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29 Airlines Currently Operate Scheduled Flights to Maldives
After almost a year since the reopening of borders, Maldives remains connected to the world through thirty-nine international airlines, scheduled and chartered.
At the end of June 2021, there were twenty-nine scheduled airlines operating to the destination. This month, we welcomed Spain's national airline, Iberia for the first time. The airline will be operating three weekly flights till the end of August 2021. With this addition, seventeen airlines fly currently from Europe, while four operate from India, six from the Middle East and four airlines from other regions.
Emirates tops the list of international scheduled flights with a total of 104,612 passengers and 1,260 movements as of 30 June. The airline has recently announced an increase in its weekly flight frequency from twenty-one to twenty-eight from July onwards.
The national flag carrier of France, France Air has also announced plans to begin Colombo-Male flights from November 2021. The airline will fly from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Three weekly flights will be operated as a continuation of Air France's flights to Male in the Maldives. France Air resumed flights to the Maldives on 19 December 2020.
Further, airlines based in South Asia will be able to resume operations to Maldives from 15 July 2021 as the destination reopens borders to South Asian countries. Two airlines from India, GoAir and Indigo, have already confirmed flights to Maldives. This is expected to increase tourist arrivals from India, a major source market for the Maldives that currently holds the largest market share after Russia.
Featured Image: Velana International Airport


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Four years in the making, the new second album by The Last Reign from Buffalo, New York, is now rapidly approaching its September 18 release date. Bearing the title Evolution, it's a 12-track, 55-minute concept album built around a science-fiction narrative that's "about the world's resources being long depleted, sending the human race on a quest for an uncertain future."
Honestly, though I'm a die-hard sci-fi fan, I'm at the point in my long listening career when I blanch at the thought of a nearly hour-long album. It's such a rarity when a record of that length has real staying power, and more common, even in generally strong records, to encounter the creeping monotony of sameness or the insertion of sub-par tracks that would have been better left on the cutting room floor. But I'm happy to report that Evolution easily avoids those pitfalls, and instead creates an "edge of your seat" momentum that doesn't flag. The fact that the band's chosen field is melodic death metal, a field that's been well-furrowed to the point of exhaustion, makes the accomplishment all the more impressive.
That The Last Reign are able to successfully pull off this feat is in part a testament to how very good every member is at his assigned position in the band. And because each of them really is a top-shelf performer, the band wisely chose to craft these usually elaborate songs in ways that give them all significant roles, and then produced the album with an evenness of sound that doesn't bury any one of them beneath what the others are doing.
Beyond those factors, what makes the album one you can easily stay with for nearly an hour (and then have it stay with you after you're done) is the stylistic approach they took to this hoary genre of metal. The music definitely pulls heavily from the glory days of the '90s (it's reliably ferocious and hard-hitting), but it also sounds modern, thanks in part to the intricacy of the arrangements and the addition of progressive influences, and the melodies and melodic variations prove to be greatly appealing.
In album-opener "Genesis", a momentous orchestral introduction creates an ominous, mysterious, and increasingly explosive yet majestic atmosphere, and then the band deliver their own instrumental performance, which punches the listener's pulse with gradually increasing intensity, leading into "Evolution of a Dying Race", which is a race all its own, introducing the listener to the bestial howls and blood-broiling screams of vocalist Adam Svensson, the nimble but mountainous bass lines executed by Joe Maggio, and the morphing riffs and sinuous soloing of guitarist Brian Platter. It's a hard-charging, hard-hitting, high-flying track that delivers ferocity as well as head-hooking melodic vibrancy and thunderous grooves.
Those ingredients work together in harness over the course of the next 10 songs, many of which have the same turbo-charged momentum as "Evolution of a Dying Race". Some reach heights of blazing, pulse-pounding glory, such as the follow-on track "Annihilation of the Ancients", which benefits from spectacular dual-guitar soloing (but finishes with a beguiling acoustic-guitar harmony) and the wild, blood-rushing, spine-jolting experiences of "Ironclad Torment" and "The Storm", which are both absolutely electrifying thrill-rides. But along with their sheer adrenaline-triggering energy, those songs and others like them also succeed in getting plenty of expertly crafted melodic hooks stuck in a listener's head.
There's really no song on the album that lacks for visceral punch, vocal savagery, seductive melody, or soloing fireworks, but some are more melancholy or menacing, a bit more dreamlike, and less full-throttle in their momentum. "The Hourglass" is one of those. And in addition to beautifully indulging Brian Platter's prog-metal interests, it also gives drummer Vince Mayer a chance to take center stage in a brief yet riveting solo) and ends with a "cosmic" yet unnerving ambient conclusion. "Fallen Dark", as its name suggests, is another change of direction. It functions as a mesmerizing instrumental interlude, pairing acoustic guitar and what might be a trumpet or just a cleverly tuned guitar.
And in other songs the band introduce further stylistic accents to enhance the album's variety, such as the prog- and jazz-minded guitar parts in "No Horizon", which turns out to be one of the record's strongest and most memorable tracks (it also features soloing by Mors Principium Est's Andy Gillion). The pairing of it with the multi-faceted "Terminal Threshold" provides a strong core in the album's second half.
After the thunderous, jolting rhythms and mercurial fretwork of "Devoid" the band insert one more instrumental interlude, "Luminosity", which begins in moody and mesmerizing fashion but then becomes an earthquake, before rounding off the album with "Architects of Genocide" — a final, glorious musical extravaganza that delivers of bones-smashing drumwork, hard-pulsing bass, and screaming vocal hostility, melded with blaring chords, fluid, enthralling guitar leads, another wonderful trumpet (or trumpet-like) solo, and a piano variation on one of the song's key melodies. It makes for a hell of a finish to the album, and might just be the record's best track.
As noted at the outset, Evolution was built around a sci-fi narrative, and to take that a step further the narrative has been turned into a novel written by lyricist and ex-vocalist Mike Marlinski, entitled Evolution of a Dying Race.
As further noted above, the album will be released on September 18th, and it's available for pre-order now.
4 Responses to "AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THE LAST REIGN — "EVOLUTION""
I was quite pleasantly surprised by this, what with not liking much melodeath myself…
This does bring the energy, luckily.
So ah speaking of sci-fi, I'm in the process of finally reading Count Zero (amd then ofc Mona Lisa Overdrive).
What's your fave scifi?
Glad you like it! For me my favorite Sci-Fi book series is The Expanse, and then the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy. You should definitely check out the Evolution of a Decaying Race book that compliments the album!
I love the Expanse series! I've read all the novels, novellas, and short stories and usually devour them as soon as they come out.
Ive heard good things! Once Ive finished Mona Lisa Overdrive, Ill get stuck in the Expanse

subset: commoncrawl


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Butcher paper is one of those things that is misunderstood and often left out of the smoking, grilling, and barbecuing process because of the confusion of what it is and what it does. Butcher paper is not always the easiest item to find in the stores, either. You'll find a wide selection of parchment paper and aluminum foil, but your choices for butcher paper typically are limited. To make things even more confusing, there is more than one type of butcher paper out there and not all butcher paper is the same.
What is Butcher Paper?
Butcher paper is made from wood pulp like other types of paper products. You will find brown, white, and pink butcher paper. And all these items have differences that are important for how you cook your meal. Regardless of the type of paper you buy, make sure it is food-grade butcher paper.
Brown parchment paper is a craft paper good for wrapping meat to make a tidy package. This paper is primarily for craft purposes, but uses the same wood pulp as paper intended for cooking. The main difference is that brown paper lacks the processing and additives of other types of paper.
White butcher paper is similar to craft paper, but has undergone a process to bleach the brown color from the pulp. It is suitable for many cooking processes, but we tend to avoid using it in favor of more appropriate types of butcher paper.
Pink butcher paper, often called peach paper, is the type you will want to find for use on your smoker. The pink color comes from the natural composition of the wood pulp. Avoid buying pink paper that has added colors that may not be safe.
Pink Butcher Paper – Why it's used for BBQ
Pink butcher paper is used for barbecuing for several reasons. The main way to use it is to wrap a large piece of meat when you are smoking. This is typically done around 165 degrees internal temperature and speeds up the cooking process, helping to get that hunk of brisket past the stall temperature.
Peach paper starts as long, fine strands of wood pulp that gives the material strength and durability. It's common for pink butcher paper to have a treatment that helps to make the paper strong and resist smoldering. Peach paper is not to be used on the grill or barbecue, even on indirect heat because it will catch fire.
Wrapping your meat in the smoker helps enhance the bark and keeps the majority of moisture in the meat. Peach paper will absorb some moisture and also allows some evaporation, but not so much to ruin your meal when you are cooking.
Butcher Paper vs Foil vs Parchment Paper
Here is where confusion begins – understanding the difference between using butcher paper, foil, or parchment in terms of your finished meal. Let's see if we can help unravel the differences and show you the right way to use these different products.
As we pointed out above, butcher paper is food-grade wood pulp and the highest quality is peach-colored. It absorbs some moisture, but less than untreated paper. It's generally okay to use pink butcher paper up to the mid-450's.
Aluminum foil is one of the most commonly available products that is perfectly suited to grilling, barbecue, and smoking. It works great for wrapping odd-shaped meats and has a very high burn temperature. You'll have a hard time getting your grill up to the 1,220 degrees it takes to ignite aluminum foil.
There is some concern that aluminum foil may create an unhealthy situation when used on the grill or barbecue. As temps increase, aluminum particles can release from the foil and get into your food. Current science says there is little to no concern about using aluminum foil for cooking. Your body uses a little aluminum and can process leftovers unless you get a serious dose.
Parchment paper is a staple in any bakers kitchen, but is it safe to use on the grill? You could use parchment paper, provided your temps stay very low, but we don't really recommend it. Parchment paper typically uses a coating to provide flame resistance, but it will smolder at 400 degrees, contaminating your food.
Freezer Paper vs Butcher Paper
Although these two products look similar and are frequently sold in the same part of the grocery store, they are different. Freezer paper is treated with silicone and other chemicals to increase the strength of the product when it gets wet. Don't use freezer paper on the smoker because these chemicals will leach off even at low temperatures.
Where to Buy Butcher Paper
Butcher paper isn't always the easiest product to find. You might find it in a grocery store, or in a barbecue specialty store, but the easiest way is to buy online. We go through quite a lot of pink butcher paper, and we've tried different types from different brands, but naturally we decided to just sell our own. You can buy our butcher paper roll in our online store, right with our all seasonings. Each roll is 18" wide x 150' long, providing plenty of paper to keep you grilling and smoking over and over. It's also made in the USA, 100% FDA approved, unbleached, unwaxed and uncoated.
Pick up Some Rolls and Give It a Try
If you've always wondered about using butcher paper in your smoker, now is the time to try it. You may notice more intense smoky flavors, juiciness, and a tender roast with an improved flavor over aluminum foil and better heat and moisture resistance than parchment paper.
Pick up a couple rolls of paper this season and experience the difference in cooking and clean up that high-quality butcher paper provides.


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Rock & Roll Movies
In this section I will try to list all movies that are in some way related to rock and
roll, or or just so cool that they deserve a mention. Obviously there aren't enough
movies about rockabilly to warrant a whole section, so the scope is set to include
any and all rock movies. The fifties section is the place to start for all those
trashy movies with terrible plots but great soundtracks.
The movies are organized by decade, select from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's or 90's. An excellent book on rock & roll / juvenille delinquent movies is "I Was A Teenage Juvenile Deliquent Rock 'n' Roll Horror Beach Party Movie Book" |
Russian Language |


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Exciting news: The revised edition of my book, Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, is now available! New additions include: New chapter on BtoB word of mouth New chapter on dealing with negative word of mouth 5 new word of mouth case studies 5 new word of mouth worksheets March is […]
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Big news about my book
January 30, 2009
Well word is leaking out, so I might as well tell you here: There is the new edition of my book that just hit the shelves. It's a revised edition of Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, with: New case studies New worksheets New chapter about BtoB word of mouth […]
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How the financial services sector in Latin America is tackling gender imbalance
Financial inclusion is increasingly being seen as a valuable tool to promote social progression and economic prosperity.
Latin America has a female-led workforce yet female representation in corporate boardrooms is low. But that contrast is creating a precedent for change, with banks, individuals and social organisations all rallying to improve financial inclusion and gender representation.
In a recent episode of DiverCity podcast, Angela Hurtado, JP Morgan's managing director and senior country officer for Colombia, and Juan Carlos Mora, chief executive officer of Bancolombia, discuss the drive to make meaningful change to underserved groups across the region.
When looking to promote systematic change, a top-down approach is often prudent. Mora says that when he was appointed as Bancolombia CEO six years ago, the all-male board of a company that had 62% female employees was clearly a shortcoming to be addressed. Immediately, he took action by appointing two women to senior positions.
"I can say how different the dynamics are on the board when you have diversity," says Mora. Conversations incorporated different views enabling boardroom-level discussions to evolve and Bancolombia is aiming to improve female participation in middle-management positions, further cementing the pathway to the boardroom.
Progression within an organisation is also a key tenet to Hurtado's view on social inclusion within the financial services industry. She helped found Women in Connection, a non-profit that promotes education through the lens of diversity.
She says that promoting "corporate policies" on fostering career progression for people from diverse communities has been central to Women in Connection's work so far.
"When you have a clear path for companies to go on the journey, it's going to be easier to set some targets to follow and to recognise," adds Hurtado.
And a quick look at the statistics suggests change is happening.
"We are coming from around 16%-17% of women participation in boards of directors in Colombia," says Hurtado. By the end of 2021, the number was closer to 19%, something Hurtado recognises as an important improvement.
But more ambitious goals are already being planned, with a corporate commitment to achieve at least 30% female participation on boards of directors being widely adopted – that is the level at which "you feel that there is real diversity on the board," says Hurtado.
For Mora, the correlation between diversity, social progression and good business management is obvious, and starts with addressing our biases.
"It's good for society. It's good for business. So, we have to do it," he insists.
Hurtado acknowledges there is still a huge space for improvement, but efforts to address biases and promote diversity within corporations is creating leaders who understand and promote change – characteristics that filter into social and financial inclusion campaigns.
And the most compelling reason for change is summarised in Hurtado's closing remarks, "Diversity is bringing in a better way to solve problems around the globe. This is the way to do it."


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Larry A. Franks has been a leader in the Real Estate community in Fayette County throughout four decades. As Broker at Larry A. Franks Real Estate Agency LLC, his experience and expertise is evident in every challenge he pursues.
Larry Franks III has been a licensed salesperson at Larry A. Franks Real Estate Agency LLC for over ten years and has sold homes in Fayette, Washington, Greene, and Somerset Counties. He has worked with hundreds of clients and has proven proficiency in the field of real estate.
Office manager Katie Franks runs the day to day operations and enjoys working with her family.
We understand that buying or selling a home is more than just a transaction: it's a life-changing experience. That's why our team of highly-seasoned real estate professionals is dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized service for all of our clients. We take great pride in the relationships we build and always work relentlessly on the clients' behalf to help them achieve their real estate goals.
Today's buyers and sellers need a trusted resource that can guide them through the complex world of real estate. With our extensive knowledge and commitment to providing only the best and most timely information to our clients, we are your go-to source for real estate industry insight and advice.


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MMM Summer 2008
2008 is the Summer of Love as Bill explores some of the distinctions of loving patients rather than merely caring for them.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Patient
June 2, 2008
Love is patient.
When you truly love patients, you don't impose your time schedule. After all, the patient is the one doing the healing, not you! They have the capacity to consciously or unconsciously slow or accelerate their healing. That, combined with the limitations of matter, makes investing your self-esteem and value as a chiropractor in something out of your control, is risky business.
Being patient extends beyond the first weeks or months of care. Think eternally. What if it takes two, three, four or more episodes of starting care and stopping care, spanning a decade or longer, before patients "get" the idea that chiropractic care is a lifestyle decision and can be much more than a natural, short-term diet for pain relief?
What if they never get it?
To use love as an adjunctive procedure with the chiropractic adjustment, remove expectations and help patients become more patient.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Kind
June 9, 2008
I was raised to be considerate of others. Being considerate of others came with specific action steps:
Respect the property of others.
Say please when you want something.
Say thank you when you receive it.
Address anyone older with deference.
How does that apply to chiropractic practice?
It's the patient's health not yours. Careful about pressing too much to "help" more than they want. Otherwise, it will be taken as judgment.
"This side up, please." It acknowledges them as person, not just a spine or the recipient of a procedure you're administering to their body.
"Thank you for always being on time for your visits." Right above acknowledgment is appreciation. It usually prompts others to do even more.
"Good afternoon! What's the best thing that's happened to Mrs. Smith today?" She may ask that you call her Maryann, put your deference has been communicated.
Respect. Acknowledgment. Appreciation. Deference. Love is kind.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Does Not Envy
June 16, 2008
Love does not envy.
The newest patient drives up in a nicer car than yours. What's your reaction?
If it produces a twinge of jealousy or ignites a sense of insecurity, it can interfere with your ability to accompany your chiropractic care with love. Turns out, your wealth may not be in a depreciating automobile, but in your education, a richly rewarding family life or some other form. Envy suggests that you believe you have a void, lacking something necessary to be complete and whole.
You are already complete. You are fully equipped. You have exactly what you need. In fact, the only thing truly missing is acknowledging that nothing is missing!
Be careful about making judgments about the material world that is so easily detected with our five senses. What you see is merely temporal. It will pass. Instead, attend to matters of the heart where peace can take root and flourish.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Does Not Boast
June 23, 2008
Love does not boast.
We probably don't think of ourselves as one to brag, show off, blow our own horn, talk big or "swagger." We tend to think of that as being offensive.
"I don't boast!"
Really? Do you exaggerate? Exaggeration is a more subtle and sinister form of boasting.
Exaggerating the elements of a story to enhance its meaning.
Exaggerating your statistics to falsify your success.
Exaggerating your importance to receive admiration.
Exaggerating the no shows to blame a staff member.
Exaggerating your value by seeing patients after hours.
Exaggerating circumstances so others will do your bidding.
Exaggerating the difficulty so it will produce praise.
Exaggerating the imposition of a request with a heavy sigh.
Next time you find yourself inclined to exaggerate, consider the motive behind it.
Love does not boast. No coloring. No shading. No effort to look good or cover up the flaws. In other words, love is honest, unprocessed and authentic.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Not Proud
June 30, 2008
The scriptures make it clear that pride is an abomination. Pride is one of the qualities specifically identified as sinful. Perhaps because pride makes us feel like God.
It's tempting to overlook the fact that the patient is doing the healing, not you. Sure, you found the ignition, inserted the key and turned it (adjustment), but what happens next is outside your control. You can take credit (if you dare) but the credit belongs to their Maker who installed the capability to self-heal in the first place!
The marketplace quickly ferrets out arrogant, conceited and prideful chiropractors who are revealed by their response to grateful patients:
"Oh, it was nothing." (Really?)
"We got lucky this time." (Lucky?)
"Tell your friends." (So, I can help them, too.)
"You're welcome." (I deserve the credit.)
Pride. It can cause you to forget that you're merely an instrument. It's sooooooo tempting to take the credit!
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Not Rude
July 7, 2008
Love is not rude.
Do you impose your will on others so you can get your way?
Cutting in front of the line, or the reverse, not permitting the driver to merge onto the highway in front of you, is obviously rude. I'm sure you're not rude in your office!
Depends how you define rude. However, examples of rudeness I've experienced, or patients in focus groups have mentioned, include:
Showing up late for the first patient of the day.
Allowing an emergency patient to prolong the wait of an established patient.
Making patients feel small because they just want to be pain free.
Any form or derivative of "I-told-you-so."
Projecting the value you place on health onto patients.
Justified as the prerogative of "leadership" or the workings of a "health coach," these overtures make you big and the patient small. This is a time-tested practice de-building strategy. Instead, make patients feel big. Anything else would be rude.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Not Self-Seeking
July 14, 2008
Love is not self-seeking.
Virtually every action, every word and every thought can be separated into one of two categories: manipulation or ministry. That is, does it serve you or is it of service to others?
Some in chiropractic teach that using any means possible to get patients to do the right thing (because it's for their own good), is within the domain of good doctoring.
You might want to rethink that advice.
By crossing that boundary, you have dishonored their understanding, judgment and free will. By overpowering them with persuasive speech or fear tactics you usurp their dignity and reduce them to mere spines; children who must be parented.
Oh sure, you can probably squeeze another visit or two out of them. But "do-gooder" overtures rarely last. Especially when the underlying motive is to make you look good. The appreciation you hope it will produce is dismissed as heavy-handed selfishness.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love is Not Easily Angered
July 21, 2008
Love is not easily angered.
What does it take to get your hackles up?
Consider the patient who unexpectedly drops out of care (with six more visits on their plan). Or the patient who informs you that they're still taking their medication and attributes their progress to it, not your care. Or, how about the patient who observes that they don't believe in chiropractic? And don't forget the patient you adjusted on the first visit who doesn't return to hear your enlightening Harvey Lillard story!
Ironically, anger is a you thing. Not a they thing. You and your body create the anger. Not the patient!
Instead, love, from where all healing comes, looks past who gets the credit, looks beyond the politics, sees past the policy and rethinks the procedure. Love only sees the person. Not the shortcoming. Not the misunderstanding. Not the could-have-should-have.
What do you see?
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Keeps No Records of Wrongs
July 28, 2008
Love keeps no records of wrongs.
What many overlook is that a true chiropractic practice is about two things: referrals and reactivations. Those consumed by how many new patients they see either miss the point or have been misled into thinking wide rather than deep.
A referral is a gift. Ask for them if you wish and you may get a guilt offering or the name of someone who could benefit from chiropractic care, but a true referral is volitional. A surprise. Unexpected.
A reactivation is proof you didn't make the patient wrong. Or small. Or feel stupid because he or she didn't embrace your vision of health on their first exposure to it.
Since most patients don't "get" chiropractic their first time, keep no records of wrongs. Instead, you might observe in passing, "Looks like it's been awhile since you've been in. Welcome back. Let's get started!"
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Does Not Delight in Evil
August 4, 2008
Love does not delight in evil.
You've probably seen the cartoon showing a chiropractor delighting in the first winter's snow or ice storm because it means more business.
You may not harbor such evil thoughts, but what are you doing to help make yourself obsolete?
Subluxations are a result or effect of physical, chemical or emotional stress that overload the body's ability to accommodate. Are you teaching patients ways to mitigate these stressors?
Physical instruction: How to sit. How to lift. How to get in and out of their car. Proper computer ergonomics.
Chemical instruction: The burden of artificial flavors, colorings and preservatives. The allergens of wheat and dairy. The stress of refined sugars.
Emotional instruction: The importance of prayer. The power of forgiveness. The ability to neutralize emotions through the process of EFT.
The highest calling of any doctor (of any ilk) is to help prevent what it is they treat.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Rejoices in the Truth
August 11, 2008
Love rejoices in the truth.
If you define truth as a "highly likely explanation of what is" and combine it with the observation that "what is, is," you have a vantage point neutral enough to deeply serve patients.
Most suffering results from attempting to resist, ignore or deny what is so. Thankfully, the meaning we attach to what is, is within our control. In fact, one of your greatest responsibilities is helping patients attach appropriate meanings to the circumstances prompting them to seek care from you.
When you love patients, you tell the truth. Compassionately. Understandably. It just is.
You don't minimize. ("You have a little bone spur here.") Minimization is a disservice.
You don't exploit. ("I hope your children aren't suffering from the same thing!") Using fear, even when justified as in their best interest, is manipulative.
Instead, be centered, gentle and considerate, knowing that ultimately the truth can set us free.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Always Protects
August 18, 2008
Love always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres.
You probably know some secrets about those you care for, that if widely known, would discredit or at least embarrass them.
Protect all secrets.
You tell the chiropractic story to all who will listen. Some overtly reject it. Others show polite interest. Others embrace it with passion.
Trust that the truth will eventually reign.
You help a patient with their admitting complaint and at the height of their progress, they discontinue their care without warning. Was it something you said? Was it something you forgot to say?
Hope that you made it easy to return should they suffer a relapse.
You feel like you're in a constant uphill battle to fight the allopathic, path-of-least-resistance mindset. It seems little progress is being made.
Persevere. You may not change the world, but you can change it for a few, maybe more! Press on.
Monday Morning Motivation | Love Never Fails
August 25, 2008
Love never fails.
Some day the computer that you use to receive this message will fail and make repairs unjustifiably expensive. It will be placed in the trash bin, joined by the monitor and mouse.
Your office building, the adjusting table you use and the patient records you keep will fall into disrepair, become worthless and get discarded.
Those spines you straightened and the curves you restored will eventually become the dust from where they came.
In fact, as you look around at the material world that surrounds us, which can be detected with the five senses, it will all pass.
Everything will eventually fail. Except love. Love, because it is spiritual and not bound by the physics of this world, will persist. Eternally.
This week create more love. Instead of arguing, love. Instead of persuading, love. Instead of controlling, love. Instead of resisting what is, love. It never fails.


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Kaylee Sawyer was born on March 2, 1993, and from Bend, Oregon, United States, she was kidnapped and murdered on July 24, 2016, by the campus security guard named Edwin Lara.
Later, he was arrested in Northern California and in 2018 he pleaded guilty to the charge of murder, refusing to admit that he brutally raped Kaylee.
Who was Kaylee Sawyer?
She served as a dental assistant at Awbrey Dental Group which is located in Bend, Oregon. In 2016, Kaylee was 23 years old during her time of death.
On July 24, 2016, she was murdered by Edwin Lara who was a campus security guard at the school, her body was found days later on Highway 126 in the Dry Creek area of Redmond, north of Bend.
According to the report, Kaylee was last seen at 1 a.m. close to her apartment building's parking lot in West Bend, near Central Oregon Community College. On the same day, she attended a bachelorette party and around midnight called her boyfriend, Cameron Reimhofer to pick her up.
On their way to the apartment the couple got into an argument, Kaylee got down the car and walked to her apartment alone. However, her boyfriend Cameron Reimhofer called many times but she refused to answer, and her last message to him was "Goodbye."
It was the last time ever Kaylee was seen or heard, on July 26th her body was found on the side of the road near 18700 West Highway 126.
Edwin Lara kidnapped and Murdered Kaylee Sawyer.
Day after he killed Kaylee he told his wife that he accidentally hit and killed Sawyer and hid her body, On July 25, 2015, his wife Isabel Ponce-Lara reported to Police about her husband had confessed to killing a woman.
Later, officers searched their home and found Kaylee Sawyer's purse, shoes, blood-stained rock, and a clump of hair. Edwin was arrested in Northern California after going on a crime spree that involved a carjacking, kidnapping, and shooting.
On July 26, Edwin was driving down a highway near Redding, California, and called 911 and told that he had kidnapped someone else and had a gun on him, but he was arrested and taken into custody.
From the Investigation report, Edwin attempted to sexually assault Kaylee before killing her. At first, Edwin pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, and to avoid the death sentence, he changed his plea to guilty as part of a plea bargain.
In July 2017, Kaylee Sawyer's family sued Central Oregon Community College, and family's attorneys, Jason Kafoury and Tim Williams said Lara's red flags should have been evident to COCC and that the college knew he had a "fascination with dead bodies."
COCC and Kaylee's family reached a settlement and the college agreed to pay $2 million to her family.
During her time of death, she was in a relationship with her Boyfriend Cameron Reimhofer.
(Image Source: NBC News)


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March 8, 2006: Illegal Workers Hold 1 of 20 Civilian Jobs, Research Says
March 8, 2006, 10:26AM
Illegal workers hold 1 of 20 civilian jobs, research says
Study finds as many as 12 million immigrants may be in U.S. unlawfully
By GEBE MARTINEZ
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
Between 11.5 million and 12 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be in the United States. How they break down:
Age and sex: 49 percent are adult males, 35 percent are adult females, 16 percent are children.
Origins: 56 percent are from Mexico; 22 percent are from the rest of Latin America; 13 percent are from Asia; 6 percent are from Europe and Canada; 3 percent are from other regions.
Influx: About 850,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the U.S. each year since 2000. Because some die, return home or obtain legal status, the net increase is about 500,000 a year.
The Pew Hispanic Center used Census Bureau data to estimate that about 11 million immigrants had arrived by March 2005. It used population estimates to project the current population.
WASHINGTON – As many as 12 million illegal immigrants now live in the United States, up from an estimated 8.4 million in the 2000 Census, according to a new study released Tuesday.
The estimate by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center also said that illegal workers fill nearly one out of every 20 civilian jobs.
They hold 24 percent of all jobs in farming, 17 percent in cleaning, 14 percent in construction and 12 percent in food preparation.
The population and work force estimates were released a day before the Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to debate legislation that would tighten borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
The highly charged political issue centers on how to deal with immigrants already in the country illegally and whether to create temporary visas for future workers.
"In spite of efforts to control unauthorized migration, the numbers have continued to grow," said Jeffrey Passel, author of the report. "This is a population drawn (to the United States) by employment, and unauthorized workers participate actively in the labor force."
Children a factor
The number of illegal immigrants is 11.5 million to 12 million, up from the 11.1 million estimate of a year ago, according to the Pew study.
Of the total, 7.2 million were employed in March 2005, making up about 4.9 percent of the civilian labor force.
While 94 percent of men illegally in the country hold jobs, undocumented women are less likely to hold jobs than legal or native-born workers, largely because of the presence of children in their families, the study said.
About 3.1 million children, or two-thirds of all the children in families that include illegal immigrants, were born in the United States and are citizens.
The high number of children born here to illegal immigrants is used by advocates of tighter controls as an argument against issuing temporary worker visas.
"It highlights how false the label of 'temporary worker' is," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies.
With illegal immigrant families taking root in the United States, he said, "it's hard to deport people."
Immigrant rights advocate Angela Kelley, deputy director of the National Immigration Forum, said it is perplexing that opponents want "to deny that there's a place for these workers in our society."
Business interests
The Pew report added fuel to the debate about whether illegal immigrants are doing jobs refused by U.S. citizens or legal immigrants.
Krikorian said that if illegal immigrants make up 17 percent of those in the cleaning occupations, for example, "that means that 83 percent are Americans or legal immigrants. Where are the jobs that Americans won't do?"
Business interests especially want new "guest worker" visas and legal status for immigrants already here because, they say, the economy needs the immigrants who are filling unwanted jobs.
"There's an inadequate number of U.S.-born workers doing those jobs, which is why undocumented workers are doing them," Kelley said.
The Judiciary Committee will consider a proposal by its chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., that would allow illegal immigrants who were in the country and working before Jan. 4, 2004, to remain here if they stay employed and do not commit crimes.
But they would have to return to their home countries if they want to apply for citizenship or if they are out of work for longer than 45 days.
Some say they oppose Specter's idea because they say it amounts to amnesty, and some immigrant-rights groups say it would treat immigrants as substandard workers.


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The Blog An Avo competition has now closed. A big thank you to all of you that took part and wrote about your love of avocados. We hope you will continue to enjoy eating avocados, and do keep in touch if you come up with any new and exciting avo-inspired recipes!
We've had some fantastic entries. Below are the links to all the blog entries, as well as the entries we received via email that haven't already appeared on the blog.
The judges are deliberating as we speak and will be back with a final decision before long. We'll keep you posted on who the lucky winners are, so watch this space…
Inside the Wendy house: http://insidethewendyhouse.blogspot.com/2011/11/avocadohow-do-you-have-yours.html?spref=tw
The Tupperware Man: http://pushingplastic.blogspot.com/2011/11/green-genius.html
Jane's Rambling blog: http://janesramblingblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/avocados.html
The Writing Type: http://thewritingtype.com/food/2011/thinking-outside-the-dip/
Slovenly Jimmy: http://comping.thegoodgameguide.com/the-amazing-avocado/
A bit of chat: http://carsington.blogspot.com/2011/11/avocado-anyone.html
Jenny Eatwell's Rhubarb & Ginger:
Gin and Crumpets: http://ginandcrumpets.wordpress.com/category/breakfast/


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Members of the Ithaca College community are concerned about the lack of a collaborative process regarding impending cuts to programs and faculty positions, citing insufficient transparency, a rushed process and uncertainty about the future of the college.
At the Oct. 6 Faculty Council meeting, La Jerne Cornish, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, announced that approximately 130 full-time equivalent faculty positions will be cut because of decreased enrollment. Enrollment has decreased from 5,852 undergraduate students in Fall 2019 to 4,957 in Fall 2020, according to the Office of Analytics and Institutional Research. More students than in previous years took leaves of absence or deferred their enrollment for Fall 2020.
In a letter to faculty sent Oct. 6, Cornish said the college knew it was necessary to decrease its size before the COVID-19 pandemic began, in accordance with the strategic plan, Ithaca Forever.
Last year, the college created the Academic Program Prioritization Action Group, chaired by Brad Hougham, associate provost for faculty affairs. He said the group was made of faculty, students and staff, who developed a set of guiding principles for the process moving forward. This year, the college created the Academic Program Prioritization Implementation Committee (APPIC) and the Academic Program Prioritization Advisory Committee (APPAC), the two groups that will work simultaneously during Fall 2020 to decide the future of programs at the college.
Susan Campbell Baldridge, a strategic planning consultant and professor of psychology and provost at Middlebury College, worked with the college during the strategic planning process and is working with the administration as an "independent ear" during the Academic Program Prioritization (APP) process, Cornish said.
APP Timeline
In an Oct. 20 interview, Cornish said that the APPIC is conducting an examination of the college's academic programs and that no decisions have been made yet.
"This fall, the implementation committee will be reviewing academic programs, trying to identify patterns to see what programs are strong, which programs generate a lot of student interest, which programs do not generate a lot of interest, and then we're going to look at those programs," Cornish said.
Cornish said the APPIC and the APPAC will create a document called "The Shape of the College" by Dec. 31, which will recommend the departments and programs to be discontinued, consolidated, reorganized or grown.
Deans, faculty, program directors and department chairs will review the document and provide feedback to the APPIC in January 2021. The document will then be delivered to President Shirley M. Collado and Cornish in early February, and they will make decisions about programs by the end of February.
Cornish said that the resizing process was supposed to take place over four years but that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the college's need to eliminate positions. She said the process now needs to occur in two years.
"In an ideal world, we would have reached our sustainable size goals by 2024," she said. "COVID acted as an accelerant to the plan. The budget challenges associated with COVID necessitated that we act much more quickly. … It is painful. No one wants to do this."
At the Oct. 6 Faculty Council meeting, Cornish said that entire departments may be cut and that even tenured faculty may lose their jobs.
As stated in Section 4.9.8 of the Ithaca College Policy Manual, terminations resulting from the discontinuance of a program will be done in the order of part-time per-course faculty; adjunct faculty; faculty employed by term appointments; non-tenure-track faculty; tenure-eligible faculty; and tenured faculty.
Not an Isolated Problem
The college is not the only institution that has been forced to make cuts to programs and employees. Since February, private education employment is down by 355,000 positions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In July, Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, cut approximately 25 faculty members and eliminated nine majors. Also in July, the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, was one of the first schools in the country to make deep cuts, laying off approximately 20% of the university's unionized workforce, including nearly 100 faculty members.
Eric Kelderman, senior reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education, said colleges like Ithaca College are struggling with enrollment. He said that when fewer students enroll, colleges have more faculty members than they need.
"The college just finds itself in a really difficult spot, and it's trying to get ahead of it by reducing faculty — sort of rightsizing — and putting it on what administrative leaders think is a more sustainable fiscal path," Kelderman said.
Cornish said that although downsizing was in the plan, the plan did not anticipate this set number of cuts.
"I think that it wasn't until the number was spoken that some faculty realized for the first time, 'Wow, we really are going to have to do this,'" she said. "It wasn't until the number was stated that people got galvanized in certain ways. That is a large number."
Cornish said that to determine the proper size, the administration looked at historical enrollment, present enrollment and projections for the future.
"We didn't have a number," she said. "Go back to that goal. It said determine and maintain an appropriate size. And so the size had to be determined first, and once the size was determined, then we could see what would happen after that. We had no predetermined set amount of faculty to eliminate."
According to the 2020–21 Facts in Brief, this year's acceptance rate was 75.7%, the highest percentage recorded in the accessible Facts in Brief datasets, which go back to 2004. The Fall 2020 yield rate — the percentage of applicants who were admitted to the college and decided to enroll — is 10.1%. This is the lowest yield rate in the accessible datasets.
"We would like to be more selective," Cornish said. "We're not trying to be an ultra-selective institution. We are a comprehensive college. But we would like to be more selective."
Concerns about Transparency and the Future
After Cornish announced the impending cuts, the college was featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Forbes and InsideHigherEd. This coverage has led to social media backlash.
"Other solutions should have been considered first before eliminating teaching positions," user @regpecen wrote on Twitter. "How about getting help from faculty for recruitment efforts?"
"Call me when they start "rightsizing" upper admin [sic] positions and/or salaries," user @bhiller wrote on Twitter.
"It's likely going to happen to all of us," user @ErikaGSwain wrote on Twitter. "I still love you @IthacaCollege – it's never easy being the first in a situation like this, and it's never easy to make the hard decisions. I'm still proud to be an alum."
In an Oct. 18 letter to the administration, the Faculty Council Executive Committee (FCEC) criticized the college's decision to make these cuts and requested that the administration delay them until after the pandemic has passed.
Some students agree that cutting faculty positions may not be the solution. Senior Makarios Allen said he thinks eliminating faculty positions during a pandemic is a bad idea.
"This is something that no one has ever dealt with before, but I feel like there's still a better way to go about it," he said. "I don't feel like the student body itself is being listened to currently, and it's a little disheartening."
Cornish said the APPIC and the APPAC created a dashboard to evaluate the college's programs. This dashboard is only available for faculty to view because the server is limited in the number of people who can access it, said Marc Israel, assistant provost for finance and administrative operations.
The college has 90 undergraduate programs, 76 undergraduate minors and 16 graduate programs. Some students are concerned that the School of Humanities and Sciences will be most affected because it has the largest number of majors out of the five schools.
Cornish said the APPIC and the APPAC are evaluating programs in every school.
"Our North Star remains the same," she said. "We are a comprehensive college rooted and grounded in a liberal arts tradition and complemented by four amazing professional schools. That is not going to change."
Senior Bryan Robles said he is frustrated that programs that do not generate a lot of student interest are at risk of being cut.
"Those are fields that inspire uniqueness and individuality from college students," he said. "By taking away some degrees that allow people to find niche interests, you are taking away their home, the main essence of what makes college worth it."
Tom Pfaff, professor in the Department of Mathematics, said he is worried the cuts will reduce choices of programs for students. He said he understands that the college is in a difficult financial position.
"We're non-profit, but we still have to balance our books," Pfaff said. "We can't ignore that. My concern is if it's going to be done intelligently and thoughtfully or not."
Pfaff said it is unclear to him what the administration's view of the future of the college is.
"There really isn't any information there, just some rhetoric that says we're going to do something, but we haven't really seen any real concrete plans," he said.
At the Oct. 6 Faculty Council meeting, Cornish said the college needs to cut $30 million from its budget. On Oct. 20, she said the college is facing an $8 million budget deficit, a number that will likely increase when students return to campus in the spring due to start-up costs and COVID-19 testing.
Some have raised the possibility of tapping into the endowment to cover the deficit. Bill Guerrero, vice president for finance and administration, said the college cannot use the funds in this way. He said the college annually draws 4.5% of the endowment, which translates to approximately $15 million, to support operations and financial aid.
"Unfortunately the endowment is not a piggy bank because it is governed by [UMIFA] and basically made of many, many contracts between the donor and the college for specified purposes," he said via email. "An endowment is for the current and future generations. Basically, it is to exist in perpetuity."
Guerrero said that historical returns on the endowment are slightly higher than the annual draw.
"As for the overall growth, it really depends on the point in time," he said via email. "We are in a volatile climate, especially with the upcoming election, so we are mindful on preserving capital to ensure it serves current and future generations."
Zack Ford '07, former president of the Student Government Association, now known as the Student Governance Council, and secretary of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, said it is heartbreaking to see many of the faculty and staff he knew during his time at the college be let go. Ford encouraged alumni to donate to the college if they can because it helps preserve programs and financial aid, especially in light of decreased revenue from lower enrollment. Over the last decade, the percentage of alumni donating to the college's annual fund, capital projects and endowments has decreased by approximately half.
"We all sort of recognize that the Ithaca College that we knew, that shaped our life experiences, isn't going to be the same Ithaca College in size or scope moving forward," he said. "I think everyone's afraid because they don't know what all these changes can mean for the future, but at the same time, hopeful that what we love most about Ithaca College isn't changing, and we will fight to protect as much of what we love about it as we can."
Rose Howard, lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts, said she feels like there are a lot of unknowns.
"I'm excited about opportunities for the college to get better," she said. "I'm excited about the anti-racist movement on campus. I'm seeing the students start to galvanize. I'm feeling a lot of new blood pushing into the college. I'm deeply concerned on how this is approached; we could lose some of that momentum. … It's hard feeling scared and terrified and also hopeful of pushing forward."
Howard is an alum of the college and a part-time contingent faculty member on a per-credit contract through the end of December. She said she hopes that contingent faculty members have a voice in the process because they are most at risk of losing their positions.
"We're losing really vibrant, talented faculty to a kind of bureaucratic nightmare," she said. "If we can't keep those people here, we aren't going to keep the students because those are the people that make [students] want to be here."
A faculty member and Ithaca College Contingent Faculty Union advocate who requested anonymity in the interest of job security said they were not surprised by the news of the cuts but rather the quantity. Over the last couple of years, union membership fell from approximately 300 to 150 members this semester, they said. The union, which was formed in 2017, is the only faculty union on campus.
The member said they would like more shared governance and specific data regarding decision-making and finances. They said contingent faculty members are waiting for the administration's response to the FCEC letter — which they said attempted to unify the faculty voice — before making their own demands of the administration. They also said they are concerned about contingent faculty members' safety when returning to campus next semester because even if they feel uncomfortable about teaching in person, they may feel obligated to do so out of fear of losing their jobs.
"There's a rift in the faculty of people who want to go through the appropriate channels and want to use the Faculty Council and say, 'We can work with this administration,'" they said. "Then there are people, the Contingent Faculty Union in particular, who have been doing this kind of work for the last three or four years or more, and we know that sometimes those avenues don't work very well."
Howard said she is unsure what the Senior Leadership Team's vision for the college is. She said that she has attended the meetings the administration has held for faculty, but she feels the webinar style is not conducive to conversation.
"Often the language has felt flowery and hopeful but without tangible specifics," she said. "I have great respect and love for our Senior Leadership Team. … What concerns me is I think we have a really smart, vibrant faculty body and student body, and it feels like we're not being engaged in a meaningful way. … That's what I don't understand and I'm confused about because I really want to trust our administrators, but I'm not seeing that trust come toward us, and trust goes both ways."
The anonymous faculty member said they are worried about the inflexibility of the strategic plan.
"One of the words that the [Senior Leadership Team] has used this whole pandemic is that we're going to be nimble, and they're being the complete opposite of that," the member said. "They're still just barreling ahead with a plan they came up with three years ago as if nothing has changed."
Pfaff said he is concerned with the level of transparency between the administration and the faculty.
"I think we were kind of led to believe there were going to be some minor changes here and there, not a drastic cut of 130 full-time equivalent positions," Pfaff said.
Pfaff said he does not have much confidence in the administration's ability to lead the college and build on its strengths. Allen said he also does not have much confidence in the administration to guide the college through the upcoming changes.
"I haven't believed in the administration for a while," Allen said. "I'm not surprised; I'm just disappointed because I don't see how you can defend the college."
Hougham said the APPAC is working with individual faculty members, departments and program coordinators to get their input. He said that the APPAC will share the feedback with the APPIC and that it will be included in the "Shape of the College" document.
On Oct. 13, the APPAC sent a survey for faculty to anonymously share their ideas about program reorganization, consolidation and discontinuance.
Cornish said that students will be welcome to provide feedback at the appropriate time but that no decisions have been made yet. She also said there will be weekly updates on the provost's website.
Kim Collins, a parent of a 2019 graduate and a current student, said she feels confident in the direction the college is going in.
"When my oldest son started there, it was an older, patrician white man leading the university, and I feel like the administration's makeup reflects society," she said. "I feel like they are doing a really good job and working really hard to try to be responsive and transparent in their decision-making."
The anonymous faculty member said they think the administration is doing what they think is best for the college. However, the member said they want to see faculty members be a part of discussions with the administration during the process — not join committees or participate in webinars.
"The only way we can reduce this to a saying or motto or brand is just open the books," the member said. "Show us what's going on and let's talk about this and see if that strategy that's being put into place is going to benefit the majority of the community."


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Carson-Newman University News Office
JEFFERSON CITY — Tennessee State Representative Harry Brooks of Knoxville, chair of the board of trustees of Carson-Newman University, has announced the formation of two separate search committees as the university seeks a new president following the retirement of President J. Randall O'Brien, who will conclude his 10-year service in December.
A Presidential Search Committee will be tasked with finding the institution's 23rd president, while an Interim Presidential Search Committee will seek leadership for the office until a new president can be named.
Comprised of 13 members, the Presidential Search Committee represents a cross section of the C-N community, including trustees, faculty, staff and alumni, along with student and community representation. Board trustee David Ogle will serve as chair of the committee and lead the members in the university's search.
The Interim Presidential Search Committee has seven members also with campus and board representation. It is chaired by trustee Jeanette Blazier of Kingsport.
The Presidential Search Committee incudes:
Brooks, trustee chair and vice chair of the search committee; Ogle, committee chair and member, of First Baptist Church, Gatlinburg; Khya Allen, president of the campus Baptist Collegiate Ministry, student representative; Bob Brown, executive director of Lakeway Christian Schools and member of First Baptist Church, Dandridge;
David Crutchley, professor and chair of C-N's Religion Department and member of First Baptist Church, Dandridge; Sheryl Gray, university registrar, secretary of the Presidential Search Committee and member of Lakeshore Road Baptist Church; Tom Harmon, retired trustee and member of First Baptist Church, Dandridge; Janet Hayes, trustee, attorney and member of Lyons Creek Baptist Church, Strawberry Plains;
Caroline Keenan, assistant professor of chemistry and member of Faith Lutheran Church; Tori Knight, professor and chair of C-N's Business Department and member of Calvary Baptist Church, Alcoa; Sterling Owen IV, retired alumnus and member of First Baptist Knoxville; Ted Russell, retired alumnus and member of Sevier Heights Baptist Church; Knoxville; and Richard Wallace, alumnus and attorney and member of First Baptist Church,Sevierville.
In addition to Blazier, former mayor of Kingsport and member of First Baptist Church, Kingsport, the Interim Presidential Search Committee includes:
Jeremy Buckner, Kitty Coffey and Angela Wood of the Carson Newman faculty and trustees Bob Gay II, Jack Owenby and Hong Tjoa.


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Sometimes, science confirms what we feel we know.
It appears there is a genetic reason why skinny people stay slim.
In new preliminary research published in the journal Cell, scientists have isolated a gene that appears to help keep skinny people slim, potentially providing new treatments for obesity.
"We all know these people – it's around one per cent of the population," said senior author Josef Penninger, director of the Life Sciences Institute and professor of the department of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia.
He told sciencedaily.com: "They can eat whatever they want and be metabolically healthy. They eat a lot, they don't do squats all the time, but they just don't gain weight."
Prof. Penninger's team analysed DNA and clinical data from the Estonian Biobank, comprising 47,102 people aged 20 to 44, uncovering genetic variants in the ALK gene of thin individuals.
They concluded the gene may be involved in weight-gain resistance.
When they extended their study, the researchers found flies and mice without ALK remained thin and were resistant to diet-induced obesity.
"We gave the mice (what amounted to) a McDonald's diet. The normal mice got obese and the ones without ALK remained skinny," Prof. Penninger said.
"If you think about it, it's realistic that we could shut down ALK and reduce ALK function to see if we did stay skinny," he said.
"ALK inhibitors are used in cancer treatments already. It's targetable. We could possibly inhibit ALK, and we actually will try to do this in the future."
The New Daily science editor John Elder says the mouse studies suggested ALK also played a role in the brain "by instructing the fat tissues to burn more fat from food".
The ALK gene makes a protein called anaplastic lymphoma kinase, which is involved in cell growth and has been investigated in cancer research.
Prof. Penninger's study observed genetic maps of people with a BMI (body mass index) below 18 and compared them with those of people of normal weight.
University of Cambridge researchers had already concluded: "The genetic dice are loaded in favour of thin people and against those at the obese end of the spectrum."
Stephen O'Rahilly, professor and head of the department of clinical biochemistry and the director of the Metabolic Diseases Unit at the University of Cambridge, said the new research "certainly increases interest in ALK7 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of obesity".
Obesity is a major issue in western nations, where more than half of adult populations are at risk of disease because they are overweight. Diets loaded with added sugar and sedentary lifestyles are often cited as causes, but previous studies found "considerable individual variation in weight within a population that shares the same environment".
Studies focused on overweight individuals indicated "variation in body weight is largely influenced by our genes".
Prof. Penninger's group turned the tables.
"Everybody studies obesity and the genetics of obesity," he says. "We thought, 'Let's just turn it around and start a new research field.' Let's study thinness."
Prof. Penninger says the findings are not "the ultimate answer", but important "starting points".
Are you one of those people who can eat what they want without piling on the kilos? Or do you know someone like that?
If you enjoy our content, don't keep it to yourself. Share our free eNews with your friends and encourage them to sign up.
Related articles:
Obesity link to Alzheimer's
Australians don't know they're obese
The impact of losing three kilograms


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Robin E. Oleen, age 49, of Milaca died June 28, 2020 in St. Cloud. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, July 2nd at Braham Evangelical Lutheran Church with a visitation starting at 9:30 A.M. at the church. A graveside service will be held at 1:30 P.M. also Thursday at Borgholm Cemetery, Bock.
Robin Elizabeth Oleen was born June 19, 1971 at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. She was born with physical disabilities and not expected to live. She proved her own strengths with physical determination and full enjoyment of life.
She lived at home with her family enjoying her sisters and brother as they were born into the family. Her education plan was to live in a sheltered group setting when she became an adult. At 20 she moved to the Ploof Foster Home in St. Francis and lived there for 15 years. At 35 she moved to Milaca and lived at the Sheltering Stones Group Home where she lived for 14 years and worked at the Mille Lacs County DAC where she loved going to work every day.
She survived cancer in 2012 but it returned in 2020 very aggressively. She was not able to fight off her last battle and passed away on June 28th at St. Cloud Hospital.
Robin enjoyed Christian music, crafts and riding around on her own golf cart. She dearly loved people. She had many relatives and friends that loved her dearly and she loved in return. We had her "on loan from God" for 49 years and will miss her dearly.
She is survived by her parents, Rodney and Olivia Oleen; three siblings, Patti Oleen-Paape (Matt), Sarah Oleen-Carr (Chad), and Bill Oleen (Joy); many cousins, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends.


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Rio Grande Valley Linking Economic and Academic Development (RGV LEAD) will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary! RGV LEAD was created in 1992 to bridge the gap between education, workforce, and industry. Our mission is to foster partnership between education and industry to equip students with college and career readiness that meets the region's highly skilled workforce demands. For the last 30 years, RGV LEAD has helped thousands of students acquire the tools and resources needed to succeed in college, career, and life. We want to maximize our positive impact, and we need your help!
RGV LEAD is having its Inaugural Shooting for Success Skeet Shoot on Friday, November 12, 2021, starting at 8 AM at El Dorado Sporting Clays located at 23540-23548 Floral Rd. Edinburg, TX 78541. The skeet shoot will include lunch, beverages, a raffle, music, and prizes for the top 3 teams. We humbly ask for your support to help empower students and enable their success.
Your generous support will help RGV LEAD enhance our existing programs and develop new initiatives to help build college and career awareness, offer students more hands-on learning opportunities through job shadowing and paid internships, provide scholarships for students, and help cultivate our students into future leaders. Community partners like you can help us multiply our impact. Together we can reach our vision, an educated and highly skilled Rio Grande Valley prepared for the global workforce.


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Gig Journal
Chai Restaurant. North Andover, MA. November 7, 2003
After my wife, Mal, and I finished loading the car at the end of the gig, and settled in for the drive home, she observed, "We were treated like royalty!" I agreed.
I had gotten this gig through a guitarist, Jared, who had heard me at Michael Timothy's. I remember chatting with Jared after the Michael Timothy's gig. He said that he had listened to Joe Pass and that he liked the my walking bass. Jared called me in late October and told me about the Chai Restaurant, saying that he had played there a few times, and that the manager, Scott, wanted to have more music there. Jared said the restaurant was fairly new and that Scott and the owner, Chai, were very nice and were trying to build up the business. So I called Scott and booked two Friday nights in November.
When we arrived, Scott met us at the door and showed me where to set up, in a small open space near the far wall. To my immediate left there was a booth, and diagonally in front of me, the main dining room. Directly in front of me was the Sushi bar. To my right was a small table, in a hall with the wait stations, and beyond that the front dining room. The table was a perfect place for Mal to sit. Not only was she near the "stage," but during the evening she was able to chat with the waiters and waitresses, and with Scott. She even gave one of the waitresses a quick Reiki treatment.
It was an unusual set-up, but I did a quick sound check and I thought the sound would disperse pretty well.
When I had booked the gig, Scott had agreed to provide a meal for me and Mal. After I set up and Mal settled in at the little table, Scott brought over a menu and said we could order anything we wanted. The menu had an excellent variety of Thai and Japanese food. We ordered Pad Thai with shrimp and some vegetarian rolls as an appetizer. The food was fantastic.
As soon as I started my first set, some customers came in. In that set I played the most recognizable tunes in my repertoire, including "A Kiss To Build a Dream On," "Satin Doll," and "Girl From Ipanema." I find that once people recognize a melody or two, they accept the music and after that I can do some jazzier tunes.
The room filled up quickly. After a while, Scott walked to the back of the dining room to check the volume, and he said it was a little soft, so I turned up. He checked it again and said it was fine. Later, when the people in the booth next to me were leaving, Scott asked them if the volume of the music had been OK, and they said, yes, they were able to talk and to enjoy the music. It's always a challenge to fill the room with music without being overbearing.
After my first set, the owner, Chai, came out from the kitchen and introduced himself to me and to Mal. We thanked him for the food and told him how much we had enjoyed it. It was clear that he takes great pleasure in knowing that his food is appreciated. Chai said, "We are very happy to have you here. Thank you for playing such nice music." How refreshing it is to hear that! Chai was just beaming. It was clear that he took great pleasure in providing pleasure to his customers. He was enjoying my music, he was pleased that we enjoyed his food, and he was pleased that he, his staff, and his customers were enjoying good music.
During my second set, the birthday party in the front dining room sometimes got a little loud, and the level of conversation in the main dining room fluctuated a lot, so that made playing a bit hard. Also, I had waiters and waitresses walking past me all night, just a couple of feet in front of me. It was a little distracting, but I just tried to look at it as a kind of concentration exercise. The staff smiled each time they caught my eye, and said they were enjoying the music, so that made for a nice playing situation. One waiter jokingly said, "Play 'Take Five,' Dave Brubeck!" I wish I could!
As the night went on, the restaurant filled up, and it was clear that the customers were enjoying the food and the music. Scott hung out near the Sushi bar and chatted with the staff and the customers. Since I was so close to the Sushi bar, I was able to overhear. That was a bit distracting, but I did get hear a few customers comment that they enjoyed the food and the music.
I played short sets and took short breaks. After my third set, Scott had the Sushi chef prepare some tofu sushi for us. Excellent.
The tune of the night was "I Got It Bad." The groove was just right, and I played a good solo on it. I ended with an F9 chord, a fill on F Lydian Flat Seven, and then the Gmaj7 first inversion:
I slid the A to B with my first finger, and hit the low G with a hammer-on of my right hand (which looks cool, anyway). That got some applause.
On my last break, Scott said, "The owner wants to cooks something else for you, what would you like?" I hated to refuse such a generous offer, but we were so full! Chai came over to the little table. "Can I cook something?" We said we loved his food but just couldn't eat any more. I said, "How about just a little ginger ice cream." A minute later Chai was back with a huge dish of ginger ice cream, and two spoons. How often does a musican and his wife get served, on a gig, personally by the owner of the restaurant?
Treated like royaly, indeed!
At the end of the night, as I was packing up, Chai came up to me and thanked me again for playing. He said, "You and your wife travel together all the time?" (Meaning to gigs.) He smiled, "I like that. That is very good. My wife works with me here. I like that." Chai's son, about two years old, was at that point running through the restaurant, headed for the kitchen. The Chai royal family.
I'll be back at the Chai Restaurant on November 21. Looking forward to it. I think I'll fast until then, and work up an appetite!
Last Update: 11/9/2003


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November 13, 2016
By the end of this piece, you will be riveted, mobilized and ready to become a part of one of the fastest-growing TV studios in the nation – poised to generate a whopping $500 million dollars in annual revenue in the not-so-distant future.
In the 1990s, the channels that dotted the landscape of TV were just a few remote control clicks away. Fast forward to the 2010s, and the American audience, which once patiently waited for the Next Big Thing On TV, is now comprised of powerfully diverse and increasingly demanding populations, who now have access to TV programming at their fingertips, across several devices and numerous platforms.
Exposed to different cultures, concerned about social progress, racial injustice and pressing current events, people from all walks of life, across this great nation, wish to see the waves of change rippling through the U.S. depicted on their TVs in a more direct and frank manner.
While faced with a plethora of options, audiences are justifiably dissatisfied with what seems to be the dated and out-of-touch content promoted by uninspired TV studios. However, unbeknownst to them, a man with a vision has been working tirelessly, for the better part of three decades, to revolutionize television production and content creation.
That man is Joseph Collins.
His life story is the embodiment of the American dream. At only 16, Joseph gained the respect of his mentors during his internship with WVTV in Milwaukee, who, in recognition of his prodigious talent, helped him become the youngest news reporter in the US.
Leaving his distinct mark of excellence in the field of television, beginning with music video production, Mr. Collins went on to pour his heart and soul into his proudest endeavor yet: becoming one of the few African-American CEOs of a publicly traded company.
Remember the name: Punch TV Studios.
Since its inception, the company has set its sights on growth, diversification and inclusive representation. Aligning with the principles that shaped the land of the free and the home of the brave, Punch TV Studios provides an all-encompassing platform that highlights the urban experience, playing an instrumental role in making the stories of independent filmmakers, underrepresented minorities and creative visionaries reach a broader audience.
And like every true visionary, Mr. Collins has been hard at work setting the stage for the realization of what can only be described as his life's calling.
Despite the fact that his company's success has reached unprecedented heights, Mr. Collins's keen business acumen and awe-inspiring entrepreneurial nature does not allow him to rest.
In his quest to share his vision and make his dream of rendering original, top-of-the-line content available to all, come into fruition, Joseph Collins has always been on the lookout for similarly-minded partners that would strengthen the Punch TV Studios brand and broaden the scope of its operations.
In June 2016, by utilizing President Obama's signing of the groundbreaking JOBS Act into law, Punch TV Studios launched its first round of seed funding, shattering glass ceilings and entrenching its name into the legacy left behind by one of the country's most progressive presidents to date.
Collins affirmed the company's stance on inclusion in the boldest manner: he decided to price each stock at $1 each, a move that makes investing in Punch TV affordable to all members of the public, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
Each stock holder can now benefit from promoting the broad, unbiased dissemination of information concerning issues that affect their daily lives and their social standing – and that includes you, dear reader.
Change waits for no man; it is happening right now; today, this very minute. All you have to do to embrace it is to remember the name Punch TV Studios.
Just before the clock runs out, before the last of the fast-selling company stock is bought by the business-savvy investors who have had the insight to recognize Punch TV Studios' extraordinary potential, you can join in and purchase your own shares, reaping the benefits of the company's exponential growth and inevitable dominance in the field of TV production.
Someday, you will look back, and be able to tell that you played a part in changing the conversation in contemporary media.
What's the reason to wait, then?
After all, the only way to move is forward – and as with all things Punch TV Studios, nothing feels better than moving forward together. To take the first step on your journey with Punch TV Studios visit: http://www.PunchTVStudios.com today!


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Its that time of year again... no not Christmas. Newspaper players of the year, and its my lighting for the holidays :) Sports portraits are a bit more fun than the average because of the potential for action. I have always liked the look of well lit portraits but I am trying to push my understanding and skills of lighting a bit more for this year's resolution.
Here on Yucaipa High School senior volleyball outside hitter Kelli LeClair, I used three sources of light. (I should draw diagrams and post them if anyone wants to see them?) A six-foot diffusion pannel with three heads to light her from the left and head to toe, a bounce fill from the floor and a softer fill umbrella from the upper right.
Melissa Fairchild of Serrano High School in Phelan is a cross country runner who I lit on campus with three lights to our right. Side, frontish and from the ground. Needless to say the focus on the last two shots was a B----.
St. Lucy's senior Jackie Macy in Glendora, made for a nice clean portrait in the gym with only five lights. Grid spot to the left, barn doors to the right, umbrella overhead, back light and accent on the cross on back wall. One may notice I shoot all this at 2.8 for various reasons. This shot is with the Nikon 35-70 at about 60mm. The runner with a Nikon 70-200 at about 135mm and the jump shot with the Nikon 17-35 at about 24mm.
A little exercise in light: I got to shoot a cycle class at the Fontana 24 Hour Fitness and decided to bring the light to play with. Sometimes a different look at the usual flash on camera off ceiling and room light look.
24 Hour Fitness member Roslynn Pomahatch of Rancho Cucamonga exercises during a cycle class in Fontana. This was the 17-35mm as well with three lights: front umbrella, bounce fill on the leg and a back accent light behind the instructor.
Redlands High School's Jacob Rubio, right, against Fontana High School's Robert Duran (win) during, Thursday night's, Dec. 15, 2011 varsity 145lbs weight class wrestleing match in Redlands. This match was (no joke) 10,000 iso at 2.8 at 1/125th with out the lights! No bueno! But I fix... three lights, left and right Nikon SB 800s and the on camera master as a fill and voilà its 2.8 at 1/500 at ISO 800. The sensor on the D3s can handle very high ISO ratings so I like to push it a little to save battery and recycle times on the flashes.
As with lighting a very poorly lit high school gym...
Which brings me to a tool that makes this all possible... wait for it... Radiopoppers. Yes, 2.8 in the daylight, high ISO and high sync speeds with any other strobes does not fly:)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Holliday Lighting
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Ok, Let Me Splain
Ok, Let me Splain... no that will take too long... Let me sum up.
It has been a quite a while since my last post but things had got away from me there for a bit. I will break all the big news into acts for easier digestion.
The Epic Post in Three Acts
Act I: Transition
I am self employed, again. A funny thing happened to me on the way to the assignment... I was on one of the best shoots I had while at SGVN (and there were only a hand full) not good news but good pix, during the memorial of a police officer.
An added bonus was shooting next to L.A. Times' Don Bartletti all day. Whata great guy!
Any hoo, I got back to the office and got layed off, again, from the same company, after 11 years, from different papers. As the journalism industry continues to circle the drain I had been working in earnest on the preparation of my own departure to go back to freelancing. I was only weeks away from cutting through the fence when low and behold, a severance package. I was giddy, nervous but giddy.
Act II: Freelance
Through several sources I am able to photograph for corporate and editorial outlets as and independent contractor/freelancer. This is keeping me moderately busy photographing for companies like Baskin Robbins,
events for T-Mobile
and Hershey's,
Magazines like Foothills Magazine
and online news services such as The Associated Press and Patch.com.
The Hershey's event was to photograph their S'mores Snacktivity Suite at the BlogHer 2011 convention in San Diego, which brings me here. 2000 women bloggers got me inspired to start posting again!
Act III: Family Time
One thing that was very hard to do in my last job was spend quality time with my family. With abysmal conditions in the newspaper including furlough days and no vacation accrual our time together was a bit dodgy. So a long awaited trip to Monterey and San Francisco was not to be missed,
visited Evan at Boy Scout summer camp,(right)
Hiked Mt. Baden-Powell
and went to The Huntington Library to see some nice art.
Its been a good summer :)


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Springtime is the season for babies. They're busy emerging into the world by whatever method they come — by hatch or by birth.
With their arrival, some of the youngsters will also need help. The Lindsay Wildlife Museum's rehabilitation center in Walnut Creek has about 200 babies under its wing right now and expects the number to shoot up even higher in the next couple weeks.
"It will get really busy with babies," said Lindsay Wildlife Museum's spokesperson Julie Ross. "We'll start seeing jays, crows, raccoons, house finches, and a variety of other baby songbirds like sparrows and towhees."
At the moment, the rehabilitation center is handling baby squirrels, doves, and hummingbirds. One of the leading causes of their arrival is nest disturbance from tree trimming (November and December are the only safe months to trim). Sometimes a whole nest of babies arrives.
"This morning we got four baby squirrels that fell out of a palm tree," said Ross.
The rehabilitation center sends the mammals to live with one of its trained volunteers in the hopes of limiting human contact to as few people as possible. As they grow up, baby birds go from the incubator to a beginner cage to a flight cage and then out to the aviary when ready.
"When they feed on their own and fly on their own, they're ready for release," said Ross.
During a release, the staff tries to take the animals, especially the mammals, back to where the animals came from. The survival rate, up until that point, is more than 50 percent, Ross said.
The success stories are the result of a lot of hard work. Some of the babies need frequent feedings, as often as every two hours in the case of baby squirrels. And the teeny hummingbirds chicks — a half inch in length and weighing in at 2-4 grams — need a nectar-protein solution every 20-30 minutes.
"The baby hummingbirds are portable. Our volunteers carry them in plastic containers and bring them to meetings," said Ross.
The whacky weather this year – drought followed by sudden rains – might have been a prescription for orphans galore. But apparently so far, the numbers of stranded babies are not out of the ordinary. Ross said the center expects to take in about 5,000 animals (babies and adults) by the end of the year.
This grey fox kit is 6 to 8 weeks old. Photo by Lindsay Wildlife Museum.
This fox squirrel is approximately 5 to 6 weeks old.
Barn owl chicks, like these 5 to 6 weeks old, started coming to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in March. Photo by Lindsay Wildlife Museum.


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O'Reilly perpetuates weak Dems myth
Reported by Chrish - August 12, 2006 -
Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points memo" yesterday 8/11/06 took swipes at a few favorite targets, the New York Times and DNC chairman Howard Dean. My favorite part of the show, though, is when he says "you're about to enter the no-spin zone!" right before his anti-liberal, anti-left, anti-Democratic party rants.
Yesterday's harangue was supposed to point up hypocrisy at the Times, but O'Reilly twisted the facts to suit his mind-set:
The left wing New York Times editorialized today: "We want to understand as much as possible about what the terrorists were planning. It would be a blessed moment in modern American history if we could do that without turning this into a political game plan."It is understandable why The Times doesn't want to get into a partisan debate over the issue, because that newspaper and the left in general opposes most information gathering techniques used by the Bush administration. Things like spontaneous phone surveillance by the NSA of suspected overseas calls, and coerced interrogation of captured terror suspects.
Indeed, the right wing editorial page at The Wall Street Journal said this, "The [London terror] plot was foiled because a large number of people were under surveillance concerning their spending, travel and communications. Which leads us to wonder if Scotland Yard would have succeeded if the ACLU or The New York Times had first learned the details of such surveillance programs."
Such gross misrepresentation would be shocking if it wasn't so commonplace on FOX. As everyone else knows, Democrats and the left in general are NOT against surveillance of suspected terrorists. We oppose ILLEGAL surveillance performed without proper court warrants and oversight, as proscribed by the Constitution and FISA.
Although O'Reilly giveth in the next sentence that the WSJ comments were a sarcastic reference to the NYT article "exposing an entirely legal financial terror monitoring program the Bush administration had in place," he taketh away in the next one, "(t)hat controversial decision by The Times has badly damaged the paper in the court of public opinion." So the WSJ is just kidding, but between him and his viewers, it's serious.
The attack on Dr. Dean was segued in with "Because of 'things like that', the left is [left] with a decision. Either change its policies on terror or go on the attack against the Bush administration. Guess what Howard Dean has decided to do?"
BOR went to a video clip of Dean saying "The president, his team out there, Karl Rove and all those folks, they're trying to scare people again. They're trying -- you know, you hear what they said about Ned Lamont's win? Oh, well, that's a good thing for Al Qaeda. That's what Dick Cheney said. I'll tell you what the best recruiting tool for Al Qaeda has been, and you know who that is. If you want a real change in this country, we have to stop trying to scare people in order to win elections." In BOR/FOX world that mild campaign statement is an "attack against the Bush administration," yet Cheney's outrageous remarks are not examined.
O'Reilly, tempering any criticism of the administration, understated "Now there is no question that Iraq remains the weakest part of the Bush anti-terror strategy," sneaking in another equation of the occupation of Iraq with the war on terror.
Overall he gets a D for disengenuous.


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Submitted by hugh on 13 May 2014 - 9:05am
Izzy is 13 years old. Next week, she will be getting her brand-new lava-red Catrike Villager.
With it, she will: go to school, have fun and adventures, ride with her brother, and help conquer Friedrich's ataxia.
She's young, but her resume is long. Check the links.
Here's her trike, fresh from the oven like a tray of cookies.
On May 31, 2014, join Izzy and others for the FARA Norcal Ride.


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Mavropanos' cheeky nutmeg
The pre-match warm-up is always a chance for the Arsenal substitutes to show off their silky skills and neat footwork, but usually it is Mesut Ozil who is the one embarrassing his team-mates.
Not this time, as Konstantinos Mavropanos stole the show in the substitutes' pre-match rondo.
With Arsenal's No.10 hurtling towards him to get the young Greek defender simply flicked it through his legs with an impudence Ozil would have been proud of.
It's probably not something you'd want to see Mavropanos trying in the heat of a match. We may well find out sooner than expected, however, with an injury to Shkodran Mustafi potentially handing the 21-year-old Athenian a shot at a starting role.
Arsenal fans warm to Suarez already
Gunners supporters eager to see a new addition in the January window had to wait until the last few hours of transfer deadline day to see Denis Suarez arrive on loan from Barcelona. The travelling fans at the Etihad were determined to give him the warmest of welcomes.
Certainly the cheer generated by Suarez's announcement in the pre-match line-up was greater than that for any of the other Arsenal players, and perhaps even for a few of the City players as well.
Unfortunately the visiting support weren't able to muster up quite the same enthusiasm when the Spaniard finally entered the fray in the 67th minute, coming on with Aaron Ramsey moments after Sergio Aguero had completed his hat-trick and effectively killed the game off.
Unai Emery's reaction to Arsenal goal
Most of the crowd and even some Arsenal players were taken by surprise when Laurent Koscielny scrambled in an 11th minute goal from a corner that brought the visitors level at the Etihad. Unai Emery was not one of them.
Instead he used the moments of celebration that followed Koscielny's strike to summon over left-back Nacho Monreal, who was soon to find the subject of an animated and lengthy talking-to by his manager.
Monreal would subsequently pass on a message to Matteo Guendouzi, who had started the first half slowly. Emery's words seemed to have their desired affect as for the remainder of the first half the 19-year-old ran the midfield in a composed performance.
Uninspiring warm ups
Arsenal substitutes usually find themselves being thoroughly put through their paces as they wait to be brought on but that was certainly not the case when City were putting the pressure on in pursuit of what would be a game-clinching third goal.
A trio of City substitutes were sprinting up and down the touchline, stretching and doing all they could to get themselves ready should Pep Guardiola call upon them. You could not say the same for their Arsenal counterparts.
Suarez, Ozil and Aaron Ramsey seemed to be scarcely moving for an extended period when they were supposed to be warming up, instead watching on as Aguero bundled in the winner. Their inactivity hardly changed the course of the game but nor did it give the impression they were desperate to enter the fray.
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .


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A few questions and answers about the PaynPlan Booking App:
Where can I view the Terms and Conditions?
The full Company Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy document is visible if you click on the 'i' button in the top of your dashboard(homepage).
If the App is in Dutch can I switch it to English?
Yes you can go to settings and switch language to English.
Where can I see my purchased products?
Go to products and click to see how many credits you have left (if you bought a package). Here you can also see the T&Cs and expiry dates of your products. Membership holders will see the details of their membership.
How do I book a class?
Go to Agenda and click on the class of choice and click register. If the class is full (coloured with red or a red line) you can add yourself to a wait list.
Will I get a confirmation by email that I have registered or de-registered from a class?
You will receive an email confirming registration(booking) or de-registration of a class. If you don't receive it, check your junk mail or add PaynPlan to your contacts.
How to view your booked sessions?
In the PaynPlan App go to Group Agenda and + (floating button in the bottom corner) and go to view appointments. Or indicated by a yellow line under a class when you view the week agenda.
How do I cancel (de-register) from a class?
Do the same as above, then click on the relevant class and go to de-register. Cancelation policy of 24hrs on booked classes. You are still required to cancel even if it is outside of the 24hr time (as courtesy to others that are on the wait list). If you have a membership you are still required to cancel a class, even if you cannot make up that class.
If I have a membership and cannot attend 1 week can I make up the class?
Yes, Membership holders can make up the class as long as it is in the same Month.
What if I have a Membership and I cannot get a spot in a class?
It is your responsibility to book ahead to ensure you get a space in a class. We will add more classes to the Agenda if we see that wait lists are getting too long.
How far can I book my classes ahead?
You can book 1 month ahead, as long as you still have credits on your 10 voucher card. Membership holders do not need to worry about remaining credits as their payments are on-going. The new system do not send automatic reminders the day before so make sure you plan this into your Agenda. Repetitive no shows without canceling will result in cancelation of your membership.
Where can I read the Terms and Conditions?
When purchasing a product online, each product has a full description of its relevant T&C's. If you purchase a product, you agree to those terms.
Can a Membership be paused?
Memberships can be paused 1 x in a 6 month period (strictly for injuries and holidays of 2 weeks or longer- no exceptions). An Admin fee of 20Euro will apply. Application should be done in writing 30 days in advance with the reason and exact dates stipulated.
Can a 10 Voucher Card be extended?
10 cards can no longer be extended. They are valid for 3 months. (no exceptions).
Can I use the Intro Package if I am an existing client?
No, intro packages are there as trial sessions for newcomers only.


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A recent seminar at the University of Aberdeen focuses on the next steps to ensure that Scotland makes the most of opportunities highlighted in the report The Economic Benefits of CCS in the UK. Key findings from the report include:
CCS can play a vital role in helping the UK meet its statutory target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. It has been estimated that without CCS, the cost of meeting this target will rise by £30-40bn per year.
Inclusion of CCS in the mix of low-carbon technologies would result in a 15 per cent reduction in wholesale electricity prices – leading to an average cut in household bills of £82 a year.
Each new-build CCS power plant would generate between 1,000 and 2,500 jobs in construction, with a further 200-300 jobs in operation, maintenance and the associated supply chain.
CCS could help the UK to retain existing industries, such as coal and gas power generation, and support vital energy-intensive industries (such as chemicals, steel and cement manufacture) which employ 800,000 people directly and in supply chains.
TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Carbon capture storage technology offers a way to meet our environmental targets, while creating thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs and transforming regional economies.
"This is a great opportunity to re-invigorate our manufacturing sector and bring new research and development, design and construction jobs to areas like Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland. But without stronger government backing the UK risks losing its competitive advantage, and all the jobs and economic activity that CCS could bring."
The North East of Scotland has been identified as one of the best places in Europe to develop CCS. The Shell and SSE Peterhead CCS project in Aberdeen promises to deliver a world first; a full-scale CCS project at a gas-fired power station. There are also many other CCS projects in Scotland which could be in operation by the end of the decade.
CCSA Chief Executive Dr Luke Warren said: "This report definitively shows that the successful deployment of CCS has wider benefits for the UK economy. Respected international and UK organisations agree that without CCS in the mix, costs of meeting climate change targets will rise significantly. We have gone further in this report to show that the cost savings from CCS have a real impact on the average UK household – increasing their disposable income and reducing the risk of fuel poverty."


text: The second annual Airfield Drags will take place at the Dr. Haines Municipal Airport in Three Rivers, Michigan on August 6, 2022! Get ready for adrenaline-pumping vintage hotrods as they race side-by-side down an 1/8th mile section of historic Runway #5! Also present will be food trucks serving delicious food, vendor booths, live music, beautiful pinup gals, and the list goes on! This event is not to be missed!