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In the face of the shortfall in funds for the state's public defense system, at least one Minnesota county has already taken the step of digging into its own pockets to cover the shortfall.
Yellow Medicine County commissioners said yesterday that the county will be paying the legal costs when court-appointed attorneys are needed in cases involving children protection or the termination of parental rights.
Yesterday was the day when public defenders were due to stop taking those cases. The public defender's office for the Eighth Judicial District will no longer accept appointments to represent parents in these cases, District Judge Bruce Christopherson told the Yellow Medicine County board. The public defender's office will also terminate its representation in current cases that have been admitted to trial.
The county will be charged the district's going rate of $75 an hour for the legal help. County Attorney Keith Helgeson said that thanks to efforts by social services, the county is seeing a reduction in the number of situations requiring court intervention, according to Helgeson.
Hats off to Yellow Medicine county (which lost 1.5 fulltime-equivalent public defenders, or about 10 percent of the department's workforce) for stretching other resources to help parents involved in CHIPS and TPR proceedings, but the unpredictable nature of demand for public defense means that it and other counties might have to dig even deeper in the future.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Counties will have to stretch resources to take CHIPS, TPR cases
Posted by Dan Heilman, staff writer at 10:24 AM
Labels: public defenders, Yellow Medicine county
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As Hurricane Gustav gave way to Tropical Depression Gustav, that huge collective sigh America heard was one of immense relief that New Orleans didn't experience a catastrophic repeat of Hurricane Katrina.
The levees held, even as water sloshed over their tops, and while the worst of the storm has passed, flood watches along Lake Pontchartrain remain in effect until 10 a.m. CDT.
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has promised that "re-entry is only days away, and not weeks."
UPDATE (9/2/08, 12:50 p.m.):
MSNBC is reporting:
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he has received reports of widespread damage across three parishes — Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary — near where the eye of the storm hit. Helicopter crews were expected to search the area for anyone injured or killed.With millions still displaced from their homes, as well as damage in the wake of Gustav requiring attention, including from relief agencies like the American Red Cross, I strongly encourage you to join me in giving to this organization. To donate, simply click here.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Charitable Organizations, Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Special Messages

subset: commoncrawl


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Luigino Bruni's series of Bible commentaries in Avvenire continues under the title: "The Dawn of Midnight", on the Book of Jeremiah
by Luigino Bruni
Summary : With Chapter 16, one of the most beautiful and mysterious chapters of the Book of Jeremiah, we enter the heart of the mystery of his life and vocation. And of every vocation which is to become a living symbol with its own flesh, without ever understanding the full meaning embodied.
previous series can be found on the page "biblical series"


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Friday, December 18, 2015
Saying Farewell to "Farewell"
2 comments:
I've recently thought the same thing. I interviewed for three senior management jobs, and lost them to lesser qualified candidates (in experience and education); but they all looked, walked, and talked like the people who had previously held those jobs.
Nova Scotia is a small province when it comes to those types of positions, so you usually know, or worked with, the other candidates you are competing against. It's getting harder and harder to see those who have been fired from other senior positions, 'fail upwards' into better paying, more secure, jobs, because of Nova Scotia's patronage, 'old-boys', system.
People in this province having repeating the mantra of 'Ivany Report' for a while now, and one of the first steps in promoting the ideals of that report is to start hiring decision makers in this province who have other life experiences, and who are more diverse in walks of life. Much more than then what we have now.
- December 19, 2015 at 8:20 AM
- Kronopath said...
Keith, you always have a fantastic way of making a point. Clear, precise and honest. It's one of the things I admire about you.
I've always said that Halifax is a great city to live in, but only if you can work around its idiosyncrasies: if you can find a job, if you have a car to drive so you don't have to rely on its terrible transit, if you can integrate yourself well with the local people (which is much harder for people who come there later in life).
Once you get around those things, it's a very comfortable city to live in. The problem is that many people don't or can't. And so the drain continues.
To comment on one thing Allison said, she's right that entrepreneurship is not a solution to this. It's hard to be an entrepreneur in a place where talent is hard to hire, and talent goes to where the opportunities are. It's a vicious cycle that's hard to break. In the tech industry in particular, it leaves certain places absolutely booming and others completely barren.
I feel that out of the people I know, though, you're the one best poised to make a real impact.
- January 22, 2016 at 1:01 AM


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Tuesday, 3 November 2015
Lyme Disease IS in Canada. Stop fooling yourselves!!!!!!
Ashley and her family are asking for any support any one can offer to help fight her 21 year battle with chronic lyme disease When Ashley was 6 years old she was bitten by her first tick. She developed a bullseye rash on her wrist . she was taken to the hospital where whe was given 3 doses of laughing gas and then taken into another room so the dr could get whatever was in there out!........ To read the rest of Ashley's story click here
Friday, 30 October 2015
No title LOL ....
So I have been up since 7:30 am, I was hoping to sleep in today but that doesn't happen very often. Four kids equals not enough sleep especially when the hubby is away at work. We here in canada recently had an election for Prime Minister and our elected PM is Liberals Justin Trudeau. So many whinny asses out there are bitching about it but we voted him in so now you all need to learn to deal with that.
People are saying oh he is going to get rid of the oilfield when in reality he is all for the pipelines. Read this if you do not agree.....
Secondly people are scaring families into believing they are losing their Child tax benefit which in reality is not going to happn. That would be career suicide. Here is where you find out the truth about that.
I for one voted for Liberal because I believe Canada NEEDED this change. We need a younger leader someone who understands that we are the generation that is building the economy and our generations children are next. Stephan Harper and Mr. Mulclair are too old to see any of this. They are only thinking about their generation which is not helping us and it would have ruined the next generation's chances of building the economy properly.
While I am not sure about Trudeau bringing in 25,000 refugees, Canada has done this in the past and there is still a process that these people will have to go through in order to be allowed in our country. We are quite over run with immigrants as it is and I think that if they want to allow more these people should be able to add something to our country and be able to support themselves. We as tax payers should not have to support them.
If Canada ever got to the place that these other countries are at wouldn't you want the same courtesy extended to us? We need to remember that Canada is a friendly country and that is the reason immigrants WANT to come here so why are we going to start being assholes and not letting them in. They are people after all. We need to stop waging war on everyone who is from other countries because the only way we all survive is to work TOGETHER!!!! TEAM WORK is something we learned in elementary so lets show that we can all do this.
Author: StrawberryKisses at 10:36
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Monday, 30 March 2015
I went last weekend to visit my guy at his hotel and we had a couple of days together. It was so awesome. I miss him so much while he is away but it makes our relationship that much stronger. I kinda wish I could find a job just to have my own money for when he's away so I am not having to depend on him but I also do not want to lose my weekends with him lol. Gonna try this blogging thing again and see if I can get this page rank up again. I used to make $300 per month on this blog which totally helps when you're raising 4 kidlets.
My honey bought us a family swim pass last week too so we will definitely be using that while he is away. I just really want to try to get us all being healthier. My 12 and 3 yr old both don't do much excersize so this will help somewhat. Anywhoo my littlest one is asleep now so I am gonna go do dishes woohoo!!! NOT!! Lol but its gotsta be done lol
Author: StrawberryKisses at 20:35
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I ask myself that question very often. I've been in this country now a few months and it took a lot of work to get here. I "heavily" volunteered to come here; I know this is something I had to do for my career and myself. Luckily for me I ended up in a totally different area that I was supposed to and I work closely with Mr. Encore, I could not have been more blessed.
The downside to this wonderful opportunity is that my life is confined to a very small compound; it was hard the first few weeks. It only took me a few minutes to walk from where I sleep to where I work (and they are at opposite ends). Lately though, time has been ticking and when I walk that path to my living quarters I wonder how can I keep going? How can one do the same, day after day, away from your family and friends, away from my "life" back in the states? I wonder...what keeps me going? I have no kids, pets or plants back home, no human or living being depends on me.
I have my parents, siblings and Mr. Encore's family to provide support and encouragement, but they are very far, they do not depend on me. If I had kids I knew I would be doing it for them, but I don't. I'm not sure where I keep getting the fuel that keeps me going, all I know, is that I do. I wake up every morning, go to work, maybe fit in a workout during the day, I go eat but always go back to work. Some nights I've been at the office over 12 hours, once I get "home" I just do the same, take a shower, check emails and go to bed.
The upside is that the days start to run into each other and by the time you really pay attention at the date, another week has gone by. Most of us count down our time by the weeks or months and I haven't been here long enough to even start counting down. Some people say this feels like prison (most are civilians) but I disagree, prisons don't have wonderful cafeterias with an "all you can eat" menu, or wonderful gyms with indoor pools, even beauty shops where we can get manicures, pedicures and facials.
This is a period of our lives where we are stripped of all the "stuff" we own to include our civilian clothing, our families and friends and our regular lives. We give all that up for the mission, whether we agree or disagree with the politics. This is all about given someone else a better future even if it may never look like our own but in their world this is a free as one can be. I think that is what keeps me going.
What about you? What keeps you going?


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Wallpapers are the new economical option for those who do not want to take the pains of repainting their house or want to keep their purse strings tight. However, despite advanced innovations in the creation of wallpapers, it is still not touted as a great choice when it compared to paints. One of the mains reasons being that there are many misconceptions about wallpapers is because people are opening based on their experience with the out-dated wallpapers. At present, the trends have changed rapidly & wallpaper Singapore manufacturers like Softhome Singapore have focused on the consumer demands.
The following are a few misconceptions that are still influencing and condition the customer sentiments about the wallpapers.
Cumbersome to clean
Cleanliness is part of our everyday hygiene. In many cases, people do not clean their walls and do not remove the moss, moulds, stains and dirt that have been accumulated over a period of time. In addition, any germs and bacteria, which are hidden inside the cracks, are also not flushed out. As a result, you are putting a wallpaper on an already dirty wall. If then claim that cleaning the wallpaper is difficult then it would be because of your own doing.
Before you paste the wallpaper, treat the walls with pesticide and remove all the grime and dirt with a wet cloth. After which, you can apply the adhesive and thin paste the wallpaper. Now, the adhesive is also another factor that is not taken into consideration. If the adhesive is not applied properly, then it will result in an uneven surface. You may be forced to do a redo and waste precious time. If the adhesive leaks or overflows, then dust particles will settle easily and spoil the effect of the wallpaper. You will be staring at dirty wallpaper over a period.
When it comes to cleaning the wallpaper, it entirely depends on the type of wallpaper you are using in which room of your house. Using classic wallpapers or embossed wallpaper in the kitchen or bathroom is a bad idea. It will eventually peel off and that too, haphazardly, giving you headaches. However, using Vinyl is the perfect solution for the kitchen and bathroom as it is made of plastic coating and is water resistant. Therefore, a vinyl wallpaper does not need any maintenance in terms of cleaning. For the bedroom, the embossed wallpaper is great choice, because cleaning it does not take any time.
Peeling off wallpaper is painful
There are enough technologies that allow you to remove the wallpapers in one go, and that too without any mess in the aftermath. Nowadays, wallpaper-manufacturing companies provide a paste, which is similar to the adhesive used to paste the wallpaper. All you need to do is apply the paste on the spots that you want removed, allow it to dry and then peel of the wallpaper. Again, here too, it depends on the type of wallpaper you are using. So, consult an expert before selecting the paste. Some wallpapers require more treatment, but the process is not tedious.
Less designs & creativity
Wallpapers available in the market are not the same as your grandmother used to decorate her house. In the recent times, wallpapers are a mix of colours, rich in designs and vary in texture. You have multiple options such as the tradition, vinyl, embossed, fibreglass, lining, mica, glass beads, etc. In fact, many companies offer customised designs and colours as long as you are ready to shell out the dough. Just remember, a wallpapers life cycle is way longer than that of a paint, so consider it as a long term investment.


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Medium: Collage
Subject Tags: blue, cityscape, yellow, green, brown, red, river, cats, lantern, rain, storm, flood, water, houses
Size: 24"W x 36"H x 2"D
Year Created: 2018
Ready to Hang
This 17x26 dramatic mixed media painting is positioned on white board and installed in white frame which makes it very attractive to the viewer.
The size of a framed artwork 24x36
I began to paint and make sculptures at a very young age, inspired by the magic and colors of the circus. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, a place which embraces three centuries of great artists, I never had a problem to find my own inspiration for creating art. In 1989, I moved to California, where I continued to pursue a career in visual arts, while integrating new experiences into my life. There are had been many changes in every single aspect of my creative process through the course of all these years, but the only thing that remained constant in my connection to art from the very beginning was that special joy, the feeling which continues to be the driving force of my inspiration. This joy is the force that energizes me and creates the most blissful environment for me as an artist.


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Preference: Pistachio (They're just roomier)
Karen Mazzoni-Harper is a new portrait and event photographer located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In introductions on her blog, she generally speaks in the third person because she hasn't acquired an assistant yet to write pleasant things about her. But not an egotistical person…she speaks only referencing what others have said about her and her work.
That said…
Chances are if you have reached this page you were referred by someone with experience in Karen's services or did a search because you are in need of an affordable photographer, with excellent references, that will do everything they can to make your session or event enjoyable. Having four children of her own, Karen knows well how to get to know even the shyest of children and does whatever silly things she can to make them smile. If it is an event you are looking to have covered, her outgoing personality will help in obtaining those shots you'd like to take on your own, if you weren't busy running the show. Karen's main focus it to make sure that when you receive your image proofs, you are delighted with the result. Something that makes you think "I don't remember seeing that look on their face" or "Did I really do that?", "She really caught the feel we were going for". Compared to other photographers in the area, rates are phenomenal and most people do not believe they spent 5 times more in the past on shots that were equally well in quality and many times lacking in creativity and a personal touch. Set up an appointment or just contact Karen to discuss your ideas and she will see how she can bring them to life to create memories you will treasure forever.


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Your phone is your 3D scanner
Or it can be, with the amazing ProtoFly project. In short it allows you to take a few pictures of an object and using their Windows-only software pictures are uploaded to Autodesk servers and a 3D model of your scene is obtained.
Either small objects, the interior of a room or the outside of a building can be "scanned" just with a cellphone camera. And don't underestimate the power of this technique (photogrammetry). I have been more than impressed with the quality of the output mesh. And given that the service is free of charge I cannot complain about the price :-)
Once you've got the 3D model of your scene the next problem is how can you start editing it and showing it to others. I have found a very nice piece of software called MeshLab that does a great job and it is a multi-platform open-source solution.
But the coolest thing is that there are some cellphone apps that can show a 3D object too. I am still fighting with one of them called "Shader Devel and 3D Viewer" that might do the job once I figure it out.
The video below shows the first capture I have attempted using just 2 Megapixel images. Please note it is not a video but a 1080 rendering of the textured 3D-model (scene has not been properly cleaned up so some objects are levitating into the air).


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Beautifully sited high above the reservoir on private 2 acre property. Custom built to a superior standard w/exquisite millwork. Maghony doors, 9 ft. ceilings, coffered ceilings, built-ins, large rooms & wide hallways. An open floor plan, w/light filled rooms & walls of windows, Fr. drs, 4 fireplaces, porch, deck & in-ground pool. Superior custom amenities inc. Lutron lighting system, Avaya multi phone & intercom system & wired home network. Expansive gourmet eat-in-kitchen w/high end appliances, 2 dishwashers, & Butler's pantry. All bedrooms are "ensuite" w/separate master suite.Formal LR, DR, Fam. Rm. & Library. Property sold in 2006 for $2.3M. this is a " short sale" and all terms including commissions are subject to lender's approval.
> View additional property information and more photos


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Texas Billionaire Builds Giant Nuclear Waste Dump
Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons has been called the king of Superfund sites. His companies, like publicly traded NL Industries, have over the years reportedly polluted numerous industrial sites with toxic metals and radiation. And another of his companies, Waste Control Specialists, is in the business of cleaning the messes up. It's such a clever strategy that Dallas' D Magazine in an insightful profile last year, called 79-year-old Simmons Dallas' "most evil genius."
For years WCS (a division of publicly traded Valhi) lobbied to open a nuclear waste disposal site Andrews County of west Texas near the New Mexico border. It's dry, empty country. Oil fields provide most of the jobs. It took Simmons some six years of lobbying to get the permits to open his nuclear dump and start accepting what could ultimately be 60 million cubic feet of low-level nuclear waste.
This is not the kind of waste that would have gone to the ill-fated Yucca Mountain project in Nevada (i.e. spent fuel rods and such). But it's pretty harsh stuff nonetheless: the refuse from nuclear medical applications, weapons programs, parts from old nuclear reactors. Already a worker at the site and a septic system have reportedly been tainted by plutonium. Mother Jones magazine published this piece on Simmons' nuke dump earlier this week: "A Texas-Sized Plan For Nuclear Waste."
Now I don't think there's anything wrong with building and operating a well regulated dump for low-level nuclear waste. After all, the stuff has got to go somewhere and someone's got to be responsible for it. But the Mother Jones article raises some legitimate concerns.
Three staff members at the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality quit their jobs after their concerns that the nuke dump could pollute ground water with radiation were ignored. They believe that the uppermost layer of the massive Ogallala Aquifer lay just 14 feet below the dump. And if not the Ogallala, then it might be the Pecos Valley Aquifer. WCS has reportedly said that any such concerns are unjustified, though the D Magazine article explains that maps prepared by the Texas Water Development Board show that the areas where the nuke dump is located … "is underlain by four aquifers. In addition to the Dockum, there are three major aquifers: Ogallala (or High Plains), Pecos Valley (or Cenozoic Pecos Alluvium), and Edwards-Trinity Plateau. The TWDB and USGS websites both state that the Edwards-Trinity Plateau Aquifer is hydraulically connected to four major aquifers, including the Ogallala, and several minor aquifers, including the Dockum."
More scientific concerns were voiced in this 2008 Texas Observer article "Good to Glow." None of that, nor a history of accidental contaminations at the site, nor outcry from environmental groups, stopped Texas' Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission from voting to approve the import of nuclear waste into Texas from other states. Six of the seven members of that commission were appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who reportedly received $250,000 in campaign cash from Simmons for the 2008 governor's race.
Texas will reportedly receive $36 million a year for allowing the imports; Simmons will get millions more for watching over them. Ultimate responsibility if anything goes wrong falls on the state.
It just doesn't look good. Like I said before, properly regulated nuclear dumps are not terrible in and of themselves. But when politically tainted commissions override the concerns of hydrologists willing to quit to make themselves heard, it's probably time for Texans to demand an independent investigation of the true risks of Simmons' nuke dump.
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The long-delayed cleanup of the nation's most contaminated nuclear site became the subject of more bad news Friday, when Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that a radioactive waste tank there is leaking.
Hanford Nuclear Tank Leaking Radioactive Waste
By SHANNON DININNY and MIKE BAKER 02/15/13 06:19 PM ET EST
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The long-delayed cleanup of the nation's most contaminated nuclear site became the subject of more bad news Friday, when Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced that a radioactive waste tank there is leaking.
The news raises concerns about the integrity of similar tanks at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation and puts added pressure on the federal government to resolve construction problems with the plant being built to alleviate environmental and safety risks from the waste.
The tanks, which are already long past their intended 20-year life span, hold millions of gallons of a highly radioactive stew left from decades of plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy said liquid levels are decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the site. Monitoring wells near the tank have not detected higher radiation levels, but Inslee said the leak could be in the range of 150 gallons to 300 gallons over the course of a year and poses a potential long-term threat to groundwater and rivers.
"I am alarmed about this on many levels," Inslee said at a news conference. "This raises concerns, not only about the existing leak ... but also concerning the integrity of the other single shell tanks of this age."
Inslee said the state was assured years ago that such problems had been dealt with and he warned that spending cuts – particularly due to a budget fight in Congress – would create further risks at Hanford. Inslee said the cleanup must be a priority for the federal government.
"We are willing to exercise our rights using the legal system at the appropriate time. That should be clear," Inslee said.
Inslee said the state has a good partner in Energy Secretary Steven Chu but that he's concerned about whether Congress is committed to clean up the highly contaminated site.
The tank in question contains about 447,000 gallons of sludge, a mixture of solids and liquids with a mud-like consistency. The tank, built in the 1940s, is known to have leaked in the past, but was stabilized in 1995 when all liquids that could be pumped out of it were removed.
Inslee said the tank is the first to have been documented to be losing liquids since all Hanford tanks were stabilized in 2005. His staff said the federal government is working to assess other tanks.
At the height of World War II, the federal government created Hanford in the remote sagebrush of eastern Washington as part of a hush-hush project to build the atomic bomb. The site ultimately produced plutonium for the world's first atomic blast and for one of two atomic bombs dropped on Japan, effectively ending the war.
Plutonium production continued there through the Cold War. Today, Hanford is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Cleanup will cost billions of dollars and last decades.
Central to that cleanup is the removal of millions of gallons of a highly toxic, radioactive stew – enough to fill dozens of Olympic-size swimming pools – from 177 aging, underground tanks. Many of those tanks have leaked over time – an estimated 1 million gallons of waste – threatening the groundwater and the neighboring Columbia River, the largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest.
Twenty- eight of those tanks have double walls, allowing the Energy Department to pump waste from leaking single-shell tanks into them. However, there is very little space left in those double-shell tanks today.
In addition, construction of a $12.3 billion plant to convert the waste to a safe, stable form is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. Technical problems have slowed the project, and several workers have filed lawsuits in recent months, claiming they were retaliated against for raising concerns about the plant's design and safety.
"We're out of time, obviously. These tanks are starting to fail now," said Tom Carpenter of the Hanford watchdog group Hanford Challenge. "We've got a problem. This is big."
Inslee said he would be traveling to Washington D.C. next week to discuss the problem further.
Dininny reported from Yakima, Wash.
Interference at the EPA
Science and Politics at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
snip...see full text ;
Friday, December 24, 2010
I think the title should have read, "TEXAS LOSES TO BE NEXT BIG DUMPING GROUND FOR NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION RADIOACTIVE WASTE", thanks to Governor Rick Perry.
update on my father-in-law Dana (RED) Ashcraft of Miamisburg Ohio, and my best fishing buddy, and Poisoned AT THE MONSANTO MOUND, hospice has now been called in. ...
part II December 25, 2010
WHY then, was my father-in-laws work records denied him, with the claim that his records were buried deep in a mountain due to contamination ? now i am speaking of only his work records, not the radioactive waste itself, that you claim to be 1000 % safe today. tell me that. do you know how many different folks handled all that paper work over the years. also, the swimming pool in Miamisburg Ohio, the old one right down from the Monsanto Mound. the town had to shut it down and fill the swimming pool in with cement. wonder how many kids there were exposed over the decades, including my wife ?
" We acknowledge that some people near the Mound Plant have breathed, or will likely breathe, very small amounts of plutonium-238, hydrogen-3 (tritium), and other radioactive substances that will be or have been released into the air from the Mound Plant. And some people may be exposed to radioactive materials released from the Mound Plant into the area waterways (for example, tritium in the Miamisburg Community Park swimming pool). Nevertheless, there is no evidence that current environmental levels of these substances cause adverse health effects. "
Data Evaluation: Current Exposures
Then, they send all the radioactive waste to Texas. Now, we are going to multiply this by about 38 states ?
stupid is, as stupid does, and some times you just can't fix stupid $$$
My old fishing buddy (my father-in-law Red, deceased now), took these photos after I convinced him to get back with the Mayor and see if he would take him down there again, and if he did, get me a photo or two of this nuclear crap coming to Texas, thanks to the good Governor of Texas, rick perry, the steward of the environment that he is (NOT). well, here are the photo's ;
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Company advances on plan for West Texas nuclear dump
(railcars loaded with MOUND COLD WAR NUCLEAR AFTER-BIRTH headed to Texas)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
personally, I think it's time for slick rick perry, and all his corporate cronies, it's time for them to go, they have done enough harm to Texas and it's people. environmental stewards they are not.


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So here we are again (first time in exactly a month, I know), understanding the basic information for the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game. Today, we're going to talk about courage tests and heroes. In discussing these things, we'll also be talking about spells and monstrous creatures, since they are tied to the topics of heroes and courage tests.
- When an army is "broken." To determine if the army is broken, count hte number of models you have in your army at the beginning of the game. When your army has lost 50% of its units (rounding up), it is "broken." As an example, an army with 45 units will be broken when at least 23 are killed.
- When a unit is attempting to charge a "terrifying" unit. Some units (particularly Trolls and great Elven lords) are intimidating in combat and to approach such a unit is absolutely...terrifying. As such, models who wish to target these units (including heroes) must pass a courage test in order to attack them. Models with spears who are supporting someone else do not (after all, there's someone they can hide behind if things go poorly).
- Whenever a special ability tells the unit to take it. These instances are very rare, but they do exist. We'll go through one such rule later in the discussion about heroes.
Courage value + sum of the values of the two dice ≥ 10
Heroes provide an aspect of fun and uncertainty to the game. Generally speaking, there are 3 types of heroes: KILLERS, SPELLCASTERS, and AUXILIARIES (GW calls them different things, but I find these terms to be a bit more comprehensive). Sometimes heroes can be a mix of each, so be looking for heroes who can function as Killers and Spellcasters (like Elrond) or Spellcasters and Auxiliaries (like Shamans).
There are a few defining aspects of "Killer" heroes: the first is their amount of attacks and their Strength value. In general, a captain will have a strength value, an attack value, and a defense value that is 1 value higher than the basic warrior. A leader can have defense values and attack values that are even higher.
There second defining aspect is their amount of "Might" points. Might points allow you to change the rolls of your dice (rolls to hit, rolls to wound, rolls for courage tests, and rolls for terrain tests - more about that in a later post). This allows a hero to wound his targets more often than his fellow comrades do. For each Might point that you spend, you increase the value of a dice roll by 1 (so if you rolled a 5 to wound and you need to score a 6 to actually wound the target, you would pay 1 Might point to improve that roll of a 5 to a 6 and nail the guy). Neat, huh?
Might points can also be used to call "heroic actions," one of which can be called each phase at the expense of a single might point. At the start of the Move phase, your hero may declare that he's calling a heroic move. Should he do this, he and all friendly units within 6" of him may move their full distance before their opponents do. This is great if you don't have priority and you want to engage the enemy before they engage you. Each unit can only benefit from one heroic move during each Move phase. During the Shoot phase, a hero may call a heroic shoot, which allows all units who can shoot within 6" to shoot before the enemy does (again, good if you don't have priority). Finally, in the Fight phase, a hero can call a heroic combat. This allows a hero to resolve his fight first and then allows him to move up to his full distance after fighting to join another fight. Any warriors who are in base contact with the foe of the hero can move as well, provided that they end their movement within 6" of their hero.
Should both players call heroic actions in the same phase, you must roll to see which hero's actions are done first. When there are multiple heroes for each side, roll a dice for each of them to determine which hero moves when.
|So the question becomes...how does one kill heroes like this? Four ways tend to work for me...
1) Shoot them...just shoot them. There's not trick to this one: a hero who specializes in killing people up close will not (or should not) begin the fight able to do so. So, concentrate your archers on killing that one hero before he's able to "do that thing he does." This strategy worked in the movies against Boromir, if you recall...
2) Counter them with another hero. This tends to be a bit more risky, since your hero could lose and therefore suffer a huge loss to your army trying to hurt his. I wouldn't recommend this strategy if your hero has a lower Fight value than his, since his hero will then win all ties and will probably be able to wound your hero easily. If Aragorn were to fight Boromir, for example, both have Fight values of 6 (so roll-off to determine a tie), both can have 3 attacks and both have 3 health. Boromir has 6 Might points and Aragorn has 3 Might points + an extra Might point each turn, so they would be pretty evenly matched. If I were facing Boromir and had Aragorn in my army, I might choose to do this. NOTE: sometimes, you can use a monster - like a Cave Troll - because they're strong enough and have excellent stats to win the fight and crush the hero they're fighting. The disadvantage comes in that they will not have Might points to help them win or kill the hero they're fighting. We'll see another disadvantage later...
3) Stall them with one, expendable unit. This generally not a good idea, but if the choice is between losing one unit or losing several, taking the chance that your one unit could win (which I've seen happen before) or possibly not die is sometimes worth trying. If I were playing with my Dwarf army against Boromir (since we're using him in every example), sending one Dwarf warrior with shield (7 Defense, so Boromir wounds him on a 6) to stall him could work to slow down the hero or force him to spend Might points during that turn to do his maximum damage.
4) Use a different type of hero...a spellcaster. Spellcasters are wizards or anyone who uses magical abilities to augment their friends, reduce the effectiveness of their foes, or cause devastation to a group of enemies. Generally speaking, these units are not good at fighting, though if your army sports spears/pikes, you can make up for the weakness of these heroes.
"Cast Blinding Light" Cast on a 2+ All characters within 6" are only hit by archery on the roll of a 6. This spell lasts as long as Gandalf has at least 1 Will point in his store.
"Terrifying Aura" Cast on a 2+ Gandalf causes Terror. This spell lasts as long as Gandalf has at least 1 Will point in his store.
"Immobilize" (12") Cast on a 3+ Target character's Fight & Attack values are reduced to 1, may not wound opponents or perform any heroic actions, moves, or shoot.
"Command" (12") Cast on a 4+ Immobilize information, may move the unit 1/2 of its move distance
"Strengthen Will" (12") Cast on a 4+ Friendly unit regains 1 Will spent earlier in the battle OR a unit who started with 0 Will gains 1 Will (max 1).
"Sorcerous Blast" (12") Cast on a 5+ Roll a dice: the target is moved that many inches away from the caster. All units who the target passes through are knocked to the ground and take a Strength 3 hit. The target is knocked to the ground and takes a Strength 5 hit.
Three of these spells are augment spells: Cast Blinding Light protects the units near him (and himself) from enemy archery, while Terrifying Aura should prevent weak-willed units from charging him. Strengthen Will makes friendly units able to pass courage tests more easily or resist spells - this is great for allowing a banner the opportunity to resist a "Compel" spell or a "Black Dart," as we will see later. These spells are permanent and last as long as Gandalf has at least 1 Will point left. The next 2 spells are enfeebling spells: they both reduce the effectiveness of a single unit (generally a hero or monster) for an entire turn. Most fighting heroes have 1-3 Will points, which means they won't be able to resist every spell (explanation of how to cast and resist spells coming up soon). The final spell is one of the signature devastation spells. This spell could kill some units and is particularly helpful if the enemy works in ranks (spears anyone?).
To resist a spell, select how many will points you're going to use: each gives you one dice to roll to counter the spell. Roll your dice: if at least one dice ties or beats the high dice of your opponent, the spell is resisted. All will points expended to cast and resist are lost, regardless of whether the spell was cast, failed, or resisted. NOTE: if your opponent fails to cast the spell, no resistance is necessary.
Spells are always cast in the Move phase, which means that they can have their dominating effect before the enemy gets a chance to shoot or fight. Only one spell can be cast or attempted each turn, so you need to be careful with how you use your magic-wielding heroes. Generally speaking...
- Augmenting spells are great to use at the beginning of the game if they're effects are long-lasting (like Cast Blinding Light or Terrifying Aura).
- Enfeebling spells are great if used on heroes or monsters, since preventing these units the ability to wound their opponents is a great plus.
- Devastation spells are great if used against warriors, not heroes, because then they can't be resisted (unless they have gained Will points via a friendly spell, like "Strengthen Will"). These spells often take some effort to cast and require that the hero be in the right place at the right time. We'll see this more as we now look at Auxiliary heroes.
"Drain Courage" Cast on a 2+ Permanently reduces target's Courage value by 1 (multiple spells have a cumulative effect)
"Sap Will" Cast on a 3+ Target's Will store is immediately reduced to 0.
"Transfix" (12") Cast on a 3+ Target character's Fight & Attack values are reduced to 1, may not wound opponents or perform any heroic actions, moves, or shoot.
"Compel" (12") Cast on a 4+ Transfix information, may move the unit 1/2 of its move distance
"Black Dart" (12") Cast on a 5+ Target takes a Strength 9 hit.
As you can tell, these spells are different from Gandalf's spells, though a few are the same. Transfix and Compel are enfeebling spells that are identical (respectively) to Immobilize and Command. This makes the Nazgul good at making powerful heroes (or powerful units without any Will points) easy targets for lesser infantry. Nazgul lack augmenting spells, but add 2 other spells to their enfeeble list: Drain Courage and Sap Will.
The first is an easy spell to cast and will often not be resisted by the few Will points that heroes have. Losing 1 Courage (out of say 5-7) isn't per se a bad thing, BUT the Nazgul "Harbinger of Evil" special rule reduces all Courage values an additional point for being within 12" of the Nazgul. This means that a hero who gets stung with a single Drain Courage spell can go from a 6 Courage to a 4 Courage...and if the same spell is successfully cast again, even Aragorn will be struggling to stay in the Fight.
Sap Will is different and tends to be only useful against enemy spellcasters with a lot of Will points: this spell reduces someone's Will store from its current level to a whopping 0. If you are Gandalf and fail to resist this, you will not only have problems casting/resisting spells later in the game, but you will also lose the ability to give your units Cast Blinding Light or give yourself Terrifying Aura. Against heroes with 3 or less Will, this is kind of pointless, because most of their Will is going to be used to resist your spell (since it's going to have at least a casting value of 4).
Finally, Nazgul have one devastating spell, but unlike Sorcerous Blast, Black Dart is a precision spell, targeting a single unit with a stroke of (almost) instant death. Inflicting a single Strength 9 hit will mean that most units (anyone that has Defense 7 or less) is going to be wounded on a 3+. If you have at least 2 Might points with your Nazgul, you can guarantee a wound (but that would be sad if you had to use them both). This is often used to pluck wounds off of heroes, but in all honesty, unless you're going to kill a hero with the wound, it's not worth the Will spent to cast it. Keeping in mind that you probably have 10 (or a little more) Will to cast spells, if you spend 2-3 on your Black Darts, you're not going to get more than 2 or 3 off before you're nearly out of spells. As such, don't plan on spending too much on Black Darts unless an enemy hero is in serious trouble.
Nazgul add an additional level of complexity for spellcasters: at the end of a round when a Nazgul has fought in close combat, he needs to pay 1 Will point. This means that generally, Nazgul should be shielded by lesser minions from fighting, unless they want to engage in combat. Any fights that a Nazgul does, however, will reduce its ability to cast spells, so at the end of the day, it's going to be the choice of the general on what he wants to do to do with his general.
Auxiliary heroes are generally not good at casting spells (if they have them at all) and are not good at fighting. The benefits they provide to the team is their presence for one critical turn. Allow me to highlight a few spells or special abilities that qualify heroes as "auxiliaries."
Some heroes keep your units from taking hits. Goblins, Orcs, and Uruk-Hai employ shamans in their armies, who can cast the "Fury" spell, which allows all units of their race within 6" to pass their courage tests and when they are wounded, they get to roll a dice and avoid the hit on the roll of a 6.
Other heroes protect units from taking missile fire, enable units to cause terror for a short period of time, or cause units to pass their courage tests. The Elven lord Cirdan can cast spells for all three of these things, which can be a really prized value if your army is fighting an archer-heavy, low courage army. In some respects, this can have some cross-over with heroes (like Gandalf or Galadriel) that you would consider "spellcaster" heroes. Like I said before, the three categories for heroes are not concrete.
One final aspect as we leave our discussion on heroes is their Fate points. We've talked about how Might points and Will points work, but Fate points work a little differently. If a hero takes a wound, he can spend a Fate point to roll a dice: on the roll of a 4+, the wound is avoided (prevented, saved, etc.). Basically, this adds an element of survivability for your heroes. Some heroes (like Boromir) are great at cutting through the enemy, but they lack Fate points. Other heroes (like Balin and most captains) have 1 Fate point to save them from danger. Other heroes (like Dain Ironfoot of the Dwarves or King Aragorn of Gondor) have 2-3 Fate points and a high defense value, which makes them really hard to wound and once they are wounded, they can still shirk off the damage and keep themselves alive. Fate points are critical to Auxiliary heroes, since their primary purpose is to stay near a large body of troops and stay alive to continue to provide benefits to the army.
Because we've talked a lot about heroes, I'd like to take you through the different members of the Fellowship and show you what their benefits are and how to use them in an army.
Units: Gandalf the Grey and Aragorn/Strider with bow or armor
Units: Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood with Elven cloak and armor and Gimli, Son of Gloin
Units: Boromir of Gondor and Frodo with Mithril armor and Sting
Frodo makes up for some of the short-comings of Boromir and costs almost the same. His mithril mail gives him an impressive Defense 6 (just as good as Boromir), which means that any archery that has a Strength value of 2 or 3 will need to roll a 6 to wound him. This is great for providing some cover for Boromir or another hero (Legolas perhaps) who has a lower defense value. With 3 Fate points, it's going to be hard to break the strength of the Ring-bearer. Sting gives Frodo a Strength of 3 and coupled with a Fight value of 3, Frodo can go toe-to-toe with most basic troops and cut through Goblins. His best ability, however, is being able to put on the One Ring. When Frodo has the Ring on (put it on in the Move phase), he can move through other units and can't be shot at, attacked, or targeted by magic UNLESS that attack or magic is performed by a Nazgul. In return, he can't shoot at people with his rocks or attack people. At the beginning of each turn that he wears the ring, he needs to roll a dice and score a 3+ for the Good player to move him, but on the roll of a 1 or 2, the Evil player will get to move him (but can't force him to take off the Ring, as will be explained next). To take off the Ring, Frodo must pass a courage test (and with Courage 6, that's generally not hard). Should he be the last Good unit on the table and have the Ring on, he is removed as a casualty. BUT, the Ring allows him to get past enemy units and rush through enemy ranks, thereby allowing him to focus on surprising enemy spellcasters...if his little hobbit legs can get him there.
Units: Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took
So...think we've covered everything in the game? Not quite. :-P In the next post, we're going to go over terrain, and with that comes an in-depth look into some of the strategies for the armies I've collected thus far.


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The GALA OF BOATS is an exclusive preview to the Berlin Boat Show which takes place on the 28th November 2018!
Celebrities from the realm of politics, sports, economy and culture attend this festive evening.
The Programme varies from official receptions, award ceremonies and lots of parties at the exhibitors stands, accompanied by show acts, music and flying catering.
The GALA OF BOATS is the place to be for boaters and sailors and is considered to be the social highlight for watersports-afficionados in Germany.
More than 10.000 Visitors at the GALA OF BOATS in 2017.


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The Army Doctor's Baby by Helen Scott Taylor
After his wife betrayed him, Major Radley Knight dedicated himself to becoming the best Army doctor he could be, dedicated himself to saving soldiers' lives. When he returns on leave from Afghanistan he is ready for a break. Instead he finds himself helping a young mother and her newborn baby. He falls in love with Olivia and her sweet baby boy and longs to spend the rest of his life caring for them. But Olivia and her baby belong to Radley's brother.
I must admit that I'm a sucker for military romances. So when I saw this book, I was excited to read it.
To start off, ih ave to say that this is a novella. I always get nervous reading novellas because they can feel rushed. Helen Scott Taylor did a good job of making me care about the characters with such a short book. I really liked Radley. We got some info about Rad's past and it made my heart break for him. Even though we never met his ex, I hated her. I just kept hoping that he wasn't going to go through that again. I also liked, and respected Olivia. She was a strong woman that was doing everything she could to provide for her son. And the scenes between Rad and little George were just adorable.
I found this book to be really enjoyable. It was a sweet, fluffy romance with no angst or dark hidden secrets. It was a nice change of pace compared to everything else out there.
The Army Doctor's Wedding by Helen Scott Taylor
Army doctor, Major Cameron Knight, thrives on the danger of front-line Battlefield medicine. Throwing himself into saving the lives of injured servicemen keeps the demons from his past away. When he rescues charity worker, Alice Conway, and a tiny newborn baby, he longs for a second chance to do the right thing, even if it means marrying a woman he barely knows so they can take the orphan baby to England for surgery. The brave, beautiful young woman and the orphan baby steal his heart. He longs to make the marriage real, but being married to an army officer might do her more harm than good.
I have to start out by saying that I really disliked Cameron in the first book. He was an immature twit and I wanted to kick his butt for the way the acted toward Olivia and George. George was just a novelty to him and he was put out when Radley and Olivia fell in love. So coming into this book, I wasn't looking forward to reading Cameron's story.
After reading The Army Doctor's Baby, I was glad that Cameron was stepping back and letting Rad be a father to George. Cam was a stupid immature guy that refused to step up to his responsibility. But after getting to know him in this book, I felt kind of bad for him. He realized what he missed out on and that was just sad.
In some ways, I felt like this book wasn't as rushed as the previous one. Maybe it's because the course of the book seemed like was months longer or maybe it was because there was more action. Either way, much to my surprise, I enjoyed this one more than the first.
The Army Doctor's Christmas Baby by Helen Scott Taylor
After he loses his wife, army surgeon Colonel Sean Fabian protects his damaged heart by cutting women out of his life. He dedicates himself to his career and being a great dad to his twin babies. When he asks army nurse Kelly Grace to play nanny to his children over Christmas, he realizes how much he misses having a beautiful woman in his life and in his arms. Caring for Sean's adorable twin babies is Kelly's dream come true. She falls in love with the sweet little girls and their daddy, but she's hiding a devastating event from the past. If she can't trust Sean with her secret, how can she ever expect him to trust her with his bruised heart?
This was a short and (maybe too)sweet romance about two people finding love when they least expected and creating a family where there was once almost no hope of having one. Sean lost his wife in a car accident just after their twin daughters were born. What he never told anyone was that their relationship was ending which led him to close himself off to ever trusting another woman or finding love. Kelly has been in lover with her friend for years and after watching him marry someone else, she's decided to retire from the military and take her nursing skills overseas to help a children's charity. A chance meeting one night brings Sean and Kelly together. Ok, maybe not so chance… She's dressed as a sexy bunny to sing Sean Happy Birthday as arranged by mutual friends. I found this pretty funny 🙂 Turns out Sean is in need of a nanny while his au pair is on holiday and Kelly fits the bill. What starts out as a harmless way to pass another lonely Christmas for Kelly leads the two to realize that it's ok to start over in love and that when you meet the right one, you just know. ❤ It was a sweet romance that had no drama, I'm just mad that there was no sex 😉


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Mau Adventures
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Butte County is breathing better!!!
Well our air guality is back to good which is great....we actually have blue skies again. But unfortunately we lost by beloved tigree in all this. We still have not found his body. We know he got sick cause of this smoke but he would not come in and when he did it was inpossible to keep him in. My beloved tigree would have been 12 this feb. RIP Tigree. We hope to find his body in the fall when all the brush is gone, then he can rest in peace in his favorite place.
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Lay Ministries
Fellowship Groups: Fellowship groups are a way for parish members to get to know each other outside
of simply going to church together.
Outreach Ministries: Our way to reach out to the community, to show them that we care and hope that they may become interested in the St. John's Mission.
Property Care Ministries: The gardens are taken care of by parish members.
Worship Ministries: are used in the service and always need new talent to add to each group.
Administrative Ministries: Pertain to the office needs. Ministries included are Communications, Webmaster, E-mail, Flower Memorials, and Office Angels.


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"The efficacy of an apostolate almost invariably corresponds to the degree of Eucharistic life acquired by a soul. Indeed, the sure sign of a successful apostolate is when it makes souls thirst for frequent and fruitful participation in the Divine Banquet. And this result will never be obtained except in proportion as the apostle himself really makes Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament the source and center of his life.
(Photo©Michael Seagriff)
Like St. Thomas Aquinas, who practically entered the Tabernacle, so to speak, when he wanted to work out a problem, the apostle also will go and tell all his troubles to the Divine Guest, and his action upon souls will be simply his conversations with the Author of Life put into practice.
Our wonderful Father and Pope, Pius X, the Pope of Frequent Communion, was also the Pope of the interior life. 'Re-establish all things in Christ' was the first thing he had to say, above all to active workers. It summarizes the program of an apostle who lives on the Eucharist and who sees that the Church will gain successes only in proportion as souls make progress in the Eucharistic life.
So many enterprises in our time, and yet so often fruitless: why is it that they have not put society back on its feet? Let us admit it once again: they can be counted in far greater numbers than in preceding ages, and yet they have been unable to check the frightful ravages of impiety in the field of family life. Why? Because they are not firmly enough based on the interior life, the Eucharistic life, the liturgical life, full and properly understood.
(From The Soul of the Apostolate by Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O.)


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George Washington University is offering global leaders fellowships for incoming graduate students. The fellowships are available for pursuing graduate (master's and doctoral) degree programme.
The mission of the Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) is to provide exemplary graduate student services in the areas of graduate funding and support. Our office's commitment empowers our students to achieve professional and academic goals in the nation's capital and beyond.
The Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF) provides general information on fellowship opportunities for graduate students at the George Washington University on the Foggy Bottom campus.
The candidate should have a very good command over the English language.
Course Level: Fellowships are available for pursuing graduate (master's and doctoral) degree programme at George Washington University.
Study Subject: Graduate students (master's and doctoral) from Foggy Bottom on campus programs in the following schools are eligible: College of Professional Studies, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Elliott School of International Affairs, Graduate School of Education and Human Development, School of Business (Executive Education program is not eligible) and School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Scholarship Award: Three Global Leaders Fellowships, which will cover up to 18 credit hours will be awarded for 2016-17. The grantee is to provide funds from other sources for books, living, and other expenses, and must provide certification of this support. A Fellowship is renewable each year for a cumulative maximum of three years for Master's candidates and up to five years for doctoral candidates. A grantee must submit renewal materials for the Fellowship each year; renewal is contingent upon the grantee's grades (GPA of 3.0 or better). The Fellowship is valid for one degree only. Fellowships apply to the fall and spring semesters. Awards for the summer sessions are by petition only and subject to available funding.
Scholarship can be taken in the USA
Eligibility: Students holding or intending to apply for an F-1 visa (J-1 visa is eligible for Fulbright applicants only. Note that other visa types are not eligible.) and who are from the following countries or regions (chosen based on protocol arrangements and areas of the world underrepresented at GW) are eligible to apply.
- China (PRC)
- Cambodia
- Eastern Europe
- Laos
- Latin America
- The Caribbean
- Mongolia
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- S.S.R. Successor States
- Vietnam
Nationality: Students of China (PRC), Cambodia, Eastern Europe, Laos, Latin America, The Caribbean, Mongolia, Sub-Saharan Africa, U.S.S.R. Successor States and Vietnam can apply for these fellowships.
College Admission Requirement
Entrance Requirement: Admissions requirements and criteria vary by school and program, and the processing of your application and admissions decisions are handled within the individual school.
English Language Requirement: The candidate should have a very good command over the English language.
How to Apply: Applicants must apply via the online submissions portal by the deadline.
Application Deadline: The application deadline is 5 February 2017.
Apply here


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Happy Birthday, Mother Angelica!
Today is Mother Angelica's 83rd birthday. God bless you Mother A!
Thanks to Catholic Light for the link.
My personal musings on God, the Church, computers, music, and whatever else comes to mind.
What about abortion?
I identify with the victims of suffering, and no one is more speechless, more voiceless, more silent, than the unborn child. To me, it's like defending the blind. If I see someone attacking a blind person, I will beat him with a stick. This is my attitude to attacks on an unborn child too.


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I'm not sure. I wouldn't give up my house, or my pets. I wouldn't trade a year of my life, or allow a limb to be lopped off. Does that mean I don't want to be the paragon of thinness?
This piece from Discover.com was published last summer, but I was startled as I stumbled across it this week. In "20 Things You Didn't Know About Obesity," it shows how pervasive the vilification of fat people has become.
Just a few of the "facts":
- 50 percent of people would give up a year of their life rather than spend it as a fat person.
- Up to 30 percent would rather give up their spouse than be fat.
- Up to 30 percent would rather suffer clinical depression than be fat.
- Up to 30 percent would rather become an alcoholic than be fat.
- 5 percent would rather lose a limb than be fat.
- 4 percent would rather be blind than fat.


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COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish pharmaceuticals company Novo Nordisk has asked its fully-owned IT subsidiary NNIT to study the possibility of a separate listing on the Copenhagen stock exchange, company officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
"We don't think Novo Nordisk are the best owners, and that's why we are looking to see if we can find new co-owners," said Jesper Brandgaard, chief financial officer at Novo Nordisk and chairman of NNIT.
"Novo Nordisk's main activity is to sell pharmaceutical products, which is not a main activity for us," he said.
NNIT financial officer Carsten Thomsen said the study was prompted by the fact that NITT's revenues from clients outside Novo Nordisk should reach about 50 percent this year.
"So based on that, Novo wants to investigate the possibilities for a potential initial public offering," said Thomsen, who recently joined NNIT in connection with the study.
Brandgaard said he expected the study to be finalized before the end of the year. Among other things, it should clarify the value of NNIT and how large a portion of the company Novo Nordisk should hold after a possible IPO.
In many similar cases, selling company have initially kept between 60 and 70 percent of the shares after an IPO.
Brandgaard said the company has not chosen its financial advisers yet.
NNIT, which was separated from Novo Nordisk in 1998, employs more than 2,200 people and had turnover of about 2.2 billion Danish crowns ($403.54 million) last year. The company has specialized in IT competences within the life sciences industry.
"I believe NNIT would be able to reach a broader customer base if they are no longer standing in the shadow of Novo Nordisk," analyst Rune Dahl from DNB said.
Dahl saw an enterprise value of around 5.8 billion crowns while Soren Hansen from Sydbank valued it at up to 5 billion crowns. Michael Jorgensen from Alm. Brand Markets assessed it between 6 and 8 billion crowns.
Novo Nordisk, which is the world's largest insulin maker, has a total market cap of almost 600 billion crowns.
Shares in Novo Nordisk traded down 0.1 percent at 1500 GMT, while the Danish benchmark index was up by 0.9 percent.
Additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Tom Heneghan


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I am working on a crocodile stitch purse right now. You can't really see it, but I'm using black yarn for the back layer. Here is the pattern that I'm following. I made it larger (just increase with multiplies of 7).
I took my afghan swatch off of the needles the other day. I need to make it twice as wide as the pattern calls for. I'm making it for my youngest son. Here is the pattern for it.
The other day I added a new room to my growing doll house. I used 3 foam-core boards, one of which was cut in half for the side walls. I used scrapbook paper and ribbon for the walls, and I kept part of the foam-core visible. The floor was made using real floor tiles. I picture this room being a dining room / kitchen. I am very happy with how it looks.
I then played around with making a doll stool out of a plastic bottle cap, fabric, coffee stirrers, and a glue gun. I want to paint the legs white.
With some of the leftover scrapbook paper from the walls, I made this mini gift box. It is small enough for a doll to hold. I want to make a few more and create stacking boxes for the doll house.
I crochet this car applique the other day that will become a magnet for my swap partner.heart pins for Valentine's Day. They were very easy to make. I then attached them to their Valentine's Day cards.


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|View Poll Results: What Non-Fiction Book Should We Discuss in July?
|Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
|The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
|The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
|A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
|What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
|The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
|We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
|Gulp by Mary Roach
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|Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England by Neil McKenna
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Bah, humbug!
Posts: 38,886
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA
Device: Kindle Voyage, iPad Air, Samsung Galaxy J7, & an iPod Nano.
July 2013 Book Club Vote
July 2013 MobileRead Book Club Vote
Help us choose a book as the July 2013 eBook for the MobileRead Book Club. The poll will be open for 5 days. There will be no runoff vote unless the voting results a tie, in which case there will be a 3 day run-off poll. This is a visible poll: others can see how you voted. It is multiple-choice: you may cast a vote for each book that appeals to you.
We will start the discussion thread for this book on July 20th. Select from the following Official Choices with three nominations each:
• Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
No Links Provided
Originally Posted by Amazon.com
The heartwrenching New York Times bestseller about the only known person born inside a North Korean prison camp to have escaped
North Korea's political prison camps have existed twice as long as Stalin's Soviet gulags and twelve times as long as the Nazi concentration camps. No one born and raised in these camps is known to have escaped. No one, that is, except Shin Dong-hyuk.
In Escape From Camp 14, Blaine Harden unlocks the secrets of the world's most repressive totalitarian state through the story of Shin's shocking imprisonment and his astounding getaway. Shin knew nothing of civilized existence—he saw his mother as a competitor for food, guards raised him to be a snitch, and he witnessed the execution of his mother and brother.
• The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer
Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Sony Reader Store
From Amazon:
"[Eric Hoffer] is a student of extraordinary perception and insight. The range of his reading and research is vast, amazing. [The True Believer is] one of the most provocative books of our immediate day."—Christian Science Monitor
The famous bestseller with "concise insight into what drives the mind of the fanatic and the dynamics of a mass movement" (Wall St. Journal) by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Eric Hoffer, The True Believer is a landmark in the field of social psychology, and even more relevant today than ever before in history. Called a "brilliant and original inquiry" and "a genuine contribution to our social thought" by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The True Believer is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the machinations by which an individual becomes a fanatic.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
No Links Provided
Starred Review. Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about faith, science, journalism, and grace. It is also a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty and the bond that grows, sometimes painfully, between two very different women—Skloot and Deborah Lacks—sharing an obsession to learn about Deborah's mother, Henrietta, and her magical, immortal cells. Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old black mother of five in Baltimore when she died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her knowledge, doctors treating her at Johns Hopkins took tissue samples from her cervix for research. They spawned the first viable, indeed miraculously productive, cell line—known as HeLa. These cells have aided in medical discoveries from the polio vaccine to AIDS treatments. What Skloot so poignantly portrays is the devastating impact Henrietta's death and the eventual importance of her cells had on her husband and children. Skloot's portraits of Deborah, her father and brothers are so vibrant and immediate they recall Adrian Nicole LeBlanc's Random Family. Writing in plain, clear prose, Skloot avoids melodrama and makes no judgments. Letting people and events speak for themselves, Skloot tells a rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society's most vulnerable people.
• A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
Amazon UK
From HarryT:
This is the classic account of the sinking of the Titanic from the eye-witness accounts of the survivors. A simply amazing book which everyone should read.
• What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist—the Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Sony Reader Store
Amazon Book Description:
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
For every frustrated reader of the great nineteenth-century English novels of Austen, Trollope, Dickens, or the Brontës who has ever wondered whether a duke outranked an earl, when to yell "Tally Ho!" at a fox hunt, or how one landed in "debtor's prison," here is a "delightful reader's companion that lights up the literary dark" (The New York Times).
This fascinating, lively guide clarifies the sometimes bizarre maze of rules, regulations, and customs that governed everyday life in Victorian England. Author Daniel Pool provides countless intriguing details (did you know that the "plums" in Christmas plum pudding were actually raisins?) on the Church of England, sex, Parliament, dinner parties, country house visiting, and a host of other aspects of nineteenth-century English life -- both "upstairs" and "downstairs."
An illuminating glossary gives at a glance the meaning and significance of terms ranging from "ague" to "wainscoting," the specifics of the currency system, and a lively host of other details and curiosities of the day.
• The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
From the Boston Globe:
For a century the question of the origins of World War I has bedeviled historians, who have struggled to determine whether a conflict that claimed 20 million lives and prompted the death of three empires could have been avoided and, if not, who was to blame.
That question won't be settled by the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand a year from this summer. There are too many factors, too many moving parts and, alas, too many (contradictory) documents to produce an ironclad answer. But no one who examines the question will be able to ignore "The Sleepwalkers,'' the monumental new volume by Cambridge University historian Christopher Clark that addresses this issue.
Though he does not provide a verdict, Clark's view nonetheless is revelatory, even revolutionary. His thesis is that World War I is not a hoary event shrouded in the mists and mysteries of another age, but a thoroughly modern affair, begun in a way familiar to us today: by a terrorist group that worshipped sacrifice and death, had no clear geographic moorings, and was scattered across a vast area of festering grievances and unrequited dreams.
To all that irrationality was added the most dangerous element of all in international relations — cool reason fed by national interest.
• We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch
No Links Provided
Originally Posted by amazon.com
"Hutus kill Tutsis, then Tutsis kill Hutus--if that's really all there is to it, then no wonder we can't be bothered with it," Philip Gourevitch writes, imagining the response of somebody in a country far from the ethnic strife and mass killings of Rwanda. But the situation is not so simple, and in this complex and wrenching book, he explains why the Rwandan genocide should not be written off as just another tribal dispute.
The "stories" in this book's subtitle are both the author's, as he repeatedly visits this tiny country in an attempt to make sense of what has happened, and those of the people he interviews. These include a Tutsi doctor who has seen much of her family killed over decades of Tutsi oppression, a Schindleresque hotel manager who hid hundreds of refugees from certain death, and a Rwandan bishop who has been accused of supporting the slaughter of Tutsi schoolchildren, and can only answer these charges by saying, "What could I do?" Gourevitch, a staff writer for the New Yorker, describes Rwanda's history with remarkable clarity and documents the experience of tragedy with a sober grace. The reader will ask along with the author: Why does this happen? And why don't we bother to stop it?
• Gulp by Mary Roach
Amazon US / Google Play (ePub) / Kobo
The alimentary canal—the much-maligned tube from mouth to rear—is as taboo, in its way, as the cadavers in Stiff, and as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. In Gulp we meet the scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks—or has the courage—to ask. How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Why doesn't the stomach digest itself? Can wine tasters really tell a $10 bottle from a $100 bottle? Why is crunchy food so appealing? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? We go on location to a pet food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal.
Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find words for flavors and smells? Why doesn't the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? In Gulp we meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks of—or has the courage to ask. We go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a fecal transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal. With Roach at our side, we travel the world, meeting murderers and mad scientists, Eskimos and exorcists (who have occasionally administered holy water rectally), rabbis and terrorists—who, it turns out, for practical reasons do not conceal bombs in their digestive tracts.
Like all of Roach's books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies.
• Faust in Copenhagen by Gino Segrè
Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
A physicist himself, Gino Segrè writes about what scientists do?and why they do it?with intimacy, clarity, and passion. In Faust in Copenhagen, he evokes the fleeting, magical moment when physics?and the world?was about to lose its innocence forever. Known by physicists as the miracle year, 1932 saw the discovery of the neutron and antimatter, as well as the first artificially induced nuclear transmutations. However, while scientists celebrated these momentous discoveries?which presaged the nuclear era and the emergence of big science?during a meeting at Niels Bohr?s Copenhagen Institute, Europe was moving inexorably toward totalitarianism and war. (from Amazon)
• Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England by Neil McKenna
Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Kobo
28th April 1870. The flamboyantly dressed Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton are causing a stir in the Strand Theatre. All eyes are riveted upon their lascivious oglings of the gentlemen in the stalls. Moments later they are led away by the police. What followed was a scandal that shocked and titillated Victorian England in equal measure. It turned out that the alluring Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton were no ordinary young women. Far from it. In fact, they were young men who liked to dress as women. When the Metropolitan Police launched a secret campaign to bring about their downfall, they were arrested and subjected to a sensational show trial in Westminster Hall. As the trial of 'the Young Men in Women's Clothes' unfolded, Fanny and Stella's extraordinary lives as wives and daughters, actresses and whores were revealed to an incredulous public. With a cast of peers, politicians and prostitutes, drag queens, doctors and detectives, "Fanny and Stella" is a Victorian peepshow, exposing the startling underbelly of nineteenth-century London. By turns tragic and comic, meticulously researched and dazzlingly written, "Fanny and Stella" is an enthralling tour-de-force.
Last edited by WT Sharpe; 06-22-2013 at 01:07 PM.
Bah, humbug!
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There are so many good choices this month that it would be easier to vote for what I don't want to read.
Is Ray's career over?
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I've always wanted to read The True Believer.
Bah, humbug!
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Of all the books in the list, I think Gulp will be the most enjoyable and the one to give us the most learning. Mary Roach has a way of writing that can make even death enjoyable to read about. She's just that good an author.
Bah, humbug!
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Though I find this (again) a good selection, I hope for Faust in Copenhagen or Fanny and Stella to 'win'. The first is important is understand one's own modern history I think, and I am just downright curious for Fanny and Stella's story.
I will read Escape from Camp 14, anyway, as I recently finished last month's MR-bookclub nomination about North Korea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orphan_Master's_Son
I will not read the excellent nomination of Stories of Rwanda, as I saw a film about this genocide which made a huge impression on me. Heartbreaking. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Rwanda
Grand Sorcerer
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So far it looks as if "A night t0 remember" is doing very well.
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On your recommandation I'll give the book a chance. Thanks for your words about the book.
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Resident Curmudgeon
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I've noticed something about the book club. A lot of the nominations we seem to get are for old books. We don't get enough nominations for book written after WWII or about subjects that take place after WII. It would be nice to have more modern books or more modern time periods.
So for August, let's not have a single book nominated that's not written until at least after WWII and no books who's subjects do not take place until after WWII.
I just don't get what's the fascination with the old stuff.
o saeclum infacetum
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On the other hand, new treatments of historical incidents, of which we have several from which to choose, I find endlessly interesting and illuminating. Just because something happened in the past, doesn't mean that it's not relevant today; again, several choices fall under this rubric.
Don't get too excited, though--Gulp does nothing for me.
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In the rewriting process, I would not be surprised to see in a few year somebody finding similarities between Mahatma Gandhi with the villain Osama. And all along the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prussia, Britain and the rest were oh so naive, wishing all the best for the colonies and nothing for themselves...
Bah, humbug!
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Next April 15th will mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Granted, it's only my opinion, but with all the interesting books that have been nominated, I fail to see the fascination with yet another account of a story that's been done to death.
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Do you love Venice, Italy and all that goes with it? It's such a romantic place with it's canals, gondolas, it's beautiful architecture and art. How can you NOT love it? I personally think that the venetian glass is phenomenal. For me, the artistry is first rate. I wanted to create some fun jewelry that could be worn everyday with shorts and a t-shirt or that could be dressed up for a night on the town. Venetian glass is so sparkly, so it wasn't too hard to accomplish.
To create the necklace, I used a 30 mm Aquamarine Venetian Glass Coin from Artbeads. Then I paired the focal bead with a sterling silver chain, a bali silver toggle clasp, jasper rounds, and 6 mm Czech fire-polished Madeira Topaz beads.
For the bracelet and earrings, I used 14 mm Aquamarine Venetian Glass Rounds.
I got most of my jewelry supplies from Artbeads. I can always count on Artbeads to help me create beautiful pieces of art.
Meet the Designer – Becky Nunn of Nunn Design
2 weeks ago


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Be-A-Magpie Is PayPerPost For Twitter:
It was recently brought to my attention that one of my projects could benefit from advertising on Twitter through "Be A Magpie" which is something akin to PayPerPost for Twitter. My initial reaction was to imagine what it would be like for the Twitterers of this world to see adverts coming up in their Twitstream… and I thought it could be terribly annoying and make them feel like the people they were following were trying to monetize them… Surely this would break trust and potentially cause a rush of un-following…
A Rush to Unfollow?
Now I'm wondering if that is really what would happen? I think that the end-result will be a devaluing of the conversations on Twitter, however the effect may be more subtly noticed than immediate un-follows.
First of all…
- Can I be bothered to unfollow?
- If I'm generally finding Twitter useful/interesting will I allow some annoying adverts and just mentally block them out?
- When do the adverts become too annoying such that I'm perceiving more ads than useful/interesting stuff?
At this point…
- Is Twitter, in theory still useful if I could only see what I want to see?
- Would I therefore pay to not see the useless stuff?
Should the Twitter guys be worried then or is there opportunity here? I mean I'm presuming they're not worried about Magpie per se because they could just introduce their own similar service to protect themselves from externals. But are they worried about the impact on their user base of trying to monetise the service?
Personally I would pay to be part of a community such as Twitter where people were not allowed to advertise or use "Magpie" like services. Somewhere where I knew there was a cost to entry, and a cost to ongoing participation such that there was a shared sense of value-add (worth paying for!)… but of course it would take a freebie version to convince me of the usefulness…
So do you reach a certain volume of free users and then turn on the money taps, knowing that only a small percentage will pay while the remainder of the freebie users may continue to devalue the service? If you're Twitter or Facebook even a small percentage can generate a lot of $$. If you don't have any other money taps apart from "premium" though do you have to allow the devaluing of your free bit to make the "Freemium" model work? Twitter is such a simple service, unlike Facebook which has many more facets to it, that either it's useful and interesting to receive a stream of updates… or it isn't… is there much more to it?
Certainly Twitter's lack of monetisation strategy has been reported by commentators to be a factor in the breakdown of the Facebook/Twitter dealings that have been going on this week (and if some techcrunch are to be believed have been going on/off for quite sometime). Apart from Ads and Ad-free premium service I'm still struggling to think of monetisation options (answers on a NDA to…)
Anyway… back to everyone's favourite bird… I look forward to seeing how much of the shiny good bits the Magpie steals from the Twitter nest…
Technorati Tags: advanced, business growth, customer experience, future, innovation, twitter, social networking, technology


text:
If that dog taking the lead in the Greek riots looks familiar, he's been out front of Greek protests for TWO YEARS. http://bit.ly/c2yd8eYou Can Read My Pre-Recycled Twitter Posts Here
Poor Elvis. Death by constipation. http://tinyurl.com/2cdknax Too many opiates, not enough olive oil.
lStory claims 'Fat Elvis' would shit himself onstage and had 5 month old turds in double-width, double length colon. No wonder he shuffled.
Reading #ge2010 (UK election tweets) for an hour is like having the front pages, op-eds & editors' letters of a thousand UK newspapers poured into your head.
Seriously, a typo is the cause of the biggest intraday points plunge in the history of the US stock markets? I cough **bullshit**
Why can't we taste food over the internet yet? WHY? Even scratch & sniff would be a step in the right direction.
WTF? NYTimes, 1864 : Woman has snake living in her stomach. Sometimes rises up her throat causing strangulation http://tinyurl.com/3x22gyo
Every Magazine Your Girlfriend Ever Read, In One Issue http://tinyurl.com/2awcwss
Scotch is for unpacking, beer is for moving in. Bourbon is for rental home hunting. Lots of bourbon.
Americans don't deserve Barack Obama. Considering the fuckarama he inherited, his 1st year record of achievements is utterly astounding.
Australian needs a new political party. The Barbarian Party. Pro-drugs, pro-binge drinking, pro-street fighting, pro-tasteless comedy.
....pro-smokes on the PBS, pro-violent video games, pro-porn, pro-public executions for major corporate fraudsters
Thanks Monsanto! Mutant superweeds that grow 3 inches a day invading American farms. http://tinyurl.com/27bmosz
New York Times reporters return to sifting through "maggot covered garbage" for a story. But they got it http://tinyurl.com/2e87x4d
Celery salt is a main ingredient of KFC's 'secret herbs & spices'. Once you start adding it to food, it's hard to stop. Addicted.
Newsreaders breathe a sigh of relief that next major volcano predicted to erupt isn't named something unpronounceable http://j.mp/d6w0F0
"nuclear blasts were used 169 times in Soviet Union (to create) underground storage spaces (&) building canals." http://tinyurl.com/267x3bj
In 1967, United States had 31,255 nuclear warheads. they now have 5133. How many were detonated below ground for mining/tunneling?
Miners are whiners. Man up.
Dear @NASA . If the Earth was about to smashed by a fat meteor, would the ISS crew have to bail out to make way for the First Family?
Conservative media try to float campaign to have Rudd replaced by Gillard. Rudd has "only" 63% approval ratings. "Only." Hilarious.
Washington DC medical cannabis freedom law will have to pass House & Senate. Commercial potshops with 95 plants.http://tinyurl.com/28bq5ee
If Obama develops glaucoma, he will soon be able to legally score 4 ounces of prime cannabis a month, and smoke it on his West Wing balcony.
So the only time in recent memory The Age gets national media coverage is not for breaking a huge story, but for sacking a writer.
Murdoch's assemblage of right wing loudmouths keeping their jobs thanks to endless flow of Avatar profits. Greenie propaganda saves jobs?
"He begins to think of the sound (of citylife) as something almost alive, the rumbling exhale of a great creature" http://tinyurl.com/2c3m96q
If someone gets good video of PMRudd in a rage, hurling abuse at his staff and calling them cunts, this election is over.
Remember how Al Qaeda was going to "destroy our way of life"? Turns out it was psychotic capitalist greed instead http://tinyurl.com/3xb3dcm
If the states are abolished, does that make my mum's States of Australia tea-towel collection more or less valuable?
Blue Whales Hold Press Conference : "U really screwed up this time. Stop the oceans filling with oil or we're becoming land mammals. Again."
President @barackobama praises The 99, "comic book superheroes who embody the teachings & tolerance of Islam" http://tinyurl.com/3473ok3
Rarely seen 2003 Chris Morris short film http://tinyurl.com/36nrhqq
BP admits there are few resources "left in the world" to fight Mexico Gulf oil spill. Where are The Thunderbirds? http://tinyurl.com/36nc659
The Benjamin Button effect in Osama Bin Laden photographs http://tinyurl.com/2g86fkt
If men didn't have sports in which to show off to women, and each other, would we start growing plumage?
If enough of you regular readers join Twitter, I'll do a piece on the most interesting people to follow on Twitter, and why. Be sure to say howdy after you've signed up.


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RELEASE DATE2012-09-27LABELSpaceal Orbeats RecordsCATALOG #SPO024
Outro release for September is the 15track, Tetraktys LP from John Ov3rblast. His electronic manifest, a blend of deep emotional sounds, his personal hybrid, it is called deep tech space drone and it really sends you in space! The release is valley of sounds, colours, feelings deep thoughtful moments, tranced out twisted techno, magical structures moving forward trying to expand your vision of what future sounds.You will find your self in a kaleidoscopic labyrinth, for more than 2 hours, lost in the depth of his mind, the producer from Greece trying to compose the eleusis of the new world of sound, where everything is connected through the universal consiouness, the resurrection from darkness, where you will experience the next dimension.The Tetraktys is the Hellenic name for the central number symbolism of Pythagorean philosophy and mysticism. John Ov3rblast design his vision for the future and the things to come, open your heart and your soul and let you mind take you in the world of Tetraktys. A new life through sound.


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… our first Literacy Team meeting led to a few goals for the HGS school year 2014-15. Stay tuned! Hint Hint: Technology and Literacy came up a lot!
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to share a few insights about what literacy means to a few of us... made by team members.
"That moment when kids say with confidence, "I can read!" - Megan Smith
"Literacy is the foundation of knowledge and skills." -Carol Morrison
"A book a day keeps boredom away." -Carol Morrison
"When your biggest dilemma some day is which book to read!" - Colleen Thomas
'My work is about helping those children who are missing the skills to make meaning." - Kathy McGlinchey


text:
Cut paper 5-1/2" x 7". Score on 5" side: 1, 3-1/2. Score on 7" side: 1, 2-1/2, 1. Dotted lines are fold lines, solid lines are cut lines. Cut as shown above. Have prepared 2 top notes: one for the top and one to be used for the bottom. The assembled box should be as in the photo below.
Proceed to decorate Top note (for lid) at this time. Place sticky tape on the lid and on the bottom as shown in below photo.
Cut ribbon 14-1/2" long. Wrap ribbon around box. Secure ribbon with sticky tape. Remove sticky tape from box bottom. Last step is to remove sticky tape from box lid and attach top note.
Finished box!
Finished box!
Thank you for stopping by today. Let me know if there are any questions.


text:
Took me a little time but I guess a getaway for a few weeks is good for anyone.
Have you ever visited a completely foreign land and came back home and suddenly things feel different and you see start to view things differently?
Try it some time, go somewhere where you don't even understand the language, come home and see if you feel the same. I do and I don't, weird feeling.
Anyways, what I felt was most different in all the places I had visited is definitely the fashion.
I came to the conclusion that the U.S. is a melting pot not only of culture but of fashion. Each country has their own sense of style but in the U.S., anything goes for all cultures and ethnicities.
Which country do you like the fashion best? Paris, Japan, Brazil?
The fashion possibilities are endless...