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Shore to satisfy
THE RED SEA OFFERS some of the most diverse diving in the world. Whether you want a lazy dive through a shallow coral garden, or a drift with the current over a drop-off, scouring the blue for pelagic marine life, there are sites to suit everyone.
But what if you're the type who gets seasick on a boating lake What if you're on a family holiday and don't want to be on a boat away from the kids all day What sort of diving can the Red Sea offer you
There is more than 1500 miles of coastline in Egypt, and much of it offers fantastic shore-diving opportunities.
Shore-diving can get a mixed reaction from divers because, like anything, it has its pros and its cons.
On the downside, you'll find that the sand can get everywhere. Also, the dive-sites may not be as challenging as those in open water.
Alternatively, shore-diving offers the chance for divers on holiday with a family to be away from them for no more than a couple of hours.
It also provides opportunities to see the sort of marine life that is less common offshore.
Shore-diving is more suited to all levels of diver, given that you will usually have a sloping seabed that offers a choice of depths for each site.
So if you decide to miss the boat and feel the sand between your toes, where should you go to see the best that Egyptian shore-diving has to offer
Shore-diving is available in any number of areas, but a few have become favourites. Here is a selection:
Located in the Gulf of Aqaba, these two resorts have flourished over the years thanks to their mix of traditional Bedouin charm and the spectacular macro life just offshore.
The coastline features a shelf of gradually sloping sand before dropping off to more than 100m as you venture further into the gulf. Both Nuweiba and Taba are favoured by photographers, because they offer easy access to the dives and plenty of life to capture on memory cards.
Taba is close to the border with Israel, and has been developed as a resort community of hotels, shops, bars and restaurants.
The dive-sites are renowned for frogfish, and there's a good chance of seeing a number of species. Many frogfish have become accustomed to divers, and it's not uncommon for some of the larger ones to approach and pose for photos.
Nuweiba is a port town, and you can catch a ferry from here across the gulf to Jordan. The coast is dotted with camps that were once popular with Israeli holidaymakers, and each one provides a chance to dive from shore.
Many of the dive-sites have patches of seagrass that are home to any number of smaller species.
At the right time of year, you can spend an entire dive in the grass hunting for seahorses, shrimps and other-worldly creatures.
One of the best in the area is a bay called Magana, which in spring is home to a number of seahorses that take shelter on the grassy slope.
They may be diminutive, but the first time you find a seahorse in the grass can match the experience of far larger sightings.
Alternatively, you could spend a week on the house reef at the Hilton, and still find things you missed last time.
The range of shrimp, nudibranchs, sea moths and frogfish will take your breath away on this surprising reef.
If you prefer your attractions a little larger, simply head down the slope along the reef wall and stay alert for moray eels, lionfish, octopus and the ever-miserable stonefish.
With deep water just a short swim away, there is always a chance to see large rays that have ventured into shallower water, but this is generally an area for macro life.
An hour's drive south of Nuweiba is the world-famous town of Dahab. Although close to its northern neighbours, Dahab offers a completely different type of diving, and has become a haven for technical divers and freedivers, as a result of the abrupt drop-offs and immense depths available from shore.
There are also some spectacular caves and canyons through which to swim.
The most famous dive site is the Blue Hole, which reaches a maximum depth of around 130m.
A technical-diving utopia, this site offers easy access from shore, with a choice of depths available, as well as the notorious arch at around 52m that opens out into the gulf.
Coffee shops and restaurants have become established along the shore, offering the chance of a drink and a bite to eat between dives.
It's common to see both snorkellers and divers with multiple tanks walking into the sea here. This is a site that can be enjoyed by every level of diver, because it offers a sheltered lagoon over the sinkhole itself, with easy access to the hard coral formations.
The outer reef wall over the saddle opens up to the blue water, and turtles are often sighted gliding past divers.
Being close to the deep water also changes the nature of the marine life that you are likely to encounter when diving in Dahab. Besides turtles, you have a good chance of seeing large rays, and sharks have also been spotted.
There are many sites other than the Blue Hole along the coast that offer a variety of experiences.
The atmosphere of the town itself is another of the major attractions. Dahab has a laidback approach to life, and some fine restaurants and bars along the promenade.
Crossing over from the Sinai peninsula, the next stop on the tour is Hurghada. The majority of diving in Hurghada is done from boats, but there are several hotels with house reefs that should not be overlooked.
These offer almost as much diversity as the offshore reefs, but come with the added benefits of usually being quieter dive sites, and offering a chance to see some macro life that you simply wouldn't see from a boat.
The secret to shore diving in Hurghada is to dive slowly, keep your nose close to the seabed and look for the little things.
Nudibranchs can be found in among the corals or crawling across the sand, and you will see why they are sometimes called the jewels of the sea.
The next stop on our tour is El Queseir. This traditional fishing town is about 75 miles south of Hurghada, and has some fascinating history on land and some spectacular diving below water.
All along the coast are small bays and inlets that allow shore access to the Red Sea. There are 30-40 "official" dive sites in the El Queseir region, but there are many more bays that offer the chance of diving. Hotels have spread along the coast, and some offer boat-diving, but most will visit the bays with a pick-up truck and minibus.
The topography is typically a sloping seabed through a horseshoe-shaped reef. The size varies, and many sites have cave and tunnel formations in the shallow reef-plate just waiting to be explored.
Most have openings in the roof and the sunlight streams through, ensuring plenty of light and a magical effect as it ripples on the sand.
In the centre of the bay there is either seagrass or sand, and you can spend much of your time looking for critters among the blades of grass or hiding in the sand.
Rays, sharks, dugongs and turtles have all been seen along this coastline as well, so it's always worth keeping one eye on the blue, just in case.
The trump card of El Queseir is the solitude you will find at most spots. Thanks to the wide choice of sites and the number of visitors it gets, fewer than its northern shore-diving neighbours, there is a good chance that you will be the only group of divers at a site.
If you head south from El Queseir, the next town you come across is Marsa Alam. The region spreads much further along the coast, however, and is home to some classic shore dives.
The most famous in the area is probably Marsa Abu Dabab, which is home to a resident dugong known locally as Dennis. Growing boat traffic was becoming a danger to his safety and restrictions were applied, so the site is now accessible only from shore.
As well as Dennis, the bay is home to a multitude of green sea turtles (which range from large to absolutely huge), guitar rays and a plethora of smaller life.
Many bays also act as nursery sites for juveniles. They spend their early months in the shelter and safety of the shallows before venturing out when they are old enough. It's wonderful to see a perfect replica of a lionfish or butterflyfish just a couple of centimetres long.
One of the best spots to find juveniles is a site called Marsa Shouna (aka Marsa Shoni Kebir), a mile or two south of Port Ghalib. Entering from the beach, you can swim left or right along the deepening reef wall and hunt for miniature versions of your favourite fish.
When you feel your eyes starting to strain, you can always visit the patch of seagrass in the centre of the bay and hunt for turtles instead.
There are traditional resort hotels along the coast, but also more and more eco-camps. These offer a chance to relax in well-equipped tents or huts close to a house reef. Similar to the camps near Taba and Nuweiba, you can enjoy the peace and quiet until it becomes too peaceful, and then simply go diving.
Marsa Alam is also famous for Elphinstone, and many dive centres can arrange boat trips to this offshore seamount to supplement your shore-diving. After the leisurely stroll into the surf from the shore, the speedboat ride will feel even more exhilarating.
Elphinstone is home to a variety of shark species at certain times of the year, so you can get your adrenaline rush and still be back for breakfast!
So if you thought that shore-diving was just for courses, or that you have to keep taking the seasickness tablets, think again. Diving from the beach opens up a new world of possibilities, and no matter how experienced you are, there is always the chance to see something new.
Just be careful of that sand. It really does get everywhere.


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Former Tewksbury Business Owner Admits She Failed to Pay More Than $474,000 to Workers
Defendant Ordered to Pay Money to Employees and is Prohibited from Operating Home Health Care Company
WOBURN – The former owner of a Tewksbury health care agency has pleaded guilty to charges she failed to pay more than $474,000 to her employees and has been ordered to pay the money to those employees as part of restitution, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.
"It is essential that workers in the Commonwealth are properly compensated for the time that they work," AG Coakley said. "We enforce these laws not only to protect workers, but to level the playing field for all businesses that play by the rules."
Diane Porter, 67, of Tewksbury, former owner of Excel Home Care, Inc. (Excel) pleaded guilty to the charge of Failure to Pay Wages (93 counts). After the plea was entered, Middlesex Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey ordered Porter to pay a total of $474,154.40 in restitution. As part of her sentence, Porter must also perform a minimum eight hours of community service per month, and will be on probation for the length of time necessary to monitor her restitution payments and compliance with the community service imposed, a maximum of 25 years. Porter is also prohibited from owning or operating any home health care agency for the duration of the probationary period.
The charges stem from an investigation by the Attorney General's Fair Labor Division that began in April 2009 following multiple complaints from employees that Porter had failed to pay them any wages for extended periods of time. The affected employees included workers who provided home health care and related services to disabled adults and children, as well as administrative staff. The workers, who generally earned between $12 and $15 per hour, continued working for Porter based on her promises that she would eventually pay them. Many did not receive any pay at all for work they performed over various pay periods from January through August 2009.
Massachusetts law requires that employers pay their employees in full and in a timely manner, generally no later than 6 days after the end of the pay period in which the wages were earned.
A Middlesex County Grand Jury returned indictments against Porter and Excel on May 18, 2010. The defendants were arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on July 14, 2010, where each pleaded not guilty. Porter was released on personal recognizance. Porter pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay restitution yesterday. A separate restitution hearing has been scheduled for January 3, 2013, to further assess her ability to pay.
Workers who believe their workplace rights have been violated are strongly urged to call the Attorney General's Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. More information about the wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages at the Attorney General's Workplace Rights website: www.massworkrights.com.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Lisa C. Price and Teresa Lamarre, and investigated by Nora Saint-Martin, both of the AG's Fair Labor Division, along with assistance from Victim Witness Advocate Ashley Cinelli, also of the Attorney General's Office.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cayucos Pier Wind Statistieken, November gemiddelde vanaf 2006
This chart illustrates how often and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal November. The largest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue indicates the strength, with deep blue strongest. It is based on 2867 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2006, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Cayucos Pier, located 50 km away (31 miles). There are too few recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. Invevitably some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3.
According to the model, the prevailing wind at Cayucos Pier blows from the WSW. If the rose diagram shows a close to circular outline, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Cayucos Pier. Converseley, dominant spokes represent favoured directions, and the more deep blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical November, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (light blue) about 2% of the time (1 days each November) and blows offshore just 4% of the time (1 days in an average November). Over an average November winds exceeding >40kph (25mph) are not expected, but 0 have winds on the range 30-40 (19-25) at Cayucos Pier
IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.


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At times, it could be any other young parent's blog.
Natalie Reynolds writes about beautiful moments with her 15-month-old daughter, Isobel.
"I took advantage of doing everything with Isobel tonight, we played and read stories, then I gave her a bath – that kid loves the water," one entry reads.
She writes about lying in bed with her as she goes to sleep, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, playing with her at bath time and getting those priceless, unexpected cuddles.
But the blog is not about parenting, it is about a brutal disease – a very unexpected journey Reynolds is taking after a late diagnosis of bowel cancer.
The 26-year-old Dunedin mother had her entire bowel removed in June and is now fighting liver cancer.
She wants to tell her story publicly to help others avoid her fate.
"I just wanted to open people's eyes and let them see that if they don't look after themselves and trust themselves and their body then this is a situation they could end up in – and this is a situation that no one should end up in."
Despite suffering from rectal bleeding for five years, Reynolds said she was not referred for a diagnostic colonoscopy until the symptoms intensified at the end of last year.
She was treated for haemorrhoids but the bleeding continued.
"Everyone kept repeating to me, 'You are so young'. I feel that because of my age they just glanced over bowel cancer and moved on thinking it might have been something else."
In November, she was put on an emergency list for a colonoscopy but it took another four to five months before she finally had the procedure.
When a doctor told her she had bowel cancer in May, it was a huge shock.
"I never ever considered cancer, it did not play on my mind whatsoever," Reynolds said.
Doctors found Reynolds had developed the condition, Serrated Polyps Syndrome (SPS), in which multiple polyps develop in the large bowel. One of more than 20 polyps had become cancerous.
Soon after her diagnosis, other family members shared that they too had the genetic syndrome.
"People don't like talking about bums and poo and bowels so it ends up with people keeping those things quiet, and it's dangerous."
Still recovering from the massive operation to remove her bowel, Reynolds was dealt another blow last month.
A scan revealed four tumours in her liver.
She is now midway through her first month of chemotherapy treatment in a bid to shrink the tumours before another surgery.
Despite her dire predicament, the young mum is trying to take a positive approach. "I've decided that I'm going to enjoy everything about my family and my friends now, in case. It's just really made me appreciate everything so much more."
Southern District Health Board executive director of patient services Lexie O'Shea said the DHB could not comment on individual cases.
Reynolds' blog is The Fight of My Life, at natsbigfight.tumblr.com/.
Photo: ENJOYING FAMILY: Natalie Reynolds with her daughter Isobel Strong and partner Pete Strong.


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iStock.com/PeopleImages When it comes to our sexual histories, we usually think of losing our virginity as the most important "first time" to remember. But for many women, there is another first time that might be even more fun to remember -- the first time they reached orgasm.
I don't have any stats to back this up, but I strongly suspect that for most of us, the first time we had sex and the first time we reached orgasm were NOT the same.
Yes, I may be speaking from personal experience here.
Whether it happened all alone or with a partner who knew just what to do, I coaxed 11 women to tell me what they remember about the first "O" and how it changed how they thought about sex and themselves. Once I promised them they could stay anonymous, they opened up with some sweet, surprising, and even a little sexy memories. Read on -- you might even find yourself a bit inspired!


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Kill List is a cult-classic from the low budget feature slate Warp X, which wowed the critics when it had its world premiere at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The dark and twisted horror film from award-winning director Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace), Kill List tracks an ex-soldier turned contract killer who begins to unravel when he takes on a new assignment. Kill List was filmed at locations across Yorkshire in 2010 with financing and support from Screen Yorkshire's Production Fund (2003 -2010) Protagonist handles international sales and Studio Canal took the UK rights to Kill List following a bidding war between UK distributors. A US deal was struck with IFC Midnight. Michael Smiley won a BIFA for Best Supporting Actor.
Brief synopsis
Eight months after a disastrous job in Kiev left him physically and mentally scarred, ex-soldier turned contract killer Jay (Neil Maskell), is pressured by his partner Gal (Michael Smiley), into taking a new assignment. As they descend into the dark, disturbing world of the contract, Jay begins to unravel once again – his fear and paranoia sending him deep into the heart of darkness….
Kill List is produced by Claire Jones & Andy Starke for Warp X / Rook Films with backing from the UK Film Council, Film4 and Screen Yorkshire. Executive producers Robin Gutch, Katherine Butler, Lizzie Francke, and Hugo Heppell. Warp's Barry Ryan co-produced.
The cast features Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, MyAnna Buring and Emma Fryer. Ben Wheatley co-wrote the script with Amy Jump.
What the critics said:
"brutally impressive… a challenging and gripping chiller" – ScreenDaily
"weird and darkly amusing…progresses from uncomfortable character study to subtly intense crime thriller, and ultimately deep, dark horror" – Fearnet.com
"mystery, murder, and flesh-busting madness….rivals the best horror films for sheer tension and terror." – FilmSchoolRejects
"several cuts above its fellow midbudget horror brethren…an effectively twisted piece of work" -Variety


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What Event Planners say about Nadine Hill:
"Nadine is inspiring, enthusiastic, determined and dynamic! As a fantastic Ambassador for Enterprise UK, Nadine never turned us down when we asked her to speak, do a presentation or take part in an enterprise activity. I don't know how she manages to juggle it - it seems that she has an extra few hours in the day than the rest of us!"
Eimear Hale, Ambassadors & Networks Manager, Enterprise UK
"This is just to thank you for your brilliant speech at the Ambassadors' launch in Stockholm on October 5th. We have received incredible feedback - so many participants have gotten back to us to say how inspired they were by your presentation. Thank you once again."
Maria Linder, Division for Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy, and Communications, Stockholm
"I would like to sincerely thank Nadine Hill for her truly inspiring contribution to the Enterprise Conference organised by 'Enterprise Works'. Nadine showed that if you have passion you can move mountains and touched everyone in the room who attended today to change their work and life! The comments from everybody who attended the event were extremely positive."
Janet Carter, Guidance Services Project Manager for Enterprise Works
"Nadine, I'd like to thank you for coming in and speaking to my Fashion students. You covered a lot of information and matched our brief superbly in a friendly and cheerful manner."
Anna Gardener, Professional Development & Enterprise Lecturer, Leeds College of Art & Design
"Nadine presented a very inspirational and motivating speech which was both engaging and captivating. Feedback from delegates was very positive and they particularly enjoyed the fact Nadine was down to earth and shared the tips of her success. Thank you."
Charlotte Dean, www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk
"I personally thought you were very professional and easy to work with and you gave our audience precisely what they wanted, a real success story, delivered naturally as "your-self", informative and entertaining with some great tips and practical advice.
Sarah Langford, Events Executive (South Yorkshire)
"First of all, may I congratulate on your amazing ability to captivate an audience with your anecdotes of tiara's and radio show escapades....I heard you at the Yorkshire Coal Mining Venue delivering a speech for Yorkshire Forward Ladies and was enthralled by your proactive presence. I immediately pictured you talking to my students... (with or without a tiara!!)"
Shealagh Derrig, Head of Enterprise, Gateways School for Girls, Leeds


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All these new tools coming out of Adobe Labs! It is making it easier and easier for designers and developers to communicate easily with each other. My hope is that it will lead to better collaboration which brings better products for humans.
More information can be found on the Adobe Site (added since the video that used to be embedded was not working for some viewers)
This was the introduction Demo given by Kevin Lynch at Web 2.0 Expo 2009.


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We are not about us. We are about you!
DP Management has the knowledge; the team, the resources, and the drive to help you and your portfolio maximize opportunities. We aren't just in the commercial real estate business; we live and breathe our clients' business in commercial real estate.
What We Do
We do with integrity, quality, and passion.
We currently lease and manage over 5,000,000 SF of commercial real estate, including open-air and lifestyle centers, enclosed malls, office buildings, and multi-family apartment units.
You will never influence the world by trying to be like it. Be different.
For starters, our team. We are all about mixing and matching. We have the experience and the youthful perspective. We have the go-getters and risk takers. Number crunchers and visionaries. These combined with our will, determination and commitment set us apart.
Our full-service capabilities, strong local and regional presence, commitment to 50 years plus of service and project alignment allows us to cover opportunities, capitalize on trends and deliver uncommon results.
In 2011, DP Management, LLC became of member of TCN Worldwide, a consortium of independent commercial real estate firms, providing complete integrated real estate solutions locally and internationally. An extensive range of real estate services coupled with a personal commitment to exceed expectations is what allows TCN Worldwide to be a leader within this competitive industry. Comprised of leading independent brokerage firms, serving more than 200 markets globally, TCN Worldwide combines an entrepreneurial approach with years of local experience.
Work hard. Have fun. Make a difference.
We strive to deliver all of these within our company, whether for our clients or for our community. Read more about how we have been involved in the past.


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I ended the day in Bradenton, Florida. I came down the middle of the state seeking some good riding in and around the Ocala National Forest. Rte 17 to Rts 19 and 40 is how I did the forest...but allow me to say, despite the warm sunny weather, most of Florida is really not much fun to ride. It's Harley country--straight, flat roads with long, shallow curves. Seeking to avoid I-75 I took Rte 301 south to the Tampa area--another mistake: such a grueling, traffic-laden crawl that I eventually just gave up and got on the highway. Turned out the curviest, hilliest parts of this area are the highway on and off-ramps.
I took this photo for Carly. It's at my Aunt Jess's house, where I stayed for the night after a big meal of catfish, frogs' legs and alligator. This bunny, with her pretty print dress and her ribbons on her ears, struck me as just the kind of friend a little girl might have had two hundred years ago
Log In:


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Hello and welcome to my currently UK-based blog. Cute has a different meaning for everyone. Different people find different things cute. I find foxes are the cutest. This blog is for people like me who like cute games and anime and by that I mean mostly games on Nintendo consoles, Idol anime and anything with foxes is a bonus.
On the side I have included a list of links. Some I find useful and others are for fun.
Thankyou for taking the time to read my blog.
Note: I don't mind a difference of opinion but I don't appreciate certain language. So if your comment doesn't appear it's not because it contains a difference of opinion but because I found it offensive.


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Li Chuanyun
In 1993 Li made his debut at the Hong Kong Cultural Center performing Paganini's 24 Caprices, which he later recorded on his first CD. In March of 1995, Li was invited to perform with China's Philharmonic Orchestra consisting of principle musicians from fifteen leading Chinese orchestras. In September 1996, the Juilliard School of Music awarded him a full scholarship to attend the school's Pre-College Division, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay, Itzhak Perlman and Hyo Kang. He has attended the Aspen Music School and participated in the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado every summer since 1995.
In 1997, Li was chosen to give a recital at the Larchmont Chamber Music Circle of that year. In 1998, he won the Nakamichi Violin Concerto Competition held in Aspen, Colorado. He was awarded the Salon De Virtuosi Fellowship Grant in 1999. Li studied with DeLay and Professor Kurt Sassmannshaus at the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music in 1999 and 2000.
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta performed in Paris, France, with Li as their solo violinist, in July 2001. The Clarisse B. Kampel foundation presently supports Li' s studies with Joey Corpus in New York City. He has appeared with orchestras in the United States, Canada, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Iceland, France and Japan. He also often performs as a recitalist.
Li Chuanyun Facts
|Musician, Actor
Selected Filmography
|Not available.


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Whether you're commuting to work or running errands around town, the stylish Comfort Cup by Chinet insulated hot cup allows you to bring your freshly brewed coffee or tea from home, helping save time and money. Each Comfort Cup by Chinet cup is designed with three layers of insulation to keep drinks at the perfect temperature and eliminating the need for sleeves or double-cupping. Carry on with your morning routine without worrying about spills or messes– the tight-fitting lid allows for easy, one-handed drinking. Comfort Cup – It's How You Take It.
Save 5% with Subscribe & Save (you can cancel anytime) plus 20% off coupon will be applied to first delivery of this subscription or at check out for a one-time purchase.
Amazon Prime Eligible. Free shipping for Prime members when buying this Add-on Item.
Don't have Amazon Prime? Try it for FREE! Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. Comes with Free 2-Day Shipping!
This deal is expected to expire at 2:00am on Monday December 25th, 2017.


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former Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel, Wakefield
Keith Guyler 1999
former Ebenezer chapel, Market Street
There are two references to the opening of a Primitive Methodist chapel in Wakefield in the early 1820s. The first reference is in the magazine of 1821. It reports the opening of a chapel on Sunday 22nd of October 1820 when the preacher was Joseph Brook, who reported the event in the magazine.
The second reference to the opening of a chapel in Wakefield, this time with a Sunday school, is in the Primitive Methodist magazine of 1824. No date is given by the author, J Brown; it was probably 1823, given the time it took for information to be gathered and published at the time. It could even be the same chapel.
The forerunner of the chapel in the picture was opened in 1838 and was rebuilt in 1880. It held 200 people but closed in the 1960s. After closure it may have been a theatre and a health club. In 2005 a planning application was submitted for demolition and the erection of high rise flats.
The steps to the first floor doors have been removed since the photograph was taken. The Sunday School was at ground level. On Google Street View in September 2014 it looks semi derelict and in need of love and attention.
Primitive Methodist magazine 1821 page 120
Primitive Methodist magazine 1824 page 116.
My Primitive Methodists > http://www.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk/
Website by Community Sites


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Help for those living on the streets
A countywide strategy for dealing with the plight of the homeless has been adopted by Boston Borough Council.
The draft strategy has been developed by the Lincolnshire County Homelessness Strategy Group, made up of every housing association in the county, statutory and voluntary organisations, to cover the period 2017 to 2021.
The group's three previous strategies have been recognised as best practice partnership models by the Government. The latest strategy was formulated following a review of homelessness in the county and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and service users.
The draft strategy's section on Boston concedes that the area has some of the highest private rents in the region and lowest full-time wages, presenting affordability challenges. It has also had one of the largest population increases in the last Census in 2011.
The new strategy tackles supply of affordable housing, both rented and purchased, working with partners across statutory and voluntary sectors to reduce homelessness, tackling rough sleeping and the barriers which prevent rough sleepers from moving away from the streets


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Servicing: LAKE, MENDOCINO, NAPA & SONOMA COUNTIES
Member 249171 Member 6082094
10 Years 12 Years
707.245.7545 (cell/text) or 707.987.9970 (office)
EMAIL: firstname.lastname@example.com
HUD/FHA 203(k) INSPECTOR * CERTIFIED THERMOGRAPHER * CERTIFIED MOLD/RADON/AIR QUALITY TESTING
Welcome to Housecheck Inspection Services, beginning our seventeenth year, and dedicated to meeting your highest expectations for a home inspection. Housecheck is my own company, not an out-of-state franchise, nor a company of minimally qualified employees or subcontractors. You can be confident in knowing what and who you are getting.
I am Byron Duerksen, An ASHI Certified Inspector with the American Society of Home inspectors and a Board Certified Master Inspector with the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, and the most experienced home inspector you can find. Also, I am the only home inspector to offer thermal imaging which sees what the eyes cannot.
You've finally found a home that looks like it's in excellent condition, but merely looking like it's in good condition is not enough when it comes to such a huge financial decision. To make sure you're not buying a money pit, you need a professional home inspection before you commit.
A home inspector who does not require a signed a legal contract for an inspection has NO insurance and you are at risk for any potential errors or oversights in the report. Without an Agreement and attached Standards of Practice, you do not know what you are getting.
We stand behind every inspection we do with errors and omissions insurance and with a 90 day warranty. After you receive your report, if you would like to discuss any part of it, we would be happy to open the PDF on our screen while you are looking at yours, and review any section on which you do not feel you have a clear understanding. You would be hard pressed to find another inspector who does all of this.
You have the right to have the home you are purchasng professionally inspected. If something is wrong, you can request it be fixed, negotiate a better price or you can back out of the sale. The home inspection fee is a drop in the bucket considering the costly home issues that may be revealed by a professional inspection.
The importance of having access to all the relevant information on a house before making a purchase decision should not be underestimated. Equally important is getting information that is accurate, complete, and unbiased. The purpose of a home inspection is not to compose a repair list for the seller. It is to provide you with total disclosure before you close escrow, to let you know what you are buying, before you buy it.
Choosing the cheapest inspection could be the most expensive mistake you'll ever make. Home repairs can be some of the costliest expenses consumers face. The few dollars you think you could save may cost you thousands of dollars down the road because of missed or overlooked defects, some of which can injure or even kill you.
You couldn't put a price of your family's health and safety. Your home inspection costs very little but it will tell you a whole lot. It's worth much more than the inspection fee. My fees are reasonable and affordable, and depend on the perceived amount of time it will take to inspect the property and to produce a fully documented report.
Continuing education separates a professional home inspector from all others. I never stop learning. I take audited classes and proctored exams. It is necessary to keep abreast of new materials, advanced methods, code changes and different applications. I have attended Conferences and Seminars all over the United States to obtain advanced education.
I use state of the art equipment: tablets, drones, infrared camera, laser devices, and the most sophisticated software utilizing the Cloud, in order to conduct the highest quality inspection and produce the finest report available.
Do your own due diligence before engaging the services of any inspector. One home inspector is not the same as another. California does not license home inspectors, ever. An inspector is either Certified or fly-by-night. A true professional carries liability as well as errors and omissions insurance and insurance companies require a signed service agreement for each inspection. A Certified inspector must be a member-in-good-standing in a national organization which requires annual continuing education. Assuming that you will get the same level of inspection and comprehensive report regardless of the fee is a pitfall you should avoid. That simply isn't true. Shopping for quotes doesn't begin to tell you what you need to know. You need to get the most for your money.
What about one of the online lists of the best inspectors? If these lists actually contain the best, why aren't they identical? They are not even close. For a monthly fee, any inspector can be added to Angie's List, Home Advisor, Porch, Manta, or any others. Are these companies going to post bad reviews and risk losing their monthly income? Bogus reviews proliferate these sites. In fact in San Francisco, the DA announced a lawsuit against one of the most popular for deceptive advertising, specifically for fraudulently misrepresenting the objectivity of the consumer reviews it publishes. Do you have to provide personal information that is unnecessary so they can sell your information to another company for their own profit? Don't let them insult your intelligence. It's just advertising, nothing more.
California DOES NOT license home inspectors. Consequently, many self proclaimed home inspectors have not spent the time or money to get proper training and do not meet minimum standards for continuing education that are required for every other real estate professional.
I am a Certified Master Inspector, a seasoned professional, having conducted thousands of inspections in Northern California's wine country in the last sixteen years. The dictionary defines a "professional" as "skilled, proficient, knowledgeable, prepared, talented, competent, and experienced," in other words, a master of his craft. I've taught classes in national conferences for Licensed Home Inspectors in Washington, Oregon and Nevada.
I look at everything I can during an inspection; mechanical and plumbing systems, doors, windows, electrical panels, attics, crawl spaces and the roof. I look for signs of water damage or moisture intrusion as well as missing or falling insulation. And, I look at the construction of the deck. Many look beautiful but are not built correctly and are dangerous.
Don't let anyone mislead you by claiming to be a State Certified or a Licensed and Bonded home inspector because there is no such thing. Only in California can somebody be a dog catcher on Tuesday and be a home inspector on Wednesday, and I promise you I'm not making this up.
There is one law, CALIFORNIA TRADE PRACTICE ACT 338, which prohibits home inspectors from repairing properties that they have inspected. This is designed to keep contractors from masquerading as home inspectors.
As a professional, I maintain my long standing memberships in the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI), the two largest and most prominent national home inspector associations who set the standards for industry-wide protocols.
* Experienced, over sixteen years of home inspecting
As a former contractor, I can tell you that home inspecting demands far more detailed education in every discipline than a general contractor. A professional home inspector must possess a unique combination of disciplines, skills and education involving many elements that are particularly complex in order to perform the very detailed job of investigating a home's structure and components.
Judge the home inspector by the quality of the Inspection Report which should speak for itself. A professional report is well written, skillfully prepared, and leaves nothing to your imagination. It should be well organized and systematically cover every room, component and system. It should not require anyone to interpret it.
Poor reports come in an incomprehensible variety of formats. Some are a 12 to 20 pages check boxes which are inadequate for your analysis. While other reports can be a disorganized volume of comments and pictures, with redundancies as well as omissions, that will leave you confused and unsure. The report is the KEY! Make sure you look at a sample report.
My reports are specific to your property with no fillers added. My report is designed to walk you through each area of the house and show you what I saw and report on it right then and there.
The home purchase is too expensive to risk not knowing what you are buying in order to save a few dollars. The inspection costs relatively little compared to real estate commissions and down payments, but "the home inspection is the most important part of the real estate transaction" according to Consumer Reports Magazine.
If an inspector offers to do the inspection for an extremely low fee, but only gives you a verbal report and offers to throw in his hand written notes -- RUN. Worst case scenario, the house collapses around you in the first rain storm, and you have no legal recourse. You can't prove a thing.
Identifying potential problems with a home's infrastructure or its major systems before close of escrow can ultimately save thousands of dollars in repair costs. Current or potential issues that are identified during the home inspection can then be used as a negotiating tool. A seller might reduce his price, or may even fix the problem before the close.
I won't minimize the issues to please someone involved in the transaction whose agenda may be different from yours. Neither will I exaggerate the extent of the issues in hopes of getting the repair work which is an illegal practice. The State prohibits home inspectors from repairing properties that they have inspected. I will report to you exactly what I find.
This law requires the seller to disclose all known issues. The home inspection report also becomes part of the disclosures but is separate from the seller's form and is not meant to be a substitute for it. The home inspection may reveal an issue or several issues that had not been disclosed by the seller, or may even be unknown to the seller. All disclosures are available to anybody interested in the property.
Let Housecheck provide you with the most qualified inspector and the most comprehensive report you can find. It's the difference between your peace of mind and nagging doubts.
Without photographs, you get less than half the information. In my experience as a home inspector, sellers have removed etched shower doors, wood carved mantles, brand new water heaters, air conditioners, even doors between the inspection and close of escrow. And since they replaced them with like items, albeit of lesser value, they see no harm. What do you think?
Pictures show why a fascia board should be replaced even if you don't know what a fascia board is. My reports are unmatched in details, in number of pictures and in readability. View any inspector's sample report online and compare.
Our main focus is to provide FULL SERVICE for our clients. We continually strive to improve our customers' home inspection experience, performing high compliance inspections, and providing a comprehensive, detailed, easy to understand report, unlike any other. We include these additional services at no cost to you:
1. WALK-AROUND FOLLOWING INSPECTION - Following my inspection, I invite you to walk around with me to discuss what I have found, explore remedies and to answer any questions you have. There is no time limit placed on this.
2. THERMAL IMAGING DETECTION - By utilizing my infrared camera, I can detect costly leaks and potentially dangerous electrical hot spots. Available for an additional fee.
3. 90 DAY WARRANTY - You will have a 90 Day Limited Structural and Mechanical Warranty from American Home Warranty, from the date of the inspection. At no additional cost to you.
4. INSPECTION REPORT BOOK - In addition to providing you with the PDF of your inspection report, I will mail you a printed copy in a plastic cover for easy reference. Why settle for an inferior report of only a dozen pages with check boxes OR 2 letter acronyms for you to decipher? That's not a good value at any price. My 60 page reports have no filler pages and do not require a secret decoder ring.
5. SAFE HOME E-BOOK FOR MAINTENANCE - And, finally I will send you a valuable 225 page e-book. This book is designed to provide you with tips and information to keep your family safe and your home in top condition.
In fact, it could very well prove to be life saving. This is your last opportunity to gain information and understanding on a property which is a major long-term financial commitment.
I provide a room-by-room, system-by-system report written in plain English with pictures every step of the way.
You have found a potential property investment in the Northern California Wine Country that will suit your needs and it shows promising growth in equity and profits. With my experience in inspecting a diverse range of commercial properties, I can supply you with a commercial property condition assessment report that will further reduce the financial risk you are about to undertake. This report can be used as a tool for negotiations.
The purpose of the Physical Condition Survey was to evaluate the building's structural condition and the performance of the principal building systems. Choose only a professional commercial inspector who will inspect and report on every area. Only if destructive discovery is required should a contractor be called in. READ MORE
Sophisticated buyers as well as first time buyers call me directly to book inspections. Some are out of state and a few have contacted me from as far away as Japan, Afganistan, and Italy. My first priority is to provide you, the client, with an honest and complete evaluation of the property you are about to purchase. Every inch of the property is inspected -- all structural, electrical, air conditioning, heating and plumbing are examined. I crawl under the house. I climb into the attic. I inspect the roof. I will notify you of any item that has a current or potential issue.
If you are about to put your home on the market, a pre-listing inspection will put you ahead of the competition. It will alert you to any immediate issues discovered before potential buyers tour your home. Then, any issues or repairs can be resolved ahead of time without rushing, which will help the home show better and give you time for repair choices. This alone can save you a considerable amount of money. Without a pre-listing inspection, defects can cause unreasonable price adjustment demands from the buyer or even kill the sale and escrow may drag on instead of closing quickly and smoothly. READ MORE
We collect no personal information or data, other than what is required for our insurance and the inspection report.
Click here to view the Standards of Practice
Affiliate Member of North Bay Area Association of Realtors
Housecheck Inspection Services, 21177 Calistoga Road, #1833, Middletown, CA 95461 Google+


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No IPL angst for this dolphin
Out on a fishing boat under a clear blue early morning sky to go dolphin watching, the violence, squabbles and tensions that mark daily life fade into irrelevance - including the recent tensions arising from the Indian Premier League's refusal to bid for Pakistani cricketers.
We cruise the sparkling azure waters of the Arabian Sea parallel to the lengthy sand spit (called Sandspit) along the Karachi coast. About five kilometres out to sea, we can clearly see the recreational 'huts' that dot Sandspit beach. As we pass another fishing boat, the crews exchange greetings - just as highway truckers and bus drivers do.
An hour later, our first sight of dolphins in the wild is pure magic. They rise out of the water, their fluid movements making them at one with the ocean. True harmony. The magic continues as they dance around our boat, emerging sometimes on one side and sometimes on another, keeping their distance for the most part but turning up occasionally just five metres away. A baby dolphin cavorts with its mother. Bettina, an anthropologist from Kenya who teaches at UC Davis, notices a dolphin with a white spot on its fin.
Five species of these intelligent, playful mammals have been identified off the Karachi coast - all called 'malhar' by the local fishermen (I wonder if their Indian counterparts have a similar word).
"How do you know where the dolphins will be?" we ask Babar Hussain, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) official with us.
"We monitor and survey them every day," he explains. "We identify at which spot they are likely to appear, and at what time. They come to feed for this one hour. Now they will migrate, and you will not see them until evening."
Our crew, local fishermen, take us to a fishing spot further out from where Sandspit is just a brown line on the horizon. They show us the small buoys they use, bobbing on the water, to mark the spot where they left their nets the previous night. One fisherman grabs a slippery silver fish, limp from struggling in the net, and flings it into a corner. That's dinner, they say, grinning.
The WWF has embarked on this tourist project that allows the local community extra income. The tour must be booked a week or ten days ahead. Once the boat is out on one of its extended fishing trips - they are sometimes out for up to two weeks on sea - it can't be brought back for a three-four hour dolphin-watching tour.
Fishermen going on these extended fishing trips risk not returning. The danger is less from storms, more from the Indian maritime security forces - a risk that Indian fishermen face from Pakistan's maritime security forces.
Going crabbing in Karachi harbour (not that there are crabs anymore to catch, cook and eat on the boat as we used to do), a mass of confiscated Indian fishing boats lie rotting on one side. Lakhs of rupees worth of engines, equipment, nets, and catch unaccounted for, quietly sold. It's probably the same story on the Indian side of the border.
Each boat confiscated represents a crew of a dozen or so men and boys, some barely into their teens. They left their families to go and earn this precarious living, ending up being treated "literally like prisoners of war" as Mohammad Ali Shah of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum puts it. They are locked up sometimes for years, with no consular or legal access. Occasionally, a fisherman dies in 'enemy' custody.
I am not particularly bothered about whether the IPL bids for Pakistani cricketers or not (they make enough money as it is). What concerns me is what the rejection says about the mentality involved - the need to put each other down, puerile tit for tat actions (you don't take our cricketers, we won't send our kabaddi team), and the continuous assertion of "we are better than you". Until that changes, arrested fishermen and visa violators - and all their family members - will continue to suffer.
Meanwhile, at least the malhar roam free and majestic, oblivious of man-made borders and man-made tensions.
The writer is a freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker www.beenasarwar.wordpress.com


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Tricia Hanna - Realtor ®
- NameTricia Hanna
- Cell440-773-1111
- E-mail Me
About Tricia
I have been involved in the Real Estate Industry for the past 12 years, selling homes and closing loans for new purchases and refinances.
I love finding the perfect home for my buyer clients, and am thrilled when I can get a quick sale for my sellers!
I have a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Kent State, and a BBA with a Marketing major, also from Kent State.
I have both the experience and the education to back me up in my career.
I would love to help you find your dream home!
I have a 5 year old son, and a 2 year old little baby girl, and they are my pride and joy!
I also enjoy golfing in a woman's league, and am an active member in my church at Holy Trinity of Avon.
If I can help you in any way to sell your home or to purchase a new home, please call me!
I would love to be a part of assisting you with this important part of your life!


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A charming two bedroom apartment located in Via Cavour 200 meters from Piazza Duomo. 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, terrace with view of the cathedral dome. Air conditioning. internet wi fi
Apartment with an amazing view of the Duomo of Florence. All comforts, air conditioning, internet, iPad. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, terrace with table and chairs. No lift. Superbly positioned !
Beautiful apartment close to the Basilica of San Lorenzo, and Campanile di Giotto. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, air conditioning.
Apartment located in Via dei Servi, 200 meters far from the Dome of Florence. The apartment located at the third floor of a palace is not provided with an elevator. One double bedroom, air conditioned, internet.
Apartment situated in Via de'Pecori, pedestrian area at 50 metres from the Dome of Florence. 1 room with 2 beds and 1 bathroom with shower. Panoramic view. Air conditioning.
Apartment with 3 panoramic terraces overlooking the Duomo of Florence, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Air conditioning, internet wi-fi. Second floor without lift.
The apartment is situated in the Duomo square, in Florence. This 301.4 square foot loft has a wonderful terrace overlooking the Cupola of the Dome of Florence and it is equipped with a sofa bed, 1 bathroom, air conditioned and WIFI connection.
Lovely apartment of 28 square meters in the heart of Florence close to Piazza Duomo ( Cathedral of Florence ). 1 bedroom, living room with sofa bed.
Apartment 150 meters from Piazza Duomo in the heart of Florence. Very bright. 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms.
Uffizi Apartment in located on the top floor of an '800 building in the historic centre of Florence, just a short distance from the most important museums. Piazza Duomo 350m., 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, air conditioning, terrace with view.
Apartment near the Piazza Duomo, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom. Air-conditioning. Internet ADSL.


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14 Mar 2017 11:33:41 AM
14 Mar 2017 11:33:41 AM
1 Feb 2017 11:19:05 AM
So with my dedication to writing Fallout articles, the chance to speak on Conor McGregor and his quest to become the first major MMA star to cross over and dominate in another combat sport, *cough* Alistair Overeem *cough*, has been a bit out of reach. It's a strange day to see a UFC champion grow to such heights to be capable of calling out another sport's pound for pound king. Floyd Mayweather is boxing's most polarizing figure and the man is retired. Nevertheless, Mayweather still has a target on his back. A fight with Mayweather means money in the bank for both him and his potential opponent. But Conor McGregor is no slouch in producing big bucks in a major pay-per-view event. Both Mayweather and McGregor hold something special that makes even the most casual of combat fans want to tune into one of their fights.Read More DIGG THIS
16 Jan 2017 14:53:19 PM
Read More
Boxing. For western martial artists it's been the go striking art for what feels like an eternity. In the realm of mixed martial arts it was once the preferred striking option for the dominant wrestler. Matt Hughes, Frank Trigg, Randy Couture, and Sean Sherk were just a few fighters from the old school era of the sport that utilized a hybrid boxing and wrestling game. When BJ Penn came onto the scene he utilized a similar approach albeit with more knees and a suffocating jiu jitsu top game. Penn was a man to fear based on his solid boxing skill and ability to dominate on the ground if in top position. But what we saw yesterday showcased the fact that having a terrifying boxing game isn't going to cut it in the current landscape of mixed martial arts.
16 Mar 2016 11:11:39 AM
("Ok guys, I want a clean, fair fight…you know what, let's just go with clean.")
Former UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado may be best known for his ability to absorb a punch (and then ten thousand punches after that), but in his victories, he's shown a decent enough ability to throw one as well.
Having been one of eight fighters cut by the UFC back in December following consecutive losses to Rampage Jackson and Corey Anderson, Maldonado recently decided to return to his old stomping grounds inside the squared circle to see if he still had any spark left in those bungalows he likes to throw around. His first fight back in February played out in nearly perfect fashion, with Maldonado defeating Robson Bambu via first round knockout. Emerging from the fight completely unscathed, the Brazilian slugger was booked against 2-7 jobber Alessandro Bernardo in a quick turnaround match last week, and the results were almost identical.
Video after the jump.Read More DIGG THIS
14 Dec 2015 14:51:51 PM
(Would you believe us if we told you that canvas was a Serta? via Uproxx)
I'm not sure if it's a bigger revelation that Roy Jones Jr. is still boxing at 46 years of age or that he's still winning at 46 years of age (well, for the most part), but, uh, he is, you guys.
He may not be fighting the stiffest of competition, but Jones Jr. has managed to go 8-0 since 2011, defending the (German) WBU Cruiserweight title on three separate occasions and raising a solid middle finger to those of us who have been calling for his retirement for years.
Last weekend, though?
Well, last weekend wasn't so kind on ol' Roy, it wasn't so kind at all, and now it seems like those critics have been coming out of the woodwork to say "I told you so." Because we care and stuff.
Video after the jump.Read More DIGG THIS
12 Oct 2015 09:07:52 AM
(Referee Arthur Mercante Jr's follow-up People's Elbow seemed a touch unnecessary, IMO.)
Gabriel Bracero is not exactly what you'd call a "power puncher." With just 5 knockouts in his 24 professional wins (the last of which came back in 2012), he's probably one of the last welterweights in the game that you'd expect to see walk away from Saturday's PBC on NBC Sports Net main event with a "Knockout of the Year" contender under his belt. BUT THAT'S JUST WHAT HE DID, YOU GUYS.
Paired up against Irish-American Danny O'Connor in a rematch of a 2011 contest that saw Bracero emerge victorious by unanimous decision, "Tito" needed just 41 seconds to ensure that there would be no trilogy match, capitalizing on a lazy left hand by O'Connor with an absolutely devastating overhand right that shut his opponents lights out.
Video after the jump.Read More DIGG THIS
17 Jul 2015 10:27:11 AM
(Word has it that upon seeing this image, Brock Lesnar's sword tattoo grew 3 inches.)
While admittedly not being experts in the field of boxing, we here at CagePotato still think we've seen enough action inside the squared circle to spot a sham — Big Knockout Boxing or Mickey Rourke, for instance — and my God, if this isn't the be-all end-all of boxing shams.
Meet Jorge Kahwagi, the amorphous creature pictured above who is an actual human being and not, as we originally thought, a prop from the face melting scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark. According to Fightland, Kahwagi is some kind of Mexican politician/showbiz personality/boxer who, 10 years after compiling an auspicious 11-0 record, decided to step back in the ring last weekend at 47 years of age and prove he still had it. "It" in this case being a set of fake tits, shoulders, biceps, and a face surgically-constructed purely out of bologna.
The resulting contest was nothing short of tragic.Read More DIGG THIS
15 Apr 2015 14:20:05 PM
April 15th has never been known to be a forgiving or even modestly pleasant occasion, historically speaking. It marked the death of Lincoln, the sinking of the Titanic, the Great Mississippi Flood, the Boston Marathon bombing, and perhaps worst of all, it's tax day. Tax day, you guys. Tax day. It also happens to be the day of my birth.
But it's not all bad. General Electric was formed on April 15th, 1892. Jackie Robinson made his major league debut on April 15th, 1947. And just earlier today, Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first degree murder. But arguably greater than GE or Jackie or the fact that McDonalds opened it's first restaurant on this most historic of dates, was the fight that occurred between between Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns.Read More DIGG THIS
18 Jan 2015 07:59:27 AM
WSOF 17: "Shields vs. Foster" took place last night from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV., featuring former Strikeforce champion and UFC alumni Jake Shields against another fellow UFC veteran Brian Foster.
The winner of their contest would go on to challenge Rousimar Palhares for the welterweight title at a later date, and despite the slow start, Shields scored his second consecutive submission win. He's now 2-0 since being fired from the UFC:Read More DIGG THIS
16 Dec 2014 09:51:14 AM
(The immortal words of Jim Ross don't even do this finish justice.)
In news that literally anyone could have seen coming, the homeless, mentally unstable man that Mickey Rourke fought in Russia last month has finally admitted to taking a dive.
Speaking to TMZ earlier today, Elliot Seymour confessed that he was paid $15,000 to go down due to a body shot in the second round of Rourke's return to the ring — 10K up front and the rest when he returned to the U.S. Seymour additionally stated that he was specifically told not to hit the 62-year-old actor in the head, but that he also did not believe Rourke was in on the fix.
"Mickey's a stand-up guy." said Seymour. "Being a powerful person, you have a lot of people that are kissing up to you for various reasons."
A video of Seymour's full interview after the jump.Read More DIGG THIS
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Saturday, September 19, 2015
Shades of Fall
11 comments:
It all sounds so fun!ReplyDelete
Monty and Harlow
Nice photos .The power outage didn't sound that fun but everything else did . I would love to capture a photo of a bear in the wild . Good haul of wood and veggies there to ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good week !ReplyDelete
That is a long time to be without power. If we go five or six hours I am cranky! That sounds like a really scary windstorm...so what is this about a new camera? Did I miss something. Those chickens are always so cute, here and there and everywhere:)ReplyDeleteReplies
Ahh, our memory, so fleeting sometimes;-) When I first mentioned the camera in my Predator post you told me to read the manual:)Delete
I would guess hybrid squash seeds don't make a great squash....you will have to give us a report! :)ReplyDelete
Your fall looks a lot like ours. Wind storms do have a way with adding more work to one's life. Your chickens are wonderful but I would suffer over predators who are always wanting to eat one. Great fall photos that you have shared.ReplyDelete
I have a rather funny story to tell you. The morning of that wind storm, before the wind picked up, I was at the market and came to your stall. I thought it was you there but when I got there it wasn't and I was going to ask the person ( who looked a lot like you and only later did I realize that it was your sister ), if you were around but could NOT for the likes of me remember your name. I felt so dumb. Luckily she was distracted by someone and I made my escape. Did she mention a demented looking woman who came around and looked a bit stunned?ReplyDeleteReplies
No she didn't, or not that I can remember:) That's funny! I'm wondering where I was.... Well maybe I'll see you there next week, and it will only be me this time:)Delete
Fall is upon us. Do you have a generator for a power outage that long? Her ladyship looks like she is still going strong :)ReplyDeleteReplies
No generator. That was an unusually long power outage for us. The longer ones are usually in the winter, but since we have a gas fireplace and woodstove, heat is not a problem, and we still have hot water too. We are on city water, so don't have to worry about a well pump. We don't mind roughing it for a bit:)Delete


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Wanna Buy a Teacher?
Supplemental levy is critical for keeping teachers
"... They should be cutting expenses, tightening their belt, just like everyone else has to." That's Sagle resident Don Sander's response to Lake Pend Oreille School District's decision to run a supplemental levy this February 24 for almost $11 million. Sanders' opinion has been widely circulated via an email that asserts, "it's imperative we vote NOT THIS TIME!"
Superintendent Dick Cvitanich's response? "How tight do they want the belt to be?" Cvitanich says that the district has already been squeezing its budget, but that operating without a supplemental levy would make the tourniquet so tight, it might just kill the patient.
So how tight is that belt? Over the last three years, the district has cut supply budgets by 40 percent. This year's budget cut 22 teachers, three administrators and 14 support staff personnel. In planning for the upcoming school year, 2009-2010, the district has already cut all elementary counselors (two full-time positions), cut two teachers from Sandpoint High School, and cut three teachers from the elementary Upper Quartile Program (a learning program for high-achieving students). They have eliminated all field trips that are not reimbursed by the state, cut the extra-curricular budget by $74,000, reduced administration and clerical budgets at the district office by $60,000, cut computer purchases by $200,000 and cut the extended-day Kindergarten program by $142,000. In addition, they have eliminated the program for reducing overcrowding in classrooms.
Then the economy went into freefall and in January, Governor Otter requested that the legislature cut funding for K-12 education by 5.35 percent next year. (Budget writers cut about $18.5 million more than Otter's requests from various budgets and put that money into the general fund. Republican senators have said public education would get first priority for those dollars. However, it's expected that sales tax revenues from holiday shopping will be lower than anticipated, and Gov. Otter might ask for an additional two percent cut beyond what was already taken.)
If applied across the board, that loss of revenue would require the district to further cut salaries and benefits by $1.15 million—at its most simplistic level, that roughly translates to losing an additional 18 teachers and 17 support personnel though the actual losses would be higher. That's because staffing cuts, due to contract requirements, are based on a first hired/first fired schedule, and staff with lower seniority are also the staff paid the lowest salaries.
As if that picture is not bleak enough, the district is in its final year of a supplemental levy. For over a decade voters in the district have approved a regular supplemental levy every two years; should they fail to do so again this year, an additional 100 positions would have to be cut—our local schools would lose approximately 53 certified staff and 47 classified staff.
Who are those people? No one yet knows, because until the exact loss of funding is realized, no one can plan how to address it. While a 30-year teacher may be the least likely to be cut in terms of seniority, if that teacher is only certified to teach classes considered extra-curricular, and the extra-curricular programs are eliminated, that teacher will be out of a job. (See sidebar on page 38 for a list of the bottom 75 certified staff members based on seniority.)
So what about that extra-curricular? The football programs, Academic Decathlon classes, music and band instruction, newspapers and yearbooks—these are all funded through the supplemental levy and might cease to exist should that levy fail. Although some extra-curricular programs are self-supporting (for example, newspapers and yearbooks typically pay for themselves via advertising and the sale of the product), staffing for those programs is paid for with levy funds, and without a teacher or coach, the program cannot continue. Staff will be left with the unenviable task of deciding whether a band teacher might be kept by doubling up students in an English class and eliminating an English teacher.
Other items that would be lost without levy dollars include technology; student access to computers would have to be limited to the state-mandated testing, which must be done on a computer. In addition, there would be no new purchases in curriculum materials unless required by the state.
In response, Sanders says, "The economy is now in free fall, folks are getting laid off work, student population levels have decreased. Foreclosures are up. Stores are going our of business. Even Microsoft... announced a layoff of 5,000 jobs. Everybody is tightening their belts and now they want us to agree to provide $10,995,000?"
Cvitanich responds, "Kids are not widgets that can be set on the shelf for two years while the economy gets better... they still need what they need every year; a good solid education. I don't know that we would be providing this if the levy fails."
He also encourages people to think about what happens to our community as a whole if the school district, the second largest employer in the county, loses one-third of its entire budget. "We're told that every dollar spent locally circulates in the local economy another six times," he explained. "What is the impact of losing the purchasing power of 135 employees? Those employees currently represent about $8.7 million in salaries and benefits, at least some portion of which is spent right here in our local businesses. Will your personal economic position improve if it has to absorb that kind of loss in the local market? Do you think all those people can find work locally so they can stay here and raise their families?"
But can you give what you don't have? "No," Cvitanich agrees, but he's hoping that you can give what you're already giving.
"The School Board structured this levy proposal to ensure that the taxes for our district's taxpayers remain flat in 2010 and drop by 45 percent in year 2011. In other words, our taxpayers can project that the amount they are currently paying in 2009 for the school district will remain unchanged for 2010," explained Lisa Hals, the district's budget manager.
"Here's an example of how this works. Suppose that your house is currently assessed by the county for $200,000, and you carry the homeowner's exemption. This means your property tax is based on a value of $100,000. Currently, you're paying $83 for the second year of the supplemental levy which expires June 30, 2009, and $127 for the first year of the plant facility levy, for a total of $210 in property tax support for your local schools.
"If voters approve this levy, then next year (beginning December 20) you will pay $84 for the first year of this supplemental levy, and $126 for the second year of the plant facility levy—no increase in tax at all. The following year, you will pay only $117 for the second year of this supplemental levy."
Voters will have an opportunity to decide whether or not to support the district's request on February 24. Polls will be open from 8 am to 8 pm at all schools except Sandpoint Middle School and Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School. The district office is only an absentee polling site and will not be open for voting on February 24.
An absentee ballot request form is available on the district's website at www.lposd.org (not the ballot itself) for those who want to vote absentee by mail and who are already registered to vote. For those who want to vote absentee in person, the district office is available now through February 23, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 4 pm. Anyone who needs to register to vote may do so at any polling site or at the district office if they vote absentee. For more information call 208-263-2184.
Disclaimer: For five years I have worked with students at Clark Fork High School to produce their newspaper and yearbook. For the last two years, I have been paid a coaching stipend (approximately $1,500) to do so. Although my plan is not to return next year (my youngest child graduates this year), my position is one that would be cut should the levy fail.
Click here to see how positions are cut.
Click here to see the bottom 74 teachers in the seniority list for LPOSD.
Click here for an opinion on federal stimulus and whether it helps Idaho education. Posted 02/16/2009
Photo info: K.C. MacDonald has taught government and civics for four years at Clark Fork High School. He's an assistant football coach, a golf coach, and runs a service project that takes kids into the community to perform service such as snow shoveling for those in need. He has come in early each day to provide tutoring for students, and this year he was named the Idaho Teacher of the Year by the VFW. MacDonald is also in the bottom 75 certified staff in terms of seniority, and is concerned that he will lose his job. "I don't know what I'll do if that happens," he said, "but I don't see any way that I could continue to live in North Idaho." Photo by Amy Gannon


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The Witcher 3 Composer Mikolai Stroinski on Video Games as Art and Creating the Perfect Soundtrack
Mikolai Stroinski is the composer in demand in the video game industry. After bringing the world of The Vanishing of Ethan Carter to life in what is hailed as one of the best soundtracks of recent years, Stroinski has also been enlisted by developer CD Projekt Red in order to give the same treatment to The Witcher III and, judging from the batch of songs that have graced our ears prior to the heavily anticipated game's release, he has quite adeptly nailed it.
Also See: Treyarch Aims for Multiplayer Perfection with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
With only three video game credits to his name (alongside his work on the Dark Souls II trailer), Stroinski has swiftly made a name for himself and his sweeping score for The Witcher III isn't going to do him any harm. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to have a chat with him about his work on the game, how he added beauty into its barbaric world and whether or not video games should be considered a form of art.
CRAVEONLINE: How different is the process behind making a score for a film/TV show and making a score for a video game?
MIKOLAI STROINSKI: Those are two different worlds. In the case of a film or a TV show the music is permanently assigned to any given scene, whereas in a video game it never plays exactly in the same spot and completely depends on what a player decides to do and when he or she decides to do it. As a result, the music has to be interactive which affects the whole musical approach. It needs to be created in a way that keeps it open to a change at any given moment, therefore, very often bigger sections of music need to be planned as one.
Another important factor in games is looping a piece which has to be taken into consideration as well. The only element common to both film and video games is when scoring cut-scenes, which are short movies that are intertwined into the gameplay. In the case of a film or TV show, in general you have a linear story to support – not so much in video games where you need to focus more on the mood and how you want the player to feel… that is a very broad picture and there are exceptions of course.
How greatly does the inherent dynamic quality of video games as a medium impact upon the creation of a score?
The degree of interactivity directly affects the way you write the music. Often in games cues need to be comprised of smaller sections within the main composition. This can also affect the way the score is written and prepared for the recording session, where the musical pieces are also recorded in parts – rarely are all the instruments recorded at the same time.
Those recorded parts of bigger pieces need to be interchangeable. The intros and outros are always treated separately from their main body of the piece as well. There are many other ways to approach the challenge of interaction between what the player does and how it is reflected in the music, but that's the most common example in my experience.
Soundtracks have always been important in video games, but only in recent years has their importance been widely recognized and their composers celebrated. Why do you think this is?
Naturally the means that allow composers to musically support video games have grown over the years. Nowadays, we have a full orchestra at our disposal – budget permitting of course. Aside from the orchestra the computers that are being used for sound design have huge processing power. Therefore the sonic possibilities are endless and so are the artistic choices that composers can make. This is one of the main reasons why video games are such an attractive medium. Aside from being tons of fun, they also expose our creations to the world. However the celebration of a composer is deeply connected to the success of the game, similarly as in the case of movies.
How closely did you work alongside developer CD Projekt Red to ensure that you nailed the tone of The Witcher 3?
I was clear on what needed to be done, however the requests kept coming as the work progressed. There was a decent amount of dialog between us.
There's an ongoing debate surrounding whether video games should be considered an art form, with many pointing to the use of music in games such as Journey as being a big contributing factor to them being just as noteworthy as an art form as film or music. Do you believe that video games should be classified as a form of art?
Well, they are partially created by artists – that's a fact. They utilize art as a tool for immersion but first and foremost video games are a form of entertainment and are conceived as such. Of course, so are movies and music but we should not generalize here – I think it depends on the preconception of the game. If creators are stressing the art components in a game like the visuals, the music and the way the story is told, then yes, it can be an art form. However I feel in the majority of cases that is not the main goal of making video games. Taking into account this definition of art: "The expression of application of human creative skill and imagination (…), producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power", this could be a never-ending discussion.
The Witcher series is well-known for its unforgiving world. How did you attempt to replicate this brutality with your music?
The harshness and brutality of Witcher's world is best portrayed in the region called "No Man's Land". It is full of swamps and misty areas. The music that illustrates this section has the most Slavic color. It is rough, simple and dry as a bone and works very well with the unforgiving nature of the environment. There is something primeval about a naked sound of a very old folk instrument in combination with nature as a brutal landscape. This is not to say that other parts of the Witcher's world (the Skellige Islands and Novigrad) are in any way less forgiving but in terms of visuals and sounds, that's the region that portrays it the most.
You've made three significant leaps in your work on video game soundtracks, from the relatively unknown indie game Mouse Craft, to the critically acclaimed indie game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, to the big-budget The Witcher 3. How did your experience in creating a score differ between each game?
Each one was a challenge in its own right but also fun to work on. I still think that Mousecraft deserves more recognition; it's very ingenious and designed for everybody – I think those two qualities combined are hard to find. I really enjoyed the musical direction the producers and I agreed on, which is a combination of serious symphonic sound combined with funk, jazz and sounds of clicking machinery. You can imagine the joy I felt when working on this project.
I consider The Vanishing of Ethan Carter to be my beloved child – it has brought me some well-respected awards and recognition in the industry. Despite being a relatively small game it was competing for the most prestigious awards against multi-million productions, ultimately winning the BAFTA for innovation. I crafted the music very thoughtfully. I had to be cautious not to make it too scary and keep in mind the main task of the game at all times instead of getting diverted into dark horror music. This project gave me an opportunity to come up with strong melodic themes that play against interesting background textures. At the same time it did invite me to write scary elements which are always fun to delve into.
Finally, The Witcher has always been my dream to work on, ever since the first installment. There was a lot of broad and epic music to be written and I was happy to include many Slavic notes. I needed to do a decent amount of research on it despite the fact that I come from Poland and this music has been around me for most of my life. I then needed to apply it to the game and merge it with other kinds of instruments and orchestral colors. It was hard work but well worth it.
Nowadays it seems like there's a big market for video game soundtracks. Were you ever conscious about creating music that people would want to listen to outside of playing The Witcher 3, or were you too focused upon delivering a soundtrack befitting of the tone of the game to concern yourself with producing compositions that would fit nicely onto an OST album?
The function of the music within The Witcher always came first. I do take special care of each piece knowing that millions of people will listen to it and I have to do my best regardless of it as well. If the pieces work well together on the soundtrack that's an added bonus of such an approach, but not my main concern when I create the music. It can't be.
Outside of The Witcher 3 and the fantasy RPG, what video game genres would you be interested in composing music for?
A fantasy game is always a great platform to express yourself musically, but so are horror titles and others with a dark atmosphere. Another genre that would fit my taste would be a story placed in a specific historical time period. I'm open to many genres both within and outside the video game world – I love the variety aspect of my work.


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Singapore writer Don Bosco creates fantasy entertainment for a new generation of readers, young and old.DON BOSCO
A collection of short stories written after the Kobe earthquake helped me feel some solidarity with the Japanese in the wake of last week's earthquake and tsunami.VIVIENNE KHOO
A film on migrant children in a multi-racial Tel Aviv school just won Best Documentary Short at the Academy Awards. Now Israel is going to deport its young stars.DAN-CHYI CHUA
This is a love story more powerful and sizzling than Bella and Edward's.HEATHER LIM
Zippadee-doo-da, zippadee-yay, peace talks are starting on a wonderful September day! But wait, why aren't the Palestinians celebrating?DAN-CHYI CHUA
The retards vote the hypocritical governments into power, and in turn the governments make sure the retards stay uninformed and retarded.ATANU DEY
"Don't write anything bad about China," says my grandmother. China was too often negatively portrayed in the West, and so I had a special responsibility…DEANNA FEI
Meet the biggest names in China's contemporary literary scene, from Chun Shu to Han Han.YUEN CHUNG-KWONG
Miguel Syjuco, winner of the 2008 Man Asian Booker for his novel "Ilustrado", is happy when people confuse his characters with real people.CLARISSA TAN
Children of rural villages in Indonesia have long been deprived of learning that comes from books. Nila Tanzil wheels libraries into places where children run barefoot.NILA TANZIL
asia! photographers Debby Ng and Edwin Koo celebrate the educational milestones of young Nepali women, with their Coffee Table Book, Life of my Sisters.DEBBY NG
The creased, stained and musky leaves of an old book are great for running your fingers through – and burying your nose in.MILA HAN
"It is easier to be a pig farmer than a literary translator." Still, Berlin Fang ruminates on the art and beauty of translation.BERLIN FANG
asia! IN A SNAP


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The majority of this section involved cut-and-cover techniques similar to that undertaken on the north bank. However, two short sections of the tunnel were constructed by underground boring.
The cut-and-cover section of the tunnel involved both diaphragm wall methods and secant piling. At their deepest, the excavation extended 30 metres down. The majority of the tunnel section is made up of diaphragm walls, constructed either side of the tunnel route.
Once these diaphragm walls were built, the space between them was excavated and the tunnel constructed in situ. For the section of tunnel that used secant piling, the technique was similar to that of the diaphragm wall sections. Interlocking piles were used to create the supported space for excavation rather than reinforced underground walls.
Where the tunnel was bored, a technique called "Sprayed Concrete Lining" was used. This involved boring out the material from below ground and spraying the space with concrete as the excavation proceeds, in order to support the excavated space. This is a safe and well-established technique enabling utilities and certain roads to remain undisturbed by construction activity. The sprayed concrete lining sections comprise of an outer sprayed concrete primary lining and an inner cast in situ permanent lining.
In addition, an in-situ reinforced concrete box structure was constructed, which formed the final southern end of the tunnel, extending out to the south junction from underneath the specially constructed Howard Street road bridge.
The south bank section extended from the southern tunnel portal in Jarrow to the riverside transition structure on the southern bank of the Tyne, a distance of approximately 840m. A special transition structure was constructed at the river bank which allowed the immersed tube to be sealed against the cut and cover tunnel.
One of the challenges faced during construction on the South approach has been the protection or diversion of numerous utility services. Electric, gas, telecommunications, water and sewerage connections passed through the construction corridor and all had to be protected or diverted during construction.
The tunnel portals were extended south to reduce noise and improve air quality for local people. The sun visor at the Jarrow entrance of the original tunnel, which enabled motorists to adjust to different lighting levels, was demolished and replaced with artificial lighting.
A new roundabout was built at the junction of Ferry Street, Chaytor Street, and the road leading to the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels.
The ventilation chimney and related infrastructure near Chaytor Street in Jarrow was modified. A new ventilation shaft was built within the new Jarrow Interchange to serve the new tunnel.
The roundabout near the southern entrance to the existing tunnel was removed. A new interchange connecting the A19 and the local road network via slip roads was also built south of Howard Street bridge.
A landscaped linear park was created above the line of the new tunnel.


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Another great Christmas was had at our house.
We had pictures taken at our house because of the rain, and I designed our Christmas cards again. I had them printed at Staples this year because I bought the Groupon. They were nice, but didn't fit in the envelope. I had to cut every one of them. I will go back to using Costco next year.
I was not planning on decorating the house because we had just moved in. I thought twice before I had Mr. JCrew move the decorations into the attic, but I was sure. I knew my mom had planned to have her Sunday School Christmas party at our house, but I still wasn't going to decorate. Until her friends insisted that it was expected.
When I looked at the cost of trees, I choked! They are so expensive. We ended up borrowing a tree from our friend for the weekend. The boys helped me decorate it and loved it. But I didn't realize the effect it would have on them when we took it down. Little JCrew's teacher let us know he was acting strange. The only thing we could pin it on was the fact we took down the tree. Christmas was OVER.
After church on a Wednesday, I surprised the boys and asked if they wanted to pick out a Christmas tree. It was my goal to buy one the day after Christmas on sale, but Hobby Lobby was already having them 50% while supplies last. We got a tree, and got an angel topper.
The boys had fun decorating AGAIN! Little JCrew clumped three ornaments together and said it was the three Wise Men.
On Christmas Eve, we baked our cake for Jesus' birthday. The boys really enjoy the tradition.
I frosted the cake and wrote on it, but Mimi thought it would be smart to cover it and the lid ruined the frosting. I never got a finished picture. We are still eating it and it tastes good.
We aim to keep it simple on Christmas. Three gifts and a Santa present. We have a lot of fun gifting to our friends and family. Those years when you get really excited you found something they will like, are the best!
We sprinkled magic reindeer food on the lawn and left carrots on a plate. We left a slice of the birthday cake with milk for Santa. He enjoyed!
Santa brought the boys power wheels!
They really liked them. It rained all day on Christmas, so we backed out the cars and let them ride the four-wheelers in the garage.
The boys still loved everything Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We definitely had a theme with the gifts.
And Avengers are a big hit. Mr. Brigglesworth LOVES Captain America. Little JCrew picked out the Mr. Potato Head.
Mr. Brigglesworth also loves Jeeps! He will pick one out so easily on the road. All he cared about yesterday was his new jeep!
Little JCrew is very into the booklets that come with the toy. As I was getting a toy out, he kept asking me for the instructions. That's all he wanted. Forget the toy!
The rain did not let up yesterday. It had me nervous. I thought our yard was flooding. We have a creek that runs behind the house and it's normally dry except for when it rains. But there was so much rain yesterday, that it went the highest I've seen it in the last eight years we have been here. Roads around us were flooded and unusable. We did not have it bad at all compared to others.
This year, the new Star Wars movie came out. I have not ever seen a Star Wars. Never interested me. But Mr. JCrew took Little JCrew with his family to see it. Little JCrew thought BB-8 (the tiny robot) was "such a cute little robot!" He was rooting for him the whole movie.
So, of course, the Christmas theme over at the grandparents' house was Star Wars!
They got shirts, light sabers, figurines... you name it, they got it. We got gift cards to Build-a-Bear Workshop and we had never done that before. They had a promotion for Star Wars bears and Little JCrew was all about it.
Mr. Brigglesworth chose the Captain America bear... surprise?
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. We will see you next year!