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"A Prepared Place for a Prepared People"
(No. 2751)
"I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2.
"Giving thanks unto the Father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light."
MY real text is not in the Bible—it is one of those Christian proverbs which are not Inspired in words, but the spirit of which is Inspired, "Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people." You have often heard that sentence. It is familiar in your mouths as household words, and well it may be.
Yet I shall have two texts from the Scriptures. The first will be our Savior's words to His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you," from which we learn that "Heaven is a prepared place." And the second will be Paul's words to the Colossians, "Giving thanks unto the Father, who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light," from which we learn that there is a prepared people, a people made qualified to be partakers of the inheritance which Christ has gone to prepare for them!
I. I am not going to have any further preface, but I will begin at once to speak upon THE PREPARATION OF HEAVEN. "I go to prepare a place for you."
It is many months since I began to turn this sentence over. I think I might truly say that for several years I have thought of it, and thought of it again, and thought of it yet again—that our Lord Jesus Christ, before returning to Heaven, should say to His disciples, "I go to prepare a place for you." Is there any difficulty about this passage? Yes, it is very difficult to explain. Indeed, I do not think that we really can know all that Christ meant when He uttered these words. A father said to his children, when the summer sun had waxed hot, "I shall go to the seaside today to prepare a place for you." His little child asked, "What does father mean when he says that he will prepare a place for us?" And his mother answered, "My child, I cannot tell you all that your father means, but you will see when you get there. But now it must be enough for you that although you do not know what Father will have to do at the seaside in preparing a place for you, he knows what he is going to do."
And, dear Friends, there is this consolation for us that even if we can hardly guess what it is that Christ can find to do to prepare Heaven for us, He knows what is needed, and He knows how to do it! And that is infinitely better than our knowing, because even if we knew what was needed, we could not do it. But with Christ to know and to do are two things that run parallel. He knows that there are certain preparations to be made. He knows what those preparations must be and He is equal to the task of making them! He has not gone upon an errand which He cannot fulfill. And when we get to Heaven, we shall know—perhaps it may take us a long while to find it all out—but we shall know and discover throughout eternity what He meant when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you."
I do not profess to be able to explain our Lord's words, but I am going simply to make a few remarks upon them. And first, I ask you to notice that Heaven is already prepared for Christ's people. Christ has told us that when He comes in His Glory, He will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." So, there is an inheritance which the Father has already prepared for the
people whom He gave to His Son—and this inheritance is reserved for them. But if it was prepared from the foundation of the world, how can it be said to be prepared by Christ? The explanation probably is that it was prepared in the eternal purpose of the Father—prepared by wise forethought—arranged for—predestinated—prepared in that sense—it was provided in the eternal arrangements of Jehovah, that there should be a suitable place for His people to dwell in forever. He made the pavilion of the sun and He gave the stars their appointed positions—would He forget to prepare a place for His people? He gave to angels their places and even to fallen spirits He has appointed a prison—so He would not forget, when He was arranging the entire universe, that a place would be needed for the twice-born, the heirs of Grace, the members of the mystical body of Christ Jesus, His brethren who were to be made like unto Him. Therefore, in purpose, plan and decree, long before God had laid the foundations of this poor world and the morning stars had sung together over creation's six days' work accomplished, He had prepared a place for His people! It was not actually prepared, but it was in the purpose and plan of the eternal mind and, therefore, might be regarded as already done.
Our Lord Jesus Christ has gone to Heaven, He says, that He may prepare a place for His servants, and we may be helped to form some idea of what He means by this expression if we just think a little about it. And, first, I am sure that must be a very great and glorious place which needs Christ to prepare. If we do not know all that He means, we can get at least this much out of His declaration. He spoke this world into being. It was not, but He said, "Be," and it was at once made. Then He spoke it into order, into light, into life, into beauty. He had but to speak and what He willed was done. But now that He is preparing a place for His people. He has gone to Heaven on purpose to do it. He used to stand still here on earth and work miracles, but this was a miracle that He could not perform while He was here. He had to go back to His home above in order to prepare a place for His people. What sort of place, then, must it be that needs Christ Himself to prepare it? He might have said, "Angels, garnish a mansion for My Beloved." He might have spoken to the firstborn sons of light and said, "Pile a temple of jewels for My chosen." But, no, He leaves not the work to them, but He says, "I go to prepare a place for you."
Brothers and Sisters, He will do it well, for He knows all about us. He knows what will give us the most happiness— and what will best develop all our spiritual faculties forever. He loves us, too, so well that as the preparing is left to Him, I know that He will prepare us nothing second-rate, nothing that could possibly be excelled. We shall have the best of the best, and much of it! We shall have all that even His great heart can give us! Nothing will be stinted for, as He is preparing it, it will be a right royal and Divine preparation. If, when the prodigal came back to his father, there was the preparation of the fatted calf, the music and dancing and the gold ring and the best robe, what will be the preparation when we do not come home as prodigals, but as the bride prepared for her husband, or as the Beloved children, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, coming home to the Father who shall see His own image in us and rejoice over us with singing? It is a grand place that Christ prepares, I know, for never was there another such a lordly host as He is! It is a mansion of delights, I know, that He prepares, for never was there another architect with thought so magnificent as His, and never were other hands so skilled at quarrying living stones and putting them, one upon another, as His hands have ever been! This thought ought to cheer us much—it must be something very wonderful that Christ prepares as a fit place for His people.
And I think I may add to this, that it must be something very sweet when it is prepared. If you go to a friend's house and just fall in with the ordinary proceedings of the family, you are very comfortable and you are glad not to disarrange anything. But if, when you arrive, you see that everything has been done on an extra scale to prepare for your coming, you feel still more grateful. It has often happened to an honored guest that he could not help observing that he was not being treated as his friends lived every day of the week and all the year round. That guest chamber had evidently been newly furnished and everything that was possible had been thought of to do him honor. If you were treated thus as a guest, there was pleasure for you in the fact that so much had been prepared for you. Did your husband ever take you to a new house and point out to you how he had purchased everything that he thought would please you? Had that little room been furnished especially for you and did he anticipate your tastes, providing this little thing and that that he knew you would like? Well, it was not merely that you enjoyed the things, themselves, but they all seemed to you so much sweeter because they had been prepared for you by your beloved husband. And when you get to Heaven, you will be astonished to see this and that and the other joy that was prepared for you because Christ thought of you, and provided just what you would most appreciate. You will be no stranger there, Beloved! You will say, "There has been here a hand that helped me when I was in distress. There has been here, I know, an eye that saw me when I was wandering far from God. There has been in this place a heart that cared for me—that same heart that loved me and that bled for me down below upon the Cross. It is my Savior who has prepared this place for me!"
I do not know whether I can convey to you all my thoughts upon this theme, but it does seem to me so pleasant to think that we are going to a place where we shall not be the first travelers through the country but where a Pioneer has gone before us—the best of pioneers who went before us with this one objective in His mind, that He might get all ready and prepare the place for us. I think, Brothers and Sisters, that those who will be there before us will say, when we arrive there, "We are glad you have come, for everything has been prepared for you." It would be an eternal sorrow in Heaven if the saints should miss their way and perish, as some falsely tell us, for then, what about the preparations for their reception? They would all have been made in vain—harps prepared which no fingers would ever play—and crowns which no heads would ever wear! I do not believe it! I have never dreamed that such a thing could happen. I feel certain that He who prepared the place for the people, will prepare the people for the place and that if He gets all ready for them, He means to bring them Home that they may enjoy the things which He has laid up for them that love Him.
I know that I am not explaining the preparation of Heaven, yet I hope I am draining some comfortable thoughts out of the subject. If Christ is preparing Heaven, then it will be what our Scotch friends call, "a bonny place." And if it is prepared for us, when we get there, it will exactly fit us. It will be the very Heaven we wanted—a better Heaven than we ever dreamed of—a better Heaven than we ever pictured even when our imagination took its loftiest heights! The Heaven of God and yet a Heaven exactly suited to such happy creatures as we then shall be!
Now, however, let us try to come a little closer to the subject and attempt to explain our Lord's words. Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for His people. Does not this refer, if we keep it to its strict meaning, to the ultimate place of God's people? You see, Christ mentions a place, not a state. And He speaks of going to it, and coming back from it—"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." Christ is speaking of Himself in His full Manhood, without any figurative meaning to His words. He meant that He was going with all His Human Nature, away from this world. And that He was going to prepare a place for us, intending to come again, with all that glorified Human Nature about Him, to receive us unto Himself! This does not mean His spiritual coming in death, nor any kind of spiritual coming, as to its first meaning, at any rate. I am persuaded that the clear run of the words involves our Lord's coming, in His Second Advent, when He will come to receive, not you or me as individuals who, one by one, will enter into rest, but to receive His whole Church into the place which He shall then have prepared for her. After the Resurrection, you must remember, we shall need a place to live—a literal, material place of abode, for this body of ours will be alive as well as our spirit and it will need a world to live in—a new Heaven and a new earth.
I am not going to enter into any speculations about the matter, but it seems clear enough to me, in this text, that Christ is preparing a place somewhere not for disembodied spirits, for they are already before the Throne of God perfectly blessed—but for the entire manhood of His people, when spirit, soul and body shall be again united and the complete man shall receive the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body, and the whole manhood of every Believer shall be perfected in the Glory of Christ. I do not know what better world, in many respects, there could be than this, so far as material nature is concerned. It is so full of the beauty and loveliness that God pours upon it on every side! It is a wonderful world—
"Where everyprospect pleases, And only man is vile"—
but I could not reconcile myself to the idea that this world would be Heaven. No. My thoughts rise far above the loftiest hills, the most flowery meadows, the rolling ocean and the flowing rivers. Earth has not space enough to be our Heaven! She has too narrow a boundary and she is too coarse a thing, bright gem though she is, for perfected manhood to possess throughout eternity! It will do well enough for the thousand years of Glory—if it shall literally be that—we shall reign with Christ upon it during the millennial age. But it is a drossy thing and if it ever is to be the scene of the new heavens and the new earth, it must first pass through the fire. The very smell of sin is upon it—and God will not use this globe as a vessel unto honor until He has purified it with fire as once He did with water. And then, perhaps, it may serve for this higher purpose, but I scarcely think it will. Even now Jesus is preparing and has gone away on purpose to prepare a place
for us—and He will come again, "with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God"—and He will catch His people away and will bear them to the eternal home where their happiness shall know no end. That is what I suppose to be the meaning of our Lord's words.
"But," perhaps you say to me, "what do you mean by what you have been saying?" I reply—I do not know to the fullest. I can but dimly guess at the meaning of what my Lord has said—that He is doing something so glorious for ALL His people that, perhaps, if I did know it, I might not be allowed to tell you, for there are some things which, when a man knows them, it is not lawful for him to utter. Did not Paul see a great deal when he was caught up into paradise? Yet he has told us very little about it, for there was a finger laid upon his lips that bade him know it for himself, but not to tell it to others. "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him." And though He has "revealed them unto us by His Spirit," even the Spirit who searches the deep things of God, yet is it not possible for us to tell all that has been revealed to us!
It strikes me that there is some little light to be obtained concerning this preparation of Heaven by Christ if I leave the direct and literal meaning of the words and think of the future state as a whole rather than in detail. Do you not think, dear Friends, that our Lord Jesus Christ prepares Heaven for His people by going there? I mean this. Supposing you were to be lifted up to a state which was looked upon as heavenly, but that Jesus was not there—it would be no Heaven to you. But wherever I may go, when I do go, if Jesus is already there, I do not care where it is! Wherever He is shall be my Heaven, for, as I said in the reading, [the exposition at the end of the sermon] that is our very first and last thought about Heaven—to be with Christ where He is! To be with Christ is far better than to be anywhere else! Well, then, the first thing that Christ had to do, in order to prepare Heaven for His people, was to go to Heaven, for that made it Heaven! Then were Heaven's lamps kindled. Then did Heaven's heralds ring out their supernal melodies. Then did the whole of the New Jerusalem seem to be ablaze with a glory brighter than the sun, for, "the Lamb is the light thereof." When He comes there, then all is bliss! Do you not see, Beloved, that He has prepared Heaven by going there? His being there will make it Heaven for you, so you need not begin asking what else there will be in Heaven! There will be all manner of rare delights to spiritual men, but the chief of them all will be that Jesus is there! As Rowland Hill used to sing, so may you and I comfort ourselves with this thought—
"And this I do find—we two are so joined— He'll not be in Glory and leave me behind." If I may but be where He is, that shall be Heaven to me!
But another reflection is this—that our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared Heaven for His people by the merit of His Atonement. Thus has He opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers. He tore the veil and made a way into the Holiest of All for all who trust Him. But, in addition to that, He perfumed Heaven with the fragrance of His Sacrifice. If Heaven is the place of the Godhead, as we know it is, we could not have stood there without the Mediator! If Heaven is the Throne of the great King, we could not have stood there without the cloud of perfumed incense from Christ's meritorious death and righteousness ever rising up before that Throne of God! But now, Heaven is a safe place for the saints to enter. Now may they tread that sea of glass like as of fire and know that it is glass, and that no fire from it will consume them. Now will they be able to come up near to God and not be afraid. I quote again a passage that often leaps to my lips—a text of Scripture which is often shamefully misused—"Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" Why, none of us could unless Christ had changed us by His Grace—but now we may do so!
What is the Scriptural answer to those questions, "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" What do the Scriptures say? Listen! "He that walks righteously and speaks uprightly. He that despises the gain of oppressions, that shakes his hands from holding bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood and shuts his eyes from seeing evils. He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off."
This is the man who shall dwell there! With God, who is a consuming fire, we, like the holy children in the burning fiery furnace, shall find it safe to dwell and find it bliss to dwell because Christ is there! But there would have been no Heaven in the Presence of God for any man that lives, after sin had once come into the world, if Jesus had not gone there
as the High Priest of old went up to the blazing throne whereon the Shekinah shone and sprinkled it with blood out of the basin, and then waved the censer to and fro till the thick smoke hid the cherubim and, for a while resting, spoke with God. Even so has Christ gone within the veil and sprinkled His own atoning blood upon His Father's Throne and then waved aloft the censer full of the incense of His mercy! And now it is safe for us to have access with boldness to the Throne of Glory as well as to the Throne of Grace. Thus has He prepared a place for us!
Another meaning, I think, is allowable, namely, that Christ has prepared Heaven for us by appearing there in His Glory. I said that His very Presence made Heaven, but now I add that His Glory there makes Heaven yet more glorious. How does Christ describe the heavenly state? "Father, I will that they, also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My Glory." It will be their bliss, then, to see His Glory, but there would have been no Glory for them to see if He had not gone there in His Glory! But now with His Presence there, in all His majesty and splendor, Heaven is still more glorious! Oh, how I long to see Him in His Glory! Long to see Him, did I say? I would part with all the joys of time and sense to gaze upon Him seated upon His Throne. Oh, what will it be to see Him? You have seen how painters have failed when they have tried to depict Him. The bravest artist may well tremble and the brightest colors fade when anyone tries to paint Him even in His humiliation! There is no other face so marred as His face was, but what will it be in Heaven when it is marred no more? No tear in His eyes! No spit running down His cheeks! No giving of His face to them that pluck out the hair, but, oh, the Glory of Manhood perfected and allied with Deity! "The King in His beauty!" Why, I think to see Him but for a minute, if we never saw Him again, might furnish us with an eternity of bliss! But we shall gaze upon Him, in His glory, day without night, never fainting, or flagging, or tiring, but delighting forever to behold Him smile, forevermore to call Him ours and to see Him still before us! He has gone to Heaven, then, in His Glory and, surely, that is preparing a place for us!
Besides that, we cannot tell what arrangements had to be made in order to prepare a place of eternal blessedness for the Lord's redeemed. Certain it is that in the economy of the universe, everything has its place. Men have discovered, as you know, what they call evolution. They think that one thing grows out of another because long before they were born everybody with half an eye could see that one thing fitted into another and, as one step rises above another step by a beautiful gradation, so do the created things of God. Not that they grow out of each other any more than the stones of a staircase grow out of one another—they rise above each other, but they were so made from the first by the skill and wisdom of God. That a dewdrop should be precisely of the size and shape that it is, is necessary to the perfection of the universe. That there should be insects born in such a month to fertilize the flowers that bloom in that month, and others to suck the sweetness of those flowers is all necessary. God has arranged everything, from the little to the great, with perfect skill. There is a place for everything with God and everything in its place.
It was a question where to put man. He once had a place. When God created this world, He made a pyramid and set man upon the very top of it, giving him dominion over all the works of His hands. But then man fell. Now it is more difficult to restore than it was, at first, to place. Often and often you must have found that when a thing has gone awry, it has cost you more trouble to set it right than if it had to be made de novo. Where, then, was the place for man to be? O matchless Love, O sacred Wisdom that provided that man's place should be where Christ's place was and is! Lo, He who came down from Heaven and who was also in Heaven, has gone back to Heaven! He carried manhood with Him and, in so doing, one with Him, His Church, has found her place. His union to the Godhead has found a place for His Church at the right hand of God, even the Father, where Christ sits—and all is as it should be!
As I have already told you, I do not know much about this matter, but I should not wonder if there has been going on, ever since Christ went up to Heaven, a putting things straight—getting this race of creatures into its proper place and that other race, and the other race, so that, when we get to Heaven, nobody will say, "You have got my place." Not even Gabriel will say to me, "Why, what business have you here? You have got my place." No, no—you shall have a place of your own, Beloved—and all the members of Christ's Church shall find a place prepared which no one else shall be able to claim, for nobody shall be dispossessed or put out of his rightful position.
It struck me, as I turned this subject over in my mind, that our Lord Jesus Christ knew that there was a place to be prepared for each one of His people. It may be—I cannot tell—that in some part of the society of Heaven, one spirit will be happier than it might have been in another part. You know that even though you love all the Brethren, you cannot help feeling most at home with some of them. Our blessed Lord and Master had no sinful favoritism, yet He did love 12
men better than all the rest of His disciples. And out of the 12 He loved three whom He introduced into mysteries from which He excluded the other nine. And even out of the three, there was one, you know, who was "that disciple whom Jesus loved." Now, everybody here has his favorites. I do not know if we shall carry anything of that spirit to Heaven. If we do, Christ has so prepared a place for us that you shall be nearest, in your position and occupation, to those who would contribute most to your happiness. You shall be where you can most honor God and most enjoy God. You would be glad enough to be anywhere—would you not?—with the very least of the saints in Heaven if there 'be any degrees of glory' among their thrones, or at His feet, as long as you might see Christ's face. But, depend upon it, if there is any association—any more intimate connection—between some saints than among others, Jesus Christ will so beautifully arrange it that we shall all be in the happiest places.
If you were to give a dinner party and you had a number of friends there, you would like to pick the seats for them. You would say, "Now, there is So-and-So. I know that he would like to sit next to So-and-So." And you would try to arrange it so. Well, in that grand wedding feast above, our Savior has so prepared a place for us that He will find us each the right position. I was talking, this afternoon, with one whom I very dearly love and she said to me, "I hope my place in Heaven will not be far from yours." And I replied, "Well, I trust so, too, but we are not married or given in marriage there." Such ties and such relationships must end, as far as they are after the flesh, but we know that there have been bonds of spirit that may still continue. I sometimes think that if I could have any choice as to those I should live near in Heaven, I should like to live in the region of such strange folk as Rowland Hill and John Berridge. I think I should get on best with them, for we could talk together of the way wherein God led us and of how He brought souls to Christ by us. Though some said that we were a deal too merry when we were down below and that the people laughed when they listened to us, and some spoke as if that were a great sin, we will make them laugh up yonder, I guarantee you, as we tell again the wonders of redeeming love and of the Grace of God—their mouths shall be filled with laughter and their tongues with singing! And then—
"Loudest of the crowd I'll sing,
While Heaven's resounding mansions ring
With shouts of Sovereign Grace"
and I expect each of you who love the Lord will do the same!
I have no time for the other part of the sermon. You must come again to hear about THE PREPARED PEOPLE. But let me just say this to you—The place is prepared, are you prepared for it? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, your preparation has begun. Do you love the Lord and love His people? If so, your preparation is going on. Do you hate sin and do you pant after holiness? If so, your preparation is progressing. Are you nothing at all and is Jesus Christ your All-in-All? Then you are almost ready and may the Lord keep you in that condition and, before long, swing up the gates of pearl and let you into the prepared place!
May the Lord bring us all safely there, for Jesus' sake! Amen.
John 14:1. Let not your heart be troubled: This is one of those verses that you may read as slowly as you like and spell out every letter and find honey in it all.
1. You believe in God, believe also in Me. As Jews, they had already known and seen the power of God. They were now to rise to the faith of Christians and to believe in Jesus their Savior. Even though they should see Him die, they were not to doubt Him. "You believe in God, believe also in Me."
2. In My Father's house are many mansions. So there is room for many. There are homes for many. There is wealth for many. "In My Father's house are many mansions."
2. It were not so, I would have told you. The Savior seems to say to His disciples, "I keep nothing back from you. Had there been some sorrowful fact to be revealed to you, I would at length have told you of it."
2. I go to prepare a place for you. ' 'There must be a Heaven, for I am going there, Myself, and I am going on purpose to make it ready for you."
3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where Iam, there you may be also. That is the first and simplest idea of Heaven—to be with Christ—and I think it is the last and most sublime idea of Heaven, too! To be with Christ—"that where I am, there you may be also."
4, 5. And where I go you know, and the way you know. Thomas said unto Him, Lord, we know not where You go; and how can we know the way?The Apostles blundered and lost themselves in the words of their Master, instead of entering into the spirit of what He said. So we must not wonder if we often do the same. Unless we wait upon God to be instructed by His Spirit, even the most plain passages of Scripture may be obscure to us.
6, 7. Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. And from henceforth you know Him, and have seen Him. Jesus had been talking about the many mansions and now He talks about the Father. Is the Father, then, the same as Heaven? Yes, indeed—to come to the Father is to come to perfect blessedness, to know the fullness of His eternal love and to enjoy it in face-to-face communion—this is Heaven! What higher bliss can we desire?
8, 9. Philip said unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen the Father, so how can you say, Show us the Father?Do we, then, see the Father when we see Christ? And is the Father's Presence Heaven? Then Christ is Heaven and to be with Him is Heaven! It is even so. He is the way to Heaven, the truth of Heaven, the life of Heaven. He is Heaven's everything—
"His track I see, and I'll pursue The narrow way, till Him I view"—
and when I view Him, shall I not have seen the Father and have entered into the Father's rest?
10-12. Do you not believe Iam in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwells in Me. He does the works. Believe Me that Iam in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto My Father. In consequence of Christ's going to the Father and the Spirit of God descending upon Christ's disciples, they are enabled to outdo their Master in some forms of holy service! For instance, some of them brought more to the faith than Christ Himself had done during His lifetime— and so realized the fulfillment of this promise—"The works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because I go unto My Father."
Colossians 1:1-14. Paul an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colosse: Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the Gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and brings forth fruit, as it does also in you, since the day you heard of it, and knew the Grace of God in truth: as you also learned of Epaphras our dear fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto allpatience and long-suffering with joyfulness; giving thanks unto the Father, who has qualified us to bepartakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light: who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. As we read these words, we cannot help noticing how positively the Apostle speaks. There are no, "hope so," "trust so," "ifs" and, "buts." It is all, "it is so" and, "it is so." And, beloved Brothers and Sisters, concerning eternal matters, nothing but certainties will suffice for us. Allow uncertainties about your estates if you will, but we must have positive assurance concerning eternal things! And nothing short of this ought to content our spirits. Can we all say, as we listen to these words, "God has delivered us from the power of darkness; He has translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins"?
15. Who is the image of the invisible God. Admire this delightful passage in which the Apostle seems to burn and glow while he describes his Lord and Master, "who is the image of the invisible God."
15-19. The first-born of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist And He is the Head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell Blessed be His glorious name! Amen.
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The Top 8 Vehicles for Environmentally Conscious Drivers
By MATT CLAYSON, 1/29/2019
We've all heard of LEED certified buildings. Buildings that are LEED certified balance environmental impact of construction processes and materials, energy efficiency, waste disposal and a variety of other factors to set new standards for sustainability and environmental impact.
If only a similar rating system existed for automobiles. Unfortunately, such does not exist, leaving consumers to evaluate fuel type and fuel economy when determining which vehicle is best for the environment. Such determination is rarely scientific, and is based on a lot of assumptions, e.g. lists of top cars for the environment generated from twitter followers (how's that for objectivity?) and lists including every electric car for sale in the U.S. (comprehensive, though shallow).
When we think of the environment, we need to think deeper than gas vs electric and MPG. We need to think about where goods and materials are sourced, how long a car will last, sustainable manufacturing processes, how far goods are shipped and an automaker's overall commitment to the environment. This calculus is complicated, involving a lot of trade-offs and weighing of priorities.
So, for our list, rather than arbitrarily selecting what we believe are the top cars for the environment via application of a capricious formula, we are going to list vehicles built by manufacturers who we believe are making a firm commitment to environmental stewardship, and give some examples as to why these vehicles and the entities who manufacture them are demonstrating a commitment to the environment.
#8. Chevrolet Cruze
Base MSRP Range: $17,995 - $26,120
The 2019 Chevrolet Cruze is a fuel sipper that looks good. Tracking between 37 – 48 MPG on the highway and between 28 – 31 MPG in the city, the Cruze successfully balances fuel economy, space and features. Trunk is spacious, as is seating, which can accommodate 5 people. A 153 horsepower engine provides adequate power. The Cruze is manufactured in Youngstown, Ohio, using lean manufacturing processes and relying heavily on a local supply chain, which means lower carbon footprints used in the manufacturing process. With over 142 office and manufacturing sites that are landfill-free, including its iconic 5 tower headquarters in Downtown Detroit, GM's commitment to a sustainable future extends beyond the manufacturing processes.
#7. Ford F-150
Base MSRP Range: $27,705 - $64,275
America's best-selling vehicle for the first half of 2018, the Ford F-150 is a perennial favorite for the shopper seeking a truck that can rack up the miles, haul the big loads and comfortably fit a family in style. It should also be a favorite for those who value the environment while still needing to haul, carry and command the road regardless of condition. Case-in-point: an all-aluminum body that sheds about 700 pounds of weight, the F-150 is amongst the most fuel-efficient full-sized pick-up trucks available. Various engine options offer shoppers a choice between efficiency, power, and pep; we prefer the 6.4-liter PowerStroke clean-diesel which produces an impressive 350 horsepower. Manufactured in Dearborn Michigan in an assembly plant that is home to the world's largest living roof, the Ford F-150 relies on local glass, steel, and componentry, reducing the carbon footprint used in the manufacturing process. Safety features include forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking, which are standard for the 2019 model season. Also standard: Ford's commitment to the environment, where it has been recognized year after year as a leader in reducing waste, it's carbon footprint while investing in green and renewable energy sources.
#6. Volkswagen Passat
Base MSRP Range: $25,295 - $29,995
Stylish, spacious, efficient and affordable, you will appreciate the 2019 Volkswagen Passat's generous proportions as well as its handling. Powered by a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, the Passat delivers a smooth and peppy ride as well as an impressive 36 MPG highway / 25 MPG city. Manufactured at a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, TN that is regularily recognized for environmental excellence, the Passat also leads its class when it comes to safety, with forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert all standard for 2019. Combining value, styling and safety, the Passat is a top choice for drivers seeking an environmentally conscious, reliable, spacious vehicle that remains capable of making a statement and standing apart from the crowd.
#5. Tesla Model 3
Base MSRP Range: $46,000 - $64,000
Balancing efficiency, style, and luxury, Tesla's Model 3 sedan is Tesla's entry-level vehicle. When most people talk electric, range anxiety comes to mind. No need to have anxiety with the Model 3, however – it can go 310 miles on a charge. While it takes 12 hours to charge on a standard 32-amp 240-volt connector, a network of superchargers provide quick, affordable charging for those on-the-go. Like all electric vehicles, acceleration is swift and handling is agile. Like all Tesla's, the interior is uncluttered and neatly finished. As an added bonus, the Model 3 is manufactured in a re-purposed factory, thereby conserving materials and reusing existing infrastructure as opposed to unnecessarily building on a greenfield site.
#4. Chevrolet Bolt EV
Base MSRP Range: $36,620 - $40,90
Starting at a price point $10,000 less than the Model 3, the Chevrolet Bolt is GM's bet on a clean and green future. Balancing efficiency and functionality, the Chevrolet Bolt is a distinctive hatchback that delivers the range and engaging driving experience. The range is 238 miles on a charge. Like all electric vehicles, acceleration is swift and handling is agile – the Bolt can deliver zero to 60 mph in under 6.8 seconds. Like its Chevrolet siblings, the Bolt is loaded with features, including an intuitive infotainment system. The Bolt is manufactured in Lake Orion, Michigan, using lean manufacturing processes and relying heavily on a local supply chain, which means lower carbon footprints used in the manufacturing process. With over 142 office and manufacturing sites that are landfill-free, including its iconic 5 tower headquarters in Downtown Detroit, GM's commitment to a sustainable future extends beyond the manufacturing processes.
#3. Nissan LEAF
Base MSRP Range: $29,990 - $36,200
America's best selling electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf delivers value, range and Nissan's signature flamboyant styling. Equipped with a 40-kWh battery, the range is 140 miles. An optional 60-kWh battery is under development and will offer a 200-mile range. Energy is conserved via an E-Pedal feature that decelerates the Leaf when the driver eases off the accelerator, sending energy back to the battery. Like its Nissan siblings, drive quality and handling is mundane but secure. Optional features such as ProPilot Assist can help keep the car in its lane and adjust its speed to keep track of surrounding traffic. Think of this optional feature as Tesla Autopilot "lite". Forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking is standard.
#2. Kia Niro
Base MSRP Range: $23,490 - $34,900
Let's talk about a product that marries space, efficiency, and affordability. Let's talk about the KIA Niro. The only hybrid on our list of best cars for the environment, this sporty, capable front-wheel-drive vehicle uses a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine that generates a combined 139 hp. Matched with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission, the Niro is surprisingly engaging to drive. While its MPG is not as respectable as a Prius, it still can reach 40 + MPG in combined driving conditions. A plethora of advanced safety features are available, including automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning, and rear cross-traffic warning. Coming soon to a dealership near you (or it may be already there): an EV version with a promised 239-mile range. Talk about the best of all worlds: space, quick acceleration, range, and good styling. We're in.
#1. Chevrolet Equinox
Base MSRP Range: $23,800 - $35,600
The little crossover that could, the Chevrolet Equinox is roomy, efficient and safe. Vehicles that we tested approached a respectable 38 MPG on the highway and 30 + MPG in combined conditions. A 1.5-liter, turbo four-cylinder is paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission delivers adequate power, though driving enthusiasts should opt for the optional upgraded engine, which pumps an impressive 252 horsepower. Like its Chevrolet brethren, handling is responsive and the ride is secure. The MyLink infotainment system is surprisingly simple to use and the seats are quite comfortable. Available safety features include forward collision warning with low-speed automatic braking, blind-spot warning, and rear cross-traffic warning are available. The Equinox is manufactured in Ingersoll, Ontario, using lean manufacturing processes and relying heavily on a local supply chain, which means lower carbon footprints used in the manufacturing process. With over 142 office and manufacturing sites that are landfill-free, including its iconic 5 tower headquarters in Downtown Detroit, GM's commitment to a sustainable future extends beyond the manufacturing processes.

subset: commoncrawl


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This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.
This classic work on the action of drugs and their applications in therapeutics had been constantly revised by Professor Cushny through eight editions. The rapid progress in experimental investigation and practical application in the field of therapeutics is strikingly shown in comparing these eight editions during the twenty-five years in which they appeared. In the eighth changes were made by Cushny in the chapters on digitalis and the cinchona bases, and on ergot. He also added new chapters on histamine action and the related symptoms of anaphylaxis and shock, and on the insulin treatment of diabetes, and on the vitamins.
A Textbook of Pharmacology and Therapeutics or The Action of Drugs in Health and Disease.. Ann Intern Med. 1928;2:492–493. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-2-5-492_2
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1928;2(5):492-493.
Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704
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text:
Name: Ann-Marie Everitt
Location: Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York
Website: facebook.com/ambayogaandsoundhealing
Occupation: Yoga Teacher
How did you hear about MFN? The Arthritis Foundation
How do you or your business help those with chronic disease/medical conditions or who need pre & postnatal care?
I offer the tools of yoga – Mind, body, breath – to bring people a holistic and fulfilling experience of themselves. No matter our age, shape or condition, yoga shifts our attention to our power, the peace of mind we access brings harmony balance and energy to our bodies, to our relationship with ourselves and our relationships with others.
What makes you different from all the other fitness professionals out there?
My focus is inner peace, self acceptance and universal love. Cue Bob Marley.
What is your favorite activity or class to participate in?
Combining a regular yoga class with Sound. We all go to a very deep and happy place.
What is one piece of advice that you would give other fitness professionals about working with special populations or those who need pre-& postnatal care?
Meet people where they are at and expect to ride the ups and downs of healing and recovery with an open mind and hear. Prepare your sessions and then change course the moment you see the present needs of your student would do better with an alternative approach.
What type of community activities are you involved in?
Arthritis Foundation awareness initiatives like the walk coming up in New York in May; summertime meditation on the high line; fundraising for mustard seed communities; yoga in schools and yoga for Teens / youth basketball.
What is one of your favorite memories involving working with someone who has a health challenge or disability?
One day my student was brave enough to see if he had regained sufficient strength to come to standing from the floor without EMT assistance. He felt elated to regain independence. For me it was humbling.
What would you like to see change/develop/emerge in the future of healthcare and the fitness industry?
For people to find greater balance in their Work:Life ratio – which would bring committed and integrated preventive care lifestyles and for their to be better communication channels between medical and fitness professionals. We're all in this together.
And what are you doing to make this happen?
I am a member of Yoga Alliance and Accessible Yoga – we emphasize wellness advocacy in our missions and complementary relationships and partnerships with medical professionals.
What is your favorite fitness/inspirational/motivational quote?
I see the beauty in you, you see the beauty in me.
Anything else we should know about you?
I like to laugh, a lot, no point taking ourselves too seriously.


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Image of the radiation density of a source of photons located in an object in real-time may be used in various medical imaging techniques. In this regard, various collimation methods for nuclear medicine applications have been explored, including mechanical collimators involving certain degrees of multiplexing. Unfortunately, this improvement is usually achieved at the expense of the amount of information conveyed by each detected photon. As a result, the signal-to-noise ratio in the collected data deteriorates dramatically when continuous background is introduced. In order to decode the data to provide a useful image, an unrealistically large number of counts are normally required. The uses of these image formation methods are currently limited to some particular imaging applications, in which the object-to-background ratio is reasonably large.
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a practical and cost-effective method and system for generating an image of the radiation density of a source of photons located in an object in real-time to improve image quality by utilizing extra information from detected Compton scattering events. Specifically, the method mechanically collimates photon emissions and sampling the object at several view angles substantially simultaneously. A processor reconstructs an image using data containing detected Compton scattering events and detected non-Compton scattering events.
Applications and Advantages
- Improved image quality for nuclear medicine
- Valuable enhancement be achieved by adding-nl-only a small fraction of gamma rays with reduced-nl-angular ambiguity.
- The system does not require a highly optimized-nl-Compton camera behind the collimator.


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Universal Nutrition Animal M Stak - 21 Packets
- Availability:
- In Stock - Shipping from Dubai Warehouse
- Shipping:
- Free (Within UAE)
What is anabolic? Protein synthesis. Nitrogen retention. "Nutrient-partitioning". The all new Animal M-Stak. A natural supplement which helps boost anabolism and perfect for the classic "hardgainer" in all of us.*
From green beginner to diehard vet, we've all gone through it. Skidding to a halt, our progress idles on a wretched plateau. Can't gain another pound, workouts are stale, lifts are static. This is the hardgainer's syndrome, and from the most slender of ectomorphs to the most muscular endomorph, we've all been there. Desperate to ignite new growth, we'll try almost anything.*
For those of us so dedicated to this game, these frequent moments of desperation have come to an end. The new M-Stak is here, more powerful than ever, designed to obliterate plateaus and support an explosion of raw muscle growth.* Building on the legacy built by the original M-Stak formula, the new M-Stak has taken all of the most powerful components of its predecessor and cranked it up to the next level.
M-Stak has long been built on a foundation of natural anabolic flavones. Born from Eastern European athletic studies, these anabolic flavones have long been highly touted as performance supports capable of promote gains in lean muscle mass.* The new M-Stak formula combines the most powerful of these anabolic compounds in more hearty dosages, making the long storied anabolic potential of the product all the greater.*
Primary among these flavones are Beta-Ecdysterone and Methoxyisoflavone. These ingredients have the ability to shuttle nutrients toward lean mass accumulation, a process known as nutrient partitioning.* Beyond this, these anabolic flavones promote enhanced protein synthesis and nitrogen retention.* These are the mechanisms most crucial in the process of new muscle growth, brought about by M-Stak without any hormonal manipulation.*
"M-Stak is a potent weapon in my supplement arsenal. The ability to enhance nitrogen retention and protein synthesis, all the while increasing the efficiency with which you utilize calories, is especially priceless for the hardgainer and drug-free iron athlete.*" -G Diesel, Powerbuilder
Rounding out the Natural Flavone/Sterone Complex are Ajuga Turkestanica and Beta Sitosterol. Ajuga Turkestanica contains the potent phytosteroid extract Turkesterone, suggested to be extremely powerful in advancing protein synthesis.* Beta Sitosterol, while having its own inherent anabolic potential, helps promote a healthy immune system and may help support healthy cortisol levels already within normal range.*
With M-Stak, you also get a powerful anti-catabolic amino blend.* With advanced forms of leucine and the other BCAAs spearheading the mixture, these aminos work from a cellular level to directly stimulate protein synthesis.* Studies suggest that by adding leucine along with a protein/carb meal, you get even greater whole body net protein balance than just consuming protein and carbs alone.* These aminos help to stimulate muscle recovery and protein synthesis via translation regulations, all through non-hormonal means. They do this by supporting key muscle growth regulators such as mTOR, PKB, p70s6k, 4E-BP1, FOXO and MAFbx.* These aminos essentially work as a signal for turning on the muscle building process, supporting increased muscle anabolism following a training session.*
We've also included key "anabolic adaptogens" such as safed musli, muira puama, rhodiola rosea and kudzu extract. Together these herbs have been suggested to help increase physical training capacity, improve endurance, minimize the catabolic stress response, decrease mental fatigue as well as support sexual health and boost support system function.* These are critical factors for naturally enhancing ones performance levels in the gym.
You also get powerful insulin potentiators which work to support insulin production already within healthy range.* Compounds such as K-R-ALA and CinnulinPF™ help your body to utilize ultra anabolic insulin both effectively and efficiently for supporting muscle growth.* This equates to increased uptake of glycogen and increased muscle cell volume which contributes to that full, pumped feeling when you workout.*
M-Stak also delivers a potent energy blend, packed with powerful, natural stimulants, methylxanthines and evodiamine, which are designed to propel you through even the most grueling of training sessions. The addition of this complex, easily identifiable by its red capsule, makes M-Stak perfect for pre-training, lighting that fire under your ass that we all need from time to time.
Finally, M-Stak's M-Factor transport complex works to promote nutrient utilization to ensure the powerful components of the formula are processed to maximum efficacy.* Using ginger root extract coupled with the powerful absorption enhancers bergmottin and bioperine, you can be sure that the myriad growth factors in the M-Stak formula are working to their full capacity and are not going to waste.*
M-Stak floods your system with an abundance of anabolic nutrients, switching your muscle building signals on and turning them to full blast.* Combining flavones and sterones in hefty doses with the most anabolic of amino blends supported by an array of cutting edge adaptogens in a single pretraining pack designed for optimum absorption, the new Animal M-Stak takes non-hormonal anabolics to a whole new level. Animal M-Stak, The Ultimate Hardgainer's Stack, has come to turn "hardgainers" into "hard" gainers.
Directions For Animal M-Stak: Take one pak every day for 21 consecutive days. On training days, take pak 45 minutes prior to exercise. On non-training days, take pak in the morning or early afternoon. Cycle product for maxium results: three weeks on and one week off.
Warnings: This product contains an extremely powerful flavone and phytoecdysterone complex which may greatly boost performance and muscle size. Please consult your physician before using this product. Not for use by pregnant or nursing women. If you are under a physicians care for any reason, please consult your physician prior to use. Reduce or discontinue use if nervousness, tremors, sleeplessness, loss of appetite or nausea occur. Not for use by persons under 18. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.


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A man who allegedly stabbed another man in the chest in an El Cajon alley early Sunday was later booked into jail on suspicion of murder, police said.
The victim's wife told officers that she, her husband and another man were in a vehicle near the Walmart on North Second Street when her husband got into a fight with a third man in the alley, El Cajon police Lt. Walt Miller said.
The assailant stabbed the victim at least one time in the chest, Miller said. The wife and the other man in the vehicle drove the injured man to a hospital where he died.
El Cajon officers were able to get a description of the suspect and an officer patrolling near Wells Park located and arrested him about 9:30 a.m.
It's unclear if the people involved in the incident knew each other. Neither the victim nor the suspect was identified "pending further investigative follow-up," Miller said.
(619) 293-1546


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Sold Out
As Innova's most popular disc model and the number one putter in disc golf; the Innova GStar Aviar putter is versatile and dependable in all conditions. Made with GStar plastic, this beadless model is extra grippy with a straight flight and predictable finish.
Speed 2 | Glide 3 | Turn 0 | Fade 1
GStar Plastic


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Our Scholars :
- Students who obtained marks above 85% or more during B.Tech & Diploma Programme . A total amount of Rs. 5 Lac has been already distributed
- Scholarship of amount (apporx. 3 crore) in already given to under EWS in last 3 years.
- Scholarship to students who had scored above 85% marks at 12th level (once at admission time)


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Personal computing discussed
Moderators: renee, Captain Ned
Flying Fox wrote:WinLAME? Or you go full command line and do flac -> wav -> mp3 with LAME.
DragonDaddyBear wrote:I use Foobar2000 for converting audio formats.
@echo on
for %%a in ("C:\FILES_TO_CONVERT\*.*") do ffmpeg -i "%%a" -vn -acodec libmp3lame -b:a 128k "C:\CONVERTED_FILES\%%~na.mp3"
Captain Ned wrote:128K. As if. WAV or nothing (space is cheap). On the one device where I have to use MP3 (because my !!_*%$#@$^# car 's head unit won't recognize lossless files), it's Lame -V0.
Vhalidictes wrote:Cap'n, while I share your hatred of 128K, higher quality MP3's are fine.
Dashak wrote:Seconded for dBpoweramp.
Captain Ned wrote:Dashak wrote:Seconded for dBpoweramp.
The metadata and art retrieval capacities alone make it a winner. Been a happy customer for years now.
Vhalidictes wrote:I'd need to actually track down an audio CD. Not sure where any are at this point.
Captain Ned wrote:Vhalidictes wrote:I'd need to actually track down an audio CD. Not sure where any are at this point.
There's 300+ downstairs next to the audio rack and at least another 100 shoved in various spots in my "office". The less I say about my vinyl collection is the less you disparage me once again.
Music is a physical format, preferably analog. Yes, I'm one of those vinyl Luddites. The Ripping of the Vinyl awaits a new turntable (something in the Rega catalog most likely) that can do it justice. Also haven't settled on the proper ADC, which is the core of any vinyl ripping project.
Vhalidictes wrote:my collection of mostly 320K MP3's is stable at about a terabyte and hasn't much changed in over ten years now. It's been about ten years since I've checked my now-secondary PC to see if that old ASUS DVD burner still works.
Captain Ned wrote:Vhalidictes wrote:my collection of mostly 320K MP3's is stable at about a terabyte and hasn't much changed in over ten years now. It's been about ten years since I've checked my now-secondary PC to see if that old ASUS DVD burner still works.
My CD collection, all ripped to WAV, comes in at 339 GB according to Win8. Seems about right for the number of CDs I think I have. Vinyl will easily double that just from the noise through the ADC let alone the size of the collection.
just brew it! wrote:728GB in FLAC format here. Mostly CD rips, but also includes some vinyl rips and digital downloads.
Digital downloads that come in MP3 format get converted to FLAC (even though there's a size penalty) to have a consistent archival format, and to have them in a lossless format for manipulation via Audacity (MP3 downloads frequently have minor beginning/end-of-track glitches, e.g. a few milliseconds of silence, which are noticeable on albums where there's not supposed to be any gap between tracks, so I edit those glitches out when I encounter them).
Most of the collection is also transcoded to OGG format, for my phone. Yes, I know... transcoding files that were originally in MP3 format to another lossy format is bad. But OGG is "transparent" to me at a lower bitrate than MP3, and I want to maximize the amount of music I can cram into the phone. I can't tell the difference unless I do a very careful side-by-side comparison, so it's good enough for mobile (car/bus/train) use.
Even at 160 kbit OGG sounds pretty decent. We've come a long way since the days of horrible MP3 encoders that made everything sound like it was being played underwater at lower bitrates, and introduced all sorts of other bizarre sonic artifacts even at high bitrates (I remember the encoder that came with early versions of MusicMatch JukeBox inserting random thumps, clicks, and dropouts all over the place).
Captain Ned wrote:dbPoweramp.
if [[ $# -ge 1 && $# -lt 3 ]]; then
if [[ $# -ge 1 && $# -lt 3 ]]; then
if [[ $# -eq 0 ]]; then
artist=${pathbits[$((pathlen - 2))]}
album=${pathbits[$((pathlen - 1))]}
artist2=`echo $artist | sed -e 's/&/\\\&/'`
album2=`echo $album | sed -e 's/&/\\\&/'`
if [[ "$suffix" != "" ]]; then
album="$album $suffix"
echo $artist
echo $album
if [[ -e "$dir/$artist/$album" ]]; then
while [[ -e "$dir/$artist/$album ($seq)" ]]; do
album="$album ($seq)"
artist2=`echo $artist | sed -e 's/&/\\\&/'`
album2=`echo $album | sed -e 's/&/\\\&/'`
mkdir --parents "$dir/$artist/$album"
ls *.flac | sort | sed -e 's/ .*$/ "&"/g;s/" /"/g;s/.flac//g' \
| sed -e "s:^:$0 \"$dir\" \"$artist2\" \"$album2\" :" | bash
cd "$dir/$artist/$album"
mp3gain -a -k -s r *.mp3
album2=`echo "$album" | sed -e 's/([0-9]\+)$//;s/ \+$//;s/\[.\]$//;s/ \+$//'`
if [[ `echo "$track" | grep '[0-9][0-9]-[0-9][0-9]-' | wc -l` -eq 0 ]]; then
track2=`echo "$track" | sed -e 's/^\[//;s/\]$//'`
track2=`echo "$track" | sed -e 's/^..-//;s/-//;s/^ *//;s/^\[//;s/\]$//'`
if [[ ${#track2} -eq 1 ]]; then
track2=`printf "%02d" "$track2"`
track3=`echo "$track2" | sed -e 's/^0\+//'`
name2=`echo "$name" | sed -e 's/^-//;s/^ *//'`
out="$dir/$artist/$album/$track2 $name2.mp3"
flac --decode --stdout --silent "$track $name.flac" \
| lame --preset standard --add-id3v2 --ta "$artist" --tl "$album" \
--tn $track3 --tt "$name2" - "$out"
ls -d */* | sed -e 's/^/pushd "/;s/$/"; flac2mp3; popd/' | bash
DancinJack wrote:pfffft at anything in 2017 that doesn't play FLAC. No cars fo' me. For completeness, I don't really convert to MP3 anymore these days... I do have LAME installed somewhere though (which works through Foobar if I want too).
Then again, I really only play stuff on my computer (Schiit DAC+AMP) and my phone (Android 7.1.2) so I'm generally covered.
just brew it! wrote:Sure, I could be more selective. But that would involve whittling things down a LOT, and I'd be constantly going, "Hmm, I haven't listened to X in a while... oh damn, that's not on the phone!"


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Category: Pub Food Restaurant | show me more
Preston Old Road
Landline: 01253 6...
Landline: 01253 7...
Website: www.sizzlingpubs.co.uk/themereparkblackpool/
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When it comes to great pub food and drink, The Mere Park in Blackpool sets the standard for customers from nearby Great Marton, Preston New Road & Preston Old Road and across Lancashire. Of all the pubs and bars in Blackpool our food menu and drinks selection mean we offer quality, choice, and above all value that are second to none.
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You're thinking of exploring the opportunities Florida has for your business ? You've seen the information about our amazing Trade Mission but the next one just cannot fit in your schedule or you simply don't want to wait (we understand ?)
We offer a service of personalized business meetings in Florida ALL YEAR ROUND.
The Canada-Florida Chamber of Commerce offers the possibility to organize a personalized business matchmaking for your next visit to Florida. The meeting are carefully planned to fulfill your objectives and business projects whether it is to connect with potential clients, distributors, partners or suppliers.
This service includes :


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12 Things for families to do on the north Norfolk Coast
California's northern counties. There are wide sandy beaches that go on for miles, spectacular coastline, abundant wildlife and seaside communities. Norfolk even has surfers! Like the Northern California coast, there's an untouched ruggedness and tranquility that eventually gets found out by the masses. Dubbed Cotswolds-by-the-Coast because of the amount of Farrow & Ball that has been used in…View Post


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Get Faster, Better and Smarter Satellite Internet In Creswell,OR
High-Speed Internet Service in Creswell Can Change Everything For You
The Internet makes such feelingd a thing of the past. Information, technology, ideas, shopping, connecting with others is all possible 24/7 no matter where you live. However, many people living in places like Creswell, OR are still relying on dial up connections for Internet, making life online sluggish, intermittent and unreliable. Embrace high-speed satellite Internet brought to you anywhere in the continental United States via satellite and never miss a thing online.
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There are 24 Häagen-Dazs ice cream shops in Hong Kong, including one at The Peak Galleria (118 Peak Road).
Häagen-Dazs is a legendary American ice cream brand that has been around since 1961.
The company elevates the creation of ice cream and sorbet into an art form, by using only the finest & purest ingredients, such as 100% fresh French milk, and the best craftmanship.
Häagen-Dazs is often called a physical, emotional and mental aphrodisiac by ice cream connoisseurs, with each flavour having its own unique origins and rich history.
In addition to ice cream bars and sundaes, the Häagen-Dazs product range features ice cream bars, ice cream cakes, sorbets, frozen yogurt, and Italian gelato.
Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Cafe Locations in Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs APM
418 Kwun Tong Rd, Shop No. L1-7, Millennium City 5, apm
Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Festival Walk
80 Tat Chee Avenue, Shop L1-16, Festival Walk
Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Hours: Monday-Sunday 11am-10:30pm
Häagen-Dazs The ONE
100 Nathan Road, Shop L406, Level 4, The ONE
Tsimshatsui, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Elements
1 Austin Road West, Shop 1106, 1/F, Elements
Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Telford Plaza
33 Wai Yip St, Shop P41, Telford Plaza
Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs The Pulse
28 Beach Road, Shop No. 219, Level 2, The Pulse
Repulse Bay, Hong Kong
Hours: Monday-Sunday 10am-8pm
Häagen-Dazs V City
83 Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Rd, Shop No. M-53, MTR Level
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10:30pm
Häagen-Dazs Times Square
1 Matheson Street, Shop no. Kiosk 7/F, Times Square
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Windsor House
311 Gloucester Rd, Shop No. 212, 2/F, Windsor House
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Lan Kwai Fong
24 D'Aguilar Street, G/F
Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Cityplaza
18 Tai Koo Shing Rd, 5/F, Shop No. 503, Cityplaza, Phase 1
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs The Peak Galleria
118 Peak Road, Shop 2, Ground Floor, The Peak Galleria
The Peak, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Stanley Main Street
74 Stanley Main Street, Shop C2, G/F
Stanley, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Yuen Long Plaza
251 Castle Peak Road, Opens Space 1 (OS1), 1/F, Yuen Long Plaza
Yuen Long, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs iSQUARE
63 Nathan Rd, Shop LG05B
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Hours: Sunday-Thursday 10:30am-10:30pm, Friday-Saturday 10:30am-11pm
Häagen-Dazs Langham Place
8 Argyle Street, Shop 13, 4/F, Langham Place
Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Plaza Hollywood
3 Lung Poon Street, Shop 183, Level 1, Plaza Hollywood
Tai Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Hours: Monday-Friday 12noon-10:30pm, Saturday-Sunday 11am-11pm
Häagen-Dazs Whampoa Garden
9 Shung King Street, Shop G4, G/F., Site 2 (Fashion World), Whampoa Garden
Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Hours: Sunday-Friday 12noon-10:30pm, Saturday 12noon-11pm
Häagen-Dazs East Point City
8 Chung Wa Road, Area A, 2/F, East Point City
Hang Hau, New Territories, Hong Kong
Hours: Monday-Sunday 11am-10pm
Häagen-Dazs Luk Yeung Galleria
22-66 Wai Tsuen Road, Shop Unit F1, 1/F, Luk Yeung Galleria
Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong
Hours: Monday-Sunday 11am-11pm
Häagen-Dazs New Town Plaza
18 Sha Tin Centre Street, Shop No. 509, Level 5, New Town Plaza, Phase 1
Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Sunshine Plaza
18 On Luk Street, Shop 2093, 2/F., Sunshine City Plaza
Ma On Shan, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Taipo Mega Mall
8 & 10 On Pong Road, Shop No. 233, Level 2, Zone B
Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong
Häagen-Dazs Hong Kong has an official Facebook page available, located at www.facebook.com/HaagenDazsHK.
The Facebook page is a good resource to learn more about seasonal Häagen-Dazs products and new types of ice cream available at the stores.


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A Title Boxing Club location will open this May in Derby. The growing physical fitness concept will be at 620 N. Rock Road in Bristol Square and owned and operated by Brian Cheever.
The main focus of the center will be on getting in shape and burning off weight, he said, and not person-to-person boxing itself.
"There will be no sparring in the gym," he said. "No one will be fighting each other; instead, they will be punching a boxing bag."
The fitness routines, he said, are able to burn off up to 1,000 calories an hour.
Despite the testosterone-oriented name, based on the experience of other locations, the majority of the business's clients will be women, he said. Cheever estimated that 60 percent to 70 percent of the system's patrons are female.
They like the way the routines can shape up bodies, he said, and the weight loss.
"There are a lot of benefits health-wise and stress-wise to this," he said.
Clients also are attracted by the emphasis on what he terms the mind-body challenge along with building self confidence.
Cheever has hired two trainers and is looking for four more trainers. He also will be hiring front desk help.
Cheever is a former police officer and Spirit AeroSystems employee. After he was laid off from that company, he was exploring options and liked what he saw in Title Boxing.
Along with providing him a business opportunity, Cheever wants to combine it with his desire to personally get into shape. He said he was in a lot better shape 15 years ago and wants to bring that back, along with being in improved health.
The club is open to those of all ages, weights and ability, according to the company's website. Much of the business's emphasis is on motivation and building self-confidence, with a mission of empowering individuals to be in charge of their own physical fitness direction.
There are two Title Boxing Clubs in Wichita. Cheever learned that because of franchising rules, there are limits to how many are allowed in each city. However, one is allowed for Derby, and he jumped at the chance to get that slot.
He's positive on not just the location, but the city's future.
"I love Derby," he said. "It's a strong, growing community and I really like the direction it's going."
Source: http://www.derbyinformer.com/news/business/title-boxing-club-opening-in-derby/article_173b6a56-0365-11e7-b769-4717a9cdd682.html


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My (not so secret anymore) Weapon
Capturing moments in and around the shearing sheds, I have found, is a lot of the right place, at the right time. After working for many years in the shearing industry there is a bit of experience behind the timing that does get me in the right spot at the right time. However, for the shots where I want the sheep to do exactly what I want them to, I use my secret weapon.
Meet Fatty. This gorgeous specimen is my 8 year old bull mastiff. He lives a very easy life in the shearing sheds where he is not expected to do any sheep work, his job is to be my assistant. He quite simply needs to be by my side and work his magic when I've got my camera up to my face to earn his dog food for the week.
Images I have captured such as 'shedded sheep' would have been almost impossible without Fatty. He is quite a large dog weighing in at 50kg and although he has spent 6 years in the shearing sheds he is quite disinterested in sheep.
So, when a shot calls for all of the sheep to be looking at me, Fatty simply sits in front of me and cries. That's right, no barking, howling or growling, my big tough giant cries.
I assume the sheep are confused, curious and possibly feel a little bit embarrassed for the big fella. But, despite his crazy methods, it works!


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Anna talks about her experience spending six weeks in Paris working as an international marketing consultant.
The NEXT Innovation Program is a globally recognised, award-winning program designed to equip business and management students with work-ready skills. It is structured for developing market-tested 'business of tomorrow' concepts in a constructed timeframe.
The program allows students to work with mentors from Deloitte and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and aims to replicate a corporate innovation community comprising students, corporate mentors, program coordinators and additional participants.
Enrolment into the program or unit of study is selective and only those students who successfully proceed through the selection process are considered for placements. Students from the Master of Commerce and the Master of Professional Accounting are eligible to apply.
The selection criteria for NEXT is:
Students are responsible for their own degree progression and must ensure they have sufficient room in their degree, or permission to overload. Students should contact the Student Centre for assistance with degree progressions.
The NEXT Innovation Accelerator application is a two-part process: an online application followed by a pre-approval and a formal approval after grades have been released.
Step 1: Online Application
To complete your online application, you are required to submit the following information:
If successful during STEP 1 you will receive a pre-approval for the NEXT Innovation Accelerator.
Step 2: Formal Approval
After grades are released from the semester immediately preceding the semester you wish to enrol in NEXT, you will receive a notification that you can now enrol in NEXT provided you meet the minimum academic requirements.
Apply now using the NEXT Innovation Accelerator Program application form. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com if you have any questions regarding the application process.
In recognition of the value that experiential learning adds to the development of your employability skills, the Business School is offering students the opportunity to earn credit for a placement or internship that you have sourced yourself.
The program differs from other internships or work experience programs by complementing your placement experience with a unit of study.
Access all that the University of Sydney Business School has to offer alongside your professional development with your employer through our cadetship.
As your cadetship will encompass both work and study, the timetable for cadetship students is tailored to ensure that you meet both your academic and employment requirements. We offer classes in blocks on a particular day of the week as well as a range of evening classes in core units of study.


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Maine: 355-Page Mega Report That Reveals the Radical Curriculum of an elite American College
Bowdoin President Barry Mills reportedly engaged in a golf game during the summer of last year with philanthropist and investor Thomas Klingenstein who, while not being a graduate of Bowdoin, was himself interested in the college's approach to education. The result was an apparently awkward conversation during which Klingenstein complained of Bowdoin's excessive celebration of "racial and ethnic difference," in his words, rather than of "common American identity."
It is unclear precisely how sharp the conversation got, but it evidently distressed Mills enough that he decided to mention Klingenstein (albeit not by name) in his subsequent commencement address as a particularly unpleasant golfing partner who'd interrupted his backswing to spout racist platitudes.
Needless to say, Klingenstein found this response galling. What he decided to do about it, however, is almost certainly unprecedented: Klingenstein decided to commission researchers to do an academic report on Bowdoin's culture, both academically and outside the classroom, to see just what the college was teaching its students. The result was a 355 page report by the conservative National Association of Scholars that systematically broke down Bowdoin's entire culture and worldview with extreme frankness.
What did that report find? That Bowdoin College, and indeed most of its peers in the elite liberal arts college community, is in fact:
A) Obsessed with identity politics to the point of using them as an excuse to teach irrelevant and/or trivial courses, and to admit underqualified and undereducated students
B) At once entirely unconcerned with fostering healthy sexual behavior in students and consumed with making sure they follow inconsistent and ideologically motivated norms; and
C) Disingenuous in their purported support for critical thinking, which only extends as far as thinking critically about topics which the college finds institutionally inconvenient
The report, which runs 355 pages, is split into two sections — first, there is the preface, which assesses the facts regarding Bowdoin and makes specific value judgments regarding those facts. Second, there is the report itself, which only explains the college's behavior without passing judgment on it....
Bowdoin professes to support "critical thinking" in classroom discussions, and to encourage ideological diversity in order to speed this process. In fact, given that President Mills' speeches apparently make reference to a relativistic conception of "the common good" with fair frequency, some might even argue the school's commitment to "critical thinking" and independent-decision making could err too far in one direction. Fortunately, in practice, this philosophical problem is avoided. Unfortunately, it is avoided in a way that the report's authors suggest hamstrings critical thought far more than it ought:
Official Bowdoin projects two broad purposes: it aims to teach students to think critically and it aims to help them to develop into good citizens. Our claim that critical thinking is a Bowdoin goal is not likely to be contested by either the Bowdoin community or outside observers. Bowdoin is explicit and emphatic in its promotion of this goal. The first requirement for critical thinking is a genuinely open mind. "Openness" and "critical thinking" aren't quite the same thing, of course. The first is really a precondition of the second. But for the moment we will treat them as near synonyms and bring in other requirements of critical thinking only as needed.[...]
The two Bowdoin goals—global citizenship and openness—actually push against each other. Openness requires skepticism and a sincere willingness to look for hidden assumptions, but Bowdoin's understanding of global citizenship requires that some very large questions be settled in advance. A commitment to global citizenship requires a commitment to diversity (in its current understanding, the notion that each of us is defined in the most meaningful ways by the group to which we belong) and to the racial preferences that follow from diversity; to multiculturalism (all cultures are equal); to the idea that gender and social norms are all simply social constructs (an assumption that justifies virtually unlimited government intervention necessary to achieve the global citizen's understanding of sexual justice); and to "sustainability" (which assumes that free market economic systems, and the materialistic, bourgeois values that drive them, are destroying the planet).
These are notions that are not meaningfully "open to debate" at Bowdoin; indeed, a commitment to global citizenship requires that they not be open to debate. Students are encouraged to "think critically" about anything that threatens the college's dogmas on diversity, multiculturalism, gender, and sustainability, etc., but, for the most part, not to think critically about those dogmas themselves.
This problem is so pervasive, the report alleges, that not only is there an absence of openness to conservative ideas, but the campus actively stereotypes them as "boorish," and many classes treat liberal dogma as settled truth
These three problems barely scratch the surface of the full report, which also points out problems with Bowdoin's uncritical attitude toward environmentalism, its ambivalence about the free market, the persistently opinionated stances of its President despite his apparent role as a neutral arbiter, or the uniformly Democratic voting habits of its professoriate. The report's impact on Bowdoin as yet is unknown, but as criticisms go, it is quite possibly the most harsh analysis of a college's culture since William F. Buckley's book "God and Man at Yale" in the early 20th century.
More here
As Education Secretary and then PM, Margaret Thatcher battled resistance from university leaders every step of the way
Margaret Thatcher's legacy to the universities was revolutionary. Her legacy to the schools, though, was mixed. And it is was as Prime Minister rather than in her earlier role as Secretary of State for Education and Science (1970-74) that she exercised her greatest influence.
Margaret Thatcher's views on education were driven in large part by her personal experiences as a student; she was, in the main, satisfied with the school education she received in Grantham, but she was dissatisfied with some aspects of Oxford. In particular she felt that the universities were complacent because they were over-protected from the market. She therefore introduced them to greater accountability and to market forces.
Her first major step to galvanise the universities was to introduce fees for international students: before 1981, international students were educated effectively for free. When the fees were introduced, they were denounced by the leadership of the British universities which, with one voice, predicted no international student would apply to a British university again.
The leadership of British universities often being wrong on important issues, it was no surprise that Mrs Thatcher's policy was a success. After a transient dip in international student numbers, they have soared ever since, to provide a vast influx of funding and the beginnings of a market to British universities.
Margaret Thatcher's next step was to cut infrastructural support monies for research to the university sector: she felt that some universities were not using their research monies well. When the cuts were introduced, they were denounced by the leadership of the British universities which, with one voice, predicted that they would be a disaster from which the British economy in general and British universities in particular, would never recover.
The leadership of British universities often being wrong on important issues, it was no surprise that Mrs Thatcher's policy was a success. By introducing accountability for research – a policy that became known as the Research Assessment Exercise – Margaret Thatcher so galvanised the British universities that they now come second only to America's in every international league table.
And Margaret Thatcher left a lasting legacy: when Tony Blair and then David Cameron came to power, they each continued her privatisation policies, in particular by introducing top-up fees for home undergraduates. When the fees were introduced, they were denounced by the leadership of the British universities which, with one voice, predicted that they would be a disaster from which the British economy in general and British universities in particular, would never recover.
The leadership of British universities often being wrong on important issues, it was no surprise that fees have been a success. The later fee hikes having been so recently introduced, we are currently witnessing a dip in some numbers, but on past form they will recover, to leave the universities better funded and more receptive to student needs than before.
Margaret Thatcher's schools record is mixed. She wanted to protect the grammar schools from comprehensivisation, she wanted to increase parents' choice over which schools to send their children, and she wanted to free schools to have more say over their own admissions and educational policies. But on all these points she was thwarted by the Department of Education and Science and by the local authorities – indeed, as Secretary of State she presided over the destruction of more grammar schools than any other Secretary of State – and she never privatised the schools the way we are now seeing the universities being privatised.
Yet even those failures bore good fruit because they increased her resolve, when Prime Minister, not to fail again at the hands of the Civil Service or of local authorities. Nonetheless, state education in Britain today has had to look to Thatcher's disciples such as Michael Gove rather than to the lady herself for improvements.
But at least she left us her disciples. She will be missed.
Australia: School behaviour contracts get tougher
TOUGH new behaviour contracts will be introduced in Queensland public schools from next year as part of the state's new $535 million education reforms.
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek said the contracts would be a more stringent version of current behaviour plans.
Mr Langbroek has pledged to give principals more power to crack down on misbehaving students with figures released this week revealing 64,324 suspensions and exclusions were handed out last year. He said parents would also be called on to play a greater role in their children's education.
"We do have a contract about behaviour at the moment which people sign off on when they join a school. We are looking at making it a lot more stringent," Mr Langbroek said.
It is yet to be determined exactly what the contracts would involve. Schools are expected to be given a choice as to whether or not they use them, but they still have to have a behaviour plan in place as well.
Mr Langbroek said the contracts would be partly modelled on a version being used in a North Queensland school which has seen student performances soar.
Cairns West State School principal Michael Hansen said the academic success guarantee contracts, in place at his school since 2008, compelled parents to ensure their children had a 95 per cent attendance rate.
In exchange, the school guaranteed their child would meet or beat year-level benchmarks in literacy and numeracy, he said.
And it is working.
While discipline was not part of the contract, Mr Hansen said the work his teachers were doing with parents and students had helped improve behaviour as well. Grattan Institute school education program director Dr Ben Jensen said discipline was a significant issue in classrooms, but it was also important to focus on good learning behaviour.
"A bigger issue is understanding that any sort of improvement in learning and teaching over time is a behavioural change process," he said.
"We have a problem in Australia that we focus too narrowly on just learning outcomes and not also on learning behaviours."
The Newman Government's reforms also include bonuses for top-performing teachers and principals, scholarships and the deployment of master teachers to schools identified as in need of extra help to lift student performance.
The Queensland Teachers' Union has called on teachers to rally outside Parliament House on April 17 against the plan. It is also considering further action in a meeting on April 15.


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ARM Rothesay Harbour
Item Information
ARM Rothesay Harbour
Original Oil on Canvas
40 x 40 cm with black frame 53cm x 53cm
ready to hang
About The Artist: Raymond Murray
More information about the artist ...
See more items from this artist
Original Oil on Canvas
40 x 40 cm with black frame 53cm x 53cm
ready to hang
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text:
Anger, resentment, judgment, anxiousness, bitterness, jealousy, hatred, none of these are the truth in us. They are part of the ego's tools and mindset, programmed into us as being normal and rational behaviors, and thus now, because we believe that they are a part of our natural state, they obscure our true nature. The more we believe in these false concepts of ourselves as true, the more we hide who in truth we are. The ego understands that there is a direct correlation between how badly we feel, and how willing we are to judge others and ourselves. The worse we feel about ourselves, the quicker we are to anger, and the more willing we are to judge and attack others and ourselves. This downward spiral, weakens our understanding of who in truth we are, and strengthen the ego's grip on us.
Today, remind yourself: "I am Love's creation. My function is to be the Love that God created me to be. Only the Love in me is true. Today, right now, this moment, I declare that all the ego's demands are deceptions. Today, I declare my independence from the ego's rule. Anything that the ego would have me think, say or do, is a lie. I no longer support lies or liars. I now state that I am now done punishing myself and others with my own thoughts. I now state that I am no longer a slave to the ego's mindset. Ego, I no longer serve you, I now serve only Love, only God. Today, I humbly yet wholeheartedly ask God to shine through me. God, please allow my light to shine bright, so that all those who are lost, still buying into the ego's lies as true, can find their way out of the madness and back into your loving arms. Amen."
All glory to God.
Peace, Health, Happiness, Love, Laughter, and Light.
James Blanchard Cisneros
Author of the book "You Have Chosen to Remember"
If you are interested, please check out the video about today's inspirational message.
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