text:
Rural System's
From The Grayson Initiative, Virginia's
Grayson County
Alternative for Visitors and Citizens
|Robert H. Giles, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
College of Natural Resources
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
February, 2005
What is it? This is a proposal to implement a new concept for replacing "tourism" for the good of Grayson County citizens, then the Region. It's called ranging, a new form of soundly-based, diverse, regional tourism and eco-tourism combined with most forms of outdoor recreation and sightseeing. Tourism is for outsiders; ranging is for outsiders and residents. It includes (but is not limited to) extensive outdoor recreation, hiking, tramping, camping, trekking, climbing, biking, trail riding, hunting, archery, fishing, boating, touring, sightseeing, watching and studying nature; but also outdoor projects, events, memberships, shows, contests, and games. It requires a superior environment. For that environment to exist and be sustained, there must be modern sophisticated management. Rural System, an enterprise now developing, can supply such management.
Tourism, as now promoted, tends to be narrow in scope, seasonal, costly, provides few financial gains for the county, often produces dissatisfactions, produces few desired jobs, and trespassing and disrespectful visitors bother local people.
Ranging is a complex activity for economic development for the county and its region. It clarifies Grayson as unique. It capitalizes on superior land management in and around the county, showing how a new conservation and education base for a diverse private corporation can improve economic conditions for businesses and citizens. It provides novel dimensions of culture, lifestyle, and quality of life for citizens as well as visitors.
Ranging is more than diverse tourism. It is a strategy of Grayson County to become recognized as the international center of a new activity and enterprise for:
Year around; 150-year planning horizon, sliding forward one year, each year, starting slowly but immediately.
Where Grayson County and surrounding areas, then the coalfields and eastward for Southside citizens.
The Action
The entire following partial list of groups of enterprises is described in the following pages and at www.RuralSystem.com:
A description is available of the conglomerate called Rural System that has over 70 potential units likely to be profitable when active and sensitively managed with computer assistance as a single system, a business conglomerate.
The Payoff
Proportions of profits (incentive based) to:
Identity Grayson County is likely to become known as "that ranging place."
|* * *
Rural System is the means to assist in implementing ranging. It is devoted to describing and eventually implementing a system of modern, soundly-based outdoor, rural, and natural resource conservation and management that supports a dynamic, diverse program of outdoor recreation and tourism that is internationally known and copied.
Rural System is the proposed enterprise for implementing the innovative concept. Started in Grayson County, Rural System, the private enterprise, a diverse "conglomerate," provides employment, financial incentives for sound resource management, and an operational center for much innovative outdoor recreation and related activities for citizens as well as visitors to the county and the region. That Grayson is a center for vital, safe, healthful, very diverse high-quality outdoor recreation becomes a major part of the identity of the county and its region.
The Concept
"It's difficult to wrap your mind around it" has been said to us several times as we have discussed ranging with others. We think that we can explain it better than we have done in the past. The project is about five things all at once …
Each of these will be discussed and supplementary materials will be available through the Internet at www.RuralSystem.com
Repeating: Tourism is for outsiders, visitors from anywhere; ranging is for outsiders and residents. It is combined:
Ranging is more than just a bunch of activities. It requires a dynamic enterprise working to promote the concept, develop the ecological and environmental conditions and services for lasting profitability of such activities, and make the rewards of success notable. Highly successful ranging is dependent on region-wide natural-resource development and management that provides employment, a tax base, and improving quality of life for citizens of the region. Grayson County can become the home of this concept and its development. It can become a favorable topic by which it becomes well known.
A Proposed Conglomerate
Ranging presents a new concept but it is well grounded in some old ideas. Like many other good ideas, it has been around a long time but not recognized or properly pulled together. Tourism has been claimed to be needed in western Virginia and has been a positive economic element of some communities. We have seen many such areas throughout the world but we also know of many failures and struggling families who have taken bad advice. We present a concept and formulation so different that it cannot be recognized as any current form of tourism, thus requiring a new name. We have a formulation for success that includes key ideas of: includes
These are activities for tourists and other participants but also for local employment. Understand: implementing ranging is a county-building, economic development action. It has low capital requirements, is gentle on the land, and does not require "outsider" investment. Reasonable local investment is, however, needed.
Several brief "stories" may clear the pathway to the ranging concept. Some are insights, others evidence of how pieces of a puzzle eventually seem just to fall into place. I tell these here before I present the list of enterprises, the units of the Rural System conglomerate. A firm understanding of the concepts behind the conglomerate can help the list of enterprises seem very realistic and quite achievable. The stories that give special insights are: "The Logger," "The Coalfield," "The Consultants," "The Wild Animal Populations," and "Football."
The Logger
Cutting through it all, the logger said after hearing about Rural System and ranging said: "Oh, all you're doing is providing the forest landowner annual income." It seems more than that.
The Coalfield
A Virginia Tech faculty member (Giles) worked on a project in the Virginia coalfield (Wise County). The question presented for him was "What will we do with 70,000 acres of land when the coal has all been mined?" He sought to design the perfect farm/forest complex. After much work and computer modeling, he discovered that such units were uneconomical and that only when some great "economies of scale" were reached could things be profitable. He found that economies were available in a single system (like one for cattle or for a single crop), not in small groups of cows, but well distributed over the area and with centralized management, care, marketing, and product storage.
Another Virginia Tech professor often spoke of the reason why forestry was failing. It was because ownerships were too small. Operations were unprofitable, equipment too expensive, and timber harvests could not be rotated over the years to sustain either a reasonable cash flow or an operation.
The other thing he discovered (or simply "realized") that a perfect solution for one piece of land surrounded by failing neighbors and difficulties of many types was not a real solution. Regional action was needed to retain profitability of the single ownership, even if it was large. The seeds of the need for regional, diverse ranging had been sown. There must be economies of scale and effective regional action. It has to start somewhere.
The Consultants
Years ago it required legal action to get certain state and federal agencies to stop their operations because private businesses could do them as well or perhaps better and there were now markets for those products or services. This was part of the free market and private enterprise systems widely discussed. Within the realm of natural resources, there remain private opportunities now performed by agencies. One reason that there are few private activities within these fields is that citizens cannot compete economically with the size, scope, and financial backing of government offices. This situation is changing, can change more rapidly, and suggests new private entrepreneurial opportunities, at least partnerships.
Within some field of natural resource management, for example, there are few consultants. There are many reasons for this, but the insights gained in exploring the reasons behind the condition suggest key ideas within the proposed conglomerate, now called Rural System …
Centralized administrative control and services
Diversity of interests and ability to respond to challenges
High personal incentives
Year-around activity
Economies to be gained with high technology and low capital equipment
Use of past research findings
Intensive use of computers, particularly computer maps.
The Wild Animal Populations
Students of wild animals and ecosystems soon learn that when prey (like rabbits) are abundant, then predators tend to increase. There is cyclic behavior, one species is up and the other is down. There is a kind of constancy, a steady state that can be seen when examined broadly. It comes from many animal species, many different densities, and adaptability. The example can be followed in businesses. "Dow" is a bad condition for rabbits and businesses and counties.
A major recommendation of economists is to "diversity your portfolio." The reasons for doing so are like those in nature for stabilizing animal populations. If an animal feeds off only one type of food and that food disappears, the animal usually goes extinct. Similarly, single-interest or single-product businesses often crash. A key idea of ranging and the proposed conglomerate is: diversify. That includes diversifying in time, space, and richness of offerings, and potential resource users.
The Football Analogy
The developing conglomerate uses the analogy of football. Of course, the leather football on the playing field is important, but the total football enterprise is very large and diverse. It includes uniforms, the stadium, food, drink, clothing, advertising, grounds, publications, fan clubs, and more. The ball is important but, compared to the greater football enterprise, it is almost irrelevant. By analogy, the tourist is essential, but in the context of a total regional rural recreational and viable economic land use system, the number may be almost irrelevant. Perhaps people in tourism and closely-related activities have had their "eye of the ball" too long. Perhaps just attracting visitors has not served us well and that it is now time to concentrate on the total rural and natural resource enterprise (or more broadly, call it the Rural System and ranging enterprises - achieving managed productive land, catering, lodging, equipment, products, organizations, guides, etc.)
The clear objective (and there is currently few for the public resource agencies):
Maximize within bounds long-term profits
The ranging conglomerate holds few limits. There is no agency saying restrict your thought and action; no overseer of definitions and proper work. The only limits seen are those of the legal system, ethical behavior, decent work, and profitable action … over the long run.
One of the most fundamental ideas within the ranging conglomerate concept is that of sustained profit making. The planning horizon is 150 years (the reasonable profitable life of the recently-planted forest tree) and it is sliding forward every year. Computer modeling and advanced accounting systems provide centralized, cost-effective services to the proposed members of the conglomerate. The long planning horizon tends to be unique and requires special discounting procedures for expected values. Special resource-related software as well as prognostic units are essential for managing the complex system and achieving a well-constrained investment strategy. No "blue-chip" enterprise, and still undergoing debates of optimum corporate structure, estimates suggest modest profitability at the end of 6 years.
The Elements of the Proposed Conglomerate
The above brief sections suggest the difficult pathway taken to analyze and discover the grounds for improving and keeping the great outdoors for the enjoyment and use by the people of Grayson County and its region. It requires a new concept, a distinctive term, a comprehensive activity and marketing both to citizens as well as to visitors. The concept is as simple as
|To have sustained profitable ranging, there must be abundant, satisfied, returning tourists and residents who must find safe, interesting, beautiful, diverse activities and opportunities, some of which are novel, others that change little. Quality ranging occurs within managed quality spaces.
That's all! Grayson County can be such a space. The work is very difficult. Failures of the parts in the past are abundant … but successes for them within a system can be great. The means by which we can avoid failures and achieve successes for citizens as well as visitors to the County and region have been captured in the ranging concept as it can be implemented by Rural System. When implemented, at the end of six years, Grayson County will be well known as "that ranging place…." and in the same breath, they will include "…with its fantastic outdoor beauty, amazing activities and events, safety for families and challenges galore for others, opportunities for retirees, and where people come to learn how to really do superior, sophisticated, modern total land management."
One key idea (from the football analogy above) is that all of the financial income for the total system does not have to come from the tourists' pockets. That is why a total system has been created. Its objective is to make profits … but over the long run. By operating many small enterprises, all with low environmental impact and low capital investment requirements, all together, success can be achieved. Many of the planned small enterprises cannot be successful alone. There is sad evidence. The past work units were too small, capital requirements were too great, financial instability in environmental areas was almost assured, much work was seasonal, and there was no diversity to grasp opportunities or to sustain life during "slow" periods and while working staff also had to seek new contracts. These units, when operated within a single system, can succeed. It is possible to stabilize employment, share resources, capitalize on local talents, use the public resources that are available (the National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, and others) exploit the advantages of dispersed operations, use the Internet, use the results of millions of dollars of past research and development at Virginia Tech, use superior management, and gain advantages of planned synergism.
The proposed conglomerate corporation, Rural System is devoted to conservation and education. While making financial gains is intended, the financial gains do not go only to stockholders and members but to the participants and to developing the functions of the corporation. Later sections of this document attempt to clarify the questions of finance and to address the "bottom line." The enterprise is large and complex but it can be visualized (even with overlaps) as having:
The following list cannot display the linkages, overlaps, joint marketing, shared economizing, and planned gains or "extra-effects" for the unified system. The enterprise units are described separately later.
The Q Works
The Q Works (like "water works;" Q grows from concentrating on quality of life for citizens) is the diverse control center or "System Central," of Rural System. It is the administrative, management, and leadership unit that also provides the major economies for the other enterprises. By centralizing many services and functions (marketing, accounting, legal, computer service, library, insurance, transportation, rentals, etc.) the presence of this group overcomes the major reasons why similar enterprise-efforts have failed.
The separate but collectively-managed enterprises of the proposed conglomerate are:
The Q Works
1. System Base (Marketing)
2. The Wildland Knowledge Base
3. The Dogwood Inns
4. The Realtor Group
5. The Warehouse Unit
6. Youth and Adult Camps
7. Writers' Camp
8. The Memorials Group
9. The Tours Group
10. EarthQuilt
11. The Safety and Security Group
12. Foundation
13. Software and GIS Group
14. The Energy Group
Forestry Topics
1. The Forest Group
2. The Certification Group
3. The Trevey
4. Fire Force
5. Walnut Vales
6. Holiday Trees
7. The Arborists
8. Stoneworms
9. The Wilderness Group
10. Earshot (soundscapes)
11. Viewscapes
12. The Foresters
1. Nature Folks
2. NatureSeen
3. Coyote of Nature Folks
4. The Owls Group
5. Prospectors
6. The Plant People
7. The Butterfly Band
8. The Fishery
9. The Raccoon Group
10. The Furbearer Group
11. The Black Bear Group
12. The Bobcat Group
13. Official Avi (a birdwatching sport)
14. The Wild Turkey Group
15. The Covey (quail)
16. The Dogs Group
Agriculture Topics
1. The Pasture and Range Group
2. The Gardens Group
3. The Yards Group
4. The Blueberry Patch
5. The Worm Corral
6. The Vineyards
7. The Goats System
8. The Rabbit Group
9. The Goose Flock
10. The Chestnut Group
11. The Bamboo Group
Sports and Recreation
1. The Wildland Crew
2. The 4 x 4 Group
3. The Wildland Walkers
4. Run Along
5. Tetra: a crosscountry race
6. The River Runners
7. Tree Tops
8. Novosports 9. The Biking Group
10. GPSence
Products and Services
1. Rural System Tracts
2. The Old Codgers
3. Fog Drip
4. Floats
5. The Products Group
6. The Sculptors
7. Topics
8. Inquire: The Unified Laboratory
9. The Wired Ecosystem
10. EcoRods
11. The Fence Group
12. Belles and Whistles
13. The Pest Force
14. Competency: Performance Assurance
A major activity of the proposed conglomerate is that it brings certain private lands of the region under a specialized contract and manages and uses them for profitable developments in the other interconnected units of the enterprise. These are called Rural System Tracts.
Many of the enterprise units can be operated without contracts with private landowners. While recruiting private landowners and developing their lands for profitable uses is an important activity of Rural System, the enterprise offers services to any landowner and operates many organizations (merely with offices within the region). Some of the activities of these groups may first be conducted on public land (local, state, or federal lands such as those of the US Forest Service) and later on the private lands of the greater enterprise. Each is described in www.RuralSystem.com. A text is available.
The Rural System Tracts
Past efforts to do so suggest that Rural System Tracts are difficult to describe. Here we attempt a very brief sketch, then two scenarios. Rural System Tracts are private lands of owners managed under contract for them and the county and region by Rural System. They may be considered to be somewhat like little national forests or parks, but they are private and intensively managed since each is best fitted to achieve one or more of the objectives of the long list of enterprises.
Many of these Tracts may be lands of corporations. Some are lands of absentee owners. Most are larger than 50 acres but there are likely to be a few exceptions. Concentrating on forests, fallow fields, and lakes and ponds, the systems developed are to assist landowners to improve their "lands" (lands and waters, all resources), into profitable, well-managed systems that benefit their families or corporations as well as all of the people of the region. Careful attention is given to owner objectives and the limits they may place of full-scale profitability. Concentrating on the forests, attention must be paid to the surrounding fields and pastures, to the lakes and ponds, even the potentials for pest-wildlife in gardens. A "total system" is the view taken. Some lands may be in Trust.
Fundamentally, the big difference is that the landowner cooperator get annual income or its equivalent, rather than being the victim of "plant, wait 60 years, and then cut timber" which has produced the boom-and-bust cycle of the private small woodland owner of the region. Rural System Tracts are private lands of owners who willingly join Rural System and who allow their lands and waters to be placed under superior management and use in ranging. Annual profits are made, and their lands increase in value and environmental quality, and they participate in the development of the entire region. They are relieved of the difficulties, costs, arrangements, and required knowledge needed to protect and manage the resources of their lands for profit … sustainable. People engaged in ranging may continue to use their lands.
Scenario #1- A Rural System Tract Example
One person learning about Rural System suggested that it would be useful if we developed a scenario of what might happen if ranging was successful. She asked, what was I really thinking? What might it be like? "Telling more" conflicted with her admonition: "in one or two pages!"
Each ownership will be different, but it can be imagined that a family or company that owns land will voluntarily join Rural System. Absentee landowners and busy residents who work in towns will find it especially appealing. There are memberships for other citizens of the region as well.
Keeping in mind that there are many profit-producing units that are not field based, and some conducted on public lands (e.g., wilderness study experiences) and that these profits are being shared with the cooperating private land owners, it may be helpful to imagine an hypothetical tract of 180 acres. There are many large tracts of land, farms and forests, in the County and surrounding region. (There are many absentee owners who would like to have their land cared for and tended, lightly used, and improved in their absence for their families and their future. Diverse services are not now readily available.) Our early recruitment objective is to have under superior management about 50,000 acres.
Assuming one such tract or ownership (call it "North 1," and realize that with our computer systems and data we treat each tract as unique), the owner received $10,860 based on the financial provisions (described later). This amount had been asserted for him earlier, based on computer analyses. The Q Works paid the real estate tax on the forested and pasture part of the farm, leaving the funds for the daughter's wedding, new vehicles, or further investments in Rural System and the county's well being. Similar returns were likely every 2 years.
On the Rural System Tract, North 1, five acres were logged in small groups and re-vegetated and 30 trees were removed by individual tree selection. Three large basswoods were removed, sawn, and solar dried and later sold to The Sculptors. The emphasis: value-added strategies at most decision points. Ferns and ground plants that would be destroyed during the harvests were moved to the gardens of The Plant People. Emphasis: save or recycle. Forms were completed for SmartWood certification (value increases of about 5-8% without major investment). Roads were improved, water bars placed to stop erosion, and grasses planted for wildlife. Shrubs providing wildlife food (and spring flowers) were transplanted on the road edges. Brush was arranged for grouse, artificial grouse drumming "logs" were placed. Part of the old road was re-developed to lead to a trail system. One led to the Appalachian Trail. Emphasis: make profitable linkages.
The private trails, for both hikers and horses, were scheduled for use. Limited work by the trail safety patrols prevented conflicts found in other areas. During each of 100 days, two groups (12 each) of hikers walked the area during the year. Thus there were 2400 adult hiker-days, each at $35, resulting in $84,000 gross income or about $50,000 profit.
Three well-built, comfortable blinds were added for customers to add a wild turkey to their bird life list. This catered activity yield $1200, an $800 profit with partial owner return.
Thirty evening-catered "owl events" (described later) produced profits of $22,500. Twenty "fox events" produced profits of $15,000.
Deer hunters purchased managed-hunt-unit-days and produced a profit of $2000. Reducing costs and losses is as strongly emphasized as increasing production. Keeping deer populations under control is essential for forest regeneration and rare wild flower protection.
The Wildland Crew completed 2 projects on the area and provided financial gains for the owner of about $2000 (as well as the footbridge).
Anglers contributed $600, dog trainers contributed a modest $500.
A north-facing pasture was planted in hybrid red oak seedlings for the long-term future. The planted trees were fenced against deer and goats. The registered Toggenburg goatherd, its use rotated over the owner's pastures, was part of a region-wide dairy herd making his area look like part of the Swiss Alps. Profits for the owner varied each year with disease and milk price (about $5000) but stabilized when a cheese-processing unit formed beside an existing winery.
Close to the owner's home, youth raised domestic rabbits. Animals were computer- selected and Rural System provided stock and feeds. The rabbits were processed for meat, hides, bones, and garden soil additives. The local gains: $200. Rural System thus produced a substantial income, $98,600, 60% of which (i.e., about $59,160 annually) went to the owner, bringing the owner from having a costly and frustrating land problem with neighbors complaining about erosion to having a profitable role in a natural-resource enterprise. The enterprise improved the watershed of the region and benefited surrounding land and stream owners, provided a tax base, offered local employment, and, some said, was a financially realistic way to stabilize the well-known rural beauty of the County.
Scenario #2- Ranging and the End of the Day
A Tract sign goes up, the boundary is checked, and paint is added. Computer maps produced overnight provide new insight into the land production potentials and management needs. The farm pond becomes listed along with 50 others in a nationally prominent inland fishery. The pasture is weeded and fences go up to allow rotations of grazing to begin. Hand-held computers are used within the forest to produce an accurate inventory. The Trevey produces a management plan available from the Internet. Deer hunting zones (variable: half-day contracts; full-day; and 2-day contracts) are created and information becomes available to hunters on how the new area fits into the county level harvest potentials, both for animals, meat, and antler size. Wild turkey, a family favorite, is excluded from hunting on this Tract (owners' objectives are carefully studied). Youth and retirees tend one of five rabbit-raising facilities where animals are fed locally-grown foods and the fertile wastes are processed for the ranging Gardens.
Beautiful hiking trails are built, and, throughout the year, members of the Wildland Walkers with their colorful clothing are seen using the area and a few campsites. (Members pass knowledge tests and pledge to follow appropriate camping and trail behavior.)
A security force member hikes with the Wildland Walkers for a little ways, and then moves off to check on a suspected trespass. She disturbs anglers a little as she passes, but they too evidently hold membership in The Fishery and are intent on recording fish taken per unit of time spent in the recently-fertilized pond. Records, contests, sustained yield per investment are all part of many ranging activities.
Local lectures become available. A topic discussed (even at the major US conference held in the City recently) is that of sustained yield. It's a phrase often heard in Forest Service circles because there is a law requiring it on public land. ranging is for private land, but public lands are used in some activities. Rural System seeks to sustain profits. Sustaining a yield of a low- or no-valued product can lead to bankruptcy! Combined lasting profit production - that of a total system - is the intent within Rural System as it manages and assists in developing ranging.
The Safety and Security Group staff member walks by the area to be visited by The Owls Group that night. She is on the way to the potential trespass site. Combined work, shared tasks, reduced costs - these are the recurring themes within the System. The Owls Group conducts a nightly tour to a spot on one of the Tracts. A group of people, after a wonderful meal, are bussed from a Grayson restaurant to experience and learn about owls and their ecosystem, visit the tract, and see an owl "called-up" from the wild in the dark. After the excitement, a catered campfire with entertainment is held before the group makes a late return trip.
The profits are made for Rural System in the way the land is managed and creatively used. Some funds are used to rebuild the land and increase its productivity for the future. The work is with the animals and is enhancing, not exploitative. Cards, art, and photographs are available to the participants. Membership is offered into The Owls Group and a web site offers information, international owl-related tours, and insights into the environment and behavior of these fascinating birds. Some members add a new bird to their "life-list" of bird species seen. One member of the tour made arrangements for a CD - an e-book - to be developed by The Memorial Group on the great horned owl and published in the name of her father who loved the county woodlands.
Finding no trespass (reduced by her active surveillance), she returned to her car and passed by a group being introduced to the concept of a forest cooperative. She had heard Dale's message before - annual income, total system, certified SmartWood products, increased growth, value-added, local processing, solar drying, secondary products, enhanced hardwood ecosystems - high-tech solutions in the wildlands. Rural System employed local staff and created new activities. There were new organizations, part-time workers, and jobs for children. Internet education now included a new wildland contest on the Internet. There were emblems, tee shirts, a bright bandanna, and even a new hat, but these local "things" hid the profound underlying motives of the System. They hid the opportunities for county residents, for the stay-at-home folks, for those not very interested in the outdoors. They hid the group spirit, the "can-do" attitude, and the angry turn against wastes and abuses of the resources of the county. They didn't hide the welcoming of outsiders who wanted dispersed living, a return to nature, the healthy rural atmosphere … all the while they were participating in worldwide information systems and in globalization.
A forester finished his day's work. He had used satellites, computers and computer maps. He had found several plants of interest and drove to the office to report them. He passed by the Fire Force wrapping up training for the day. They were the new, proud "hot shot" fire-fighting unit for the region. (Imagine the costs of importing fire fighters [said to be superior] from the western states!) He passed by a dozen Tract signs, the single sign pointing to the nationally famous cross-country-run training trail, and two signs pointing to the Avi courses, the golf-like bird watching courses.
In the main office several people worked at computers. Some studied computer maps on the walls. A Forest Service scientist visiting from the regional office leaned over a computer making suggestions for changes in NED, a powerful new hardwood analysis and land-use decision aid. The local forester handed his plant information to a person who entered it into a data bank and a new map was automatically produced showing the actual and potential locations of the plant. It was a rare plant that could potentially require impact analyses, but the computer map spotted a site for a future tour for members of Nature Folks. In the corner, someone used unfit language in frustration as they assembled a book, the hundreds of pages of a Trevey "plan" or guidance document. Plans as "those dusty folders on the shelf" now had little meaning. Most people made their own copies or read significant parts of their personal land-use plan from the Internet.
There are many possible scenarios …
Getting to the Bottom Line
With high-minded secondary objectives for the environment, employment, county and regional identity, and a tax base, the primary objective of Rural System is to make sustained long-term profits. That is essential to sustain ranging at no cost to citizens. We can do so because of our design, clear objectives, clear personal incentives, intensive shared management, computer optimization, diversification, minimum capital requirements, abundant never-used research results, and new technology (some which is Internet-based). We can do this only if the environment is well managed. Someone said, "It's good work for the right reasons."
"What will it cost?" is a typical question asked about a typical project. Rural System is not typical. A cautious answer is provided below. Rural System potentiates investments in land. It "mines" millions of dollars spent on satellite technology and forestry and wildland research over 50 years. It develops a resource base for an uncertain future. It will provide inestimable public relations value for the county and its region. It reduces losses and has its own special security and limited fire protection program. It shows an alternative to agency management of land and current tax rates and destructive real-estate taxes.
Of course there are costs, but there are expected net returns (including yet-unquantified reduced risks) from investments. The cost of owning land is, at minimum, the annual tax burden on the landowner. Rural System can do very effective profitable work on thousands of acres for absentee landowners.
Venture Capital Repayment
Depending on inventory, adopted accounting procedures and policies, and the planning horizon, the estimated costs of system development can be paid over 6 years, with difficulty, exclusively from funds derived from the office-based groups. This is exclusive of the recruitment of Tracts and development of other groups. With Rural System Tracts in the conglomerate, profits are more assured. Profits from invested annual income from Rural System Tracts can likely far exceed the value of any managed wood harvested at the end of a long investment period on that tract. We are not seeking "charitable contributions from logging income," as someone suggested. The annual financial gains are pooled from
These gains include annual timber logging returns from Tracts described above. The owners of Tracts receive about 50% of the profits of the entire enterprise (these are tentative approximations and computer work is underway for the future). Based on the acres (a potential-production-weighted acreage based on an index (including site index, ponds, streams, roads, etc.)) within the participating land ownership, the owner shares in a proportion of the annual profits. The more money made, the more both enterprise and owners benefit, all subject to the constraints of sustained profitability and those imposed by the land and climate.
The 50% remaining after disposition of 50% of profits to the owners of tracts will be distributed by The Q Works (tentative and based on the description herein) as follows:
Cost Management
The advantages of the unusual organization also create problems. All groups have a common accounting service within The Q Works. There are real dangers characteristic of the "Tragedy of the Commons." Each group is independently managed and very distinctive. General leadership is offered; there is group process, but each manager is autonomous. Rather than building an enterprise, as in many other businesses, each manager is building profits since these bring group and personal rewards. The costs of The Q Works (for the entire enterprise including repayments, described later) are large. After a few years, all groups within the enterprise share these proportionally (above a fixed amount). An additional 20% of that amount is charged as cost and spent on approved costs of group enhancement and growth for each of the first 6 years. Salaries and benefits (low at first) are a high proportion and represent the major costs within each group. Merit raises are one of the expected cost increases. (Additional salary incentives are from the funds outlined above.) Each group pays direct costs for supplies, raw materials, and special services. The gross income minus these costs is the fund distributed by The Q Works (as indicated above).
Venture Capital or Line of Credit
Development capital is needed to implement all of the units or enterprises within the first 3-4 years for stability and continuous development. Most will be used for salaries. We believe that there will be individual investors having specialty interests in many of the groups, so a large single-source investment suggested as being needed may be misleading. Similarly, incentives from a "line of credit" allow work to progress in these new and unexplored ways with speed, reduced risks, and reduced interest charges. (A slowly developed, less profitable, and more uncertain venture may be discussed and options will be developed. The intent of this outline is to display the entire concept, its potentials, and expected future conditions and gains for the people of Grayson County.). We may cautiously add funds from the various properties and activities (intensive use of forests, pastures, facilities, and creative development of ancillary operations). Driven by incentives, the shared profits will build the enterprise. Most groups within the enterprise must be started at the same time or the unique, essential advantages of interactive work will not be gained and the enterprises will probably fail.
We have consistently been told: "start small." Poor "economies of scale" have caused many past failures. Too-small-scale is a fundamental problem being addressed. Nevertheless, modest, rather than total, development might be selected. It reduces risks in managerial skills but increases the risks of the total system failing to perform at expected levels. It delays the development of the total system by many years. Estimates made have been based on all units being operational. Making estimates for unknown combinations and permutations of the presented enterprise units is impossible. An evident strategy of picking the sub-units or groups from the above list that have the highest likely returns and lowest costs will not work, any more than creating an organism by combining a heart, a lung, and a nose. Estimates of both costs and gains are very difficult. Some groups, at least by the middle of the second year, will be profitable. Conservative estimates of the development costs, about $1,100,000, operating costs, and gains suggest breakeven after 6 years and 2-3% return shortly thereafter. These estimates, with many assumptions, are strongly influenced by an effective Q Works and by supportive ancillary units being developed well. Complete failure of any unit (though difficult to imagine) does not jeopardize the success of Rural System.
Financial Estimates
The financial analyses are complicated by assumptions about starting times and groups with which to start. All should be started at about the same time, depending on financing and securing enterprise managers. The plan is to secure an interested person, probably a future manager, and to "grow" the enterprise. All starting at about the same time will assure maximum positive interactions and the benefits of diversification. All are dependent upon The Q Works. Some comparable financial information is provided for similar or closely related activities but many groups shown here have never "worked" because they were never within a larger system. As always, a poor manager, a recession, or a catastrophe can deny any estimate of success. When each enterprise is described and its potential suggested, then profitability seems likely with the work also providing employment, youth activities, a growing tax base, continuing work to improve the quality of the environment … and beginning to expand throughout the region and into Southside and other parts of western Virginia.
Sophisticated Resource Management
The word, ranging, and the proposed conglomerate have been discussed. The last of the three main parts of this proposed ranging project is the topic of modern sophisticated resource management.
Using the gross analogy of the county as a factory, sustained profits from almost any factory require a clean, orderly, well-managed place of production. By analogy, high quality outdoor recreation and satisfactory tourism required a safe, clean, beautiful, stable or improving, non-threatening environment. Grayson County and the region have that now, and it can be improved, then stabilized with intensive management. We are of a notion, somewhat like that of the farmer who "ain't farmin' half as good as I know how." We know of few places where advanced techniques of natural resources are abundantly applied in a sophisticated manner backed by high technology and literally millions of dollars of past studies and research. We do know of special applications of pieces of knowledge and excellent demonstration areas for single phenomena and processes, but we know of no place where modern, sophisticated, decision-making is widely applied, where total systems management attempted. We cannot find where cost-effectiveness rules; we see merely efforts in achieving single-minded single- and paired-business efficiencies and partnerships.
We are not proposing research (for at least 5 years) for there are already more findings that need to be used than we can use in that period. We have a system design that can work. We propose to rely heavily upon geographic information systems of the Conservation Management Institute of Virginia Tech. We will use satellite-based locations in our fieldwork, and these along with field computers and new forest inventory software, can result in major forest resource development economies. We will use combined simulations and heuristic optimization for the diverse tasks encountered on different Tracts. Above all, we have the clarifying objective of profit maximization (but we hasten to repeat a major difference from typical business practice … profit from the total system over a 150-year planning period). We have new algorithms for vegetation transitions ("ecological succession") and for scheduling land treatments and timber harvests. We have watershed models, ways to map the upland soils, and ways to estimate and map changing "biodiversity." We employ feedback at most nodes, probably matching well with the much-discussed "adaptive management." We work at the regional scale, but have data about the conditions in very small land units throughout the region. We use the Internet to provide land-use plans to individual landowners, plans that contain the results of computer optimization. We provide analyses of populations of animals as pests (e.g., deer) or as much-sought hunted species. We have access to a large local as well as international library system and knowledge base. Working with premises of general systems theory, we are building a database about Grayson County and its region as the enterprise matures in concept and application. Waste of information is reduced; "re-discovering" is inefficient. We use advanced prognostic or forecasting software and procedures, even improvements for local conditions and processes. We can exploit the resources of Virginia Tech and other local colleges and universities as they may relate to the area, for now we have an objective, a format, and a process. We have noticeable payoffs (described above) for individuals as well as the region. As we have heard many times, "money talks." In work toward understanding and implementing ranging, we have designed a system that will provide money and many benefits to citizens. We have designed a means to stop begging for grants and gifts to restore and preserve the environment. We have dodged the tendency to ask for tax funds. In fact with maturity, funds are provided to the County. We have found a means to support and perpetuate the benefits from lands if they are placed under easements within existing programs. Herein we are not advocating creating such easements, simply the sophisticated management of rural and " wildlands" of the region. We have found a financial base for assuring benefits from regional beauty as well as from its commodities.
Hard Questions - Brief Answers
Why not start small?
Individuals may do so. The ideas here are available and people are encouraged to pick them up and run with them. Past efforts have failed because each, alone, has been too small, too costly. There were inadequate backups and returns were too low. Only with synergism - " the extra" from work together and shared resources over different seasons - can this work. Needs are immediate; many small investors can make it work. It is a big idea (but not a big stadium or big government project). It is of the right size for the county, the near future, and for the resources available - both financial and environmental.
Why can't we just hike and enjoy the region? Why add money to the issues?
Rural System encourages hiking or inviting people to see the beauties of the county and to use the resources here without spoiling or depleting them. It is a strategy for making money and shaping the county so that more money will be made more easily. It responds to high populations of people now living in cities, to single parent families, to lack of outdoor experience, to new demands for safety and security, to needs for knowledgeable access. There has been some poor land use in the past. We need to correct that, even make improvements and restorations. There has to be a new (low-tax) way to gain all of these things that people seem to need. Hiking, alone, will not pay the bills for the care and tending that is needed.
Why will people use private lands when there is so much public land?
If they come to the county and spend money in the enterprises of Rural System and affiliates few will care about the answer. If private lands of the Tracts cannot out-compete public lands, the "market" will speak. Few people know about the National Forests. They are not marketed. On private lands of the Tracts some people will find quality management, colorful and esthetically pleasing places, novel trails and experiences, diverse levels of use, information, safety and security, shared memberships, new friends and contacts for other experiences, and pride in participation. (There are others who will continue to use public and other lands.) Special use arrangements will be made for groups to use segments of public lands and waters. For emphasis though: the total enterprise of Rural System is the topic, not just hikers and sight-seers of the county land.
Why not get a grant?
We have a policy of attempting to be private, attempting to avoid taxpayer funding, and avoiding competition with and costs of doing business with agencies. We shall request foundations sponsor software development that may be used in other regions, to test the model of Rural System for other regions, to build integrative decision-support and expert systems, and to evaluate county-level resource changes under an entrepreneurial system. What about salaries? It will start with volunteers and low pay. This is strictly a personal-incentive-driven organization. To the extent that we "win," we all get higher pay. We, the enterprise, start pay with low salaries but, unlike other "outdoor jobs" that are sought by many people, the conglomerate has no salary ceiling and massive incentives. Few jobs will provide such knowledge and a feeling that genuine good is being done for so many people over so many years. Investors will be attracted even though initial gains will not be great. For them, there will be developed tax advantages. Citizens, however, may find the investment very desirable. There will be "dividends" or interest on loans made to the system. There will be membership rebates, reduced costs, and many special personal advantages. Does it compete with local companies? We believe it will enhance and add to the profits of local companies. We have a means by which they can affiliate, participate in our marketing, and share sales and services for the people to which we respond. We are willing to discuss opportunities with local people and businesses and do not seek to compete with but to complement and add to the gains of existing and developing groups. We plan to add to and employ the Internet-linked equivalent of many "cottage industries" and companies throughout the region and expand their markets and their profits via our e-catalog. Sounds communistic!? Collective farms, shared resources, and all that. Is it? No. The enterprise displays a paradigm of a free-enterprise-based regional economic development system centered on modern, sophisticated rural-land and natural resource management for the 150-year sliding future. It seeks voluntary cooperation among landowners. Its message is "money talks" and if the land and its managers and neighbors do not say "profits," the enterprise may not be working. Sustained profits are the quest but, regrettably, "cut and get" may prevail. We believe that managed land sale value will exceed the value of desecrated lands and we believe we will soon have the numbers to prove that. Nevertheless, a combination of strategies in land taxation and regulations may be needed to assure desired land use for the future. What if it fails? Any enterprise can fail for one or several of many reasons. Low capital investment and facility requirements suggest that the fall will not be very great. It needs to succeed. There are few alternatives that will serve the entire county and region. Current land use and natural resource management now seem to fail by several criteria and new direction is needed. Several people have asked: "How do we start?" No humor suggested, the answer is: "as if to describe an elephant … anywhere that you want to." There are many ways to get started and selecting the best one has risks. Potential investors, managers, and landowners are invited to begin discussions. Enterprises now involved in the units listed may be interested in cooperative arrangements, a startup-coalition. You are encouraged to ask questions and call or write Bob Giles at 540-552-8672 or email firstname.lastname@example.com. A visit can be readily arranged. He will gladly address interested groups.
Appendix- Notes, February 7, 2005
Ranging is an application of well-known concepts of outdoor recreation, ecology, and marketing. It attempts to avoid some of the difficulties of current rhetoric about the needs for "stimulating tourism." The need is to create a ranging system. The characteristics are:
|Last revision: February 8, 2005


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The Infinite Hourglass Keeps Watch on Pulp City
May 8, 2014 by dracs
It seems that May will be the month for Pulp City fluff as some of the details of the Pulp City Supreme Edition's background have been let slip.
I believe the background in the new Pulp City rulebook will take the form of information gathered about each of the Supremes by the mysterious group named the Infinite Hourglass, whose time travelling agent Herald we see in that awesome piece of artwork.
If you're not fluff fan, then there is more to get excited about in the form of the two sculpted forms of Stygian.
Stygian's human form looks suitably alluring, if suffering from the worst hair day imaginable. However, her larger true form is utterly repulsive, a fantastic monster for the Pulp City Supremes to go up against.
Will you swoop in to save the city, or will it be yours for the taking?
Supported by
Supported by

subset: commoncrawl


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Clothing - Adventure & Trail
Clothing - Motocross & Enduro
Clothing - Trials
Clothing - Leisure
Helmets & Protection
Husqvarna Parts & Accessories
Product Description
The DIFI leather glove Le Mans is a glove that live up to its name. Perfect for the racetracks in combination with one of the DIFI race suits like the Valencia Pro and Silverstone combi.
- hard shell protection on the knuckles; TPR protections on the fingers
- foam shock absorber on the sides of the hand, wrist, back and ball of the hand
- generous use of double material on the fingers, thumb, palm and sides of the hands
- double material made of durable Clarino™ Nash with anti-slip silicon print on the palm
- covered seams on crash-vulnerable sections
- Race Grip: pre-shaped, smooth palm for good grip sensitivity, made of ultra-soft aniline goatskin
- comfort stretch sections on the fingers
- padded comfort pleat on the back of the hand
- wrist protection
- added comfort with outer seams on the fingers
- adjustable shaft
- anti-tear-off wrist closure


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In this inaugural post I decided on sharing with you a major reason for why we're deciding to downsize everything we own and 'Go Tiny'! Why would we aspire to downsize, spend thousands of dollars and make by hand our own home?
Firstly, I want to tell you a little story. When I was younger my mother and I would move around a lot, in fact (fun fact) I had lived in 11 homes by the time that I was just 11 years old. Now, you'd think that this could have been quite a negative experience, not having those roots in a house and having to move our belongings so regularly but in fact it was quite the opposite. I learnt how to really 'nest' in new spaces, how to enjoy new cities, new countries, how to quickly make a house a home with little trinkets that I took from place to place, a handmade quilt on the bed, some old photograph-memories blue tacked to the wall.
I've always been very creative and from a young age I was inspired to create my own home and that imaginary home has changed and shifted in my mind over the years. As I got older my love of new places blossomed again and what started as a brick and mortar house in my mind, soon shifted to include forms of alternative housing that I could make with my own hands like cob houses and wooden structures. Again this shifted as I started to travel more and I started to yearn for a form of housing that allowed for movement from place to place as my needs and wants for different environments changed.
Tom's story is quite different. Where as I always moved, Tom had lived his whole childhood days in one beautiful home, a little converted timber church up in the hills outside of Melbourne, that had been fully built by his parents as he was growing up. Tom's dad is one of those kinda folks who can mend anything if he sets his mind to it and his mum is constantly looking for the next thing to upgrade and renovate. It's a pretty magical place and is on of our beautiful escapes when we need a change of pace from city life.
This brings me nicely to my main point, that in our own ways we both came at the same magical idea of wanting to build our own home. With our own hands. We knew it'd be hard but we also knew it'd be fun and rewarding and pretty magical to create our own space together, knock in every nail, sawing every board. We want the magic of living in a space that is 100% made for use, just exactly as we want it and going tiny for us is the route to reach that goal!
Stay tuned for more reasons why we've chosen to pursue this lifestyle! You can follow along on our adventures by checking out our instagram page @thelittlehome.oz


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Tree City Quilters Guild
We meet on the second Monday of each month
At Westside Baptist Church
Family Life Center (the building behind the church)
Doors open at 6:30 PM to give members time to socialize, check out books from our library, get a door prize ticket, sign up for workshops, etc.
Guild meeting begins at 7 PM. The meetings consist of a program, old and new business, refreshments, show-n-tell, and door prizes. Everyone is encouraged to bring their work for show-n-tell, as well as to become involved in the many areas of the guild that require helping hands, such as the Standing & Support Committees, special events, and the guild's biennial quilt show.
The guild was started in 1993. We have grown to a present day membership of about 100. We welcome visitors and hope that you will join us as a member. Membership dues are $25 per year and can be renewed each year in May. You may join at any time during the year.
In the Spirit of Giving, the members of Tree City Quilters Guild are providing comfort by creating quilts and other items to benefit local organizations. We understand the warmth, beauty, and comfort these quilts provide. We want all those who receive these handmade gifts of love to know we care. We hope it makes a difficult time in their lives a little easier.
Heart to Heart Care
We have given countless flannel "developmental" hearts to the families and babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Shands Hospital for Children at the University of Florida. These hearts are given to mothers whose newborns have been admitted to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. The flannel heart is worn against the mother's (or father's!) skin so the fabric might absorb the scent of the parent. The heart is then placed with the baby in the isolette or crib so the baby will learn to recognize its mother's or father's scent even when the parent cannot be present.
The guild committed to the Heart to Heart program in conjunction with the March of Dimes. Since the beginning, we have made SEVERAL THOUSAND FLANNEL HEARTS. We have also made SEVERAL HUNDRED small blankets for the babies in the NICU.
Haven Hospice
We provide quilts and pillowcases for the patients at Hospice in Gainesville. Hospice care is provided to individuals with a life limiting illness as well as support to their loved ones. Making and giving these quilts may seem like such a small act of love, but it has proven to be very meaningful.
Camp Blanding Military Base
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center – Florida National Guard
Another way Tree City Quilters Guild gives back is making many quilts and pillowcases for Camp Blanding. Each quilt is made to honor those who have been wounded or killed while serving in the armed forces. We stitch love, gratitude, prayers, and a bit of ourselves into each quilt we make for our wounded and lost warriors families. At one of our sewing retreats at Camp Blanding, we were moved as we witnessed two children and their mother receive quilts.
Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network Incorporated
Peaceful Paths is a state-certified domestic violence center that serves survivors of domestic violence in Alachua, Bradford, and Union counties. While there, women receive the knowledge and skills they need to become more successful in a safe environment.
From the beginning, Tree City Quilters Guild has wanted to send a message of love to those who seek shelter from an abuser. Women with these kinds of critical needs can find a safe place upon entering the Peaceful Paths shelter. Tree City Quilters Guild has made many tote bags for the children filled with a quilt, pillowcase, coloring book, crayons, a reading book, and a stuffed toy.
Ronald McDonald House
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of North Central Florida provides families the opportunity to stay together while their sick children get treatment. Each family is provided a private room and all the comforts of home. We have made and given many bright cheery pillowcases, quilts, stuffed animals and dolls for these children with hope that it makes the hospital stay just a little bit easier.
Malcom Randall VA Medical Center
Tree City considers it a privilege to give a veteran a feeling of home, caring, and appreciation by having a quilt or pillowcase in their hospital room. It is our way of showing appreciation for those who have served
Catholic Charities - Meals on Wheels - Bread of the Mighty Food Bank - Baptist Children's Home – Fisher House
Tree City Quilters made over 200 placemats which were delivered with meals on Christmas Day 2014 to Meals-on-Wheels clients. We also give to the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank and have donated quilts and pillowcases to Catholic Charities. Recently, many pillowcases were given to the Baptist Children's Home. While Fisher House was being built in Gainesville, Tree City Quilters Guild gave a monetary donation and quilts for the veterans.
For more information concerning the guild, write to:
Or contact: Guild President Leesa Lloyd


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|Thorsten Scherler <thors...@apache.org>
|Re: flow - evalFunc() broken in Rhino?
|Thu, 01 Sep 2005 22:58:19 GMT
On Thu, 2005-09-01 at 13:36 -0600, Jason Johnston wrote: > On Thu, 2005-09-01 at 20:11 +0200, Thorsten Scherler wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > I have a problem with the evalFunc() in flow. I think that not only the > > eval() function is broken, but as well the evalFunc(). > > > > Add the following to your flow script: > > > > var genericDoc; > > scriptString= "genericDoc='testing';"; > > evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc",scriptString); > > evalFunc(genericDoc); > > print("xxx ",genericDoc); > > > > The sysout gives you: > > xxx undefined > > > > That is not what the following link says (thx again Jason Johnston, for > > this awesome link): > > http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Core_JavaScript_1.5_Reference:Objects:Function#Created_By > > "However, if you pass an object as a parameter to a function and the > > function changes the object's properties, that change is visible outside > > the function." > > Your code is actually not "changing the object's properties". If you > were to try genericDoc.property='value' then that would work since > you're changing a property of the object referred to by the genericDoc > variable. However your code is actually changing which object > genericDoc refers to, which is not the same thing. Remember, variables > are not objects but *pointers to* objects. > > Now, you might expect that changing genericDoc's value inside the > function would also change the value of the genericDoc variable from > outside the function. But this is not the case in your example because > function arguments are treated as variables local to the function, so > the genericDoc variable (the named argument) inside the function is > different than the genericDoc variable outside the function. > > If you want genericDoc within the function to be the same variable as > genericDoc outside, you can rely on closures. This basically means that > when a function is created (as happens with new Function("")) it creates > a closure so that the code within the function has access to the entire > scope of where it was created. So: > > var genericDoc; > scriptString= "genericDoc='testing';"; > evalFunc = new Function (scriptString); > evalFunc(); > print("xxx ",genericDoc); > > ...should work, since evalFunc automatically gets access to the > genericDoc variable since it was in scope when evalFunc was created. > > Hope this makes at least a little sense. It's taken me a long while to > get a handle on the complexity of closures. :) Thanks for this comprehensive explanation, yes that makes a lot of sense (after reading it a couple of times). ;-) The only thing is the scope that does not seem to work, like you described, but using the properties is working. :) The only important thing is that the var is initialized (like "var genericDoc={doc:null};") otherwise (for "var genericDoc;") you get "The undefined value has no properties.". Here is the roundtrip that I did. Thanks again Jason, you have been a great help. 1) I tried: var genericDoc="doh!"; print('before ',genericDoc); var evalFunc = new Function ("print('/testing',genericDoc)"); evalFunc(); print("xxx ",genericDoc); It gives: sysout: before doh! cocoon: org.mozilla.javascript.EcmaError: "genericDoc" is not defined. 2) Now changing the code to: var genericDoc="doh!"; print('before ',genericDoc); var evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc","print('/testing',genericDoc)"); evalFunc(genericDoc); print("xxx ",genericDoc); It gives (sysout): before doh! /testing doh! xxx doh! 3) Changing it to: var genericDoc="doh!"; print('before ',genericDoc); var evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc","genericDoc='working'"); evalFunc(genericDoc); print("xxx ",genericDoc); Gives (sysout): before doh! xxx doh! 4) Changing it to: var genericDoc="doh!"; print('before ',genericDoc); var evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc='working'"); evalFunc(); print("xxx ",genericDoc); gives: sysout: before doh! cocoon: java.lang.ClassCastException 5) Changing: var genericDoc={value:"doh!"}; print('before ',genericDoc.value); var evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc.value='working'"); evalFunc(); print("xxx ",genericDoc.value); gives: sysout: before doh! cocoon: org.mozilla.javascript.EcmaError: "genericDoc" is not defined. 6) Changing: var genericDoc={value:"doh!"}; print('before ',genericDoc.value); var evalFunc = new Function ("genericDoc","genericDoc.value='working'"); evalFunc(genericDoc); print("xxx ",genericDoc.value); gives (sysout): before doh! xxx working salu2 -- thorsten "Together we stand, divided we fall!" Hey you (Pink Floyd)
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It's been a long time since I've written a post for this blog. In fact, it's been so long that I didn't even know what to say.
The truth is that 2016 has been a weird year for me.
I started the year with the ambition of becoming a full-time freelance writer. As I picked up more and more work, I quickly learned that it is NOT the career path that I want. I love my freelance clients, but I can't imagine doing it full time. I realized that I love having a steady full-time paycheck from my day job while working with clients on the side. Making my side hustle all about money caused it to lose a lot of its joy for me, which was a bummer. Once I decided that I didn't want to do it full-time, working with clients became what it had always been: a wonderful part-time job that I love.
So yeah, full-time freelance writing was a no-go. Luckily, I discovered all of this while working full-time so the discovery came with minimal drama, but if you are considering a freelance career, I highly recommend that you look (aka: try it) before you leap. I was firmly convinced that freelancing was going to be all my #dreams and it was not.
So once I discovered that, I was left with the question: what the heck do I do now?
After some intense soul-searching and endless conversations with my nearest and dearest, I've reached a career decision that I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT.
I'm still figuring out a lot of the details, but I'm planning to share them as soon as possible.
So yeah, there has been a lot of (internal) career drama.
HOWEVER, this year has also included some amazing milestones:
I paid off nearly $14,000 of debt, my net worth has reached $15,000 (!!!) and I got my first ever raise.
As we rapidly move into the end of the year, I have a few very specific goals I would like to achieve for the rest of 2016:
1. Move back in with my partner, Alex (who you will meet down below!)
After doing long distance between London and Los Angeles for nearly 1.5 years, we swore we would never do it again, and yet here we are. For the past 10 months we've been commuting back and forth between Los Angeles and San Diego. Even though it's only a two-hour drive instead of a 10-HOUR FLIGHT, it still sucks and I miss Alex every day that we're apart.
2. End the year with a net worth of $20,000
This will be challenging because I have some super large expenses coming up but I'm eager to try. Also, just as a disclaimer, when I calculate my net worth, I only include cash and investments. I never include cars or any other "stuff."
3. Blog 3 times/week
Yep, the person who hasn't blogged for nearly two months is planning to post 3x/week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) *insert shame face emoji* I'm constantly inspired by so many other personal finance bloggers, I miss the community and I LOVE writing. We'll see how it goes, but feel free to yell at me on Twitter if I disappear for a month again.
So now that we've gotten the life updates out of the way, I'm so excited for the best part of this post: introducing my better half, Alex.
But before we do that, there's one more thing: I'm in a same-sex relationship. I realized that I've never officially "come out" on my blog, and I've gotten a few comments asking if I have a boyfriend, so I thought it might be worth mentioning. I'm really open about it in real life, and if you follow me on social media, you probably already know, but I thought I would make it official and throw myself a little coming out party *throws confetti*
So back to the introductions: Alex and I met when I was studying abroad in London (Alex is British) during college at the tender age of 19 (!!!) Well, I was 19 and Alex was 20, but needless to say, we met super young, which I love because it means we get to enjoy the maximum amount of our lives together! Alex complements me in every possible way, including money (Alex is way more laid back about spending and balances my saving neurosis), and I feel so lucky to be in a relationship with my favorite person. And as we approach our 4-year anniversary next month, I can honestly say that sharing my life with Alex is a treat.
So without further ado, here is an interview with Alex:
What are you studying and when do you graduate?
Alex: I am studying Fashion Merchandise Marketing at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in LA. It's my second degree and I'll graduate mid-September
Tell me about your relationship with money
Alex: I wouldn't say I'm there yet but I ultimately strive for a good balance between saving and investing and having money to spend and enjoy. I definitely think I'm a little more relaxed in terms of wanting to be able to spend money than Taylor is – I especially enjoy clothes shopping which is probably compulsory as a fashion student! However, I think savings are the only way to truly be financially secure and feeling secure with money is my long-term goal.
What's it like to date someone who talks about money all the time?
Alex: I actually really admire Taylor's attitude towards money. I know her journey with it hasn't always been easy and I think she has handled that in ways that I often think I could not have. She's a very independent person and that shows with her feelings about money. I really enjoy that Taylor feels so passionately about savings. I was raised to think of savings as important but I'm not the most naturally disciplined person with money, and I think Taylor has taught me how to have discipline within my finances, in a way which ultimately makes me feel better about myself. I love that she always wants to learn more about it and I love that her passion for it is about enabling herself to enjoy her life to the full.
Favorite thing about living in America?
Alex: I really enjoy living in another country and being a foreigner where I live – it kind of feels like you are always on holiday and it's really exciting and powerful to learn a new culture as an adult. As cliché as it sounds I love the landscapes and huge skies – Southern California's mountains are beautiful. I also love the popular culture – I've seen bands and shows and heard music that I would have been much more unlikely to come across in England.
Favorite food?
Alex: Indian food – specifically mutter paneer.
Favorite travel destination?
Alex: I have to say London because it's where my entire family is. I could also name countless places I like in the US (particularly Disneyland!) but with England and America aside, I love Italy.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
Alex: I am really looking forward to moving back in with Taylor after I graduate school… as well as no longer having to do homework!
Interesting fact about yourself?
Alex: I forget how unusual it is, but I went to boarding school for five years. I absolutely hated it, but obtained the fun British status of being a member of the same boarding house as Kate Middleton.
Thanks so much to Alex for answering my random questions and thank YOU for sticking with me and reading this blog. It means so much.
Are you in relationship? How do you do money together?


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Mendeley is a cross-platform application (Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone) that helps researchers manage and annotate their scientific paper collections. Researchers can also set up collaborative projects, work and discuss in groups, and share data on Mendeley's web platform.
Mendeley users' research paper collections are anonymously pooled on the web platform, creating a crowdsourced research database with a unique layer of social information – each research paper is connected with socio-demographic information about its audience. This data is made available to the public via Mendeley's API, enabling research groups to build applications on top of it.


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Photographer's Note
Just a common picture, but i love it...
Nobody trouve(nt) cette note utile
Critiques | Translate
pirulesco (1961) 2003-12-10 5:14
Belle composition! je l'aime aussi beaucoup!
liakoshim (565) 2003-12-10 8:28
well performed the pisture. focus and blurred background reveals good DOF. from the composition point of view, maybe you could try it from a bit different angle more with the diagonal perspective
lemon_logix (1054) 2003-12-10 9:55
Very good DOP. Though you said is a common picture, but I like the composition. I have created a ws for you, just sharing with you a different perspective of the image.
rudymalou (800) 2004-05-24 13:54
profondeur parfaite, on les *voit* flotter
Photo Information
- Copyright: Carole Finck (colibri22) (58)
- Genre: Lieux
- Medium: Couleur
- Date Taken: 2003-06-12
- Categories: Architecture
- Camera: Fuji Finepix S602Z
- Exposition: f/4, 1/320 secondes
- Versions: version originale, Workshop
- Date Submitted: 2003-12-10 5:11


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|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|"Jan Lehnardt (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] [Resolved] (COUCHDB-919) Add build options
|Sat, 16 Apr 2011 23:16:05 GMT
[ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/COUCHDB-919?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:all-tabpanel ] Jan Lehnardt resolved COUCHDB-919. ---------------------------------- Resolution: Not A Problem Closing until there are specific issues raised that can only be solved by adding this. > Add build options > ----------------- > > Key: COUCHDB-919 > URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/COUCHDB-919 > Project: CouchDB > Issue Type: Improvement > Components: Build System > Affects Versions: 1.0.1 > Environment: *.nix, OS X > Reporter: Tracy Flynn > Priority: Minor > > Add some build options to support non-default organization of CouchDB dependencies. > If /usr/local is taken as an example for the default installation directory (prefix) for CouchDB, then the installation works without modification only if other dependencies are configured and built with the same prefix. > Some options allow the changing of the location of the dependency - e.g. --with-js-lib for Spidermonkey > The standard set appears to be: > --with-erlang=PATH set PATH to the Erlang include directory > --with-js-include=PATH set PATH to the SpiderMonkey include directory > --with-js-lib=PATH set PATH to the SpiderMonkey library directory > --with-openssl-bin-dir=PATH path to the open ssl binaries for distribution on Windows > A suggestion for others that would help with dependencies in non-standard location: > --with-openssl-dir - for the general OpenSSL case > --with-icu-dir=<xxx> (might need a greater number of options - I'm not familiar with the full feature set for ICU) > --with-curl-dir=<xxx> -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. For more information on JIRA, see: http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
|View raw message


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Latest Reviews
Latest Previews
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (Xbox) - Screens
by Rainier on Aug. 16, 2002 @ 9:55 a.m. PDT
Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball takes place on Zack Island, a tropical island which he purchased and named after himself, after winning big at a casino. Zack declares the island the official location of the fourth Dead or Alive tournament. When the invites are sent and people start arriving, everyone realizes that only women were invited to the island. What is the meaning of this and how will the ladies amuse themselves in their free time on the tropical island?


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Spring Highland Arts Showcase
Highland Arts Spring Showcase
Thursday March 16, 2017
Highland Park Senior High Auditorium
Highland Park Senior High (HPSH) in partnership with Friends of Highland Arts (FHA) presents the third annual HIGHLAND ARTS SPRING SHOWCASE on Thursday March 16 at HPSH (1015 Snelling Avenue S).
Doors Open at 6PM. Performance at 7PM.
This family event is FREE and open to the public.
There will be concessions and fundraising activities to benefit HPSH art programs.
Join us and celebrate the arts and art education in Highland.
If you are a business that's interested in placing an ad in the showcase program, or would like to sponsor the event, please email us: email@example.com


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Festival success
With even more lifestyle events to come
Transition Tatura has continued a successful 2017 with its fourth Communities Shaping the Future Film Festival — Leadership, Local Community, Environment: Women and Transition Initiatives — held last month.
Transition Tatura spokesperson RossMusolino said a fabulous day was had by all attendees as the festival celebrated women and their roles within their respective communities.
''The day wouldn't have been possible without the kind sponsorship of the Greater Shepparton City Council, Rotary Club of Tatura, Tatura Dental Care and Plunkett Orchards,'' Mr Musolino said.
''Also, the hard-working members of Transition Tatura and our generous hosts at the Gallery Cafe´, Kerryn and Neville, all deserve a big round of thanks.''
Guest speakers Strathbogie Shire Council's Kate Stothers, Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project chief executive Lisa McKenzie, Greater Shepparton City Council's Seema Abdullah and Jean Young from Sustainability Victoria, along with 11 short films and keynote film Just Eat It captivated the crowd during the day.
Mr Musolino also highlighted Transition Tatura's Practical Living Series, which runs throughout the year and continues on Friday, October 27, with the last seminar for this year titled ''Your block, Your street, Your town''.
''John Laing and Heath Chasemore will discuss biodiversity, native plants and urban and food forests,'' Mr Musolino said.
Held at the Tatura Community House, supper will be provided and everyone in attendance will also get a free tree.
The cost is just $10 for the evening and bookings are essential; phone Tatura Community House on 5824 1315 to book and ask for direct debit details or drop-in and pay before October 20.
''As part of Transition Tatura's ongoing commitment to all aspects of the environ- ment, we will hold another roadside cleanup Saturday, November 25, from 9 am,'' Mr Musolino said.
''We target Dhurringile Rd from the Hogan St round-a-bout to the Midland Hwy and Tatura-Rushworth Rd intersection, from the edge of town to the caravan park.
''We need as many people on board to help make this a success each time.
''If you feel the need to support a cleaner Tatura and a cleaner Australia, feel free to come along and contribute.
''Meet us at the corner of Dhurringile Rd and Hogan St at 9 am — the open parking area opposite Whim Inn on Dhurringile Rd.
''From there, car-pooling to various sites will be organised.''
Mr Musolino said Transition Tatura was a not-for-profit collective of like-minded people that planned and supported community guided responses to climate change and shrinking supplies of cheap energy.
''Through localisation, energy reduction and community strengthening, our goal is for Tatura and all populations to transition to resilient communities that can readily respond to the challenges and dangers of climate change and oil depletion,'' he said.
Transition Tatura is the 397th official Transition Initiative.
''If you would like to join our group or get onto our email list, contact myself on 0407 845 247 or email firstname.lastname@example.com,'' Mr Musolino said.
Great year: Transition Tatura has had a successful year of events and will hold a clean-up-day later in the year.


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The company is a leading amusement park owner and operator, with a portfolio of 14 family entertainment centers and two water parks located across the United States.
In September 2014, Cerberus Business Finance agented a $31.5 million Senior Secured Credit Facility, proceeds of which, in addition to an investment from two private equity sponsors, were used to finance the acquisition of the company and provide the company with ongoing working capital. In April 2015, Cerberus Business Finance agented an add-on of $14.0 million to the Senior Secured Credit Facility, proceeds of which were used to finance an add-on acquisition by the company.


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CytoSport Collegiate Muscle Milk 5.29lb
Our Philosophy Proper nutrition based on sound scientific principles is one of the tenets of optimum athletic performance. We have long encouraged student athletes to take responsibility for their decisions about proper nutrition, and we hope that their choices are made because they are well-informed and guided by principles of fair and equal competition. But merely encouraging today's multi-tasking, time-constrained student athlete to eat to win often isn't enough. Consuming three square meals a day that contain all the important food groups in sufficient quantities to ensure optimum nutritional support of athletic performance is often difficult—if not impossible. To help student athletes with this dilemma, MUSCLE MILk COLLEGIATE provides a responsible, safe, and effective option. Since we founded CytoSport in 1998, we've been dedicated to working with sports scientists, coaches and trainers to redefine protein enhanced products for active lifestyles and serious athletes-supporting performance when it matters. Over the years, we've expanded to create a comprehensive line that encompasses the athletic experience from preparation, to hydration, to recovery. Our products are among the very few that are manufactured in a NSF International GMP for Sport Registered facility. Our facilities are also inspected and regulated by the FDA. We carefully manufacture our powder products and ready-to-drink pre-blends onsite at our corporate campus in Benicia, California. Making efficacious products for athletes and active lifestyle individuals requires responsibility on all fronts. As our business has grown, so has our footprint. We have made environmental sustainability a focus and driver in everyday decision making. For more, please visit our website. Through it all, CytoSport has been committed to one thing, building athletes from the inside out. Greg and Mike Pickett, Father/Son. 40g Lean Protein. College Ratio Compliant. 320 Vitamins & Minerals.
Mix 2 scoops (75g) into 9-10 fl oz water. Mix 4 scoops (150g) into 16-20 fl oz water. MUSCLE MILK COLLEGIATE can be used before workouts, after workouts, or prior to bedtime. Individual nutritional requirements vary depending on gender, body weight, level of activity and exercise/ training intensity. CytoSport products complement a healthful eating and hydration plan that, when combined with a balanced exercise program, may contribute to healthy weight management and recovery from exercise. Use 1-3 servings (75g per serving) per day as part of a well-balanced diet that includes whole foods and other protein sources.
CONTAINS INGREDIENTS DERIVED FROM MILK AND SOY. THIS PRODUCT IS MANUFACTURED IN A FACILITY THAT PROCESSES MILK, SOY, WHEAT AND EGGS. Do not use this product as your sole source of nutrition.
Maltodextrin, milk protein isolate and/or concentrate, calcium sodium caseinate, whey protein isolate and/or concentrate, alkalized cocoa powder, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin mineral blend, soluble corn fiber, whey protein hydrolysate, canola oil, medium chain triglycerides, sunflower oil, potassium bicarbonate and/or potassium chloride, buttermilk, aminogen, salt, acesulfame potassium, gum blend (cellulose gum, xanthan gum, carrageenan), sucralose, lactoferrin, soy lecithin. VITAMIN AND MINERAL BLEND tricalcium phosphate, magnesium oxide, dl-alpha Tocopheryl acetate, ascorbic acid, ferrous fumarate, niacinamide, vitamin A acetate, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, d-calcium pantothenate, cholecalciferol, pyridoxine hydrochloride, chromium polynicotinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, d-biotin, potassium iodide, Cyanocobalamin.


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Mobile booking application aggregrating regular booking business of busy ladies to one convenient and easy place to manage
- Stage Prototype Ready
- Industry Internet / Web Services
- Location Carrick-On-Shannon, Leitrim, Ierland
- Currency USD
- Founded December 2011
- Employees 3
- Website BusyMoos.com
Company Summary
BusyMoos is all about girls and enabling the easy online booking of all the regular bookings that we make with businesses such as hair, beauty, dental etc. Ladies (smartphone users 18-34 years) make on average 7 bookings per month, by predominantly ringing during business hours. With BusyMoos it as easy to book a regular dental check up as it is to book a hotel room from your mobile phone online 24 hours a day.
Elaine McGarryFounder
Banking and sales background. !00% focused on customer centric platform.
Clodagh McGarryCFO
Accountant and Lecturer in Business and Finance in National University of Ireland Galway. NUIG
Denise RusheDigital Media
Digitial Media and Social Media Consultant.
Previous Investors
NDRC (National Digital Research College, The Digital Hub, Dublin)Unconfirmed


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You are here: Home > Healthy Eating > Food, Diet and Health > Life Stages > Weaning
"Weaning" is just another name for starting your baby on solid foods. Experts recommend that you start weaning when your baby is six months old if breastfed and 4-6 months old if formula fed. And don't give your baby any solid foods before he or she is four months old (17 weeks).
If you wean too early, you put baby at risk of developing allergies, especially is there is a history in the family.
The nutritional needs of your baby will change and milk alone will not be enough for your baby. At six months old, your baby will be physically ready to start eating solid foods. He or she will be able to sit up, move food around their mouth and start to chew – with or without teeth! Your baby's digestive and immune systems will be stronger too. This makes it an ideal time to introduce solid foods.
You should think of weaning as a gradual process - there are several different stages your baby will pass through before they can eat the same foods as the rest of the family. Baby's first foods will be very soft in texture, and bland in taste. In the very early days, you're really just trying to get your baby used to eating from a spoon. As time goes on, your baby will take foods with a lumpier texture and a stronger taste. Eventually, your baby should be eating a variety of nutritious foods with the rest of the household.
It is best to start baby on bland foods such as baby rice. The food should be of a runny consistency. Remember your baby has been used to just drinking milk up to the point so it will take time for baby to get used to the concept of food. Pureed root vegetables such as carrot and parsnip are also popular with babies as are pureed cooked fruits such as apple and pear.
We have a Republic of Ireland leaflet (PDF, 1.2MB) and a Northern Ireland leaflet (PDF, 500KB) which provide useful information on suitable foods for weaning your baby.
© The Food Safety Promotion Board


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10 minutes
30 minutes
4 people
2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, split
8 ounces plain yogurt
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh lime, juiced
Dash of cayenne pepper
1 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 large ripe mango, peeled, finely diced
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine1/4 cup yogurt,1/4 cup of cilantro, half of the lime juice,cayenne pepper and garlic. Coat chicken breast with this mixture, marinate forat least 1 hour.
3. While chicken marinates, purée remaining yogurt, 2/3 of cubedmango, 1/2 teaspoon lime juice and 1 cup cilantro in blender.
4. Bake chicken in a glass baking dish for 25-30 minutes.
5. Place chicken on serving plates, pour on sauce and sprinkle withmango and extra sauce on side.
6. Add a sprig of fresh cilantro for garnish.


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4.424 Reviews
Ioannis restaurant in Makrigianni, is located in the center of Athens on the roof garden of Royal Olympic Hotel and is one of the best gourmet restaurants in Athens with tremendous view. In a luxurious setting with lovely view of the Acropolis, the National Garden, the Marble Stadium and Lycabettus Hill, you will enjoy upscale greek cuisine. The menu is famous for its greek specialities. Try delicious oysters with lemon sauce and sea urchin, grilled monkfish, sweetbreads sauteed in wine, pork breast baked for 24 hours with mastic from Cios and spices and delicious baked duck. Accompany your meal with one of the finest wines of the Greek and international vineyard and complete the unique dining pleasure with one of the tempting desserts. Make a free reservation at the luxurious restaurant Ioannis via e-table. Instant confirmation, no credit cards, no telephone calls.


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A Young Person's Perspective on Eating Disorders
As a young person myself, I have experienced, firsthand, the pressures young people face from the media, our peers, and even ourselves as we try to find our identity in a world so focused on the external aesthetic. The emphasis our culture places on being thin leads us to exaggerate the importance of body shape, weight, and dieting. As a gymnast for eight years and a life-long athlete, I have also seen and experienced the pressures of intense sports. Intense athletic competition, criticism from coaches, and the desire to be the best cause both boys and girls to fixate on their weight, diet, and exercise routine; in some cases, this can lead to an eating disorder. The fact of the matter is that our society, in general, knows very little about eating disorders, and many people have misconceptions about these wide-spread mental illnesses. We are constantly exposed to media advertising the newest way to lose weight or change the way you look, and yet, talk of eating disorders and body image issues is almost taboo. This gap in conversation is an unfortunate reality that is causing more harm than good.
Though addressing how we feel internally is uncommon in conversation, negatively talking about our bodies has become commonplace. So common, in fact, that the phrase "fat talk" was coined to refer to the seemingly insignificant negative statements we make about our bodies in every day conversation. For example, have you ever heard someone say "Gosh, I'm such a fatty!" after eating a large meal or "I would feel so much better about myself if I lost ten pounds!" after looking in the mirror? I wrote "seemingly insignificant" because, in reality, this negative speech has a profound effect, especially on adolescent males and females. The saying goes "Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt," but I beg to differ—the way we talk about and treat ourselves and others in conversation can definitely cause seen and unseen emotional harm. Many people are not aware that the light-hearted "fat talk" they engage in and other pressures adolescents face from the media and other outside sources are triggering for both males and females that are predisposed to have an eating disorder. However, with education and awareness of these disorders that affect males and females of all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes, beginning to change this reality could be as simple as changing the way we talk.
Also harmful to an individual's perception of his or her body is the media's focus on dieting and body shape. We are constantly bombarded with digitally altered and unrealistic representations of models and celebrities. These images can skew anyone's body image, but given the fact that teenagers are still developing their own identity, it's no wonder that almost 50% of girls in middle school and high school reported that magazine pictures made them want to lose weight.1 This statistic should be alarming seeing as severe dieting has been shown to be one of the highest risk factors for the development of an eating disorder.2 The pressure to look a certain way can lead to unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives. Research shows that over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys report using at least one of these behaviors to control their weight.3 The teenage brain is particularly susceptible to environmental pressures because it is constantly changing and, in fact, is only 80% developed during adolescence.4 Influences from fluctuating hormones add to the effects of outside influences making it almost impossible for a young adult predisposed to have an eating disorder to be able to fight it off on their own.
As a young adult and a part of an extraordinary team of eating disorder professionals at Veritas Collaborative, I have gained a perspective on eating disorders that has made me consciously aware of what desperately needs to change in our culture. In a society where negatively talking about ourselves and striving to have the "perfect" body has become more important than having a positive body image and striving to have the "perfect" answer to a math question, it can be very difficult to reject the pressures to not just want to be thin but to be… perfect. My interactions with the individuals under our care, particularly as a tutor in the Education Program, have allowed me to see how easy it is for someone suffering from an eating disorder to go undetected or without the proper care and support. The lack of support out there for young people with body image issues and eating disorders and the unawareness and misconceptions most people have about anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders has become even more apparent. However, I have hope that those of us dedicated to changing the current reality of our culture will be able to help many find a path to recovery from their eating disorder. I also have hope that we can educate and recruit others to join us on this journey along the way.
Subjects only remain unspeakable if we allow them. Eating disorders will become more prevalent if we let them. Girls and boys with negative body image and eating disorder tendencies will only suffer if we don't change the dialogue and the way we treat them. Thankfully, though, this reality can be history if we all try to shift our focus from extrinsically-centered ideals to intrinsically-centered values. By reassessing our actions, our words, and our interactions with those around us, the power to change our culture is entirely in our hands.
— Written by Bronwyn Fadem, Administrative Intern
To find out more about Veritas Collaborative and our programs for young males and females with eating disorders, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com or call (919) 908-9730.
1. Prevention of Eating Problems with Elementary Children, Michael Levine, USA Today, July 1998.
2. I'm, Like, SO Fat!., Neumark-Sztainer D. New York: The Guilford Press. 2005. p. 5
3. Onset of eating disorders: population based cohort over 3 years. GC Patton, R Selzer, C Coffey, JB Carlin, R Wolfe. BMJ. 1999; pp. 318:765 –768.
4. The Adolescent Brain — The Dana Guide. Sandra J. Ackerman. The DANA Guide to Brain Health. November 2007