all His. And as His creatures, we will surely long to pursue and explore everything that this means.
Years ago, I was given a MYST for Christmas. Its a totally addictive, geeky and challenging computer game. The player is drawn into a captivating and beautiful fantasy world in order to detect the disasters that occurred in its ancient past. To finish it, you have to accumulate knowledge about this world, otherwise you wont know what to do. It struck me while I was playing, though, that there was me totally absorbed in exploring this virtual world, while there was still so much in our world I dont know about or understand. This is far more fantastic and unlikely than a computer game could ever be. But our culture seems to have ditched the real in favour of the virtual. What a tragedy that is!
In some ways, what have got to fear from our real world? If we believe God is its creator, then everything real & true about it is from him. All truth is Gods truth. What is there to fear from truth? By seeking it out, we honour & love God with our minds. Does that sound naïve or stupid? Perhaps a little naïve but Im just suggesting that wanting to study his world is all part of loving God with mind. And that will remove much of our cynicism.
Some years ago, Mike Starkey wrote a great little book aimed precisely at dealing with this: God, Sex and Generation X. And so he offers some helpful suggestions to get us curious, and perhaps even smiling, about the world. Dont dismiss them too quickly or I might just have to dismiss you as a cynic!
Take a toddler to the zoo
Start reading poetry
Give your favourite person a list of 10 things you like best about them.
Read a different paper/retune to a different radio station.
Try a different, daring hairstyle.
Fly a kite.
Stop watching TV for a month
Surprise someone close to you with a gratuitous act of wild generosity.
Read one of the four Gospels straight through.
Buy a new bike and ride it often
Put on your favourite music and dance around the room, preferably with small children.
Take up gardening.8
But if that perhaps sounds naive, then the one area we really mustnt be naïve is in the second.
Defend God and his work
Paul was well aware of the attacks that the Christian gospel comes under. Im sure you do as well. There many areas of the Christian worldview that seem to run completely counter to prevailing moods and minds. That inevitably leads to conflict. So surely, we need at least to consider how to help others see that Gods ways are not as ridiculous or appalling as might appear?
Of course, in saying we should defend God, that hardly means He is defenceless without us! It is simply that if we love Him with our minds we will want to defend His reputation. And He is simply delighted when people speak up and out for him, & promises to help them.9 Furthermore, we need to remember: there is nothing to fear from the pursuit of truth. Trusting that all truth that is ultimately Gods truth gives us great confidence. It means it doesnt matter where we pursue it - or even who we engage with.
The key to this, I think, is to develop a healthy sense of criticism. That is actually a more positive idea than it at first seems. The Oxford English Dictionary has 2 definitions. We tend to focus on the first (which refers to finding fault with something); but the other is arguably much more important. For criticism in that sense is simply about evaluating the merits or value of something (because it derives from the Greek krisis which meant judgement or discernment).
Actually a critic should be involved in both. Think about the film critic like Mark Kermode. He needs to evaluate the films he watches, and because of his experience, knowledge and passion, his opinions are trusted by many. He is a good critic. That doesnt mean he dismisses every film he watches as rubbish. He would be out of job if he did. A critic gets involved because of his or her love of the subject or medium. So he or she naturally wants to show appreciation & understanding of things done well.
We should share the same attitude for everything we see in the world around us in and outside lecture ropom. That is simply an expression of the passion and love for the universe God has made. When we do this, with healthy sense of criticism, will be pable to evaluate what we find. This is especially important when Gods work is under attack we should assess what is said, evaluate how fair it is and see where inconsistencies might be. Then we can subvert and undermine every pretension that sets itself up against God. Actually well find that often the inconsistencies are huge. Veith puts it well:
GK Chesterton has observed how Christianity is attacked on all sides and for all contradictory reasons. He points out how some condemn Christianity for being too pessimistic, others for being too optimistic. Christianity is said to stress sin, judgment, and austerity, to be inhuman in its gloom and bleakness. Others, though reject it for its pie-inthe- sky comforts. The belief in providence and a caring God, they say, hides the true bleakness and meaningfulness of life. The Church is ridiculed both for being anti-female and because in Europe only women still go to church. It is criticised for its austerity and for its extravagance, for being too peaceful and for being too violent. It is attacked because it lacks unity ("None of the churches agree with each other") and for being unified ("They dont allow differences of opinion").
The point is not simply that the charges, taken together contradict each other, but that Christianity is more complex, comprehensive and whole than many of its critics realise. Chesterton provides the analogy:
"Suppose we heard an unknown man spoken of by many men. Suppose we were puzzled to hear that some men said he was too tall, and some too short; some objected to his fatness, some lamented his leanness; some thought him too dark, and some too fair. One explanation would be that he might be an odd shape. But there is another explanation. He might be the right shape. Outrageously tall men might feel him to be short. Very short men might feel him to be tall Perhaps (in short) this extraordinary thing is really the ordinary thing; at least the normal thing, the centre."
I do not intend to be glib. Many critiques of Christianity are strong and searching. They must be taken seriously. But many of the criticisms one encounters are glib they are flippant and superficial, poorly thought out, and intended as cheap shots.10
Well often need to use brains but it is part of the responsibility of being human to do this as part of our love for the creator God. It is not just for the brain boxes for us all, as we face different situations.
If you take anything from these rambly thoughts, it is simply this. Recapture a vision for what university is really about: marvelling at the the world as a whole as Gods whole. And understand that Gods revealed way of seeing things has something to say about all of it. Well only ever scratch the surface. But knowing that there is always more out there, I would suggest, is just part of the excitement.
No one said this was easy. Thats why we need each other. But here are some suggestions.
This is of course a radical one for students: read some books! How many books, other than those set reading lists, do you read in a year? Of the Christian books you read, how often do you read mindengaging theological or apologetic books (as opposed to more devotional books, important though that they undoubtedly are). We must read to broaden horizons and get to know Gods world better university provides the opportunity like no other to do this, so make the most of it. If you dont know where to start, chat with a church or Christian Union leader.
Discuss things with friends or in groups. Try to see things through the big picture of living in Gods world. Why not start up a reading group? Set modest targets so they are not too unrealistic (e.g. To read and discuss one book a term).
Be deliberate about listening to what people from other worldviews and perspectives think. Perhaps go along to some of their society meetings? It will be challenging. But it will at least prevent you from engaging with straw-men.
I hope your excitement has been fired. If this is taken on board, it will revolutionise your time at University. It is not just the means to a job it is far bigger than that. And it will start a process and an attitude that will continue for the rest of your life.
But above all:
Pray that you will grow in your love for your Creator and Rescuer God - not just with your minds, but certainly not without your minds either.
Two questions for personal reflection:
Do you sense that the Christian worldview is under attack on your course? Where might you find help to deal with this?
Are there areas of life and the world about which you are curious, whether related to your studies or not? How can you pursue that curiosity?
1. September 2012 (based on a talk originally given to Sheffield students in 1998).
2. Allan Bloom, Closing of the American Mind, Simon & Shuster, 1987, p338-340.
3. Bloom, p80.
4. A case developed by Gene Veith, Loving God With All Your Mind, (IVP, Downers Grove, 1989, newly revised 2003).
5. Daily Telegraph, 4th September 2012 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9520026/Christians-should-leave-their-beliefs-at-home-or-getanother-
job.html (accessed 7/9/12).
6. Veith, p59.
7. Veith p144.
8. Mike Starkey, God, Sex and Generation X (Triangle, London, 1997) p129.
9. See Matthew 10:16-20.
10. Veith, p41-42.
A few books to get you started:
Edgar, William Reasons of the Heart P&R 2003
Keller, Timothy The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Scepticism Hodder 2009
Roberts, Vaughan God's Big Picture IVP 2009
Sire, James The Universe Next Door IVP 2010 edition
Veith, Gene Loving God with All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in a Postmodern World IVP 1989, revised 2003


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Magnet schools gained prominence in education in the 1970s as a tool for achieving voluntary desegregation in lieu of forced busing. An early study of magnet schools sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education1 found that magnet schools were developed first in large urban school districts seeking to reduce racial isolation in their schools through voluntary means rather than with mandatory student assignment. The educational programs at these magnet schools were modeled on well-established specialty schools that offered advanced programs to selected students, such as Bronx School of Science, Boston Latin School, and Lane Tech in Chicago. Early magnet school curricular programs mirrored specialty school themes such as mathematics, science, and the performing arts. But magnet school programs were designed to be different in one very important way-magnet school enrollment was driven by student choice based on interest rather than selection of students by testing.
Some 30 years later, many districts continue to utilize magnet schools to reduce minority group isolation; however, in the intervening years, the purposes of magnet schools have continued to evolve and expand. When the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program was first authorized in 1985 its intent was twofold: reduce, eliminate, or prevent minority group isolation and provide instruction in magnet schools that would substantially strengthen students' knowledge and skills. Subsequently, expectations for magnet schools have broadened. Today, school districts are using them to accomplish a range of important and related purposes: enhancing student learning and narrowing the achievement gap, giving public school parents more choice in their child's education experience, and incubating innovative educational methods and practices that can raise the bar for all schools.
Magnet schools may be especially appealing to districts with schools in need of improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which specifically acknowledges their value for the purposes stated above.2 For local education agencies contemplating adoption or expansion of this powerful education option, this guide presents experiences and lessons learned from six districts with successful magnet programs. (Basic statistics about these districts appear in figure 1.)
The theory behind magnet schools as a desegregation tool is simple: Create a school so distinctive and appealing- so magnetic-that it will draw a diverse range of families from throughout the community eager to enroll their children even if it means having them bused to a different and, perhaps, distant neighborhood. To do so, the school must offer an educational option- a specialty-that is not available in other area schools. Early magnet school research8 identified five common magnet school themes-the fine, applied, or performing arts; the sciences; social studies occupations; general academics; and traditional and fundamental schools. But a look across district magnet programs today reveals a much wider variety of curricular specialties and educational approaches reflecting the idiosyncratic interests and resources of their communities. Among the curricular themes or instructional approaches currently found at magnet schools are aerospace education, communications, culinary arts, environmental science, international studies, International Baccalaureate, language immersion, law enforcement, military science, Montessori, and Paideia.
Figure 1. Demographics of Six Profiled School Districts
In recent decades, the school desegregation picture has become more complex. The number of school districts still implementing court-required desegregation plans has been declining, and court cases and policy decisions have narrowed districts' ability to use race as a factor in student assignment decisions. Instead, socioeconomic status has become important in defining student diversity. In some districts, minority students have become the majority across all public schools, and many urban districts have been losing increasing numbers of middle and upper-class students of all races and ethnicities to private and parochial schools or to surrounding suburbs. Yet throughout this period, magnets have remained a useful tool for reducing, eliminating or preventing racial isolation in schools. (Figure 2 provides information on managing enrollment.)
Two important tools in a magnet program assignment system, often used in conjunction with one another, are attendance zones and a lottery system. The best way to understand magnet school assignment is to start by thinking of a traditional neighborhood school system, in which each school has an attendance area or "walk zone" and students who live within it are automatically assigned to that school. These students are sometimes called "zone" or "base" students. This guide will generally refer to them as neighborhood students. Magnet schools differ in that many have no attendance zone and if they do have one, it controls only a portion of a school's enrollment.
At a magnet with no attendance zone, all who want to attend must apply and applicants can live anywhere in the district. (Some district magnet programs also accept applicants from outside the district.) At a magnet school that has an attendance zone, some portion of the school's enrollment is reserved for students who live in the zone, with the remaining seats open to applicants from outside the neighborhood.
Decisions about whether to create a magnet school with no attendance zone or, instead, to give preference to students who live in an attendance zone with a lottery for other openings are tied to district enrollment goals, location of the school, and neighborhood interest. If a new magnet is planned for a largely low-income Hispanic neighborhood that wants its children to attend the school, the district might use an attendance zone preference so the school can serve neighborhood families while avoiding ethnic or socioeconomic isolation.
A district's system for choosing from among magnet school applicants is its other tool for managing magnet enrollment. Many magnet schools have their own application criteria. Performing arts schools, for example, tend to require student auditions. But districts need a system for choosing among qualified applicants when their number exceeds available magnet seats. Most magnet programs use a lottery system. In a random lottery system, the district's marketing efforts are intended to attract an applicant pool for each school that is representative of community demographics. In such circumstances, a random drawing of names or assigned numbers will result in an equally representative student enrollment. If a district isn't convinced that its applicant pool for a given school is representative, it might use a weighted lottery, which gives added weight (i.e., an extra lottery number or two) to applicants who represent characteristics sought in the enrollment mix, such as students from low-income families. Recent court decisions have limited the use of race in student assignment to attain diversity, making clear, for example, that race-neutral approaches must be seriously considered first.
Beyond desegregation
A more diverse student population is just the beginning of what magnets can accomplish because, as one researcher has noted, magnet schools are the "offspring" not just of "the search for racial and ethnic equity in public education" but also of the "quest for improved teaching and learning."9 Their theme-based approach promotes many of the factors associated with effective schools, chiefly, innovation in program and practice, staff and curricular coherence, increased parent and community involvement, and greater student engagement. In the best of magnet schools, this adds up to higher student achievement.
Magnet schools can also promote healthy competition among district schools. Faced with the prospect of losing students to magnets, many neighborhood schools examine the competition to understand the attraction while, at the same time, examining their own program to see how they might improve it. The superintendent of one magnet district highlighted in this guide says the belief that "our school is as good as yours" has had a "ripple effect across the district," with traditional schools pushing themselves harder. Some adopt or adapt magnet school principles and practices to better serve their own students. As this happens, magnets, in turn, must ratchet up their own efforts in order to remain distinctive. It is little wonder, then, that many districts that began their magnet program as part of a required or voluntary desegregation effort have come to see it-and expand it-as part of a larger school improvement effort.
While student diversity is still "desirable and sought" in Houston (Texas) Independent School District's extensive magnet program, its manager notes that Houston's "primary concern" today is having "quality programs that will engage students in the learning process, leading to higher achievement. Because students disengage from learning long before they drop out of school, we are very interested in providing focused programs that will keep them engaged in learning, keep them in school, and prepare them for their future."
To that end, Houston allows individual schools to apply to become magnets, theorizing that when a magnet is "home grown"-conceived and planned by school staff, parents and students, and other stakeholders- engagement is almost a given and, regardless of its enrollment composition, the school contributes to the reduction of racial isolation in the long run. "Segregation in Houston is primarily the result of economics or a language barrier," the administrator explains. "The solution-or at least a partial solution-is increased educational opportunities, the very thing our magnet programs are trying to provide."
Hamilton County (Tennessee) Schools, which serves Chattanooga and surrounding areas, offers an example of how magnets are sometimes used to serve multiple goals. Coinciding with and in support of a citydriven urban renewal effort, the district recently built two magnet schools in low-income neighborhoods of color adjacent to Chattanooga's downtown business center and converted two older downtown neighborhood schools into magnets. All forms of diversity remain a primary goal for the program, and each of the downtown magnets has its own attendance zone, designed to ensure that about half its students are from the neighborhood. But the schools embody some other aims as well.
Like many districts serving urban areas, Hamilton had been steadily losing students to local parochial and private schools and to the surrounding suburbs. Its downtown magnet themes were conceived to recapture some of these students. Two of the magnet schools are museum schools (a K-5 and a 6-8) that work closely with the area's seven museums. Of the other two, one focuses on classical studies (literature, art, history, architecture, and music) and the other bases its instruction on Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.
In addition to adopting themes thought to be attractive to middle and upper-income-level families, the district has labeled these magnet programs as "worksite" schools, giving added weight in its lottery to applicants whose parents work in the targeted area. The hope is that the opportunity to have their children nearby during the work day will be an added attraction for suburban commuters who like the idea of spending more time with their children as they commute and want to be involved with their children's school, an experience that would be out of reach, literally, if their children attended a traditional neighborhood school. In this vision, schools and their students benefit from greater volunteerism, the district benefits by stemming the outward flow of higher socioeconomic families, and the downtown benefits from workers who, with their children nearby, are more likely to spend time and money in the area.
Magnet terminology
Any general discussion about magnet schools requires some clarification of terminology. In addition to different terms being used in different districts, the same terms are sometimes used to mean slightly different things from one district to another. The term magnet program, for example, is used in a variety of very different ways. For discussion's sake, this guide will generally use magnet program to refer to the district-level infrastructure for managing magnet schools and, when the context makes it clear, to a magnet school's instructional program. It will use the terms magnet school and magnets for all schools or instructional programs that have a unique theme or focus conceived to attract students and parents for the primary goal of creating a representative student population.
Case study sites and methodology
The six districts profiled in this guide are Duval County Public Schools, Florida; Hamilton County Schools, Tennessee; Hot Springs School District, Arkansas; Houston Independent School District, Texas; Montclair Public Schools, New Jersey; and Wake County Public School System, North Carolina. Appendix A presents a narrative summary of each district's context and programs.
This guide is based on a study that was informed by a literature review, interviews with both researchers and educators, and the input of an Advisory Panel consisting of researchers, associations leaders, and educators who work with schools, districts, and states on magnet implementation. The six districts studied and highlighted here were selected from a larger set of 16 possible sites. The exploratory, descriptive approach used to examine the magnet programs in these districts is adapted from the four-phase benchmarking process used by the American Productivity and Quality Center (see appendix B for further details). This guide is adapted from the full research report and also incorporates information from research literature and other sources. Results from specific district practices, district rationales for what they did, patterns across districts, and common sense, along with the initial framework, led to the themes and actions highlighted in this guide.
This descriptive research process suggests promising practices- ways to do things that others have found helpful or lessons they have learned about what not to do-and practical "how-to" guidance. This is not the kind of experimental research that can yield valid causal claims about what works. Readers should judge for themselves the merits of these practices, based on their understanding of why they should work, how they fit the local context, and what happens when they actually try them.
This guide is organized around five action areas: getting started, promoting the program, making it easy for parents, fully implementing the program, and evaluating and continually improving.


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|By Admin1 (admin) on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 6:36 pm: Edit Post
Read this story from the Washington Post on how in the aftermath of September 11 many young people are deciding to dedicate their lives to public service:
In Pursuit of Idealism
In Pursuit of Idealism
By Neil Irwin and Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, October 22, 2001; Page E01
Kristine Kippins had everything planned: business degree from the University of Pennsylvania's prestigious Wharton School, internships at Goldman Sachs and other top Wall Street firms, then a high-paying job as a financier.
"Nothing could be more exciting than being on a trading floor," she said last week on campus, where her plans were working out to a T. "Any trading floor."
Then came the Tuesday in September when she screamed and cried as she watched on television the collapse of the World Trade Center, where her mother used to work and where a high school friend was trapped that day and is presumed to have died.
Now, Kippins wants to join the Peace Corps after she graduates in May. After that, she plans to go into politics and, eventually, run for Congress.
"Wall Street just doesn't seem very important anymore," she said.
National crises have always drawn people to the national capital, many of them the "best and brightest." The Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism, combined with a slumping economy that has made private-sector jobs more scarce, have brought with them a heightened sense of public service. That might spur a generation of elites who once shunned government work in favor high-octane business careers to reconsider.
It could be enough to make Washington -- the older, limestone-building kind -- cool again.
Kippins, the would-be financier who now aspires to join the Peace Corps, cried as she recalled Sept. 11. She grew up in Queens and went to school in the shadow of the Trade Center.
"It's not quite like going home now. The last time I went home, I drove over the 59th Street Bridge and looked down and the Trade Center wasn't there. It kind of hit me," she said. "I hate feeling helpless."
Her way of helping is to toss out plans for a life of million-dollar bonuses and fast-paced securities trading for a volunteer gig in a developing country with the Peace Corps.
"I don't care where they put me. I just want to help out," she said. "Anybody in the Peace Corps is kind of an ambassador for the U.S. Hopefully if just a couple of people could see that we're not all that bad it could make a difference."


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Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
I actually had this one wrong myself. It definitely seems like a reinterpretation of the meaning.
There are certainly a lot of potential eggcorns where "in" gets substituted for "and"—or perhaps even the other way around. One that I came across today is "ball in socket" joint (Ghits = 12,800) in place of "ball and socket" joint (Ghits = 547,000). In this case (and many others) the "in" aspect of the term is consistent with the imagery: The ball literally resides in the socket.
I suspect that the term "stock in trade" draws partly on the notion of items being "in stock."
Last edited by jorkel (2006-10-30 17:09:09)
Many dialects drop the 'g' in words ending in 'ing'. I've just googled 'stocking trade' which has a homely, unpretentious ring to it and found…
By day I will sell hosiery and that will be my stocking trade. And I will run a mail order company selling firewood for household pets (get the catalogue). ...
www.dayorama.com/archives/001625.html – 15k –
Painting tigers is my stocking trade, but pretty girls and all that smooth skin is another thing entirely. I have invented and developed a few new skills …
www.roychaffin.com/newsnew.html – 181k
I'm a poet – words are my stocking trade. Yes they are. "Janey Jasper 0-A. I'm here to help, Senlac. I brought you back from the BOpShop. ...
www.leicestersciencefictiongroup.co.uk/ … h%2006.htm – 258k
I thought that one sounded familiar..
'stocking trade' for 'stock in trade' by klakritz Contribute! 0 2006-01-02 06:32:32 by klakritz
Last edited by jorkel (2006-10-30 12:48:12)
Ha! Jorkel beat me to it. But since I already have Ken's post written up, I'll go ahead and post it anyhow. I think the person who's selling hosiery in Peter's post is purposely punning. And I wonder about that poet, whom Ken too cited.
The amazing Ken Lakritz submitted both "stocking trade" and "stock and trade" earlier this year. Here's his post (Jan 2, 2006), smooshed:
Stock in trade is the inventory or resources of a business. 'Stocking trade' shows up 400 times. 'Stock and trade' is much more common, but less interesting. Examples:
I'ma poet – words are my stocking trade. Yes they are.
"but the brown trout is really our stocking trade and numbers for sale will be
scarce next year."
www.farmersinfo.com.au/pages/news/octob … ews123.htm
Managing the means of payment being their stocking trade, the Caisse d'Epargne
is, through necessity, interested in the electronic purse.
"cat burgling is My stocking trade, "Join me kid and your fortunes made.
Irreverence is Las Vegas's stock and trade.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/ … 4?v=glance
Liars by Brian Dunaway…
When one considers that this is the stock and trade of politicians, one would think they would at least put forth a little effort.
Description is the stock and trade of the professional writer.
These nine outlets occupy land evaluated at over $315000 and pay property taxes of over $10000 not including "stock and trade, machinery and equipment"
www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/b … ouncil.htm
Thanks jorkel – I keep forgetting to check, in my idiot enthusiasm, and yet again I'm guilty of recycling. The wonder of it is that there remain any eggcorns at all after the early hunters found the grazing herds stretching to the far horizon and bagged them in their millions…
Yes, a terrible chapter in our history. Shooting defenseless eggcorns from the windows of passing trains, leaving their carcasses to molder on the open prairie. Shameful. We latterday eggcorn harvesters are a more humane lot.
Stock and trade in penny stocks as they are best stocks in trade
A classic exchange, thanks for bringing this up again, john-stock. An alternative pretty well describes the quest for both stocks and eggcorns—. There seems to be an oort cloud/fuzzy zone around stalk, stuck, stock, stark, stork, stook, stake, steak, stack and stick.
Edit: Come to think of it, in the case of penny stocks, that should be stoke and trade, shouldn't it. Add stoke to the cloud, though not in this form – loads of "stoke in trade", which looks like what-we-call-for-lack-of-a-better-name a pail.
Last edited by David Bird (2010-07-07 09:20:55)


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Surrounded by nature, Pousada São Sebastião offers an outdoor pool and a wellness centre. The guesthouse is located in São Sebastião do Rio Verde and provides free WiFi access throughout.
Guests can admire beautiful mountain views from all rooms, which are ideally fitted with a TV, fan and bed linens. Some units boast a private bathroom with a walk-in shower.
At Pousada São Sebastião, guests can benefit from entertainment staff, a shared lounge and a games room.
On-site parking is available.... Pouso Alto Bus Station is 2.5km from the guesthouse, while Passa Quatro City can be reached within 25 km.
|Estrada do Bom Retiro s/n
São Sebastião do Rio Verde


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Do you want Unlimited Mod and Skin downloads, Access to ALL premium/paid mods, No Delay Between Downloads, No Ads, a Blog, LOADS of site benefits and more! For one small monthly fee! Starting from $6.99 p/m - ✭ Join our Sims 4 V.I.P Club Here ✭ & Find out more about V.I.P here
Sunlit Tides Challenge
Discussion in 'Legacies and Stories' started by Maks1234, Jan 16, 2016.


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Last Week's Winner: Last week's winner was Alessandro Echevarria for this New Year's Resolution themed piece.
*Remember that the words "Fecal Face" need to placed in the work but not Photoshopped in or anything. This ensures that the work submitted is in fact yours. ALSO remember that you can only vote for one drawing. We only count one vote per person, so make sure to only vote once.
Next Week's Theme: OBAMA
Next Week's Prize: We'll announce it later in the week.
This Week's Prize:
Jay Howell Here's Some People 20" x 24" giclee print are for sale right here for $75
Submission Guidelines for next week:
We had some great entries this week that we couldn't run, either because they weren't sized right or had nothing to do with theme. Just to be clear, when the next theme comes out the old theme is offically over. Please don't send in more submissions for old themes. It makes up feel bad when you send us stuff and we can't post it up so please read the guidlines below:
- The size formatting is 600 pixels in width OR length - if they are bigger than this they will not be posted. So if you have a long skinny one, please make sure it is not over 600 in length or we will not be able to see it well.
- Name your submission your first and last name. Example: john_doe.jpg
- Include the words "Fecal Face" somewhere in the art so we know you created it (please do not to add it in later with Photoshop).
- One submission per person by Friday at 12pm PST.
- If you have a website (or two) please specify which one you would like me to link in the body of your email. Also, let us know where you're from!
- Send it all to freefridayz (at) fecalface.com.
#1 - B. Thom Stevenson (Savannah, Georgia)
#2 - Sam Owen
#3 - Christan Stearry (Essex, Ontario)
#4 - Matt Bourque (Philadelphia PA)
#5 - Eells (South Philly)
#6 - Jessica Lavecchia (Pittsburgh, PA)
#7 - Carolyn Gilliam (Greeley, CO)
#8 - Peekasso
#9 - Robert Huddlestone (San Francisco, Ca)
#10 - Jeroen Blok (Holland)
#11 - Dylan Humphreys (Nelson, BC)
#12 - Pete Gray (Upstate NY)
#13 - Dave Watkins (Milwaukee WI)
#14 - Gareth Rubio (Miami Gardens, FL) *Gareth, next time email over a larger version.
#15 - Jared Marr (SF)
#16 - Fabian "LOKO" Perez
#17 - Willy Bobo (Milwaukee)
#18 - Erie Lalavelle
#19 - Nelson Armstrong
#20 - Peen Loon
#21 - Kinoko (Seattle, WA)
*Don't forget next week's theme: OBAMA
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text:
In my nearly four decades of journalism in New Jersey, I've come to learn that picking the Story of the Year is actually quite easy.
One event almost always stands out. This year is no exception.
The NJBIZ 2013 Story of the Year has to be the Affordable Care Act.
How big is the story?
You could say it influenced and impacted every person and every business in the state in 2013.
Or you could say this: It's hard to imagine how the ACA — or Obamacare if you choose — will not be the NJBIZ Story of the Year in 2014.
Now we'd like to say we have one all-encompassing story that thoroughly explains the ACA. The trouble is, that piece hasn't been written.
There is a thirst for knowledge on the ACA (we see it every time we post a story). So with that in mind, we'll offer some of our best content on the subject.
Please browse through the choices below and click on the ones that work best for you — sort of like millions did (or is it just thousands?) when they signed up for Obamacare.
The only difference: Our reads are all free.
Jerseyans value ability to pick doctors, hospitals over cost
Employers consider private exchanges but question savings
NJBIA President: 8 key ACA challenges for employers
Healthcare pros still struggling to sort out ACA
Private exchanges let employees shop for their own health plans
Mom-and-pops get Obamacare surprise
New Medicaid enrollees may find their coverage is limited
ACA not a cure-all for patients with rare diseases, experts say
Qualcare plan soaring in enrollment
Partners In Care aligns perfectly with aim of the ACA
Horizon's new plan offers deep discounts for using ACOs and PCMHs
Hackensack ACO earns prestigious honor
Stay informed: Subscribe to free NJBIZ newsletters


text: Tuesday, July 05, 2011 Preparing for Direct Access in Your Practice Setting APTA has prepared several resources to help physical therapists successfully integrate direct access into clinical practice. The Direct Access Checklist for Clinicians helps physical therapists overcome potential barriers to direct access and addresses issues of clinical preparation, referral relationships, payment, and marketing. The Direct Access Checklist for Managers, Practice Owners, and Administrators addresses these topics along with additional administrative and management issues. Direct Access: A Resource for Implementation is a planning tool that provides a road map that should be useful for both clinicians and practices interested in making physical therapist services available to the public without referral.


text:
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text:
The Addiction Performance Project (APP) is a medical education program to help break down the stigma associated with addiction. Professional actors read from Act III of Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play Long Day's Journey into Night then an expert panel responds to the reading. From 2011-2013, the APP was only a live audience event. In May 2013, the online version of this program was launched. The APP was developed and produced in partnership with Outside the Wire, LLC, and with the medical consultation from Elizabeth Gaufberg, MD, Harvard Medical School.
Please click here to view the Addiction Performance Project or view the videos below to hear about the impact of the APP.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity participants will be able to:
- Better identify and more successfully treat or refer drug-addicted patients in primary care settings.
- Explore the role of individual biases and beliefs about people who abuse drugs and how these beliefs affect individual physician screening and treatment of patients.
- Use empathy, knowledge, and supporting tools to improve communication skills and confidence in conducting Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT).
For more information about previous live events please click here.
Get this Publication
- Media Tip Sheet (PDF, 196KB)
Addiction Performance Project Returns for Encore Performance (PDF, 7MB)
APA Daily Bulletin, May 18, 2013
Addiction-Related Issues to Be Focus Of Special NIDA Track
Psychiatric News, by Leslie Sinclair, April 19, 2013
Mentions: NIDA sessions at APA, APP
Interview with Nora Volkow, MD, National Institute on Drug Abuse 3:43
APA-TV, May 19, 2013
Mentions: NIDA sessions at APA, APP
APA TV sat down with Nora Volkow to talk about her track on substance abuse at the annual meeting, as well as the Addiction Performance Project, a dramatic reading and in depth discussion of its themes of addiction.


text:
Makenna Szolomayer is the new director of the Colchester Parks and Recreation Kindercamp program. The program runs over eight weeks, from June 24 to Aug. 16, in Colchester.
Makenna Szolomayer is the new director of the Colchester Parks and Recreation Kindercamp program. The program runs over eight weeks, from June 24 to Aug. 16, in Colchester.
Known by the campers as Miss Makenna, Szolomayer joins a camp staff of about 20, including new day camp director Cari Duigou. The camp is accepting preschool-aged children now, and Szolomayer and other staff members got to meet parents and children at an open house April 25 at the town's recreation complex.
Q: Talk a bit about your new job.
A: This is my first year working at Colchester day camp, and I'm very excited to be a part of it. I'm going to be the Kindercamp director, and I love working with little kids. I love games, crafts, being silly and laughing. I can't wait to meet all of our Kindercampers and make some lifelong memories this summer.
Q: What's your education and work experience?
A: I am just finishing my freshman year at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, where I'm studying to become a special education teacher with a cross-endorsement in K-6 teaching. I've helped in Camp Director Cari Duigou's preschool classroom for the last four years, including substitute teaching, so I have a ton of experience with preschool and kindergarten-aged children.
Q: How did you get involved with Kindercamp?
A: I went to RHAM high school, where Cari works. All three years I was at RHAM, I was helping out at the preschool. I'm a substitute there now. So when the job opened up, she gave me some information, and I ended up applying.
Q: What are the kinds of programs that you're going to do here with the little kids in Kindercamp?
A: I went to camp when I was young, and I know how fun it is for kids. We have lots of cool entertainers coming. We have a Mystic Aquarium touch tank. We're going to maybe have the Connecticut Audubon Society come and do a lesson, we have face-painting, all sorts of fun stuff. We have themed weeks, so we'll get to do all sorts of different stuff each week.
Q: You're new to Colchester. What do you think so far of the community, parks and recreation and the facilities and staff?
A: I really like it. Everyone's been really friendly and good to work with, and the fields and facilities here seem really great — and big.


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Goodbye Harajuku Girls, hello Disco Fever! Gwen Stefani is the master of creating a signature look for each of her albums, and for her highly anticipated "The Sweet Escape," she has done it again. Gwen hit the red carpet at the American Music Awards last night in a heavily banged platinum wig, white shorts and a keyhole top from her L.A.M.B. line, and sky-high gold stilettos. Gone is her red lipstick and rockabilly hair, replaced by heavily-lined smoky eyes and nude lips. Of course, she still has her ultimate accessory — hunky hubby Gavin Rossdale. Tell us: What do you think of Gwen's new look? Is it a Hit or a Miss?
To vote on even more celeb Hits or Misses, click here for our gallery.
Photo: Danny Moloshok/AP


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I sold alot of bookmarks when I was selling to a local gift shop and this is one of the bookmarks that was popular.
You will need to make 3 Bear's paws. The 1 1/4" HST is cut to 1". Then your paw should be about 2 - 2 1/8" square. Make sure all 3 of your paws are reasonably the same size.
Finished Bookmark
3 Paws with sashings - ready to sew
I trimmed the two center sashings to 1/2" from the seam
I sewed on the two center sashings and the top one but not the bottom yet.
Trim all the sashings except the top one. Sew the paws together, Leave the bottom to last. Don't trim the bottom one yet.
Sew on the bottom sashing but don't trim it yet. trim the sides to make sure they are straight and measure to make sure your center is the same size from bottom to top. Add the borders on the sides.
Here's where the center is trimmed
Ok all the sashings are added. Now you can stop here and trim the light blue for a border and skip on to the finishing steps. But I like to add 2 borders and I like to end with a dark border.
So I trimmed the lt blue to 1/2" and added dark blue borders.
I trimmed the dark blue to 1/2" from the seam
I don't like to do any more math than I have to so I turn the top face down on the backing fabric and cut out just a bit bigger than the top.
Pin the top to the back and trim
I start on the side and sew around the edge til you get back to where you started. I use a 1/8" seam here but you can use 1/4" I iron all my seams open so when I get to this point I usually hold the seam fabric back out of the way while I sew the sides. If you don't the bulk of the seam can throw your needle out of a straight line.
Leave an opening about 2" wide so you can turn the bookmark MAKE SURE YOU BACKSTITCH WHEN YOU START AND WHEN YOU STOP
Turn your bookmark right side out through the opening you left.
You can see the finish seam around the edge. I also use 1/8" here but you can use 1/4" I usually try to stay close to the edge or at least to center the seam on the borders. I usually spray with Magic Sizing and iron thoroughly. Not press but Iron! I let it dry overnight to get some stiffness.


text: Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, TWG is comprised of six companies that specialize in industry specific winches and supporting electronic systems. They include DP Winch, Gear Products, Greer Company, LANTEC, Pullmaster, and Tulsa Winch. TWG is part of the Dover Corporation, an NYSE-traded, multi-billion dollar corporation that manufactures a diverse range of products and components for commercial and industrial use.


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They said the project will employ 75 to 100 people during the first year, with a projected 2,000 barrels of oil produced each day. The company plans to begin construction on approximately 3,000 acres being leased from the state School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) in Uintah County, about 35 miles north of Interstate 70 and two miles north of the Book Cliffs. The actual phase one project site will encompass 213 acres in Uintah County.
Barclay Cuthbert, vice president of operations for the Canada-based company, said all required permits have been received, although Moab-based Living Rivers has appealed the Water Quality Board's approval and the case is headed for the Utah Supreme Court. That will not prevent work from proceeding, he said, unless an injunction is handed down.
Cuthbert said the appeal concerns "matters of law … whether [the board] interpreted the law correctly."
While the first phase of the project is in Uintah County, U.S. Oil Sands officials already are moving forward with plans to also drill on 24,000 acres of SITLA lands they lease in Grand County. Cuthbert, government relations manager Randy Johnson and administration manager Emma Harrow met with Grand County Council members Gene Ciarus, Lynn Jackson and Elizabeth Tubbs on Thursday, Feb. 28, to describe the company's plans.
U.S. Oil Sands needs a conditional use permit from the council, in addition to state permits, to develop its leased land in Grand County. Work here would not begin before 2016, Cuthbert said.
He added that specific drilling sites in Grand County haven't been determined. However, test holes dug in 2011 showed the area contains oil, Cuthbert said.
During the meeting with county council members, Johnson said opponents of oil drilling have misrepresented U.S. Oil Sands' PR Spring project in Uintah County. He said opponents allude to oil sands projects in Canada that have large tailings ponds, although there will be no settling ponds in Utah.
"There's a certain percentage of our residents who will never be for this," Jackson said.
Living Rivers is among the critics. Spokesman John Weisheit told The Times-Independent, "They are going to strip mine our community. They say they're going to recycle the water and the solvent they're using. But they are going to put the waste products in unlined pits. When it rains, it is going to percolate through to ground water and to streams, and animals are going to drink it.
"Their web page makes it look like they're going to improve the landscape. They're putting frosting on the cake."
Johnson said during a meeting with representatives of The Times-Independent on Friday, March 1, that U.S. Oil Sands is doing all it can to avoid damaging the environment.
"We've taken steps to make it an environmentally friendly project," he said.
That includes using a "non-toxic solvent" that is citrus-based and "evaporates quite rapidly from terrestrial and water environments," Johnson said In addition, 95 percent of the water used in the process will be recycled, he said.
The water will come from the aquifer via wells drilled to 2,500 feet. About 3,000 barrels of water will be needed daily – with each barrel holding 42 gallons.
Cuthbert said the phase one project near the Book Cliffs should produce oil for 15 to 20 years. He added that many employees will be hired locally, and a camp will be built to house workers on-site. The crude will be trucked to Salt Lake City, where there are five oil refineries.
Johnson said U.S. Oil Sands could help the area expand from a one-industry economy.
"Grand County could use some dollars from something besides tourism," he said. "We'd like to help fill a niche there."


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Hay Group moved production applications to IPR International's ZoneIT cloud, hosted on Unified Computing System.
Business Challenge
Hay Group is a global management consulting firm specializing in developing talent, organizing people to be more effective, and motivating them to perform at their best. More than 2600 employees work in 86 offices in 48 countries, serving clients including private, public, and not-for-profit organizations in every major industry.
More than half of Hay Group's revenues come from subscriptions to web portals with up-to-date research on reward strategies and benefits, which clients use to maximize employee performance. The firm used to host these web portals, as well as its internal business applications, on standalone servers in a managed service provider's data center. Each of Hay Group's six business units that deliver subscription services had its own servers, storage, and networks.
Hay Group saw an opportunity to increase client service levels by changing the way it hosted applications. One reason is that clients count on HR information to be available at a moment's notice, and had become increasingly interested in Hay Group's disaster recovery (DR) capabilities. "To increase our value to clients, we decided to move to a fully virtualized environment that increased reliability and availability," says Robert Butler, global chief information officer for Hay Group. In addition, the firm wanted to empower business units to quickly introduce new client services, sometimes just for a brief opportunity. "We didn't have that flexibility with the traditional hosting model," Butler says.
Hay Group envisioned a private cloud, where the different business units could share the same infrastructure while keeping their information separate on servers, storage, and the network.
After evaluating private cloud hosting proposals from five managed service providers, Hay Group selected IPR International. "We proposed building a secure, multitenant hosting environment in our two hardened data centers, with automated failover, and Hay Group would become our first customer for Infrastructure as a Service," says Michael Emmi, chief executive officer of IPR International.
Hay Group and IPR jointly decided to build the private cloud service on Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), which combines compute, networking, storage access, and virtualization in a cohesive system managed as a single entity. "The Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch played an important role in our decision because it preserves the security profiles of our various client services as we move them between Cisco UCS server blades," says Butler.
Hay Group and IPR collaborated with Cisco Advanced Services and Presidio Networked Solutions, a Cisco Gold Certified Partner, to build the private cloud infrastructure on Cisco UCS in just three months, a week earlier than scheduled. "Hay Group and other customers continue to manage their applications, databases, web site, active directory, and other software applications just as they always have, while IPR provides a highly available, secure multitenant environment hosted on Cisco UCS," Emmi says.
Three Cisco UCS chassis with 24 server blades reside in IPR's production data center in Wilmington, Delaware, and another three are housed in the DR facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. Authorized personnel from both Hay Group and IPR use Cisco UCS Manager to create service profiles and later assign them to server blades over the network with a few clicks. "Cisco UCS Manager is so easy to use that our network operations team began configuring Cisco UCS server blades the day after we received access," Butler says. A single pair of Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects, wired once, connects all server blades to the data network and storage, eliminating the delays and costs of cabling as Hay Group or other tenants add new servers.
After Presidio and Cisco Advanced Services provided design and implementation services, Hay Group moved existing virtual machines and approximately 70 new virtual machines over the network to IPR's private cloud, called ZoneIT. After testing application performance in the production and DR environments and practicing DR failover, Hay Group cut over to the cloud by simply changing the DNS entry. Clients were able to access Hay Group services during the cutover, and afterwards, clients in Europe reported that web portal performance had increased by as much as 80 percent.
All 415 of Hay Group's application servers now reside in IPR's ZoneIT private cloud, including the client web portals, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, HR systems, financial systems, and file and print services. IPR uses multiple Cisco technologies to keep each tenant's applications and data separate.
Increased Availability
Hay Group can offer industry-leading SLAs for availability because IPR's cloud platform is built with completely redundant Cisco solutions. And in the event of a data center outage, IPR or Hay Group can quickly failover applications to the other center without interrupting web access for customers. "During testing, we failed over the entire application environment from the production data center to the DR data center in less than 30 minutes," says Marcia Wasserman, director of strategic accounts for IPR International.
Clients can also continue to access information during routine maintenance. When Hay Group upgrades firmware, for example, an administrator applies a service profile to provision an available blade with a few clicks, temporarily moves the virtual machines there, then moves them back to the upgraded blade. Customers experience no down time.
Increased Agility
The cloud gives Hay Group greater agility by making it easier to collect, aggregate, stage, and clean data to deliver new services to clients. "With IPR's private cloud based on Cisco UCS, we can bring up new web portals for our clients in minutes, compared to weeks when we had to provision standalone servers," says Butler. "
Cost Control
Hay Group now needs fewer servers because the 72 GB RAM on Cisco UCS server blades supports 35 virtual machines, compared to 10 to 15 on the previous platform. What's more, hosting all business units' applications and data in the cloud has enabled Hay Group to provide a DR site for all six business units for about the same cost as building a dedicated DR infrastructure for one business unit.
The firm also saves on cable and switch port costs. Previously, the 36 VMware ESX servers used 216 cables, and the 65 traditional rack-mounted web servers used 324 cables. Now all servers are consolidated onto 24 Cisco UCS server blades that connect to the data network and SAN through a single pair of Cisco UCS 6100 Fabric Interconnects using 12 cables. "With the Cisco UCS, we consolidated from 540 to 12 cables, a 44-to-1 ratio," says Butler. "The Cisco UCS 6100 Fabric Interconnect also eliminated the need to purchase additional host bus adapters and fibre channel switches to connect our new virtual machines to the storage area network, reducing costs while simplifying troubleshooting."
Operational Efficiency
The Cisco UCS platform helps IPR efficiently deliver its private cloud service to Hay Group and other customers. "Cisco UCS Manager service profiles create ongoing cost savings with less spare hardware," Wasserman says, "If a blade ever fails, we can use Cisco UCS Manager service profiles to identically configure another available blade with a few clicks."
Next Steps
Based on the success of this project, Hay Group has made it a corporate policy to move all servers that can be virtualized to the private cloud. The firm is beginning with the 250 physical servers currently hosted in global regional processing centers.
Hay Group is also planning to use the IPR ZoneIT private cloud to host virtual desktops. Cisco UCS B440 M1 blades have four sockets, "an economically attractive design because we'll be able to support more virtual desktops on a blade," Butler says.
Technical Implementation
The Cisco UCS consists of three chassis at each of IPR's two data centers. The chassis contain a mix of Cisco UCS B200 M1 and B250 M1 blade servers with 72 GB RAM, all using the Intel Xeon 5540 processor.
The Cisco UCS and Cisco Nexus switches in IPR's two data centers are configured identically, including VLAN numbering and IP addresses for virtual machines. All Cisco devices, including Cisco Nexus switches and Cisco ASA Adaptive Security Appliances, are implemented in high-availability pairs, with counterparts in the other building. "Moving applications between the two data centers simply requires changing the DNS and network pointing," says Butler.
IPR built a multicarrier, geographically diverse, high-speed private fiber network to keep the two data center facilities synchronized within 65 milliseconds. Cisco ACE Application Control Engines provide load balancing for traffic arriving over public networks, directing the traffic through Cisco switches and firewalls that IPR configured to Hay Group's specifications.


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The problem of gaining X and not X% is X is
Lame for taurog but great for Drac and GG
dislekcia wrote:We sort of adhere to the historical idea of paladins vs the super-chivalrous fantasy trope. Paladins are frenzied zealots who can do no wrong because it's literally impossible for them: Everything is forgiven.
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text: GIRLS BUCCANEERS GAME DAY TEE $27.50 GIRLS BUCCANEERS GAME DAY TEE $27.50 Choose Color: ORANGE Choose Size: XS Size Guide X XXS XS S M L XL XXL +3 *There is not enough stock. The product has been added successfully. Share X Share Facebook Pinterest Twitter Details Join the team in your favorite game day tee with a shirt tail hem and relaxed fit.


text:
Fast, French, and Fabulous
- - Per Seat
What You Will Learn
Discover the secrets of beautifully simple French bistro food that brings the signature cooking style of Parisian cafes home to your table. Our menu is full of quick and easy dishes that will let you build amazing flavor and expand your repertoire of go-to French favorites for any occasion.
Jude Affronti


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08 May 2005 03:15
My TextAmerica Moblog
I have a moblog hosted with textamerica. I walk around with my cell phone and take pictures. I then send them to an email address and they magically appear on the moblog! Check it out and start one of your own.
1 (1 marks)


text:
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As temperatures fall in autumn and winter, the cost to keep a warm home begins to rise. Winterizing is necessary to avoid freeze-related home damages and keep your heating budget manageable. Pick up a few of these tested tips, and you can help control those energy and financial leaks before they start.
This most common form of winterization involves sealing the cracks around movable joints in your home, most commonly for windows and doors. There are many kinds of weatherstripping products on the market, including vinyl, copper, aluminum, felt, reinforced foam or stainless steel.
By detecting air leaks, you can determine which windows and doors you should focus on first, and then measure the perimeters of each to know how much you will need to purchase. Additionally, it is recommended to add 5-10% in your calculations to accommodate waste from measurement or cutting errors.
Since each product is designed to work in a different area of the home, read product packaging carefully to determine if it is best suited for windows or doors, as well as indoor or outdoor use. Weatherstripping should always be applied to clean, dry surfaces and shouldn't interfere with the operation of the window or door.
Door sweeps
Many of the same manufacturers that offer weatherstripping products also make door sweeps to accommodate various sizes of doors. They are most effective when installed at the same time as weatherstripping, as they require many of the same measurements. Automatic sweeps are available for a steeper price, but are easier on carpet.
Sealing cracks
Perhaps the most quick and simple way to guard your interior against chilly breezes and pests is with a commercial sealant. They come in many varieties, including expandable foam, silicone caulking and oil or resin, among others.
Each type of sealant will have a different use, although it is recommended that you avoid sealing gaps larger than one inch. For best results, the area being sealed should be clean, dry and free of any previous sealant, and the product should be applied in one continuous line, as compared to multiple, short applications. Because some types of caulking can shrink over time, avoid being skimpy on your application.
Storm windows
If your home's windows came with additional storm panes, it is important to install them in the weeks before colder weather starts. If not, you may find it too expensive to purchase stand-alone storm windows. For a more affordable approach, plastic insulation kits can give windows of any size or shape a better insulating factor when installed on the inside of the home. Kits start at around $3 per window and usually include everything needed for installation.
Hot-water heater wrap
The majority of homes still use a single electric or gas hot-water heater for all of their hot water needs, and covering these appliances with an insulator can prevent heat from escaping during the winter months. Covers, or "blankets," can be purchased at most home improvement stores for between $35 and $70 and are easy to install without professional help. However, be certain that the placement of a blanket will not void your manufacturer's warranty.
Clean gutters
Leftover leaves and debris can cause gutters to clog, causing headaches for homeowners when the temps reach freezing. To be sure that your gutters aren't warped or broken from ice building up and expanding over the winter, do one final clean before the snow flies.
Get a furnace check-up
While this one may involve the help of a professional, it can be well worth the cost. Have your furnace or heating system inspected at least once a year, before the elements require you to turn it on. A simple inspection of the working parts can ensure that you'll have heat when you need it, and it can prevent a costly after-hours emergency call when you'd least expect it.
While you're at it, make sure your vents are clean and any filters have been changed. Your furnace professional or a helpful home store associate should be able to point you in the right direction for the type of filter you will need.
The bottom line
It's a long list, but once you've tackled all the necessary winterizing tasks, you can sit back and stay warm all winter long.