text:
Significance Of Selling Property for Cash in Real Estate
Real estate business is becoming popular nowadays than it used to be in the past. Professionals in the industry can testify the benefits acquired in real estate.The success that has been witnessed in the lives of real estate investors has made many people to start investing in real estate. The industry of real estate is broad.Land buying and selling is not the only activity in real estate. You can also buy and rent houses in this field.The choice depends with the investor.To learn more about Real Estate, visit
. A number of investors will buy and sell land.Some people prefer building homes and selling them. Rentals are also profitable options.
When selling your piece of land or if you a buying land, you can receive your money through different methods. Most times the payments will be done in cash or over the bank. The method to be used depends on what the two people agree on.Even though different people will prefer different methods, there are a number of advantages for buying or selling house in cash. Selling property can be quite exhausting. You deal with strangers who are interested in the property in most cases. Payment in cash has all the benefits discussed below.
The first benefit is that this method saves time. One you have already found a person who is willing to buy your house, you do not have to start writing checks and waiting money to be processed by the bank. Take time and ensure you received the amount agreed upon.When you have to leave the site to go to the bank time will be wasted.When you are moving money to where the property, it is easier.Sellers who need money urgently should go for this method.
When you sell houses in cash, you avoid traditional extra charges. Cash payments are also beneficial since you get all the money you get from your property.To learn more about Real Estate, click
. The charges for paying a realtor will not be incurred. Bank charge for transactions some money. In cash payment, such costs will be avoided. This method is very economical.
When dealing with a local cash buyer, you can sell the house in its current condition.Repairs are not needed in this case. You should not be worried about dirt and damages.This is a big benefit to the seller since money is not wasted in repairs. Dealing with cash investors you can be sure that the property will be sold. A buyer has already obtained the money needed to buy the house and is not waiting for a bank to approve any loan. Money is not a problem. There are some people who start looking for a house hoping to get a loan from the bank. If the loan is not successful the deal does not happen.Learn more from
Nairobi, Nairobi Province, Kenya
This site was built using
Create Your Website Today >>


text:
South Park to Breckenridge
Today was the day that I had spent the last three days working towards. Wait, what am I talking about? Today was the day that I had spent the last three months working towards. Today I would climb Hoosier Pass and reach the highest point on the Trans-America trail.
The last three days of riding were strenuous. Over the 128 miles since Pueblo I had accumulated nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain. From my hostesses home in South Park I stood 10,345 feet above sea level. As high as that was, I would need to climb over 1,000 feet more in order to cross the Hoosier Pass. It would be a challenge, but one that I was certainly up for.
Bob Potter, a nice guy I met in Ordway, had prepped me for the Hoosier Pass. As a Colorado native, he knew the land well. He told me that crossing from the South was the right way to go. With a glimmer in his eye he recounted to me how beautiful of a ride the Hoosier Pass would be. I'm not sure if it was the words he used or the excited look on his face, but he clearly sent the message that I was in for a treat.
So, Celine and I headed out on what would (hopefully) be our last uphill ride for a while. Within a few miles we arrived at Alma, the highest incorporated town in North America with an elevation over 10,500 feet. This place had tons of Colorado character, including about as many marijuana dispensaries as inhabitants. Alma was the last town before the Pass, so we took a quick break to purchase some supplies that would help us get high enough to make it across. You know, we got like water and stuff so we wouldn't get altitude sickness. You gotta be careful out here in Colorado!
Anyways, about a mile outside of town we came across a sign informing us that we had arrived at the final climb. I followed the road with my eyes. The good news was that it was a fairly straight path. Climbs with lots of switchbacks tend to get a bit stressful. The bad news was that it was four miles uphill with a healthy grade to it. I was definitely going to feel this climb in the morning.
This final ascent was as beautiful as Bob Potter had described. With each peddle I got closer to the overpowering cliffs that surrounded me, bringing their details into full focus. Little snow pockets contrasted sharply with the rocky red cliffs towering high above the treeline.
As the cliffs became closer, so the town became more distant, slowly being crowded out by the vibrant mountain scenery. Looking back I could see that we had come a long way. Not only did it feel like we were high up, but it even looked like we were high up. There weren't too many things above us at this point. There was a part of me that yearned to turn my bike around and cruise down the 100 miles that we had just ascended. It would have relieved my achy leg muscles of this dreadful climb. But I knew that was not a realistic option, I had come way too far to just stop climbing at this point. I had a goal and knew that this climb was an essential part of me achieving it.
We peddled and peddled and peddled. At times we became unnerved by impatient drivers or narrow roadways. Despite the distractions, we stuck to our training. As I looked forward I noticed that the roadway was beginning to level off. A few more turns of the peddle and we were there. At 11,539 feet above sea level, we had arrived at Hoosier Pass.
Why was this such a big deal? Well, first of all, it meant that I was officially and totally in the West. There wasn't anything Midwestern or even Middle American about my location anymore. I had crossed over the continental divide and was fully on the West side. Second, and most importantly, I had climbed a mountain. I navigated treacherous roadways, adapted to extreme elevations, braved through foul weather and sweat it out over 2,500 miles to get here. I felt like I was on top of the world, and in some respects it was fair to say that I was.
Atop Hoosier Pass, Celine and I took some time to regroup. During this brief respite, a local fellow got to talking to Celine. It's funny, because her interaction with this gentleman actually answered a question that was burning in my mind. I wanted to know why this mountain pass was called the "Hoosier" pass. Since my father was from Indiana, I knew that a "Hoosier" was a person from Indiana. Then, during this journey I learned that in Missouri hicks were referred to as "Hoosiers". So I wondered to myself, what did the "Hoosier" in "Hoosier Pass" refer to? When Celine returned from conversing with this local fellow, she informed me that this gold-mining, bridge-painting guy who had a rifle in the break seat of his truck had described himself to her as a redneck. "Ah!" I thought to myself, "I guess this fellow was the 'Hoosier' that they were referring to in 'Hoosier' Pass." I was pleased that Celine helped me to solve that mystery.
As essential to a victory of any sort is the celebration of that victory. When you scale a mountain on a bicycle, the celebration is automatically arranged by the very nature of the activity. What do I mean? I mean that what goes up must come down. The celebration of my three day climb would take the form of me blazing down the North side of Hoosier Pass into Breckenridge. And that's exactly what I did. Over the next 15 miles I averaged between 30 and 40 miles per hour. I couldn't be bothered to take photographs of the picturesque scenery. I was fully engrossed by the sensation of charging down this mountain road.
I cruised right into downtown Breckenridge. I couldn't quite believe it: this place was poppin'! There were tourists absolutely everywhere. I reflected on my Winter trip to Breckenridge with my brother over two years ago. The town wasn't this vibrant during that February in 2014. Seeing Breck in the summertime slowly brought me around to something that all my Coloradan friends had told me and firmly stood by, basically that Colorado is even better in the summer than it is in the winter.
That afternoon we arrived at the home of Carlos and Kain, our couch surfing hosts for the night. The two of them became friends when Kain, in the middle of a Panamerican bike tour, couch surfed at Carlos' home in Chiapas, Mexico. These guys seemed to have a revolving door for couch surfers. As the two of us rolled in, two others were just heading out.
Celine and I, so enjoying the town of Breckenridge and the company of our hosts, elected to take a rest day in Breck. During our 48 hours in this town, we would continue our celebration of victory on Hoosier Pass by binge-watching the Office, taking aimless gondola rides, hiking up Quandry peak and burning a bonfire in the company of our new friends.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
So as you saw with the earlier posts, Logan lost one of his two front teeth this past Saturday. Logan was very excited about this, first because he likes the way he looks without the tooth (weird I know) and because he would be cashing in with the tooth fairy. The problem with the tooth fairy around the Ward home is that he/she is not that reliable. So we totally forgot to place some money underneath his pillow Sunday morning (we were enjoying sleeping too much), leading to a very deflated Logan when he woke up. Of course we felt like derelict parents because we had totally burst Logan's bubble.
We must not have felt too bad about it however, seeing as we totally forgot to do it again on Monday! What terrible parents! Jennifer came up with the great saving justification when she told a depressed Logan that, "maybe the tooth fairy takes the weekend off!" this was not the answer Logan wanted to hear, but he accepted it nonetheless.
He did get his money on Tuesday morning ($2.00), but being in a rush, I forgot to take the tooth and just left the money. Logan saw this and shouted, "this means the tooth fairy is coming back!" Feeling a little guilty already the tooth fairy did indeed return on Wednesday morning and this time left a dollar and did remember the tooth. Logan can't wait till the next tooth comes out...
Tips Membeli Iphone Bekas atau Second
1 month ago


text:
Not a morning person? I get it. Coming from the former snooze queen, it took some adjusting in my sleep schedule to become part of the #5amworkoutcrew
1. Lay out your gear
Take the time to set out the items you will need for your workout. From your sock, trainers and leggings to your yoga mat and weight if you are sweating from home. It's hard enough waking up early, you won't want to dig for your gym outfit in the early hours of the morning.
2. Get your beauty sleep
While this one may seem obvious, go to bed earlier. The sooner you hit the sheets the easier it will be to get up for your goal crushing workout. tips for getting to bed sooner? Power down electronics- including your phone, (not off, just not in bed with you) 'Blue light' producing gadgets have been proven to disrupt your natural sleep cycle.
Everyone has slightly different circadian rhythms, but the average length is 24 and one-quarter hours. The circadian rhythm of people who stay up late is slightly longer, while the rhythms of earlier birds fall short of 24 hours. Dr. Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School showed, in 1981, that daylight keeps a person's internal clock aligned with the environment.
3. Meet a friend
Plan to meet a friend for an early workout. You will be less likely to bail on your sweat session plans if you have a friend to hold you accountable.
4. Pump the jams
Make a playlist ahead of time that will boost your mood and energy. Listening to your favorite songs will help wake you up.
5. Warm Up
Start your workout with a light warm up ( jumping jacks, incline treadmill walking, or bike training) This will allow your sleepy muscles to wake up and increase blood flow.
6. Game plan
Screen shot that workout you wanted to try or write out your weight training plan. Having your workout planned ahead of time will make training easier on your sleepy morning self.
Go slay your morning workout gorgeous!


text:
Vintage Deluxe offers an eclectic collection of Art, Antiques, Vintage and Vinyl Records.
Sitting in the center of Maastricht (NL), Vintage Deluxe offers an eclectic collection of Art, Antiques, Vintage and Vinyl Records. The art collection is centered around Contemporary Pop & Street art, with occasional additions of early and mid-twentieth century modernists. Since November 2018 Vintage Deluxe by Hubert Kalkman is a partner on Artsy.
Owner Hubert Kalkman mixes the art collection with Vintage & Antique accessories which he salvages from local markets and auction houses. The common aspect between the 3 areas are that Hubert buys what he likes and thinks his customers could fall in love with.
During business hours the record player is always on! Come in to enjoy the vibe and follow @vintagedeluxeshop on Instagram for the newest arrivals!
This website has been launched to highlight the art collection.
August 2017 this webshop was launched to have a wider reach and better highlight the art collection. Vinyl records have since been published on the webshop after Hubert decided to widen the stock with newly released vinyl. The plan for 2019 is to add the third area: Vintage & Antique accessories.
See anything you like? Please send inquiries to firstname.lastname@example.com
Next to the collection, owner Hubert Kalkman offers visual artists a platform.
The goal is to create a shop where upcoming artists get the exposure they need for commercial succes. These collaborations are long-term (min. 3 months). They offer their work in consignment.
The collection is put together by looking at quality and originality first.
Not what something has to cost. This also means there are no limits to prices. A good way to offer products to a wide target group. Prices start at € 2,- in the shop.
The result of presenting upcoming artists with established artists works well.
The vibe is casual and everyone is welcome.
Second-hand vinyl records and CDs are for sale. Follow @vintagedeluxeshop on instagram for new arrivals!
"The story"
In 2014 I started exporting antique accessories to Nepal.
10 months later I opened a pop-up shop, where my partner and I offered any kind of Start-Up a platform.
From January 2015 I continued as a full time shop and I started filling my walls with art and haven't stopped since.
Please feel free to visit any time you are in Maastricht.
Kind regards,
Hubert Kalkman
Dave Brubeck Quartet In Europe – 1LP€ 18.00
Dave Brubeck – Time Out – 1 LP€ 18.00
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison – 2LP€ 29.00
Treesome by Hoodkitsch – 2019 – Unique ArtworkSold Out
Godskolere by Hoodkitsch – 2019 – Unique Artwork€ 180.00
Dikke Kut by Hoodkitsch – 2019 – Unique Artwork€ 100.00
Miles Davis – Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud – 1 LP€ 18.00
Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire De Melody Nelson – 1LP€ 19.00
Johnny Cash – With Is Hot And Blue Guitar / Sings The Songs That Made Him Famous!€ 19.00
Johnny Cash – Sound Of Johnny Cash / Now There Was A Song! – 1LP€ 19.00
70s Italian Coffee Table – Burl-Wooden Veneer Top€ 295.00
Prince – Originals – 2LP – Gatefold€ 45.00


text:
I made a thread catcher and embroidery case as gifts for this amazing sewer/crafter/embroider/geek figuring they would come in handy. I was intimidated going in because i'm better at crocheting then at sewing. I love sewing and just starting to teach myself embroidery but I'm still in the newbie stages. Quilting was my gateway drug into making things over a decade ago, but I was always trying to quickly work through things instead of paying attention to the details. Now, I'm all about learning and trying to improve technique each project. I spend a lot more time with my seam ripper but i'm getting progressively much happier with my results.
Thread Catcher (pattern: http://lisabongean.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/thread-catcher-12.pdf)
Quilted Embroidery Case (pattern: http://sewshesews.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/quilted-needle-case-tutorial/)
I must have ripped out the top part of the case 5 times (minimum). I was learning how to get the lines straight and get the batting to behave to give it that quilted look. I had never used bias tape before so that and how to make the corners, etc was all new to me.
I'm really happy with the fabric print and color choices.


text:
2009 Institute Proceedings
The Jon C. Dalton Institute on College Student Values' Institute Proceedings section includes keynote speaker presentations, keynote speech scripts, and major papers. For more information about the Institute, please visit studentvalues.fsu.edu.
Building on Student Strengths to Develop Professional Responsibility Across the Curriculum
by Englemann & Greenen
Creating a Strengths-Based Campus Culture
by Fitzgerald, Henck & Longman
Developing Character Strengths in College Students Through Online Interventions
by Hulme, Louis, & Lafreniere
Finding vs. Constructing the Good Life
by Timm Thorsen
From Emotion to Values and Back Again
by Sandra Graham
Happiness and Altruism
by Pete Mather
How Can Strengths Awareness Make a Difference in the Lives of Our Students
by Longman & Henck
Illustrating Professional & Personal Values Through Art
by Gregory P. Bocchino
Increasing College Students' Purpose in Life
by Matthew J. Bundick
Increasing Student Leadership Effectiveness through the Development of Hope
by Marie Wisner
Lessons Learned on the Journey – How One College Became Comprehensively Strengths-Based
by Longman & Hill
My Story – Finding Passion
by Claire A. Crawford
On Being Happy But Not Guillible
by Joseph R. Ferrari
Positive Psychology on Campus – Measuring Student Thriving
by Laurie A. Schreiner
Post Graduation Year of Service – Opportunity to Pursue Meaning and Purpose
by Cheryl Keen
The Good Life – Finding Your Passion & Discovering Yourself
by Jensen-Crawford & Crawford
The Transformative Community Change Process – A Strengths-Based Process for Collaborative Change
by Terry Morrow
Use of ePortfolios to Faciliate College Student Skill Identification
by Garis, Lumsden, & Ford
Using Strengths to Enhance Motivation and Well-being in the Curriculum
by Frieden and Smith
Using Strengths to Enhance Motivation and Well-being in the Curriculum
by Tull & Wolek


text:
Until now I have mainly inked with a Faber-Castell PITT artist's brush pen, because it is so easy to do. However, I noticed that if you try to do very thin lines, the mark left by the felt tip tends to be broken. The brush pen is great for thick lines and filling areas, but when you try to put more detail into your inked drawing, it tends to get "mushy". That's why, as of today's fan art for Beardus Maximus, I added the dip pen permanently to my inking arsenal. Its metal point should better withstand the pressure of my drawing hand, and enable me to draw finer details. I still will be using the brush pen, because it's great for filling large areas, and uses the exact same India ink.
The pen I'm using is a Dutch version of the dip pen, known in Dutch as "kroontjespen" (see this translated article from the Dutch Wikipedia website). You need to use a paper stock that has a fairly smooth surface, and even then, the split point can get stuck if you move the nib in the wrong direction. You need to pull the nib towards you or sideways, but never away from you. This means you need to turn the paper, and also take care the lines you connect with are already dry.
The ink bottle shouldn't be filled to the top, but instead only so much the nib can only get halfway into the India ink when the point reaches the bottom. The upper part of the nib should remain dry. If you load too much ink on the nib, the ink will spill on your artwork when you least expect it.
Also take care of your nibs. Although they aren't expensive, it makes sense to keep your nibs clean by wiping the ink off if you're not inking for 5 minutes or more. When you're finished, rinse the tip of the nib under running tap water and dry carefully by dipping on a paper towel or tissue paper. Never force the nib to split, because that will make the ink lines less well defined.
Before you ink your piece, break the nib in by trying it out on a piece of scrap paper. Once the lines are consistent in blackness and line width, use it on the "real thing". It also prepares you mentally for the inking process. Ink strokes should be done swiftly, with some "pre-flight movements". You hover with your nib over the line you want to draw several times and then do it in one fell swoop. You want confident lines, because that will translate in artwork that looks "professionally done", by an experienced artist.
An alternative is to do small movements, to break up a big line into smaller lines. But even then, you do some hovering over the paper before you put the point on the paper. What you want to avoid is ink all flowing off the nib point as it hits the paper surface at a right angle. Rather than that, you want to approach the paper almost parallel to its surface, so there's almost no impact and less risk for the ink to transfer to the paper because of deceleration forces.
Inking requires patience. Not only because the ink needs to dry, but also because you do more than just tracing your underdrawing. Inking is as much a form of art as drawing is. It is a skill you learn by doing.
That is all.


text:
This Absinthe Drinking Kit comprises an Absinthe glass and an Absinthe spoon. Absinthe is always drunk in a particular way, the "absinthe ritual". As most absinthes are a little bitter, they benefit from the addition of something sweet like sugar. The classic French absinthe ritual therefore involves placing a sugar cube on the flat perforated part of the absinthe spoon (pictured here) which is placed on the rim of the Absinthe glass (pictured here) in which a measure of Absinthe has been poured. Iced water is then gently poured over the sugar cube, thereby dissolving it into the Absinthe in the glass, and as the water and sugar drip into the glass, the green liquid turns a milky colour. Xenta Absinthe is made in Italy and has a well balanced mix of star anise and wormwood in its blend.
Absinthe Drinking Kit
> Absinthe Spoon (Perforated)
> Absinthe Glass
> Absinthe Glass
• Weight: 281 grams
You may also like…
Bar Spoons
Related Products
Bar Kits
Bar Essentials / 5 pieces / Stainless Steel
Bar Kits
Bar Kits
Bar Kit - Perfect Gift / 9 pieces
Bar Kits
4 pieces / Copper plating on Stainless Steel


text:
GFNY Deutschland VIP
GFNY Deutschland VIP lets you enjoy personalized service and extra perks at GFNY Deutschland. It's ideal if you want to start in front of the GFNY peloton, host clients or enjoy a little something extra as part of your GFNY experience.
A GFNY Deutschland VIP ticket includes:
- Race entry for GFNY Deutschland: Gran Fondo or Medio Fondo.
- No wait to get into the expo.
- Special registration area at the expo with fast, personal service.
- Starting in the first corral with other VIPs and invited guests. Direct view of the start line.
- Post-race VIP hospitality in the GFNY tent suites at the GFNY Finish Village at the Weser river, which includes post-race massage and comfortable, dedicated area with seating and lounge chairs.
Already registered for the race? Email us to upgrade your entry.
Register now: GFNY DEUTSCHLAND VIP


text:
On June 19th, the AP headlined in its "The Big Story" an article by Steve Peoples, titled "Romney Declines to Condemn Hecklers at Obama Stops."Peoples reported that, " Mitt Romney has declined to call on his supporters to stop heckling President Barack Obama's campaign.
He told Fox News Radio on Tuesday that he doesn't believe in 'unilateral disarmament.'" So, the question naturally arises here: which side is actually pushing this heckling, and which side is merely reacting to it?
Was this really an issue of Romney's declining "unilateral disarmament"?
All of the news reporting that will be discussed here will likewise be from June 19th. Olivier Knox at ABC News bannered "Romney Is 'Endorsing' Heckling, Obama Camp Complains," and Knox reported that Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "We have sent a strong message to our supporters that this campaign should be an open exchange of ideas, not one where we drown out the other side by heckling and crashing events." Was this statement from the Obama campaign just hypocritical deceit from the side that really started the heckling?
An influential report had just been issued that suggested that this was the case. Breitbart.comheadlined "New Obama Jobs Program: Pay Anti-Romney Protesters," and Ben Shapiro wrote that, "President Obama's latest job-creation gimmick is a self-serving one: Obama allies are reportedly paying protesters ... to stake out Mitt Romney's rallies.
Two Michigan protesters said that they were getting paid to do that arduous work. They're clearly not unionized - one protester claimed she was getting paid $7.25 per hour, while another man said he was being paid $17 per hour. ... Their story was confirmed by an Obama campaign official." The source for this alleged information was a report from BuzzFeed.com. When one checks that link, here is what one actually finds:
BuzzFeed.com headlined "Anti-Romney Protesters Say They're Paid To Heckle," and McKay Coppins wrote about Obama supporters at a Michigan Romney event, saying that "They're also getting paid, two of the protesters and an Obama campaign official told BuzzFeed." This seemed incriminating. However, no one was being named as a source. Coppins continued: "Two protesters said they were getting paid to stand outside the rally, though their wage is unclear: one said she was getting $7.25 per hour, while another man said they were being paid $17 per hour."
Again, Coppins cited no one by name. "About 50 feet away, another protest had been organized by local Democrats in conjunction with the Obama campaign. A campaign official told BuzzFeed they had nothing to do with the other group - which he said he believed they had been sent by the labor-backed group 'Good Jobs Now.'" So, still without any named source, Coppins was communicating that there was a "labor-backed group," who were saying that they were paid by some labor organization, Good Jobs Now, and that there was also a separate group of "local Democrats in conjunction with the Obama campaign." No allegation was being made here that the latter group were paid protesters.
Then, Coppins wrote: "Brittany Smith, a spokesman for Good Jobs Now, confirmed that they had protesters at the events, but said their 'activists are NOT paid to protest.' [the emphasis here is from Coppins]" Finally, Coppins named here a source, and this source was actually denying that "Good Jobs Now" was being paid. So, to sum up: there was no allegation that the "local Democrats" were paid, and the only named source in the entire Coppins article, "Brittany Smith, a spokesman for Good Jobs Now" - the very organization that Coppins had started out by alleging they paid their protesters - actually denied that their protesters were being paid anything.
In other words: Coppins provided here no evidence whatsoever that any of the anti-Romney protesters were actually being paid by anyone. Furthermore, Coppins' assertion that "one protester claimed she was getting paid $7.25 per hour, while another man said he was being paid $17 per hour. ... Their story was confirmed by an Obama campaign official" was actually a lie, since Coppins didn't even refer elsewhere to "an Obama campaign official" except to say that, "A campaign official told BuzzFeed they had nothing to do with the other group." Coppins' allegation that "Their story was confirmed by an Obama campaign official" was simply a fabrication by Coppins.
However, even though the Breitbart article was actually based upon a fraud, which Breitbart didn't even so much as question, its allegation was being pumped by Republicans. Thus, Jonathan Karl of ABC News headlined "Newt Gingrich's Advice for Mitt Romney: Sharpen Your Animal Instincts," and Gingrich told Karl that Romney's "biggest weakness is gonna be ... to play it safe," and that doing this would be fatal for his campaign.
So, what was the actual origin of this heckling, on both of its sides? Michael A. Memoli answered that at the Los Angeles Times. Headlining "Heckling, the Sleeper Issue of the Campaign (Or Not)," he presented "the back story. When President Obama traveled to Cleveland last week for a significant speech meant to lay out the major contrasts between the two candidates, the Romney campaign sent a fully emblazoned campaign bus to circle the venue and distract attention.
Not long before that, when [Obama] campaign strategist David Axelrod went to the statehouse in Boston for a news conference on Romney's record as governor, the Romney campaign made sure they had a jeering section within earshot." In other words: the Romney campaign had organized hecklers at both Obama events.
"So, as Romney made his way through key states this weekend on a bus tour, some Obama supporters were there to heckle the candidate. But Axelrod pointedly urged Obama backers" not to do it. "'I strongly condemn heckling along Mitt's route. Shouting folks is their tactic, not ours,' ... he wrote on Twitter." No evidence was provided anywhere that heckling the opposed candidate was anything other than a Republican tactic, at least as regards the campaign itself - a candidate's supporters, of course, are not controlled by the campaign.
The only fraudulent news reporting here was by BuzzFeed and Breitbart, both of which were Republican propaganda, not authentic news sources. The other reports were authentic newsmedia. However, unfortunately, denizens of right-wing "news" media don't know the difference.
This makes the situation for authentic newsmedia extremely difficult, because, if many readers (basically, Republican voters) cannot tell the difference between lying propaganda and honest news reporting, then journalism breaks down, and The Big Lie comes to dominate and threatens the very existence of democracy.
Democracy is endangered when propaganda gets mixed in with legitimate news reporting, because voters' choices cannot be any more accurate than the information upon which those choices are based. In such an environment, and especially after the infamous 2010 Republican U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision allowing billionaires to buy all the propaganda they want, propaganda can overwhelm the press and thereby effectively control electoral outcomes.
Previously, Breitbart.com was the central source of the lie that caused ACORN to go bankrupt, and of the lie that caused President Obama to fire Shirley Sherrod from the Agriculture Department - two other big Fox "News" stories that caused immense embarrassment to this White House, solely on the basis of lies that became heavily imprinted upon the minds of conservatives.
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They're Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST'S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity


text:
Hava Java Website Design
Hava Java is a hipster haven coffee shop located in Allentown, Pa. The objective of this project was to re-design a website that needed extreme design intervention. This website was designed with young adults as the target audience. Brush scripts and earth-toned colors are combined with a funky staggered navigation menu to appeal to the young coffee drinkers of Allentown.


text:
Katie, Lifestyle
I spent a rainy Saturday morning at the Volunteer Park Conservatory with this dear friend. Some tourists from San Diego stood watching me trying to make Katie laugh. (I bribed her with Trader Joe's peanut butter cups). I told the tourists, "Quick! Do something funny!" They said, "Okay! We'll keep her laughing—you shoot!"


text:
Chitwan was
Elephant-back safaris are the best way of getting through the park, lifting you above the tall grass of the Terai and through the dense undergrowth of the jungle to areas that are impossible to reach by car. It is also possible to explore the region by jeep, on foot or by canoe. Each method of travel has its advantages and Tribes recommends that you include as many activities as you can to really make the most of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Time: GMT +5.45 hours
Flight time:
There are several airlines flying to Nepal via the Middle East with flight times of 10 to 15 hours depending on the length of the stopover.
Language: Nepali is the official language and there are many other minority languages. English is widely spoken by people involved in the travel industry.
Required for British citizens, can be obtained on arrival at the airport.
There are no compulsory vaccinations.


text:
These stories are cute, usually. I'm going to tell about my first two just because it's a testament to early teenaged me.
Modern Love Story
My first relationship was actually a boy I met online, which is fitting since I am about to marry a boy (well, man) I met online. Although this was back in the old days when I hung around AOL chatrooms, and meeting someone online that way, especially as a 13 year old, was incredibly stupid. However, after talking to the guy a lot, I had pretty good verification he went to a neighboring middle school.
Of course my parents knew nothing of my online romances. I got them to agree to start dropping me off at the movies or mall. They hated the kid because he refused to meet them (I mean, that's a good reason to hate a boyfriend of your daughter). He wore a bucket hat with safety pins all over it (this was like, 1998).
We had really intense talks over AIM. He was quite the poet. I was a budding angry artist, and I was trapped in a Catholic school where I had few friends and hated every moment of my life (including some tough things going on at home). His romantic language made me swoon! Of course, in person, we would awkwardly hold clammy hands and not talk to each other.
I don't remember how we broke up, or really if we even broke up.
I would kill for a transcript of those conversations.
Homeless People Pants
The next guy was two years older than me. We started dating when I was an incoming freshman into the local public high school. We met through my neighbor, a year older than me, who had already started at that school. I can't TELL you how validating it was to have an older dude into me after the awkward years of middle school. Obviously, this was pretty unhealthy for me.
He would come over, and we made out on my trampoline all the time. Basically, we were constantly trying to hide somewhere to make out. I never went to his house. I think it's because he could drive, and I couldn't, but my parents maybe wouldn't let me ride off with him or something.
He wore huge JNCO pants. My dad asked him if he housed homeless people in there. I was mortified.
We broke up right after school started. I don't remember why, but I remember I was the one who broke up with him, and that I was new to that feeling of a breakup, so I kept thinking it was a bad decision and that I was definitely going to die alone. Yeah, ok, at 14 I had sealed myself into dying alone.
What you got for me, GT?


text:
Lake Washington Alumnae Association of KKG
Kappa Konnections
Support a Kappa, a Kappa Cause or a Kappa Interest!
If you are part of our alumnae group and are interested in adding your business,
or if you have any questions about these organizations, please contact us
Assistance League Eastside - Contact Susie Hino
Mercer Island Sister City Association - Contact Sue Sherwood
Prosperity Rings - nonprofit charitable foundation formed to grant funds to be used as loans so that vulnerable women can establish small enterprises as a means of support for their families Contact Nancy Pasternak
Washington Women in Need - nonprofit organization that helps low income women through financial assistance for health care and education Contact Terry Smith
Bellevue City Council - Contact Jennifer S. Robertson
Attorney and Counselor at Law - Kristin G. Olson
Bellevue Arts Museum - Contact Sherry Kramer
Books I Love (website) - Created by Kathy Weber
Coldwell Banker Bain Associates - Contact Sue Sherwood
Crave Health - Contact Ashley Besecker, RD, CD
A Touch of Holly - Contact Holly Norris (Interior Design)
Keller Williams Realty - Susan Hino
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney - Contact Kathleen Weber, CFP, CIMA
Nancy Bradley Art - Contact Nancy Bradley Local Watercolor Artist, showings at Parklane Gallery in Kirkland
Rodan+Fields Dermatologists - Contact Karen Collins Independent Consultant
This page will be modified often, so check back for updates!
Lake Washington Alumnae Association of KKG
Servicing the Eastside Community of Seattle, Washington
(i.e. Bellevue, Bothell, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Renton)


text:
Leonard Soicher writes in his e-mail message of 1994/07/26
Why does Gap feel it is necessary to compute a stabilizer chain for G in
order to compute RepresentativeOperation(G,1,pt) ?
I just looked at the code. Superficially it appears to be the result of
a mixture of stupidity and laziness. In truth however, I used the most
stupid and wastefull method I could think of, to see how long it would go
undetected ;-).
Leonard continues in his e-mail message of 1994/07/27
I suggest the following default strategy for calculating
The idea is to build up two partial Schreier trees Tx, Ty (w.r.t.
G.generators), rooted at x and y, respectively. One alternately
adds nodes to Tx and Ty until they have a node z, say, in common (if
one of the trees is completed and there is no such node then return
false). Given such a z, one uses Tx,Ty in the usual way to
get elements gx,gy such that z=action(x,gx)=action(y,gy),
and so the required element taking x to y is gx/gy.
If x and y are in the same G-orbit, then this approach should be
much faster than computing an orbit for x until y is found, and
much much faster than trying to compute a StabChain if the action is
It is not clear to me that this is indeed a win. Let us assume that the
group operates transitively on $n$ points and that it has only a small
number $k$ of generators.
Then computing the entire orbit an the corresponding Schreier tree takes
time $O( n k )$. Your method on the other hand would usually take time
$O( n^(1/2) k )$ (the worst case is of course also $O( n k )$.
However, I think that in most cases the total time will anyhow be
dominated by the time it takes to multiply together the representative.
Namely, under favourable conditions the pathlength from $x$ to $y$ in
this tree will be $O( log(n) )$, so the cost of computing the
representative is $O( n log(n) )$.
So your method would not be faster unless $k >> log(n)$. This is only
theory of course, and I haven't yet investigated this in practice. It
might well be that the constant for the orbit computation is so much
higher that the constant for the representative computation (most of
which is multiplying permutations, and this is done in the kernel), that
your method is still practically better.
However, there is even a practical argument against your method. Namely
assume that a user makes multiple calls to 'RepresentativeOperation',
maybe with fixed 'x' but varying 'y'. With the straightforward orbit
computation one could compute the orbit once and then remember it, so
that subsequent calls to 'RepresentativeOperation' do not have to
recompute it. With your method it is not clear how to do this, so that
the total time for all tree computations never exceeds $O( n k )$.
-- .- .-. - .. -. .-.. --- ...- . ... .- -. -. .. -.- .- Martin Sch"onert, firstname.lastname@example.com, +49 241 804551 Lehrstuhl D f"ur Mathematik, Templergraben 64, RWTH, 52056 Aachen, Germany


text:
Welshman, John (2004) The unknown Titmuss. Journal of Social Policy, 33 (2). pp. 225-247. ISSN 0047-2794
PDF (S0047279403007475a)
S0047279403007475a.pdf - Published Version
Download (347kB)
Recent writing in social policy on the role of agency has made important assumptions about social administration in the post-war period. In particular it is suggested that interpretations of the causes of poverty, and the thinking of Richard Titmuss, were characterised by a 'denial' of agency and almost total emphasis on structural factors. The implications were that this left the Titmuss paradigm vulnerable to more individualistic interpretations in the 1980s. In this article we look more closely at Titmuss's work and thought in the three decades of the 1940s, the 1950s, and the 1960s, aiming to produce a fuller and more nuanced analysis. We argue that the distinctive position adopted by Titmuss was in large part his response to earlier and on-going debates about social pathology. What he was trying to do was to make others aware of the broader context in which behaviour had to be analysed. But Titmuss himself became constrained by the paradigm that he did more than anyone else to create. Thus debates about behaviour, structure, and poverty have been marked as much by continuity as by change.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|Journal or Publication Title:
|Journal of Social Policy
|Additional Information:
|http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=JSP The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, Journal of Social Policy, 33 (2), pp 225-247 2004, © 2004 Cambridge University Press.
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences > History
|ID Code:
|Deposited By:
|Dr John Welshman
|Deposited On:
|20 Nov 2008 16:48
|Last Modified:
|22 Aug 2019 00:24
Actions (login required)
|View Item


text:
To become a member fill out our application and mail, fax or bring into the office
Networking Opportunities
A business cannot survive without finding and acting on new opportunities. Chambers provide an environment for networking which allows business members to ensure that they meet and expand their business contacts to help the business grow.
In addition, the Chamber also partners with members to improve the economic, industrial and civic life in Coaldale and the surrounding area. Chamber Speaker Series are held during our monthly board meetings. We've hosted engaging speakers on topics such as business coaching, government grant and employment programs, tax changes, national Chamber policy, local politics, and local town development and planning. The speakers have been well received, and we've had some great networking opportunities among our member businesses.
Involvement is the key, with the time taken to be active. The results of the efforts expended will be clearly beneficial to your company.
Member Benefits
Just a few of the benefits membership in the Coaldale & District Chamber of Commerce offers:
Business Directory
- published and distributed yearly to over 3,200 mail boxes in the area.
Group Insurance
- benefit plans for small firms can provide your business with a comprehensive and competitive health, dental and disability program.
Alberta Chambers of Commerce benefits
- value-added programs offered to Chamber members (see attached).
Advertising & Marketing
- many opportunities to develop new business relations through participating in education programs and social events. The Chamber is a rallying point for the promotion of plans, ideas and projects to build and sustain economic growth.
- Chamber receives numerous inquiries for local products and services.
Government Advocacy
- lobby's various initiatives and issues, with all levels of government, to ensure that the voice of business is heard.
Volunteer Opportunities
- join a committee to make your voice heard and enjoy even more networking.
Website Listing
- two listings


text:
Shines and protects new and like new paint finishes, producing a deep rich high gloss, durable and lustrous. Ultra high gloss finish. Excellent for hand or machine use. Retards UV light damage and clear coat safe. 10.5 oz container.
Please enter in your comments about this item, your past experience with this item, or any other general comments in regards to this item.


text:
Q. Do the shoes come with the original box?
A. All shoes come with the original box unless stated (no box) in the listing.
Q. Do the prices include shipping?
A. The prices listed are for the shoes alone, you must add the price of shipping. Shipping rates can be found in the shipping information link below on the right side. Please note that shipping rates may vary on items depending on its weight.
Q. How do I proceed to order an item?
A. Please contact me, all my contact information can be found above. Once I confirm the item is available a payment by paypal will be required, once the payment is cleared shoes will be shipped within 12 hours.
Q. Do you accept any forms of payment other than paypal?
A. No, paypal only. Payments are preferred sent as a personal gift payment, otherwise 4% extra will be required to cover paypal fee's.
Q. What is a personal gift payment?
When making a payment with paypal there are 2 payment options given, a purchase or personal payment. A personal gift payment cuts out regular 4% paypal fee at the receivers end, thus making it no need to add 4% if sending the payment as a personal gift payment. Please note that the 4% fee can only been avoided when using a bank account or paypal balance as the funding source. If the funding source is a credit card, the 4% fee will still occur but will give the buyer the option to cover the fee. German paypal users do not have the gift option available.
Q. Do you send items as a gift and low value?
A. Yes, all items are sent as a gift and low value to help avoid customs charges however I am not responsible for any additional fee's if they happen to occur.


text:
Sean Devine
Transferable Skills
When I was in my final year of university, I realised that a job in the Oil and Gas industry wasn't for me, however, I had picked up a lot of transferable skills from my degree. I looked at a few graduate programmes and saw that Baillie Gifford's Business Operations scheme offered a unique opportunity to rotate through a number of different areas of the business. It was a chance to use my skills and to find out what I really enjoyed doing.
So far, I have had placements in a number of different departments, ranging from Client Administration and Dealing to Settlements and even Systems. There's been a huge variety of work and things to learn. Whilst I was in the Systems department I was involved in testing new software applications which were about to be launched, so I wrote test scripts and led project meetings.
Making Contacts
One of the most challenging things about the scheme, but also one of the most enjoyable, is switching between departments. You join a team and build good relationships but before you know it, you're off to your next secondment. However, this means that I've already made a lot of contacts around the business. You also get a lot of support. We have our mentors and a line manager, and we also have a lot of contact with graduate trainees from past years.
Welcoming Culture
There's a flat culture in the firm and it's not unusual to be sitting next to a manager in your team. The company also organises a lot of social events, such as the Annual Dinner Dance and nights out for all the graduate trainees. I've recently got back from an Outward Bound course, where we spent four days completing team building tasks and working on our own self-development.


text:
One of North Beach's most beloved residents was shot Sunday afternoon during a dispute in the San Francisco neighborhood, police said.
The victim, identified as Roy Mottini by witnesses at the scene, was in an argument with a driver who got out of his car, shot Mottini in the shoulder and sped off, KGO-TV reported.
Police said the altercation started at 2:32 p.m. at Columbus Avenue and Vallejo Street near Buster's Cheese Steak restaurant. The shooter "pulled out a handgun and shot the victim in the upper body," said Sgt. Monica MacDonald, a police spokeswoman.
Mottini, who is in his 60s, was treated at the scene with a shoulder wound and taken San Francisco General Hospital. He expected to survive, police said.
Witnesses say Roy Motini got into an argument in a NB crosswalk, hit a car with his cane, and got shot by the driver. pic.twitter.com/aNPO5ltG88
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) December 1, 2014
Mottini, an exuberant resident of the bohemian district who was once described as a "harmless eccentric," was the subject of a 2007 profile by The Chronicle.
"People understand he's part of what makes North Beach North Beach," Aaron Peskin, the former president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said in 2007.
When Mottini, who has been diagnosed as a chronic paranoid schizophrenic, was evicted from his apartment in 2006 due to late-night outbursts, his friends at Cafe Trieste mobilized to help him get a new home.
On Sunday, several windows were shattered at Buster's Cheese Steak as police searched the scene for evidence. Authorities have not identified a suspect and are reviewing security video from the area.


text:
Blue Cheese Feminized
$40.00 – $130.00
The Blue Cheese is an Indica-dominant strain that is known to be super potent and has quite an exceptional flavor. It is a combination of two powerhouse strains, Blueberry and Cheese, which seems to have the qualities of both and was implied to be better than the two. After the crossing of these two breeds, the product strain was then backcrossed with Cheese in an effort to genetically stabilize and improve the taste and effect of the strain.
- Description
- Reviews (0)
- Tips for Growers
The aroma of Blue Cheese is a sweet and savory smell of cheese with a hint of blueberry which is quite pungent. This combination creates a unique and creamy flavor similar to an original cheese. Its heavy indica high will also help you feel calm and relaxed by the end of the day.
For most, this strain is a very nice day time strain because Blue Cheese's high is also smooth and very functional. It can increase your focus, creativity and energy levels by giving the body a relaxed, calm state. It is very comforting and can drive you to accomplish more things throughout the day.
Blue Cheese plants develop round swirls of fat flowers that display noticeably purple colors near the end of their flowering phase. The plants also have close inter node gaps which make it ideal to be grown through Sea of Green method. When these plants are grown indoors through Sea of Green method, you can maximize the light absorption and expect them to develop mature flowers after 8 to 10 weeks.
There are no reviews yet.
Be the first to review "Blue Cheese Feminized"
Tips on Growing Blue Cheese Feminized
One important consideration that you must think when growing this strain is its smell which can be a disadvantage if you're planning to grow this outdoors. Blue Cheese offers generous amounts of yields compared to some of its kind that is why it is one of the favorites of some commercial growers out there. In addition, any grower can grow this strain with ease because it is fairly versatile and forgiving to most common rookie growers' mistakes.


text:
Cookies on this website
Abbeyfield uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. For more details about cookies and how to manage them, see our cookie policy. Accept and continue
Abbeyfield's 'Breath of Fresh Air' programme has been selected for the final in the 'Best Dementia Training' category at this years National Dementia Care Awards.
The Breath of Fresh Air programme was developed by April Dobson, Head of Dementia Innovation at Abbeyfield, and is centered around the positive health benefits that can be derived from getting outdoors for people with dementia, their carers and families.
April said: "…to reach the finals of this national competition is a great achievement and recognition for the fantastic work carried out by Abbeyfield staff. Through the Breath of Fresh Air programme we've been able to make a real difference to the quality of life of people living with dementia within our services"
The Breath of Fresh Air programme has been rolled out across Abbeyfield and through training workshops, designed by April and her team, we now have over 60 Breath of Fresh Air Ambassadors delivering the programme across Abbeyfield.
The video below highlights a Breath of Fresh Air project in action: the sensory garden - displayed at this years Hampton Court Flower show.
Back to news


text:
Salons by JC Spartanburg
1855 East Main Street, SR#03
Spartanburg, South Carolina 29307
(704) 582-9473
Tuesday - Saturday 9 am - 7 pm.
We offer luxury salon suites, ideal for beauty professionals to run their own business. Suites are secure and private, with 24/7 access; concierge support is provided during regular business hours.
Located at the Hillcrest Shopping Center, adjacent to the AT&T store, Sharonview Credit Union, and Garner's Foods.


text:
G4S Mississauga, ON, Canada
May 13, 2019Study
Guararanteed Interview In Class or Online Security Guard Training Course Toronto & Mississauga With G 4 S , you can begin your career as a Security Guard with one of the best training programs in the industry. Our training program will help you gain employment at various Commercial, Residential, Government & Airport sites. TRAINING LOCATIONS: 50 Wingold Avenue, Toronto, M6B 1P7 (South of Yorkdale Mall off Dufferin Street) OR 6375 Dixie Road, Unit 1 & 2, Mississauga (major intersection Dixie Road & Courtney Park Drive) IN CLASS COURSE for only $149+HST (includes First Aid/ CPR-C certifi cate) OR ONLINE for only $49.00+HST (excludes First Aid)


text:
In It For The Long Run
The long run. It can be a little intimidating for some, and exciting for others. Maybe you look forward to it because it's a chance to be alone and clear your head. Maybe it's your time to hang with your pals. Maybe you dread it because it gives you time to think too much. However you view the long run, it is essential to your training - so make sure you make the most of it.
The main goal of the long run is to help your body build oxygen carrying capillaries. What exactly does this mean? When you run long, you increase enzymes in your muscle cells and grow capillaries, which are the small vessels that surround the cells. These imperative changes allow more oxygen to be delivered to your working muscles. You also strengthen your ligaments, tendons, and muscles. These adaptations are also beneficial to you in shorter races such as the 5k because it's still mainly an aerobic activity. Essentially, the more oxygen that you can deliver to the working muscles, the better your performance will be. Additionally, the stronger your muscles, tendons, bones and ligaments become, the more are capable you are to conduct race-specific training like intervals. It takes approximately one hour of continuous running for your body to begin building capillaries.
The long run also helps you become more economical at your marathon/half marathon race pace (learning to burn less fuel for a given pace) along with testing out your race equipment and nutritional plan (if you have one). It also allows you to give the mind a taste of the focus and determination that will be required in the latter stages of the race.
The secondary goal of a long run is to act like a reset button for your body. After a week of training and hard workouts, lactic acid builds up in your muscles. While the lactic acid does begin to breakdown prior to a long run, the long run is a way for your muscles flush the system, removing the lactic acid that has already broken down and speeding the process to breakdown the remaining.
So, you know the long run is beneficial for you, even if you're not training for 13.1 or 26.2. So the next question becomes, "How fast should I do my long run?"
Exercise physiology Ph.D. candidate Jason Karp offered an intriguing questionnaire a few years ago with American runners who qualified for the 2004 U.S. Men's and Women's Olympic Marathon Trials. He didn't ask them about their long-run pace, but he did determine that the qualifiers ran approximately 28 percent of their weekly miles at marathon pace or faster. 28 percent is quite a bit, and essentially, this shows that elite athletes are pushing themselves both physically and mentally.
But, if the point of the long run is simply to build capillaries, does it really matter how fast you go? Yes and no. Let's explore this.
Not every day is going to be perfect. Sometimes, it's all you can do just to log the miles. That's okay. Get them in. If your goal long run pace for the day is 8:15 and it's all you can do to hold 8:45, it's okay. Take it easy and log your miles so you can help your body build those capillaries.
On the other hand, how do you expect to run 9:00 pace on race day for 13.1 miles if you're completing your long runs at 10:30-11:00 pace? You have taught your body how to run long, but you haven't taught it how to run the distance at goal pace. You haven't taught it to push through the type of pain you will experience on race day, and you haven't trained your mind to focus on pushing at goal pace. That isn't saying that every long run needs to be done at race pace or faster, but try to keep it in race pace range. If goal race pace is 8:00, try not to run your long runs slower than 8:30-8:40 pace.
Additionally, look at the mental aspect of the long run. Let's say 14 miles was your longest training run for your half. That's great! Now, let's say your goal pace is 9:00. But, the fastest you have gone on a long run is 10:30. You start to question whether you can crank out 9:00 for 13.1 miles. You know you can cover the distance, but you really question if you can handle the pace. The more you worry, the less likely you are to hit your pace. It's simple - train your body and your mind to believe you can do it.
More or less, the approach that you should take toward your long run is to not worry too much about pace and go the speed your body dictates. That being said, you certainly cannot expect to be able to run 1:00 or more faster per mile on race day than you typically go on your long runs. Have a goal? You're not going to nail it with a miracle. If you really want it, you're going to have to train for it. Train for it, work for it, then crush it.
See you Wednesday.
#thefitclub417 #earnednotgiven
Leave a Reply.
July 2017
Who Picks the Topics?
Each week, we notice different things. We try to incorporate the questions we are receiving or the training issues we are noticing into our post(s) for the week. If there is something you'd like us to cover, let us know!


text:
This story is copyrighted © to myself its writer and cannot be copied in any way shape or form without my express written permission. This story is fiction and any resemblance to persons or events are purely coincidental. If you are underage or don't like stories of a homosexual nature, please leave now. Otherwise, please enjoy the story.
I welcome comments please send them to firstname.lastname@example.com
Now guys Nifty is a fantastic site which hosts stories for many authors and needs your support, whether a few $ or Ł or slightly more. Please donate to keep Nifty going for the generations to come.
This story is dedicated to the memory of an old friend and fellow nifty author who sadly we lost recently Miquel Sanchez may he rest in peace. He inspired and encouraged me to continue to write when I was having a huge writers block. He also inspired the original idea for another of my stories "finding Jon" which I originally planned to have more chapters but never got around to writing.
Jake the bouncer
24-year-old Jake Harris had worked as a security officer at different night clubs in his town for a few years. He recently got made redundant when the large club he worked at for the last year suddenly closed down. Jake was struggling to find a regular job. He worked a few temporary jobs but nothing regular for six months. His home life was suffering and he has already split up with his long standing girlfriend. Jake has always been seen as a bit of a lady's man but he knew deep down that he was attracted to men as much as women but was these days was more attracted to men. When his girlfriend dumped him Jake decided to act on his feelings and met a man who he picked up off grindr. the guy was a professional type who wanted to meet up a bit of rough as he called it. Jake met this guy in a local hotel and they went up to his room.
Jake followed James into the room and James grabbed Jake and pushed him against the wall and started to kiss him. Jake dropped down to his knees and slowly undid James suit trousers and slipped his hand into his tight blue boxers and pulled out his 7-inch uncut cock. James slapped his cock on jakes face and Jake opened his mouth and started to run his tongue up and down the shaft. Jake soon started to put the hot uncut cock into his mouth. James started to push onto Jakes head forcing the cock gown further into jakes mouth. Jake pulled off and coughed but then pushed the cock back in. jakes was soon deep throating the cock as James groaned loudly. James pulled his cock out and pulled Jake up and dragged him over to the bed. He pushed Jake down onto the bed on his stomach and pulled down Jakes tight tracksuit bottoms revealing jakes tight bubble virgin arse.
Jake groaned as he felt James slap his arse and then felt James breath on his arse as James pulled his cheeks apart. Jakes 8-inch uncut cock was throbbing as he felt James slowly run his tongue into his tight virgin hole. Jake groaned and shouted "fuck" as he felt a finger press into his arse. James carried on finger fucking Jake alternating from one to two fingers and eventually three. Jake was groaning louder and louder and soon started to beg James to fuck him. James teased Jake a few times pushing his cock up against his hole and then withdrawing it. Finally, after hearing Jake beg for it he lined his cock up and slowly pushed onto the ready hole. Jake shouted "fuck go slow" as he felt the cock push his hole apart. James soon had his full 7 inches inside Jake and started to slowly withdraw about half way and push back in Jake was moaning and groaning louder and louder as he felt the cock go in and out of his tight arse. Jake screamed out "fuck me" as he felt James go in and out faster and faster. Jakes cock was throbbing and dripping precum everywhere. Jake was moaning and begging James to fuck his arse harder. James was moaning as he slammed his cock in and out of Jakes arse faster and faster. Jakes screamed "oh fuck" as he felt his cock explode sending huge load of hot sticky cum all over the place. James carried on and then said "where do you want this load bitch"
Jake shouted "oh fuck on my face" James laughed pulled out turned Jake around and made him lie there while he wanked his cock after a few strokes he groaned and said "here it comes bitch" as his cock throbbed and send huge load after huge load all over Jakes face and some into Jakes waiting mouth. Jake was covered in cum some was dripping from his hair. James laughed and said "wow you really took that like a champ"
Jake laughed and said "yeah well I loved it"
Jake had a shower and left the hotel a little while later leaving James there.
A few days later
Jake had been working security at a local store. He was walking home in the evening and needed to go to the loo. he found a toilet block in a nearby park and went in. it was one of those toilet blocks with a trough type urinal and a couple of cubicles. Jake doesn't like using urinals so he went into the middle cubicle. He did his business and was just about to leave when he noticed a big black cock sticking through a hole in the wall. Jake was surprised but also found himself turning on. He dropped down and slowly started to suck on the cock. The guy whispered to Jake "hey mate meet me outside in two minutes" as he pulled his cock out of the hole.
Jake walked out and saw the gorgeous black builder standing there. Jake smiled as the man gestured to him to follow him. Jake followed the guy and watched as he went into some bushes nearby. Jake went in the see the guy had already dropped his tight jeans and pant and was standing there waiting Jakes arrival. Jake immediately dropped to his knees and started to slowly suck on the 9-inch uncut cock. Jake couldn't believe the size of this man's cock. Tom was moaning as Jake expertly ran his tongue up and down his now throbbing cock. Jake was going down further and further and then started to gag and pulled off coughing. Tom laughed and said "easy tiger" Jake laughed and carried on his own cock was throbbing inside his tight black work trousers and he slowly pulled them down and started to wank his cock as he sucked on Toms cock. Tom gave out a loud groan as his cock gave a huge throb and started to send a massive load of hot sticky cum into Jakes waiting mouth. Jake tried to swallow as much as he could but some slipped out and dripped down the side of his face. Tom smiled and started to put his cock away and said "thanks man I needed that the wife doesn't give it up a lot"
Jake was taken aback and smiled and said "no problem glad to be of service" laughing
Tom walked away and Jake looked down to see his cock was still rock hard he started to fist his cock faster and faster until he felt it give a huge throb and started to send a huge load flying all over the grass. Jake smiled to himself and said "wow" he cleaned himself up and left the park and headed home.
A few days later
Jake was offered a few nights' work at a local gay bar he had worked there before so he saw no reason to turn the work down. Jake arrived at the club and met up with the head of security Ross who briefed him what the duties were. Jake was fine with what he was told and joined two other lads on the door. Jake was working with Andrew and Ben and he shocked when Ben said "let's let the fudge packers in"
"yeah watch your arse mate some of these puffs thinks it's funny to pinch your arse" Andrew said
Jake just smiled but was really angry that these two were working at this place despite their obvious homophobia. Jake was fuming hearing these two was starting to make him even angrier.
Jake was getting more pissed off with these two idiots as the night wore on particularly Andrew who had really annoyed Jake when he said "you want to watch those two lads there they are real benders can't keep their hands off people. Jake was glad it was time for his break and headed off to break room he was sat down eating a salad he had brought with him when Ross came in.
"alright mate" Ross said
"yeah not bad" Jake said
Ross could tell something was wrong and said "you sure mate you seem pissed off"
"well yeah this is a gay club and to be honest I am shocked by the homophobic comments I have heard tonight from the security" Jake said
"really mate I had no idea that was going on but believe me if I hear anything like that they will be gone" Ross said
"well just come and listen to tweedle dee and tweedle dumb and I can guarantee you will hear it" Jake said
Ross smiled and said "ok I will listen out for it mate"
Jake was walking through the club back to his post after his break when a drunk man tried to smack his arse Jake laughed and said "down boy"
Jake arrived back at the door and Andrew said "fuck that bumboy wanted you mate"
Yeah that fucking queer really wants to fuck your arse mate" Ben said
Jake smiled and said "nah he was drunk I'm sure in the morning he will regret what he did when his mates tell him"
"what are you a fucking bender as well?" Andrew asked
"fuck off just because I am not a homophobic bastard like you doesn't mean I am gay" Jake replied
Andrew went to grab Jake but Ross had heard the conversation and had heard enough and walked over to them and said "Andrew get you coat and go home I won't be needing you again"
"what you firing me?" Andrew said looking shocked
"yeah mate I am this is a gay club and you are obviously anti-gay so I don't think you should be here I might have some work at one of the other clubs I have door staff on but you will not work here again you are lucky Matt the owner didn't hear you" Ross replied
Andrew was fuming and grabbed Jake and said "this is all your fucking fault you fucking bent little queer"
Ross and Ben grabbed Andrew off Jake and Ross said "don't make it worse if you want to work on the door the last thing you need is an assault charge"
Andrew left by a back door
Ben was quiet for the rest of the night and never made any more homophobic comments.
Jake arrived home at his small flat and went to bed. The comments made by Andrew played on his mind all night and finally at around 5am he went asleep.
Jake got up around midday and saw he had a message on his phone. It was from Ross.
"hi mate I need you again tonight at Matt's place if you can't let me know otherwise see you at 8"
Jake smiled
Jake arrived at Matt's place at 7 45 and logged in. he found Ross and said "evening boss"
Ross smiled and "hi Jake you are on the door again but with Mark and Rob tonight Ben quit this morning"
"there's a surprise" Jake replied
"not really I expected he would after I fired Andrew last night those two have worked together for years and to be honest if I didn't know better I always thought they were a couple" Ross said
Jake laughed and said "wouldn't surprise me if they are some of the biggest homophobes are usually closet cases"
"I know that when Matt and I started going out together we had a few so called friends who were big homophobes and I know at least two of them are closet cases" Ross replied
Jake was taken aback and said "wow I had no idea you were gay mate"
Ross laughed and said "lots of people say the same thing the first time they meet me but Matt is the love of my life we met four years ago when I was struggling to get my business going and we fell in love he appointed my firm as his security here and at his two other bars in town and that helped me build the firm up to what it is now running doors in 12 different clubs and pubs across the local area."
Jake smiled and then said "can I ask you if there is a permanent job going can I apply I used to work at the Dome in town until it closed down since then I have struggled to get a permanent job casual is ok but I like the security of a regular job"
Ross smiled and said "well I don't see why not you already shown me that you can do the job and I have two vacancies here so welcome aboard mate consider yourself one of my regular boys here."
Jake smiled and said "wow thanks mate"
"you welcome anyway it's nice to have some eye candy for the lads to lust over" Ross said smiling
Jake laughed and said "ok down boy"
Ross laughed and said "go and find the lads"
Jake met up with Mark and Rob and knew straight away that these two were totally different to Andrew and Ben the night before.
Mark was outside with the queue and some of the punters were getting flirty he laughed and said to one lad "in your dreams mate" laughing the lad laughed and said "every night mark"
Mark shock his head and said "dirty sod" and let the young man in.
Jake laughed and said to Rob is he always like this?"
Rob smiled and said "yeah Mark's little brother is gay and heaven help anyone who makes a nasty comment about gays when Marks around"
Jake smiled and "glad to hear that after last night with prick faces"
Rob smiled and said "Mark was fuming when he heard what happened last night he wanted to deck Andrew and I think he may have put Ben in his place later so maybe that's why he quit"
"wow I bet Ben nearly creamed his pants" Jake said smiling
"yeah knowing Ben he did" Rob said laughing
Jake was on the door with the two lads when the walkie talkie called out assistance required dance floor big fight"
Jake and Rob ran into the club and pushed their way through to the dance floor area to see at least eight people fighting two other security staff were already on scene and Jake grabbed one of the men fighting and walked him away. All in all, twelve people were involved in the fight which had started after a group of homophobes had got into the club in fact 8 of the men involved were from that group.one of the victims in the assault was the young man who had flirted with Mark earlier.
Mark was fuming when he saw the state Sam was in and said "those bastards if I ever see them again they will see the back end of my foot"
Jake smiled and said "hey mate calm down"
"mate Sam is harmless he likes to flirt but he really doesn't mean no harm. Those pricks have really hurt him" Mark said
Rob was also trying to calm Mark down but nothing the two lads said calmed him.
Sam was taken to hospital to get his injuries assessed but they were mainly superficial.
Later that night
Mark had started to calm down and apologized to Rob and Jake for his outburst but the lads told him not to worry Mark and Jake were sat in the break room and Jake asked "so how long have you known Sam?"
Mark smiled and said "well our kid and Sam have been best mates since they were 6 so quite a few years now they were boyfriends for a while but then decided they were better just being mates"
"no wonder it affected you mate" Jake said
"yeah Sam is like a second little brother to me and heaven help anyone who hurts Chris I will hunt them down" Mark said smiling
"yeah I have a little brother and I would be the same mate" Jake replied
There is something that people don't know about Mark is that he is gay but doesn't flaunt it. He has dated girls in the past but realized a few years ago that is was a man he wanted to settle down with. He loved the attention he got from the lads at the club but wouldn't dare do anything about it as he wasn't ready to come out just yet.
Mark was finding it hard to hide the attraction he had to Jake when sat there talking to him and found himself getting hard.
A few weeks later
Jake enjoyed working at the club and even when some of the punters tried it on he just laughed it off. He was working with Mark and Rob on the door most of the time but he still had to do a patrol to make sure people weren't trying to deal drugs etc. from time to time. Jakes sex life was quite good he mainly picked guys up from grindr and had hooked up with James a few times.
James arrived at the club and logged in and went to find Ross.
"hi mate" Ross said
"hey boss" Jake said smiling
"it's you Rob and the new guy Paul on the door tonight Mark's out sick" Ross said
"oh not like Mark to call in" Jake said
"well he is not sick it's his little brother he was attacked last night in that club that opened where the dome was" Ross said
"oh that place is crap isn't Andrew working on the door there now?" Jake said
"yeah he is and one wonders if he turned a blind eye to the attack as Chris is gay" Ross said
"who runs the security there?" Jake asked
"TW Security or as I call them twatheads security" Ross said
"I did a cover for them after the dome shut they were awful and I don't think I actually got paid for all my shift in the end" Jake said
"yeah they are like that I had the misfortune of working for them before I set up my own firm" Ross said
"anyway I better get downstairs or Rob will think I deserted him" Jake said laughing
The two lads were worried about Mark and Chris all night and were glad to knock off at 3am.Jake had a night off the next night and headed over to Marks to see how Chris was doing.
He knocked on the front door and waiting after a little while a very tired and upset looking Mark answered the door and "hey mate"
Jake smiled and said "how's Chris Ross told me what happened"
"yeah he is doing a lot better mate come on in" Mark said
Mark closed the door and walked into the room behind Jake taking in the view of his sexy arse in his tight trackies.
Mark sat down on the settee and Jake sat on a nearby chair.
Jake said "so mate how are you feeling?"
"knackered and pissed off to be honest I cannot believe some prick beat Chris up and worse still the prick of a door staff didn't do anything to stop it" Mark said
"all I can say mate if it was still the dome it would have never happened I used to one of the door staff there in those days and we never allowed trouble just like us lot and Matt's place" Jake said
"yeah well we both know who works there don't we and I bet he turned a blind eye because he knows Chris is gay" Mark said
"yeah I said that last night to Ross" Jake said
The two men spent the next two hours talking. Jake then said "mate I better make a move and by the look of you I think you need some sleep so I will see you tomorrow"
Jake and Mark stood up and Jake followed Mark to the door. Mark was struggling to keep his emotions in check about Chris and Jake noticed the tears in his eyes. Jake grabbed Mark into a hug. The floodgates opened and Mark completely lost it. Jake held onto him and said "hey come on he is going to be ok"
Mark pulled back and said "thanks" he looked into Jakes blue eyes and lent forward and kissed him. Jake was taken aback but didn't resist and soon the two men were locked in a passionate kiss. finally, after about ten minutes they broke apart. Jake was speechless but Mark screamed "shit I'm sorry" and ran into the lounge and flopped onto the settee crying.
Jake went into the lounge and sat next to mark and put his arm around him and said "wow man that was some kiss"
Mark looked at Jake and laughed and said "fuck off"
Jake laughed and said "I had no idea mate you were gay but boy at this moment in time I just want to rip your clothes off and fuck your brains out"
Mark laughed and said "wow really well what's stopping you?"
Mark stood up and offered his hand to Jake. Jake smiled and took hold and Mark pulled him up and led him into his bedroom and then started to kiss him again. Jakes t-shirt was soon discarded and mark was soon sucking on Jakes nipples. Jake was moaning loudly. Mark smiled and went down and slowly peeled off Jakes trackies and tight blue boxers pulling out his rock hard 7-inch cock. Jake pulled Mark up and kissed him and then pulled off Marks tight white t shirt revealing his six packed slightly hairy body to Jake. Mark dropped back down onto his knees and slowly took Jakes throbbing cock into his mouth. Jake moaned loudly as Mark run his tongue up and down his shaft. Jake looked down and watched as Mark expertly sucked his cock. Jake pulled Mark up and kissed him. Jake then pulled Mark down onto the bed and lifted Marks legs up and started to run his tongue up and down Mark's arse. Mark was groaning as he felt Jakes tongue push into his tight hole. Jake soon started to push his first finger into Marks hole as he grunted and moaned louder and louder. Jake was soon fingering and licking Mark's arse faster and faster. Jake laughed as Mark started to beg for Jake to fuck him. Jake looked down at Mark and said "ready sexy?" as he lined up his throbbing cock up. Mark groaned as he felt the cock slowly invade his tight hole. Jake soon had his full 8 inches inside Mark's tight arse. Mark was moaning and groaning louder and louder as he felt Jakes cock go in and out faster and faster Mark's own 7 ˝ inch uncut cock was throbbing and he was wanking it faster and faster as Jake expertly fucked his tight arse faster and faster. Nark soon gave out a loud "OH FUCK!!" as his cock exploded sending his hot sticking cum flying landing on his face and hair. Jake carried on fucking faster and faster and then shouted "where do you want this load?" mark screamed "out in my mouth" Jake smiled and pulled out and grabbed hold of Mark and pushed his head in front of his cock and wanked it furiously. Jake shouted here it comes as his cock gave out a huge throb and sent load after load of his hot sticky cum into Marks waiting mouth and face. Jake looked down at Mark and said "wow you love being fucked man"
Mark laughed and said "fuck off"
Jake lifted Mark up and kissed him and said "you are so sexy"
Mark smiled and said "and you are so fucking hot man I can't believe you are gay"
Jake smiled and said "well I used to think I was bi but lately I have realized that I am definitely gay and you know something I fancied the pants off you the first time we met and didn't think I would ever get to have sex with you"
Mark laughed and said "I guess we are both surprised to find out that we both like men"
Jake then said "so how about you when did you first realize it was men you liked?"
Mark smiled and said "well it was when Chris first came out and told me about his sexuality that I started to question mine. I was working at a club in town called the Ritz at the time and one night I was walking home and came across a man having a sneaky wank seeing that guys hard cock turned me on. The guy saw me and before I knew it I had his dick in my mouth and I knew then that I was either bi or gay. Since then I have had several one night stands with men including a hot night with Chris's ex Sam that is why I went nuts that night he was assaulted in the club I had been with him a couple of nights before".
"oh wow no wonder you were pissed off mate" Jake said
Mark smiled and said "and now I have had it off with the hottest door man in town"
Jake laughed and said "nah that was me man you are well hot"
Jake took hold of Mark and kissed him and the two men landed onto the bed and drifted off asleep in each other's arms.
Jake woke up the next morning and smiled he looked at Mark sleeping next to him and thought "wow" he noticed Mark's uncut cock was hard and went down and started to slowly suck on it. Mark started to stir and said "I could get used to this waking up every morning with your mouth on my dick. Jake laughed and said "I'm sure I can do that"
Mark started to moan loudly as Jake ran his mouth up and down his throbbing cock. Jake pulled off and smiled at Mark and then stood up and slowly lowered his arse over Mark's cock. Mark groaned loudly as he felt Jakes tight arse over his cock. Jake started to bounce up and down faster and faster. Mark pulled Jake up and kissed him and then pushed him down on his back and started to push his cock in and out of Jakes arse as Jake groaned and begged louder. Jakes cock was dripping precum everywhere as Mark fucked his arse faster and faster. Jake screamed "oh fuck yeah" as he felt his cock throb and a huge load of cum started to fly all over Jake's chest and face. Mark carried on and then pulled out and wanked his cock furiously and shouted "oh fuck" as he sent load after load of his hot cum all over Jakes face and hair. Mark collapsed on top of Jake and said "fuck me you are one hot fuck"
A month later
Jake and Mark have now been dating for a month and they have realized that they are meant to be together. Jake has already moved into Marks house and both men knew it was time to come out to their respective families and friends. Both sets of parents were surprised but accepted it.
Jake and Mark arrived at the club and decided it was now or never to tell Ross and Rob about them.
The lads walked into the office and said "evening boss"
"hey lads you on the ball tonight" Ross said
"well we wanted to speak to you before the rest of the lads get in" Jake said
"oh why is everything ok?" Ross asked
"yeah Boss nothing to worry about it is just Jake and I have an announcement to make" Mark said
Jake smiled and said "umm Mark and I are together and am making a go at being a couple"
"Oh wow I never had guessed that" Ross said
"yeah I know mate but the minute I met Jake I knew I wanted to be with him" Mark said smiling
Ross smiled and said "what can I see congratulations mate you really have good taste" slapping Mark on his back
Jake laughed and said "nah I'm the one who has good taste Mark is gorgeous and is a good shag"
Ross laughed and said "tmi mate"
Rob also took it well and accepted his two best mates were gay
The lads carried on working the rest of the night as usual and finally at 3am they headed home together to start their life as a gay couple...
Mark and Jake are now a well-known gay couple in their town. Jake and Mark married each other eight months ago in a quiet ceremony and Matt and Ross gave them a private party at the club. The lads went off to Spain for a honeymoon which Jakes parents paid for. Jake had a shock around six months ago when an ex-girlfriend announced that he was the father of her son. Jake had a dna test done before he would accept it but that came back definite. Jake and Mark used to have his son Jack one weekend a month and two days a week. Jake dotes on Jack and a month ago he took full custody of him when his ex was sent to prison for manslaughter. She had got into a fight with some girl over her trying to steal her boyfriend. The girl died of her injuries. The ex was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Mark is now head of security at the club allowing Ross to concentrate on running his company. Jake knew he needed to be home more for Jack and that was why he decided he had to leave the club. Jake set up his own clothes store six months ago and so far, it is going ok. Mark looked after Jack during the day when Jake was in work and Jake looked after him in the evening when Mark was in work. One night a week Jakes mother has him and Jake would go to the club and spend some time with Mark. Ross knew this so decided that for now on Mark would have that night off so he could spend more time with Jake.
Jake and Mark are both in love with each other as they were the first time they met and both know that whatever life chucks at then they will always be together ...
The end


text:
What do you want to experience most in your life? Ask this question to enough people and you will find happiness to be one answer that comes up more than any other. Probe a little deeper and you'll find that many people believe happiness is directly tied to money. Can money really provide lasting happiness?
Money CAN make us happy - temporarily
Yes, it turns out that money can make us happy. However, the happiness we get from the items money can buy is fleeting, it lasts for a period of time and then diminishes or goes away entirely. True and lasting happiness can't be achieved through money.
My pursuit of happiness
When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I instinctively began pursuing the things I hoped would make me happy.
It was a journey of self-discovery. I discovered that although a material possession could make me happy for a period of time, it would eventually lose its ability to keep me happy. Happiness came and went with every item I bought.
What surprised me and eventually made me take notice, was realizing that the frequency and the degree of my happiness diminished rather than increase with every additional purchase I made.
Buying more things meant I had to make more money, so I overcommitted myself to work to grow my income. I also used credit cards to buy things I wanted but couldn't afford. All this was motivated by my desire to increase my happiness, which I believed would happen with a better lifestyle.
I continued to increase my income thinking my happiness would increase equally. I worked more to make more so I can buy more, only to find that the more things I bought the less fulfilled and less happy I became.
Four years into my pursuit I lost my job, which forced me to take a hard look at myself and what I was doing with my life. I must admit, had I not lost my job, I would have continued my pursuit, believing that eventually, I would gain enough money to satisfy every want and that would make me happy.
Losing my job was depressing, but the truth is I had been feeling miserable and unfulfilled way before that happened. I was living a selfish life. My purpose was self-gratification and it left me feeling empty and unfulfilled.
Pursuing money to buy more things will not lead to happiness
We acquire money and buy things for the pleasure we expect them to bring. On one hand, this actually works. Getting what we want results in happiness - for a moment. Then it diminishes again. Much research and many studies have proven that having money and acquiring things doesn't directly lead to lasting happiness. In fact, it will have the opposite effect.
Take Ebenezer Scrooge for example. In Dickens fictional yet true to life story, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge is an extremely wealthy man, yet he's a miserable and selfish person that cares only about himself and making more money.
Scrooge's life's purpose is the pursuit of money, and this pursuit negatively affects the way he behaves with other people. More importantly, he himself is unhappy and unfulfilled, although he's unaware of this until he's faced with a different perspective on his life.
Paul Piff, an assistant professor of social psychology at the University of California, Irvine, has been studying how money changes us and our relationship with each other. He says, "The more money you have, the more focused on yourself you become, and less-sensitive to the welfare of people around you."
Money can lead to happiness, but only when used to fulfill a greater purpose
It's not money that's the issue here. As we see in the life of Scrooge when his purpose was the pursuit of money, people around him suffered and he did nothing to alleviate that suffering. The pursuit of money increased his own selfishness, further damaging his relationships and making him more miserable and unhappy.
However, when his purpose changed to caring for people, he started using money to fulfill that purpose. This produced happiness in his own life, as much as, or perhaps even more than it did in the lives of those he helped. He began valuing people more than hoarding money, proving that money can lead to happiness, but only when used to fulfill a greater purpose.
One of life's biggest challenges is making sure our life's purpose doesn't become a never-ending pursuit for the next thing that will make us happy. That's a losing proposition, and it will not result in lasting happiness.
Your purpose and your happiness are tied to how you love, serve, and help other people using every resource you possess. That's a life worth living. Scrooge found his purpose, and we can too.
Do you know your life's purpose? As it relates to money, what are you doing to better position yourself to fulfill your life's purpose?


text:
Effects of Human Activity
See Distribution: historical changes, and Demography and Populations: population status, above. Cutting of vast tracts of longleaf pine in the southeast US may have initially reduced ancestral habitats for bluebirds. However cutting of eastern deciduous forest for conversion to agricultural fields and orchards during the 1800s and early 1900s probably increased availability of habitat suitable for foraging and nesting, and likely also increased edges along which bluebirds might disperse. Thus, despite concerns about 20th-century fluctuations in numbers, populations may have been more abundant in the 20th and early 21st centuries than in any other period of North American history since the Pleistocene (PAG).
Recent non-weather-related declines in bluebird numbers are a product of interactions between bluebird populations and other human commensal species, such as introduced European Starlings and House Sparrows, and possibly of exposure to pesticides and other indirect effects of humans on the arthropod food sources that sustain bluebirds.
Nesting-box campaigns begun in 1960s and 1970s increased availability of artificial cavities that typically excluded European Starlings; placement of boxes away from animal-holding buildings and grain sources decreases interactions with House Sparrows. For some populations, therefore, design of boxes and placement of artificial cavities have eliminated nest-cavity limitation as a dominant mechanism of population regulation.
Pesticides And Other Contaminants/Toxics
No systematic, prospective studies, but many anecdotal reports claim pesticide-caused deaths of nestlings, perhaps because adults differentially forage on pesticide-weakened insects, thereby increasing toxic load on nestlings. On Cape Cod, MA, during 1965, carbaryl (trade name Sevin) may have accounted for nestling deaths (Bednarek and Davidson 1967). Some anecdotal reports suggest that direct ingestion of pesticide-loaded insects have caused death of adult bluebirds.
Endocrine Disruption From Pesticides
In a comparative study in Canada of potential endocrine disruption on Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and Eastern Bluebirds as a function of exposure to DDT and other pesticides, the effects on the bluebirds were more severe, likely owing to differences in the foraging behavior of the two species. In contrast to aerial foraging swallows, eastern bluebirds forage extensively on ground arthropods, prey whose own foraging habits guarantee that their bodies concentrate DDT and other pesticides that fall to the ground. Historically, bluebird eggs from sprayed orchards contained higher DDT concentrations than eggs from non-sprayed, control sites. In addition, Eastern Bluebirds also showed evidence of chronic elevations in corticosterone (the stress hormone), which can cause neuronal cell death and decrease size because of the suppression of growth (Mayne et al. 2004). In addition, 12 d old nestlings exposed during development to the same DDT persistent metabolites in soil (along with other common pesticides) exhibited morphological and physiological signs of thyroid injury consistent with thyroid disease (Mayne et al. 2005). In as much as the thyroid is sometimes called "the master gland", thyroid disease in wild-living Eastern Bluebirds may be associated with poorer survival and breeding performance. Thus it is not surprising that bluebirds nesting in N. Carolina golf courses where pesticides are routinely sprayed have lower nest success than bluebirds in rural, non-agricultural areas (Stanback and Seifert 2005).
Investigators in Indiana showed that other well-known endocrine disrupting chemicals of humans, namely polychlorinated biphenyl's (PCBs) significantly affect external heart deformities of songbirds, including eastern bluebirds from nests on reference sites (DeWitt et al. 2006). The study is significant in underscoring the persistent effects of PCBs because their use has declined dramatically since 1977 when they were banned in the US; however PCBs continued to be released into the environment. Wildlife, including eastern bluebirds continue to suffer the effects of exposure to PCBs, effects that are mechanistically associated with the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on growth in affected individuals.
Direct Human/Research Impacts
Human visits to nests increase the probability of mortality of egg and nestling losses due to predation; predation increases by >11% on the first day after a human visitation, probably because these visits leave scent trails that cue mammalian and other predators, such as snakes (Bart 1977). In S. Carolina, this effect is strongest when nests are visited after noon (PAG); thus, it is advisable for observers to visit nests in morning and to band nestlings away from the immediate nest vicinity.
A probable by-product of selection exerted by historical nest-site limitation is this species' habit of exploring cavities of any sort. Bluebirds often die in smokestacks, asphyxiated by toxic fumes, and after entering chimneys when they are unable to locate exits. Reduced number of rotting fence posts with cavities available for secondary-cavity nesters, because of conversion to metal fences, is responsible for some local declines in Eastern Bluebird numbers. Management practices that reduce availability of snags (dead trees) are detrimental, but prescribed burning is beneficial because it increases snag availability and forest openings, by decreasing thickness of ground cover, understory plants, and midstory plants (Pinkowski 1977a).
Bluebird nesting trails are often located along gradients of human activity, which logically could affect the behavior, reproductive success, and survival of Eastern Bluebirds (Kight and Swaddle 2007). In a semi-experimental study in which investigators erected nesting boxes along a gradient of human activity and observed the behavior and reproductive success of adults, bluebirds unexpectedly had higher nest success at intermediate levels of disturbance. Where human activity was intense and variable, the self-maintenance activities of adults decreased, while attention to eggs and nestlings increased, a result consistent with the idea that bluebirds buffer their eggs and nestlings from deleterious human activities, if they can (Kight and Swaddle 2007). The consequences of such buffering, if it is general, may have important consequences for survival of adult birds from one season to another.
The effects of human noise on eastern bluebird productivity (Kight et al. 2012) are potentially important, indicating that more low-pitched louder human-caused noise (such as from machines) is associated with smaller clutch sizes and an lower numbers of fledglings.
Investigators often capture and handle breeding female bluebirds, whose response to handling varies, often decreasing on second capture (PAG pers. obs.), something that could be interpreted as an effect on individuals from learning that capture and handling are not dangerous. Endocrinologists studying the stress response associated with release of corticosterone showed that females being handled for a second time had attenuated corticosterone release (Lynn et al. 2010), and concluded that there was a long term effect of initial corticosterone release. It would now be interesting for investigators to evaluate if such corticosterone attenuation is associated with all potentially dangerous situations or only repeats of ones about which females are already familiar and from which they earlier "escaped", when the investigators released their subjects the first time.


text:
New kayaking strokes (let alone one that you can actually use) come along once in a blue moon but I think we might have a possible winner here with The Haghighi.
Taught to us by Leon Sommé from Body Boat Blade, The Haghighi is intended as a very powerful stroke when you need to turn your kayak downwind or if you need to quickly turn and catch a wave downwind to surf.
Leon explains the whole thing in the video below so take a look. I haven't played with it yet so I'm keen to see what you think about it after getting out on the water and trying it out. Post your comments below.
Cool history to this stroke, it was invented by Leon's dentist, Dan Haghighi.