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About Dubai (DXB)
Dubai will lead you into a historical sojourn like no other place in the world. The primary history of this city's establishment is not that well documented; however, research suggests that this land is close to 4,000 years old. Modern Dubai has evolved from fishing populations, which existed along the coast of the Arabian Gulf during the 1830s. The Dubai Creek was an ancient port of trade, very busy during times of trade between Indus Valley and Mesopotamian civilizations. The historic finds that give us insight into this ancient city lie preserved as artefacts in the archaeological section of the Dubai Museum.
Dubai is the second largest emirate among the seven that exist as the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southern shore of the Gulf. The city is known to house one of the world's most curated experiences. A bustling metropolitan steeped in culture and tradition, Dubai is the epitome of the amalgamation of western luxury and mid-western morals. The region is characterized under "desert vegetation" for a reason, for the temperature here remains high all year long. Dubai enjoys a sub-tropical, arid climate. Large populations of expats live here, including Arab, Asians, and European.
How to reach Dubai
By Air – The main airport in Dubai is the Dubai International Airport. All major airlines fly to this airport on a daily basis. Emirates Airlines is the preferable and national carrier that operates flights to Dubai. The Sharjah International Airport is another important node here, although only a few airlines land and take off from there. A taxi ride from the airport to the main city costs about 50 Dirham.
By Bus – Daily buses connect Dubai to the other emirates. The Emirates Express plies on a frequented route from everywhere in the Emirates, including Sharjah, Ajman, Masafi, and Abu Dhabi.
By Road – One can drive from Oman to Dubai across the international borders without needing a permit or fee upon entering Dubai; however, an exit fee of 3,000 Omani Rial will be charged upon leaving Oman. Make sure you retain the slip as the receipt must be produced during the return trip.
What to do in Dubai
A few decades ago, Dubai was a land of strong winds carrying the desert soil over and about the vast cityscape. It used to be a land of sparsely scattered skyscrapers. Presently, however, it is a widely populated metropolitan, which houses post-modern tall buildings, and within the alleys, retains the charm of the Old Dubai Town. It is the perfect amalgamation of tradition and modernism. Explore the city, which is referred to as one of the most affluent in the world, soaking in the olden culture of the Arabs alongside the buzzing nightlife that's on offer.
Whether scouring the city's popular spots, like visiting the traditional establishments, modern architectural marvels, a man-made beach and the best flea markets in all of the Emirates, tourists to Dubai have a many options to choose from:
Burj Khalifa
Dubai Deira Fish Souk
The Dubai Mall
Old Souk
The Dubai Fountain
Palm Jumeirah
Dubai Creek
Naif Souk
Alserkal Art District in Al Quoz
The Grand Mosque
Kite Beach
Dubai Marina
The Desert
Meena Bazaar
Al Fahidi
IMG Worlds of Adventure, indoor theme park
The Dubai Canal
Madinat Jumeirah
Dubai Opera
The Walk at JBR
Dubai Safari
Jumeirah Beach
Marina Beach
Jumeirah Mosque
Many operators offer private safaris across the wildlife and desert attractions in the vicinity. For night safaris, tourists are taken to an area 20 minutes away from downtown Dubai.
Apart from safaris, ATV tours, camel rides in the dunes, and hot air balloon rides are also popular activities most enthusiasts.
Major Airports in and near Dubai
The main airport in Dubai is the Dubai International Airport. This airport connects Dubai to other emirates as well as major international destinations. All international flights to Dubai land here.
MakeMyTrip offers a wide range of flights to Dubai. One can easily use the website to book a flight to Dubai or from Dubai, with the major airport being a hub to domestic and international airlines. MakeMyTrip flights to Dubai can be availed at highly discounted rates during festivals and off seasons.
About Lima (LIM)
Overlooking the Pacific Ocean and laying on the desert coast, Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. This beautiful city is nestled in thew valleys of Chillon, Rimac and Lurin Rivers. The history of this place traces back to pre-Columbian era. Mounted at an elevation of 1,600ft above the mean sea level, the land comprises clusters of isolated hills. Despite its location in the tropics and desert, Lima has a climate that is pleasantly mild. Lima abounds with structures that were built during 16th, 17th and further centuries. Raised in 16th century, Iglesia de Santo Domingo and its monasteries are beautiful masterpieces. Casa Aliaga and Santuario de Santa Rosa de Lima are two magnificent structures built during 5th and 17th centuries respectively. Then there are two historical mansions, Casa de la Riva and Casa Pilatos, which feature wooden balconies, elegant patio and antique furnishing. The land has one important archaeological site, Pachacamac; this is a pre-Columbian citadel built around AD 100. Other one is Huaca Huallamarca that dates to AD 200 to AD 500. Lima has a large number of museums, each one of them featuring distinct style of building, unique patterning, dating to different centuries. Decorated with subtle carving, ceramic insertions, ornate ceilings, complex weaving, and so much more the structures make the visitors spellbound. Cast a look at Museo Rafael Larco Herrea, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Museo Taurino, Museo de Historia Natural and Convento de Los Descalzos. Apart from historical, there are numerous galleries that display art by contemporary artists, academics, collection of artifacts and mosaics. Visit Museo de Arte de Lima, Museo de Arte Italiano and cAsa de Riva Aguero. The city offers to the visitors so many options for entertainments. There are bars, live music centres, clubs, pubs, beer halls, chillouts, cinema and gay or lesbian counters. Cast in different theme, decorated with artistic decor, the bars and clubs dish out the lip smacking food and delicious drinks. Juanito's, Tai Lounge, Media Naranja, Wahios, Tequila Rocks, Teatriz and Senor Frogs are few favored places. Lima is also a great place to go on shopping spree. Wayo Whilar, La Mar and La Casa de la Mujer Artesana Manuela Ramos are few famous shopping complexes. Book online affordable travel packages to Lima from MakeMyTrip.com. Being India's leading online travel portal, you can get here cheap flight tickets, affordable hotel bookings, choicest of destinations and much more.


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After years of playing a game of whack-a-mole with book stuffing cheaters in Kindle Unlimited (KU), Amazon has finally brought down the hammer.
Yesterday Amazon suspended the KDP accounts belonging to about a half-dozen of the more notorious KU scam artists.
Tia Siren, Cassandra Dee, Rye Hart, Alexis Angel, Juliana Conners, Eva Luxe are just a few of the names that are well-known in the author community for playing fast and loose with Amazon's rules and getting away with it. But, as of yesterday afternoon, these "authors" have joined Chance Carter in getting banned from KDP. All of their books have been removed from the Kindle Store.
If you are thinking the Kindle Store looks a little less scummy today, you're not wrong. Some major stuffers - including some of the very biggest - are GONE: Cassandra Dee, Tia Siren, Rye Hart, Juliana Conners, Eva Luxe, and Alexis Angel. Let's hope it's permanent. #getloud pic.twitter.com/MRZArHWDLQ
— David Gaughran (@DavidGaughran) June 26, 2018
A quick check of the Kindle Store revealed that other authors including Sierra Sparks, Julianna Conners, and Katie Ford appear to have also swept up in yesterday's action. I do not have evidence or even an accusation that they were cheaters, so I will merely note that they are gone. (Amazon makes mistakes—lots of them— so I won't conclude anyone is guilty without evidence.)
We do not know the specific reason that each of these authors have been removed from the Kindle Store, but at least some of them were cheating in Kindle Unlimited.Cassandra Dee, for example, is a book stuffing pro who was going to be the guest of honor in a post I had planned to publish next week. Dee was so successful that they had a book in the top 20 in the Kindle Store best-seller list. (But now Dee is gone, and that post is history.)
Dee had been using various tricks to take advantage of loopholes in KU rules for years. Their latest trick was to stuff multiple novels into a single Kindle eBook, and then convince their followers to click through the ebook one page at a time until the end.
Amazon recently tried to put the kibosh on that book stuffing trick by changing the rules to limit "bonus" content to 10% of an eBook's length, but cheaters like Dee got around that by labeling their existing stuffed eBooks as "compilations".
Any single novel might be included in as many as five or six other eBooks, often bumping the page count to the payout limit of 3,000 pages. With KU royalties hovering around a half cent per page, this gives the cheaters a potential payday of close to $15 should they get a reader to click through to the end of the book.*
False Identities and Outsourced Writing
This might seem like it is too tedious for most readers to bother, but many of the con artists are men who have an almost cult-like ability to attract and motivate fans. And yes, in some cases they are actually men who don female pseudonyms as part of their con, while others pretend to be gay authors.
It is quite common for the cheaters to be well-organized operations where the actual writing is done by ghost writers. According to a source who will remain nameless, the cheats contract out the writing through freelance sites like Upwork.
"It took some time to get some proof together by going through Upwork where I would contract and interview for jobs but not take them," I was told by my source in an email. "I would interview for m/m or urban fiction jobs and figure out that they were content farms where the real entity putting them out was trying to create a brand based on a false persona of a gay author or an author of color without letting people know." **
I will not be naming that source because they have already been the target of harassment, including doxxing, by the cultish fans of these pseudo authors (or possibly the authors themselves). Some trolls have even gone so far as to create sockpuppet Twitter accounts solely for the purpose of harassing women who speak up against the cheating in the Kindle Store.
In case .@bsh8ters tells you different about bullying---threatening to slap my girlfriend, "the bitch" #getloud #stayloud #cockygate #fightlikearomanceauthor #misogyny #ImNotASockPuppet pic.twitter.com/k8FUiFFvzy
— Ivy Quinn (@ivyquinnauthor) June 17, 2018
I myself have not been bothered at all; in keeping with standard internet misogyny, only women are being targeted. (David Gaughran has caught flack from the sockpuppets, but I do not recall ever seeing threats of violence directed at him.)
Book Stuffing Not the End of Cheating on KU
One might hope the book stuffing scammers getting booted from the Kindle Store would mean the end of the story, but that isn't going to happen. The cheaters will regroup, examine the current rules in Kindle Unlimited, and then find new loopholes they can exploit.
For example, due to defects in Amazon's algorithms, there are ways to manipulate an eBook's formatting so that you can maximize the page count. If there is a way to systematize that manipulation, the cheaters will find it.
After all, they have a financial incentive to do so.
* Some authors believe that removing the cheaters from Kindle Unlimited will result in increased royalty payments to the remaining authors. Given that Amazon arbitrarily sets the funding pool each month and kept the per-page rate near half a cent, it is much more likely that Amazon will reduce the amount of money in the funding pool, and keep the difference.
** I have trouble condemning the practice of ghost-written books in and of itself; it is a long-established industry practice that has been around for as long as the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series have been in print.
Nate Hoffelder has been building and running WordPress sites since 2010. He blogs about indie publishing, and helps authors connect with readers by customizing websites to suit each author's voice. In his spare time, he fosters dogs for A Forever Home, a local rescue group. You can find him over at The Digital Reader, or on Twitter.
If you aren't already a member of BookWorks, please visit check us out for more great content like this and join our community of indie authors, editors, coaches, designers, marketers, bloggers and other self-publishing pros.

subset: commoncrawl


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Enterprises are often forced to implement multiple moving parts as the traditional network perimeter is no longer sufficient to protect against modern threats. These disjointed security solutions rarely talk to each other, causing security silos and an overwhelming number of distracting security alerts, Preempt CEO Ajit Sancheti explains in a podcast this week.
Stolen or compromised credentials pose well-known risks to organizations and their employees. And as hackers and other malicious actors become more advanced and sophisticated in their techniques, the global threat is increasing. At a recent IT security conference, I spoke with a customer about an alert (TA18-276A) that the United States National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) released late last year. The alert, titled "Using Rigorous Credential Control to Mitigate Trusted Network Exploitation," outlines recommendations on how to overcome these challenges. In this blog, I'll discuss how Conditional Access and detection of malicious use of tools and protocols can address the NCCIC's recommendations.
The alert provides information on how Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actors are using multiple mechanisms to acquire legitimate user credentials. Once acquired, attackers can use the credentials to exploit trusted network relationships, in order to expand unauthorized access, maintain persistence, and exfiltrate data from targeted organizations. Some of the suggested NCCIC best practices for administrators to mitigate these threats include rigorous credential controls and privileged-access management, as well as remote-access control and audits of legitimate remote-access logs.
Topics: User Behavior, Risk, Multi-factor Authentication, Privileged Accounts, APT, User and Entity Behavior Analytics, Credential Compromise, Compliance
UPDATE (Jan. 25): Recent news reports state a deal has been reached to re-open the federal government through Feb 15. The issues outlined in this blog continue to apply to public and private sector organizations.
As many of you may have read in the news recently, the government shutdown has had a negative impact on both federal and enterprise security. Krebs on Security has reported possible consequences of the government shutdown on the talent pool, such as federal employees actively being recruited by the private sector, as well as delays on security clearances. Duo Security's news arm, Decipher, has also done a great job laying out potential government shutdown impacts on enterprise security, including delays on NIST guidelines and standards, and closure of FIPS validation sites.
Topics: Risk, Credential Compromise, Hacking
The 2010 discovery of the Stuxnet worm was one of the truly seminal moments in the world of cybersecurity. The world saw firsthand how malicious code could cause crippling damage to physical assets. Virtually every industry had to stop and take notice, and none more so than the energy sector.
NTLM (NT LAN Manager) is Microsoft's old authentication protocol that was replaced with Kerberos starting Windows 2000. It was designed and implemented by Microsoft engineers for the purpose of authenticating accounts between Microsoft Windows machines and servers. Even though it has not been the default for Windows deployments for more than 17 years, it is still very much in use, and I have not yet seen a network where it has been completely abandoned. In fact, it also supported by the latest version of Active Directory.
Topics: Risk, Active Directory, NTLM, kerberos
After an organization has been breached, one of the most critical steps to take is to determine the root cause and to take active steps to more proactively protect the business. Recently, Preempt was brought in to help a Fortune 500 company with a critical internal threat situation. A malicious actor was able to move laterally within the company's environment, threatening its international brand, financials and customer relationships. Capitalizing on lessons learned during and after incident response provides immediate and long-term benefits to prevent future breaches. These takeaways can also provide valuable advice for other companies who are looking to improve their security posture and prevent business critical attacks. Here, we'll share the story and outline the top three lessons.
Preempt began with a basic premise: Effective security within an enterprise should combine threat detection and real time response within a single solution. As enterprises transition to the cloud and the perimeter disappears, identity is the new perimeter. If identity is the new perimeter, access management from a security standpoint can lead to effective threat prevention. That simple but powerful idea was the genesis of Preempt and has given us the opportunity to solve challenging security problems for our customers.
Topics: Risk, Threat Detection, Adaptive Threat Prevention
Cyber security is a complex animal that requires many disciplines and a diverse toolkit. Typically, resources are limited, and incident response and security staff are overloaded with noise, irrelevant alerts and incomplete static information. With so many diverse systems its difficult to utilize them in a coordinated and timely way.
Topics: Risk, Insider Threat, Identity, Adaptive Threat Prevention, Integration
At the recent Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, analysts presented their findings on the top technologies for information security and their implications for security organizations in 2018. At the event Neil MacDonald highlighted Top 10 Security Projects for Security and Risk Management Organizations. He continues by emphasizing that these are projects with real supporting technologies that CISOs should be exploring.
Topics: Risk, Credential Compromise, ueba, Threat Detection, CARTA
Topics: Risk, Identity, Informaton Security


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This week I wanted to sing through a lot of the songs in the Children's Songbook on mothers with a fun dress-up activity called "What's Different About Mother?". What's great is this activity can be done with ANY song(s) so feel free to review your program songs or even tweak it so it fits for Father's Day!
The songs we'll be singing are: Grandmother p. 200, I Often Go Walking p. 202, My Mother Dear p. 203, Mother, Tell Me the Story p. 204, Mother Dear p. 206, Dearest Mother, I Love You p. 206, Mother, I Love You p. 207, The Dearest Names p. 208
It's important to note that this activity will only be exposing the kids to a variety of new songs (songs that we hardly ever sing and that they probably don't know). So since they won't be memorizing or learning the words, the activity will focus on lots of listening to the songs and reading the words if they know how to read.
But that said, you can sing any songs that you like with this activity so feel free to review all of your program songs you've learned for the year if need be.
To prepare, bring LOTS of items that moms use like:
Lipstick (the brighter, the better!)
High heels and tennis shoes
Broach or pin (do you like my "Mom Off Duty" pin!? I do!!)
Rubber gloves
Hair ribbons/clips/curlers
Jewelry (rings, necklaces, bracelets, etc.)
Car keys
What am I missing? Help add to my list by commenting below!
Then you'll need to find yourself a "mother." Someone who's a good sport in your ward (may be the primary president) - or simply dress up yourself! Before primary, put most of the items on! Keep items off that would be good to switch (like a purse for a cookbook, heels for tennis shoes, rubber gloves for gardening gloves or eventually adding lipstick).
Before primary, you'll want to have a place where you can swap items - either out in the hall, or behind the chalkboard.
For the activity, tell the primary there are LOTS of songs in the songbook about mothers that we don't regularly sing! Today they will be using their eyes and ears to watch for what's different in "mother's" wardrobe as they listen and sing all the Mother's Day songs in the songbook.
Post all the words like I do HERE:
Play the first song on CD or phone/speaker OR the LDS sing-along app (details HERE) and have the primary sing the song as you (or your "mother") step into the hall to change something on your wardrobe (choose something more subtle for the older kids and something easier for the younger). If you are the one dressing up, ask for assistance from a presidency member to lead the song for you while you change or even ask a primary child to be a helper.
When you come back into the room, have the primary finish singing the song. Then ask the primary, "What's different about Mother?" Once guessed, repeat with a new song (optional) and new items. Repeat until all the songs have been sung.
If you want another idea that incorporates dressing up, check out my post HERE. Make sure to scroll through all of my Mother's Day singing time lesson plans HERE for more ideas!


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Attention spans are getting shorter. The days of capturing the eyes of millions of people for a :30s TV commercial are gone.
This is the age of programmatic banner ads and pre-roll video that split the attention of the viewer between the content they came to consume and the brand advertising they didn't. So how do you win when you can't guarantee the average adult's attention for more than 8 seconds? You go short. Really short. 6 seconds, short.
That's less time than it takes to enter your email password. Less time than it takes to unlock your phone and make a call. So how can you create a video that captures your brand and encourages your audience to take action in 6 seconds or less?
1. Laser focus.
If you can't tell your story in 6 seconds or less to your friend, you can't make a video about it. This tactic is an upper funnel awareness play. It's not about engagement as much as it is about recall. It's important to be tightly positioned and understand your audience and your goals. What do you exist to do? What do you want the person who sees this ad to come away with? If you aren't positioned, you won't see results.
2. Start with the familiar.
The key to making a 6 second video work is to immerse the viewer in something they find instantly familiar. Unfortunately, 6 seconds does not allow you the gift of context or explanation. Whether it's a celebrity they recognize, a powerful visual or a child's face, they need to dive into something they immediately understand.
3. Stick to one message.
This is not a place to try and convey multiple messages. Stick to one aspect of your brand to tell the story. What is most meaningful to your audience? Is it that you're organic? Is it that you're sustainable? Is it that your product is hand-crafted in Italy? It can't be all three. Pick one thing, distill it to the most meaningful message and hammer it hard.
4. Understand the platform
The thing about the 6 second ad is that it is pretty much ubiquitous among all platforms. They work well on TV, as pre-roll, as programmatic display, or on social. So where do you plan to run them? If digitally, make sure they are sound agnostic and easy to see. Your video needs to speak the language of the end user. Are you going for mobile users? Create something in a vertical, mobile aspect ratio.
5. Sequence the customer journey.
The most important part of incorporating a 6 second video into your strategy is to make sure you create its teammates of content that guide the user down the customer journey. In the upper funnel, the 6 second video is a great way to spread awareness with prospects. Retarget them later with longer form content that dives deeper into your brand and your product line. Then, come back with more short form videos that hit on different messaging points and start the process over.
Creating something that engages audiences is the most important part of a short form advertisement. In an advertising landscape where brands are literally fighting for the attention of their audiences, you need to go beyond the sell and become entertainment.
Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash


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Vijaya Choker
Not every moment of every day can be lived in jubilation, but those moments, those days when they come, the pursuit of them, and the awareness, the recognition of magic, even in a single breath, create a life of victory and achievement.
Invigorating green onyx inspires vibrant health and physical energy, as well as joy and humor, encouraging laughter and opening the heart center to both give and receive love. Red agate brings fire to your desire, and the courage and stamina needed to stay your course, to persevere. Lapis lazuli brings balance to this high energy, harmonizing and diffusing it, resulting in a deep serenity and inner knowing that holds you in a protective, empowering light, illuminating your spirit and allowing you to move confidently, creatively, and articulately through the world.


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It was rooted in frustration, and a sense of futility as I tried explaining my experiences into an all-too-narrow practice. After quite a bit of wrangling from within, I developed my own custom term and accompanying acronym: Energetically Connected Communication, or ECC for short. I now use this term to more clearly describe my process. Although it might look like FC or RPM on the surface, I have always known it had an energetic component. It is time to separate myself from methodologies which never aligned with my understanding.


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After nothing but bad luck, Melanie's ready to give up on love. She puts herself in her friends' hands and goes with them to a shibari class at Venture. Seems her luck changes when she meets Kirby and his fraternal twin brother, Davis.
Kirby and Davis are immediately smitten. While fully independent, Davis falls on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Even better, Kirby realizes Melanie seems to understand Davis in a way few people ever have. Davis knows he's not the easiest person to live with, but Melanie soothes his mind in a way like no one else. He's willing to do anything to make this work.
As the three of them settle into their dynamic, Melanie can't believe she's got not one, but two sexy Doms of her dreams. But when a jealous ex and a deeply buried family secret both explode at the same time, will it jeopardize the happiness that finally seems within their grasp?
Here we are Suncoast Society fans, book 42. If you are following my reviews, yes, I owe you a couple, and I'll definitely get to them. As a matter of fact, I intend to start from the beginning. While I started the series there, my reviews started much later, so I'll be making up for that.
Ask DNA is a MFM book, which is one of my favorite combos to read. , especially when it's two male Doms and a female sub. Everyone has their preference, MF is another favorite (male Dom, female sub), I'll even take MMF, I won't bother spelling that out for you. This is just my preference, it's like BDSM itself, if we all liked the same thing, it would be pretty boring. No judgement, right?
That's one of the wonderful things about this series, it has every combo under the sun, every dynamic, doms, dommes, subs, sadists, oh my! And I read them all, even if MM is not my thing, I still LOVE the stories! As I've said before, It feels like a family, like my pretend family.
I wondered how Davis was going to end up as a dom, but as I got more into discovering his character, it made a lot of sense that he would take to it like a duck to water. I don't want to ruin anything, but Davis has mild Autism, and his way of dealing with it and his journey just make sense. Tymber does a fantastic job handling this particular affliction, as she has with others in past books. (my favorite was Two Against Nature with Holly and Walt)
Of course, we have some old favorites show up, which is always fun. And…the drama that shows up to throw the proverbial wrench in the socket. But you have to have the rain to get the rainbow right?
This book gets 5 Smoking Orgasms
Suncoast Society Series Reading Order
The Suncoast Society is a contemporary BDSM series set in and around Sarasota in west central Florida, and focuses mostly on a group of friends who have the fictional BDSM club Venture in common. The books are all standalone and can be read independently from each other, but to avoid any spoilers, the best reading order for the Suncoast Society series is as follows:
- Safe Harbor (mmf, Mac, Sully, and Clarisse)
- Domme by Default (mf, him and Her)
- Cardinal's Rule (mmf, Tilly, Landry, and Cris)
- The Reluctant Dom (mfm, Seth, Leah, and Kaden)
- The Denim Dom (mf, Tony and Shayla)
- Pinch Me (mf, Rob and Laura)
- Broken Toy (mf, Bill and Gabe)
- A Clean Sweep (mfmm, Essie, Mark, Josh, & Ted)
- A Roll of the Dice (mf, Mike and Jenny)
- His Canvas (mf, Askel and Mallory)
- A Lovely Shade of Ouch (mf, Gilo and Abbey)
- Crafty Bastards (mmf, Cali, Sean, and Max)
- A Merry Little Kinkmas (various) [party book]
- Sapiosexual (mfm, Chelbie, Nick, Richard)
- A Very Kinky Valentine's Day (various) [party book]
- Things Made Right (mf, Ross and Loren)
- Click (various)
- Spank or Treat (various, Seth and Leah, various) [party book]
- A Turn of the Screwed (mmf, Keith, Scott, and Noel)
- Chains (mmf, Rebecca, Logan, and Toby)
- Kinko de Mayo (various, Cali, Max, Sean, various) [party book]
- Broken Arrow (mmf, Brooke, Cody, and Justin)
- Out of the Spotlight (mmf, Lucas, Leigh, and Nick) [Note: Events lead into book 24.)
- Friends Like These (various) [Note: Events lead into book 25.]
- Vicious Carousel (mmf, Betsy, Kenny, and Nolan) [Note: Picks up where book 24 leaves off.]
- Hot Sauce (mmf, Vanessa, Reed, & Lyle)
- Open Doors (mf, Marcia & Derrick & history of Venture, introduces Amelia from One Ring)
- One Ring (mfm, Don, Amelia, Carl)
- Vulnerable (mm, Leo and Jesse)
- The Strength of the Pack (mf, Eva, Nate, a direct sequel to Vulnerable)
- Initiative (mmf, Susie Costello, Darryl, Grant)
- Impact (mmf, Tilly, Cris, and Landry)
- Liability (mmf, Kim, Cole, Mason)
- Switchy (mmf, Em, Jarred, Garrison)
- Rhymes With Orange (mmmf, Ned, Dani, Hunter, Todd)
- Beware Falling Ice (mf, Rachel, Andrew) [South Dakota Trilogy 1]
- Beware Falling Rocks (mf, Lynn, Paul) [South Dakota Trilogy 2]
- Dangerous Curves Ahead (mmm, Justin, Wade, Glen) [South Dakota Trilogy 3]
- Two Against Nature (mf, Holly, Walt)
- Home at Last (mm, Ben, Jake)
- A Kinkmas Carol (various, Coming 12/23/2016, Seth, Kaden, Leah, & others) [party book]
- Ask DNA (mfm, Coming 01/09/2017, Kirby, Davis, Melanie)
- Time Out of Mind (mm, Coming 01/23/2017, Doyle, Mevi)
- Happy Valenkink's Day (various, Coming 02/06/2017, Tilly, Landry, Cris, Leigh, Lucas, nick, Rusty, Eliza, various) [party book]
- Splendid Isolation (mm, Coming Soon, Everett, Wiley)


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Time to have an experienced professional oversee your accounting processes?
While accurate reporting, financial statements, and business processes may not be your expertise or core service, they serve as the heartbeat of every organization. And when they aren't working as they should, or even could, it impacts every aspect of your business.
Whether you need assistance on an interim, part-time or permanent basis, MarksNelson can develop a custom outsourced controller solution designed just for your firm, including:


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You've Got Phone!
Verizon buying AOL for $4.4 billion is…. Well, it's the biggest thing to happen since America Online acquired Time Warner for $182 billion in stock and debt 15 years ago! Sure, I know these ancient history lessons are only so instructive, but this one is rich with irony. In 2000, Time Warner was the company with the content and America Online (which is what AOL was still commonly called then) had the digital distribution. At the time, CNN Money (no impartial observer) breathlessly said that the "largest deal in history" combined "…the nation's top internet service provider with the world's top media conglomerate." Now AOL is the company with the content, and Verizon is the acquiring party with the distribution. Distribution always seems to win, doesn't it?
The Drift is proudly underwritten this week by comScore. Are you getting skewed? If you aren't taking NHT out of your measurement – including viewability and in-target numbers – you may be. comScore can help you keep it real. Learn more about the difference that sophisticated NHT, audience and viewability measurement can make to your bottom line: www.comscore.com/Why-NHT-Matters
While $4.4 billion may not seem as cool as $182 billion, it appears the money may actually be real this time. And the deal validates a point that can no longer be disputed: Mobile IS the game now. And the shift to mobile-first thinking will be as jarring and disorienting to first generation digital execs as the shift to digital thinking was for magazine publishers and broadcasters.
The initial strategy at times like this is always to re-purpose what you already know how to do for the medium you don't yet understand. The first TV shows were radio shows in front of a camera. The first MTV videos were claustrophobic, single set performances by rock stars. The first websites were magazine pages with hyperlinks. And our first pass at mobile has been to throw banners and interstitials and short form videos at the smaller screen. And soon we'll look back at this era like a long-forgotten photo from our youth. ("I can't believe I ever thought THAT haircut was cool!")
So Verizon's here. They don't think like we do. But they get the needs of a mobile consumer better than we do. AT&T's here as well. Remember last year when they bought DirecTV? Keep that little deal in mind alongside this one. The world of media and advertising lives inside a snow globe and it's just starting to get a good shake. Anyone who thinks the Verizon-AOL deal was just about Verizon and AOL needs to think again. It's about all of us and the future we must confront sooner than we know.
Can you hear me now?


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No, not the Clapper - the Clap. What do you get the kid who has everything? Well, thanks to the folks at giantmicrobes.com you can now get them a plush toy resembling their favorite disease of the past (plague), present (the flu), or potential terror of the future (ebola).
Don't forget about the family dogs as well.
Hat tip a friend at the CDC who point these little fellows out.


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Taste of Travel: Food, Stories & Photos from around the World, Fall 2017, BATW's second culinary-based book, has launched and is now gaining momentum.
If you haven't done so yet, download this exceptional publication as a free PDF here: (no strings attached–ignore the message that reads, "free with print purchase"). With its many photos, it takes time to download. Or, you can also purchase the 4-color printed book for $18.40.
Then: Please help spread the word about our new book on Facebook and other social media – keep the momentum going!


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The link between weight and Blood Alcohol Concentration
What hazards await motorcyclists on the road?
Before you leave the house on your motorcycle, you must know what hazards lie in wait for you on the roads of Illinois. A better understanding of these things may help you avoid them and ride safely all year long.
The real threat of drowsy driving
You've probably felt yourself growing tired behind the wheel before. The sound of the road and the passing of the lines create a monotonous, endless repetition that can start to put you to sleep, especially if you were already tired when you got in the car. If you've been there, you should know that this is actually pretty common in Illinois and all across the United States.


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Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
I have twin 3 1/2 year old girls who are potty trained when it comes to "number 1." However, they will not go "number 2" on the potty. They are not potty trained for bedtime, so they wear diapers at naptime or bedtime. Even though my wife and I will have them sit on the potty to attempt "number 2," they will hold it in until a diaper goes on them for bedtime. As soon as the diaper goes on, they almost immediately go "number 2." Does anybody have any suggestions?
By Scott
It will just eventually happen I have trained seven kids so each one is different. They will just eventually start keep encouraging them. Try to catch them when you know they are starting to have a bowel movement, put them on the potty and praise them! You can try putting them on the potty every 30 minutes. Try to keep track of their bowel habits this will help you know when they might go. Good luck! Be patient.
Have you tried putting a step up stool at the toilet? Most people need to have their feet 'firmly on the ground' to successfully erm, deposit solid waste.
I promise you in another year they will go on the pot. The problem is you missed the "window" which should have been a year ago for starting the training.
I have a 4 year old and he starts school in September, but he can't stop wetting himself. I tell him everyday, every couple of hours, and I even tell his nursery teachers. I've been to the doctor's and everything seems normal. I just don't know what to do.
I've punished him, for example, I took his DS, television, and toys out of his room, the lot. I have rewarded him for going to the toilet, but yet nothing seems to be working. I don't know what to do I'm at my wits end!
By shell
Don't punish him. He can't help it. He isn't doing it on purpose.
I've heard some parents say when they switch the child from cow's milk to soy milk, the problem goes away.
This is what my daughter did. She had our grandson (age 4) try to pee in the toilet by using cheerios or fruit loops(placed in the toilet water) and told him to aim for the middle and sink them like a battleship. He thought this was great fun and couldn't wait to go potty. She rewarded him with a cookie, even if he had to go around dinner time, a reward is a reward. Please do not punish him.
I have a six year old who has days where she will continually wet herself. The problem is if she's fully engrossed in something she doesn't pick up on the signal that she needs the loo, until its too late. So she will wet herself. However, at school she hardly has any accidents.
When my little girl has an accident I just give her clean clothes to change into. There is no point in chastising her for something she has no control over.
Ever since my daughter was 3 she used the potty with little effort. She did use a diaper at night. She always waited to poop until I put the diaper on her.
Now at 4 1/2 she refuses to sit on the potty. She says she is scared. After trying everything from rewards, to talking to her, I held her on the potty for 45 minutes, she screamed the entire time, I started to get worried someone would think I was hurting her and gave up.
There are also a lot of changes we have been going through lately. I do not know what to do to help my daughter use the potty. Please help.
By Dawn Heath from Myrtle Beach, SC
My daughter uses a chart hanging in the bathroom and when her child goes she gets a sticker to place on the chart. after a certain number of successes she gets to have a small prize. So far so good.
My 2 1/2 year old runs around with no diaper, pants or underwear while we are at home. If he says he needs a diaper, I know he needs to poop so I make it fun and say don't you run to the potty, I have to go first, don't beat me to it. It's working.
Try putting him backwards on the toilet. Buy a few hot wheels {or some special car he wants} but ONLY allow him to play with them on the toilet tank while he "going" and no other time.
You can also add some special books that he only gets to read/play with when he is on the pot. A lot of kids feel like they are going to "fall in" when they sit on the toilet forward and by putting him on the pot backwards he can lean against the tank and feel secure. He will also be able to climb up onto the pot by himself this way, it worked for my son and my nephew.
I have a 6 year old boy who refuses to poop on the potty, he will pee in it just fine. When it comes to pooping he will hide and go in his pants. I have tried everything from bribery, taking favorite things away, time out, candy, money, toys, cleaning himself up, and washing out his underwear. I have tried gating him in the bathroom, making him sit on it after school, and talking to his DR.
My Dr. said everything I have tried should have worked. He normally doesn't do it at school. I am at my wits end. He will go if he wants something, but after he gets it he will poop in his pants. He will push a little out in the toilet and as soon as he sees you are busy he will go hide and do it in his underwear. He will do it in the bathroom in front of the toilet, but not in it. If anyone could please help me, I will be very happy. Thank you.
By stacey Ruggero from Ludington, MI
I took care of a child who did this years ago. The parents finally had to get the child into counseling with a child physiologist.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I have a 6 year old boy who refuses to poop on the potty, he will pee in it just fine. When it comes to pooping he will hide and go in his pants. I have tried everything from bribery, taking favorite things away, time out, candy, money, toys, cleaning himself up, and washing out his underwear. I have tried gating him in the bathroom, making him sit on it after school, and talking to his Dr.
My Dr. said everything I have tried should have worked. He normally doesn't do it at school. I am at my wits end. He will go if he wants something, but after he gets it he will poop in his pants. He will push a little out in the toilet and as soon as he sees you are busy he will go hide and do it in his underwear. He will do it in the bathroom in front of the toilet, but not in it. If anyone could please help me, I will be very happy. Thank you.
By stacey Ruggero from Ludington, MI
Try getting a stool for his feet that will put his knees a little above his bottom when he is on the toilet. He can push down and that will make his bowels move easier. I learned this by accident with my son many years ago.
Hope this will be a help.
Dr Phil talked about this on his show once. He said when it comes to kids, you can't control what goes in their mouths and you can't control when and what comes out the other end. Some kids are just stubborn and it's their way of showing you they're in control. My grandson was probably 8 years old and still doing this. He will quit, but only when he gets ready unless it happens to be a medical problem which sounds like it's not. If I were you I'd probably try not to make too big of an issue of it. I think boys just don't care how much they stink or what others think. My grandson didn't. (06/07/2010)
By Betty
I know you said you talked to the Dr., but was he ever checked for internal tears or any other medical problem? We had this problem with our son and granddaughters. They would hold it for days. They were checked and had tears. It seems that when they stand to go they have more control of the pain. I guess it smooshes it more. I know gross. We gave them mineral oil and it seemed to soften the stools and soon they realize it doesn't hurt anymore and they go on the potty. Good luck!
EJin PA (06/08/2010)
If there is nothing physically wrong with him and he's not constipated (making it hurt to go), then I would say this is a control issue. My middle child (who was then the youngest), had leukemia as a toddler. When it came to potty training he absolutely refused to use it no matter what we tried. We finally had a Dr. who told us it was a control issue because he felt so out of control in the rest of his life with everything that was being done to him, that this was the only thing he could control. So we left him alone until a month before he started preschool at 4 1/2. I had already explained that he couldn't go to school if he didn't use the potty, but it didn't help. Finally, I took him to the store to buy his pull-ups and told him it was the last package I was buying and when they were gone he had to wear "big boy pants". A couple of times with dirty/wet underwear and he was "trained".
I know this won't work if your son doesn't care if he is rewarded or has to clean up after himself, etc. He knows better and can control himself, or he would do the same thing at school. I think the more of a struggle there is, the more he's going to resist you, he is controlling this situation and possibly pushing your buttons also.
My suggestion would be to take a really careful look at what is going on in his life right now and see if there is anything, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, that is frightening, upsetting, or stressful to him. Any changes in family life or with family members or friends? What about school, any changes there? It could also be school itself, that can be very stressful and frightening to kids even when they are excited about it, not to mention they are always being told what to do there. Did he go to daycare or preschool? Sometimes just leaving mom and going to school can trigger some things.
Also, maybe if you let him make as many choices for himself, give him a couple of choices in clothes he wears, PJs, snacks, activities, etc. Let him feel he has a little more control in his life, it might help.
The opposite could be true also. Does he have all the control? I have met parents who are good-intentioned, but allow their young children to do whatever they want with no restrictions or limits. Those children will act out also and are begging for someone else to take some control of their lives.
Obviously this is a very stressful situation for you and I can sure understand that. But the more upset and stressed you are, the more control your son has over the situation. Take a deep breath and regroup, come up with another plan. Here is what I would maybe try:
He knows he can "poop" just a bit for a reward, so stop rewarding him. Stop bribing him, don't threaten him. Take as much stress from the situation away as you can. He's old enough to understand and reason with. Explain to him that you are tired of fighting with him over it. Remind him that "big" kids and adults don't ever potty in their pants and they don't get rewarded for using the toilet, it's just something you have to do. Tell him firmly and calmly that if he wants to act like a baby and poop in his pants, then he has to wear a diaper like a baby. If he says he doesn't want to, give him a chance to try, but if he continues, then go buy diapers or plain training pull-ups (nothing cute!) and make him wear them when he is not at school (he seems to control himself with no problem there and you don't want to embarrass him). If he argues, don't make it sound like a punishment, just firmly and calmly re-explain that babies who poop in their pants have to wear diapers until they learn not to.
This could work, unless the issue is that it's hard to be a "big boy" at school and he needs to be a "baby" at home, in which case it could make it worse.
Also, don't be afraid to talk to the counselor at your son's school, they could give you some good suggestions. A therapist could help also if the situation isn't a physical problem.
Good luck, I know this is rough, but don't be embarrassed or beat yourself over it, try to stay calm and see if the situation can be resolved with time and the advice of all the wise people here and around you.
Too bad things can't always be easy when raising your kids. I had a cousin who tried everything they could think of to break their son of his "binky", even taking him to a psychiatrist. At age 5, his teeth were becoming crooked when my grannie went to visit. She looked him in the eye and said "If you don't suck on that thing anymore, I'll give you $20 when I come back to visit". He threw the thing away and when she came back 6 months later, he proudly collected his $20 bill! LOL!
My daughter is 4, we have been having troubles with potty training. She is fine when it comes to peeing in the potty, but won't poop in the potty. She would rather go in her panties.
My son is 6 and is in kindergarten. He will not under any circumstances poop in the toilet. I am so baffled. I've tried everything. I don't know what else to do. I feel like a complete failure.


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Herbal Drugs
& Foods
1. Aloe vera -
Aloe vera (/ˈæloʊiː/ or /ˈæloʊ/) is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula but grows wild in tropical climates around the world and is cultivated for agricultural and medicinal uses. The species is also used for decorative purposes and grows successfully indoors as a potted plant. It is found in many consumer products including beverages, skin lotion, cosmetics, or ointments for minor burns and sunburns. There is little scientific evidence of the effectiveness or safety of Aloe vera extracts for either cosmetic or medicinal purposes. Studies finding positive evidence are frequently contradicted by other studies.
Aloe vera is used in traditional medicine as a skin treatment. In Ayurvedic medicine it is called kathalai, as are extracts from agave. Early records of Aloe vera use appear in the Ebers Papyrus from the 16th century BC, and in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica and Pliny the Elder's Natural History – both written in the mid-first century AD. It is also written of in the Juliana Anicia Codex of 512 AD. The plant is used widely in the traditional herbal medicine of many countries.
Uses - Widely used herb for centuries as a treatment for minor burns and is increasingly being used in products for internal consumption.
2. Bitter Orange (Citrus -)
The extract of bitter orange (and bitter orange peel) has been marketed as dietary supplement purported to act as a weight-loss aid and appetite suppressant. Bitter orange contains the tyramine metabolites N-methyltyramine, octopamine and synephrine, substances similar to epinephrine, which act on the α1 adrenergic receptor to constrict blood vessels and increase blood pressure and heart rate. Several low-quality clinical trials have had results of p-Synephrine (alone or in combination with caffeine or some other substances) increasing weight loss slightly.
Bitter orange may have serious drug interactions with drugs such as statins in a similar way to the long list of grapefruit–drug interactions.
Following bans on the herbal stimulant ephedra in the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere, bitter orange has been substituted into "ephedra-free" herbal weight-loss products by dietary supplement manufacturers. Like most dietary supplement ingredients, bitter orange has not undergone formal safety testing, but it is believed to cause the same spectrum of adverse events (harmful side-effects) as ephedra.
Uses - Bitter orange peel and its constituent synephrine have adrenergic activity and may result in cardiovascular or other adverse effects similar to those induced by ephedra alkaloids.
3. Black cohosh -
A species of flowering plant of the family Ranunculaceae. It is native to eastern North America from the extreme south of Ontario to central Georgia, and west to Missouri and Arkansas. It grows in a variety of woodland habitats, and is often found in small woodland openings. The roots and rhizomes have long been used medicinally by Native Americans. Extracts from these plant materials are thought to possess analgesic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Black cohosh extracts are being studied as treatments for symptoms associated with menopause.
Black cohosh is a smooth (glabrous) herbaceous perennial plant that produces large, compound leaves from an underground rhizome, reaching a height of 25–60 cm (9.8–23.6 in). The basal leaves are up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long and broad, forming repeated sets of three leaflets (tripinnately compound) having a coarsely toothed (serrated) margin. The flowers are produced in late spring and early summer on a tall stem, 75–250 cm (30–98 in) tall, forming racemes up to 50 cm (20 in) long.
Uses - Used to treat symptoms of pre-menstrual syndrome, dysmenorrhea and menopause.
4. Dong quai (Angelica sinensis root) and extract -
A herb from the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China. Angelica sinensis grows in cool high altitude mountains in China, Japan, and Korea. The yellowish brown root of the plant is harvested in fall and is a well-known Chinese medicine used over thousands of years.
Dong quai is used for menopause vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes. However, a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that dong quai was no more effective than placebo.
Potential anti-osteoporotic effects of dong quai independent of any estrogen mechanism were evaluated in rat models which showed that the extract of A. sinensis may prevent the bone loss. However, more high quality human evidence is needed to confirm same anti-osteoporotic effects of dong quai in humans.
Uses - Use as an antispasmodic or blood purifier and for reduction of pain, dilation of blood vessels, and stimulation, as well as relaxation of uterine muscles.
5. Garcinia cambogia -
One of several closely related Garcinia species from the plant family Clusiaceae. With thin skin and deep vertical lobes, the fruit of G. gummi-gutta and related species range from about the size of an orange to that of a grapefruit; G. gummi-gutta looks more like a small yellowish, greenish, or sometimes reddish pumpkin. The color can vary considerably. When the rinds are dried and cured in preparation for storage and extraction, they are dark brown or black in color.
Along the west coast of South India, G. gummi-gutta is popularly termed "Malabar tamarind", and shares culinary uses with the tamarind (Tamarindus indica). The latter is a small and the former a quite large evergreen tree. G. gummi-gutta is also called goraka or, in some areas, simply kattcha puli (souring fruit). It is called uppage in Kannada language and fruits are collected and dried for selling to dealers in Sirsi, Karnataka.
Uses - Garcinia cambogia is marketed as an ephedra-free diet aid and there is consumer exposure through increasing dietary supplement use.
6. Ginkgo biloba extract -
The use of Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts may have undesirable effects, especially for individuals with blood circulation disorders and those taking anticoagulants such as aspirin or warfarin, although studies have found ginkgo has little or no effect on the anticoagulant properties or pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy subjects.
Additional side effects include increased risk of bleeding, gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and restlessness. Ginkgo should be used with caution when combined with other herbs known to increase bleeding (e.g. garlic, ginseng, ginger).
According to a systemic review, the effects of ginkgo on pregnant women may include increased bleeding time, and it should be avoided during lactation because of inadequate safety evidence.
Uses - Ginkgo fruit and seeds have been used medicinally for thousands of years to promote improved blood flow, and short-term memory and to treat headache, and depression.
7. Ginseng -
Although ginseng has been used in traditional medicine for centuries, modern research is inconclusive about its biological effects. Preliminary clinical research indicates possible effects on memory, fatigue, menopause symptoms, and insulin response in people with mild diabetes. Out of 44 studies examined between 2005–2015, 29 showed positive, limited evidence, and 15 showed no effects. As of 2017, there is insufficient evidence to indicate that ginseng has any health effects. However ginsenosides, unique phytochemicals of the Panax species, are being studied for their potential biological properties.
Although the roots are used in traditional Chinese medicine, the leaves and stems contain larger quantities of the phytochemicals than the roots, and are easier to harvest. The constituents include steroid saponins known as ginsenosides, but the effects of these ginseng compounds have not been studied with high-quality clinical research as of 2017, and therefore remain unknown.
Uses - Ginsenosides are thought to be the active ingredients in ginseng. Ginseng has been used as a laxative, tonic and diuretic.
8. Glucosamine / chondroitin sulfate -
A sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) composed of a chain of alternating sugars (N-acetylgalactosamine and glucuronic acid). It is usually found attached to proteins as part of a proteoglycan. A chondroitin chain can have over 100 individual sugars, each of which can be sulfated in variable positions and quantities. Chondroitin sulfate is an important structural component of cartilage and provides much of its resistance to compression. Along with glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate has become a widely used dietary supplement for treatment of osteoarthritis.
Although chondroitin is used in dietary supplements as an alternative medicine to treat osteoarthritis and also approved and regulated as a symptomatic slow-acting drug for this disease (SYSADOA) in Europe and some other countries. It is commonly sold together with glucosamine. A 2015 Cochrane review of clinical trials found that most were of low quality, but that there was some evidence of short-term improvement in pain and few side effects; it does not appear to improve or maintain the health of affected joints.
Chondroitin, along with commonly used glucosamine, should not be used to treat people who have symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee as evidence shows that these treatments fail to provide relief for that condition.
Uses - Widely used alone and in combination with glucosamine to alleviate pain and inflammation from osteoarthritis.
9. Goldenseal root -
A perennial herb in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to southeastern Canada and the eastern United States. It may be distinguished by its thick, yellow knotted rootstock. The stem is purplish and hairy above ground and yellow below ground where it connects to the yellow rhizome. Goldenseal mostly reproduces clonally through the rhizome. The plant bears two palmate, hairy leaves with 5–7 double-toothed lobes and single, small, inconspicuous flowers with greenish-white stamens in the late spring. In summer, it bears a single berry the size of a large raspberry with 10–30 seeds.
In herbal medicine, goldenseal's roots and rhizomes are harvested and used as a multi-purpose remedy because of their high concentrations of berberine and hydrastine. The herb is believed to be anti-inflammatory, anti-diarrheal, antibacterial and immune-enhancing. However, there is little scientific evidence that goldenseal is effective. Goldenseal is used to control muscle spasms, treat cancer, stimulate the heart and increase blood pressure, treat gastrointestinal disorders, treat conjunctivitis, manage painful and heavy menstruation, treat infections topically, reduce swelling and alleviate edema. Goldenseal may be purchased in salve, tablet, tincture form or as a bulk powder. It is often used to boost the medicinal effects of other herbs with which it is blended or formulated.
Uses - Traditionally used to treat wounds, digestive problems and infections. Current uses include as a laxative, tonic, and diuretic.
10. Green tea extract -
It is of the genus Camellia (Chinese: 茶花; pinyin: Cháhuā, literally: "tea flower") of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. The Chinese plant (sometimes called C. sinensis var. sinensis) is a small-leafed bush with multiple stems that reaches a height of some 3 meters. It is native to southeast China. The first tea plant to be discovered, recorded and used to produce tea 3,000 years ago, it yields some of the most popular teas.
C. sinensis var. waldenae was considered a different species, Camellia waldenae by SY Hu, but it was later identified as a variety of C. sinensis. This variety is commonly called Waldenae Camellia. It is seen on Sunset Peak and Tai Mo Shan in Hong Kong. It is also distributed in Guangxi province, China
Camellia sinensis var. sinensis and its subspecies, Camellia sinensis var. assamica, are two major varieties grown today. White tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong, dark tea (which includes pu-erh tea) and black tea are all harvested from one or the other, but are processed differently to attain varying levels of oxidation. Kukicha (twig tea) is also harvested from Camellia sinensis, but uses twigs and stems rather than leaves.
Uses - Used for its antioxidative properties.
11. Gum guggul extract -
Comiphora wightii has been a key component in ancient Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine. However, because of its overuse, it has become so scarce in its two habitats in India — Gujarat and Rajasthan - that the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has enlisted it in its Red Data List of endangered species. Chemical structure of guggulsterone, a constituent of gum guggulThe extract of gum guggul, called gugulipid, guggulipid, or guglipid, has been used in Unani and Ayurvedic medicine, for nearly 3,000 years in India. One chemical ingredient in the extract is the steroid guggulsterone, which acts as an antagonist of the farnesoid X receptor, once believed to result in decreased cholesterol synthesis in the liver. However, several studies have been published that indicate no overall reduction in total cholesterol occurs using various dosages of guggulsterone and levels of low-density lipoprotein ("bad cholesterol") increased in many people.
Uses - Used as a dietary supplement and has demonstrated biological effects on lipid metabolism, thyroid hormone homeostatsis, female reproductive tissues, endogenous nuclear hormone receptors.
12. Indole-3-carbinol -
Indole-3-carbinol can shift estrogen metabolism towards less estrogenic metabolites. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus), an autoimmune disease, is associated with estrogen. In a study using mice bred to develop lupus, indole-3-carbinol was fed to one group while another group was fed a standard mouse diet; the group fed the indole-3-carbinol diet lived longer and had fewer signs of disease.
Another study of lupus prone mice with indole-3-carbinol defined the mechanism for the improvement of their disease to be due to sequential blocks in the development of B and T cells of these mice. The maturation arrests resulted in a fall in autoantibody production, thought to be a crucial component of lupus causation. In addition, I3C supplementation of the disease prone mice led to a normalization of their T cell function.
Women with lupus can manifest a metabolic response to indole-3-carbinol and might also benefit from its antiestrogenic effects. Clinical trials are currently underway to determine the efficacy of treating human patients suffering from lupus with indole-3-carbinol.
Uses - Found in Brassica vegetables and marketed as a dietary supplement for cancer chemo prevention.
13. Kava kava extract -
Over centuries, kava has been used in the traditional medicine of the South Pacific Islands for central nervous system and peripheral effects. As noted in one literature review: "Peripherally, kava is indicated in traditional Pacific medicine for urogenital conditions (gonorrhea infections, chronic cystitis, difficulty urinating), reproductive and women's health (...), gastrointestinal upsets, respiratory ailments (asthma, coughs, and tuberculosis), skin diseases and topical wounds, and as an analgesic, with significant subtlety and nuance attending the precise strain, plant component (leaf, stem, root) and preparative method to be used".
The extract is an emulsion of kavalactone droplets in starch and buttermilk. The taste is slightly pungent, while the distinctive aroma depends on whether it was prepared from dry or fresh plant, and on the variety. The colour is grey to tan to opaque greenish.
Uses - A widely used medicinal herb with psychoactive properties sold as a calmative and antidepressant. A recent report of severe liver toxicity has led to restrictions of its sale in Europe.
14. Milk thistle extract -
Traditional milk thistle extract is made from the seeds, which contain approximately 4–6% silymarin. The extract consists of about 65–80% silymarin (a flavonolignan complex) and 20–35% fatty acids, including linoleic acid. Silymarin is a complex mixture of polyphenolic molecules, including seven closely related flavonolignans (silybin A, silybin B, isosilybin A, isosilybin B, silychristin, isosilychristin, silydianin) and one flavonoid (taxifolin). Silibinin, a semipurified fraction of silymarin, is primarily a mixture of 2 diastereoisomers, silybin A and silybin B, in a roughly 1:1 ratio.
Milk thistle has been used for a number of purposes including treatment of liver disease, prevention and treatment of cancer, and supportive treatment of poisoning from death cap mushrooms; however, clinical study results were described as heterogeneous and contradictory.
Uses - Used to treat depression and several liver conditions including cirrhosis and hepatitis and to increase breast milk production.
15. Pulegone -
Pennyroyal has historically also been used as a mint flavoring in herbal teas and foods. Pennyroyal tea has been used for cold relief, fevers, coughs, indigestion, liver and kidney problems and headaches. The fresh or dried leaves of pennyroyal have also been used when treating influenza, abdominal cramps, to induce sweating, as well as in the treatment of diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. To make the tea, the leaves of the plant are boiled in hot water. The lower concentration of toxic chemicals in these teas are less harmful than pennyroyal oil. It is recommended that people only drink pennyroyal tea periodically, as it is taxing on the body and should not be drunk on a regular basis. Consumption of pennyroyal tea can be fatal to infants and children.
The pennyroyal plant has also been used as an emmenagogue or perhaps most famously as an abortifacient. Chemicals in the pennyroyal plant cause the uterine lining to contract, causing a woman's uterine lining to shed. Women who struggle with regulating their menstrual cycle or suffer from a cystic ovary syndrome may choose to drink pennyroyal tea. Pennyroyal tea is subtle enough to induce menstrual flow with minimal risk of negative health effects. More concentrated versions of the plant, such as the oil, are much more toxic and will likely force a miscarriage if ingested by a pregnant woman.
Uses - A major terpenoid constituent of the herb pennyroyal. Has been used as a carminative, insect repellent, nervous system.
16. Resveratrol -
Resveratrol is a phytoalexin, a class of compounds produced by many plants when they are infected by pathogens or physically harmed by cutting, crushing, or ultraviolet radiation. Plants that synthesize resveratrol include knotweeds, pine trees including Scots pine and Eastern white pine, grape vines, peanut plants, cocoa bushes, and Vaccinium shrubs that produce berries, including blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, cranberries, and bilberries.
Harvard University scientist and professor David Sinclair co-founded Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, the initial product of which was a resveratrol formulation; Sinclair became known for making statements about resveratrol like: "(It's) as close to a miraculous molecule as you can find.... One hundred years from now, people will maybe be taking these molecules on a daily basis to prevent heart disease, stroke, and cancer." Most of the anti-aging field was more cautious, especially with regard to what else resveratrol might do in the body and its lack of bioavailability.
Uses - Trans-Resveratrol is found in grapes and wine and is currently marketed in pure or extract form as a dietary supplement.
17. Senna -
Historically, Egyptian senna (S. alexandrina) was used as a laxative in the form of senna pods, or as herbal tea made from the leaves. Senna is considered to be a bowel stimulant on the myenteric plexus of the colon to induce peristaltic contractions and decrease water absorption from inside the colon, effects that would provide relief from constipation.
Senna or its extracted sennosides, alone or in combination with sorbitol or lactulose, have been evaluated in systematic reviews and Cochrane reviews for treatment of constipation in children and the elderly. Some studies showed limited evidence for efficacy, whereas others indicated the study designs were too weak to be certain of senna having utility as a laxative.
Uses - Laxative with increased use due to the removal of a widely used chemical-stimulant type laxative from the market.
18. Thujone -
Thujone is found in a number of plants, such as arborvitae (genus Thuja, hence the derivation of the name), Nootka cypress, some junipers, mugwort, oregano, common sage, tansy, and wormwood, most notably grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), usually as a mix of isomers in a 1:2 ratio. It is also found in various species of Mentha (mint).
Thujone is most famous for being a compound in the spirit absinthe. In the past, absinthe was thought to contain up to 260–350 mg/l thujone, but modern tests have shown this to be far too high. A 2008 study of 13 pre-ban (1895–1910) bottles using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry found that the bottles had between 0.5 and 48.3 mg/l and averaged 25.4 mg/l A 2005 study recreated three 1899 high-wormwood recipes and tested with GC-MS, and found that the highest contained 4.3 mg/l thujone. GC-MS testing is important in this capacity, because gas chromatography alone may record an inaccurately high reading of thujone as other compounds may interfere with and add to the apparent measured amount.
Uses - Terpenoid is found in a variety of herbs including sage and tansy and in high concentrations in wormwood. Suspected as the causative toxic agent associated with drinking absinthe, a liqueur flavored with wormwood extract.
19. Usnea lichen -
Usnea is a genus of mostly pale grayish-green fruticose lichens that grow like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark or twigs. The genus is in the family Parmeliaceae. It grows all over the world.
Members of the genus are commonly called old man's beard, or beard lichen. It resembles [lichen], which is also called moss.
According to Paul Bergner, Author of Medical Herbalism. "The usnic acid in Usnea is effective against gram positive bacteria such as Streptococcus and Staphylococcus, making Usnea a valuable addition to herbal formulas for sore throats and skin infections. It is also effective against a bacterium that commonly causes pneumonia...
Though lichens appear to be single plants, they are really a combination of fungus and algae that grow together for their mutual benefit. Lichens grow in colorful, flat patches. Usnea may be whitish, reddish, or black. The plant body of usnea is used to make medicine.
Uses -
Usnea is used for weight loss, pain relief, fever control, and wound healing; and to make phlegm easier to cough up. Usnea is also used directly on the skin for sore mouth and throat. Don't confuse usnea with oak moss (Evernia prunastri). Both usnea and oak moss are sometimes referred to as tree moss.
Click to read more:
Herbal Interactions With Foods
The modification date for all health, and medical content on this page was last updated, and checked on Aug. 12th, 2018 PST U.S.A.


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At the end of the month I'm heading to the Nielsen Norman Group's Usability Week in New York City! I'm fortunate to attend this instead of my yearly conferences I've attended in the past. Here is the courses I selected.
September 26, 2015: UX Basic Training
September 27, 2015: User Interface Principles Every Designer Must Know
September 28, 2015: User Research Methods: From Strategy to Requirements to Design
September 29, 2015: Measuring User Experience
September 30, 2015: The Human Mind and Usability October 01, 2015: Usability Testing
October 02, 2015: Analytics and User Experience
It should be super educational and it will be my first time visiting New York City. Looking forward to visiting some sights and seeing a bit of the town while I'm out there. I plan on blogging each night a short blurb about each course with possibilities to discuss things a bit deeper afterwards. I plan on going for my UX Certification afterwards so I'll have plenty to discuss on my mind.


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Howell 203 Active Learning Classroom
Funded by the Center for Instructional Innovation and the College of Education, CII installed a new active learning classroom in Howell 203. Our goal was to create an environment so the instructor is not tied to a teaching station. The students will each have a display that they will be able to use locally with their laptops, tablets, or phones. The professor will also have the ability to send images to all of these displays. Additionally, the professor will have the ability take the image from any table and send that image to all tables and the main display. A single collaboration camera will be added to USB into the dedicated PC for web-based conferencing. Our plans are to pilot this room, make adjustments as necessary, and to rollout more active learning classrooms as funding permits. We also wanted to use this space as proof-of-concept for future construction projects.
The room is easy to use, but we will ask faculty scheduled in Howell 203 to get training first.
The installation includes:
- Smartboard with a 3200 lumen ultra short throw projector
- 5 Spectrum Invision Element tables with 5 40" LED tvs (has two "smart" HDMI inputs and adapters for iPads, mini-HDMI, Thunderbolt)
- Extron Sharelink 200 Wireless Collaboration Gateway (enables anyone to present content from a laptop, smartphone, or tablet on the main display or any of the 5 collaboration tables)
- Crestron 8x8 Digital Media Switcher (for switches which content goes to what output device)
- Crestron 3-Series Control System (makes the entire room "talk" to each other)
- TesiraFORTE Digital Signal Processor with 12 analog inputs, 8 analog outputs, 8 channels configurable USB audio
- Ceiling-mounted HDMI PT Camera (for Zoom sessions)
- Shure Vocal System with wireless receiver
- WolfVision VZ-3 Document Camera
- Optiplex 9020 computer
- Middle Atlantic L5 Lectern
Below is a drawing of the Howell 203.
The room can be controlled from iPad Crestron app or an interface on the instructor's computer.


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Tommy Fleetwood: I'm going to struggle to find a better three-ball than Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy
Fleetwood signed for a 6-under-par 66 on the opening round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, one shot better than he managed on the Thursday last year, when he ended up winning the tournament
When the 7.40am three-ball went off from the hidden-away 10th tee in the opening round of the 2018 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, presented by EGA, the grass was damp with dew and the air rent with machismo.
Match 13 was not so much the tournament's marquee group as it was The Alpha Group. Teeing it up first was the world No 1, Dustin Johnson, a golfing power turbine who hit one drive last summer 439 yards. Four-hundred and thirty-nine yards. In one go.
Next up, Rory McIlroy, who led the European Tour's driving distance stats last season, with an average length of 318.5 yards, despite nursing a rib injury for much of the campaign. He looked svelte, too, after taking over 100 days off to repair that injury, and returning to the course for the first time with an extra two kilos of muscle.
And then, bringing up the rear, Tommy Fleetwood. Just the world No 18, and the leading player on the Tour in 2017.
The defending Abu Dhabi champion hardly tickles it. He was 38th of the 208 players listed on the driving stats for the Tour last season, with an average drive of a not-exactly-modest 299.7 yards.
Just as the stats might have forecast, the opening shot of his 2018 campaign ended around 20 yards short of his illustrious playing partners, but perfectly central in the fairway. He laid up, pitched his third close, and walked off their first green with a birdie. The other guys, the two golfing ubermensch, had to make do with pars.
The best of Fleetwood's opening round 66 📹#ADGolfChamps pic.twitter.com/Wa0lOu3eqB— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 18, 2018
Such was the way of the round. Fleetwood had to hit his second shot first a lot of the time. But he hit a perfect 18 greens in regulation, stretching his tally for that particular statistic to 84 from his last 90 holes around the National Course. And to think, he was not much of a fan of this course until he won here 12 months ago.
"It is easy when it is like that, because you are not even going to be close," Fleetwood said of the idea of trying to keep up with his colleagues off the tee. "It is not like you are playing with someone you might want to out-pip. I would be fighting a losing battle to start with.
"I wasn't hitting it short, it just seems that way. They have a much different flight, they start it a lot higher, with a lot less spin, and it is going forward a lot quicker than mine.
"I hardly look at what they're doing, but I like watching them hit tee shots. It is a nice thing to watch."
Read more:
- Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Round 1 live updates
- Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship groups and tee times (UAE): Round 2
- World No 1 Dustin Johnson: National Course 'suits me pretty well and I like the set-up'
Fleetwood signed for a 6-under-par 66, one shot better than he managed on the Thursday last year, when he ended up winning the tournament. Johnson ended with a 72, just as he did on his opening 18 last year, when he finished a stroke behind Fleetwood on his UAE debut.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 69, having made par at the first 11 holes. "Tommy obviously played very well, and I was just trying to hang on to his coattails for most of the round," McIlroy said.
If his exploits last season, when he won twice on Tour and finished on top in the Race to Dubai, had not already proved it, this was more evidence that Fleetwood rubs along well in the most exalted company.
"Me and Rory both said we don't even have that shot in our locker." 😂😂@TommyFleetwood1 and @McIlroyRory discuss 13 year old sensation Oscar. pic.twitter.com/BtQhxCyQph— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 18, 2018
He enjoyed the experience, too. With due respect, his opening round match was quite the upgrade on last year, when he trod the fairways anonymously alongside David Lipsky, who was 157th in the world at the time, and Kristoffer Broberg, who finished that tournament 215th in the world.
"During my career, I think I'm going to struggle to find a better three-ball," Fleetwood said of Johnson and McIlroy.
"It doesn't matter how long I play, I think that might be the best one I get. It is great, but all you can do is concentrate on your own game.
"I don't know what I'll do with my career, nobody knowns what the future holds, but I think these two might be going down in the history books."
Updated: January 18, 2018 04:30 PM


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L'Eclair De Genie Vancouver
About // L'Éclair de Génie is known for their broad spectrum of novelty eclairs, in flavours like salted caramel with mascarpone, Lemon Yuzu, and special limited-edition flavours, all beautifully presented in dazzling colours with sweet accents. In addition to eclairs, they sell other sweet goodies, like caramel sauces, jams, and more.
The chain has locations in France, as well as in China, Japan, and Italy. L'Éclair de Génie was launched in Paris in 2012 by UK-born Christophe Adam.
Work // L'eclair De Genie Vancouver Project // Photography & Social Media Management Deliverables // Marketing


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DANCEPL3Y Preschool
recreation PROGRAM FOR KIDS AGES 3-5
Introduce your child to dance in a fun and PLAYful way!
The DANCEPL3Y Preschool program is designed specifically for children ages 3-5 to discover dance in a playful and interACTIVE way through creative story lines and music that MOVES them. Building the foundations for dance through rhythms, fundamental movement skills and playful group formations, young movers discover a love of physical activity as they leap, hop, crawl, turn, spin and jump into their "Bubble of Awesome".
The DANCEPL3Y Preschool program fosters the development of physical literacy and the ABCs of healthy growth and development. Your child will explore a variety of dance genres through imaginative and engaging story lines that take them around the world as they develop musicality, social skills and confidence with movement.
physical literacy
Physical Literacy in the early years is all about giving children access to PLAYful movement experiences. Our Preschool program specifically targets all four of the developmental domains: physical, cognitive, social and emotional. The result? Healthier, happier children who are have the foundation to become lifelong movers and shakers!
Want to learn more about Physical Literacy and PL3Y? Click below to visit our parent website, PL3Y INC.
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Building self-confidence is important at any age. We use a powerful vocabulary of inspiring words that will serve children throughout their lives.
As they discover new skills, make friends and claim their "Bubble of Awesome", everyone in our programs apply the Three Rules of PL3Y:
be positive
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be yourself
We understand the importance of active play and how it establishes critical connections between the brain and muscles. Our Preschool Instructors are caring and compassionate coaches who harness the power of music and imaginative play.
Think you have what it takes to become a DANCEPL3Y Preschool Instructor?
We'd love to have you join us. Click below to visit PL3Y INC where you can find an instructor training near you.


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You don't always need the whole ensemble to play. Sometimes, great soccer jerseys will do on its own! Las Vegas Soccer Store sells quality material that's comfortable and light so you can kick, sweat, cheer, score and celebrate with ease. Only the best soccer apparel in Las Vegas.
Copyright © 2019 Las Vegas Soccer Store - All Rights Reserved.


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Daring Cooks Challenge: March 2010- Risotto
And since I'm now in 2 baking clubs.. I needed to balance the scales a bit and I decided to give the Daring Kitchen a try, so I have become a Daring Cook.
I know the madness never ends.
Tom loves it, because well he is eating more than he has ever eaten before. And I love it because it's forcing the lazy side of me to cook on a regular basis. And being daring in the kitchen at the same time.
The March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of Melbourne food Geek and Jess of Jess the baker. The challenge was to make our own stock from scratch and of course as many variations of risotto that we could come up using the risotto base. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on imput from teh Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.
I'm Italian. So this was right up my alley for me.


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Official Tourism Site for the Greater Portland Region of Maine
Planning a wedding can be a very exciting and overwhelming experience. Visit Portland (Greater Portland Convention + Visitors Bureau) has many FREE services to assist you with your wedding day and weekend. Allow our team to ease the planning process by connecting you to a variety of wedding vendors and services in Maine. Your wedding is just one call away.
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"Planning the wedding from out of state was not always easy but you helped us every step of the way. The vendors you helped us find were all terrific...our only complaint was that it went by too fast! We really did have the wedding of our dreams."
April and Matt S.
Boston, Massachusetts


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Two lawyers, one from Three Crowns and the other from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, have joined Vannin Capital in Paris and London.
Third-party funder Vannin Capital has hired two former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyers as associate directors in Paris and London, less than a month after it announced the postponement of its proposed stock market float.
In Paris, the funder has recruited Anastasia Davis Bondarenko from Three Crowns, the arbitration boutique founded by Freshfields management Constantine Partasides and Georgios Petrochilos, along with former Freshfields arbitration head Jan Paulsson in2014. Bondarenko made the move with the trio from the Magic Circle firm and spent more than four years there, before her move into funding.


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Yoga Journal Conference Sept 22-25 2016
Assisting Tias Little at the Yoga Journal Conference this fall in Colorado was a valuable experience in understanding how adjusting and assisting is just as communicative as teaching the class itself. The art of touch while understanding the energetics of the pose can be truly healing. While working as an assistant, I was able to observe Tias work while also being of service to students- discovering that as teachers, we are laying down the ground work for each practitioner to experience themselves.
The following workshops and day-longs allowed for the students to first settle in energetically with meditation, take flight with arm balancing classes to experience their fire energy, and finally into deeper workshops to connect to our subtle body.
- The Alchemy of Silence: A one day retreat
- Flight of the Crane
- Getting to the Bone
- Unleash Your Life through Nadis
- Sky is the Limit
The Yoga Journal Conference was a union of inspiring teachers in the mountains. Each teacher I took a class from brought a different perspective to this fruitful subject. I was finally able to take classes from teachers in distant locations: Dharma Mittra, Judith Hanson Lasater, or Kathryn Budig. Deeply appreciative of this experience.


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Academic success skills are techniques and actions that allow you to perform at the level of your academic ability. Successful students develop effective study skills such as note-taking and reading for understanding. These students think critically and excel at preparing for and taking exams. Successful students utilize resources ranging from teachers and advisors to academic success centers. These students actively engage in their education and participate in learning communities and study groups. They also participate in experiential education opportunities and develop portfolios to showcase their accomplishments.
Leadership often is equated to influence (Maxwell, 2007). Leaders have the influence to move people toward a common goal. The greater your leadership ability, the greater your ability to leverage the skills and abilities of others. Leaders can accomplish more through the people they lead than they can by themselves. You must develop your leadership skills if you want to influence others and truly make a difference in your family, school, community, workplace, and world. You will discover that leadership is not dependent on your title, and you may be in a leadership role now.
I define soft skills as "a collection of abilities, behaviors, and attitudes that increase your effectiveness." Soft skills differ from, but are complementary to, technical (or hard) skills. Successful engineers must certainly possess the knowledge and technical skills of engineering. Successful engineers must also demonstrate soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, and professionalism and be able to work effectively with clients and coworkers.
Soft skills are not tied to any career or discipline and are sometimes called "transferable skills." Students who develop their soft skills can enhance their academic performance and transfer the skills to their future career.
Common examples of soft skills include:
Noted leadership expert John Maxwell states that "leadership ability determines effectiveness" (Maxwell, 2007). In other words, the greater your leadership ability, the greater your potential to influence others and achieve success. Further, a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2017) showed that 80 percent of employers look for evidence of leadership skills when evaluating potential employees.
Employers also place a high value on soft skills. CareerBuilder surveyed two thousand human resources specialists and found that 77 percent ranked soft skills as important as hard skills (CareerBuilder, 2014). Despite the importance of soft skills, employers commonly report them as lacking in new hires. Adecco Staffing surveyed five hundred senior executives and found that 92 percent reported skills deficits in new hires, and 44 percent reported a lack of soft skills (Adecco Staffing, 2013).
Academic success skills are important for academic performance and timely graduation. According to the US Department of Education (US Department of Education, 2015a), less than 40 percent of students who enroll in a public, four-year institution actually graduate in four years. The percentage increases to about 50 percent after five years and to about 60 percent after six years.
Students who graduate with their "four-year" degree in five or six years do so at great expense. The average annual cost of a public, four-year college in the US is about $18,000 (US Department of Education, 2015b). The average starting salary of a college graduate is about $50,000 (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2016). Thus, a student who takes an extra year to graduate essentially loses $68,000 ($18,000 in tuition costs and $50,000 in lost income). The amount doubles to a $136,000 loss for students who take an extra two years.
Although many factors influence academic performance, many students can improve their performance and achieve a more timely graduation by utilizing academic success skills.
Adecco Staffing. September 30, 2013. Lack of Soft Skills Negatively Impacts Today's U.S. Workforce. Retrieved May 22, 2017 from Adecco Staffing: http://www.adeccousa.com/about/press/Pages/20130930-lack-of-soft-skills-negatively-impacts-todays-us-workforce.aspx.
CareerBuilder. April 10, 2014. "Overwhelming Majority of Companies Say Soft Skills Are Just as Important as Hard Skills." Retrieved September 12, 2017 from CareerBuilder.com: http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=4%2f10%2f2014&siteid=cbpr&sc_cmp1=cb_pr817_&id=pr817&ed=12%2f31%2f2014.
Maxwell, J. 2007. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. November 16, 2016. "Salary Survey: The Early Drivers of Class of 2016 Gains." Retrieved May 22, 2017 from Naceweb.org: http://www.naceweb.org/job-market/compensation/salary-survey-the-early-drivers-of-class-of-2016-gains/.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. April 3, 2017. "Job Outlook 2016: The Attributes Employers Want to See on New College Graduates' Resumes." Retrieved May 22, 2017 from Naceweb.org: http://www.naceweb.org/career-development/trends-and-predictions/job-outlook-2016-attributes-employers-want-to-see-on-new-college-graduates-resumes/.
US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 2015a. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2002 and Spring 2007 through Spring 2015, Graduation Rates component. (Table 326.10. December 2015.)
US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. 2015b. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2000 through Fall 2014, Institutional Characteristics component. (Table 330.10. December 2015.)
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SINGLESWinner: 2006 - ITF/Edinburgh-GBR, ITF/Gausdal-NOR; 2005 - ITF/Oslo-NOR, ITF/Maribor-SLO.DOUBLESWinner: 2006 - ITF/Edinburgh-GBR, ITF/Gausdal-NOR (both w/Roma), ITF/Faklenberg-SWE (w/Johansson), ITF/Bals-ROM (w/Borgersen); 2005 - ITF/Bol-CRO (w/Andlovic), ITF/Falkenberg-SWE (w/Larsson), ITF/Maribor-SLO (w/Andlovic).
2005 - Captured first five pro titles, two in singles ($10K ITF/Oslo-NOR, $10K ITF/Maribor-SLO) and three in doubles ($10K ITF/Bol-CRO, $10K ITF/Falkenberg-SWE, $10 ITF/Maribor-SLO).
MAY - Swept at $10K ITF/Edinburgh-GBR, winning third career ITF Circuit singles title and fourth career ITF Circuit doubles title (w/Roma); won doubles titles at $10K ITF/Faklenberg-SWE (w/Johansson) and $10K ITF/Bals-ROM (w/Borgersen).JULY - Swept at $10K ITF/Gausdal-NOR, winning second ITF Circuit singles title of year (fourth of career) and fourth ITF Circuit doubles title of year (seventh of career; w/Roma).
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