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Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI) of dementia are important determinants of caregiver burden, while caregiver coping styles and competences can relieve burden. Caregivers differ in coping with the demands made on them and in experienced burden. What changes in caregivers explain recovery from burden, and which caregiver characteristics predict recovery from burden over time, and does treatment make a difference?
This study into recovery from burden was a secondary analysis of data collected in a formerly conducted randomized controlled trial (RCT) on the integrated reactivation and rehabilitation (IRR) programme in a psychiatric-skilled nursing home, compared to usual care (UC; i.e. day care, assisted living arrangements, and nursing home wards). For this secondary analysis, longitudinal data on persons with dementia and caregivers were used from baseline (T1), end of treatment (T2), and at nine months (T3).
Caregivers with an improved sense of competence (SCS) who care for persons with dementia with a decreased severity of NPI have the highest chance of recovering from burden (CSI). Caregivers with a tendency to feel involved with others and sympathize with others (affiliation, ICL-R) have a slightly lower probability of improvement with respect to their sense of competence in the short term. The number of improved caregivers was higher in IRR than UC.
Recovery depends on both an improved sense of competence and a decreased severity of NPI. Combined interventions that address both NPI and focus on enhancing caregiver's sense of competence have added value when it comes to decreasing caregiver burden.
Introduction: To investigate the effects of paroxetine (PAR) on motor and cognitive function recovery in patients with non-depressed ischemic stroke (nD-AIS).
Methods: One hundred sixty-seven patients hospitalized for non-depressed acute ischemic stroke were selected and divided into treatment (T) and control (C) groups using a random number table. All patients received conventional secondary ischemic stroke prevention and rehabilitation training; patients in Group T additionally received treatment with PAR (10 mg/day during week 1 and 20 mg/day thereafter) for 3 months. The follow-up observation lasted 6 months. The Fugl–Meyer motor scale (FMMS), Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA), and Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) were used on D0, D15, D90, and D180 (T0, 1, 2, and 3, respectively; D180 = 90 days after treatment cessation) after study initiation, and scores were compared between the groups.
Results: The FMMS and MoCA scores differed significantly between Groups T and C at T2 and T3 (p < .05); by contrast, these scores did not differ significantly between the groups at T1 (p > .05). Furthermore, the HAMD scores differed significantly between the two groups at T3 (p < .05), but not at T1 and T2 (p > .05).
Conclusions: PAR treatment may improve motor and cognitive function recovery in patients with nD-AIS. Moreover, PAR may reduce the occurrence of depression after stroke.
Millions of children suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in low- and middle- income countries. Much is known about the effectiveness of community treatment programmes (CMAM) but little is known about post-discharge outcomes after successful treatment. The present study aimed to evaluate post-discharge outcomes of children cured of SAM.
Prospective, observational cohort study. Children with SAM who were discharged as cured were followed monthly for 6 months or until they experienced relapse to SAM. 'Cure' was defined as a child achieving a mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of ≥115 mm with ≥15 % weight gain after loss of oedema. Relapse was defined as a child with MUAC<115 mm and/or oedema at any monthly visit.
Save the Children CMAM programme in Swabi, Pakistan, from January 2012 to December 2014.
Children aged 6–59 months (n 117) discharged as cured from the CMAM programme were eligible for the study and followed for 6 months.
One hundred children (92·6 %) remained free of SAM, eight (7·4 %) relapsed to SAM, nine (8·3 %) were lost to follow-up and none died. Most relapses occurred within 3 months of discharge (mean time to relapse 73·4 (sd 36·2) d). At enrolment, 90 % had moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and 10 % were not malnourished. By the end of 6 months, 35 % persisted with MAM and the remaining were not malnourished.
In rural Pakistan, fewer than 10 % of children cured of SAM relapsed. The first 3 months is the most vulnerable time.
Compulsory admission can be experienced as devaluing and stigmatising by people with mental illness. Emotional reactions to involuntary hospitalisation and stigma-related stress may affect recovery, but longitudinal data are lacking. We, therefore, examined the impact of stigma-related emotional reactions and stigma stress on recovery over a 2-year period.
Shame and self-contempt as emotional reactions to involuntary hospitalisation, stigma stress, self-stigma and empowerment, as well as recovery were assessed among 186 individuals with serious mental illness and a history of recent involuntary hospitalisation.
More shame, self-contempt and stigma stress at baseline were correlated with increased self-stigma and reduced empowerment after 1 year. More stigma stress at baseline was associated with poor recovery after 2 years. In a longitudinal path analysis more stigma stress at baseline predicted poorer recovery after 2 years, mediated by decreased empowerment after 1 year, controlling for age, gender, symptoms and recovery at baseline.
Stigma stress may have a lasting detrimental effect on recovery among people with mental illness and a history of involuntary hospitalisation. Anti-stigma interventions that reduce stigma stress and programs that enhance empowerment could improve recovery. Future research should test the effect of such interventions on recovery.
This study aimed to examine a range of factors influencing the long-term recovery of New York City residents affected by Hurricane Sandy.
In a series of logistic regressions, we analyzed data from a survey of New York City residents to assess self-reported recovery status from Hurricane Sandy.
General health, displacement from home, and household income had substantial influences on recovery. Individuals with excellent or fair health were more likely to have recovered than were individuals with poor health. Those with high and middle income were more likely to have recovered than were those with low income. Also, individuals who had not experienced a decrease in household income following Hurricane Sandy had higher odds of recovery than the odds for those with decreased income. Additionally, displacement from the home decreased the odds of recovery. Individuals who applied for assistance from the Build it Back program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had lower odds of recovering than did those who did not apply.
The study outlines the critical importance of health and socioeconomic factors in long-term disaster recovery and highlights the need for increased consideration of those factors in post-disaster interventions and recovery monitoring. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness of state and federal assistance programs, particularly among disadvantaged populations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:172–175)
Recovery is a key goal for individuals, and services' recovery orientation can facilitate this process. The independent mental health sector is increasingly important in Ireland, particularly in counselling and suicide prevention. We aimed to evaluate Pieta House as a recovery-oriented service through clients' self-rated recovery; and clients' and therapists' evaluation of the service.
Clients completing therapy over a 3-month period were invited to complete the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS) and the Recovery Self Assessment-Revised (RSA-R). Therapists completed the RSA-R staff version.
Response rate was 36.7% for clients (n=88), 98% for therapists (n=49). Personal recovery was endorsed by 73.8% of clients, with highest agreement for factors 'Willingness to Ask for Help' (84.5%), and 'Reliance on Others' (82.1%). A smaller number agreed with factors 'Personal Confidence and Hope' (61.3%) and 'No Domination by Symptoms' (66.6%). Clients' and therapists' evaluation of the service showed high levels of agreement with factors of 'Choice' (90.9% clients, 100% therapists); 'Life Goals' (84.1% clients, 98% therapists) and 'Individually Tailored Services' (80.6% clients, 79.6% therapists). Client involvement in service management had the lowest level of agreement (36.4% clients, 30.6% therapists). Clients' self-rated recovery correlated with their rating of the service (correlation value 0.993, p=0.01).
Clients' self-rated recovery and the recovery orientation of Pieta House were rated highly, with areas for improvement in service user involvement, peer support and advocacy. The correlation of personal recovery and recovery orientation of the service may merit further study.
The rational and efficient recovery of Chinese archaeological objects from market nations is a crucial issue that is confronting the Chinese government. Although the 1970 UNESCO Convention was accepted in China in 1989, the destruction of Chinese archaeological sites through illicit excavations and illegal trade has increased, rather than diminished, in the nearly 30 succeeding years. For a better understanding of the challenges that confront the Chinese government, this article provides a case study approach to analyze the case of gold foils stolen from the Eastern Zhou tombs in the Dapuzishan Mountain Region of Lixian County in Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. The author identifies prominent issues that exist in relation to repatriation claims and offers some practical advice on the recovery of Chinese archaeological objects, which may assist the Chinese government in its decision making.
Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) course finds a substantial proportion of cases remit within 6 months, a majority within 2 years, and a substantial minority persists for many years. Results are inconsistent about pre-trauma predictors.
The WHO World Mental Health surveys assessed lifetime DSM-IV PTSD presence-course after one randomly-selected trauma, allowing retrospective estimates of PTSD duration. Prior traumas, childhood adversities (CAs), and other lifetime DSM-IV mental disorders were examined as predictors using discrete-time person-month survival analysis among the 1575 respondents with lifetime PTSD.
20%, 27%, and 50% of cases recovered within 3, 6, and 24 months and 77% within 10 years (the longest duration allowing stable estimates). Time-related recall bias was found largely for recoveries after 24 months. Recovery was weakly related to most trauma types other than very low [odds-ratio (OR) 0.2–0.3] early-recovery (within 24 months) associated with purposefully injuring/torturing/killing and witnessing atrocities and very low later-recovery (25+ months) associated with being kidnapped. The significant ORs for prior traumas, CAs, and mental disorders were generally inconsistent between early- and later-recovery models. Cross-validated versions of final models nonetheless discriminated significantly between the 50% of respondents with highest and lowest predicted probabilities of both early-recovery (66–55% v. 43%) and later-recovery (75–68% v. 39%).
We found PTSD recovery trajectories similar to those in previous studies. The weak associations of pre-trauma factors with recovery, also consistent with previous studies, presumably are due to stronger influences of post-trauma factors.
During and after hospitalisation, older adults are recommended to consume 1·2–1·5 g of protein/kg body weight per d (g/kg per d) to improve recovery. This randomised controlled trial studied the effectiveness of a 12-week intervention with protein-enriched foods and drinks by following-up seventy-five older patients (mean age: 76·8 (sd 6·9) years) during their first 6 months after hospital discharge. Primary outcomes were protein intake and physical performance (measured with Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)). Secondary outcomes for physical recovery were gait speed, chair-rise time, leg-extension strength, hand-grip strength, body weight, nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment), independence in activities of daily living (ADL) and physical activity. The intervention group consumed more protein during the 12-week intervention period compared with the control group (P<0·01): 112 (sd 34) g/d (1·5 (sd 0·6) g/kg per d) v. 78 (sd 18) g/d (1·0 (sd 0·4) g/kg per d). SPPB total score, gait speed, chair-rise time, body weight and nutritional status improved at week 12 compared with baseline (time effect P<0·05), but were not different between groups. Leg-extension strength, hand-grip strength and independence in ADL did not change. In conclusion, protein-enriched products enabled older adults to increase their protein intake to levels that are higher than their required intake. In these older adults with already adequate protein intakes and limited physical activity, protein enrichment did not enhance physical recovery in the first 6 months after hospital discharge.
Dormant states of organisms are easier to store than the living state because they tolerate larger variations in temperature, light, storage space etc., making them attractive for laboratory culture stocks and also for experiments under special circumstances, especially space flight experiments. Like several other organisms, Euglena gracilis is capable of forming desiccation tolerant resting states in order to survive periods of unfavourable environmental conditions. In earlier experiments it was found that dormant Euglena cells must not become completely desiccated. Some residual moisture is required to ensure recovery of the resting states. To analyse the water demand in recovery of Euglena resting states, cells were transferred to a defined amount of cotton wool (0.5 g). Subsequently different volumes of medium (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10 and 20 ml) were added in order to supply humidity; a control was set up without additional liquid. Samples were sealed in transparent 50 ml falcon tubes and stored for 9 months under three different conditions:
Constant low light conditions in a culture chamber at 20°C,
In a black box, illuminated with short light emitting diode-light pulses provided by joule thieves and
In darkness in a black box.
Constant low light conditions in a culture chamber at 20°C,
In a black box, illuminated with short light emitting diode-light pulses provided by joule thieves and
In darkness in a black box.
After 9 months, cells were transferred to fresh medium and cell number, photosynthetic efficiency and movement behavior was monitored over 3 weeks. It was found that cells recovered under all conditions except in the control, where no medium was supplied. Transcription levels of 21 genes were analysed with a Multiplex-polymerase chain reaction. One hour after rehydration five of these genes were found to be up-regulated: ubiquitin, heat shock proteins HSP70, HSP90, the calcium-sensor protein frequenin and a distinct protein kinase, which is involved in gravitaxis. The results indicate a transient general stress response of the cells.
Crises are thresholds in human history, often marking substantial transformations in societies. Crises, however, are not instants in time. They start, unfold, and develop in a process that is often traumatic for social systems, with outcomes ranging from catastrophe to complete recovery. In this article, catastrophic models are employed to understand a non-catastrophic outcome: the complete recovery that nuragic Sardinia experienced after a long crisis, caused in the first place by unsustainable strategies of territorial expansion. Starting from the premises of the 'Tragedy of the Commons', it is argued that the transformation of nuragic society was the best way of avoiding the constraints that the social structure imposed on the perspective of a sustainable growth. The study is based on a geostatistical analysis of a large sample of settlements, and it attempts to quantify population growth ratios for the Late Bronze Age.
This study explored the relationships between hope, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing in a sample of people in recovery from mental illness. Participants were 70 adults (60% male) with a psychiatric disability (71.4% schizophrenia) who were engaged in supported employment by an Australian Disability Enterprise. Compared to others diagnosed with a mental disorder, the participants in this study had higher levels of hope, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing, and lower levels of psychological distress. Hope and social inclusion predicted mental wellbeing, with social inclusion partially mediating the relationship between the other two constructs. Participants reported experiencing the psychosocial benefits of work (e.g., structured activity and a shared purpose) but were dissatisfied with their wages. The findings support Jahoda's Latent Deprivation theory of social inclusion and the psychosocial benefits of work participation to recovery from mental illness.
Methodological aspects of digestibility measurements were studied in four Welsh pony geldings consuming haylage-based diets with increasing proportions of a pelleted concentrate according to a 4×4 Latin square design experiment. Ponies were fed four experimental, iso-energetic (net energy (NE) basis) diets (i.e. 22 MJ NE/day) with increasing proportions of a pelleted concentrate (C) in relation to haylage (H). The absolute amounts of diet dry matter fed per day were 4.48 kg of H (100H), 3.36 and 0.73 kg of H and C (75H25C), 2.24 and 1.45 kg of H and C (50H50C) and 1.12 and 2.17 kg of H and C (25H75C). Diets were supplemented with minerals, vitamins and TiO2 (3.7 g Ti/day). Voluntary voided faeces were quantitatively collected daily during 10 consecutive days and analysed for moisture, ash, ADL, acid-insoluble ash (AIA) and Ti. A minimum faeces collection period of 6 consecutive days, along with a 14-day period to adapt the animals to the diets and become accustomed to the collection procedure, is recommended to obtain accurate estimations on dry matter digestibility and organic matter digestibility (OMD) in equids fed haylage-based diets supplemented with concentrate. In addition, the recovery of AIA, ADL and Ti was determined and evaluated. Mean faecal recovery over 10 consecutive days across diets for AIA, ADL and Ti was 124.9% (SEM 2.9), 108.7% (SEM 2.0) and 97.5% (SEM 0.9), respectively. Cumulative faecal recovery of AIA significantly differed between treatments, indicating that AIA is inadequate to estimate the OMD in equines. In addition, evaluation of the CV of mean cumulative faecal recoveries obtained by AIA, ADL and Ti showed greater variations in faecal excretion of AIA (9.1) and ADL (7.4) than Ti (3.7). The accuracy of prediction of OMD was higher with the use of Ti than ADL. The use of Ti is preferred as a marker in digestibility trials in equines fed haylage-based diets supplemented with increasing amounts of pelleted concentrate.
The present work focuses on the deformation and recovery mechanisms of aged monoclinic U–Nb alloy under tension and load–unload cycle testing using in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). The U–6.2wt% Nb (U–6.2Nb) alloy was prepared and aged at 200 °C, and then underwent tensile testing followed by the in situ XRD. The experimental results indicate that the change of diffraction peaks can serve to accurately characterize the macroscopic deformation and recovery. Compared with the as-quenched alloy, the aged U–6.2Nb alloy displays different behavior during deformation and subsequent recovery. Phase transformation competes with twin rearrangement to dominate the deformation and recovery between elastic stage and slip stage of the alloy. The lattice plane relationship between α″ and γ° during phase transformation has also been given.
Research in the area of social networks and health has demonstrated that lay social network members play a critical role in the early stages of the illness career, influencing key decisions and pathways to formal care. Here, we revisit and extend this body of work, examining how the lay social network context can moderate the influence of treatment experiences on recovery outcomes as the illness career unfolds. To achieve this goal, we address two research questions, drawing on a longitudinal sample of people making their initial contact with the mental health treatment system: First, we explore how treatment experiences, lay social network characteristics, and recovery outcomes change over 2 years, beginning with the point of entry into treatment. Second, we examine whether the relationship between perceived treatment experiences and recovery outcomes is contingent on characteristics of the lay network context in which clients are socially embedded, focusing on the network's cultural orientation toward medical professionals. We find that positive treatment interactions facilitate improved self-esteem, mastery, role functioning, recovery optimism, and global functioning when the lay network culture is pro-medical, but largely have null effects on the recovery process when the lay network is more hostile to medical professionals.
Evidence for a relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome in important areas of community living is robust in serious mental illness research. Dysfunctional attitudes (defeatist performance beliefs and asocial beliefs) have been identified as intervening variables in this causal chain. This study seeks to expand upon previous research by longitudinally testing the link between neurocognition and community participation (i.e. time in community-based activity) through dysfunctional attitudes and motivation.
Adult outpatients with serious mental illness (N = 175) participated, completing follow-up assessments approximately 6 months after initial assessment. Path analysis tested relationships between baseline neurocognition, emotion perception, functional skills, dysfunctional attitudes, motivation, and outcome (i.e. community participation) at baseline and follow-up.
Path models demonstrated two pathways to community participation. The first linked neurocognition and community participation through functional skills, defeatist performance beliefs, and motivation. A second pathway linked asocial beliefs and community participation, via a direct path passing through motivation. Model fit was excellent for models predicting overall community participation at baseline and, importantly, at follow-up.
The existence of multiple pathways to community participation in a longitudinal model supports the utility of multi-modal interventions for serious mental illness (i.e. treatment packages that build upon individuals' strengths while addressing the array of obstacles to recovery) that feature dysfunctional attitudes and motivation as treatment targets.
Substances enriched with radiocarbon can easily contaminate samples and laboratories used for natural abundance measurements. We have developed a new method using wet chemical oxidation for swabbing laboratories and equipment to test for 14C contamination. Here, we report the findings of 18 months' work and more than 800 tests covering studies at multiple locations. Evidence of past and current use of enriched 14C was found at all but one location and a program of testing and communication was used to mitigate its effects. Remediation was attempted with mixed success and depended on the complexity and level of the contamination. We describe four cases from different situations.
Background: Neuropsychological deficits occur in over half of the stroke survivors and are associated with the reduced functioning and a decline in quality of life. However, the trajectory of recovery and predictors of neuropsychological outcomes over the first year post stroke are poorly understood.
Method: Neuropsychological performance, assessed using the CNS-Vital signs, was examined at 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after ischaemic stroke (IS) in a sample drawn from a population-based study (N = 198).
Results: While mean scores across neuropsychological domains at each time-point fell in the average range, one in five individuals produced very low-range scores for verbal memory, attention and psychomotor speed. Significant improvements were seen for executive functioning, psychomotor speed and cognitive flexibility within 6 months post stroke, but no gains were noted from 6 to 12 months. Stroke-related neurological deficits and depression at baseline significantly contributed to the prediction of neuropsychological function at 12 month follow-up.
Conclusions: In a significant minority of IS survivors, focal deficits are evident in psychomotor speed, verbal memory, executive functions and attention. Significant improvements in these domains were only evident in the first 6 months post stroke. Initial stroke-related neurological deficits and concurrent depression may be the best predictors of later cognitive functioning.
Subthreshold depression (SUBD) in later life is common and important as prodromal state and prominent risk factor in the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). Indicated prevention can reduce the incidence of MDD among people with SUBD substantially, but needs to be targeted to those that are truly at risk of developing MDD.
N = 341 eligible participants with SUBD were included from the first (1992/1993), second (1995/1996) and third (1998/1999) cycle from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) by using a two-stage screening design. LASA is an ongoing prospective cohort study in The Netherlands among the older population (55–85 years). At baseline (1992/1993) N = 3107 participants were interviewed and follow-up cycles were conducted every 3 years until 2008/2009, resulting in maximal 17 years of observational period. The proportion of people that developed MDD, remained SUBD, or recovered from SUBD was measured and Cox proportional regression analyses were performed to investigate 29 putative predictors of MDD and recovery from SUBD.
N = 153 (44.9%) recovered from SUBD, N = 138 (40.5%) remained chronically SUBD, and N = 50 (14.7%) developed MDD (incidence rate 15.1/1000 person-years). Women, high neuroticism, more chronic diseases, high body mass index, smoking and less social support predicted conversion to MDD. Men, low neuroticism and absence of pain predicted recovery from SUBD.
Although older people with SUBD are clearly at risk of developing MDD, the majority did not, even after a long and thorough follow-up. Given the risk factors that were uncovered, targeting and prevention of MDD in those at very high risk is feasible.
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Over the course of the past year we've worked to set up a free student-run health clinic at the Claremont Soup Kitchen in Claremont, NH. We've been incredibly lucky to have the clinic flourish, and are now holding weekly clinics in two brand-new patient exam rooms using donated supplies and equipment and supervised by volunteer doctors. That said, the clinic is in need of funds to ensure it can continue to run and succeed into the future. We'd love your help! We, our fellow medical student volunteers, and all the soup kitchen and clinic patrons thank you for your support.
Best, Erik and Christine
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth students
UPDATE - Wow, we've been overwhelmed with the response! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! If you'd like more background on the clinic, see the Valley News story below:
Also, a note on the $10,000 goal: when the exam rooms were built, the soup kitchen spent this much to construct them and has not fully recouped the cost yet. If the goal is met here, the rooms will be fully paid for and the clinic will have a small endowment fund for supplies well into the future.
Donor Comments
Andrew Byron
4 years ago

subset: commoncrawl


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- Greeneyedbabe86
- 7 years ago
- Wedding: October 2011
If you're looking to get rid of some extra clutter, including wedding stuff you aren't going to use or already have, eBay is waiving all listing fees until Feb. 5th. I just listed a bunch of stuff trying to get some extra dough for the wedding. I just thought I would pass it along for you Bees who are trying to make some extra cash. 🙂


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So, my wife and I migrated from California to Colorado just over a month ago. There were many reasons for the move, but the summary is that we wanted a better life than California can provide.
Now, I can be in the mountains in less than ten minutes on my bike. I can run from home, along the foothills of the Rockies, and only be gone for an hour (I did this yesterday evening).
As for what this means for this blog. I've been really, really bad at updating this thing. I hope to get better about actually writing here from time to time. I've certainly been out thrifting and have come up with lots of good stuff here. I will say though, that the thrifting is not as good here as it is in the Bay Area. But hey, that is what it is. I'm slowly shifting to more and more consignment sales as my source of income, which means that the thrifting is becoming more of a fun activity for (of course, it has always been fun!) finding some gems.
I'll just dump some pics here of some of my most recent scores… Holubar 60/40 Down Filled Mountain Parka, Sierra Designs 60/40 Mountain Parka, Vintage 1960s/70s Trailwise external frame backpack, Allen Edmonds Plain Toe blucher oxford dress shoes.


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I'm coming up on six weeks left until D Day. I'm beginning to find it hard to think about anything else. I'm really having a hard time staying motivated at work since I know that I only have a short time until I'm cuddled at home with a baby. It's very similar to when you know that you're going on vacation and you have all this work that needs to be completed or have it be at a good stopping point, but all you can think about is that you're going to be on vacation soon – so you really don't care about the piles of paper on your desk.
I'm also starting to get really, really tired. Yesterday I had a mini meltdown when I got home, which I think came from a mixture of hormones and sleep deprivation. I left work at 5:30, which is a half an hour later than I wanted to leave. When I got home at 6:15, I started tearing up because I still had to go to the grocery store, and then cook dinner, and then eat dinner, and by the time all of that was done it would be time to go to bed. And I started crying because I didn't have just a moment to sit and relax and take a deep breathe. J had to work late last night because all of the seniors had to present their senior projects, and all the teachers were required to stay and help. Even though he was super busy, he was very sweet and understanding and stopped by the store on his way home so that I could have a moment to put my feet up and relax before I had to go to bed. I have the best husband ever, and because of him I was able to relax a bit last night and I think because of that I had a fairly successful night of sleep.
I think that I'm also starting to nest. I see everything that needs to be cleaned and I want to clean it, but I'm seriously lacking the energy to do so. I saw all of this dust hanging from the ceiling fan in our kitchen, and it just made my shoulders slump in defeat because I couldn't easily clean it, nor was I willing to go and get the dust rag and step stool so I could clean it. I'm hoping that at some point I'll be too overcome with the urge to clean that it won't hit me that I'm really too tired to do so. That's my hope, we'll see if it actually happens.
….six more weeks!


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I have a little kitty cat.
she really likes to chase my rat.
When she chases my pet rat
she soon gets tired and goes splat.
I forgot to tell you she is fat!
Monday, March 15, 2010
My Pets
Posted by Jodi Greenspan at 6:29 PM
4 comments:
- AnonymousMarch 15, 2010 at 7:03 PM
Great poem! Good luck with your blog!ReplyDelete
Not that there is anything wrong with THAT. Hey, I rhymed too.ReplyDelete
I love your poetry my girl.
My name is Danielle and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. You did a great job on your poem! I love the fact that your words at the end of each line rhymed. I also have a cat, but he is not fat. He likes to run after birds! Keep up the great job!
My name is Heather Love. I am also in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. This is the cutest poem! I loved it! Keep up the good work! ;)
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>Pantomiming History & A Real Education
April 11, 2010
It took only six months in our new schools for my sister, Valerie (six at the time) and me (thirteen) to become completely fluent. For Val, that wasn't unusual – the younger the child, the quicker the language acquisition. I must have gotten in just under the wire, as adolescence is when we begin to lose that ability to learn easily a second language. Being fluent in Spanish continues to be one of the great blessings in my life.
BTW – the term "don" (and "dona" for women) is a universal title of respect throughout Latin America and is not capitalized. Enjoy.
Pantomiming History
That first year at Cervantes is a blur in my memory. There are a few snapshots, retained in memory in spite of their banality.
SNAPSHOT: This is the Coke machine, located on the ground floor close to the bathrooms. Its bright redness is in sharp contrast to the subdued greens of the wall tiles and the muted reds of the floor tiles.
SNAPSHOT: This is the lunchtime exodus of seven hundred uniformed students, virtually all of them carrying identical leather mochilas, similar to a portmanteau only smaller.
SNAPSHOT: A dozen or more of us crowd around the little food concession stand adjoining the Brothers' quarters. Chips, candy bars, soft drinks and tortas, a kind of Mexican sandwich, line shelves along the back wall of the stand.
SNAPSHOT: Don Blas, the school janitor, wet mops the long tiled corridor. His mop is a wooden pole with a large piece of burlap attached to one end. You can't see it in the photo but his body sways rhythmically, gracefully, from side to side as he swings his trapo back and forth.
There is one event from that year that does stand out in my memory, and it's one I can laugh at – now.
SNAPSHOT: This is a study in expressions. I'm flat on my back on the raised platform at the front of the classroom. My expression is one of pain. And embarrassment. Senor Torres has risen partly out of his chair at the end of the platform and looks concerned. The students lean forward for a better look. They're all laughing.
Luis explained the assignment to me. "We gotta pick some historical event or something and act it out in front of the class, see if they can guess it."
"Man, I can't do that! I don't even speak Spanish. And what do I know about Mexican history? Tell Senor Torres."
Luis came back, smiling. "Sorry, cuate, you gotta do it. Teach says you can pick something from American history if you want."
"Well, what about my Spanish? Did you tell him?"
"Si, hombre, I told him. He said we all gotta do it in pantomima, you know, no words. I'm gonna do El Grito."
"What's that?"
"It's the freedom cry of Mexican independence. ¡Viva Mexico! Benito Juarez did it first back in 1810 or something like that."
"Hey, Luis. How are you gonna do El Grito in pantomime?"
He thought for a moment. "Damn!"
The day came and I watched the students ahead of me go through their performances. In spite of my own case of jitters I was genuinely interested in the other skits. One boy tried to reenact the eagle perched on a cactus eating a serpent, the symbolic centerpiece of the Mexican flag. (Ancient legend tells that the gods commanded an Aztec man to found a city on the site where he came across such a thing. That was the site of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City.) Another cheerfully pantomimed an Aztec priest slitting a sacrificial throat. Luis wound up pantomiming one of the Ninos Heroes, the Heroic Children, six teenage military cadets who tried to hold off an attack by US Marines in Mexico City in 1847. It's Mexico's equivalent of the Alamo for us.
Finally my turn came. I had chosen the story of Washington throwing a silver dollar across the Potomac. I don't know if I actually expected anyone to guess it or if I purposely went for something I figured no one (except maybe Luis) would know. It didn't make too much difference because my skit turned out to be more slapstick than pantomime. Or history.
I had to write the year of the event on the blackboard and suddenly realized I would have to make up a year for an event that never actually took place. I wrote "1776." Close enough. I started the "reenactment" at the far end of the slightly-raised tiled platform that ran along the front of the class. Walking a third of the way across, I stopped, kneeled down, looked to my left and my right and pretended to drink, cupping water to my mouth, giving the idea of a river. I stood up and took what I hoped everyone would at least know was a coin, if not a silver dollar, from my pocket. I flipped it a couple of times to make the point and then backed up. My plan was to run a few steps forward and fling the coin across the "river", shading my eyes with my hands as I watched it sail away. I wanted to really heave that coin to show that it was being thrown across a wide river. Unfortunately, at the peak of the throw, I slipped and I fell on my tailbone, legs and arms akimbo. The class was hysterical. They loved it! It took several minutes to restore a modicum of decorum and by that time no one was interested in what event I was trying to depict. But it was memorable. I'd get asked for the next couple of years when I was going to put on another performance of the man who drank tequila from a barrel and got so drunk he fell down.
A Real Education
It didn't take long for me to recognize the many differences between the American School and my new one. Discipline. Order. Respect. Standards. Expectations. Teachers who were qualified to teach their specialty. My Mexican civics class, for example, was taught by Senor Duran, a lawyer. Don Tomas (we referred to him as don Tommy), a university professor, taught chemistry. A University of Guadalajara professor, don Mario, taught geography. Behind his back students called him "Mata Siete", someone who thinks very highly of himself for no good reason. It comes from a story very similar to "The Brave Little Tailor" who killed "seven at one blow", which, loosely translated, is what "Mata Siete" means. He was tall, wore dark glasses all the time out of class and was damned good looking. Maybe he did have good reason to think well of himself . . .
As my Spanish improved I began participating in class. I was also learning about Catholicism every day in religion class, a brand new experience for me and one I enjoyed. Mom had talked to me regularly about religion and spiritual beliefs over the years. She was raised Protestant, went to a Catholic boarding school and had read extensively about Eastern religions. She'd also read Edgar Cayce and the 1956 best-seller about reincarnation, "The Search for Bridey Murphy". All this she passed on to me with the idea of opening my mind to different ways of believing. As a result I was always interested in what don Cuco, our religion teacher, had to say.
One day the lesson was on the importance of regular confession and I asked him a question. "What would happen, don Cuco, if a guy came into the church, killed the priest, put on his robes and listened to people's confessions? Would they still be forgiven their sins?"
"Of course," don Cuco smiled, "God understands everything that happens."
On another occasion the lesson was on burial and why cremation is not permitted. "It's important," he told us, "that the body be buried intact. God gave us our bodies and expects us to appear before Him after death with our body complete. This is, of course, impossible with cremation."
I was curious. "What happens, don Cuco, if a plane crashes and the pilot is burned up?"
"God will put him back together."
"Then if God can put people back together, why can't we be cremated?"
Student heads swiveled back and forth between me and don Cuco. I don't think they'd ever thought of this.
"We don't want to needlessly burden God," don Cuco explained, and moved on with the lesson. I decided not to ask my follow-up question: "If God can do anything, why would this be a problem?"
* * * * *
Going into Cervantes, I had two related "new boy" concerns. The first was just being the new boy in school, no different than it would have been at home. My anxiety was increased, however, by being the American new boy in school, el gringo. As it turned out, the latter concern never amounted to anything. I was never singled out for special treatment, or mistreatment, just because I was an American. True, I was called gringo a lot, a term many Americans felt was derogatory. But I decided early on it made no sense to protest. For one thing, it had no inherently bad connotation for me so I had trouble working up any anger over it. For another, I didn't have the language to protest. And it would have been senseless to take on anybody and everybody who called me that. So gringo it was for all my years at Cervantes.
SNAPSHOT: That's me, second row, five seats back, standing by my desk. Note how important I'm trying to look. That's Senor Mignault, the English teacher, also standing by his desk. Note how displeased he looks.
Ironically, the only time being American caused me any trouble was in English class. For the first couple of months my grade was rarely 10, the highest mark. We got our report card every Monday morning for work done the previous week and the first few times Mom asked me about the low grade in English, often a 7.
"David, what's going on with English? Why do you keep bringing home these low grades? What's going on?"
"Well, Mom, he keeps making mistakes and I correct him."
"In front of the whole class?"
I nodded.
"Don't you think it would be better to keep your comments to yourself?"
After that, I limited my criticisms to after class and my English grade was consistently ten.
2 Comments leave one →
April 14, 2010 10:58 pm
>Altho at the time, I didn't realize the difference between teaching and preaching . . .


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Alguna cosa
S. Anantha Sayana, CISA, CIA
Volume 1, 2003 | | |CAAT refers to computer-assisted audit technique. This implies that an auditor's use of a computer-assisted audit technique is something special- normally the techniques used by an auditor are not computer assisted. Today, in most large and medium-sized enterprises, there are few business processes that are notdriven by computers. The business does not refer to them as computer-assisted business processing. The use of computers and information technology for doing business is taken for granted, so why should auditors talk about something special called CAAT?
Performing audits without using information technology is hardly an option. When all the information needed for doing an audit is on computersystems, how can one carry out an audit without using the computer? While the audit world will likely grow out of using this terminology, for the purpose of this article, the term CAAT refers to the use of certain software that can be used by the auditor to perform audits and to achieve the goals of auditing. CAATs can be classified into four broad categories:
▪ Data analysis software
▪ Networksecurity evaluation software/ utilities
▪ OS and DBMS security evaluation software/utilities
▪ Software and code testing tools
Data Analysis Software
Data analysis software is the most popular of the four and is loosely referred to as audit software. The generic products available under this segment are termed as general purpose audit software, also known in some parts as GAS or generalized auditsoftware. This software has the ability to extract data from commonly used file formats and the tables of most database systems. Thus, these systems can be used during the audits of almost any application on any technology platform. The audit software can perform a variety of queries and other analyses on the data. Some of the features are: data queries, data stratification, sample extractions,missing sequence identification, statistical analysis and calculations. This software also can perform operations after combining and joining files and tables. The list of features grows with each version of this software and a recent added feature is Benford analysis.
Need for Audit Software
Going back to the very basics, the IS audit methodology starts with risk analysis, which translates into,"What can go wrong?" The next step is to evaluate controls associated with the situation to mitigate risks, or, "What controls it?" The evaluation of controls goes into not only the design of the controls, but also their actual operation and compliance. Most observations, interviews, scrutiny and compliance testing are to determine whether controls exist, are designed well, are understood,operate effectively and are being complied with by the operating personnel. At the end of this phase the IS auditor could have observations about some controls that exist and are operating satisfactorily or some controls that are nonexistent, badly designed or not in compliance.
The following is an example of an IS auditor performing a payroll review. While doing an application review, the IS auditorobserved that many of the required validations relating to the salary ranges and admissible allowances and perks were not built into the application software and concluded that it was possible to process values that did not meet the rules. When performing compliance testing, the auditor also observed that the modification logs and exception reports were not being checked regularly by the payrollofficer. The application was in use at the organization for more than two years. While the observations were noted and corrective action was immediately taken on modifications to the software to include the validations, management's concerns were, "Have any errors or fraud really taken place? Have we lost any money? Have we erred in any payroll-related tax compliances?"
The IS auditor's job is...
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Apollo 63
Although we are all a bit jaded, Will's enthusiasm to go back to Harlem and visit the Apollo carried us back on the MTA Uptown to 125th. It was a very cold and wet Harlem that greeted us.
One very cool dude, Lord Harrison…who was linked to…..Reverend Harrison at the Baptist Church…and Wu-tang Clan…and Russell Crowe (?) sold us his cd on the street…for $10, no $4…no $10 bucks. We are too scared to put it on when we got back but he reassured us that it was kind to women 🙂
We wandered around and picked up the 'vibe' until we decided to eat. Everyone knows how much I hate Mac Dondald's, but it was cold and we were hungry..so we went to the golden arches in Harlem. There were signs everywhere stating that you had 30 minutes to eat and then you had to leave. Other signs said NO SOLICITING. A big man in a black suit with a walkie talkie wandered around the tables. Eventually he said he had called the cops and quite a few tables kind of emptied out. 'I can't be responsible for what the cops find on you when they come', he said about twenty times. I played 'peek-a-boo' with a beautiful little 2 year old boy who was bored holding a table for his mum. When she eventually came back she had a small thing of chips and nuggets for him. I was kind of sad by then. Was it the universal image of mother looking after child, while going without herself? Was it the sad people who really just wanted to sit in Macca's because it was warm? We ate up and left. Outside the sidewalk was full of all the people pretending to talk on their phones so that could come back in again after the lunchtime rush.
One CommentLeave a Comment
Trish / Dec 29 2010 5:26 am
OMG! You promised you would never let Maccas pass their lips! Well I don't feel so guilty now (after I started Maddy on Maccas pancakes in1985!!!!! Yes Yes I know that was over 14 years ago!!! But she turned out OK!?!?!?!)


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Bharuch is considered to be one of the oldest ports with a history of almost 8000 years! Learn more interesting facts about the history of Bharuch » in detail at Mintage World. From dynasties to major emperors, understand every minute aspect of this historical city of Bharuch!
It is NOT ok to contact this poster with commercial interests.


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Place: "Langley Hill"
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Edward Ivory, 1763, and others of the family; Mrs. Martha Greene, 1780; Flower, wife of John Angell, 1788; and Langley Hill, Esq. 1793. Against the stone house adjoining to the church-yard is a monument without either name, date, or arms
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peace. le KRFMP.-On the 9th inst., sfor as lingerins illness, in his 63rd year, E S. Ricihard Kemp, of Langley Hill, near Stretford-on-Avon, formerly 1 t of 10, Spiceal Street, Birmingham; much regrettede LAWore.-On the 9thl inst., iiced81 years, Hansash
1,16), Uflington .eouse; Thursday, Dec. 7, at lVitham Common. TFnCoTSvWt.D Hou;zecs, ata quarter to Bleccn,-Thbs day, Dee. 4, at Langley Hill (Stanley); Wedneaday, Dea. 6, at Colasbourne; Friday, Doc. 8, at Feosc ilidge. THic EARL Or COVENTrnY's lHoUNDs et X-Ate-Thla
.s sarrid Mass as Shepherd and Cownlsn, Atust c horoughnly ssndcrstaisr iermere work.-Apply, It, letup. 10, Spiceal Stxeit; or Langley Hill, near Stratford-en-Avon. ellIS0 ~LINTJGLIUS Trade. -Wanted, in the above trade, an eyisect- FI.cred Mana Pecker, Mlyuet ho sober, and
TO LET-DWELLINO HOUSES AND LAND Le. itns I= P esle. ia Sand Street, St. Mary's SqUSO laei he ocuption acifg; *' F.fme~ ~ r- ticelars aplyir. Sam. Niathw.Wlla n Beotisers and Co.,I "hItta St"reet, JBirmingbam. c0l72 ?130?P with ever.
19th inst-the unal Sal of l'ul~sr ST~ORE STOCK. JIB ~3Y ENDALL & SON, In conjunaction with Thma Kin, at Langley Hill Farm, Langley, near Ciaveone, a. JEDNSESDAY, the 26th tenft., and for unreserved sale-the vluti of the High-clans FAOIMING STOCK,
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of tho High Street, in eight houses out of thirty the upper side being entirely spared. Four cases on Langley Hill, and one of a very mild type at the water side, complete the list. Tho houses in tho High
of proper repair is sometimes added to-other typhoid fever, ovils, and whitewashing is in many instances urgently required. On.' Langley Hill are houses exhibiting similar defects, but in a less degree. 3. King's Lang- , ... Icy, by Dr. Ord.
Bd. ROUGH): Granhy ... Ukeston Junction - Ilkeston - Kensington 438 Kirk Iretos - - JL -Bd. - Ch. Langley Hill. See Heakor. Langxcith Baxsett. See Upper Lasgwith. 367 LTNTON AND CASTLE GRESLEY, U.D. : Castle Gre3ley - - -
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Spices filled the warm autumn air. I drank them in. The spices mixed with drums and laughter, crashing water and joyful chatter. The air was alive. The city was alive. CityPark was alive and hosting The World Curry Festival. A feast for all the senses opened out in front of me. I dived right in.
There is no sincerer love than the love for food. George Bernard Shaw
Bradford, the current UK Curry Capital, is hosting The World Curry Festival this weekend (21-23 September). I went down on the Saturday to sample the delights… and what delights I beheld.
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. JRR Tolkien
The CityPark is a wonderful place. The UK's largest feature showers visitors with fountains which change according to its mood, making for a wonderful place to simply sit and enjoy the city, or to dive in and get wet – something I've never experienced in any other UK city to the same degree. It's wonderful! And, being Bradford's liquid beacon, there really couldn't be a finer, more appropriate setting for a festival of curry, could there?
Why not take a look at Zaara's / P13 Digital Media's video of the Curry Festival on Friday night? Quieter by far than Saturday but CotyPark's wonderful at night.
After a busy morning, we were starving when we got to CityPark, or so we thought, as after a quick circuit to see what delights were on offer, smelling the myriad of spices floating tantalizingly through the air, and seeing the fare being gleefully devoured by the throng, we could've eaten a scabby horse – highly spiced, of course. Thankfully, equine cicatrisation wasn't on the menu; there was, however, a cornucopia of epicurean delights. Some of the finest Indian, Pakistani and South-East Asian restaurants took their fare to the streets of Bradford, and Bradford lapped it up – literally
I love spicy food. Cynthia Nixon
Heavy of heart and empty of tum, we bypassed restaurants we know and love, promising our hunger and tongues we'd visit Zaara's, Zouk, Prashad and other Bradford staples later, and plumped for Brighouse's Street. We weren't to be disappointed. Waiting in the queue was exquisite torture. We stood for about half an hour, which was an eternity with a rumbling belly, but it's wonderful that Bradford can attract such a huge volume of visitors. It wasn't just Street: all the stalls were packed with similar waiting times and similarly sated customers. For £5, we got a 3 course meal in a box: gram floured potato scallop, channa chaat spring roll, battered fish, seekh kebab, tanddori jerk chicken wings, chicken karahi, creamed daal, basmati rice, puri and falooda. Oh, the joy! We sat and gorged ourselves then smiled, pogged, and discussed how great the meal was.
We stayed around CityPark, digesting our fantastic food, the ambiance and the other offerings, such as street theatre from Fairly Fresh Fish Co, Comedy Chefs and Cake Ladies, as well as the music, and wandering past the other stalls selling all manner of Indian spices and foodstuffs. The crowds appreciated it all. Rushing now, with another cultural engagement at Multi Storey Shipley to get to, we popped into the shop under the Impressions Gallery which had been transformed into a Curry Festival shop. Sharon's brother, a curry aficionado exiled in Oxford and jealous of our outing, was the main beneficiary. Unfortunately, they'd sold out of 'Keep Calm and Curry On' T-shirts in his size, but he'll be overjoyed with a signed Prashad recipe book! We managed to take in a few minutes of Hardeep Singh Kohli's cookery demonstration – just enough to make me even more disappointed that I'd miss his comedy and curry night – before we begrudgingly left.
A lot of food shows need only to tempt. Some food shows only need to inspire, to empower. And there are a lot of shows that do that. Alton Brown
So, full to the brim and mouths still tingling, we tore ourselves away… happy. We were happy and so, I hope, were the organsiers. Curry had come home and was shown how much it means to this city – every Bradfordian is a curry connoisseur and each has their own favourite dish and place to eat it. Bradford showed what it means to have our city's dish home and in our heart. The stalls' tills were ringing all day, the visitors were entertained, and everyone must be really, really pleased. Could they tear themselves away next year? I hope not. And, on today's evidence, why would they?
Finishing food is about the tiny touches. In the last seconds you can change everything. Mario Batali
Today was brilliant, but as we talked about it afterwards, we still think it could be even better and even bigger. We compared it to the CityPark's opening and other city events where there is a big do by the mirror pool, but nothing else goes on. Where are the fringe events, the bits and bobs around and about? At the moment, many tricks are being missed but, with days like this, they'll come as more and more people hear of and try out events in CityPark. @CultureVultures, the Leeds-based cultural blog, came to town and tweeted "Millenium Square in Leeds suffers badly in comparison [to CityPark] as a 'place' to be convivial and imaginative." – high praise from Leeds' standard bearer and a Yorkshire cultural icon. Soon, I fervently hope, there'll be too many people coming to events to allow just Centenary Square to hold the throng, and I can't wait for that day when an event in City Park means colour and sound spreading out to Market St, the West End and, dare I say it, the Odeon. CityPark's such a wonderful, joyous foundation – let's build, build, build.


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H3 Entertainment & GoSityEnt.com Accompany A Handful Of Indie Artists To The Big Apple, New York City. The Group Stayed In Queens With A Nice View & Comm unity That Showed Love And Interest To Their Grind. Making Stops At The Major Record Label Showcase With Reps From DefJam, Roc Nation, Hot 97, VH1, TNB Management, & More Started The Trip On A Serious Tip, The After Party With Special Guests Eased The Mood Before The Next Days Meeting Inside Def Jam Office s. Recap It Thanks To @ChicagoEBK Media.
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Repair that leak in the roof
Has the outside of your house experienced damage from the weather or wear and tear over several years? It is critical for you to trust the roof and siding repair and installation to a qualified team of gutter cleaning near me Everett Wa professionals. We have helped thousands of people repair siding and roofing projects in every type of home. To ensure your house is safe and looking great. we can meet with you to decide what materials and processes will best fit your needs. We will provide the highest quality craftsmanship and experienced service available to finish every job to your expectations. To have your home looking amazing, give us a call now and and we can begin with an estimate.


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Natural Talent is looking for additional World Class Associate Consultants
Natural Talent is pleased to be looking for additional Associate Consultants who are resident in the UK.
In particular we are interested in meeting with Leadership and Management Development Trainers who use a Coaching training style to promote participative learning. You will be delivering our bespoke High Performance Leadership and Management Development Programmes to global corporate clients and large public sector organizations. You will need to be BPS qualified Assessors in order to be able to deliver feedback from Personality Questionnaires and a range of psychometric tests and 360 Feedback Reviews.
As the majority of our work originates from referrals, all our Associate Consultants need to be highly professional and qualified, confident with the ability to maintain confidentiality. You will need to demonstrate a minimum of 5 years Consulting experience in the private and public sector, as well as at least 5 years of senior corporate management experience.
You will need to work in partnership with our clients and have the credibility to be able to operate at all levels, from Board to individual team members. You will be delivering our world-class Consultancy services to a wide range of functions in corporate companies across a variety of industry sectors and large public sector organizations.
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
The Last Nuele for This Year
This is the last nuele for this year. I'll have to make more next Christmas. I was happy to find a free hour yesterday morning to hang up my nueles in the front room. They look great hanging from the ceiling.
1 comment:
- Snippety Gibbet said...
Happy new year, Melissa! jan
- December 31, 2010 at 8:23 PM
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Asus launched the world's slimmest gaming laptop with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 – the ROG Zephyrus (GX501VI). This new laptop is thinner than all the ROG laptops launched before. The Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501VI variant is priced starting at $2699 (approx. Rs. 174,200) and the ROG Zephyrus GX501VS variant is priced starting at $2299 (approx. Rs. 148,400). Both the variants will be available at the end of June in the USA and Canada. The company does not properly specify the differences in the two, it will be graphics probably.
ALSO READ: Asus ZenBook UX330 Ultra-Portable Laptop Launched in India
Asus ROG Zephyrus
It comes with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080/1070 graphics, seventh generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, an optional 120Hz wide-view display, and it ships with the latest Windows 10 Creators Update. The display is 15.6-inch (1920×1080 pixels) and supports up to 24GB of DDR4 RAM. The laptop comes in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD storage options. Ports include a Thunderbolt 3 Type-C, four USB 3.1 Type-A, HDMI 2.0 (for VR), and a 3.5mm headset opening. The keyboard design is different from previous ROG laptops, the buttons are moved up front for better cooling management and has RGB lightning.
Asus claims that this new flexible system allows for 20 percent more airflow than before. The laptop weighs only 2.2kgs, and sports of a RGB keyboard as well.


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- 1 difficulty organizeing your hotel website re-design?
- 2 : Count on resort professionals
- 3 : Concentrate on a couple of things that relay your hotel's experience
- 4 : Customer experience is vital, fail to remember sub-navigation
- 5 : Simplify web page style, constantly be closing
- 6 : Responsive layout gets the web everywhere
- 7 : Software program as a Solution and also the ability to change
- 8 Conclusion
difficulty organizeing your hotel website re-design?
Whether hotel supervisors are accountable for handling check-ins, meals, enjoyment tasks or check-outs, hoteliers are always on the run and have no time at all to save. Therefore, when it comes to internet site re-design, while many hoteliers recognize their web sites are obsoleted as well as due for redesign, most aim to delay that project to the last possible moment.
While a lot of hotel managers recognize the relevance of a strong electronic existence, much of them have felt disappointed at least when while trying this objective. This sensation is the outcome of typical website design and also company procedures, which require significant time and also interest from hoteliers. When making a site making use of conventional website design firms, hoteliers invest too much time discussing as well as examining. Hoteliers lose time in endless conferences that are intended to determine progress as well as make sure that the final result is exactly what hoteliers anticipate and also such as, typically overlooking the fact that most hoteliers have little knowledge of consumer behavior on the web.
Nonetheless, resort managers need to not shed hope. As an hotelier, you must comprehend one of the most essential factors in good website design, making it easier to take a wise choice when selecting your web design company. By doing so it is feasible to find internet designers that have the ability to offer a wonderful site in a just a few weeks as well as you will be pleasantly impressed by a website that achieves its mission of providing the best ethnic culture according to the kind of holiday accommodation.
: Count on resort professionals
When it pertains to hotel site design, it begins with knowing resorts, yet most of all understanding just how resort website visitors act.
Web design companies in general are not professionals in hotel internet site design and this can present itself as a failure. Advertising online the most recent mobile phone, soft drink or footwears is not the like assisting in looking for lodging.
Leveraging resort internet site specialists, hotel internet site style ideal practices as well as detailed consumer behavior knowledge will enable these experts to lead the process, choose that optimize consumer effect, as well as how much the website markets. Doing so makes it feasible to bid farewell to lengthy "design jobs" which constantly require hotelier's time and also resources.
: Concentrate on a couple of things that relay your hotel's experience
This action is composed in ensuring that what your guests experience at your home or business can be previewed online. Guarantee that the look-and-feel of your hotel is equated right into its web design.
Try to find elements that show the building, e.g. shades, design (e.g. style, nation, vintage, beach, company) along with interior decoration details. Various other crucial elements in connecting your hotel's experience are your hotel's logo design as well as its photos. The resort logo is the # 1 or # 2 element that consumers see on your internet site. You should make certain that your hotel's logo is lined up with the home design and is a value-add to your internet site.
Pictures are aside from rate one of the most vital element when picking a resort. Count on photos heavily to interact. They are essential as hoteliers could not be able to distance themselves from individual preferences. Photos are a fantastic way to connect the experience an "outsider" has of the property, besides being a powerful device to record individual's attention.
So, determine which aspects you want to advertise and highlight, concentrate on transferring these and also overlook the rest. In this manner consumers will understand specifically what to expect at your house.
Customers are very hectic nowadays therefore internet sites are provided 5 to 10 seconds to get hold of somebody's interest and transfer a message. If consumers need to invest way too much time reviewing they are susceptible to desert as well as look somewhere else. Forget complicated navigating frameworks, maintain it simple.
A research study conducted by GuestCentric over 300 hotel websites worldwide shows that 3 web pages are critical for consumers: the home page, the spaces page and the booking engine/rates page. Additionally, customers may look for special deals, the picture gallery, and the location of the residential property.
Guarantee usability of these 6 web pages with basic navigating as well as uncomplicated formats that connect one of the most vital message. Prevent clutter and unnecessary information, exclude too much message and buy large, bold photos.
: Simplify web page style, constantly be closing
Designers can no much longer deliver vanity jobs, and also websites that are "great looking". We believe the primary emphasis for every site is to acquire more organisation by owning users to book and also having a straightforward online appointments system pays-off.
This implies that your site should have a "Book Currently" switch noticeable on every page, ideally at the exact same spot. Every page ought to assist customers get closer to booking a keep at your resort.
: Responsive layout gets the web everywhere
Recognizing that the access to internet sites is currently made with a selection of tools such as smart devices and tablet computer systems is likewise essential when it involves internet site growth. Users anticipate to access the network from any place they are. Guaranteeing your internet site deals with mobile devices might complicate the website design process as it would be yet another website to style and also evaluation.
This is not the case. Responsive design cuts the process short as it makes certain that your site adapts automatically to mobile devices. Therefore, guarantee that your vendor is a professional in receptive style.
: Software program as a Solution and also the ability to change
In a fast-moving market, hotels need the ability to transform websites without being billed an arm-and-leg for every change. Software application as a Solution is a brand-new design that allows hoteliers to take their destiny right into their own hands and also transform their website without having to rely on style companies.
At the end of the day, hotel website style ought to not be as complex as brain surgery.
Hotel websites should assist hoteliers attain their objectives, specifically in creating revenue. You can adhere to the tips above, streamline the process and also have a brand-new web site up-and-running in a couple of weeks. Searching providers with a side which are interested in these ideas may save you from going bananas. With an elegant understanding of resort web sites and user's choices, obtaining a simple design process that adjusts to the brand-new electronic World is now possible. Producing and maintaining a high-grade site in a brief amount of time as well as with less fuss has actually become a real option.


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Flying Lizard Announces 2010 Le Mans Program: Bergmeister, Law and Neiman to return in the No. 80
May 3, 2010 – Sonoma, Calif. – Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today the details of their sixth 24 Heures du Mans program. Drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Darren Law (USA), and Seth Neiman (USA) will return in the No. 80 Porsche GT3 RSR for the 24-hour endurance classic, June 12-13 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. The No. 80 will be sponsored by ShoreTel and Openwave, both sponsors of the team's 2010 ALMS season.
Flying Lizard has competed in GT2 in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2009, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, and sixth in 2008. "Le Mans is such a great and unpredictable race," said Flying Lizard principal and No. 80 driver Seth Neiman. "We are honored to have the opportunity to participate again in 2010. We've run the gamut of experiences here; each year we learn more about how to compete in this incredible event."
Lizard chief strategist Thomas Blam added, "This will be the second year that Joerg, Darren and Seth have driven together at Le Mans. Last year Joerg qualified on the pole; we had a fast car and a strong showing until the hour 15 crash. This year, we expect an even tougher GT2 field with both Corvette and BMW now in the mix. We are coming off our recent ALMS win in the streets of Long Beach and we hope to carry that momentum through Laguna and to Le Mans."
All three drivers have significant endurance racing experience. Bergmeister is a Porsche factory driver and is currently tied for the lead in the 2010 ALMS GT championship in the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche (with co-driver Patrick Long). He has raced at Le Mans eight times, three years with Flying Lizard: 2007, 2008 and 2009. He won GT2 in 2004 (with Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long) and has finished on the podium three times. In the ALMS, Bergmeister is four-time GT2 champion: 2005, 2006, 2008 (with Wolf Henzler) and 2009 (with Patrick Long). He has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona three times — in GT in 2009, both GT and overall in 2003 and GT in 2002.
Law and Neiman co-pilot the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche in the ALMS in the 2010 season. Neiman finished seventh in the ALMS GT2 drivers' championship in 2009 and Law was tenth. In 2009, Law won overall at the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona; notable ALMS finishes include second in 2008 in the No. 44 at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring(with Neiman and Alex Davison) and 2nd in GT2 at Long Beach and Detroit (with Patrick Long) in 2007. Since 2005, Law has consistently finished in the top ten of the Porsche Cup ranking of non-factory Porsche drivers: 5th in 2009, 4th in 2008, 2nd in 2007, 7th in 2006, and 10th in 2005.
In the ALMS, Flying Lizard has won back to back GT2 team and driver championships: 2008 and 2009. Two races into the ALMS 2010 9-race season, the No. 45 is currently tied for the championship lead.
Follow the Race
The 24 Heures du Mans begins at 15.00 h CET (9:00 am Pacific Time) on Saturday June 12. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live during the race. Fans can follow English-language broadcast on Radio Le Mans http://www.radiolemans.com/ and SpeedTV. Live timing and scoring at http://www.lemans.org/24heuresdumans/pages/accueil_gb.html.
About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard Motorsports competes in the American Le Mans Series GT class. The team has finished in the top three in the ALMS GT2 drivers' and team championships every year since 2004, their first year of professional competition. In 2009, the team swept all ALMS GT2 titles: Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long won the drivers' championship in the No. 45; Flying Lizard won the team championship; Porsche won the manufacturer championship; and the Flying Lizard No. 44 Porsche won the Michelin Green X Challenge championship (new for 2009). It is the team's second consecutive triple championship: in 2008 Joerg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler won the ALMS GT2 drivers' title in the No. 45; Flying Lizard won the team championship; and Porsche won the manufacturers' title.
Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2009, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, and sixth in 2008. The privateer team is based in Sonoma, California.
© RIF | Flying Lizard Motorsports


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Alison and I had the chance to attend the wedding of one of her friends at the Salt Lake Temple today. Kim Locher married Paul Kindred. I don't remember the name of the guy that performed their wedding but he was fantastic (If anyone reading this does, then let me know in the comments). It is fun to remember when Alison and I were married more than 4 years ago. In comparison to most of our friends, we're the oldies. I especially enjoyed a poem by the great western poet Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) that the sealer shared. He wrote this poem for his wife before she died.
I Love You - by Carl Sandburg
I love you for what you are, but I love you yet more for what you are going to be.
I love you not so much for your realities as for your ideals.
I pray for your desires that they may be great, rather than for your satisfactions, which may be so hazardously little.
A satisfied flower is one whose petals are about to fall.
The most beautiful rose is one hardly more than a bud wherein the pangs and ecstasies of desire are working for a larger and finer growth.
Not always shall you be what you are now.
You are going forward toward something great.
I am on the way with you and therefor I love you.


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We have a great selection of Jazz Singers and Crooner acts for hire in East of England. Ideal for a bit of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jnr ... you know the rest!
Jazz & Swing Band
Based in Essex, Harlow and Colchester
Male Party Duo
Based in Hertfordshire
West End, opera, & pop vocalist
Based in Hertfordshire
Rat Pack, Swing and Sinatra Singer, solo or with band
Based in Cambridge and Peterborough
2-5 piece Jazz, Swing and Party Band
Based in Hertfordshire
Background Soul, Jazz and Pop Trio
Based in Hertfordshire
Swing, Jazz and Soul band
Based in Hertfordshire
Solo professional vocalist
Based in Ipswich and Suffolk
3-7 piece 1920's Harlem Swing Band
Based in Manchester, Stockport and Oldham
Frank Sinatra tribute
Based in Leicestershire
Vintage Jazz and Swing Band
Based in Chester, Warrington and Cheshire
Rat Pack style vocal trio
Based in Aberdeen
Austin City Swing Band
Based in Manchester, Stockport and Oldham
2-6 piece early Jazz and Swing / Tin Pan Alley band
Based in Edinburgh
1940s & 1950s Tribute show
Based in Glasgow
Rat Pack-style swing show
Based in York
All female singing group
Based in Glasgow
Solo Saxophonist and Vocalist with or without band
Based in Bristol
Vintage style Gypsy Jazz and swing quintet
Based in London
New Orleans Style Jazz and Blues act
Based in Edinburgh
Based in London
Solo swing and Rat Pack singer
Based in Glasgow
1920's Great Gatsby Style Trio
Based in London
Jazz Swing Quartet
Based in Bristol
3 Piece Swing/Ratpack Tribute Act
Based in Leeds & Wakefield
Jazz, soul and pop big band!
Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne
3 piece ratpack/swing group
Based in Bath and Somerset
Solo vocalist
Based in Middlesbrough
Solo to 6 piece Jazz & Swing band
Based in Nottingham
© Freak Music | Design by Freak Design
| Site By Livingstone Creative


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Chicago O'Hare — June 2006. On my way to Newark. Late arrival of crew, who were on a late inbound plane. It was funny, on the way to New York the captain was telling us about how she had the same turbulence on the way into Chicago.
Chicago O'Hare — July 2006. On my way to La Guardia, even got on the plane and waiting for push off. Except LGA was closed because of the heat. Spent the best part of the day at ORD, got on an American flight to JFK at the end. Missed my onward flight but luckily it was C-class so got re-booked on a later flight.
San Francisco — Sept 2006. On my way to meet Car's family in Las Vegas. Plane was delayed coming in from LAS because of mechanical problem. Flights after that one came and went, I didn't get to Vegas till after midnight.
New York JFK — June 2007. Came in on a 15 hour flight already. Found out my connecting flight was delayed; then cancelled. Apparently the whole east coast was backed up because of bad weather ("what bad weather? it's so sunny outside!"). Spent the night sleeping on the floor behind a vending machine. Was on standby in the morning and couldn't get on any of the fully booked holiday flights. Ended up driving to Chicago.
Yes. All US airports. Every time a domestic flight.


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Tips About Eye Care You Can Not Find Anywhere ElseWorking towards proper eye health is going to find you improving other areas of your life as well. If you are having trouble with your eyes or want to keep this from happening, then you need to know a thing or two about eye care. The tips that are about to be revealed to you can help.
If your eyes are irritated by pollen or feel dry, use an eyewash. The eyewash can rinse your eyes of the impurities and make them feel more refreshed. Follow instructions on the package carefully. After the eyewash, your eyes should feel much better. Use the product a couple of times a day or as directed.
Don't smoke. You probably already know that there are many serious dangers related to cigarette smoking. One of the less-known dangers is developing Age-related Macular Degeneration(AMD). Several scientific studies have shown that the patients who did smoke were much more likely to develop AMD than those who didn't smoke. Just another reason not to start smoking or to quit today.
Take dry eyes very seriously if you suffer from this condition. While everyone experiences some dryness, either due to being tired or environmental influences, it can be damaging if it's happening too frequently. Talk to your eye care professional about possible treatments for your dry eyes, to prevent long-term damage.
Don't smoke. Along with other things, smoking can really damage your eyes. It can cause cataracts, macular degeneration, and optic nerve damage. Not only that, but it is harmful in other ways to other areas of your body. If you are having a hard time quitting smoking, keep trying, it will be worth it when you are successful.
What you eat is very important to the health of your eyes. A diet that is rich in vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids are helpful to good eyesight. Many vegetables like carrots and broccoli are rich in vitamin A. contact lenses uk and nuts can provide you with the omega-3 that you need.
If you wear contacts, make sure you take care of them properly. They carry a greater risk of causing eye issues because they sit directly on your eyes. Make sure to clean them properly daily. Make sure your hands are clean, and that you are using a contact solution that is not expired. Never clean them by putting them in your mouth.
Visit a vision specialist at least once a year for a comprehensive exam. Even if you can see fine, there may be issues going on. If left undetected, some of them can create huge problems down the line. Properly treated, you may be able to avoid vision challenges that were headed your way.
Get more Omega-3. Omega-3 fatty acids have plenty of health benefits and yet another has been discovered that helps the eyes. As most people grow older, their eyes stop producing enough oil and mucus to lubricate the eyes. However, diets with plenty of Omega-3 have been shown to increase the production of the required oils within the eye.
To care for your eyes, you must be a healthy weight. Obesity leads to diabetes which can create great damage to your eyes. It also leads to glaucoma, hypertensive retinopathy and other conditions which can lead to blindness. The healthier your body is, the healthier your eyes will be, so lose weight!
Take proper care of your contact lenses. Anytime you put in or take out your contact lenses, make sure that you have thoroughly washed your hands. Also, replace your lenses as instructed and disinfect them like you should. If not properly taken care of, contact lenses can cause you a lot of grief.
Chilled cucumber slices applied to the eyes can reduce swelling and rest and relax the eyes. Cut them into quarter-inch slices, and put them on your lids as you relax for about 15 minutes. Soaking green tea bags in cold water can also reduce inflammation.
You should really stop smoking if you're concerned about your eye health. This will increase your chances to get cataracts and other eye diseases. If you've unsuccessfully tried giving up the habit in the past, try again. Every time you try to quit smoking your chances of success rise.
Try not to touch your eyes. It may seem hard to do, but your hands carry many germs and irritants that can get into your eyes and cause issues. You should also never scratch your eyes. If you must touch or rub your eyes, make sure your hands are clean and that you handle them gently.
Use Read the Full Post soaked in a solution of rose water and a couple of drops of castor oil. When you place these pads on the eyelids, you can reduce the effects of eye burn. Other irritating issues with your eyes can be diminished or avoided using this method as well.
Your eyes are very important to your quality of life as they open you up to the entire world. This is something that you do not want to lose. Do not do that! Use the tips here to make sure you maintain your good eyes.


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If you've ever been cheated on, or suspect that's the case – this novel is for you! It's the perfect "revenge" story.
But even singles or readers in a happy relationship will find Rose Game to be a deliciously dark but fun read, with lots of twists and turns. Author Gitta Becker tells the story, which is set in Germany but could play out anywhere in the world. Her main character is Susanne, a wife and mother of three, who suspects that her husband is cheating. She discovers emails from her husband to his lover (nicknamed Plus) and decides to spy on them. Then she thinks "what's next?" There's murder – of the husband or the lover. Or there's divorce. But no – why not first devise a clever method of revenge to toy with their emotions and the affair itself?
She ultimately wants a divorce, but not a bitter and violent "War of the Roses", a'la the movie with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Instead, she'll make her revenge fun (at least for her) and call it "Game of the Roses."
She recalls actually having met the "other one" as she refers to the lover, at a golf tournament. Suddenly the actions of that day, between husband and woman, make sense. When she sees the two together now – and she accidentally spies them twice while having lunch – she realizes it's the same golfing woman. She schemes to pretend an innocent interest in establishing a friendship with the woman and asks her husband for her phone number so she can invite her to an Advent Coffee party. It seems her husband has the phone number of the woman and her husband. Susanne is throwing the party during the holiday season and wants to bask in the discomfort she can bring to the lovers. Her husband is trapped – he has to provide the number or look suspicious. Plus is trapped – she has to accept or look suspicious.
The Advent party opens the door to further seeking friendship with Plus. Susanne begins emailing her, using "girl talk" to say that while it went through a rough patch, her marriage is fine now…and sexy (though she knows her hubby says otherwise in his emails). Eventually, the idea is to turn the lovers on one another, planting seeds of doubt in their minds – all while keeping the secret from them that she is playing her game.
A true surprise occurs involving the Game of the Roses, and it's a joy to see this woman scorned flourish. The only drawback is a rather abrupt ending that had this reader convinced that a page or two had been missed on the online reading device. But it's great fun nevertheless. A few grammatical errors need to be corrected and hopefully an editor will step in next time to aid Becker. This is assuming there is a next time, and after reading Rose Game, readers will be hoping there is. This is a promising new author on the scene.


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If you've been following the news about gay marriage, you know there's a lot at stake in the Supreme Court's upcoming ruling for gay couples — 1,138 benefits afforded to married couples, to be exact, from social security and tax benefits to continued health insurance and immigration rights. But there's one benefit you may not have considered, one that effects the wellbeing of our nation's tiniest citizens: The right to family leave for the birth or care of a child.
Gay rights is the civil rights issue of our age — and although we've come a long way, gay marriage is still currently banned in 13 states. Last month the Supreme Court heard arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, a case that will decide whether the 14th amendment requires a state to recognize same-sex marriage and whether a state must recognize gay marriage when the ceremony was lawfully performed in another state. How the court rules will have reverberations for generations to come on a host of issues related to marriage — one of the most important of which is parental leave.
Currently the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the only federal parental leave protection. The FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for both mothers and fathers from work for the birth and care of a newborn, adopted child or foster child, as well as care for a sick child. Currently, married same-sex parents in states that do allow for marriage have the same rights under FMLA protection as heterosexual couples.
Employers in states who do not recognize gay marriage, however, can selectively offer maternity and paternity leave to couples based on sexual orientation. And without access to parental leave, same-sex couples risk losing their jobs to care for a newborn or a sick child.
"Employer-offered maternity leave benefits are primarily up to the employer's discretion; however, state or local LGBT anti-discrimination laws may prohibit employers from offering less generous policies to same-sex partners," says Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families.
The issue becomes more complicated when these couples move to states where same-sex marriage is not recognized.
"In most states that don't recognize same-sex marriage, same-sex partners who were married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage can take FMLA leave to care for each other or a newborn child," says Shabo. "It's worth noting that this is true whether or not they're married, as long as the person who is taking the leave either has day-to-day responsibility for the child or is financially responsible for the child."
So while the primary caretaker can take leave, it's not guaranteed for his or her partner. What's more, according to Shabo, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Nebraska are currently challenging even these laws. Which means that the Department of Labor can only order these states to provide FMLA leave to gay married couples if the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage.
What's more, domestic union and civil union partners are not able to take FMLA leave unless their state has expanded coverage to cover other relationships (California, Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin have already done this).
Sound confusing? It is. Family leave and gay marriage is currently a gray area for same-sex couples, many of whom are often unclear about their rights. This only compounds the difficulties parents already face without guaranteed paid family leave for the birth of the child (the U.S. is the only developed country other than Papua New Guinea in the world that does not guarantee at least some paid leave).
The issue can result in real hardship for same-sex couples like Kipp Jarecke-Cheng and his partner, Mark Jarecke, who have been together for 20 years and have two children together. When they adopted their first child from Vietnam, they spent seven weeks abroad going through the process and then another week at home trying to find childcare. Jarecke-Cheng worked at a non-profit that offered paid maternity leave, but when he asked his employer for paid parental leave, he was denied. If not for FMLA leave, Jarecke-Cheng would have been fired — but even still, being a same-sex couple meant that even though he is the main caretaker of their two children, he and his partner did not enjoy the same rights as a heterosexual couple.
"I was furious because I had to pay something like $2,500 to my employer essentially to keep my job when at the same time, a woman I worked with got paid maternity coverage," says Jarecke-Cheng, now a stay-at-home parent and writer. "FMLA is great, but you're doing it on your own dime."
For the most part, gay married couples often aren't sure whether or not they can take leave to care for a child, which is one more reason why the Supreme Court's ruling is so important to families. Under the current laws, gay married couples are often left in limbo, not knowing whether or not the law protects their rights as parents.
Given the benefits of family leave for both parents and kids, all couples should be afforded the same rights when it comes to maternity, paternity or parental leave.
If the Supreme Court votes to legalize gay marriage, same-sex parents will have the same family leave rights as heterosexual couples, which benefits families everywhere. These couples work just as hard to provide for their families, and they should also have the same rights when it comes to caring for their loved ones. The implications of this ruling go far beyond the institution of marriage; they matter for the working couples doing their best to provide for and raise their children.
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