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ESSEX - A potential disaster on Lake Champlain turned into a memorable outing for a Vermont man as a handful of Essex residents came to his rescue.
Michael Jackman, a business owner from New Haven, Vt., was treating four of his friends to a day on the lake Sept. 26 when the engine failed on his 22-foot center console motorboat, leaving them suddenly stranded in Whallons Bay.
Jackman's boat was one of very few out on the lake that day as the boating season was nearing a close. Waves swelling to four or five feet pushed the drifting boat toward the rocky shoreline.
"I've been living on the lake for 47 years, and it was as rough as I'd seen it," said Wayne Bailey, an Essex resident who organized efforts to help Jackman and his crew.
"All I did was what anybody else would have done, which was to try to find a boat to tow the disabled boat to safety," said Bailey, a retired State Police trooper.
Bailey was cleaning firearms at his home on Lakeshore Drive with his friend, Frank Walls, early in the afternoon Sept. 26 when he received a call from his neighbor, Andy Dolan, alerting him to the distressed vessel.
"Frank and I drove down to the John McBride property," Bailey recalled. "The boat was only a couple hundred yards offshore."
Bailey and others called to Jackman, encouraging him to come and tie the boat to McBride's dock. Jackman and his friends, all experienced boaters, used two anchors to "crawl" toward the dock and threw a tie-line to their rescuers.
"We didn't know anybody, and they didn't know us," Jackman said. "If we wouldn't have tied to that dock, we would have been on the rocks."
With the boat tied safely to the dock, Bailey went a couple miles north to the Essex Marina, where he found Tom and Sue Martini, an Essex Couple who happened to have their boat out that day.
"They were going to take that boat to Burlington within the hour and put it away for next summer," said Bailey, "but they said they were more than happy to help a boat with a damaged motor."
It took just 20 minutes for the Martinis to reach Jackman's boat and tow it to the Essex Marina for maintenance.
"In two to three hours, they had us on dry dock," said Jackman. "Everybody was so nice, and they wouldn't take a dime."
Jackman and his friends drove back to Vermont that evening, returning the next day with a second boat to help guide Jackman's boat back to Basin Harbor for the winter.
"It all just came together so nicely," Jackman said. "What could have been a disastrous day turned into a wonderful event."
Jackman said he is extremely thankful to the kind strangers in Essex who helped him and hopes to return to Essex next year to treat them to a night on the town.
But next time, he said, he'll come over on the ferry.


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I know this is shocking, it's 9:15pm on a Tuesday night and I'm awake. You know, it's actually not shocking, it's when normal people would be awake, still cleaning up after the day, putting their kids to bed, maybe turning on the news or a movie, or catching up in something more relaxing like yoga, journaling, calling a friend. But not me, I'm busy having an argument with myself. It's for a good reason. You see, last night, I kept myself up for three extra hours, completely uncalled for and for no reason other than I must have had a lot on my mind that I needed to share with myself. So, instead of keeping it bottled up inside, I tapped myself on the shoulder in the middle of a nice, healthy slumber and woke myself up. I made myself a cup of tea, I forced myself to think about what was bothering myself, and to share it without holding back. Unfortunately, it didn't get my anywhere. You see, today, not only was I the same me that I was yesterday, I was a more groggy me, a more cranky me, a more hungry me. Tonight, I would've wanted to let myself get to sleep early, to make up for the lost hours, to feel for once refreshed and rejuvenated upon awakening, but no, no, no….apparently there is more I need to deal with. Hence the reason I'm awake. When all I want, is to be asleep. I want to be awake less, I want to feel less, I want to just enjoy and relax more. And no matter what I do, no matter how I try to talk myself into this state of being, this frame of mind, it's like it just keep further eluding me. Not much longer though. Perhaps I just need to spell it out for myself, what I really want, who I really am.
Maybe what I want most of all is just to know, to be sure that what I think I want….is not some sort of horrible mistake that my mind is playing on me. I think what I want is to know that I can be happy, trick myself into feeling like everyday is Christmas. That's all I really want, is that too much too ask of myself?

subset: commoncrawl


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Marking Third Anniversary
Of Commencement of Iraq War
Saturday, March 18th from noon to 1 p.m.
West Lawn of the Capitol Grounds
Members of Langley Hill Friends Meeting and others have been holding a silent vigil weekly on the Capitol grounds for more than two years to protest the ongoing war which has killed 2,300 Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis. Join them to mark the third year of this tragic war. Please, no signs or banners. Those vigiling stand under the simple banner,
"Seek Peace and Pursue It"


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Islands under eyelids06:26
Life is at this point where, despite simultaneously trying to successfully graduate secondary school while planning my life around the foreseeable future, everything is sort of pleasantly stagnant. Easter holidays are virtually over meaning I'm about to enter my last term of school (ever) and the stress, although not gone, is slowly melting away. I'm excited and ready but not ready and nervous. It's nearly over, but also just beginning and everything is so uncertain yet I'm so unanxious. It's all so bittersweet right now.
I'm living in Ireland as a first generation immigrant, and I'm part of a community of Nigerians who have only been residing here just short of 20 years (I'm 17), and, from my point of view, there are still a lot of major issues regarding representation, integration, and the discrimination of immigrants. We've heard all sorts of reasons and excuses for why we shouldn't be here, even though so many of us have either lived here from as young as 1 & 2 or were born in these very hospitals. As the immigration issue directly affects me and my family, I have a lot of deep-rooted opinions on this topic, but I want to hear you guys' opinions. How you feel about immigration and the refugee crisis.
If you're reading this and you're unsure of how you feel about immigration and the refugee crisis, amongst the plethora of think-pieces, radio shows, tv documentaries, ect ect ect on these topics, I highly recommend two particular pieces that might help you better understand immigration.
- I Am Immigrant on RTE 2
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My parents are immigrants, having to move here at the age of 19 because of the dangers in their country, so the discussion of immigrants is always personal to me. People who want to deny entry for immigrants, clearly aren't taking the time to learn about WHY they want to emigrate from their country. They aren't just doing it for fun? They may be in danger, having to deal with war or poverty, and we all need to understand that! We are all human beings, we need to stick together, not go against each other. So, that's just my two cents on the topic of immigrants!! It's so awesome you're learning more about your culture. I think it's so important do that, just see where your family comes from!! I love hearing my parents' stories about how they lived and what they did when they were in El Salvador. It makes me proud to be their daughter and be a Salvadoreña**~*~*~ I am so very excited for your zine, I know it's going to be so great!!!ReplyDelete
yay this was so refreshing to read!! immigration and the refugee crisis is so overlooked, and it doesn't help when the gov decide to literally bulldoze their existence. in a few weeks, i'm going to the european parliament in Strasbourg with school to discuss and debate about issues within the EU, i think it'll be really interesting to gather ideas and hear other young people's opinions on the refugee crisis.ReplyDelete
(also super-pumped 4 your zine)
much love x
victory!! AH I'm so excited to see your zine getting off the ground babe !!!! *cries like a proud dad* and as usual, I'm digging this post. from an American perspective, immigration here is also a big topic of discussion. America is a country built on and composed of immigrants--in fact, immigrants and ethnic minorities are who keep this country thriving and excelling in my opinion. so whenever you brought up the concept of "national identity" it really got me thinking about people in my country who are anti-immigration. often they take a patriotic/nationalistic approach in their views, but is not the American identity one that is diverse makeup of people from all walks of life??? uGHGGGH the ignorance and close mindedness of some Americans !!!! (omg ok let me stop ranting before I start talking about tr*mp.) anywhooo just checkin in ur bad ass self ;) forever loving your content and u and I cannot wait to see what's next for ya babe !! xxReplyDelete


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Embrace Your Inner Geek
If you are exercising, and you don't know that you are exercising, do you get the same benefit as if you were doing the exact same amount of work but under the supervision of a personal trainer?
Maybe, maybe not.
A while back, a Harvard psychologist conducted a study using hotel maids. Despite the high level of physical exertion required for the job — hauling vacuum cleaners around, carrying linen, and lots of walking — very few of the maids felt that they got any exercise. Without changing their work requirements, half of the maids were told how many calories their daily efforts burned. The other half were kept in the dark.
Only a month later, the first group had lost weight and dropped their blood pressure, while the other group remained constant, even though both were doing the exact same amount of work.
That's the power of getting techie with your program.
You can hop on the treadmill, turn on the TV, and phone in a workout, and you'll burn X calories.
Or, you can hop on the treadmill, hook up the heart rate meter, log in your miles and speed, and the studies show that your body will respond to an exercise placebo effect: you'll think you're getting a better workout.
Two ways to accomplish this:
Without spending a dime, you can start writing down your workouts. Miles, minutes, distance, effort level. Lots of folks use a heart rate monitor, but studies have shown that simply rating your effort on a 1-10 scale can be as just as useful. Keep a log, and periodically tally up your numbers.
But sometimes that's not enough motivation, and in those cases, you have to whip out the plastic and buy the shiniest gadget you can find.
For instance, you can get a bike computer for around $30. That will tell you speed, distance, elapsed time, lap speed/distance, and max speed. But is that geeky enough? Because for five more Benjamins, you can upgrade to a GPS-based system that will track your entire route, tell you elevation gain, average climbing rate (VAM), power output, cadence, and a whole bunch of other functions. You'll spend so much time analyzing data, you won't have time to ride.
Geekiness doesn't have to be electronic or computer-based. You can buy running shoes with crazy insoles or support mechanisms. It's amazing what you can spend on a softball bat these days. And super hi-tech wicking, cool-max, dri-fit, polar-tech duds always work.
The key to success is that the item needs to make you think about your work-out. Technology becomes the anti-iPod: you are not tuning out the world, but instead tuning in to your pain or effort. Think about exactly what you're doing, analyze it, over-analyze it. Make it a conscious effort to improve.
Now get out there.


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People access the Internet every day from many different devices. Your website needs to "work correctly" on all of these devices. The website we will design for you will guarantee that your customers have a pleasant experience viewing your website, regardless of the type of device they choose to view it from.
Organizations often have difficulty finding an affordable application that fits their needs. Our Developers can work with you to create an application that is specific to your organization at an affordable cost. Once your application has been deployed, we also provide timely support and modifications as needed.
Having a website is very important to a successful business. Not only is having a website important, but optimizing a website so potential customers can find it on the Internet is equally important. Contact us today to schedule time to review your website. We can provide you with feedback.


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Cloud Expo
WebRTC Summit | Interoperable WebRTC and Why It Is Important
Crocodile RCS's Peter Dunkley to discuss interoperability & explain how WebRTC can be used to enhance & extend existing services
By: Liz McMillan
Oct. 21, 2013 11:29 AM
Slide Deck: Interoperable WebRTC and Why It Is Important
There are many potential applications for WebRTC and for many interoperability is not a requirement. However, this does not mean that there is not a need for interoperability, particularly at the signaling level, for other applications.
Many people have dismissed interoperability as a consideration when using WebRTC - often due to the fact that their favored use cases do not require it (and in some cases are even hampered by it).
In his session at WebRTC Summit, Peter Dunkley, Technical Director at Crocodile RCS, looked at the other side and discussed the case for interoperability and explained how WebRTC can be used to enhance and extend existing services in a way provides benefits to service providers and their customers. He concluded with a look at some of the open-source options available today for building interoperable WebRTC applications.
Click here to follow ▸@WebRTCSummit
Speaker Bio
A Rock Star Faculty, Top Keynotes, Sessions, and Top Delegates!
The growth and success of Cloud Computing will be on display at the upcoming Cloud Expo® conference and exhibition at the Javits Center in New York City, N.Y., June 10-12, 2014.
All main layers of the Cloud ecosystem will be represented at the 14th International Cloud Expo® - the infrastructure players, the platform providers, and those offering applications, and they'll all be here to speak, sponsor, exhibit and network.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Early Bird Registration Options
About SYS-CON Media & Events
Cloud Expo®, Cloud Expo® East, Cloud Expo® West, Cloud Expo® New York, Cloud Expo® Silicon Valley, Cloud Expo® Europe, Cloud Expo® Tokyo, Cloud Expo® Prague, Cloud Expo® Hong Kong, Cloud Expo® Sao Paolo are trademarks and /or registered trademarks (USPTO serial number 85633366, registration no. 4378577) of Cloud Expo, Inc.
Reader Feedback: Page 1 of 1
Presentation Slides
Tweets by @WebRTCSummit
Digital Transformation Blogs


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**A few things to keep in mind: I am being completely honest in my opinions-I wouldn't mislead anyone for any reason, and I definitely wouldn't spend all the time I have making this review if I didn't mean it! Also, my eyebrows are crazy. Seriously. I need them shaped but they just haven't grown in enough (and they just needed to be tamed a bit!) Finally, the last thing I wanted to say is ignore my gross nails. Summer job=lots of hand washing which = dry skin, chipped polish, and pure laziness (hey, why repaint if they will just get chipped again?) :)
First off is face products! Before doing the mineral makeup I applied my primer by The Body Shop called "Tea Tree Pore Minimiser". After it dried and soaked into my skin, I moved on to foundation and everything else!
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Milk".
2: A quick look at what I am working with. A little redness, uneven skin tone, and dark circles. My dark circles are actually terrible, but I think this shot at least shows them a little! I also have large pores, and oily skin, so I like to use foundation to help control the oiliness.
3: Thank you concealer! I always make it a point to conceal my under eye circles, as well as concealing my eyelids which have a bit of redness and visble veins. I used a mixture of Maybelline Superstay 24 hours Concealer and Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Concealer.
4: This was after the application of the EM "Matte Base" (mineral foundation) in the shade "Golden Fair". I used an Everyday Minerals Flat Top Brush that I bought a few years ago to buff in the foundation using circular motions, until I got the coverage I wanted.
5: Bronzer time! I use a "3-E" technique to bronze my face. I wanted to add a little bronzer because with my self-tanner that I had applied to my body, my face was a bit lighter than my body, as was the foundation (this isn't fully showing in picture !) If anyone is interested in the "3-E" technique, let me know!
6: Application of blush; for this look I used the sheen blush from EM in the shade "Snuggle". I think it is the perfect color for spring and summer!
I would say that the eyeshadow and blush are both very pigmented. Like I said, I used them dry, but I know from experience that mixing them with water or a makeup spray will make them more pigmented and even longer lasting. The foundation had a matte finish, but I don't think I looked dull. If you look at the pictures of my skin, it still seemed like I had some sort of glow! The lasting power of the foundation and finishing dust is good; I wore it to work a few times and it seemed to wear well; I didn't see shine for about 5 hours, which is good for me, and blotting with tissue paper took the shine right away! After working 8 hours in a hot restaurant, I still had a majority of the makeup on, which is great for mineral makeup, as I have noticed most wear off through the day. I haven't experienced any break outs or other skin problems either. The reason I don't have pictures of the foundation I was sent is because it came adorable little sealed packages, with a cute design on them...and I just blanked out and forgot to take pictures! One thing to take note of is that if you are deciding between two shades and just can't make up your mind (if you aren't going to buy samples first), I say go with the lighter one versus a darker one. I say this because it's better/easier to have a lighter shade and use a bronzer to warm your face up than a terribly dark shade! I would definitely recommend this brand and these products to anyone who is looking into mineral foundation!
I really hope this is helpful to someone out there! I enjoy doing reviews and letting you know my thoughts on products, and I hope this wasn't too long, I just want to be thorough! Please let me know if you liked this length of a review and give me any tips or suggestions if you have some!
*These products were sent to me for consideration. I did not get compensated for this post, and have actually bought from this company before! All thoughts are my own and honest!
Thanks for reading,
XO, Kelsey
Follow with Bloglovin' if you want to stay in touch!


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Ardmore Language Schools are experts in providing educational travel courses to junior students from all over the world. With over 30 years of experience we are dedicated to delivering the highest quality courses including language, cultural and specialist sports programmes in our residential and Homestay centres across the UK and in the USA.
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YALE – BRIDGEPORT GEAR UP RESIDENTIAL SUMMER PROGRAMStart: 9:00 amEnd : 4:00 amAge: 14-16Address: 261 PARK STNEW HAVEN, CT 06511-8942
GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) was launched in 1999 with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of this educational initiative is to significantly increase the number of low-income and minority students who are prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education. The program provides six-year grants to states and to school district-university partnerships to offer services at high-poverty middle and high schools. GEAR UP grantees serve and follow an entire cohort of students beginning in the middle grades, though high school and into college. GEAR UP funds are also used to provide read more
CONVERSE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AT YALE JR PROGRAMStart: 9:00 amEnd : 4:00 pmAge: 14-17Address: 74 HIGH STNEW HAVEN, CT 06511-8943
With over 45 years of experience, Converse International School of Languages (CISL) is internationally recognized as a leader in effective language training. CISL's locations in San Diego and San Francisco, California, offer programs and courses in English as a Second Language (ESL), including TOEFL, Cambridge English, and IELTS exam preparatory courses.
ID TECH CAMPS PROGRAMMING ACADEMY AT YALE UNIVERSITYStart: 9:00 amEnd : 4:00 pmAge: 7-17Address: 60 SACHEM STNEW HAVEN, CT 06511-3733
Welcome to our first season hosting summer technology programs at Southern Connecticut State (home of the Owls)! In 1999, our family company set out to reinvent "camp" for the 21st century. Today, we're #1 in summer tech education, with 150+ locations nationwide and an expansive lineup of courses in coding, game design, app development, web design, film, photography, and more. At our SCSU camps, right in the heart of New Haven, kids and teens build valuable STEM skills in an inspiring, collegiate setting. Students experience personalized learning with a maximum of 8 students per instructor and use the best brand read more
WORLDVIEW ACADEMYStart: 9:00 amEnd : 4:00 pmAge: 13-18Address: 501 CRESCENT STNEW HAVEN, CT 06515-1330
At Worldview Academy Leadership Camps, junior high and high school students, ages 13 and up, are challenged to think hard about their faith. They are treated like real people who wrestle with real issues—and who need answers that match the real world. Each camp features 20+ hours of lively classroom sessions and discussions, which guide students to better understand servant leadership, apologetics/evangelism, and comparative worldviews.


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My Favorite Flirts is a feature that lets you reach your favorite Flirts easily from My Account or on 1-800-TO-FLIRT.Manage My Favorites
(0 Reviews)
You have always looked outside finding me outside making sure that I am in fine view of you. It is only fair that you will be able to be around you and make sure that you be with me. I know you are one guy that will be with me and make me happy sexually.
Pictures of my sweet pussy $10
Stockings pictures for $10
Teeny Peepee Tax $75
Spoil Me $100
Spoil Me $250
Spoil Me $500
Spoil Me $999


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This weeks Wednesday gallery will have an arbitrarily selected 'Parasol' related Steampunk theme because I had to pick something, lol.
As usual if you come here for the hobby rather than the galleries then there's plenty of links below the blog header and many others in the sidebar so feel free to look there instead.....
Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.
Location of the most recent breach into Malifaux, Latest area to be occupied by the forces of Cryx, Stronghold of the Dark Legion, Homeworld of the 'Night Reapers' Space Marine Chapter, Council of Seven allocated Deadzone and the lair of some opinionated git called GMort who they let hang out with them...when he's not distracted by Steampunk, Gothic culture or Cosplay...
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
The Wednesday Gallery
Labels: Steampunk, Wednesday Eye-Candy
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Article sections
Veterans Eligibility
Source: Veterans Affairs
For the purposes of VA health benefits and services, a person who served in the active military service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable is a Veteran.
Basic Eligibility
If you served in the active military service and were separated under any condition other than dishonorable, you may qualify for VA health care benefits. Current and former members of the Reserves or National Guard who were called to active duty by a federal order and completed the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty may be eligible for VA health benefits as well.
Minimum Duty Requirements
Most Veterans who enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, must have served 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called to active duty in order to be eligible. This minimum duty requirement may not apply to Veterans who were discharged for a disability incurred or aggravated in the line of duty, for a hardship or "early out," or those who served prior to September 7, 1980. Since there are a number of other exceptions to the minimum duty requirements, VA encourages all Veterans to apply so that we may determine their enrollment eligibility.
Enhanced Eligibility
Certain Veterans may be afforded enhanced eligibility status when applying and enrolling in the VA health care system. Veterans who:
- Are a Former Prisoner of War (POW)
- In receipt of the Purple Heart Medal.
- In receipt of the Medal of Honor.
- Have a compensable VA awarded service-connected disability of 10% or more.
- In receipt of a VA Pension.
- Were discharged from the military because of a disability (not preexisting), early out, or hardship.
- Served in a Theater of Operations for 5 years post discharge.
- Served in the Republic of Vietnam from January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975.
U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships associated with military service in Vietnam |Agent Orange: Alphabetized Ships List
- Served in the Persian Gulf from August 2, 1990 to November 11, 1998.
- Were stationed or resided at Camp Lejeune for 30 days or more between August 1, 1953 and December 31, 1987.
- Are found by VA to be Catastrophically Disabled.
- Previous years' household income is below VA's National Income or Geographical-Adjusted Thresholds.
VA operates an annual enrollment system that helps to manage the provision of health care. VA applies a variety of factors during the application verification process when determining a Veterans' eligibility for enrollment, but once a Veteran is enrolled, that Veteran remains enrolled in the VA health care system and maintains access to certain VA health benefits.
Once your application is successfully processed, you will be assigned an enrollment Priority Group. Certain Veterans may be eligible for more than one Enrollment Priority Group. In that case, VA will always place you in the highest Priority Group that you are eligible. Under the VA Health Benefits Package, the same services are generally available to all enrolled Veterans. Once enrolled, you will receive a personalized Veterans Handbook, which will detail your VA health benefits and provide important information concerning your access to VA health care.
Cancel Enrollment
You may request to disenroll from VA Health Care, commonly referred to as cancel/decline, at any time. To request to be disenrolled, you must submit a signed and dated document requesting to be disenrolled from VA health care to a VA Medical Center or you may mail the request to:
VA Health Eligibility Center (HEC) 2957 Clairmont Road Atlanta, GA 30329
If you decide to cancel your VA health care coverage, please note this may impact your health care coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act if you do not have other qualifying health care.
You may reapply for enrollment at any time by completing a new VA Form 10-10EZ, Application for Health Benefits online at www.va.gov/healthbenefits/enroll, by calling 1-877-222-VETS (8387) or by visiting your local VA health care facility. Please note that you will be considered a new applicant and eligibility for enrollment will be based upon eligibility requirements in place at that time.


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You may recall that while I was pregnant, I used DreamBelly Stretch Mark Cream daily on my ginormous belly. I managed to pack on about 50 lbs while I was pregnant - yowza! Yet I made it through without a single stretch mark from pregnancy. You can read my previous review of DreamBelly Stretch Mark Cream if you want the full story.
Just for fun, here's my enormo belly on one of the last days of pregnancy, while I was in labour. You will have to excuse the nasty pyjama pants, I was scraping the bottom of the dresser for anything I could get on at that point:
So, I can personally attest to the awesomeness of that product, and although I am not pregnant (no, this review is not an announcement!) DreamBelly Butter was something I needed to try. With our recent move to Calgary from Ontario, I have realized just how much the humidity (or lack thereof) affects my skin. Calgary is dry as a desert bone and I'm headed that way, too. I was in desperate need of moisture.
DreamBelly Butter has natural ingredients, safe for pregnancy - and honestly, why would you want to use anything that is not safe for pregnancy, even when you're not pregnant? DreamBelly Butter:
I love the very light scent - to me it smells sweet like candy, but not in a sticky, fake way, like so many lotions. It's just really nice. Feminine without being girly, flowery or powdery.
Combines the healing power of rosehip oil, aloe vera, honeysuckle and grapefruit, to protect and regenerate skin, and provide soothing relief from itchiness
Provides deep moisturizing from natural butters and oils with no greasy, slippery feeling
Has the mild, pleasant fragrance of milk and honey
Contains no petroleum products, parabens, artificial colors or artificial preservatives
The best thing about it is the feel. It is thick and absorbs well without leaving a greasy feeling on your skin. You can really feel it moisturizing, but you don't feel slippery or oily at all. I can't stand applying lotion and then feeling like it's going to get all over my sheets or clothing. DreamBelly Butter goes on and soaks right in. Lovely. I just checked out the reviews on their site, and it looks like other women love it just as much as I do - all 5 star reviews.
One of the things I respect about Fairhaven Health - and this goes for all their products - is that they provide a complete ingredient list on their website for each product. Everything I have tried from them has been fantastic quality. Although I write a lot of reviews, I don't always gush - but this company has me gushing. It's good stuff.
And now I have some excellent news: Fairhaven Health has generously offered to send out DreamBelly Stretch Mark Butter to FIVE of my lucky readers! Get in on this one, you will love this product!
Click "read more" if you don't see the Rafflecopter form to enter!


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Happy ZUTARA week everybody! XD
I've accomplished many things this week including uploading new videos... trimming new wigs... decorating iPhone covers... and making an A4 sized cutout of fire-bending (in water!)
I'm signing in with a 9-koma selca selection <3
By the way guys, gonna warn you to NEVER drink any of the pictured Dragonball sodas - if you're allergic to orange juice (I found out the hard way T^T), my brother played a prank on me saying it's lemonade...
Recently, I got asked what I order the most of when it comes to sushi...
So here's my answer XD This is basically my order every time, and then I'll have other stuff, like sweet shrimp, scallops or urchin ^^
|9 pieces of salmon~ nomnomnom
|My new customized Watanuki Banri iPhone case
(only one in the world~!)
I few shots of the paper-cutting process and the final product of my firebender to commemorate 2012 Zutara Week ^^
See you guys soon ;3


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With Christmas fast approaching, I thought I'd share with you some of the cards I've made in the past. I love using kraft card as a base and I'm thinking of creating this year's cards with kraft card too.
These three square cards were made using papers and elements from "Christmas Gift" by Digital Anemona; I made the Santa card topper on the central card from a kit "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" by Let Me Scrapbook
The card above (which I made for my parents) was made using "A Homespun Christmas" by Starynight Graphics.
The xmas tree topper was made using a digital stamp by Pink Petticoat called "Flirty Christmas Tree"
The robin Christmas card is made using a digital paper called "Berries" from the "Tis The Season" collection by Pink Petticoat but I'm not sure if it has been retired or not as I can't see it on their website anymore. The robin topper was made using a digital stamp by Pink Petticoat from the "Bobbing Along" collection, which was adhered to a rectangle of "A Homespun Christmas" by Starynight Graphics.
All the scalloped tags/toppers were made using my Nestabilities dies and my trusty Cuttlebug.
The red twill/ribbon was something I salvaged from a purchase of tea towels which were tied together with this… I'm always on the lookout for "freebies" or think laterally as to how things can be used in my crafting! 🙂
As always, I look forward to your comments and am only too pleased to answer any questions you may have.


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For those who don't know, my handsome husband and I are remodeling his/our house. All my stuff has come to live here, with me (since September 10th) and in varying degrees since I moved to Greenville in March. The crowning moment was when we got married and I moved completely out of the apartment. We had a commitment not to sleep together or live together until marriage, but moving my THINGS over the course of 6 months was MUCH easier than trying to fit a move in between the wedding and honeymoon. Well, we're up to our ears in stuff, mine, his, ours, wedding, presents, honeymoon, and to top it all off, the remodeling isn't done. So we're preparing to start redoing the master bedroom and bath, while the whole house is in upheaval. Smart, eh?
Anyway, it is the dream in my heart to have a home that is welcoming, and piles of stuff are NOT welcoming. I want to be able to have the widow down the street over for coffee, our community group in for the weekly meeting, or a party, or simply have our friend's daughter come bake with me. I don't feel like I can do those things right now.
So, I got this book, and I'm beginning to read. Now. Before my heart breaks with the mess. The first day's reading asks, "Why clean?" and I thought that it would be wise to put my answer in writing, so I'd remember. So I'd have a place to go where I can be reminded, when it's tough and there's construction dust everywhere and my clothes STILL don't have a home, and our bed is in the living room.
So. Why do I want a clean home?
I want a clean home so that when my husband comes home from work, he wants to be here. I want a clean home so that when we or others enter this place we see Jesus and not a mess. I want a clean home so that I can create an environment like the one in which I was raised-- one that is welcoming and comfortable and safe. I want a clean home so that I can be at rest and be inviting to others who may need rest and blessing. I want a clean home so that I don't feel frantic inside. I want to be able to engage myself with my husband, our family and friends, whenever needed, and not feel torn between what I "have" to do and what I ought to do. I want a clean home so that I can more adequately be as I am created to be-- an Image Bearer of the God of the universe.
I think that about sums it up.
Much love.


text:
Interview with John Roy of Unsteady
Steady on, John!
An interview with Unsteady's lead vocalist and sax player
By Abram Jones - RudeRoots.com
I caught up with John Roy, vocalist and saxophonist for one of my favorite bands, Unsteady, while he was driving around San Diego. When he's not recording or playing with Unsteady he is a professional saxophonist and vocalist with many other bands, including Dave Wakeling of The (English) Beat and Paul Humphreys of O.M.D. Unsteady has released two studio albums thus far and is gearing up to release their third, entitled "Live In The Studio" this year.
Abram: There seem to be a lot more songs with a "you suck" theme on Double Or Nothing than on Tightrope.
John Roy: Yeah, "those are my you suck songs" (laughs). There are a lot of leftovers from bad relationships and stories about girls on the second album. Plus there are a few more that were a little bit happier about the situation being screwed up. A lot of songs coming up on the next one are going to be happy sappy baby baby songs cause I'm a little happier now than I used to be.
AJ: One of Unsteady's strengths is their ability to mix it up, to mix and match styles and genres. JR: I'm glad you feel that way, you're one of 20 people in the world who do.) There were fewer scratchy, punky tracks on Double or Nothing. I thought "Race and Reason" from Tightrope was one of your best, if most atypical, tracks.
JR: Yeah, we go from kind of progressive rock to reggae on that one. We've had reviews from punk zines (about Tightrope and Double or Nothing) that said stuff like, Unsteady"They had two good songs but the rest are like a lounge act". Then there was a mod magazine who also liked two of our songs and thought the rest were crap. Then a trad ska zine liked our most trad sounding songs and hated the rest. I like to do the style to the song instead of the song to the style. I also can't help that I sound like Tom Jones, but hey, Tom Jones is sexy, right?
AJ: There were no women fronting on Double or Nothing. Is it the same female vocalist on the first and second albums?
JR: The first album is Kym Clift from Donkey Show. She had a baby and was really busy and couldn't come in for the second recording session. So, I got Audrey who was my previous vocalist from the Gangbusters. I couldn't get studio time enough to record all the songs I wanted and have a girl sing leads on the recording. I've got the numbers for a couple of gospel singers for the album I'm currently recording. Maybe you'll be hearing lots of female vocals!? (John begins to play an album for me he cut the night before with himself singing entirely falsetto. Sounds like a female soul singer. now he's covering Dennis Brown in falsetto).
AJ:This brings me to another question. on "California Ska-Quake" there's a version of the song Bad Attitude by Gangbusters. Are they covering you or vice versa?
JR: It's actually a Gangbusters song. I wrote it in '88 and recorded it with them.
AJ: Did you sing in Gangbusters?
JR: I sang backups but it was all Audrey fronting.
AJ: What's up with the label changes? Tightrope was put out on Immune, then Double or Nothing on Asian Man, now the web site says your next one will come out on Immune?
JR: No, we're not back on Immune. The new album was supposed to be released on Immune about two years ago. The third album has been recorded and it's in the can. Now that my five year contract is up with Immune I need to get my masters back. On the other hand, Mike Park at asian man records is super cool. His whole deal is 50/50, which is totally how it should be done. I'd love to put out more stuff with him.Who knows who'll put out the 4th album?
AJ: Tell me about your history. There have been a lot of lineup changes, which you cite on the site as mostly being the result of people realizing they're not going to get rich and famous playing the Ska.
JR: Right now any drummers that we had are gone and I have two other guys playing drums who are both phenomenal. I have spinal tap drummer situation, so I hope they don't spontaneaously combust or get abducted by aliens. Kevin's playing organ and keys, Paul's playing bass, Creedy on guitar, me on sax, and Jon Fisher on trumpet. Clay (alto sax player) was pretty regular for a while, but he's got his own band right now.
We've got a lot more fun stuff going on in this next one we just recorded. I got the trombone player from the Untouchables and a bunch of guest musicians. I'm looking for a vibraphone/marimba player right now. I think I want to do a dixieland song too, I've been listening to a lot of dixieland lately. I love having fun in the studio. The studio experience is totally different from the live experience, where you want to have as few people as possible doing as much as possible with as much versatility as possible and making as little money as possible. You can either have an album that's completely representational of a live band, or you can have an ALBUM. I think we sound better live actually than on the previously recorded albums. Some of our stuff was half baked on the albums and when we were playing out live we realized it had been tightened up some.
AJ: What will your upcoming studio album be like?
JR: Lots more reggae. Although you never know, if we recorded another five songs they might end up all being punk. Someone suggested that we record 36 songs and release three albums; one all punk, one all reggae, one all ska, under different band names. Then see if we'd do better with the close-minded folks who only like one style! (Laughs)
AJ: Do you think we're headed for a 'fourth wave' of ska any time soon? Not in terms of commerciality but stylistically. The Beatville folks kind of feel that the resurgence of a lot of trad ska constitutes a fourth wave.
JR: I can't say whether I agree or disagree. Is there a 5th wave yet? Touring with Dave Wakeling, I'm playing stuff that's current but I'm also playing the two tone stuff from the second wave and honestly, the reaction...the places are still sold out. First, second, third, fourth wave, whatever...I never caught the wave. We never really bought in to any wave with Unsteady so we never really got to surf on that wave of popularity or financial success. Maybe we just sucked! (Laughs heartily)
I have always listened to the old stuff, traditional, rocksteady, reggae, jazz. we actually didn't listen to the new "SKA" when we were out on tour. UnsteadyWith Unsteady we got to where we couldn't listen to our own music on the road, and we couldn't listen to the stuff at the shows.It got to where we could only listen to dub and new electronica, stuff like Massive Attack vs. Mad Professor or Kruder and Dorfmeister, Drum'n'bass stuff. Really progressive and inventive, with the same roots as what we play.
I know that the bands that were popular about three and a half years ago for four or five months, they might consider themsleves in a fourth wave. The bands my band played with in the late eighties (the 3rd wave?) LGB, No Doubt (before they stopped playing ska), Untouchables, Toasters, Donkey Show, DHC, and Hepcat were all in that wave. Some of these bands didn't make it through. Others did. I guess we'd be on a fifth wave then if we're going back to traditionalism...bands like Hepcat were coexisting with bands like Reel Big Fish in the 90's. You might call that a fourth wave.
Perhaps there is a reversion to traditional ska, but ska itself is a hybrid, a bastardization (I mean that respectfully). it's a living thing like all music. it grows and changes and takes on different attributes. I don't think it should ever be put on a museum shelf. That's how Ska lives so many decades after it's inception. I sound like an evangelist don't I?
AJ:I recently talked to John again while he was on the road touring with The (English) Beat. Any more info on the release of "Live in the Studio"?
JR: I'm not sure if I want to put it out now, we've been recording new stuff and I kind of like the new stuff better. We're going to save about four tracks from what we've already done, but there's a lot more reggae, jazz, lounge, and latin influence. The sound is moving more in that direction. Whatever sounds good at the time, it always branches out that way. I think live, you do what you can do, then when you go into the studio you come up with something completely different.
For more info on Unsteady visit: myspace.com/unsteadymusic
Photos from the bands's myspace page.


text:
Forward observer teams take advantage of the dense cover in the bocage.
Every soldier must know, before he goes into battle, how the little battle he is to fight fits into the larger picture, and how the success of his fighting will influence the battle as a whole. - Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery
Forward observer teams take advantage of the dense cover in the bocage.
The terrain at the Cauquigny causeway. The blue area represents the lowlying area that the Germans had flooded to prevent Allied gliders from landing.
Objective #1: The center of the village of Cauquigny.
Objective #2: The bridge at la Fere.
German deployment.
The Americans selected the north edge of the table as their deployment zone.
US: The Americans roll for reserves and get their mortar platoon on turn 1. They deploy 1 infantry platoon north of Cauquigny and push south towards the town in the pitch dark. On the other side of the flooded lowlands, they deploy the HQ and two infantry platoons. The HQ deals out an extra bazooka team to each of the infantry platoons.
Here come the Americans.
Germans: Achtung! Falschrimjagers are in the area, Herr Hauptman! The HQ and infantry zug in Cauquigny unpin, as do the MG platoon on the hill near the bridge. The MGs dig in. As it is night, not much else can be done. Division HQ cannot be reached. Perhaps Herr General Falley is in Rennes for the korps kriegspiel . . .
MG platoon digs in and awaits the inevitable assault. MG42s are great!
US: The pack howitzer battery shows up in the NE corner next to the mortars to assist the attack toward the bridge. The two infantry platoons continue to move down south towards the bridge, one along the road and one in the light forest of the high ground. On the other side of the big swamp, the last infantry platoon moves toward the town center, shielded by the dark and various hedgerows.
US reinforcements: Pack howitzers arrive to provide HE fire.
US 1st Paratrooper Infantry Platoon double times towards the bridge at la Fere.
German infantry deploys at the Manor house at La Fere bridge.
US: The two infantry platoons push toward the Germans on the La Fere side of the swamp. The 1st paratroop infantry platoon double-times it down the road, hidden by the dark. The 3rd paratroop infantry platoon has wound its way through the light woods along the high ground and begins to move toward the German MG platoon dug in up slope of the bridge. They shoot toward the MGs but do no damage. The 2nd paratroop infantry platoon on the Cauquigny side jumps the hedgerows at the northern end of the village and start to infiltrate towards the center. They shoot at the sniper holed up in one of the houses and kill him, to the German commander's displeasure. The AT gun platoon shows up as reinforcements on the Cauquigny side of the board, and move along the back roads towards the town.
Germans: Ja, ja, falschrimjagers! Herr Hauptman finally gets through to HQ, which promises reinforcements, just not this turn. Great. In Cauquigny, the mortar platoon sends its FOs toward the village square where they can actually see something, and the 75mm infantry gun platoon finally unpins and moves toward the incoming US forces. The Germans in the town shoot at the Americans but do no damage. To the east, the MGs open fire on the paratroopers moving toward them and kill three stands, which is good, because there are ten left to go. The Germans roll for dawn and amazingly enough, it actually breaks. This is not good for the US player, as he is far from either objective, and I can now see him. Guttural German laughter ensues!
Germans wake up and deploy to defend Cauquigny.
US: Charging MGs isn't one of the tactics that are encouraged at Fort Benning, but sometimes you just have to say "Geronimo!" and go. The 3rd paratrooper platoon moves up toward the MGs on the hill. Small arms fire doesn't kill any, but the mortars pin the MGs, diminishing the ensuing defensive fire which kills three US stands. Then it's into the German positions. In the assault phase the paras kill the two closest German MG teams, but lose two more US stands in the counter attack phase before the Germans break off. Ouch. That's five stands lost to kill only two German ones. Not a good exchange rate. The platoon has to take a morale check, and passes. The German commander is still happy, even though a pack howitzer barrage pins his other infantry zug at the bridge.
US 3rd Paratrooper Infantry Platoon charages MGs on the high ground west of the bridge.
Out west in Cauquigny the Americans shoot at the Germans in the houses and foxholes but do no damage. The AT guns continue to move towards a position where they might do any thing of value.
US 2nd Paratrooper Infantry Platoon begins its assault on German positions in Cauquigny.
Germans: Finally, reinforcements! The battalion scout platoon show up using scattered reserves to the east on the road just to the south of the MG positions. They double-time it up to just on the other side of the hedgerow from the MGs. The MGs fire at the paratroopers on the hill, but with a low rate of fire from still being pinned, do no more damage. They decide to sit tight and await the next American assault as they know the scouts will avenge them. The infantry zug on the bridge doesn't unpin (nor will it for the rest of the game!) and just sits there, noting the approaching Americans but unable to damage them with any accurate small arms fire.
German MG platoon is ready to repulse the US paratroopers!
German scout platoon with assault rifles arrives to reinforce the left flank and kill any paratroopers that the MGs miss.
In Cauquigny, everyone shoots at the Americans and end up killing three teams, which is pretty good. I think I killed more US paratroopers in this one turn (8 stands) then I had ever done before. Wait until Herr General hears about this!
US: Call of Duty time! Even though they are under half strength, the power of a Fearless Veteran US paratrooper platoon should not be underestimated. Realizing that the choices are pretty limited, the paratroopers that had taken out two MG gun teams continue their attack. Their mortar and small arms fire does little damage, though the scout platoon is pinned by the falling mortar bombs. The five teams of the 3rd Paratrooper infantry platoon assault the reaming German MG stands. Defensive fire causes no damage, and in the assault phase two MG teams are killed. The Germans fail their morale check and the MG platoon routs from the scene. Oh well, one platoon down, a lot more to go. The Americans no go for broke and attempt a break through assault at the German scouts on the adjacent hedgerow. Defensive fire does no damage to the blood crazed Americans, who then assault and kill all five German stands. Gott in Himmel and other Teutonic curses! There goes my flank. The German infantry down at the bridge start to feel pretty alone, and they're not even Ost troopen. An artillery barrage that kills two stands doesn't help either. The other paratrooper infantry platoon moves up towards the bridge but small arms fire doesn't do any damage.
US paratroopers assault dug in MGs with assault rifle armed scouts in reserve. The Germans anticipate an easy victory.
Geronimo! Remember Pearl Harbor!
The MGs gone, the US 3rd Paratrooper Infantry Platoon assaults the scouts behind the hedgerow and destroy them all.
The firefight in Cauquigny continues . . .
Germans: So much for momentum. I lost two platoons and my left flank to a half strength US paratrooper platoon. Things are not going as planned. Luckily, reinforcements show up. An Assault Gun Platoon with three StuG IIIs show up on the corner near the threatened bridge at La Fere, as well as the less than elite tankers from 100. Panzer Ausbildungs und Ersatz Abteilung with 1 H-39 and 4 R-35 tanks. The StuGs double time it towards the bridge as things are getting dicey there. The lackluster appropriated French tanks try as well, causing the H-39 and an R-35 to break down. Great. That's the last time I try that one. Desultory mortar and small arms fire area directed towards the Americans but no further damage is done.
The less than elite panzers from 100. Panzer Ausbildungs und Ersatz Abteilung arrive!
The Confident Veteran StuG IIIs show up as well.
US: The paras in Cauquigny unpin and shoot at the Germans there but cause no damage. This firefight isn't getting very far, but keeps the pressure on the Germans there. On the other side of the board, the mortars and howitzers keep the Germans at the bridge pinned. The 1st paratrooper infantry platoon moves toward the bridge and keeps the Germans there under fire, but doesn't kill anyone as they move towards assault range. The remnants of the 3rd paratrooper infantry platoon move toward the German flank on the bridge positions, trying to get a higher individual award for the platoon commander.
German 75mm infantry guns pound the Americans in Cauquigny.
Germans: More reinforcements arrive. The pioneer platoon arrives right near the US AT gun positions and another infantry zug shows up near the less than elite tankers of 100. Panzer Ausbildungs und Ersatz Abteilung. They push the bogged down tanks but can't get them moving. The rest of the dilapidated French tanks move towards the causeway, but at a slower pace. The StuGs move towards the bridge, but can't get there this turn. The pinned infantry at the bridge manage to kill two stands of the 1st Paratrooper infantry platoon, which is not bad. Just imagine what they could do if they ever managed to unpin. The Germans need to get reinforcements to the bridge as soon as possible as while the American attack in Cauquigny is stalling as German reinforcements mass there, there are only a few StuGs on the other side.
German infantry give the broken down tanks of 100. Panzer Ausbildungs und Ersatz Abteilung a push, but German efficiency cannot mend the dilapadated French tanks.
US: The Americans in Cauquigny unpin and assault the Germans. Small arms fire kills one stand in the houses. Defensive fire kills the American bazooka stand but isn't enough to stop the assault. The Americans kill two more German stands before the Germans break off and retreat to the next line of houses. A pioneer stand also gets shot at and killed as that platoon tries to close the action.
The firefight in Cauquigny keeps the pressure on the Germans.
US 1st Paratrooper Infantry Platoon approaches the bridge but so do the Stugs.
German: The Americans are running out of steam while my reinforcements are finally getting to the scene of the action. The 105mm battery show up, or at least the FOs do. They are down in the corner near the bridge, but too far away to do anything. Rather unfortunate, really. The StuGs lumber up the hill and start shooting at the paratroopers, killing a team of the 1st paratrooper infantry platoon. Small arms fire kills another. More attrition for the Americans.
In Cauquigny, the pioneers advance and kill the platoon commander of the US AT gun platoon. The 3rd infantry zug and panzers advance toward the town. Mortar and small arms fire merely keep the Americans from moving any further south. As long as the StuGs and infantry at the bridge can hold, I think I have enough forces to cause the Americans to break. Really!
German pioneers kill the US commander of the AT gun platoon.
US: In Cauquigny, the AT gun platoon scatters out of the line of fire, minus its platoon commander. The 2nd paratrooper infantry platoon shoots at the Germans but causes no damage. It hunkers down readying for the incoming Germans.
The real action is to the east. The 1st paratrooper infantry platoon unpins and assaults the Germans in the manor house at the bridge. This is pretty bloody. After a few rounds the Germans are destroyed (5 stands) but the Americans have lost 5 as well. They take a morale check and pass (They are Fearless Vets, after all . . .), but now they are down to three stands and are led by the company 2ic. Still, the objective is now in their hands, and there aren't that many Germans left.
The 3rd paratrooper infantry platoon tries to lower that number. They move up and take a bazooka shot at the StuG platoon leader, and show that even a bazooka can hit and destroy a StuG once in a while. They then try to assault the survivors, which doesn't go as well. The two remaining assault guns kill three more US teams before the Americans break off. They have to take a morale check as they only have their platoon commander and one stand left, but they pass it. There aren't many American teams left near the bridge, but there are fewer Germans. All they have to do is hold on and victory is theirs. Airborne!
US 1st Paratrooper Infantry Platoon finally makes it to the bridge.
Bazooka fire eliminates a StuG.
Germans: Everyone moves towards the objectives in Cauquigny, but it doesn't really matter there. There are no too many Germans for the remaining US paratroopers to do anything of importance. The Germans are unable to do anything but pin the paratroopers in the northern part of town. The bogged down tanks stay that way as the others move toward the causeway.
The StuGs move toward the bridge and assault the remaining paratroopers. The assault guns are confident veterans and should be able to do some damage, possibly killing enough Americans to force a morale check and keep the game running. Defensive fire doesn't cause any damage as the Americans don't have any bazookas left. The StuGs kill a team, but the Americans pass their morale check and counter attack with Gammon bombs. Snicker, snicker. Gammon bombs. Give me a break. Two smoking StuGs later, my last forces left to contest the objective are kaput and the Americans win again. I thought I might lose a StuG or not kill enough American stands, but to lose both of them to gammon bombs smacks of Tom Hanks shooting at Tigers with his trusty .45. It is a good thing that Herr General cannot be contacted. I hope he stays in Rennes.
Last ditch effort: the two remaining StuG IIIs assault the Americans at the bridge.
Gammon bombs and good dice doom the German assault.
There aren't too many Americans left at La Fere (only six stands of infantry including the Company Commander and the 2ic in charge of the 1st paratrooper infantry platoon plus the two surviving stands of the 3rd paratrooper infantry platoon), but it is enough. At least until 100. Panzer Abteliung gets its act together. Stay tuned for a counterattack.
German reinforcements move up to counterattack the depleted US forces along the causeway.
The Platoon Commander fo the US 3rd Paratrooper Infantry Platoon deserves the "Iron Mike" award for taking out a MG platoon, a scout platoon, and even a StuG III with a bazooka!
- Fearless veterans are nasty, particularly in assault. You have got to use the indirect fire weapons to pin them and keep them that way, if only to keep them at a low rate of fire and unable to assault.
- Fire AND maneuver is important to win. Sitting in your entrenchments isn't enough to seize the initiative and make the enemy react to your attacks.
- Gammon bombs can hurt. When do the Begleit Tank Riders show up?
Battalion anti-tank guns keep an eye peeled for Jerry counterattacks. Monty promises a new thrust to gain the vital junction of Caen.


text:
You know when Dorothy says to Toto, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" because she knows there is some fucked up shit going down? That happened to me at work last week. My fellow server and I were definitely over the rainbow because nothing went as usual. Customers were nice, on time, pleasant, and they tipped crazy good. The whole night I was just waiting for a house to come crashing down on my ass and for Glinda to pop out of a bubble in an over sized prom dress covered in sequins and glitter. I kept looking around for Munchkins and a yellow brick road but it turns out it was just an extremely nice night at work. Allow me to explain.
Originally, the performer had only ten reservations which meant I would be making very little money. But though some miracle, sixty more people made reservations and suddenly it looked to be a very profitable evening. Even better, they had had actually made reservations allowing us to be prepared for a busy night. Somewhere over the rainbow, for sure. The performer was great and friendly and really talented, but the customers were all so wonderful. Jiminy Crickets! Maybe because it was over a long weekend people were in a good frame of mind. They all ordered their two beverage minimums in advance making my job about 79.93% easier.
Lo had a seven-top where a very old lady had said she was paying the check. To auto-grat or not auto-grat, that is the question. A party of seven certainly allows us to do so and with a senior citizen footing the bill, you never know what the tip might be. She might hand you a shiny dime and a piece of hard candy for a tip. Her bill was $211 so Lo decided to add the tip just in case. Thirty dollars was put on the check. It was very clear. She circled the added tip and even wrote "gratuity has been added" across the check. Well either the lady had a severe case of cataracts and didn't see it or she was very generous because when we picked up her credit card receipt, she added seventy more dollars to it. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, indeed" Joy! Rapture! Meanwhile, my tables were practically throwing twenty dollar bills at me. Another customer went up to Lo and said, "Do you know who you look like?" Lo braced herself for the answer because you never know what people are going to say. I hate when people tell me that. It's always some unattractive man with a rat nest for hair and a big ass nose like Gene Wilder, Sideshow Bob, Bilbo Baggins, Sammy Hagar, Justin Guarini or Kenny G. But Lo's answer was different. "You look just like Joan from Mad Men." Lo gushed a big ol' thank you and patted her red hair and glanced down at her ample bosom. Another table told Lo they had seen her in a show once and loved her in it and went on and on about how talented she was. Between the compliments and big tips (and big tits), Lo was floating on air. No one complimented me on my appearance or talent but I was just happy with the tips that were flowing so freely.
The customers all left very quickly after the show was over allowing us time to sip our post shift glass of wine and talk about the night. "That was weird tonight," Lo said. "It was so smooth and we made so much money. How can you blog about this night? Nothing to bitch about." I was admiring the color of the Chardonnay in my glass and thinking I could always repost some lame ass piece of shit story from last year when Lo said, "You should totally write about how we were like over the rainbow tonight!"
"What?" I asked as I poured a second serving of wine and basked in my easy money.
"You know, like we were over the rainbow in a world where everything was perfect, you know? Like that. "
So yes, Lo. That is what I did. I wrote about that one perfect night when there were no Wicked Bitches of the West or Flying Monkeys screaming for separate checks. It was a night where troubles melted like lemon drops away above the chimney tops. That's where you'll find me. Somewhere over the rainbow with a pint glass of wine and a handful of Goldfish crackers.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
6 comments:
- Mary A. said...
You know who I think you look like? Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Only you have curly hair.
I'm your favorite now, aren't I?
- July 6, 2011 at 3:02 PM
For sure, those nights do not happen often. Good work!
As far as look-alikes, for several months, I was told I looked like Taylor Hicks...a talentless grey-haired chucklehead who only got 5 minutes of fame!
- July 6, 2011 at 3:26 PM
- KB said...
I love those nights, of course. They happen rarely but they stay in your memory. They're what keep us going. They're little tricksters.
- July 6, 2011 at 9:30 PM
- Jake said...
Back to the shift drinks, then, are we? How long did the: we are too poor to let you have a free drink, spiel last?
- July 6, 2011 at 9:57 PM
- Exchange Hosting Service said...
Nice post dear!
- July 7, 2011 at 5:29 AM
- Gallo said...
AH those ruby slippers worked their magic!
Great read.
- July 7, 2011 at 10:00 AM
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text:
Last night, while I was having a long conversation with my mother, a soul whom I have traveled this world with before, I saw that the moon was full. Either it was the full moon or my just having completed reading The Alchemist, or perhaps it was having come from a meeting with a man who, for whatever reason it may be, is helping me for no personal gain whatsoever. And, as I met with this man in his dark, back-room office, I felt both terror and overwhelming strength.
I felt, for the first time in my life, as if I was being seen for what I am, entirely. Its as if I finally figured out how to place all of these words that float around in my head in an order that can suddenly make sense to the rest of the world. The only way I can describe it is that it was an equal exchange of souls (as opposed to material wealth, connections, or power). After that meeting, I suddenly feel a sense of assurance: I will be okay if I follow my heart.
There is an incredible song from the 1980's, Listen to Your Heart, that I listen to on repeat when I ride the subway. It is the only way to live.
Suddenly, now that my words make sense, I am no longer worried about who it is that I am. I feel like I can now look through the walls that people put up, I can see through the gates, the road blocks, the lies, and the masks into what is true and what is right.
I seek for the good in everything and I seek my own personal legend. In order to do this you must be able to communicate with your heart. You must be able to see through the 'Soul of the World' and trust that your treasure is within your heart, somewhere. And now, I can see it. I can so it so clearly and so brightly that I don't need to even worry that I don't have vision insurance and that I just spent my last ten dollars cash to refill the laundry card.
Dear New York City,
You are a slap in the face. But a beautiful one without which I would forever remain a child. Children are dreamers but they are stuck where they are. I am a dreamer and I am now free to become who I am. For that, I thank you.
Be well,
– Emily


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Karen Sloan, "Law Schools Gain Greater Autonomy," The National Law Journal, August 19, 2013.
The [ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar] moved to eliminate the tenure requirement for doctrinal faculty and deans, make it easier for students to take online courses, get rid of the minimum faculty size rule, and create a clearer path for schools seeking variances from the accreditation standards, among other changes.
The proposed changes to the accreditation rules can be found here (PDF), but be warned, it's a huge number of changes and I'm mostly going to take Sloan's word on the contents. If the ABA House of Delegates passes them, though, the question is whether law schools will lower their tuition and diversify their offerings.
I doubt it. For example, Sloan writes:
[T]he council voted to eliminate a rule requiring law schools to maintain at least one full-time equivalent faculty member for every 30 students and preferably one for every 20 students — under the theory that determining the actual size of a law faculty is overly complicated, given the number of adjuncts and part-time professors. Additionally, law faculties have grown significantly in size over time and most schools are already well below that 30-to-1 ratio, the council reasoned. The consensus was that a rule spelling out the minimum size of a faculty is no longer necessary.
In other words, law schools chose more professors over reduced tuition. If anything, the council should have put in a maximum ratio to prevent law schools from hiring needless faculty. To refresh your recollection, here's what the ratio looks like today:
(Source: "Student Faculty Ratio" (PDF))
Other reforms, like increasing the amount of distance education students are allowed to take, are unlikely to reduce costs either. Students are paying for the law degree's signaling value—not the marginal cost of learning various legal doctrines, which can be done with an Internet connection or one of those book thingies. The only real question is whether some law schools (especially the for-profits) will try to reduce faculty to skim more off the top for deans (and shareholders) while increasing the sticker price.
One change that might help law students is the council's decision to eliminate the rule limiting full-time law students to working only 20 hours per week. Although the council did so because the old rule is unenforceable, in better economic times it means that law students might work instead of binge on Grad PLUS loans for living expenses.
So why is tuition unlikely to go down with changes to the accreditation rules? Because they don't really bear on cost. In 2009, A Government Accounting Office report (PDF) concluded that the ABA's accreditation standards, while annoying, weren't driving law school tuition increases. Citing interviews of law school deans (who, admittedly, might be full of it), the report placed the blame on increased demand for clinics and fighting over rankings. I'd bet the clinics are really a part of the rankings feuding and not an independent factor.
In short, the ABA is doing the equivalent of proposing relaxing some needless building code restrictions in the hope that housing prices will stop increasing, but sudden rises in the cost of housing comes more from land values than demand for capital. At best, the landowners will build leaner buildings but still charge more for them.
One might object and say that with applications dropping marginal law schools will have to innovate or die. I have two responses: First, some of those schools will die no matter what they do; it's just a question of how long it takes before the Grad PLUS loan tap is shut off. Second, more importantly, I'm not concerned about the marginal law school—i.e. the last one left standing—I'm concerned about the behavior of the first law school left standing. With Grad PLUS loans plus IBR (and the off-chance that the cancellation tax penalty will be removed in the future), how much can elite schools charge before people won't go? Will the Supreme Court justices of the next generation comment on how they felt the day IBR canceled the law school debt they had no chance of repaying? How many professional school graduates will engage in unconscionable, but predictable, IBR tax evasion?
Those are the real questions about where all this is going, and while I'm welcome to being proven wrong and find that law schools trim their prices as they "innovate," I don't predict it will happen because if they wanted to employ only one professor for every 30 full-time-equivalent students they would have done so by now. Nevertheless, if the House of Delegates passes its rules, my hypothesis will be put to the test.


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- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 8 hours and 8 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Waterlogg Productions
- Audible.com Release Date: June 13, 2011
- Language: English
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0 (4.25 for performance; 3.0 for story)
This is epic science-fiction fantasy comedy, in the Monty Python/Terry Gilliam vein, about a boy and his professor who travel willy-nilly across time and space in a failed attempt to ''cure the world of all its ills''. Produced, directed, and voiced by Joe Bevilacqua, with David Garland and Margaret Juntwait, written by Joe Bevilacqua and Robert J. Cirasa, theme music by David Garland, musical numbers written by Joe Bevilacqua, performed by the Paul Salomone Trio with Paul on piano, Ed Fuqua on bass, and Jim Mason on drums.
The Professor is trying to rid the world of ills with the help of his eager, young assistant, Willoughby. The efforts begin trying to transport a box of roaches away from civilization but they end up transporting themselves along with the box to foreign sands. Then, through mishaps at the lab, they begin bouncing backward and forward in time and space meeting some strange characters along the way.
The author wrote the musicals pieces and they really are quite fun; I liked them alot. The sound effects for the most part are wonderful. Unfortunately the story sometimes gets lost and overwhelmed by the sound but I'm not sure that isn't intentional. There were several episodes that seem to be unrelated or at least very off track. Then again... I hadn't thought about this being a comedy in the vein of Monty Python which should have given me a clue that things might go far afield. The story eventually rolls back onto the theme but still doesn't have a clear resolution for me, although the Professor does seem to realize that he may make things worse by interfering with nature. There is some toilet humor, another "ala Monty Python" trait. Also parts of the story and some of the effects may be scary for young children so I suggest parental listening before sharing.
** Added comments: In emailing with the author I learned that there will be more episodes so that is why there was not a clear ending. I also learned that Joe is the SOLE voice (except for the addition of a female in the 16th episode.) That he does all of these voices himself is really extra remarkable.
I would give this a 4.25 for audio performance but I have to give it a 3.0 for the story. However, if you are a person who really likes "wacky" as well as fun audio, this would be a good pick. The author was kind enough to send along some other audios, including Sherlock Holmes and Abbott and Costello. I am looking forward to listening to those and will share comments on them when I do.
Thank you to Joe Bevilacqua and AudioJukebox for providing this Audio fun.
I will include this on my ARC, New Authors and Audio Challenges.


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Beijing: Competition between India and China in the region has helped Nepal and other South Asian countries to balance their ties with the two big powers and benefit from both, a write up in a state-run Chinese daily here said. Latest News from Business News Desk
"The triangular relationship among Nepal, China and India is a subtle one. Both China and India are indispensable to Nepal's economy," a commentary in the Global Times said on Thursday.
"Nepal is restrained by these two big economies, but it can also help bridge the two Asian giants' communications. Nepal can spur China and India to compete with each other and expand their clout in neighbouring countries," it said.
The Times said at the moment, many Nepalese feel their economic balance leans too much toward India, and wish more weight could be added on the Chinese side.
"They wish to gain more help and support from China, and thus benefit more from their place between the two giants," it said.
"China's development has broken the previous balance of Chinese and Indian clout in Nepal. This is good for both Nepal and India," it said adding that "India will input more in Nepal, which actually helps bring a mutually beneficial situation, and such an effect can expand and affect South Asia at large".
"Neighbouring countries hope they can collect economic benefits through competition between China and other powers like the US, Japan and India. Such wishes will grow even stronger as China's power grows," it said.
But at the same time the article said it is unrealistic to expect neighbouring countries to lean toward China politically, economically and militarily rather than taking advantage of the balance.
"These countries still need for the rely on the US, not only militarily, but also in economy and trade", it said.
"It is good to have competition. It benefits no-one if India cuts input into Nepal, Japan suspends aid to ASEAN, the US limits ASEAN countries' exports, or these countries even use these means to threaten Southeast Asian countries," it added.
"On the contrary, if the US, Japan and India can input more in the development of China's neighbouring countries, just like Japan aids road construction in countries along the Mekong River, this will also benefit China a lot," it said.
"Development can't be achieved without competition. As long as it's peaceful, competition will benefit regional growth and facilitate China's long-term interests. Only within such competition can Asian countries reduce suspicion and enhance mutual trust with each other, so as to shape a new geometry of regional politics and security", it said.
Beijing: Competition between India and China in the region has helped Nepal and other South Asian countries to balance their ties with the two big powers and benefit from both, a write up in a state-run Chinese daily here said.
Latest News from Business News Desk


text: If you are a follower of this blog then you may recall the name Gay Mathis. She is a historian and genealogist who has been so helpful finding new material. She purchased my book and found that the world is small after all. Gay is distantly related to James B. Boisseau, through his mother. Boisseau participated in the duel against R. C. Adams in St. Petersburg, Virginia for the honor of Ellen Stimpson Peniston in 1820. Both men were killed and Ellen married Dr. Ira Ellis Smith, becoming the grandfather and grandmother of Soapy at his birth.


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VOTE! Monday Red Sox News...Ft. Myers, Florida & Dana Point, California.
Happy Monday to one and all! I hope your weekend was a great one and that you're getting ready to vote starting tomorrow morning. There is Red Sox news on this early November day, and I'll give you a few of my thoughts...any more than a few would be dangerous (kidding). I live with my thoughts every day, but I'm going a little nuts because if a doctor says you must have a cortisone shot, in my case in the shoulder joint on Thursday, ya have it. But he did say, rather non-importantly soundingly, that it might have an effect on my blood sugar levels. I have type one diabetes and keeping my blood sugar levels in the normal range (70-110) is very important to me. Hey, I've been great at it! Making a long story short, my sugar levels, and I take 'em six (!!) times a day with insulin four or five times a day, have reacted differently. They've been higher than normal, and I'm more than a little bummed. I can't wait until that cortisone is OUT of my system...I had the shot this past Thursday...I hope its effects will be gone within the week. For the relief it's given me (NOT MUCH!) compared to the dismay of having to adjust all my insulin levels, I WISH I'D NEVER HAD IT! Enough about that...I needed to get it off my chest and I'll be calling my diabetes doctor as soon as 9 am comes by. Bet on it.
The Boston Red Sox have renewed their lease with the city of Fort Myers, Florida. They and their spring training headquarters will remain there for twenty plus years, and that's just great. Next, it's that time of the fall once again...the GM meetings are coming up really soon in Dana Point, California. There are a few select things the Sox front office must and will address. The first is to talk to Scott Boras regarding the possible value of Jason Varitek. As you know, he has filed for free agency. Boston will also inquire about super sub Alex Cora, who they must retain. Sox free agents who will NOT be invited back are Bartolo Colon, Sean Casey and Mike Timlin (thanks Mikey). Boston will listen to trade offers for Coco Crisp, whose value is higher than it's ever been, and Julio Lugo, who is due to pick up way too much money for 2009. A trade for Mike Lowell will not be necessary if their quest for first baseman power switch hitter Mark Teixeira is fruitless. I think they'll go all out to get him. I hope he'll be manning first base next year and for many years to come. He'd be a power machine in the friendly Fenway confines.
That's a wrap for this very early Monday morning. I'll stay on top of everything one day at a time...you'll read everything I can find right here. Come back...please! You can click on this post's title of more on the Sox. As always, BE WELL, and your comments are always welcome and always answered.


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Quality durum wheat. Moroccan-style pasta. Cooks in just 5 minutes. From our fields to your table. So flavorful you'll forget it's healthy. Bringing worlds of flavor to your table.
Unenriched Durum Semolina (Wheat).
1 cup uncooked couscous1 cup water1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)1 teaspoon butter (optional)1. In a medium saucepan bring water, salt and butter to a boil.2. Add couscous, stirring quickly.3. Remove from heat and cover.4. Let stand for 4-5 minutes.5. Fluff with a fork before serving.Yields approximately 2 cups of cooked couscous.
Always refer to the actual package for the most accurate information


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Energy Planning at the Township Level
Wayne New Jersey is undertaking a prototype energy plan in grand TreeHuggin-style. Let the pork barrel buzzards and influence peddlers have Washington DC. Economics and common sense, not idealism, are powerful enough forces that small towns can find ways to slow energy consumption and in doing so reduce taxes. Now that's a "frame". If local industries and Chamber of Commerce types get involved, planning like this could be coming to a town near you.
For starters...An excerpt from local coverage includes that: "Parking lot lights with small wind turbines mounted on them would further cut electrical costs, and solar panels on buildings would provide about 37 percent of their electrical needs. The plan also includes technology to reduce energy use, such as lighting fixtures that dim when ambient light alone is sufficient.
Heat from a cogeneration plant would cut the amount of natural gas the township uses and replace several 50-year-old boilers that now heat the municipal complex. Ludwig said cogeneration would reduce maintenance and replacement costs and cut air pollution created by exhaust that the old boilers release.
State agencies and organizations have already taken notice of Wayne's plan. The Sierra Club, the state League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group have all praised it".
Wayne NJ takes its name from General "Mad Anthony" Wayne, the revolutionary war general known for a boldness that could be an inspiration for Wayne's current citizens. However, the age cohort of folks running hundreds of thousands of small cities and townships around the US certainly includes plenty of people who were around for the first Earth Day, and who have learned how to work the system. This is a good sign that, well outside of California, a grass roots effort is brewing. Again.
Lets wish them well. Way to go Wayne NJ.
by: John Laumer


text:
The students had to first annotate the excerpt for the argument, then in a written answer discuss the argument and support.
The answers were all over the map, as about half of them couldn't discern the argument in this short (1 page) piece. {Note to self: lead with annotation in the next term, and with a discussion of argument.}
I was intrigued with one young man's rationale for why his age group (discussed in the article) doesn't read, as opposed to the older, wrinkled, and nearly dead folks who do (that would be people like me, you see):
"In this article they state that a fifth of 17-year-olds said they read for fun and in 1984 more 17-year-olds read for fun. Most people in 1984 really didn't have much to do back then, so of course more people are going to read for fun. Now that we have better technology people read on-line. Time has changed and more and more people rely on technology more then books. Although books could help on certain subjects."There you have it, misspellings, errors and all. Take it from the authority: if you were hanging around in 1984, you weren't having much fun.


text:
The dilemma was this: I wanted to add more greenery on the walls of the nursery work in progress. Specifically, I wanted palm leaves, big ones, to go with the existing décor that my adorable decorating team had come up with last week. The problem: I can't draw. Or so I told myself. In the past, even stick figures have presented an exotic challenge. And all those pretty leaves I put on last week were stencils applied with a sponge. How hard is that to do? There were no stencils big enough for what I wanted.
I sat down and humored myself by drawing a few on paper. Then figured, hey, if I draw them on the wall with pencil and it sucks, I can always erase it. So I drew it, outlined it with some paint, and decided it didn't suck that bad. I filled it in with paint, and holy shit, I am an artist, people! I really love the result, and especially love that I showed my negative self how to get bent.


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Executive Director of the Office of GCC Council of Health Ministers Dr Tawfiq Bin Khawjah disclosed the intention to add new medical tests while recruiting expatriate workers for GCC countries to attain an average of 2 percent reduction in the number of expatriates with infections, reports a local newspaper. According to the Director General of Public Authority for Manpower Jamal Al-Dosari, the new development coincides with the implementation of bank guarantee for new expatriate workers in private sector which the authority started Wednesday.
He disclosed the authority has decided that employers of the government projects, businessmen who are officially allowed to recruit workers and other activities that require monetary guarantee should pay KD250 per worker. He explained the three segments should pay guarantee to the authority through a letter from a local bank addressed to the concerned labor department to enable the authority to withdraw the money in full or part if the company fails or delays to repatriate workers registered on them after the expiration of contracts or due to dictates of the law.
As per the new tests, Bin Khawjah declared the concerned GCC committee stipulated the mechanism in 2012, but the GCC Ministers of Health decided to use it as means to reduce the number of expatriates infected by certain diseases. He said the council will soon approve the new examinations for specific chronic, psychological, and infectious diseases.
He included sound sight and mental health cases that require tests and hinted the council will soon raise fines on 510 accredited medical centers across the world for approving sick people. He added that expatriate workers with infectious diseases were about 25 percent of the total workers and the number later went down to 5 percent, covering about 2 million people. He noted the ministers are planning to reduce it to 3 percent to protect health of citizens and economies of the ministries.
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."
"Envy comes from wanting something that isn't yours. But grief comes from losing something you've already had."


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I went to Canton Trade Days with my parents today!!! Yep...I spent Halloween walking up and down crowded aisles full of crazy shoppers.....haha.....and IT WAS GREAT!!!
I was so tired when I got home, that I didn't even end up wearing my absolutely adorable costume that I got......bummer! Isn't it cute???


text:
All week long, people have been asking what we're doing for New Year's. It's a simple enough small talk question mostly, but no one seems to like the honest answer of "not much, really." We're simple, stay-at-home celebrators. We avoid the roads and those who may have imbibed a bit too much at the various parties they visit. We don't drink champagne and stay up 'til midnight (ok, sometimes I do). We will probably play Scrabble or watch a DVD before heading to bed, and that is fine with us. But it doesn't particularly smack of "New Year".
This year, we decided to reflect a bit as a family on 2011. There are some great questions at Simple Mom to get you going. It was a fun exercise, and we enjoyed recording our answers. Our older girl chimed in for several questions, which was fantastic! When we were done, we made up some questions of our own about the coming year:
What do you most look forward to for 2012?
What would you want to do differently than in the past year?
What would you like to do more of?
What would you like to learn?
Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you a fantastic start to 2012!


text:
I am writing a book. It is in the science fiction genre. My goal for the book has always been higher than simple entertainment. I want my book to glorify God, not just make a reader happy. But every once in a while I wonder, "Is it worth it?"
There are some who say that fantasy and science fiction are a means of escape. That we use fiction to "get out" of the world for as long as we can. They say that much of modern day fiction is causing us to pull away from reality. That we are forgetting that this world has real consequences and requires us to take real responsibility.
God has often used fiction in my life to draw me back to Him. But I have also often been distracted by fiction.
If, as Christians, we are to keep our eyes focused on Christ, then how does fiction, and entertainment in general, fit in? I don't think God wants us to live dull, boring lives. But if glorifying God more means abstaining from time-wasting entertainment, then surely He will bless those who obey. The question is, does God want me to?
This is one of those areas where Christians will never totally agree, I think. And that's fine, because we aren't supposed to agree on everything. But I want to hear all the views.
Is fiction worth it? Is writing fiction, reading fiction, and watching fiction on the TV worth the time we give it? What say you?


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Obama to Implement Spectrum Recommendation from National Broadband Plan
WASHINGTON, June 29, 2010On Monday the President announced that he has instructed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) to make 500 MHz of spectrum available over the next 10 years. This release of spectrum is one of the first direct implementations of recommendations made by the National Broadband Plan. "America's future competitiveness and global technology leadership depend, in part, upon the availability of additional spectrum" said President Obama. Keep Reading


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Originally posted by Gridrebel
This is something that is close to my heart. I can't express enough that if we can't take care of the bees, we can't take care of anything. Please people, realy think about it. This small issue is huge.


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Hearst Taps Valerie Salembier as Publisher, Chief Revenue Officer for Town & Country
Former Elle chief revenue officer Carol Smith takes over Harper's Bazaar
Hearst Magazines named Valerie Salembier [pictured] as senior vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer of Town & Country. She will report to Hearst Magazines president, marketing and publishing director Michael A. Clinton and replaces Jim Taylor, who is relocating to Massachusetts.
Salembier most recently served as senior vice president and publisher of Harper's Bazaar, where she will be replaced by Carol A. Smith, former senior vice president and chief brand officer of Elle. Both appointments are effective June 1.
In 2011, Salembier was named to the min Sales Executive of the Year Hall of Fame. She also served as vice president and publisher of Esquire from 1996 to 2003, where she was credited with a significant bottom-line turnaround.
Ad pages for Town & Country slipped 1.3 percent to 209.96 while Harper's Bazaar was down 11.3 percent to 370.39 in the first quarter of 2011, according to Publisher's Information Bureau.


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Dealer Instruction Processing Unit Governor - Determining the Segment Switch Depth
Original Publication Date: 1993-Jun-01
Included in the Prior Art Database: 2005-Mar-19
Publishing Venue
Related People
Ekanadham, K: AUTHOR [+2]
This article describes a DIG processor organization that can be organized around the concept of three units:
Dealer Instruction Processing Unit Governor - Determining the Segment Switch Depth
This article
describes a DIG processor organization that can
be organized around the concept of three units:
o DEALER - ISSUES TAGGED INSTRUCTIONS
o IPU - EXECUTES INSTRUCTIONS
o GOVERNOR - MAINTAINS THE ONLY RECOVERABLE MACHINE STATE
that play specific roles in the overall processing of
instructions. What makes DIG organizations different from
processor organizations in general is that the GOVERNOR is the sole
means of generating a recoverable machine state.
The two
central organizational points
within a DIG design
are: TAGGING OF INSTRUCTIONS and HANDLING OF BRANCHES. DIG
achieves parallel execution of instructions in the original
program by using the TAGS that are generated during the first-pass
processing of instructions. Instructions that have different
TAGS can be executed in parallel unless they have receiving
obligations that make this impossible. The instruction
interdependencies derived during the first pass specify a portion
of the eventual TAGS, and the remainder of the TAG is
generated by the context in which the instruction is used. The
sending and receiving obligations for instructions given
different TAGS are also created during this first pass. The
DEALER issues instructions that have been TAGGED. The purpose of
the TAG is to identify implicit instruction interrelationships that
relate to a register file associated with the TAG.
Instructions with the same TAG can only be done in parallel if the
conceptually earlier instruction does not set a register that
the other instruction needs for input. Instructions with
different TAGS are not related except by specific indicators that
convey sending and receiving obligations.
The handling
of BRANCHES is
a central motif
interrelates the three functional units. It is at a
branch-like point that instructions that have new TAGS appear
or the continuation of instructions with existing TAGS are
permitted. The processing of Branch Wrong Guesses (BWGs) helps
reorganize the instructions and Z-SEGMENT SWITCHES (ZSSs) and
provides for reentry into the previously processed instruction.
This entry creates new TAGS as the Segment Switch index and
Path index are also part of the TAGS. A single instruction that
appears multiple times in the execution sequence will appear with
different TAGS and may be executed in parallel with itself.
DIG designs
are based on developing a parallel representation
of an execution sequence with the characteristics that create a
considerable homology to the original I-TEXT in...


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Post talking points on Bachmann and Dole
|Michele Bachmann at CPAC 2010
Say what you will about Michele Bachmann's middle-of-the-night announcement that she will not be seeking another term in Congress next year, but the Washington Post has the commentary down-pat.
Here are the opening paragraphs of Dana Milbank's page A2 analysis piece on May 29:
Bob Dole must be some kind of prophet.And here's the first paragraph of E.J. Dionne's oped piece, published the same day
Not 72 hours after Fox News Channel aired the former Republican leader's suggestion that the GOP put out a "closed for repairs" sign, Michele Bachmann announced that she's going out of business. Just like that, the Republican conglomerate got an unexpected chance to shutter one of the balkiest shops in its supply chain.
Maybe Bob Dole has more clout in the Republican Party than we think. He suggested on Sunday that the party put up a "closed for repairs" sign for the rest of the year. Then along comes Michele Bachmann declaring on Wednesday that she won't seek reelection.This is the sort of coincidence one finds after letting the print edition of the newspaper sit unread for a couple of days. At least we know that both Milbank and Dionne got the memo. Who sent it is a question yet unanswered.


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There is no such thing as the perfect handbag. No matter how expensive or pretty or large there is always some drawback--just like life-- perfection does not really exist.
As I was changing out my handbag yesterday I realized how many pink items were in there and I didn't even put a few in the photo! I love my pagoda tote it holds all my coupons and photos of items I want to find.
Only major thing not really pink is my check book cover-- I have had same LV one for years and years so durable I hate to change.
Again, these little pink items just seem to make my day nicer, the inside of my bag prettier. I always think I will reduce what I carry around then I do and then I needed that thing I removed so I go back to stuffing my bag with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
It is almost time to change to one of my pink on the outside handbags!! Spring is on the way for those of us in Georgia!!
Have a PINK day!


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Len Johnson rolls 280 for top game of local bowling season.
Jim Jennings hits 25 points as Monroe Catholic Central basketball team beats Inkster.
Al Kaline reluctantly becomes first Tiger to earn $100,000 a year.
Monroe High graduate John Ray awarded football letter at Central Michigan University.
Chip Sanders has 17-point, 16-rebound effort for Flat Rock basketball team.
Mike Skuratovich hits two free throws with 17 seconds left to wrap up Gibraltar Carlson's 50-47 basketball win.
Matt Holtan scores 23 points for New Boston Huron basketball team.
Bedford graduate Ken Moyer starts 10th game of season on the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line.
Detroit Lions sink to 1-13 with 47-14 loss to Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bedford's new gymnasium to host an athletic event for the first time.