text:
The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian neo-noir science fiction action film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Computer programmer "Neo" learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the "dream world".
The Matrix is known for popularizing a visual effect known as "bullet time", in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera's viewpoint appears to move through the scene at normal speed. The film is an example of the cyberpunk science fiction genre. It contains numerous references to philosophical and religious ideas, and prominently pays homage to works such as Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for Japanese animation and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema was influential upon subsequent Hollywood action film productions.
The Matrix was first released in the United States on March 31, 1999, and grossed over $460 million worldwide. It was generally well-received by critics, and won four Academy Awards as well as other accolades including BAFTA Awards and Saturn Awards. Reviewers praised The Matrix for its innovative visual effects, cinematography and its entertainment. The film's premise was both criticized for being derivative of earlier science fiction works, and praised for being intriguing. The action also polarized critics, some describing it as impressive, but others dismissing it as a trite distraction from an interesting premise.
The film has since appeared in lists of the greatest science fiction films, and in 2012, was added to the National Film Registry for preservation. The success of the film led to the release of two feature film sequels, both written and directed by the Wachowskis: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. The Matrix franchise was further expanded through the production of comic books, video games, and animated short films in which the Wachowskis were heavily involved.
Trinity, an infamous hacker, is cornered by police in an abandoned hotel. She overpowers them with superhuman abilities and escapes, but a group of sinister and superhuman black-suited Agents lead the police in a rooftop pursuit. She answers a ringing public telephone and vanishes.
Thomas Anderson is a computer programmer living a double life under the hacker alias "Neo". He believes something is wrong with the world and is puzzled by repeated online encounters with the cryptic phrase "the Matrix". Trinity contacts him, saying that a man named Morpheus can explain its meaning; however, the Agents, led by Agent Smith, apprehend Neo at his office. Undeterred, Neo meets Morpheus, who offers him a choice between a red pill that will allow him to learn the truth about the Matrix, and a blue pill that will return him to his old life. Swallowing the red pill, Neo's reality disintegrates and he awakens, naked and weak, in a liquid-filled pod, finding himself one of countless people connected by cables to an elaborate electrical system. He is rescued and brought aboard Morpheus's hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar.
Morpheus explains that, in the 21st century, humans waged a war against intelligent machines that they had created. When humans blocked the machines' access to solar energy, the machines began to harvest the humans' bioelectricity for power. The Matrix is a shared simulation of the world as it was in 1999 in which the minds of the harvested humans are trapped and pacified; Neo has been living in it since birth. Morpheus and his crew belong to a group of rebels who hack into the Matrix and "unplug" enslaved humans, recruiting them as rebels. The rebels' understanding of the true nature of the simulated reality allows them to bend its physical laws, granting them superhuman abilities. Neo is warned that fatal injuries within the Matrix will also kill one's physical body, and that the Agents he encountered are powerful sentient programs that eliminate threats to the system. Neo's skill during virtual combat training lends credence to Morpheus's belief that Neo is "the One", a man prophesied to lead the insurrection of enslaved humans against the machines.
The group enters the Matrix to visit the Oracle, a prophet who predicted the emergence of the One. She implies that Neo is not the One, and warns Neo that he will soon have to choose between his life and the life of Morpheus. Before they can leave the Matrix, the group is ambushed by Agents and tactical police. Morpheus allows himself to be captured so that Neo and the crew can escape. However, their getaway is hindered by Cypher, a crew member who betrayed Morpheus to Agent Smith in exchange for a blissful, comfortable life within the Matrix. Cypher disconnects and murders several crew members as they lie defenseless in the real world, before he is killed by Tank, a crewman whom he had left for dead.
In the Matrix, the Agents interrogate Morpheus in an attempt to learn his access codes to the mainframe computer in Zion, the rebel humans' last refuge in the real world. Tank proposes killing Morpheus to prevent this, but Neo, who believes that he is not the One, instead resolves to return to the Matrix to rescue Morpheus, and Trinity insists she accompany him. They succeed in rescuing Morpheus, and in doing so Neo gains confidence in his abilities, performing feats on par with those of the Agents. Morpheus and Trinity exit the Matrix, but Smith ambushes and kills Neo before he can leave. In the real world, "sentinel" machines attack the Nebuchadnezzar, while Trinity stands over Neo and whispers to him that the Oracle told her that she would fall in love with the One. She kisses Neo, and he revives with the power to perceive and control the Matrix. He effortlessly destroys Smith and leaves the Matrix in time for the ship's electromagnetic pulse weapon to disable the attacking sentinels.
Some time later, Neo makes a telephone call in the Matrix, promising the machines that he will show their prisoners "a world where anything is possible". He hangs up and flies into the sky.
- Keanu Reeves as Thomas A. Anderson / Neo
- Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus
- Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity
- Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith
- Joe Pantoliano as Cypher
- Gloria Foster as the Oracle
- Marcus Chong as Tank
- Paul Goddard as Agent Brown
- Robert Taylor as Agent Jones
- Julian Arahanga as Apoc
- Anthony Ray Parker as Dozer
- Matt Doran as Mouse
- Ada Nicodemou as DuJour
The Matrix is an action thriller and a co-production of Warner Bros. Studios and Australian Village Roadshow Pictures, and all but a few scenes were filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, and in the city itself. Recognizable landmarks were not included in order to maintain the setting of a generic American city. Nevertheless, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, AWA Tower, Martin Place and a Commonwealth Bank branch are visible in some shots. Subtle nods were included to Chicago, Illinois, the home city of the directors, through place names, city maps, and a subtly placed picture of the Sears Tower.
The rooftop set that Trinity uses to escape from Agent Jones early in the film was leftover from the production of Dark City, which has been remarked upon due to the thematic similarities of the films. According to The Art of the Matrix, at least one filmed scene and a variety of short pieces of action were omitted from the final cut, and have (to date) not been published.
The Wachowskis were keen that all involved understood the thematic background of the movie. For example, the book used to conceal disks early in the movie, Simulacra and Simulation by the French Philosopher Jean Baudrillard, was required reading for most of the principal cast and crew.
Actor Will Smith turned down the role of Neo. He later stated that, if given the role at that time, he "would have messed it up". Nicholas Cage turned down the role because of "family obligations". Janet Jackson turned down a role in the film because of previous obligations to go on tour.
Production design
In the film, the code that comprises the Matrix itself is frequently represented as downward-flowing green characters. This code includes mirror images of half-width kana characters and Western Latin letters and numerals. In one scene, the pattern of trickling rain on a window being cleaned resembles this code. More generally, the film's production design placed a bias towards its distinctive green color for scenes set within the Matrix, whereas there is an emphasis on the color blue during the scenes set in the real world. In addition, grid-patterns were incorporated into the sets for scenes inside the Matrix, intended to convey the cold, logical, artificial nature of that environment.
The "digital rain" is strongly reminiscent of similar computer code in the film Ghost in the Shell, an acknowledged influence on the Matrix series (see below). The linking of the color green to computers may have been intended to evoke the green tint of the older phosphor monochrome computer monitors.
Visual effects
The film is known for developing and popularizing the use of a visual effect known as "bullet time", which allows the viewer to explore a moment progressing in slow-motion as the camera appears to orbit around the scene at normal speed.
One proposed technique for creating these effects involved accelerating a high-frame-rate motion picture camera along a fixed track at a high speed to capture the action as it occurred. However, this was discarded as unfeasible, as the destruction of the camera in the attempt was all but inevitable. Instead, the method used was a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which a large number of cameras is placed around an object and triggered nearly simultaneously. Each camera is a still-picture camera, and not a motion picture camera, and it contributes just one frame to the video sequence.
When the sequence of shots is viewed as in a movie, the viewer sees what are in effect two-dimensional "slices" of a three-dimensional moment. Watching such a "time slice" movie is akin to the real-life experience of walking around a statue to see how it looks from different angles. The positioning of the still cameras can be varied along any desired smooth curve to produce a smooth looking camera motion in the finished clip, and the timing of each camera's firing may be delayed slightly, so that a motion scene can be executed (albeit over a very short period of movie time.)
Some scenes in The Matrix feature the "time-slice" effect with completely frozen characters and objects. Film interpolation techniques improved the fluidity of the apparent "camera motion". The effect was further expanded upon by the Wachowskis and the visual effects supervisor John Gaeta so as to create "bullet time", which incorporates temporal motion, so that rather than being totally frozen the scene progresses in slow and variable motion. Engineers at Manex Visual Effects pioneered 3-D visualization planning methods to move beyond mechanically fixed views towards more complicated camera paths and flexibly moving interest points. There is also an improved fluidity through the use of non-linear interpolation, digital compositing, and the introduction of computer generated "virtual" scenery.
The objective of the bullet time shots in The Matrix was to creatively illustrate "mind over matter" type events as captured by a "virtual camera". However, the original technical approach was physically bound to pre-determined perspectives, and the resulting effect only suggests the capabilities of a true virtual camera.
The evolution of photogrametric and image-based Computer Graphic Interface background approaches in The Matrix's bullet-time shots set the stage for later innovations unveiled in the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Virtual Cinematography (CGI-rendered characters, locations, and events) and the high-definition "Universal Capture" process completely replaced the use of still camera arrays, thus more closely realizing the "virtual camera".
This film overcame the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by winning the Academy Award for Visual Effects.
- Main article: The Matrix (soundtrack)
The film's score was composed by Don Davis. He noted that mirrors appear frequently in the movie: reflections of the blue and red pills are seen in Morpheus's glasses; Neo's capture by Agents is viewed through the rear-view mirror of Trinity's motorcycle; Neo observes a broken mirror mending itself; reflections warp as a spoon is bent; the reflection of a helicopter is visible as it approaches a skyscraper. (The film also frequently references the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which has a sequel entitled Through the Looking-Glass.) Davis focused on this theme of reflections when creating his score, alternating between sections of the orchestra and attempting to incorporate contrapuntal ideas.
In addition to Davis's score, The Matrix's soundtrack also features music from acts such as Rammstein, Rob Dougan, Rage Against the Machine, Propellerheads, Ministry, Deftones, The Prodigy, Rob Zombie, Meat Beat Manifesto, Massive Attack and Marilyn Manson.
As an extra bit of trivia, the track "Exit Mr. Hat" (Track 6 on the regular release/Track 21 on the Deluxe Edition) is an anagram of "The Matrix" A similar anagram title trick was used on the original The Matrix Revolutions Score.
The Matrix was first released in the U.S. on 31 March 1999. It earned $171 million in the U.S. and $460 million worldwide, and later became the first DVD to sell more than three million copies in the U.S. The Ultimate Matrix Collection was released on HD DVD on May 22 2007.
Worldwide premiere
Box office
The film earned $171,479,930 (37.0%) in the USA & Canada and $292,037,453 (63.0%) in other countries, for a worldwide total of $463,517,383. In North America, it became the fifth highest grossing film of 1999 and the highest grossing R-rated film of 1999. Worldwide it was the fourth highest grossing film of the year. As of 2012 it is placed 122nd on the list of highest grossing films of all time, and the second highest grossing film in the Matrix franchise after The Matrix Reloaded ($742.1 million).
Critical reception
The combination of special-effects-laden action and philosophical meandering was considered fresh and exciting. Philip Strick commented in Sight & Sound, "if the Wachowskis claim no originality of message, they are startling innovators of method", praising the film's details and its "broadside of astonishing images". Roger Ebert praised the film's visuals and premise, but disliked the third act's focus on action. Similarly, Time Out praised the "entertainingly ingenious" switches between different realities, Hugo Weaving's "engagingly odd" performance, and the film's cinematography and production design, but concluded, "the promising premise is steadily wasted as the film turns into a fairly routine action pic… yet another slice of overlong, high concept hokum". Other reviewers criticised the comparative humorlessness and self-indulgence of the movie.
In 2001, The Matrix was placed 66th in the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Thrills" list. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly called The Matrix the best science-fiction piece of media for the past 25 years.
Several science fiction creators commented on the film. Author William Gibson, a key figure in cyberpunk fiction, called the film "an innocent delight I hadn't felt in a long time", and stated, "Neo is my favourite-ever science fiction hero, absolutely". Joss Whedon called the film "my number one" and praised its storytelling, structure and depth, concluding, "It works on whatever level you want to bring to it." Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky commented, "I walked out of The Matrix [...] and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' The Wachowskis basically took all the great sci-fi ideas of the 20th century and rolled them into a delicious pop culture sandwich that everyone on the planet devoured."
Awards and nominations
The Matrix received Oscars for film editing, sound effects editing, visual effects, and sound. In 1999, it won Saturn Awards for Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction. The Matrix also received BAFTA awards for Best Sound and Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects, in addition to nominations in the cinematography, production design and editing categories.
Home media
- Main article: The Matrix videography
External Links
|v - e - d


text:
Anyone who has seen one of 100 Watt Horse's many shows over the past year or so knows that George Pettis and Anna Jeter can silence a room with no microphone and just an acoustic guitar. It is with this familiar intimacy that the debut full-length album from 100 Watt Horse opens with "Bees 1" – an appropriately lo-fi acoustic strum and an enveloping tape hiss, showcasing a sparse arrangement that in no way lessens the power of the song as an opening statement. And while 100 Watt Horse consistently returns to this spare and honest approach throughout the album, they also occasionally approach pop and folk songs through more a experimental lens, incorporating analog synths and drum machines and studio wizardry into their arresting compositions. The result is a cohesive but eclectic achievement.
Everything Is Alright Forever and Forever and Forever and Thank You Thank You Thank You Amen. is a subtle but memorable debut long-player for 100 Watt Horse and a satisfying follow-up to 2014's self-titled EP. While the EP saw 100 Watt Horse treading familiar paths, the debut LP sees them cutting their own new path through a dense forest of distraction, boiling down these compositions into only what needs to be there.
100 Watt Horse's debut full-length EAFAFAFATTTA is out June 16th on Bear Kids Recordings and Deer Bear Wolf Records.
Available 06.16.2015 on pro-dubbed and imprinted light blue cassette tape and digitally on Bandcamp, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play. Streaming on Spotify and Rdio.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
PBE: Sion Login Screen, Nerfs to Yasuo and Kha'Zix, Update to Warmonger Sion
PBE 29/09 Contents:
- Sion Login Screen
- Warmonger Sion Update
- Champion Changes
[ Reminder ] The PBE is a testing ground for changes. What you see here may not reflect what you see in Patch Notes. Remember that developers want your feedback so if you disagree with a change, you can always submit your thoughts on the PBE Community Forums.
Previous PBE Updates for Patch 4.18 Cycle:
- 24/09:Â Dunkmaster Darius, Ravenborn LeBlanc, Underworld Wukong, Championship Shyvana
- 25/09:Â Sion Rework, Texture Rebalances for Brand, Evelynn, Nocturne and Olaf
- 26/09: Changes to Akali and Gangplank, Sion Voice-Over, Randuin's Omen Buff, TRs for Blitzcrank
Sion Login Screen
Warmonger Sion Update
Twilight Shroud [ W ]
- Movement speed burst decreased from 60/70/80/90/100% to 20/40/60/80/100%
[ Note ] Akali's Twilight Shroud was recently changed on the PBE to grant Movement Speed inside the shroud instead of Armor and Magic Resist. Link to changelist.
- Base Damage decreased from 75/115/155/195/235 to 80/110/140/170/200
- Base Health decreased from 430 to 380
- Base Movement Speed decreased from 350 to 340
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me at @NoL_Chefo or e-mail me at [email protected]


text:
In-House Services at Lifetime Family Care:
- Family checkups, Health screening, and Immunizations
- Women's Health- Pap smears, Family Planning
- Sports/School/DOT Physicals
- Treatment of Chronic Conditions such as Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, Diabetes, Asthma, COPD etc.
- Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment for Headaches, Allergies, Pain in the Neck/Shoulder/Back/Rib/Extremity
- Office Procedures/Surgeries: Skin lesion removal and biopsy, Laceration repair, Non-displaced fracture repair and casting, Joint Injections, Accupuncture, Colposcopy, Endometrial Biopsy
- In-Office Testing: EKG, X-ray, Spirometry, Lab Draws, Continuous Glucose Monitoring
- Diet Program (Cash only)
- Collaboration with a Community Care Travel Team comprised of: a certified diabetes educator, nutritionist, exercise specialist, wellness coach, behavior health specialist, and health educators.
- FDA-regulated supplements available for purchase
We are now online. Provide us with your email address, and we'll send you a link to sign up for our patient portal. It is a secure, private way to communicate with your doctor online.


text:
The Center for Health Value Innovation on Value Based Design
by Clive Riddle, May 27, 2010
This week, Cyndy Nayer, M.A., President, CEO and co-founder of the Center for Health Value Innovation and Michael S. Jacobs R. Ph., Principal and National Clinical Practice Leader, Buck Consultants, LLC (also a board member at the Center) spoke in the HealthcareWebSummit event Leveraging Health: Current Impact of Value Based Design.
What's going on with Value Based Design initiatives right now? Glad you asked. While some other elements of health reform have stolen the spotlight during the past few months, VBD continues to move forward as a key solution to its core stakeholders.
The Center for Health Value Innovation is an educational organization that serves as an information exchange for value-based designs. The Center's members include health plans, employers, unions, government, pharmaceutical organizations and other stakeholders that represent over 40 million lives. The Center recently published a new book, Leveraging Health, which shares findings from their recent interviews and surveys that identify more than 100 levers that influence consumer and patient behaviors in Value-Based Design, and15 categorized macro-levers.
Definitions of Value Based Design have evolved over time. The Center has this to say about defining VBD: "It's important to note that value-based designs (VBD) are much more than waived or reduced co-pays for chronic care, particularly medications. A value-based design uses evidence-based clinical impact merged with financial impact (Health + Economics) to guide the behaviors of populations in managing their health. VBD can influence choice of care provider, appropriate and persistent treatment, and early risk/prevention/wellness. All of these have been documented to show a meaningful impact in health status, productivity (safety, disability, unscheduled absences, and more), quality and financial cost trend."
Nayer and Jacobs expanded on this definition during their presentation, stating:
- VBD is an engagement tool that engages the employee (consumer) and the employer (plan sponsor) and the provider (clinician)
- VBD focuses on outcomes: better performance
- VBD is driven by data that drives the suite of performance tuners: levers
- VBD is sustainable and applicable at the small-large employer and at the community level
- VBD builds the Health-Wealth-Performance Portfolio
- VBD uses Data to invest in incentives (Design) and services (Delivery) that change behavior for improved health, quality, performance and financial trend (Dividend.)
They note that EAP and behavioral health are important components of VBD, given that behavioral change is the key to sustaining value. They further advocate that if value is to be built on outcomes, than purchasing must be aligned. Nayer and Jacobs stat that Outcomes-Based Contracting must align incentives between the contracting parties.
After VBD emerged as a mainstream concept and solution, the Great Recession intervened, and Nayer and Jacobs point out the effect of the economy on health behaviors, placing employee/patient compliance, adherence and persistence at risk.
Here's some of the Center's survey results they shared, which are incorporated into their book, Leveraging Health. Over 100 companies responded to their survey, representing over 1 million lives:
87% Use incentives (levers) in prevention and wellness, 60% Use levers for chronic care management, and 26% Use levers for guidance to appropriate care delivery
Given that VBD programs provide various forms of incentives, including applicable waivers of cost sharing, an obvious concern in a down economy would be that employers would feel pressure to pull back in these areas to in the name of achieving short term savings. However the survey indicated 79 % of the employers with VBD in place two or more years made no VBD changes in 2009 and 56% did not plan to make changes in 2010.
Of the 44% who did anticipate changes in 2010: 64% of them plan to pass more of the cost of brand drugs to the employee; 16% plan mandatory enrollment in disease management programs; and 16% plan to pass more of the cost of generic drugs to the employee.
Additional survey results:
- 63 % waive employee cost sharing for yearly screening exam
- 40 % provide insurance premium incentive for completion of a Health Risk Assessment (HRA)
- 54 % cover depression under care management program
- 70 % reduce/waive co-pay for utilizing the lowest cost appropriate site of care (e.g., urgent care, convenient care, onsite services, medical travel)
- 58 % provide incentives for the use of EAP programs
- 35 % provide incentives for financial counseling
- 20% reduced applicable prevention screen cost for age/gender appropriate groups
- 18% provided an insurance premium incentive for completion of a biometric screen
- 13% reduced OOP costs for setting and/or achieving health promotion goals
- 13% provided insurance premium incentive for complying with recommended prevention exam
- 12% adjust their condition-based formulary (all tiers lowered for specified conditions)
- 12% link co-pay/coinsurance waivers to mandatory condition management
Employers also indicated these as their top challenges to deploying their VBD programs (more than one answer allowed):
- 53% - Increasing engagement with employees: slow to use the new benefits
- 45% - Enrolling employees in disease management programs
- 42% - Keeping the momentum going
- 34% - Obtaining and integrating data
- 34% - Lack of communication with physicians/pharmacists/clinicians
- 34% - Communicating benefits with the covered lives
- 32% - Segmenting and interpreting data
- 18% - Communicating success with the covered lives
- 13% - C-Suite support


text:
2019 Yamaha Drive 2 Quiet Tech Gas Sandstone (2)
Why choose between luxury and reliability? With the new Drive² line of Personal Transportation Vehicles, now you don't have to. Over 60 years of precision engineering and technological innovations come together in our most beautiful and luxurious personal transportation line to date.


text:
When your student has shown that band will be a success and this is the right instrument, we have a special offer for you that will save you money!
Please print and bring in this coupon to our Davenport store to take advantage of either of the options listed.
You can also show us the coupon on your mobile device if at the store if you like. Our office staff will give you a discounted payoff price or set you up with the ten-payment option.
You do NOT have to do this right away, do it whenever you're comfortable with your student's progress, and want to just buy the instrument without needing a return option or change to a no-interest payment plan.


text:
Register to Attend: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE EVENT
· 100+ Job Opportunities (Managerial, Supervisory, Etc.)
· 25+ Companies Attending (Fortune 500, Government, Etc.)
Can't Attend? See online opportunities: Search For Active Job Openings By Clicking Here!
· 230,000 Jobs Posted Online
· 3,058,538 Employers Viewed Military Profiles
Why RecruitMilitary?
· 85,000+ Jobs Offers Extended
· 800+ Events
· 17+ Years working with Vets and their Families
Event Flyer: https://rm-events-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/event/attendee_poster/939/Columbus_Expo_Flyer_0517.pdf
Event Attendee List: https://events.recruitmilitary.com/events/columbus-ga-veterans-job-fair-may-10-2017#event-exhibitors
Need help with your job search strategy, resume, interview preparations, salary negotiations? Contact Still Serving Veterans at 866.778.4645


text:
Episcopal Church of the Advent Presents
A Bible Storytelling Performance of
The Gospel of Mark
Please join us for this special event!
Mr. Patrick McWilliams, founder of
Bring the Bible Alive, presents an exciting, staged enactment of The Gospel of Mark
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Continental Breakfast Reception 9-9:30am
Performance 9:30-11:30am
All from the community are welcome to this free event!
Episcopal Church of the Advent
401 N. Union St.
Kennett Square, PA 19348
610-444-4624 www.AdventKS.org


text:
Aye Santa Party! - Free Christmas Game for Kids for iPhone
Free Muhammad Waqas Khan iOS Version 1.0 Full Specs
Publisher's Description
From Muhammad Waqas Khan:
"WOW! I love it more than my kids.""This is so far one of the best games for this christmas!"Aye Santa Party!!! is a fun story of Christmas! Santa Claus is on his journey to give presents to all the kids, but is being stopped by the evil guys in his journey. Would you help Santa in reaching out to the kids in time for Christmas!!- Addictive Gameplay. Very easy to play but very hard to master!- Awesome Graphics.- Fantastic Music- Beautiful Sound Effects!- Perfect Christmas present for your kids!- Free!!!!If you love this game, don't forget to share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!!Aye Santa Party! - Free Christmas Game for kids by Half Fried Games.


text:
New Zealand history in a global perspective: the way forces of imperialism, colonisation, capitalism and racial conflict have shaped modern New Zealand and its place in the world.
New Zealand was the last landmass to be discovered and colonised by humans and
has been made and remade by connections to the Pacific, Britain and Asia and has in
turn impacted upon those places. Amongst other things this paper looks at Māori society,
cross-cultural encounters, settler colonialism, wars and the emergence of strong central
government helped shape the evolution of modern New Zealand.
As well as spanning New Zealand's human history, this paper introduces students to key concepts and conventions used by historians. These analytical and communication skills are highly regarded and extremely transferable, which helps explain why history graduates are found in diverse professions.
The paper is essential for students who major in History, and it also complements studies in a wide range of subjects, including law, psychology, politics, anthropology, marketing, sociology, physical education, Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, and English.
This paper is 100% internally assessed.
|Paper title
|New Zealand in the World from the 18th Century
|Paper code
|18 points
|Teaching period
|First Semester
|Domestic Tuition Fees (NZD)
|International Tuition Fees (NZD)
- Schedule C
- Arts and Music
- Contact
- More information link
- View more information on the Department of History, Art History and Visual Culture's website
- Teaching staff
- Textbooks
- Recommended: A Concise History of New Zealand, by Philippa Mein Smith, 2012.
In addition, course materials will be made available electronically.
- Graduate Attributes Emphasised
- Global perspective, Lifelong learning, Scholarship, Communication, Critical thinking,
Cultural understanding, Environmental literacy, Information literacy.
View more information about Otago's graduate attributes.
- Learning Outcomes
- Students will:
- Gain an understanding of key events, personalities and trends over the span of New Zealand's human history
- Be introduced to central concepts that historians use to frame, communicate and debate this past


text:
Acorn Property Group is inviting the public to share their views on the future regeneration of the Saxonvale site in Frome this January.
Developer Acorn Property Group will be hosting a two-day event next month allowing the public to share their views and aspirations for the future of the former industrial site.
Acorn and Mendip District Council, the landowner, exchanged on a Sale and Overage Agreement which will see Acorn pursuing the planning process and working up an application with architects NASH Partnerships.
Following the event on the 11th and 12th January at The Silk Mill in Frome Acorn will work with NASH architects to draw up detailed plans with a view to submitting a planning application in Spring 2019.
The Saxonvale site has laid derelict for 10 years, a key town centre site that sits adjacent to the River Frome and a short walk to the High Street. It was bought by Mendip District Council earlier in the year in order to facilitate regeneration.
Robin Squire Regional Managing Director at Acorn's Bristol office commented, "We are excited to be working on a project to bring regeneration to the area of Saxonvale in Frome, and provide a high-quality mixed-use for the town. Being mindful of the site's history, the public consultation will be a great chance to hear from the community and discuss opportunities for the site."
Cllr Philip Ham, Mendip District Council's Portfolio Holder for Transformation, said; "As the land owner the Council is encouraging as many people as possible to take part in the consultation. The Council have worked to create a high-level Vision for the site and now urge the public to share their ideas either via these drop-in sessions in Frome or by submitting their views via Acorn's Saxonvale website. The Council are keen to see Acorn carry out a development that Frome can be proud of".
Event details:
The Silk Mill,
The Gallery,
Merchants Barton
Friday 11 January 2-7pm
Saturday 12 January 10am-3pm


text: Right before Thanksgiving break, I invited some classmates and friends to a play session involving a 1/2" scale model of a teeny part of the interchange and lots of crafty goodies. We had a lot of fun with legos and pipe cleaners and pom-poms, and more than anything, we just played. Juxtaposing massive infrastructure with kids' craft supplies lightened things up a bit, and made me think about other ways I might approach workshops and other design methods in the future. Much love and thanks to all who came out to play!


text:
Problem: When combining fluorescence and bright-field microscope images, the DIC or phase image did not have ZERO registration with the blue, green and red fluorescence images.
Solution: A unique Bright-field cube that inserts into the lightpath when collecting your transmitted light image(s) and allows -ZERO pixel shift alignment when overlaid with your fluorescence images. The Bright-field cube is for the visible spectrum and transmitted light applications only. Taking ZERO pixel shift to all of your imaging modalities has never been easier.
48-Hour Cube Mounting Service.
If you purchase a filter or filter set and a compatible cube holder together, why not take advantage of our complimentary cube mounting service? The cube mounting option menu is available from the shopping basket menu after you have placed your filters and cube in your basket. Simply select the relevant option and we will mount it for you. Alternatively, feel free to contact us and let us know what you prefer.
BrightLine Bright-field zero pixel shift filter set


text:
Ten years ago, I found myself immersed into a branch of urban planning that at the time was just beginning to emerge at the local, state and national levels: Healthy Communities Planning. At the Riverside County Department of Public Health; now known as the Riverside University Health System—Public Health (RUHS-PH), my role entailed transforming the way planners thought, viewed and applied public health considerations into their practices. For a number of years, leading public health thinkers and practitioners such as Dr. Richard Jackson and Dr. Tony Iton made the case that the built environment can have more influence on individual and community health than our own genetic makeup. As such, under such a premise, planners have a central role in improving the health of our communities through planning and design. Many of them, however, have yet to discover that potential.
A few prominent efforts enable me to navigate this uncharted territory. First, RUHS-PH forged a non-traditional collaboration with the County of Riverside Planning Department to prepare and include a Healthy Communities Element into the General Plan (also known as the Comprehensive Plan or Master Plan).
Second, the Board of Supervisors adopted a Healthy Riverside County Resolution directing all county agencies and departments to adopt preventive measures to address obesity and chronic diseases.
Third, through a Building Healthy Communities grant from The California Endowment, we worked directly with the City of Coachella during its General Plan Update, specifically on the preparation of the Health and Wellness Element. We were also working with a coalition of health advocates to elevate quality of life in the eastern Coachella Valley. These efforts were unique and bold at the time, to the extent that Michael Osur, one of the masterminds behind this work, earned top accolades from the American Planning Association (APA) in 2013.
Around the same time, the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) also began updating its General Plan Guidelines which considered public health as a new topic, and APA released the results of a survey revealing the extent to which planners were including health considerations into their planning documents and policies. Both of these efforts materialized into the inclusion of guidelines for preparing a Health Element into the General Plan and the APA's Healthy Communities Policy Guide respectively in 2017.
These examples illustrate how a network of organizations and individuals championing healthy communities planning continues to grow, connect and making a difference. Very slowly, however the paradigm shift–where health in all policies is a natural consideration– is happening. In order to prioritize it, planners, decision-makers, health advocates and the community at large must recognize–and hopefully master– the following three considerations.
1. Places are a Determinant of Health
Anyone involved or interested in solving the most pressing and challenging issues of our time should be familiar with the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) concept.
According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the SDOH are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, and physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, and neighborhood) have been referred to as "place." In addition to the more material attributes of "place," the patterns of social engagement and sense of security and well-being are also affected by where people live. Resources that enhance quality of life can have a significant influence on population health outcomes. Examples of these resources include safe and affordable housing, access to education, public safety, availability of healthy foods, local emergency/health services, and environments free of life-threatening toxins.
For urban and regional planning purposes, the SDOH represent the vital signs of a community or a region and for that reason, planners and decision-makers should understand their implications. The California Planning Roundtable published a paper on the subject to introduce the concept to members of the American Planning Association California Chapter and beyond.
2. Thinking and Acting "Upstream" is an Essential Component for Healthy Community Planning and Development
Upstream intervention, a widely known public health concept, is the idea of taking preventive actions that would steer away from potential detrimental health effects such as chronic diseases, injuries, and premature death. To put it in simple terms, all things being equal, staying physically active, eating healthy foods, drinking clean water and breathing clean air, can prevent a whole host of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, heart and lung diseases and cancer. Upstream intervention can be expressed as enacting policies to ensure access to a clean and complete environment of health.
The Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII), a coalition of the San Francisco Bay Area's eleven public health departments, offers a framework suggesting that the most upstream point of action to achieve a healthy community starts with addressing social inequalities resulting from discrimination and implicit bias that may be embedded through policy or custom in our institutions and reflected in our communities' living conditions.
3. Data is Crucial for Elevating Healthy Communities as a Priority
If the health of cities and regions depend on individual health and their behaviors, planners should be aware of the health status of the communities they are planning for. Only then can a valid healthy community plan can be developed. Today, a plethora of health data sources can be found on the internet. Sites such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings, the National Equity Atlas, the Healthy Places Index and CalEnvironScreen (California only) are a few examples of reliable and credible sources of SDOH data that can be used for assessing health status, trends and for devising preventive measures and interventions.
To conclude, I depart with the following reflection: as our communities continue to grow and continue to be influenced by demographic and markets shifts, technology invention, and innovation and a new era of mass information platforms, the challenges ahead appear to be greater than ever. Healthy community planning may be the approach that can help us retain and elevate the very essence of our humanity. It must be prioritized.
Image: Pixabay
Source: Meeting of the Minds
This article is culled from daily press coverage from around the world. It is posted on the Urban Gateway by way of keeping all users informed about matters of interest. The opinion expressed in this article is that of the author and in no way reflects the opinion of UN-Habitat.


text:
When it comes to marketing, trends come and go – and in health & wellness, a lot of these trends are linked to very pivotal movements. Today we explore the way sustainability has been marketed by some key brands in the industry.
Right now health & wellness brands are embracing their sustainable side in very creative ways. Fast Company recently reported companies like beauty brand 'Kevin Murphy' are taking the pledge one step forward by creating full-recycled packaging, in this case straight from the ocean.
Kevin Murphy is far from the first company to integrate ocean plastics into its packaging: Around 25% of the plastic that goes into the trays that hold Dell computers in place, for instance, now comes from the ocean (Fast Company) and Adidas has developed a line of shoes made from threads spun out of reclaimed plastic waste.
But Kevin Murphy is rare for going all-in: "Most other companies incorporate ocean plastic as a fraction of what they use, but we wanted to make a 100% switch," Murphy says to Fast Company (Fast Company).
- Instagram: the rise of beautiful images with sustainable products, as well as encouraging their audience to play with the idea themselves and recreate something gorgeous.
- User-generated content: sustainable brands are all about changing habits as virally as possible, so re-sharing and re-purposing content as much as possible – by using their photos spotlighting a particular product.
- How-tos and tutorials: brands are becoming more and more ingenious when it comes to ways to re-use packaging or empty products (nut butter jars, salad jars and much more). More and more brands are partnering with creators and YouTubers for this.
- Smart Partnerships: From Enterprise (yes, Rent a Car!) handing foldable reusable cups to independent cafes branding their own , launching your own reusable cup or bottle with a white-label solution may be the way to go for more effective promotion.
How Brands Market Sustainability right
Recycling uses discarded consumer materials, largely paper, metal, glass, and plastic packaging and breaks them down before repurposing the composites to create new products that are often of a lesser quality to the original material use.
Upcycling, on the other hand, does not break down the materials but alternatively refashion them, using the same materials at the start of the process to make the new products.
A great example of marketing upcycling was carried on by Lemonaid earlier this year, with its upcycling campaign focusing on amazing images and social content as well as video content in partnership with Ghostblasters.
Another great example of marketing campaign was carried out by Seed Phytonutrients to launch its brand AND revolutionary shower-friendly paper bottles (made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper with a post-consumer recycled plastic liner), which partnered with famous website Well+Good with their handy tutorial.
When it comes to user-generated content, KeepaCup Instagram account is certainly at the forefront of this by heavily featuring their user's cups on their feed.
Other brands, like Percol Coffee, are taking their pledge one step further.
Percol is currently on a mission against single use coffee cups: "7 million coffee cups go to UK landfills each day and we don't think the 25p tax on cups isn't fair on us coffee lovers. "
Percol created a petition to make coffee cups recyclable is a simple but sensible solution: simply signing & sharing it on Facebook could stop 2.5 billion cups going to UK landfills each year. Find out more here.
Follow Percol's mission is to become plastic free by 2022.


text:
Company Details
Zhaoxian Tengxing Plastic Fashion Co., Ltd
|Payment Type:
|L/C,T/T,Paypal,Money Gram,Western Union
|Min. Order:
|3000 Piece/Pieces
|Delivery Time:
|25 Days
Model No.: TX-1015
Disposable: Non-Disposable
Size: 55*70cm
Packaging: 1pc/bag 100pcs/carton
Productivity: 10000pcs/day
Brand: tengxing
Transportation: Ocean,Land,Air
Place of Origin: China
Supply Ability: 10000pcs/day
Certificate: en71 BSCI
Our factory include production injection line and textile production line , produce all items in our factory which is capable of manufacturing products in high quality and carrying out the OEM orders directly. Quality first. We have strict quality control system and professional inspector , which examines the final products right after the works done. Absolutely no imperfections.
Item: Safety Changing Mat Promotional Gift For Baby
Material: 210D/600D polyester, PVC, Eco-friendly.
Color: White/blue or mixed pattern, to be suggested.
OEM/ODM: We accept your special design.
Package: Opp bag, poly bag, inner carton, outer carton.
Samples: Provide free samples for you to testing our quality.
Application: Outdoor changing mat for baby cares.
Supply ability: 1000 pcs/day; 8000 pcs/week.
Certificate: To be discussed, EN71/RoHS/CE/SGS/CO/ISO 9001.
Delivery time: On time delivery, 30-35 days after getting your order.
Price terms: EXW/FOB/CNF/CIF trade terms accepted.
Payment: 30%T/T in advance, 70%T/T before shipment.
After sale service: We keep trying our best for you every single minutes.
Here are some Other Items for your checking,
product photos
Product Categories : Baby Items > Baby Mat


text:
Start Here Online Loans From Top Lenders. Our Extensive Network of Lenders offer loans for borrowers with Good or Bad Credit Scores. Loans for several months to several years. Finding options from top lenders in Corona.
There countless places that now provide cash advances and they're actually easy to get. short term financings are among the fastest as well as easiest ways there is to get the money you require now. And also, depending on the service provider, you can get a cash loan as well as personal loans online from lenders @ for $1000 or as up to $35,500.
The loan providers of short term lendings will certainly offer you the financing as long as you comprehend that it has to be settled on the provided date, lest you obtain punished with a higher rates of interest. The loan payment duration could range from one week to a year. The passion is typically demanded after the arranged cycle of weeks, or months. Individuals who have security, such as a residence, or car, can access short-term financings that can be settled within a year. However, if you do not have any type of security, after that you will be provided a lending that will be repaid using your next salary. When getting a salary financing, you will certainly need to provide the lending institution with proof that you are getting a steady earnings either from paying work, a pension system, or other federal government or private slice. Short-term loans have a higher rate of interest as a result of the higher ran the risk of positioned to the lending institution.
Unsecured and Short Term Loans Online in Corona California $1000 to $35,000
Obtaining an individual financing could end up being an uphill struggle if one is not familiar with the procedure. The amount of information a person needs to divulge may be frightening as well as frustrating. It is best for an individual to do their research before obtaining a personal financing to ensure that they comprehend exactly what they need before making a consultation. In Florida like various other states, there are guidelines and also standards that applicants as well as lending institutions should follow. Prior to making any kind of commitments an individual should recognize what to expect in order to save money and time.
Our Direct and Local Lenders In Corona, California Are Here to Help!
If you do not have an excellent credit score as well as you take place to be in need of money at the moment, know that yours is not a hopeless situation. Whilst in the past it was almost difficult to get a lending institution to authorize a loan for a person with bad credit rating, today, lending institutions have actually already realized that there is a profitable market for this as well as hence, there is now more than one choice for personal online loans offered to people with bad credit ratings. Allow us review one of the most usual ones.
Online Loan Resources For Consumers In Corona
Consumer FinanceConsumer LendingResponsible LendingThe Hill
Payday Loans – these financings are one of the most popular option for utilized individuals. All it takes is locating a loan provider in Corona that could supply you with this sort of financing, supply them with the needed information such as your complete name, address, employment information, and also bank details (inspecting account). You would should furnish them with a post-dated check, which they will certainly deposit on your cash advance. These loans are really easy to avail so as long as you satisfy the requirements.
Popular Options From Top Lenders Offering A Variety Of Loans
Financial obligation Combination Lendings – a number of us want to get a financing in order to repay our financial obligations. This is especially real for those with huge credit cards balances due to the fact that the interest rates for charge card are quite, extremely high. To be able to cut down on fees, individuals favor getting financial obligation combination financings. Although not always the situation, this kind of loan could be taken into consideration "unsecured" so no collateral is required.
Personal Loans and Online Lenders $1,000 to $35,000
Financings from Family and also Pals – depending upon the kind of circumstance you have, this might either be your initial or last option. A personal lending from people you know is advised because you get very little or no passion costs, plus you could use it without needing to safeguard any kind of requirements whatsoever. In some cases though it is hard to financing from family and friends due to the fact that they possibly have no cash to extra or it could likewise be that you are as well self-conscious to tell them concerning your financial issues.


text:
I work as computer programmer.
I have 14 years of experience with computer programming.
I have a master's degree in information technology from a school in New York and a bachelor's in business.
I have good experience in Microsoft Office also.
So far through this website I have tutored in ASP.NET, CSS, SQL Databases, Microsoft Excel and PHP.... ... More


text:
Okay, I cheated and broke rule #1. I gave myself this word.
B is for the boy I met.
A is for the Algebra class where we slipped secret messages.
B is for the beer we bonded over.
Y is for "why the fuck did I get drunk?"
(and not pay attention during spelling class?)


text:
Hut #26 Doris (made by Chris)
Hut #26 Doris (made by Chris)
Doris is an understated, rustic black Mini Shepherd's Hut with a distressed metal roof and jaunty nail chimney. She has a dark wooden door finished with nail hinges and a wood framed window. As with all of the Fourpenny Mini Shepherd's Huts, Doris's back wooden axel can be turned.
Doris is after a nice new home where she'll get to watch the world go by. This lovely little hut would definitely make a great gift for somebody special (particularly if they don't quite have the space for one of our full sized Shepherd's Huts).
Dimensions: approx width: 20cm x height: 23cm x depth: 14cm
Fourpenny Mini Shepherd's Huts are all entirely handcrafted and every one is unique. The wheels have all been specially cast, the wood and metal is all reclaimed and there are lots of charming details which give them all their own individual character.
PS. Our mini Shepherd's Huts are very cute, but they're not toys.


text:
Combine all Record to Report activities into a single, seamless process
Learn More
Improve your financial processes with our Adra suite of solutions
Leverage your ERP and keep up-to-date with Trintech's pre-built ERP connectors.
Automate high-volume reconciliation to increase efficiency, tighten controls, reduce risk, and more
Create a control framework for account reconciliation governance, risk management, and compliance
Leverage the latest in Cloud technology and security in your office of finance
Gain more control over and have strong visibility into your financial reports
Manage your escheatment process from start to finish, saving time and eliminating noncompliance
Make daily data acquisition and account reconciliation easy, accurate and efficient
Quickly uncover discrepancies and ultimately reduce your organization's bank costs
Teresa Mackintosh Listed Among D CEO's Dallas 500 Read More
How RPA Can Transform Your Finance Function Read More
APAC Events
EMEA Events
NA Events
APAC WEBINAR: How to Accelerate Your Financial Close in 2020
Transforming Reconciliations through Automation: The Banco Popular Story
Melbourne: Digital Accounting Network & Learn
The financial software solutions we deliver provide organizations with increased efficiency, visibility, and the control to minimize resources, costs, and risks across the entire Record to Report process.
Because Cadency by Trintech is the industry's only solution that manages the entire Record to Report process, you can finally manage and gain audit transparency into all your period-end close processes, all in real time.


text:
Education Update
for the week of
February 27, 2019
22 Adar I, 5779
Religious School & Family Education Information
Junior Congregation Saturday, March 2, 10:30 am-11:50am. All students in grades 3-6 are expected to attend. Parents and families are welcome to attend as well.
Purim 2019: The Wizarding World of Brith Shalom, Wednesday, March 20, 6:00-7:00pm (RS will dismiss @ 6:00pm). Join us for a family friendly Megillah Reading in the Sanctuary followed by dinner and a build-your-own Ice Cream activity in the lobby! The program is free to attend. Come in Costume!
Grade 3 Kabbalat HaSiddur Ceremony Saturday, March 23, 10:00 am-12:00 pm. Students will lead parts of the service and receive their own personal siddur.
Grade 5 & 6 "On the Bimah" Saturday, March 23. Students in grades 5 and 6 are invited to lead the Torah service, together with Cantor Levine, to gain experience leading the congregation in prayer. Students should arrive by 9:45am and will participate until approximately 11:30am.
Spring Break – School Closed on March 10, 13, & 17.
7th graders visiting the community at the UOS Mikvah to learn about the history and non-traditional ways in which the practice can enhance special moments.
Adult Education Opportunities
Shabbat Study series. Selecct Shabbat Mornings at 1:00 PM.
- On March 16, we begin our third Shabbat Study series to be led by Sue Resnick. The title of Sue's series is Psalms. If you have any questions, please contact Martin Kagan at 713-270-4469.
Inspired Book Club 2nd Saturday of the month following Kiddush lunch in the Board Room @ 1:00pm.
At the December meeting, we voted to read Mind the Gap, by Matthias Henze.
Mussar with Rabbi Wolbe Sundays 11:15 am-12:15pm
Youth & Young Family Progamming Opportunities
Mishpacha Minyan (Ages 3-7) Saturday, March 16, 11:00-12:00pm. Join Mali Davis, Jessie Cassorla, and friends for a spirited family service with lots of great music and fun in classrooms 5 & 6
Congregation & Young Family Services
- Candle Lighting 6:02 pm; Havdalah 7:02 pm
- Friday, March 1, 6:15 pm
- Saturday, March 2, 9:00 am
Parashat Vayakhel
- Torah reading: Exodus 35:1-38:20
- Haftarah: Ezekiel 1 Kings 7:40-7:50
The 2nd Grade class worked in groups to create artistic interpretations of the deliverance of the Ten Commandments. They also worked together to summarize their own interpretation of each commandment.
Discussion for the Shabbat Table - Parashat Vayakhel
Families lead busy lives. Life is filled with work, homework, sports, lessons, running a household, etc. Often it seems there isn't a moment to breathe. A moment to just stop and say "I'm here" and that's enough.
In this Torah portion Moses tells the people that they are commanded to set aside the seventh day as a day of complete rest. It is a day in which no productive labor is allowed, a day in which the emphasis is put on "being" instead of "becoming" or "having."
Think about your own life. Is there enough time and room for simply stopping and being with one another? Stop now and take a breath. See how that feels. Think about ways to incorporate rest into the busy life of your family. Some families choose to put aside a day of the week and celebrate the Sabbath as a day of rest. Others pay attention to the principle of the day and figure out where to find the resting moments in life.
TALK TO YOUR KIDS about the concept of purposeful resting every seventh day, emphasizing "just being" over having.
Do you find time to rest and relax?
What does it mean to you to rest? Does it mean spending time with family or friends? Does it mean playing a game or reading a book?
Which activities best put you at ease after a day or week of busyness?
What is one thing your family could do to promote "rest" each week?
Save the Date
March 24-27• Kehillah High Grade 12 AIPAC Convention
April 14• RS Chocolate Seder
Upcoming B'nei Mitzvah
May 11 Elliot Coveler
3rd Graders practice for their Kabbalat HaSiddur Ceremony on March 23rd!


text:
Pauline Gahan - Cancer Treatment
£34,471 of £100,000 goal
Pauline Gahan - wife, mum, Nanna, sister and friend to many has been given an absolutely devastating prognosis having discovered by chance just a few weeks ago that she has stomach cancer. The cancer has spread to her liver and now also her oesophagus. It's hard to believe that just over a month ago she was enjoying life to the full and visiting her new grandson in Australia for the first time. Now we are told that she probably doesn't have long to live. Mum is only 60 years of age, otherwise fit and healthy and as many of you will know she's the life and soul of any party. She has always run around selflessly and tirelessly for others making sure that everyone is ok. Now we really want to make sure that we can look after Mum when she most needs it.
There is a glimmer of hope. Having undertaken extensive research into alternative cancer treatments to conventional surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy (all of which we are told cannot cure her) we've read a lot about a new, innovative and extremely promising branch of cancer treatment called immunotherapy ( http://www.cancerresearch.org/cancer-immunotherapy). In conjunction with some other groundbreaking, complementary alternative treatments we believe that Mum's life could be saved or, at the very least, extended by several more years if she is able to access these types of treatments.
Most of these new drugs and treatments are not available on the NHS and for the most part they're not available in the UK at all. We have however found a world leading cancer treatment facility in Germany ( http://www.hallwang-clinic.com) that can combines conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy with a wide range of highly promising alternative treatments including immunotherapy which is widely regarded as being the future of cancer treatment. Importantly the clinic believes that they could have some success with Mum and potentially put her into remission. I (Nick) know of someone who went to this same clinic more than 3 years ago when a local hospital in Western Australia gave her a dire terminal prognosis and she is very much alive and well today as a result.
The reason for this fundraising page is that the treatment plan that has been specifically tailored for Mum and her cancer is not cheap. We are already committing a significant amount of funds towards it ourselves but we simply cannot cover the full cost without taking drastic measures like selling the home. If we can get enough people who are willing and able to contribute to Mum's cause we can spread the cost of this treatment amongst many people and give Mum a chance at survival. We are hoping to raise around £60,000. We would appreciate any amount at all that people are able to contribute, no matter how small.
Given how many friends Mum has we'd like to think that we can achieve our goal and get her booked in for a stay at the clinic in Germany as soon as possible. We believe this alone would give Mum such a massive psychological boost and the belief that she can overcome this nasty disease. I'm sure Mum would also appreciate and take strength from any messages of love and support so please feel free to comment and let her know that she's not alone in this fight.
Mum is mentally tough and we know that she will fight tooth and nail with every breath in her body to get herself well again. She has so much to live for. With emotional and some financial support, from all of the many people that know and love her we hope to give Mum the tools to enable her to beat cancer and to live and long and cancer-free life.
To this day none of that cancer has returned and only the liver tumours remain. Up until around 3 weeks ago Mum was doing really great and living a very good quality of life. About 3 weeks ago however she started to show signs of jaundice - yellowish pigment to the skin and whites of the eyes caused by the build up of a compound called bilirubin which indicates a liver problem. Over the course of the following 10 days they did a CT scan, MRI scan and lots of blood tests but were unable to identify the problem. Eventually they put her on an antibiotic and about 24 hours later although her liver function test results were still dangerously high (bilirubin level of 70) they had come down by nearly half. So they discharged her and we were told it was almost certainly an infection.
A few days later the symptoms worsened again and so we took her to the Christie this time. Reasonably quickly they told us that Mum's bile ducts were blocked. After a few more tests and scans over the next couple of days they said they would manage her symptoms but there was nothing that could be done for her. They said Mum was in the very final stage of life and indicated that most likely she was down to just a few days left. As you can imagine this news was absolutely devastating to Mum and to us however having been in this situation before and come through it we were determined to get a second opinion.
In the meantime we had already been trying to collect all of Mum's blood test results, scans, reports and sent them off to her consultant in Germany. He indicated that there were potentially a few options available. He told us to get Mum to Germany asap within the next 24 hours and that it was critical.
At first they weren't going to discharge Mum from the Christie because they said that they had decided at the last minute to do an ultrasound but in the end they agreed not to stop Mum travelling to Germany. They did complete the ultrasound prior to discharge however and the sonographer said he saw no reason why Mum wouldn't be a candidate for having stents fitted!
Having already made all of the arrangements to go to Germany we managed to get Mum there. Upon arrival they told us that Mum was in an extremely critical condition and that although there were treatment options available the condition she was in meant that it would be touch and go.
Mum has now had an external stent fitted whereby they bypass the blockage in the bile ducts and over the next few days we hope to see her liver function return to normal and for her to be out of any immediate danger. It is only a temporary fix however. To address the problem long term the underlying cause needs to be treated. If the tumours in Mum's liver can be shrunk then the pressure on the bile ducts will ease and they will become unblocked. The external stent can then be removed. Mum can return home and to a decent quality of life and the focus can return to ongoing cancer treatment and trying to finish off the tumours in the liver.
Mum is booked in for a treatment called transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) at a hospital in Frankfurt next week. This is where they inject chemotherapy drugs directly into the tumours and 'seal' the chemo inside by blocking the tumours' blood supply. She will need 2-3 cycles of this over the next couple of months. We've heard many success stories from people who have had this procedure done and seen their liver tumours shrink by huge amounts within days so we're hopeful it can put Mum right back on track and give us time to find the right treatment. It may even be possible that surgery becomes an option after the TACE and any remaining cancer can be completely removed.
Over the last week or so we've had so many donations from people it's been absolutely fantastic and we're so grateful it has helped to get us this far. It has quite literally saved Mum's life (again!). We do need more though. We are about €5,000 short of being able to cover the current stay in Germany when we include the TACE procedure in Frankfurt next week. The daily in-patient fees at the clinic are €1,000 per day and that's without any treatments. As you may already know Mum and Dad have sold their home, cashed in their retirement pension and spent every last bit of it and much more on this treatment. Friends and family have been amazing and also donated lots of money.
Mum is currently in quite a bit of discomfort. She can't walk, she has a catheter in, an external stent bypassing her bile ducts and is generally in a very bad way. As mentioned earlier we expect her symptoms to ease over the coming days and hopefully significantly so. The only long term solution though is to shrink the tumours and hopefully we can get Mum in for that procedure next week.
Thank you for reading this update and if you could please share or chip in we would be eternally greatful.
Thanks again
We're celebrating this festive period more than ever before because according to the doctors Mum wasn't meant to be here to enjoy it with us. Just 6 months ago the chances of us all having Christmas together would have been dismissed as impossible. Not only is she still with us but she's doing amazingly well and hopefully 2017 can be the year when she gets the all clear.
This time of year always brings about reflection on the year that has been. Our thoughts turn to all those we have met on our journey, many of whom became friends, who have been less fortunate than Mum with their struggle against cancer as well as those who continue to fight.
Mum and all the Gahan family would like to say a massive thank you to all those people who have supported us and enabled us to share this special Christmas together. It is only through the generosity of so many of you that this has been possible.
Best wishes and lots of love
The Gahans
At the end of September we ran a sweepstake asking people to guess the level of Mum's tumour markers and we were really pleased to announce that they had decreased to 491 (from an initial level of over 89,000 on 1st July)! Since then the two times that she has had her markers tested they have INCREASED and at last count they were measured at 1,873.
The reason for this is really simple. Because of a lack of funds we've had to reduce the amount of a vital treatment by two thirds and this directly coincides with the increase in cancerous activity. I have a feeling that if we had been able to continue with the original treatment plan Mum would have been cancer-free right now and if not almost certainly by Christmas.
It's absolutely devastating to be taking backward steps at this final stage when Mum was so unbelievably close to beating cancer and proving that there is no such thing as 'incurable' cancer. It's such a horrible situation to be in and we wouldn't wish it on anybody. Knowing that my Mum's life comes down to money is absolutely sickening. It's amazing to think that if we won the lottery we would feel 100% confident, absolutely certain, that Mum would be cancer free within a short space of time. She's already shown that she responds astoundingly well to the treatment, better than anyone could have predicted, but we just can't maintain it without more money.
If you're able to make a contribution to help fund Mum's next round of treatment we'd be so grateful. We're hoping that we can get some more funds together for a visit next week and we'd absolutely love to go back up to the full dose of this particular immunotherapy drug but it's going to take a significant amount of money. The drug in question costs 17,000 Euros for one injection! It may be the round of treatment that finishes the cancer off for good!
Thank you all
Please donate to help Pauline for her treatment in Germany
Hi I am q 40 year old who has had all of my food pipe removed and my stomach pulled up this was due to sepsis after a c section I was on a life support machine I've had on going operations and still on going I'm sorry to hear your sad news but when I faced this there was many things I could not do but I can now like I did not eat for 9 months but something inside makes you strong your family and friends I wish you the best of luck x
Hope you manage to get some more funding soon and those tumours disperse☺
Hope you achieve it...God Bless you all...lovely family...xx
Hi Pauline!! It's Hayley here, we met at the Hallwang Clinic a couple of weeks ago!! I've private messaged you via Facebook, keep in touch, Hayley xxx
Thank you all for your help every little helps !! Xxx


text:
What's the Problem? The Importance of Framing When Colleagues Disagree/
A manager has two direct reports who are frequently in conflict. An individual contributor is pulled into co-workers' conflicts because he listens well. Sometimes they help resolve the conflict. Sometimes not. Consider these two scenarios:
Susan called Jack and Leslie into her office to discuss the timeline for a critical project. Right away, Leslie points to performance data showing that Jack's team is consistently late. She says "Jack, your team is consistently late on important deadlines. How are you going to deal with that?" Jack bristles and looks to Susan for help. Susan affirms Leslie's view and the meeting goes downhill quickly. Susan sits at her desk and wonders what she could have done differently.
Pedro is an individual contributor with an easy-going demeanor. At lunch with Jim and Stephanie, Jim brings up a recent miscommunication with Stephanie and Pedro tries to help by saying, "You need to be more accurate in your communication. We're all worried we're missing things because you're too busy to write detailed emails." Stephanie gives him "the look," glances at her watch and leaves without a word. Pedro's lunch sits in his stomach as he regrets not being more diplomatic, but he's not sure what he could have said that wouldn't make Stephanie angry.
Feel familiar? Ever tried to raise a difficult issue or intervene in a conflict and watch it all unravel? You know something you said landed wrong, but you struggle with what words might have made a difference.
Despite their best intentions, Susan and Pedro missed a critical key to any successful mediation: an opportunity to frame the problem. Any good mediator knows framing the issues is essential to bring people to the table – and keep them there. In fact, when the issues are not properly framed, a promising mediation can go south fast.
How the mediator frames the issues sets up everything that comes next. If Jack feels like Susan, his boss, sees the problem the same way as Leslie – and he feels blamed by Leslie – then working on the problem is to admit that he's wrong. The way Leslie framed the issue put all the blame on Jack. It is unlikely that Jack will agree to that and the parties get stuck arguing about what the problem is, rather than focusing on what can be fixed. In other words, how you frame the problem is directly linked to problem solving – both getting to it and then doing it well.
Want to know more? Loraine Della Porta and I are offering a free, two-hour, interactive training that addresses this essential skill. We'll also cover two other skills any good mediator needs, and overview the process and principles of mediation. Aimed at managers and individual contributors in nonprofits, municipalities, state agencies, and other sectors, participants will leave with skills they can use right away.
We hope you can join us on Wednesday, September 13 from 12:00-2:00 pm at the Nonprofit Center, located at 89 South St., Boston (right near South Station). We'll have light refreshments; you're welcome to bring your lunch. We'll have fun, discuss your challenging conflicts, and leave with some skills. While the training is free, registration is required. Please let us know you're coming by emailing email@example.com or calling 617.277.9232.
This training is part of our Fall "Keep Learning Campaign" – where our goal is to help nonprofits, municipalities and government agencies build capacity through short, accessible trainings that focus on immediately applicable skills.
Put these other dates on your calendar:
- Oct. 4 "What is Coaching and How to Use It" 12-2 at the Nonprofit Center, Boston
- Nov 15 "We've Got to Start Meeting Like This!" 12-2 at the Nonprofit Center, Boston
- Dec 13 "How to Do an Organizational Assessment" – Webinar through MNN; register here.
See you there!


text:
With JOG by VIBES you users can enjoy skip-free music in a 10-meter working distance. JOG by VIBES offers adjustable three different equalizer levels. Our middle stage more close to a wired headset feeling with good layering and low sound density. Our JOG by VIBES earphones are equipped with CVC6.0 digital noise reduction technology and an intelligent lter for ambient noise that en- sures clear sound at all times.
– Light weight good for sport
– Display headphone's battery on the iPhone
– Support voice prompt (supports Siri, Google and Alexa)
– IPX4-rated water-resistant
– Support wideband speech (HD voice ready)
– Charging via Micro USB connector
There are no reviews yet.


text:
Monrovia (MHS) Class of 1930 Alumni List
Help us Update the Monrovia 1930 Class List by adding any names missing from the list below:
Registered Alumni
1930 Class List
Know Monrovia Class of 1930 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 1930 Class List by adding missing names.
Reunions and Monrovia High School News
More 1930 alumni from Monrovia HS have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 1930 alumni.
Alumni from the Monrovia High School class of 1930 that have been added to this alumni directory are shown on this page. All of the people on this page graduated in '30 from Monrovia . You can register for free to add your name to the MHS alumni directory.
We also encourage you to keep up to date on news and reconnect with Monrovia High School alumni.


text:
For this session we began at my studio in downtown Lynchburg, then Jessica had the amazing idea to head up to Wintergreen to try to catch some snow pictures. It was a warmer than average day in February, but we managed to find an amazing section with snow! I just love how these turned out, and seriously Jessicas dress from Sew Trendy Accessories is SWOON worthy!
MUA: Brittany Nicole MUA


text:
Sonix Taiko Drum Stand, tall (Allow 3-5 days for delivery)
Product overview
- Taiko Drum Stand, tall
- Two sizes to fit 42cm or 45cm Taiko
- PP848 for 42 cm dia drums
- PP849 for 45cm dia drums
Delivery & returns
UK delivery starts at £1.95 and goes to a maximum of £5.95 (excluding Highlands & Islands which can be more for a parcel)
Free Delivery over £95 - This applies to orders delivered to the UK mainland only and (excludes Highlands & Islands)
We aim to ship upon of receipt of an order, subject to stock availability.
View our full delivery policy here.
Once the item has been despatched it becomes your responsibility to return an order or item in an unmarked and resaleable condition before we can issue a refund to you. Please note that return postage charges cannot be refunded unless the product is faulty or not as described. Also please note that this only applies to individual customers.


text:
Tags: Dior, Eyeshadow, Palette
I did very well this Christmas in terms of presents but surprisingly I only had one beauty related thing. I'm not complaining though cos it's a good un!
Yes it's Dior!
Yes it's Night Golds from the Grand Bal Collection.
My swatches didn't turn out the best but here they are anyway…
That far left shade is a total beaut, it's not back as it appears in my swatches, it's darkest brown and filled with minute gold particles….the other shades are a pale shimmering champagne and three variations on gold, a coppery gold, a yellowy gold and a bronzey gold. Bronzey isn't a word I know!
Anyway here's how I've been wearing them, in various lights.
I absolutely love this palette, it's everything I'd hoped it would be when I put it on my Christmas wishlist…but there is bad news. I can't find it in stock anywhere. If you do manage to find this, on a blog sale, in a local store or on Ebay, grab it quick, this one's a classic in the making!
Thank you to my husband for my lovely present!
Wow xx hubby did good 🙂 xx really love the look of this palette x x x
That's a pretty palette! The good Dior ones always sell out quickly. Do you find that the shadows last? The last palette I had was lovely but the colour payoff was so poor even with primers/paint pots underneath.
I've had a couple and they've been average in performance but this seems pretty good even with just foundation underneath x


text:
[email protected] Call: 1300 335 628
Get your FREE copy of "Horse Float Safety Guide: Getting From A to B Stress Free" NOW! (Valued at $197)
Enter your name and email address and you'll be given INSTANT ACCESS!
For the ultimate in travelling comfort, you can't go past the the Equiluxe Gooseneck range. The sleeping area alone is enough for you to want to make i
Looking for angle load Goosenecks for Sale?
Fitted out with all the mod cons from home, all you need to do is hitch up. Load the
Looking for Goosenecks for Sale?
This unique Gooseneck layout is the perfect solution for transporting bigger horses but in a smaller model


text:
Jupiter by: aleksey bomar
The diameter or size of the planet - The size of jupiter is 142,984 kilometers.
The period or rotation and revolution - The rotation is 11.86 earth years.
Average distance from the sun - The distance from the sun is 483.8 million miles.
Origin of the planet's name - The origin of Jupiter is the torus-shaped belt around Jupiter's equator.
Average surface temperature or range of temperature - the average temperature of Jupiter is 234 degrees Fahrenheit.
4 Interesting Facts -
1. The planet Jupiter is the fifth planet out from the Sun.
2. Jupiter is the fourth brightest object in the solar system.
3. Jupiter has the shortest day of all the planets.
4. Jupiter orbits the Sun once every 11.8 Earth years.


text:
The Squamish Food Bank relies on the support of the community and the many volunteers that keep it going. We appreciate your interest in volunteering your time to helping make your community better.
Our volunteer hours are:
Every 1st and 3rd Tuesday from 1pm to 4pm
These days are in preparation for Food Bank hamper pick up the following day. Duties include sorting food, preparing hampers, breaking down bulk items, stocking shelves
The 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month 1 to 3:30pm
These 2 days we sort food, stock shelves, organize and clean
The 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month 8:30am to 1:30pm
These are Food Bank hamper distribution days. Our doors are open to the public from 11am to 1pm. During which time we help customers build their own hampers, offer guidance, help carry hampers to vehicles, as well as setting up our self service areas beforehand and cleaning up afterwards.
Every Thursday from 1:30 to 3:30pm
Duties include sorting donations and organizing. Picking up donations from grocery stores where necessary
Every 2nd Wednesday from 9:30am to 1:30pm
NEW! Our new Family Food Bank day, began in October 2016. Supporting families with children of all ages. We distribute food on a smaller scale, currently with a team of 6 volunteers, to set up and serve during this time.
If you would like more information please email email@example.com, let us know a little bit about yourself and why you would like to volunteer. There is an application process involving a Criminal Record Check, at no cost.
Hosting an Event
There are many ways to volunteer your time to support our Food Bank.
Over the years we have been very fortunate to be the recipients of Christmas party, School and other group donations. Thank you to all those children who have donated their birthday present money to us, to the company Christmas parties who have collected donations instead of purchasing gifts for each other, to all the many schools in this community that have collected food. Halloween 2015 saw several food and cash collections from Trick a Treating events by kids and adults!
Over the years we have been regularly supported by many groups including Classic Car Adventures, BC Hydro, Platypus Playcentre, Howe Sound Interact Club, the Guns and Hoses event at Brennan Park, The Sea to Sky Gondola and many many children in Squamish who have collected food for us at school and through personal donations. Last September the 1st Annual Kids Festival was held and almost $600 was raised by donations from you for our Food Bank.
No event is too small, no collection is too small. All donations are greatly appreciated.
If you need help or support with an event please call 604 815 4054, leave a message for Christina. We can pick up your donations after an event.


text:
Political Culture and Culinary Traditions
An argument could be made that November 2016 is the most divisive period in US political culture since the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in 1861. During the US Civil War (1861-1865) However Union and Confederate cooks still came together to agree on a "standard" Thanksgiving Day menu. One source described it as a "most imposing stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, turnips, [and] pumpkin" pie. Try and to come together and break bread over those things you can agree on. More often than not we have more in common than difference.


text:
Last fall Greg Mandrusiak made a road trip to Buttonwillow, California to buy another Lotus 51 Formula Ford and brought it home to Kelowna in a rather unusual fashion. He says he got some strange looks from other motorists whom he went past on the highway and even a raised eyebrow from the female Canada Customs officer when he arrive at the border crossing. I wonder why ? I suppose you don't see this sort of thing everyday.
Greg is hoping to have the restoration of one of his Lotus 51s completed in time for him to get it on track this year. In addition to restoring his Lotus collection he is also working away on getting his Crossle 30F back together so he will have it to race as well.


text:
Commerce Pick Richardson Withdraws, Citing N.M. Probe
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration yesterday, citing an ongoing federal "pay-to-play" investigation involving one of his political donors as a significant obstacle to his confirmation.
Richardson, 61, who competed unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, becomes the first political casualty in Obama's Cabinet, and his withdrawal marked the first visible crack in what had been one of the smoothest presidential transitions in modern history.
The former energy secretary and U.N. ambassador under President Bill Clinton was positioned to become the highest-profile Hispanic in Obama's administration. But Richardson made it clear yesterday that he thought confirmation was far from a sure thing, even with Democrats firmly in control of the Senate.
"Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done," Richardson said in a statement.
The New Mexico investigation, which began last summer, focuses on whether Richardson's office urged a state agency to hire a California firm as a result of generous contributions from the company and its president to political action committees established by the governor.
Richardson insisted that he and his staff "have acted properly in all matters" and predicted that the investigation would exonerate him. But he said the probe could take weeks or months, potentially holding up his Senate approval. Instead, Richardson said he will remain "in the job I love as governor of New Mexico."
He called Obama on Friday to advise him of his plans, and the president-elect accepted the decision "with deep regret," according to a statement issued yesterday. Aides said no one in Obama's transition pressured Richardson to drop out.
No clear replacement for Richardson at the Commerce Department emerged yesterday, but sources close to the transition said Obama would move quickly to find one.
A grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into whether CDR Financial Products received a contract with the New Mexico Finance Authority because of pressure from Richardson or other state employees. CDR made $1.48 million advising the authority on interest-rate swaps and refinancing of funds related to $1.6 billion in transportation bonds, state officials confirmed.
The Beverly Hills-based firm and its president, David Rubin, together gave $100,000 to Sí Se Puede and Moving America Forward, both PACs started by Richardson, shortly before winning the lucrative state contract, records show.
The federal probe heated up considerably last month, just around the time Obama announced Richardson as his choice for commerce secretary, according to sources familiar with the investigation. New subpoenas were issued, and testimony was scheduled from officials at J.P. Morgan Chase who worked for the state with CDR and from the director of Richardson's political action committees.
CDR's selection drew FBI interest because the firm did not make an initial list of the most qualified bidders. The bidding was reopened for review, and a state committee headed by one of Richardson's former top aides later helped select CDR.


text:
Reforming Sin
One of the most important things that Reformed people face in their enunciation of God's sovereignty is the origin of sin and evil. We are constantly bombarded with the theodicy issue and frankly, do not always handle our answers very well.
I don't want to try and solve the theodicy issue in a single blog or series. However, I do want to address the Reformed confessions and repute poor answers that stem from Reformed individuals. There are a number of reasons to stress the sovereignty of God in our answers, but it should never infringe upon the clarity of our belief.
Westminster Confession of Faith
It stands without comment that the Westminster standards affirm that "God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass" (WCF III.I). Thus it is confessional to say that God has ordained all things that will ever happen. Many with certain philosophical convictions will think the conversation ends right there. It seems to follow that God must be the author and originator of sin.
However, the confession speaks in this manner while also affirming a couple other philosophical categories. It is important to permit the Westminster Divines to fully flesh out their philosophy of sovereignty and responsibility:
"Yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." (WCF III.I)
"Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, He orders them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently." (WCF VI.II)
All of this philosophical jargon is important when we look at the issue of sin. Westminster completely affirms the primary causation attributed to God. But it fully affirms that this primary causation is the foundation of real secondary will, liberty, and contingency. This is high-level talk for a 100% sovereignty and 100% human responsibility equation. While some might not accept this equation, it is the principled theology of Westminster.
This is incredibly crucial because while God can choose to work apart from means, the Confession does not attribute many actions to such a method stating. God's "ordinary providence" is facilitated through means. They acknowledged God's freedom "above" and even "against" His creatures, but were slow to describe cases of such behavior:
"God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at His pleasure." (WCF V.III)
So whenever the Westminster Divines affirm God's "ordaining work," we must understand that they do so in a manner that affirms people's responsibilities in decisions and choices. This is not a philosophical or theological determinism, God is not working "without, above, [or] against" means. But sometimes, Reformed individuals seem to almost say the opposite while enumerating the great sovereignty of God. Some even refuse to speak as the confession does of God permitting things amongst His ordained will:
"This their [Adam and Eve] sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory." (WCF VI.I)
So is it wrong to speak of God "permitting" an event? Apparently not to the Divines. Nor does such language contradict the affirmation of God's sovereign ordaining of all things. Because in God's act of ordaining all things, He grounds, founds, and establishes the use of means in man's will both in the scope of "liberty" and "contingency."
Source of Sin
"The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that it extends itself even to the first fall, and all other sins of angels and men; and that not by a bare permission, but such as has joined with it a most wise and powerful bounding, and otherwise ordering, and governing of them, in a manifold dispensation, to His own holy ends; yet so, as the sinfulness thereof proceeds only from the creature, and not from God, who, being most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin." (WCF V.IV)
This is potentially the most important quote in the WCF concerning sin. It is important to read the section in light of the philosophical distinctions previously mentioned. God's will and counsel establishes secondary means. But the greater concern here (and one echoed in other Reformed confessions) is the prevailing idea that all activities (and particularly sins) occur completely outside of God's will and plan. Does sin occur so apart from God that He is merely left juggling potential resolution that brings Him glory? The Divines say "no" stating that sin occurs "not by a bare permission."
This means that God's will is not absent from sin, but instead, it is "joined" (not the uniqueness of this word) to accomplish His "holy ends." The Divines could have forcefully pushed a determinism here. Instead, they show restraint emphasizing the full responsibility of man's responsibility in sin and profound resolution in their language choices. In regards to sinful activity, God's will is consigned to a "powerful bounding" to bring about glory from grief. This removes God from being "author or approver of sin." Thus, God's ordaining is not "author[ship]," He is the "primary cause" of all that happens but not the origin of sin. Sin occurs in God's ordaining through the liberty of man and fall nature. It is God's sovereign will[ingness], through grace, to make from sin a path for His holy ends.
Other Confessions
At this point, it is helpful to look at other Reformed confessions and the way that they speak. In particular, the Belgic Confession and Second Helvetic both intentional call out the Epicureans in their depictions of God's sovereignty. This wholesale rejection of a God who created but now stand far off should be shared by those outside of the Reformed faith.
The Belgic Confession takes a very tempered approach in how it articulates this issues:
"We believe that this good God, after creating all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to his holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without God's orderly arrangement. Yet God is not the author of, and cannot be charged with, the sin that occurs
We do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend.
For that reason we reject the damnable error of the Epicureans, who say that God does not get involved in anything and leaves everything to chance." (Article 13)
One can see that the Reformed position specifically calls out leaving anything to chance. God is engaged, but not in such a way that the origin or authorship of sin can be attributed to Him. As we saw in the WCF, even sin itself is not just left to chance such that it is outside of God's ordaining control. The Second Helvetic states the same concern:
"We therefore condemn the Epicureans who deny the providence of God, and all those who blasphemously say that God is busy with the heavens and neither sees nor cares about us and our affairs.
Nevertheless, we do not spurn as useless the means by which divine providence works, but we teach that we are to adapt ourselves to them in so far as they are recommended to us in the Word of God. Wherefore we disapprove of the rash statements of those who say that if all things are managed by the providence of God, then our efforts and endeavors are in vain." (Chapter VI)
The Reformed position on sin and its origin is simple. Nothing occurs outside of the ordaining of God. He has joined His will to the second causes and liberty of man to work things for His glory. In this, even as the primary cause of all things, He is neither the originator or author of sin. Instead, man in his nature—so also the fallenness of the world—is the source of sin in the world.


text:
DOLLHOUSE Natural Wave
HOD's DOLLHOUSE Natural Wave is part of our SIGNATURE FLAGSHIP Hair Extension line. These bundles are collected from single donors Throughout Cambodia and Vietnam. This COLLECTION IS EXCLUSIVELY VIRGIN REMY. All cuticles are aligned and unidirectional. The hair is very thick and can be colored from its natural 1B color all the way to a #613 Blonde with ease. This is the finest quality hair you will run your fingers through.
- Lengths: 10" - 40"
- Wefts: Machine Double Stitch
- Style: Natural Wave
- Weight: 100 grams / 3.5 oz


text: Spreadsheets are frequently utilized to take care of information. For instance, if the recorder involves a payroll item for an employee, and that thing doesn't exist for the customer in Accounting CS, the program won't import that employee record into the customer record. Simple Spreadsheet is a beneficial tool for those users which will need to make tables and spreadsheets without installing complex software.