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By Rebecca Hagelin
Culture challenge of the week: The end of courtship
Most parents hope that their children will grow to adulthood and find and marry a good spouse. But it's becoming increasingly difficult for young adults to date in ways that lay a solid foundation for a strong marriage.
A recent New York Times article titled "The End of Courtship?" portrays millennials as a group bent on "subverting the rules of courtship." Style columnist Alex Williams begins his article with this real-life scenario: A guy asks a girl out on what she assumes is a date — but instead of showing up, the guy texts her at 10:30 p.m. asking her to come hang out with him and his friends at a nearby pub. The article characterizes this typical, laid-back behavior as "one step below a date, and one step above a high-five."
Why would educated, metropolitan, young professionals embrace such a relationship protocol? They are not teens any longer. One would think they would understand the need for more than "hanging out" as a basis for an adult relationship. The Times writer attributes the death of courtship to social media, changing gender roles, a tight economy, and the "hookup" culture.
Social media hinders and helps relationships. It allows easy connections with many new acquaintances, but bases those connections on superficial similarities. I recently had dinner with two 20-somethings in New York who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University a couple of years ago. They mourned over the overabundance of "virtual" relationships versus the personal, deeper ones that can only develop through thoughtful human interaction. And get this: They both were young men.
It surprised me when they brought up the topic and impressed me to realize how much time they had spent bemoaning the fact that their generation has missed out on the era of courtship. These young men had begun to realize that most social-media networks are not designed to foster deep relationships and in fact often hinder the authentic self-revelation that grounds trusting, long-lasting relationships.
As one expert, quoted in the Times article, observed, "We're all Ph.D.'s in Internet stalking these days. Online research makes the first date feel unnecessary, because it creates a false sense of intimacy."
Fuzzy gender roles, combined with a flagging economy, complicate courtship rituals further. Both parties are more likely than ever to earn similar salaries. And high rent plus piles of student loans put a financial squeeze on dating plans. Some women take offense at any suggestion that they can't pay their own way, which creates a strong disincentive for a man to ask a woman to dinner and take the check.
Gender, finances and social media certainly affect relationships, but the Times' analysis pinpoints the biggest factor in the demise of real courtship: the college hookup culture. It sets the stage for the young adult hang-out culture. For four years, college students practice the hookup culture's noncommittal, self-gratifying relationship "skills." They perfect the "art" of giving as little as possible. So it's no surprise that graduation yields little more than a grown-up version of the same thing. Twenty-somethings just out of college spend their energy trying to make their professional mark. They just aren't up for the investment that a real courtship and long-term relationship demand. "Hanging out" is "safe," with low expectations for both parties.
And that's the situation that our young adults are facing. The relationship bar has been lowered, and not for the better. Even The New York Times recognizes that.
How to save your family: Teach respect as the first relationship skill
It's no surprise that feminist bastions, such as Slate and HuffPost Women, have slammed the article in The New York Times. Feminists celebrate the death of traditional dating rituals and abhor anything that smacks of gender roles. Never mind that women, who hope for relationships while they still have time left on the biological clock, suffer most from the hang-out culture.
So what can we do? Parents raising teens and guiding their young adult children need to maintain an open and ongoing conversation about relationships — and laying the foundation for a successful marriage.
Whether invitations come by text or a phone call, and who pays for dinner or the movie really isn't the issue. We all know dating is fun, but dating has serious purposes as well. It gives us a personal opportunity to discover more about the other person, learn about ourselves, build a friendship, and at some point decide whether the relationship partner is the right person to marry.
Dating, which should be a "giving" relationship, has become a "taking" relationship.
The hang-out culture's implicit message is that dating is more like a hobby or diversion — a way to pass the time or find sexual gratification. If there really is an end of courtship, it's because our younger generation has lost sight of courtesy and forgotten how to treat people with the respect they deserve.
Rather than mourn the end of courtship, let's revive it.
Let's encourage our children to look not only at how they're dating, but also at who they are dating; dating and courtship shouldn't be taken lightly because they involve people. Healthy relationships begin by showing genuine interest in and respect for the other. Dating is not an opportunity to "score" or feed one's vanity; it's a relationship through which we learn to love another human being selflessly, and to discern whether a future together promises mutual self-giving.
And that's a future that beats "hanging out," any day.
First appeared in the Washington Times
Rebecca Hagelin serves on Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk Board of Directors and is the author of "30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family." To purchase her book and reach her directly, visit HowToSaveYourFamily.com.
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Rebecca Hagelin has championed faith and family values in Washington, DC and around the nation for some 30 years. She speaks and writes to encourage and educate parents on how to combat the negative affects of the pop media culture on their children. Her weekly column, co-authored with her daughter Kristin Carey, "Faith and Family: Hope for Every Generation" appears in The Washington Times, Townhall and other national news sites and publications. Rebecca also owns a boutique marketing company that specializes in creating and directing national talk radio marketing campaigns. She previously served as The Heritage Foundation's Vice President of Communications and Marketing, and as Vice President of Communications for WorldNetDaily.com. In 2006, Concerned Women for America named her as one of the nation's "Top Ten Evangelical Women", and in 2007, The Claire Boothe Luce Policy Institute named her one of 12 "Great Conservative Women". She is the author of the acclaimed books, Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad, and 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family. The latter book will be re-released in late April. The newly updated version is entitled, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Protect Your Family" and will include reflections from her daughter, Kristin, as well as a bonus new chapter on marriage. Rebecca serves on several boards including FamilyTalk. She and her husband (of 30 years!) Andy, have three grown children, and live on Little Gasparilla Island in Florida.
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text: BIRTHDAY SUITS, THE BLIND SHAKE, and WHATEVER FOREVER Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 9:00pm$8.00 advance$10.00door21+Venue: Turf Club https://www.facebook.com/events/851798271514612/Info TabsDetails PerformersPerformer: BIRTHDAY SUITS FACEBOOKTUMBLRYOUTUBEBANDPAGESince their debut in 2005, the Minneapolis-based duo of Matthew Kazama and Hideo Takahashi has excelled at tossing elements of late-'90s mathcore and classic Reagan-era punk against the wall with disarming power and impressively fresh results. Their 2010 release, Minnesota: Mouth To Mouth (Nice and Neat Records), sticks to that formula, but with a smidge more spit-polish shining up their succinct sense of melody. Read more about BIRTHDAY SUITS THE BLIND SHAKE WEBSITEFACEBOOKTWITTERBANDCAMP"The Blind Shake is at once spacey, primitive futuristic, and brutal: a kind of backyard extraterrestrial minimal surf-punk party. One guitar, one baritone guitar, a fuckload of reverb, and a drummer who deserves an Olympic medal." [SF Weekly] Read more about THE BLIND SHAKE WHATEVER FOREVER WEBSITEFACEBOOKTWITTERClara Salyer = guitar, vocals (Prissy Clerks)Howard Hamilton III = guitar, vocals (Red Pens)Jordan Bleau = bass Dave Gatchell = drums, vocals (Selby Tigers) Read more about WHATEVER FOREVER

subset: commoncrawl


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Do click on over to Sheila at Book Journey to see all the photos and link up for that first book of the year.
January 1, 2016
1st Book of the Year 2016
Do click on over to Sheila at Book Journey to see all the photos and link up for that first book of the year.
51 comments:
Great video! Hope you enjoy the book you have chosen; it sounds wonderful....and thanks for sharing. Thanks for visiting my First Book.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Laurel-Rain.Delete
Best First Book post, seriously loved the video ... I want to do one now :) I think we have some mutual book inspiration going on lol. Hope you love your first Juliet Marillier :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Great idea to do a video and so well done. Hope you enjoy your book and happy new year!ReplyDeleteReplies
Emma I had fun making it!Delete
Happy new year!ReplyDeleteReplies
Happy new year to you too. Raising glass to 2016, just because I happen to have one in my hand at this moment!Delete
Love, love, love the video - so fun!!! Hope you enjoy your book - not an author I am familiar with. Happy New Year Kathryn!!!ReplyDeleteReplies
Yeah fun for sure. I didn't know this author either until Sheree suggested her to me when I was scrambling for New Zealand authors.Delete
LOVE your video, Kathryn. I hope you love the book!ReplyDelete
Happy New Year!Replies
Thanks Mary, yes book is turning out something special.Delete
Wow! I loved your video - it was so unexpected and brought a huge smile to my face - a great way to start off the new year - thanks for sharing it. I hope you enjoy the book and have a great year!ReplyDeleteReplies
Pat - great love to bring a smile! I am enjoying the book - phew!Delete
Wow I loved the video and I'm checking out the title too!ReplyDelete
Happy New Year!
Debbie if it's historical fiction/fantasy with Vikings then this could be for you!Delete
What a fun way to introduce your first book of the year! That was creative. Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Stefanie, love to be creative occasionally!Delete
Love the video! What a fun way to share. I hope you enjoy this one!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Katherine, yes am enjoying it!Delete
Oh my! Isn't this fun!ReplyDelete
Happy new year!Replies
Love this 1st book round, it sure is fun.Delete
I really enjoyed watching your awesome video!! Well done!! Happy reading to you in 2016!!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you. Loved doing it and love the book.Delete
I love how you got creative with this post - the video was great. I hope you enjoy your book and have many more wonderful reads to come in 2016!ReplyDelete
Reading With JadeReplies
Thanks Jade and right back at you for wonderful reads.Delete
What a cute way to introduce your first read of 2016. I hope you are enjoying it. Happy Reading.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you and yes it has turned out well.Delete
I love your video clip, Kathryn! Very creative way to introduce your first book -- hope you love it. Happy New Year!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Diana. I am loving it.Delete
Loved hearing your voice Kathryn and what a creative way to introduce your first book. Enjoy. Happy New Year.ReplyDeleteReplies
Hoping it will catch on Nise!!Delete
Happy New Year! I love Juliet Marillier (my favorite of her books is Daughter of the Forest) but haven't read this particular book yet. I hope you enjoy it!ReplyDeleteReplies
Nice to know you like her books and I think I will try the book that you mention, want to explore her more.Delete
What a great idea to do a video... that was fabulous!! Enjoy the book and Happy New Year.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks JoAnn and a happy new year to you too, with lots of great books.Delete
You crack me up!!!! LOVE the video... seriously cool... I may need to put this on Book Journey tomorrow morning. LOVE it.ReplyDeleteReplies
Sheila I remember a video you put on your blog a few years ago that I thoroughly enjoyed!Delete
Great video - love the musical effects! Happy New Year!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you and thank you to iMovie!Delete
Haven't heard of this book before - enjoyed the video presentation. :)ReplyDelete
The BEST! Loved how you presented your first read. Happy 2016 Reading to you!ReplyDelete
Wishing you a wonderful new year Kathryn :)ReplyDelete
Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
Love it! I'm pretty sure I've read something by this author before, but I forget the title. Based on a fairy tale, I believe? Happy New Year!ReplyDelete
What a great way to introduce your first book of the year! It sounds like an escapist book, perfect for January. Hope you love it as much as your sister did.ReplyDelete
Great video! I love it!ReplyDelete
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the video.ReplyDelete
ENJOY your 2016 Reading.
Happy New Year!!
Silver's Reviews
My First Book Of The Year
Hope you enjoy Wolfskin, I haven't heard of it before. And loved the vides, your accent is so easy on the ears! Happy New Year :)ReplyDelete
Love the video!! I hope you're enjoying your first book of the year! Happy New Year!ReplyDelete
I loved this so much!!!!!ReplyDelete


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Just off a hilly dirt and road winding through some of Vermont's most old-fashioned countryside lies part of a very recent trend in American travel. On one side of the road is a sign with black and white cows and the words "Mills Hill Dairy Farm" painted on it; on the other is one that reads "American Bed and Breakfast."
The Lafonts have been milking cows and mowing hay for five generations on this farm in northeastern Vermont, but it is only since the summer of 1980 that they have been putting up travelers in their comfortable white farmhouse with its spectacular view of rolling pasture and pointed blue hills beyond. After reading about the American Bed and Breakfast Program in a local paper, Rachel Lafont decided to put the empty rooms of her grown children to good use.
"I also decided that if I couldn't see the world, I would have the world come to me," Mrs. Lafont told me shortly after a friend and I arrived for a night's stay. "Since July I've had guests from Sweden, Germany, and Oklahoma -- all people that I've enjoyed very much."
One reason that Mrs. Lafont has little time for level of her own was apparent even as I drove up and parked beside the barn. On the grassy slope across the road. Richard and Rachel Lafont and their son, Raymond, and daughter, Margaret, were loading bales of new-mown hay, the food staple for the herd of Holsteins that provide their livelihood. The cows are another reason the family' travel is limited -- they must be milked each day at 6a.m and 6p.m.
Shortly after my friend and I followed her direction to "go into the house and make yourselves comfortable," Rachel Lafont came in and offered to take us on a hike to a vantage point from which we could see most of the farm's lush 300 acres and the mountains across the nearby Canadian border. Flanked by wildflowers and wild raspberry bushes, the trail leads past the Lafonts' sugarhouse, where they boil down sap into maple syrup during early spring.
It is a leisurely 20-minute walk to the trail's end, where a small cabin looks out over the thick meadows and hardwood forests below. A sweet, fresh fragrance from the windflowers, grass, and pure country air encourages hikers at each step.
Back at the house that evening Mrs. Lafont showed us the stack of blue ribbons she had recently won at the country fair for her baking. After sampling some of her award-winning pumpkin and apple pies with some neighbors who dropped in that evening, we could only agree that the judges had made a wise choice. Perfectly content, we retired upstairs to cozy, spacious rooms under the eaves for a sleep unbroken by the complete silence outside.
In the morning we discovered that the term "American Bed and Breakfast" means that the breakfast included with the night's lodging is truly a traditional American one -- not continental. Accompanying the bacon and eggs was plenty of Mrs. Lafont's toasted homemade bread and her equally good strawberry-rhubarb jam.
By the time we waved goodbye to the Lafonts we felt we had left behind some new friends and brought with us knowledged of a life style quite different from our own. It was a feeling that a night's stay at a hotel or even an inn could not offer.
Consulting the little red brochure published by the Americn Bed and Breakfast Program, we found there were host homes to choose from all over central and northern Vermont. That day we headed southwest down Route 100 toward Waterbury to the Ballshneiders' Tyrolean-style chalet, which cleaves into a gentle contour of the thickly forested Green Mountains.
Turning into the road that sets Schneider Haus well back from the highway, we came to a beautifully detailed home that bore an uncanny resemblance to an Austrian hideaway. As she showed us to our beamed and exquisitely painted room, Mrs. Ballschneider explained that her husband had built the house himself, taking 2 1/2 years to achieve its almost handcrafted quality.
Unlike the Lafonts, the Ballschneiders had been providing bed and breakfast for several years before joining the American Bed and Breakfast Program, which is just a year old. Each of their five guest rooms is furnished with charming painted antiques, such as one with a child's bed cozily built into a niche is the wall. Part of the European style also means that they don't come with a private bathroom; most share one placed between two rooms.
Our own room featured puffy eyelet quilts, wicker chairs, and a stack of magazines tucked inside the blue night stand. A side door led out onto a terrace that encircles the entire house, at the back of which is a wide, geranium-decked patio overlooking the verdant hills. Visible from the front of the house are secluded tennis courts on which guests are invited to play.
After guests have finished a day of foliage touring, poking through the nearby quaint villages, or skiing (the Ballschneiders are near some of Vermont's best winter sports areas), there is living room full of comfortable chairs to relax in. While nibbling on some fruit that Mrs. Ballschneider thoughtfully leaves in a bowl, guests can scan a stack of menus for ideas on where to dine.
The next morning, seated around an oak dining table with two friendly Canadian couples, we had a chance to sample some of Mrs. Ballschneider's own fare. To augment the choice of French toast or bacon and eggs, we passed around a loaf of her delicious zucchini bread studded with pineapple and cracked wheat. Eveyone agreed that "American" and "bed and breakfast" is a happy, economical marriage that should have been made long ago.
The Ballschneiders and the Lafonts are only two of the many American families who have joined the ever-growing bed-and-breakfast networks across the Unite States. Their own particular network, the American Bed and Breakfast Programs, is a group of 40 Vermont homes that charge between $14 and $17 a night for one person and $18 and 26 for two. Coordinator Bob Precoda says he plans to expand the program into other states. To obtain a list of the homes or information on becoming a host home, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to American Bed and Breakfast Program, PO Box 983, St. Albans, Vt. 05478.
Another new bed-and-breakfast program in the northeast is detailed in Edmund Tobin's Bed and Breakfast Directory, which lists homes in New england and upstate New York. Each listing includes the host's own description as well as Mr. Tobin's own recommendations of what to see in the area.
Of their spacious home on the banks of the Hudson in Rhinecliff, N.Y., Bob and Pat Loeber write, "There's always a projects in progress. Though the house is 120 years old, it's not finished yet. Guests may be asked for a consultation." They also mention their "cozy would stove," beautiful swimming pool overlooking the Hudson," and "every night a different sunset." A double room for two at the Loebers costs $25, with $5 charged for an extra cot.
Rene and Barbara Delannoy at Narragansett, R. I., bill their accommodations as a "Victorian house which enjoys people. Its living rooms are open to all guests, and include a comfy den and cook veranda." Bed and a "hearty" breakfast here cost $35 for two, with $6 per child. To obtain Mr. Tobin's directory, send
One of the most sophisticated bed-and-breakfast programs has recently emerged on the West Coast Bed and Breakfast International, which has host homes in Phoenix, Ariz.; Seattle; Spokane, Wash.; Denver; San Diego; Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Salt Lake City; Las Vegas, Nev.; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Honolulu. With Accommodations ranging from private homes to vacation condominiums to dude ranches, lodging averages around $33 a night for two.
Last spring Bed and Breakfast International teamed up with Amtrak to be a part of rail tours to the Western cities served by Amtrak. At least until the end of this year travelers can book into a bed-and-breakfast home when making their transportation arrangements with Amtrak.
Information on becoming a host home is available by writing to Bed and Breakfast International, 1318 Southwest Troy Street, Portland, Ore. 97219. Information on places to stay is available through travel agents.


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Today we had the honor of providing ceremony music as well as entertaining at the reception for the wedding of Roger and Jennifer Bourgoin.
We had a delicious meal provided by the great crew at the Ramada Inn.
Once the party kicked of a good time was had by all. Most guest stayed right up to the end of the night.


text: i have an imac and i record though garageband. i play guitar, bass and vocals and use gb for drums and other instruments. i have a alesis 6 chanel mixer which is plugged to the imac input. i mike my guitar amp with a shure sm57 and i use a di box for the bass. overall my recordings have been ok but i feel they could be clearer and louder. any advise?


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A DIRECTOR at one of Scotland's best-known outdoor clothing and equipment companies has died in a climbing accident.
Donald Tiso, whose father Graham founded the firm Tiso, which has 21 stores across Scotland, died after falling as he walked on a Munro near Fort William.
Police said the 50-year-old, who was hiking with a friend, was seriously injured after falling on the mountain.
He was flown to hospital by helicopter but pronounced dead on arrival.
It is thought Mr Tiso and a companion were walking on Ben Starav, a Munro near the village of Taynuilt, which is about 12 miles from Oban, when Mr Tiso slipped and fell.
Mr Tiso's father, who was also a keen mountaineer, died in a tragic boating accident in 1992 when he was 57.
He started the company with his wife Maude in 1962. Tiso has since grown to become a household name, with outlets in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
The company recently announced it had sold a controlling stake in the business to JD Sports Fashion.
It is thought Mr Tiso and his companion had cycled to the bottom of the mountain from Bridge of Orchy.
Emergency services received a call from Mr Tiso's climbing partner at 11:50pm on Friday. Oban Mountain Rescue Team and Police were called to the remote hillside and a Royal Navy rescue helicopter from HMS Gannet was scrambled.
Mr Tiso was flown by helicopter to Belford Hospital in Fort William, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Last night a friend of the family said they were too upset to talk about the tragedy.
Police Scotland said: "We received a report that a 50-year-old man was seriously hurt on Ben Starav, near Taynuilt.
"Police and Mountain Rescue Teams were deployed and he was flown to Belford Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Enquiries are ongoing."
A spokesman from Oban Mountain Rescue Team, said: "The details we got from the police when they asked us to attend were that they [Mr Tiso and his companion] were coming off the hill when the casualty had stumbled and injured himself."
He said it had taken the mountain rescue team members about an hour to drive up to the scene of the incident by Land Rover, on a hillside track used by shepherds.
He added: "The Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Gannet had been scrambled and went in to where the casualty was reported to be, and then they rang and said the casualty was being taken to Fort William.
"The cloud level was quite high and there was a full moon, so it was quite visible for the helicopter.
"If it had been cloudy, or the helicopter couldn't get in, or it was diverted to another job, we would have gone in.
"However, the mountain rescue team was then called back off the hill."
Donald's younger brother Chris is currently chief executive of Tiso. He took over the business in 1992 after his father died.
Chris survived a brain haemorrhage in 1999. He was driving to Prestwick Airport when it happened and was rushed to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow where he underwent two operations.
After several weeks in recovery he returned to work.
The following year he joined an expedition to climb Mount Everest on which he suffered pneumonia and had to return home.


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Reviews | Written by J. R. Southall 15/11/2015
DOCTOR WHO Series 9, Episode 9 'Sleep No More'
In the Steven Moffat era, there's a story to be told about the dangers inherent in artificially limiting sleep – but it's not this story. There's the kernel of a really interesting dichotomy between the physical and philosophical ramifications – but neither are explored here. It's a story that Frank Cottrell Boyce would have been much better placed to tell, maybe.
The concept of a Doctor Who adventure taking place entirely within the confines of an assemblage of found footage is also an intriguing one, but while the setting – the space station – was perfect, any sense of purpose was circumnavigated by the lumbering mechanics of the plot. Everything that was good about Sleep No More – and there was plenty that was good – seemed to have been connected at odd angles and left a lingering sense of frustration at squandered possibilities. However, given the two-part nature of Series 9, it's entirely feasible that Face the Raven, with its apparent story about someone marked for death, might make more sense of an episode that was in the end about marking people for death.
Did the found footage aspect work, then? Pretty much. The metaphysical twist as first the viewer, and then the Doctor-as-viewer, becomes aware that they're seeing images from places where cameras couldn't be was a nice touch that almost justified the episode's conceit by itself; on the other hand, the revelation that what we're seeing is what the dust sees was as barmy as the notion that this week's monsters were sleep stuff made in the shape of man – in another episode this might have made for a wonderful revelation; here against the backdrop of a tech thriller, it was another in a line of could-have-beens that piqued the interest only to befuddle it. It might be seven years and two Doctors since Forest of the Dead, but the idea of sentient, tech-accessing dust was just too specific not to draw an unfavourable comparison – especially as the script made an uncomfortable leap in connecting sleep mucus with regular dust (one that even the Doctor seemed to draw attention to) that wasn't necessarily there to be made.
Maybe that was Sleep No More's problem in a nutshell, it was making leaps of faith left right and centre, expecting the viewer to take a lot on trust without really developing its ideas sufficiently that those concepts were refined enough to convince. Having devised a situation in which it's the lack of sleep itself that's creating the predicament, we were never really shown any supporting evidence that a state of permanent wakefulness was dangerous, simply told about it. Another story might have made more of the psychological implications, rather than dwelling on the relatively arbitrary monsters.
There were other areas in which Sleep No More failed to convince, such as the character of 474, the 'Grunt' played by transgender actor Bethany Black. On the one hand, the writing seemed to be telling us that 474 was the ultimate soldier, grown in order to fight in much the same way as the Sontarans were. What we were presented with on screen was another matter entirely, a rather specious representation that left Black's performance floundering in a void of defined direction. The notion of androgynous soldiers in a 38th century future makes enough sense that it ought to have been characterised with sufficient clarity that the decision could be applauded, rather than being just another baffling element in an already confusing production.
Having said all that, there were enough interesting ideas present that Sleep No More sauntered by in an inoffensive enough 45 minutes; it was, in spite of a rather ungainly introductory sequence, never dull enough to induce the desire to slumber, and there were enough plot turns and moments of peril to keep the less attentive viewer engaged. The ultimate twist, as Rassmussen (a better than expected Reece Shearsmith) reveals to the audience what his plan really was all along, was sufficiently audacious – albeit stolen wholesale from Ringu, aka The Ring – to be a pleasantly spooky surprise, and there were enough viewer-POV exploratory sequences to satisfy the video games-playing crowd. The final shot of Rassmussen dissolving was gloriously grim, and children of all ages will have enjoyed the last two or three minutes immensely.
The Doctor and Clara were having a ball this week too – at last – the two actors giving heightened enough performances that suggested their characters knew they had landed in the middle of someone else's story, or that we were seeing them from someone else's point of view, hence the artful perspective in their characterisation. Elaine Tan was also excellent as the Geordie Indo-Japanese Nagata, in charge of the ostensible rescue mission, quite an accomplished ask before she'd even spoken a line. And while scenes such as the gravity shields failing (a necessary foreshadowing of the resolution) or the siege in the freezer room might have been little more than the kind of clichés you would expect in stories like this, they were at least carried off with enough conviction so as not to draw attention to themselves.
On balance, Sleep No More was a fairly brisk and no doubt quite terrifying episode, the insubstantialities of which will no doubt be ameliorated for most people who will remember it as The One With the Found Footage – and thus it can be measured a success in that it was never in any way offensive while managing to entertain sufficiently that its deficiencies could easily be glossed over. But like a puzzle that has no solution, for all the surface business there is at its heart an insubstantiality, an inability to reward proper engagement that leaves it as the least satisfying episode of a ninth series that has embraced experimentation, but often at the cost of truly fulfilling storytelling. You just can't help but feel that Mark Gatiss was having too much fun playing with his concepts to take the time to explore them properly.


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WGTS 91.9 is a listener supported, non-commercial radio station. That means we can not sell advertising. We are a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization owned and operated by WGTS/Columbia Union College Broadcasting, Inc., a self-supporting subsidiary of Washington Adventist University located in Takoma Park, Maryland.
About WGTS
For 60 years, WGTS has been "Washington's Gateway To Service" and we are continually committed to serving our listeners and our community with quality, uplifting music, shows, and events that are always encouraging.
Our Core Values
The culture at WGTS is founded on the following value system and carried through all elements of our commitment to this ministry.
Here are some of the stories of how God is using this media ministry to impact lives for Him.


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During the weekend of August 26th to 28th we're running a number of release events to celebrate Conspiracy: Take the Crown. To kick things off Friday night, we're running a draft with three boosters of the new set at our Cedar Park store. This event is limited to 16 players and will use the official […]
ATTN: Everyone Who Has a Redcap's Gift Card
On Monday, March 28th, we are switching our gift cards over from our old credit card processor to Square, which means we'll finally be able to accept and disseminate gift cards at any counter (including off-site events). This is great news for everyone, and we're hoping to ultimately extend this functionality to our website too, […]
2016 Android: Netrunner Regionals Registration Is Open!
We're now selling Netrunner Regionals tickets, and they're going fast! Tickets are first-come, first-served and can be purchased from the event page. https://www.redcapscorner.com/android-netrunner/2016-android-netrunner-regionals-registration-is-open/
Wave 8 X-Wing Ships Back in Stock at Both Locations!
We have restocks of all the new wave 8 X-Wing ships! The Ghost (Rebels), Inquisitor's TIE (Imperial), Mist Hunter (Scum), and Punishing One (Scum) are all available at both locations again! https://www.redcapscorner.com/star-wars-x-wing/wave-8-x-wing-ships-back-stock-locations/


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ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, on Thursday reported an 18 percent decrease in quarterly profit on weak refining margins.
After the earnings announcement, the world's largest oil and gas company saw its shares little changed in pre-market trading.
Profit in the third quarter was $7.87 billion, or $1.79 per share, compared with $9.57 billion, or $2.09 per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Analysts had expected Exxon to report earnings per share of $1.77 per share on $107.39 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Oil and natural gas output in the quarter rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier, the Irving, Texas, company said.


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(CBS/AP) WALKER, La. - A Louisiana man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly slashed his wife's throat and cut their unborn child out of her abdomen with a kitchen knife, CBS affiliate WWLTV reports.
Paula Reynolds, 28, was seven-and-a-half months pregnant when her 31-year-old husband, Jeffrey, attacked her in their Livingston Parish home. She is currently in critical condition. Deputies found the baby dead in their home with a large laceration to the head.
Officials confirmed that the Reynolds have a 6-year-old son who attends first grade in the Livingston Parish Public School District. Neighbors said they saw Jeffrey Reynolds with his son hours before the attack.
Reynolds had no criminal record in Livingston Parish, except for a minor traffic citation. Authorities are still investigating whether he has a record elsewhere.
The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office said they believe the results of a toxicology report will shed light on a motive. They have placed a rush order on the results, and expect preliminary information could be in by early next week.
A coroner performed an autopsy on the infant Wednesday, but hasn't released the cause of death.
Reynolds is being held on $500,000 bond.


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2013 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet: 5,000 Miles in Ruleton, Kansas
April 12, 2013
If you read the last installment of our 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet's journey to New York, then you noticed it hit 5,000 miles. Here's where it happened. I can't remember the name of this exit off Interstate 70. This road runs both north and south of the highway, and there's not a lick of pavement. Not many cars look this good on a desolate dirt road. My weather app told me that we were in Ruleton, Kansas. I think it was about 30 degrees.
The wind gusts were considerable when I popped out of the car for a quick shot in the evening light. I didn't linger, either, lest I get run over by a tractor or a steer. In any case, the 911 remained in tip-top health when it passed this milestone.
So far, I've seen only one other 911 on this road trip: It was a 996 Turbo convertible, and I spotted it, where else, just outside of Vegas. I suppose it's the weather that's keeping all the Porsche 911 owners off the road, but really, with a set of snow tires, the 991 generation at least is quite hardy.
Erin Riches, Deputy Editor @ 5,066 miles


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1/2 Cup of Frozen Blueberries
1/2 Cup of Fresh Blueberries
1/2 Cup of Frozen or Fresh Strawberries
1/4 Cup of Fresh or Frozen Raspberries
1 1/2 Cup of Zico Coconut Water
1/2 cup of crushed ice for a thicker smoothie
3 Tbsp of Nutiva Organic Shelled Hemp Seed
This recipe might vary slight depending on your blender. If you have a high-powered blender proceed by tossing in all ingredients, if not you might need to premix ingredients or add additional liquid. High powered blenders can easily crush ice while blending whole foods, whereas other blenders might require you to pre-crush ice prior to adding.
Completely optional: Nutiva Organic Shelled Hemp Seed is a great way to add protein to your smoothie, with only 2g of carbs it is very low-carb & low-starch diet friendly.


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Here's my third trimester installment of pregnancy observations (click here and here to see my first and second trimester observations.), this time accompanied by some baby/toddler/little kid photos for fun.
Even though I may have read more about pregnancy than the average woman before I got pregnant, most of what I was prepared to expect was fairly obvious. I "knew":
1) I would gain weight. (True: as of today's appointment I've gained 20 {!} pounds at 32 weeks. I'm actually surprised by how much I've gained, seeing as I went through almost half my pregnancy without gaining any weight. It has really picked up, but it's still {thankfully} mostly just noticeable in my stomach. I don't know how much longer that luck will last. I will say that in the past two days no fewer than seven people have asked if I am within a week or two of my due date, and a couple asked if I'm having twins. I'm not offended, mostly amused.)
2) I would have trouble sleeping. (Partly true: I wake up at least once, sometimes twice, every night to pee, but neither baby kicking nor general discomfort so far has kept me from getting a solid eight hours of sleep each night.)
3) I would be more tired than I am normally. (False: I have taken far fewer naps in pregnancy than I took before being pregnant. Perhaps it's because I'm running on adrenaline. Perhaps it's because I was a little down-in-the-dumps about my prospects of getting pregnant while trying to conceive and therefore my tiredness was more psychosomatic. Either way, I marvel at Matt who seems to take more naps now than he did before we conceived.)
First day home from the hospital...how does my mom look so well-rested?
4) I would have nausea, morning sickness, or both. (Partly true: I never had what I'd call true morning sickness, though I did have my period of intense food aversions from weeks 6 to 12.)
5) I would be emotional. (Partly true: I still get weepy when I think about my little girl's future, or when I see a sappy commercial, etc., but I've only had about one totally irrational emotional moment when I got really, really upset about the wrong color of white that a contractor painted on our house as he fixed our bay window after our latest round of HOA inspections. And I got really upset with Matt after I hiked the black diamond at 24 weeks pregnant, but that, my friends, was totally justified.)
Just a wee one, about two months old.
6) My boobs would grow. (True: Fact: And all my girlfriends have admired my new girlfriends.)
7) I would have cravings. (False: Yes, I faced food aversions, but I haven't had true cravings. Sure, I've wanted some blue cheese and some salt and vinegar chips, but I always want those things.)
8) I would be forgetful. (False: I still find the term "pregnancy brain" offensive in the same way that I find men saying that women should not go into politics because of PMS offensive. Of course, you might experience "pregnancy brain," but I will proudly shout out that I have not.)
Someone must have mastered tummy time...
9) I would get really swollen. (Not yet: Jury's still out on this one. I can easily see this happening by the bitter end, but so far, so good.)
10) I would get stretch marks. (Not yet: Chalk this up to being fortunate to have relatively good genes, or gaining weight slowly. Or perhaps next week I'll suddenly be plagued by stretch marks.)
But then there are all those little things that I either read about in passing or never heard about at all that have come true. This is where it gets real. You might accuse me of oversharing here, and that's fine, so if you'd rather not know the nitty-gritty, you should stop here (but the act of reading a blog is in essence an act of voyeurism, so I figure you're along for the ride. After all, what's the point of sharing if you're not honest?)
Here are my two disclaimers:
1) I am sure your pregnancy was/is/will be different from mine, but the following is a collection of what I've found (and other friends have found) surprising. Everyone's different, blah blah blah.
2) Please don't take this list as me complaining. I am still loving being pregnant and feel so lucky to have this chance to be an almost-mom. I really can't wait.
So here's my list of What I Wish Someone Had Told Me to Expect:
1) How little of my wardrobe would actually fit me in late pregnancy. In the two or three years leading up to getting pregnant, whenever I'd buy new clothes somewhere in the back of my mind I'd think, "Could I wear this when I'm pregnant?" We're blessed to be living at a moment in fashion history when styles are basically made for pregnant women. Or so I thought. And then I hit about 26 weeks pregnant. And then even those non-maternity-yet-should-be-pregnancy-friendly items stopped working. Flow-y tops? They don't necessarily work. In fact, in my experience, most of them don't work. If there are any buttons or zippers involved, count it out for me. This has more to do with rib-cage expansion than anything else. So, if you're planning to have a baby in the next year or two and think stocking up on pregnancy-friendly wear is a good plan, you might reconsider, just because by your third trimester you'll have to suck it up and buy some true maternity wear anyways, so what's the point? Show off your hot bod now.
2) How uncomfortable it is to sit for longer periods of time. Most pregnant women are forbidden from flying at 34 weeks or thereabouts. I took my last flight of my pregnancy at 24 weeks, and it was five of the most uncomfortable hours of my life. I could not imagine flying now at 32 weeks. Yikes. I can't even sit still for more than about 30 minutes at a time. I've also developed a case of restless legs syndrome many nights in bed. My body is tired but my legs keep moving.
3) How I would have to sit completely upright. I've now reached the point where everything in my torso is squashed together. I didn't fully understand this phenomenon until the last few weeks. Now if I sit hunched over at all it really feels like my lungs are compressed and I'm losing oxygen. So, being pregnant is now an exercise in improving my posture, which isn't a bad thing, seeing as my posture is less than stellar.
4) How I would lose my breath after talking for too long. I talk constantly as a teacher, but lately I've found that I can't keep going like I used to without taking deep breaths. I am also trying not to waste my breath, which is why I'd rather scowl at those annoying 16-year-olds who insist on making farting noises during class (yes, you read that correctly) rather than spend my energy telling them it's unacceptable. So far scowling is working out fine.
5) How much my skin would itch. Although I have not gotten stretch marks (yet) my skin around my abdomen is clearly being stretched to the max and it will only get worse. On certain days my skin is totally itchy; on other days it's not noticeable at all, so I'm guessing I'm itching the worst during a Baby Awesomerod growth spurt. She's been having a lot recently.
6) How you can develop a hernia during pregnancy. My doctor thought I had a hernia in my upper right thigh. Good news from yesterday's appointment is that I do not appear to have a hernia, just a really uncomfortable vein. Of everything I've experienced so far in pregnancy, aside from my 6-12 week food aversions, I'd say this troublesome vein has given me the most discomfort. It's best at night when my leg has had time to decompress.
7) How much constipation sucks. OK, so TMI, perhaps, but this is one thing I'd heard about that I still found surprising. I've heard some horror stories, and, well, they're for real. Pregnant women are more likely to get constipated because 1) your body is trying to hold onto every last nutrient possible for the baby and 2) everything is compressed in your body. There are ways to combat, this, but in my experience no way to make it go away 100 percent. Among other things, try: 1) drinking lots of water, 2) walking/staying active, 3) stool softeners (add this to the Pregnancy Essentials Shopping List, under the "This is For Real" category), 4) Fiber One bars, 5) fiber supplements. I've done everything but the fiber supplements, but I'll be picking those up soon.
For those of you women who've given birth or you pregnant ladies out there, what has surprised you most?


text:
Requirements: Heroic, Agility d8, Shooting d8, Marksman
At the end of your turn, chose a target.
He is considered Aimed until the end of your next turn.
Aiming normally doesn't override this target, you just Aim an additional target.
Ascendant campaigns can view previous versions of their pages, see what has changed (and who did it), and even restore old versions. It's like having a rewind button for your campaign.
We've already been saving your edits, so if you
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- Home
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- Human Resources
- >>
- The New Human Capital Strategy
The New Human Capital Strategy
Improving the Value of Your Most Important Investment--Year After Year
Author: Bradley W. Hall, Ph.D.
Pub Date: January 2008
Print Edition: $22.95
Print ISBN: 9780814420034
Page Count: 256
Format: Paper or Softback
e-Book ISBN: 9780814409596
Buy the book:
Table of Contents
Foreword by Clayton M. Christensen ix
Introduction: A Systematic Approach to Growing
Your Human Capital 1
Time for a New Approach 3
Today's Approach to Human Capital Management 6
Shifting to a New Approach 8
Why This Book Was Written 11
Chapter 1: A New Source of Competitive Advantage 17
Maintaining Competitive Advantage 18
Competing on Human Capital: What's It Worth? 20
The Need for a New Paradigm 23
Human Capital Management 24
Executing the Human Capital Strategy 31
The Outcomes of HCS 36
Conclusion 37
Chapter 2: The New Human Capital Strategy 39
The Current State of HR Strategies 40
Building a Human Capital Blueprint 44
The Human Capital Theory 47
The Human Capital Vision 49
Setting the Human Capital Vision 50
Strategic Human Capital Components 51
Plans That Deliver Business Results 55
Determining the Optimal Blueprint for
Your Organization 59
Conclusion 63
Chapter 3: Creating Capabilities to Execute the Blueprint 65
Today's Human Resources Function 67
Today's Performance Gap 70
Aligning the HR Structure 76
Fixing HR Systems 85
Shifting Values from the Internal to the External 89
Using HR Skills to Provide Change Leadership 94
Conclusion 99
Chapter 4: Effective Executive Teams 105
Why Are Executive Teams Important? 107
Building the Executive Team 107
Executive Team Design 108
Improving Executive Team Performance: A Roadmap 119
Conclusion 127
Chapter 5: Leaders Who Deliver Results 128
Leadership Development: The Current State 130
Building Leadership Excellence: A Roadmap 136
Conclusion 157
Chapter 6: Key Position Excellence 160
Key Position Performance: The Current State 162
Key Position Excellence: The Roadmap 172
Conclusion 187
Chapter 7: Improving Workforce Performance 189
Performance Improvement: The Current State 192
Building a High-Performance Organization:
The Roadmap 200
Conclusion 215
Chapter 8: Putting It All Together 219
Step 1: Create Capabilities to Drive Change 220
Step 2: Define Success 226
Step 3: Create an Integrated Improvement Process 229
Conclusion 235
Index 237
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Well, here I am blogging on the bus with my newly installed Windows Live Writer!!!
This blog is a text version of a five minute "Gong Show" presentation I did at CIDR (Conference on Innovative Database Research) on Jan 8,2007.
All computing can be considered as: "Memories, Guesses, and Apologies". This is a personal opinion about how computers suck. Furthermore, it offers additional opinions about how we can take advantage of their sucki-ness. Lets dig into this...
Newton and Einstein
It used to be that we thought of computing as one big-ass mainframe. The database folks only thought about the database. Transactions (and transactional serializability) offered a crisp and clear perspective of how time marches forward uniformly. When working on transaction T(i), any other transaction T(j) can be perceived as occurring before T(i) or after T(i). If T(i) and T(j) are concurrently processed, the transaction system ensures that either order is correct without modifying the semantics. This offers a crisp and clear perspective of now. Time marches forward like a clock exactly as Newton envisaged his universe.
Nowadays, we have lots and lots of computers. Big ones, small ones, connected, disconnected, occasionally connected, etc. These computers each have their own perspective of time. When you see data, it is unlocked and an artifact of the past. Time is subjective with many different notions of now. This is very much the way Einstein revamped our understanding of the universe.
Moving to SOA is like moving from Newton's Universe to Einstein's Universe.
Inventory and Forklifts
Even is your computer system is perfectly accurate, the data contained withe in it may be incorrect. Data is entered by people and/or sensors. You have the challenge of garbage-in-garbage-out.
Based on the knowledge contained with the computer, decisions are made.
"Jim wants to buy a widget."
"Hey, we have one in the warehouse in New York!"
"Ship it to Jim, should be there on Tuesday!"
Now this is just great... Then the forklift runs over the only widget you have in stock and you won't get any more widgets for a month!
Even if the computer is perfect, it is disconnected from the real world!!! Decisions made by the computer may not be possible to implement!
Guessing and Partial Knowledge
Computers always have partial knowledge for a couple of reasons. First, they will always be separated from the real world. Stuff that happens in the real world will, at best, be reflected after the fact in the computer system. Second, a computer system may have other replicas from which it is separated. A computer's knowledge of the world will be partial.
Computers do not make decisions... They try to make decisions.
The best a computer can do is make a guess. It might be a good guess. It might be a bad guess. Either way, there is no certainty, only guesses.
Memories and Sharing
It is really nice to remember your guesses... It makes it easier when you guessed correctly. It makes it easier to clean up the mess when you've guessed wrong. Usually, computers remember what they've guessed.
Furthermore, it is nice to share with other replicas. You get all the coolness of replicas,disaster protection, etc. Replication definitely helps with memories.
Increased fidelity of memories implies increased cost! The more money you spend on mirroring, replicas, disaster backup, and so forth, the better your memory. The more you spend on increased latencies while you ensure the replicas are in sync before proceeding, the more you reduce the chance of forgetfulness.
It is a business decision how much money, latency, and energy should be spent on reducing forgetfulness. To make this decision, the costs of the increased probability of remembering should be weighed against the costs of occasionally forgetting stuff.
Screw-Ups and Apologies
Consider the following slide from this mini-presentation:
#1 - The application has only a single replica and makes a "decision" to ship the widget on Wednesday. This "decision" is sent to the user.
#2 - The forklift pummels the widget to smithereens.
#3 - The application has no recourse but to apologize, informing the customer they can have another widget in one month (after the incoming shipment arrives).
#4 - Consider an alternate example with two replicas working independently. Replica-1 "decides" to ship the widget and sends that "decision" to User-1.
#5 - Independently, Replica-2 makes a "decision" to ship the last remaining widget to User-2.
#6 - Replica-2 informs Replica-1 of its "decision" to ship the last remaining widget to User-2.
#7 - Replica-1 realizes that they are in trouble... Bummer.
#8 - Replica-1 tells User-1 that he guessed wrong.
#9 - Note that the behavior experienced by the user in the first example is indistinguishable from the experience of user-1 in the second example.
Eventual Consistency and Crappy Computers
Business realities force apologies. To cope with these difficult realities, we need code and, frequently, we need human beings to apologize. It is essential that businesses have both code and people to manage these apologies.
Replication can force apologies. This is the same crap we have to deal with when the physical realities are out of sync with the computer's knowledge, [Please note: I am NOT saying that all replication errors are identical to the business realities. I AM saying that when you replicate business operations (rather than the back-end state of your internal database), the shape of being out-of-sync does, indeed, mimic the business realities.]
We try too hard as an industry. Frequently, we build big and expensive datacenters and deploy big and expensive computers.
In many cases, comparable behavior can be achieved with a lot of crappy machines which cost less than the big expensive one.
Consider the cost/benefit of building big-ass and expensive machines! Careful design of a collection of replicas may fill the business need at a better value!
Just a thought for the day...
- Pat


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1. Re: 82915gv drivers update for window 7unplugged_24 May 25, 2009 12:17 PM (in response to irfan888)
Assuming that it's the 915GV chipset, you could you this utility to check for drivers: http://support.intel.com/support/graphics/detect.htm
Try to install the drivers that it suggests. However, so far I know there are no drivers available yet for windows 7 for intel boards and components. Windows 7 RC normally comes with loads of drivers already built in. I have tried windows 7 on a normal 3 series desktop board and i didnt need to install the audio drivers at all(for example) and it was working fine..but as a normal routine i installed all the drivers just to make sure it was properly done.
Windows vista drivers will probably work. I think the windows 7 we have so far is only a release candidate, meaning it is not official yet, hence i guess intel has not made any drivers available yet since it's still under testing. Hope they will come out quite soon with drivers for windows 7.
2. Re: 82915gv drivers update for window 7irfan888 May 25, 2009 11:00 PM (in response to unplugged_24)
Thanks for help.
Problem is that there is no driver available for 82915gv in windows vista also. Although it is capable for windows aero but just because there is no driver update available, aero theme is not showing up.
Is it possible I try different driver like Nividia drivers that will support my hardware?


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Bankruptcy is more than just a court filing. It is a process that involves strategic considerations before, during and after the filing takes place.
At Patton Knipp & Dean, we have pioneered The Complete Bankruptcy approach as a model for helping people through all stages of the bankruptcy process. Our guidance will extend far beyond just telling you how to file for bankruptcy. We view our role as advocates to also encompass the many practical considerations of bankruptcy. To that end, we offer detailed, one-on-one representation for those seeking a fresh financial start.
Our job begins when you walk into our office for a free consultation. We will help you explore your debt relief options, including Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. You can expect to come away with the knowledge you need to make an informed decision on what to do next.
Many people worry about the stress that accompanies such a highly technical process as filing bankruptcy. At our firm, you can gain peace of mind knowing our experienced attorneys will handle everything for you. Our legal team will let you know what to expect at each stage of the process, and we will keep you informed of everything that happens in your case.
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Your first step is as easy as contacting our firm online for a free initial consultation. We serve people throughout Kansas, Kansas City and Missouri. We offer no money down bankruptcy services for those pursuing Chapter 13.


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By Tamika Matthews, Belvoir EagleNovember 28, 2008
Graves Fitness Center hosted the Great American Smokeout fitness fair Thursday in an attempt to stop smokers from lighting up.
The smokeout, designated as the third Thursday in November each year by the American Cancer Society, began in 1977 as a day for smokers around the country to quit smoking for a day in the hopes they will want to give up completely.
Fort Belvoir's own version of the smokeout came to Graves with fitness assessments, nutritional advice and information booths.
Goody bags were available to encourage smokers to quit and included mints to replace to cigarettes, a stress ball to keep hands busy and a list of tips to stop smoking.
MWR teamed up with DeWitt Health Center to put the event together. "We wanted to give individuals different options, whether they're looking at changing from a sedentary to active lifestyle or using tobacco to being tobacco-free," said Anthony Poore, MWR fitness coordinator.
Fitness equipment was on hand with MWR employees at the ready to show patrons how to use them properly. Outdoor Recreation had a booth that featured members of the installation hiking club, and the aquatics program featured flyers promoting their programs.
Outside establishments also set up shop at the fair to promote total body wellness, including MyBodySpa and the Bradley Spine Center.
People might not initially associate a spa in an effort to stop smoking, but MyBodySpa wellness education specialist Charmaine Ringwood sees a natural link.
"Smoking is not a part of wellness," said Ringwood. "It ruins your body's natural function. For us, being here is a perfect fit, because we talk about total body health and offer options for help."
April Phelps, health promotion coordinator at DeWitt, felt the fair was an opportunity to motivate people to quit using tobacco and served as a launch pad to do full lifestyle changes.
To cover more ground, Phelps said more people were stationed at the Home and Garden shop and PX/Commissary. "We want to make sure we get the word out," she said.
Sign-up sheets were available for people willing to quit smoking for periods of 24 hours to six months. Those who signed up for the six-month break and committed to a smoking cessation course through DeWitt were entered in a raffle for amusement park tickets.
Phelps said smoking poses a serious threat for servicemembers because it "decreases mission effectiveness."
Most people immediately associate smoking with an increased risk of cancer, but as Lt. Col. Leonardo Martinez, chief of preventive medicine at DeWitt, pointed out, there are other real but lesser-known threats.
"Nicotine has an effect on the optic nerves in the eye, and it damages the retinas. Research has also been done that says smoking affects your hearing. Your sense of taste is different and it does damage to your nervous system. For males, it can even result in impotence," Martinez explained.
"The list goes on," Phelps agreed. "You're paying someone to put toxic chemicals in your body."
For more information on smoking and how to quit, visit the American Cancer Society Web site at www.cancer.org.


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CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Croton-Harmon Superintendent Edward Fuhrman may recommend a tax cap override in the 2014-2015 budget.
"We may be looking at an override in (that year) to stay alive," Fuhrman said. "We may face such threats to the credibility of our program that the taxpayers say, 'Whoa, we don't want to dismantle this.' "
One of Fuhrman's major concerns are contributions to the statewide Teachers Retirement System. Each year, the system must make at least an 8 percent return on investment from investments in the stock market or districts make up the shortfall, hence increased contributions since the economic collapse in 2008.
Returns on investment are averaged for a five-year period to inject stability into the districts' contributions. One number in the five-year average, a negative 20.5 percent return on investment from the 2008-2009 fiscal year, still is being averaged into the districts' contributions.
"We need to drop that baby off the cliff," Fuhrman said.
The Croton-Harmon Board of Education is unlikely to seek an override of the tax cap in the 2013-2014 budget year. Fuhrman did not recommend it, and it appears some of the shortfall can be made up through changes in staffing due to declining enrollment in the district.
"I cannot recommend an override this year because we might need one next year," Fuhrman said. "To go out for an override twice is suicide."
School budgets are approved by public vote, a 60 percent supermajority is needed to approve a tax cap override. Although the tax cap is generally referred to as a "2 percent" tax cap, a complex formula handed down by the state provides each district with a unique cap that affects its own tax levy. Croton's taxcap for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is 3.1 percent. The district must reduce $809,000 from its roughly $45 million budget to get below the cap.
The tax levy is the amount of money to be raised through real property taxes. The tax rate is affected by the tax rolls, or the assessed value of property within a district, and the equalization rate, also handed down by the state.
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For Load:
- Deadlift 3x3
- Weighted Pullup 3x3
- Overhead Squat 3x3
Deadlift - Compare to March 2011
Weighted Pullup - Compare to June and Sept 2011
Overhead Squat - Compare to Jan and March 2010
We welcome Rob, as he joins us today! Rob just moved here and CrossFitted in Chicago.
Common Deadlift Errors. Common mistakes you need to avoid to minimize risks of injuries when doing Deadlifts.
- Hips Too High. Use your knees: it's not a Stiff-legged Deadlift. Put the bar against your shins with the shoulder-blades directly over the bar.
- Hips Too Low. It's not a Squat. Put the bar against your shins with the shoulder-blades directly over the bar. Shoulders in front of the bar.
- Bending Your Back. Increases the pressure on your spine thus increasing risk of injury. Keep your chest up at all times & look forward.
- Hyper-extending Your Back. As bad as bending. The Deadlift ends when your hips & knees are locked. No need to arch at the top.
- Rolling the Shoulders. Dangerous & inefficient. Your hip muscles move the weight, not your shoulders. Extend your knees & hips, stop.
- Shrugging at The Top. Unnecessary.
- Pulling with Bent Arms. You could tear your biceps by pulling with bent arms. Keep your arms straight, tighten your triceps.
Katy and Nikki both got their first pullup today!
Kim perserveres after knee injury and PR's 3 reps at weight over her previous 1RM! WOOT!


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Due to busy lifestyles and poor dietary habits, it is estimated that 85% of kids in the U.S. fail to consume the USDA's recommended 5-to-9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Just about every parent has experienced frustration trying to convince picky children to eat healthy vegetables. Nutrition convenience pioneer Amazing Grass has created an innovative and delicious solution to this problem for children age 2 and up with their new Wild Berry Kidz SuperFood drink powder.
New Wild Berry Kidz SuperFood is a nutritional powerhouse that combines a rainbow of 32 phyto-nutritious™ fruits and veggies with the delicious flavor of Yumberry – a superfruit that is loaded with healthy antioxidants. This convenient drink mix supports healthy bodies and minds with a naturally balanced source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals derived from whole fruits and vegetables. One serving provides the antioxidant equivalent of 3 servings of fruits and vegetables. Amazing Grass' original Chocolate version of Kidz SuperFood has been a leading seller for the company for many years, and its success inspired the creation of the Wild Berry variety.
Although new to North America and known by the nickname Yumberry, the yang-mei fruit has been enjoyed by Chinese culture for thousands of years. This superfruit offers a delicious sweet & sour flavor similar to pomegranate and cranberries. Used in China for medicinal purposes since ancient times, Yumberry is rich in antioxidants like proanthocyanidins and contains many vitamins including vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, and carotene.
"This innovative superfood drink offers essential 'whole food' fruit and vegetable nutrition that you just can't get from a multi-vitamin," says Amazing Grass co-founder Todd Habermehl. Wild Berry Kidz SuperFood contains more than 70% organic ingredients and is an excellent source of beta carotene, thiamin (B-1) and Vitamin K and is a good source of Vitamin C, Iron, Riboflavin (B-2) and Folic Acid. "What is not in it is important, too," adds Habermehl. Kidz SuperFood is vegan and all-natural, which means there are no artificial colors, flavors and fillers. It is also gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free and GMO-free and contains only one gram of sugar per serving.
The powder mixes easily with water or juice and is offered in a scoopable 200g canister for a SRP of $24.99, and in a 15-count box of convenient single-serve packets for $21.99. Kidz SuperFood is an affordable way to help achieve the recommended daily servings of fruits and veggies, and it is especially ideal for lunch boxes, an after school snack, practice, and travel. Amazing Grass products are widely available at stores around the country and at www.AmazingGrass.com.
Amazing Grass is Creating A Buzz with an Innovative Back-to-School Paperless Raffle for Skateboards
To help create a buzz for the launch of Wild Berry Kidz SuperFood, Amazing Grass is partnering with Element Skateboards, Whole Foods Market and Phizzle Instant Messaging Marketing on a Back-to-School 'paperless raffle' contest. The innovative green marketing promotion combines mobile messaging technology, a fun skateboard giveaway and a healthy green message that resonates with kids. Each participating store will receive a new eco-friendly Element skateboard to raffle off. Stores will build a Kidz SuperFood merchandising display that incorporates the skateboard and signage. To enter the contest, store customers will view the easy signage instructions and use their cell phone to send a text with the store raffle code.
Amazing Grass' mission is to educate the world about the benefits of green SuperFoods and the improved quality of life derived from healthy eating habits. In addition to the new Wild Berry Kidz SuperFood, Amazing Grass also offers Green SuperFood, Chocolate Green SuperFood, Berry Green SuperFood, and Chocolate Kidz SuperFood drink powders, 3 varieties of Amazing Meal, Organic Wheat Grass in drink powder and tablet forms, and new organic Whole Food Energy Bars.
Amazing Grass is a friends-and family-owned company with roots that date back over 60 years of growing and dehydrating green foods. The company produces certified organic wheat grass, barley grass, oat grass, rye grass and alfalfa at a family farm in Kansas, and markets the most nutritious, convenient and affordable green SuperFoods to help families thrive. Amazing Grass stands out because the grasses are field-grown throughout the winter allowing the roots to soak up nutrients from mineral-rich soil for over 6 months. "The young leaves are harvested just one time each year at their nutritional peak," says co-founder Brandon Bert. "The greens are carefully flash dehydrated at low temperatures, frozen as whole leaf powders and then packed in nitrogen to maintain freshness. The extra steps ensure customers get the most nutrient-dense raw green food powders in the world," adds Bert. For more information, please visit www.amazinggrass.com.


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After Your Visit
What happens after my Emergency Dental appointment?
You May Be Finished!
Your dental emergency may be completely treated in one visit to our Dental 911 clinic. Fillings, extractions and the replacement of denture teeth are all examples of treatments that can be done in one visit.
If You Need Another Appointment:
– And you have a Regular Dentist:
After you have been treated by our E.R. Dentist, if you require further appointments, we will refer you back to your regular dentist for the completion of your treatment.
Some of the services Dental 911 can begin and your dentist can complete include:
- Root Canals (that require a second visit)
- Permanent Crowns
- Follow-up Care of Gum Infections
We will send your dentist a comprehensive report of your treatment and any X-rays taken so that your dentist understands the treatment you have received at Dental 911 and may complete it at their office.
If You Need Another Appointment:
– And you do NOT have a Regular Dentist:
If you don't have a regular dentist, Dental 911 offers scheduled visits for the completion of your treatment after your ER Dental Care. Dental 911 has dentists who provide comprehensive general care to patients with continuing dental needs. We can provide all traditional dental services including:
- Cleanings
- Fillings
- Crowns & Bridges
- Dentures
- Implants
- Teeth Whitening/Bleaching
- Cosmetic Treatments
- Extractions, including wisdom teeth
Call us 7 days a week & evenings Monday – Friday to set up an appointment that fits your schedule! 303-393-9911


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This gas mask is made of soft rubber and fits snuggly and comfortably protecting the Face, eyes and respiratory system against various chemical and
biological agents. These original 2 types of Israeli gas mask designed for fast and easy donning in an event of emergency. Israeli civilian gas masks
and M-15 Military Gas masks have large impact resistant Plexiglas eyeholes for wide field of view. In addition. Each gas mask Includes drinking system.


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Bike Valet
Bike Valet Parking for Your Next Event
Make sure your event is bike friendly with our secure and simple bike parking system. Rent the system and staff it with your own volunteers, or let EcoSuperior take care of everything for you. A nominal fee or a toonie is suggested for the cyclist. The parking fees help support EcoSuperior's environmental programs if we provide staffing, or may be used as a fundraiser for your own organization if you provide your own volunteers.
Ease Parking Pressure
Fight Climate Change
Encourage Healthy Lifestyles
Improve Air Quality
Have Fun!
Our event bicycle parking is a set of portable high capacity racks that can easily be assembled. Each modular unit can accommodate 7 bicycles. Using all our racks can accommodate up to 105 bicycles. These racks are designed to be easy to move and are, therefore, not secure without the presence of Bike Valets. Valets park and retrieve bikes for cyclists and ensure bikes are safe while parked. We can provide Bike Valets or provide training for your own Bike Valets.
Site Requirements
You need a flat area for these racks to work. The space required depends on how many bikes you want to accommodate, and each rack takes 7 bikes. For 100 bikes, we recommend roughly 10m by 20m. See layout plan.
>>> To register for bike valet, click here <<<


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A.O. Scott at the NYT has a quite different view of this movie than I did. I interpreted it as more a defense (of sorts) of Jack Abramoff, who is depicted as a hard-working, entrepreneurial family man who generally has more limits on his behavior than those around him, but who gets corrupted by the insanity of life inside the beltway. I took the hectic pace of the movie, which does not go into depth about any particular bit of misbehavior, as designed to capture the feel of Abramoff's life at the time.
Scott and I do agree on the fact that Jon Lovitz steals part of the show as the shady (is there some other kind?) mattress salesman.
More broadly, what is not so clear to me is why the petty influence peddling that Abramoff engaged in is any worse, from a practical or moral standpoint, than perfectly legal actions such as the Obama administration shutting down the DC voucher program to (indirectly) buy votes, volunteers and cash from the teacher labor cartels (or equivalently transparent political transactions undertaken by the republicans when they hold power).
Who was my favorite student this term?
1 year ago


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Somebody asked the other day: "You're old enough to have been to Vietnam. Why didn't you go to Vietnam back then?" "I didn't wanna die." So now I photograph war — a coward hiding on the battlefield.
I needed to go to Iraq. I pushed for it. Nobody would send me — and no one was letting me embed. The invasion happened without me, and I thought I was gonna miss it. Sure enough, the war was officially over as per George W. Bush. Soon, it became clear to me, I had time. This war was far from over, and worse, we had far from won.
The technology failed to get us a quick and clear victory and now we had to get down and dirty. I was gonna do it, like they did it back then, during that other down and dirty war.
I wanted to cover Iraq the way my heroes covered Vietnam and Beirut. We'd gone to Fallujah to meet with insurgents, to photograph a weapons cache. Instead they took me to a couple of charred bodies. "Spies." Blackwater contractors.
Some say war photographers are like soldiers. I don't see that. Why do boys become soldiers? Because their fathers were soldiers. There is no gunslinger in the soldier motive. Well, Patton used to have a pearl handgun. The soldier is about being honorable. The personal motivation for being a soldier is to serve one's country. Or to follow in your father's footsteps. That was David Douglas Duncan — he was a soldier, not just because he was a US Marine, he was just built like that. He was no outsider. He was a part of a group, soldiers.
//they're on the chessboard. beinG a soldier is all about discipline and taKinG orders to complete the mission//
Lee Marvin in The Big Red One is a real soldier — he has orders and he gives orders: if you don't go up that hill I'm going to put a bullet in your head.
If you work for the wire services, you take orders, you execute and make your deadline. Every day. That is a soldier mentality — very precise, very concise. But the guys I know are no soldiers. Jan is no soldier, with his tattoos. Chin with his Chinese philosophy, no way. Some don't even want to be embedded. Yuri is driving around in Iraq by himself. Photographers see themselves as soldiers of fortune perhaps, lost samurais. Chris is definitely a samurai. There is a bit of role playing going on. Gunslingers, on the outside, outcasts, loners. Quick on the draw. load, aim and shoot.
// we love pathos // Pathos is the human condition.
I give you the fact that both the soldier and the war photographer are somehow escaping the average life. For both it's about adventure and risk. But to be a soldier you have to be young, to be a photographer you don't have to be young. Though I'm bombarded by young photographers who ask me how to become a conflict photographer. I tell them: "Get a life." If they persist, I tell them about the consequences. I tell them there is no glory. They glamorize the idea of becoming a conflict photographer. But they have no idea what it means.
From "Black Passport"


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May 17, 2016 – Ninety American and foreign-trained attorney's received their LL.M. degrees Saturday during commencement exercises at Hofheinz Pavilion.
Nineteen U.S. lawyers and 71 attorneys who received their law degrees in countries ranging from Argentina and Belarus to Uganda and Venezuela earned advanced degrees in one of the Law Center's six specialty programs. The Energy, Environment & Natural Resources program attracted the most students followed by the U.S. Law program, a general course of study for foreign-trained attorneys. Other LL.M. programs are Health Law, Intellectual Property & Information Law, International Law, and Tax Law.


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Stettin StationeBook - 2010
From the critics
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This is a follow-on of Downing's Zoo Station set in 1941 Berlin and Central Europe. The plot thickens as British correspondent, John Russell, uncovers the Nazi "final solution" plans. The problem is how to get the information out to the Allies, and perhaps to get the US to do more than allowing American corporations make more money via Lend Lease and continue selling to the Axis through their German affiliates.
John is conflicted. He has lived in Germany for years, has a German ex-wife, son and a German girlfriend, Effi, who happens to be a successful and easliy recognized movies German star. John and Effi struggle against the all odds to get out of Germany before the Gestapo makes it impossible. Great drama, good description of central Europe under the Nazis and the dread of living in a police state.
Well written.
This is the 3rd installment of John Russell's ongoing struggles. In this story he finds himself in an increasingly complicated situation. "In reality he had done nothing to help Nazi Germany and several things to impede it, but the number of people who could actually testify to that fact were decidedly thin on the ground. If all of them dropped dead before the war's end he would have some difficult explaining to do."
This story, while compelling, has been done and therefore seems boring. I kept hoping for something new, but the new parts seemed to be the teachy bits about who did what to whom and where. I found the low-key pace too slow to hold my interest and the characters never really came alive to me.
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Glens Of Antrim Medical Centre2 Gortaclee RoadCushendallCo Antrim, BT44 0TETel: 028 2177 1411
ARE YOU AND YOURS REGISTERED WITH A DENTIST?? "to be entitled to receive your dental care under the NHS, you must be registered with your dentist and the registration needs to be renewed every two years. The Glens Dental Practice situated in the Medical Centre is accepting new patients of all ages and welcoming back our past patients who registration has lapsed. Call at the dental reception in the Medical Centre or telephone 028 21771242 for details about your NHS dental registration.
Men ACWY Vaccine: Now available for all young people who were born between 02.07.1998 and 01.07.1999, and for Students up to the age of 25 who will be commencing University in 2016 for the first time, please contact reception to make an appointment.
ANTIBIOTIC REQUESTS: In accordance with NHSCT guidelines, the practice will no longer be able to issue antibiotics for any purpose (ie: coughs, chest infection etc). It will be necessary for the patient to attend either a Nurse or GP for assessment. In the case of a suspected kidney/urine infection a urine sample must be left in for analysis.
IMPORTANT: ARE YOU AGED 50 OR OVER AND DO YOU SMOKE - If soYou are at risk of Peripheral Vascular DiseasePlease see latest news section for full details
In-House Counselling ServiceMr Joe Brogan holds weekly clinics. These are free of charge to our patients. If you are interested please speak to your doctor.
Out of Hours "Dalriada Urgent Care" provides this service. When the medical centre is closed a pre-recorded message will be obtained by phoning 2177 1411 or alternatively you may telephone directly. 028 2566 3500 Please consider that this is an emergency service only
Treatment Room Nurse - Mrs Gemma Campbell BSc Nursing; Gemma carries out a wide and varied role within the treatment room including: dressings, BP checks, Bloods, Cryotherapy, Travel injections and Childhood immunisations, ECGs, Doppler studies, Helicobacter breath tests, assisting GP's with minor surgery etc. Gemma has recently completed a course in spirometry which enables her to carry out lung function testing to aid in the management and diagnosis of lung conditions. Gemma has also completed a smoking cessation course and can assist anyone who is trying to stop smoking. Appointments can be made with Gemma either on-line under treatment room or by telephoning reception.
Treatment Room Nurse - Mrs Collette Emerson BSc Nursing; Collette carries out a wide and varied role within the treatment room including: dressings, BP, Bloods, Cryotherapy, ECGS, Travel injections and Childhood immunisations, ECG's Doppler studies, Helicobacter breath test, assisting GP's with minor surgery etc. Appointments can be made with Collette either on-line under treatment room or by telephoning reception.
The Physiotherapist attends weekly on Wednesday afternoons. Appointments are by referral from the GP.
The Podiatrist holds a weekly clinic on Thursday mornings. Appointments are by referral from the GP or telephone Coleraine 028 7034 4831.
The Speech & Language Therapist holds a weekly clinic on Thursday mornings. Appointments are by referral from the GP and/or Health Visitor. (please note this has changed from Tuesday Mornings)
The Dietetician holds a monthly clinic on Tuesday mornings. Appointments are by referral from the GP.
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Dactylorhiza fuchsii.
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Italian Sausage Kabobs
Thanks to our good friends at HG Distributing for this wonderful creation. Easy to make and delicious to eat. Try it at your next cookout.
Cut each Italian Sausage link into six pieces; Cut green peppers into sections, then cut each section into three pieces. Quarter the red onions.
On each skewer, place SAUSAGE -- ONION -- MUSHROOM -- GREEN PEPPER, repeat and end with Sausage. Brush on spaghetti sauce, place on preheated grill. Grill for 15 minutes, brush on spaghetti sauce, grill 12-15 more minutes.
Additional Information
Recipe Source: HG Distributing · Cooking Time: 30 minutes ·


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Groups back wind-energy tax credit
November 29, 2012 by Jeff
Filed under Green Energy News
Talk about it
Federal wind-energy production tax credits are about to blow off the fiscal cliff unless Congress acts to renew them.
That was the message Wednesday from environmental groups, a Duluth wind turbine company and Duluth Mayor Don Ness, who urged Congress to restore the credits to keep the wind energy industry thriving.
Without the credits, set to expire Dec. 31, it's expected that the industry will fall into the doldrums, with few new turbines manufactured. That means fewer turbines passing through Duluth's port and fewer wind farms that replace coal-burning powerplants.
Supporters say wind energy is helping reduce the state's reliance on coal for electricity, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions blamed for warming the planet.
The group Environmental Minnesota released a report Wednesday in Duluth saying that wind turbines in Minnesota alone save the equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions of taking 757,000 cars off the road each year. Minnesota now gets about 13 percent of its electricity from wind, the fourth-highest amount of any state.
"We can continue on this path of cutting dangerous pollution and saving water if Congress acts now to extend critical wind incentives" said Michelle Hesterberg of Environment Minnesota. "Our message to Congress is clear: Don't let wind power blow off the fiscal cliff."
The group called on Minnesotans to urge Congress to vote to renew the tax credits.
The production tax credit, first enacted in 1992, offers 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour for wind energy, a federal incentive intended to encourage development of domestic, renewable energy sources.
Ness noted that Minnesota Power already is moving to increased wind energy and is ahead of schedule toward meeting state requirements to produce 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. But Ness said the federal credits are important to encourage wind investment that keeps money and jobs in Duluth and Minnesota rather than going out of state or overseas for coal or oil.
Joseph Woods, president of Duluth-based Ventera Wind, makers of small wind turbines, said the threat of losing the production tax credit already has crippled the wind industry, forcing layoffs and delaying or canceling wind projects as companies pull back while waiting for Congress to act. Woods said the decision by Congress should be an easy one if jobs and long-term energy and environmental policy are important.
"Wind power is a win-win. It equals a cleaner environment, more jobs and better national security," Woods said.
But opponents say the cost of the tax credit — an estimated $12 billion for each year it is extended — isn't worth the benefit, especially as Congress and the President struggle to cut the federal budget deficit. They say the wind industry should be left to compete in the free market with other energy sources without taxpayer subsidy or "energy welfare."
"The government needs to stop … establishing policies that pick winners and losers in the energy marketplace," said Thomas Pyle, president of the conservative American Energy Alliance, in a report issued last month. "The wind (production tax credit) has run its course, and taxpayers must no longer be forced to subsidize a well-established wind industry."
The Alliance is funded largely with money from the coal and oil industries.
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