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United Seminary Academic Dean David Watson addressed the Renewal and Reform Coalition breakfast at United Methodist General Conference on the morning of May 16. In his remarks transcribed below, the Associate Professor of New Testament spoke about his relationship with the Holy Spirit, the Christian call to stand for Biblical truth and the importance of witnessing to opponents within the United Methodist Church.
Watson was elected later in the day to a second four-year term on the University Senate, the United Methodist accrediting body which determines the relationship of academic and theological institutions to the denomination.
Watson's remarks:
"I have to admit, starting out that I am a bit of a 'methocostal' and I want to talk about a couple of different times when I received prophetic words that I think are relevant for us in our context of General Conference here. By prophetic words I don't mean end times prophecy or anything like that, but the times when God is giving us guidance – direct guidance – about important issues in our lives. Years ago, when I went to United [Seminary], it was a very different place than today. I started almost 11 years ago now. I was worried that my witness as an orthodox and evangelical Christian was going to hurt me politically. In fact, I know a lot of untenured professors who have felt that way in the United Methodist context over the years.
Every night I would take a walk — I remember it was a really cold night — I was walking and praying, and saying: 'God, I don't know if I am in the right place, I don't know if I am going to gen tenure, I don't know if I should speak up, if I should use my voice, I don't know what to do God'. It was as clear as it could possibly come to me – not an audible voice but words in my head – I heard 'I didn't call you to get tenure, I called you to be a witness' [clapping].
Now, in retrospect, I am glad I got tenure [laughter] but you know, I think what God was telling me was not to worry about that stuff. You'll be a witness for the Gospel. 2 Timothy 1:7 tell us God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of what? Power, love, and self-discipline. I, for one, am grateful for that because being a witness for the Gospel can be tough. I mean, some of the things I've written on my blog for example, which I thought were pretty benign things, have resulted in some pretty vicious attacks. You know, it's getting harder and harder to be an orthodox Christian in the United States. As cultural Christianity collapses, we should expect more resistance when we witness to the truth of the Gospel. That's just going to happen. It's difficult to be a witness for the Gospel. Christ never told us it was going to be easy, but it is difficult.
Sometimes when we get unto the heat of battle and all of this through the last few years, writing about General Conference, about the United Methodist Church, I'll confess to you: sometimes I've gotten really mad. And you might think 'how can you say that'? 'how can you do that?' 'Why would you say that about someone as nice as I am!' [laughter].
So this brings me to the second prophetic word that I am going to talk about this morning: I have a friend who really has a gift of prophecy, and before she prayed for me, because she knows I am coming to General Conference, so we had lunch before I came, and she said 'I think the Lord wants me to tell you not to make winning an idol, that this can't be about winning. It has to be about witnessing. It's not about winning, it's about witnessing.' Because when it's about winning we are setting ourselves up against other people, against other brothers and sisters in Christ. That's not what we want to do. If that happens then that is an unfortunate consequence of the time in which we find ourselves. But what we really want to do is witness. Because God didn't give us a spirit of fear, God gave us a spirit of power, and love and self-discipline. You know, I've been I've been in subcommittees and legislative committees since I've been here and I hear people say 'how can you say that? That's crazy. Who would think a thing like that?' and it becomes, for me at least, proving that person wrong. But that's not what I'm called to do, and I think that's why the Lord gave my friend that word. It's not about winning, it's about witnessing. The people who are most vocal in opposition to the positions of Good News, the Confessing Movement and other renewal groups, sometimes I just really don't like the things that they do. Sometimes they probably don't like the things that I do, and I'm certain about that. But you know, folks like [Love Prevails Director] Amy Delong and [Methodists in New Directions Director] Dorothee Benz are right about one thing: and that is that they matter to God and God does love them [Clapping]. We can't just look at them as opponents. These are people for whom Christ died on the cross, and they matter. We disagree with them, but they still matter.
If this becomes about winning, and not about witnessing, then we're not even in the game. God has called us to something better than politics. God's called us to be witnesses of the incarnate one who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead, and there is no higher calling than that.
So I want to be a witness, but I want to witness in two ways: first, by standing up for the truth, but we can be right about the Christian life, and secondly, the way in which I conduct myself. I hope that in all of this I can conduct myself in a spirit of gentleness and dignity and love. Even when people treat me with contempt, I hope that I can meet them with a spirit of love.
Let me pray for you: 'God, I thank you for this gathering, I thank you for our church. And God, I thank you for the plans for the United Methodist Church that you are making, that we don't even know about. God, we know that you are faithful, we know that you are in this. We know that you are present, so keep us faithful to you, God. Keep us faithful in standing up for what we believe to be biblical truth. Keep us faithful also to those parts of the Bible that tell us to love our enemies, to show kindness to the stranger, and to pray for people who persecute us, remind us God that when we are slandered, we are blessed. God, we love you. Give us loving hearts. Keep us faithful, God. We thank you here for the leadership of Good News. We thank you, God, for the way that your hand has been upon this conference. We pray God, just pour out your Holy Spirit on this United Methodist Church, and we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.'"


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Maggie's Culture Crawl 2017
2 October 2017
On Friday 29th September the Wild Search team embarked on a 10 mile trek across London in aid of Maggie's Cancer Centres.
The walk started at the Design Museum in Kensington, taking in the V&A, Foster & Partners, the Royal Academy, the National Theatre, St Bartholomew's Hospital and the Museum of London along the route.
Maggie's provides free practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer and their family and friends. Their Centres are built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals and have professional staff on hand to offer the support people need.
You can still sponsor us through our JustGiving page here.

subset: commoncrawl


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5 Memories We Will Always Cherish as Parents of a Preemie
November 17 is World Prematurity Day, a nationally recognized day to raise awareness about premature births and the importance of supporting families with preterm babies.
If you are a parent of a preemie, you will always remember certain moments. Here are my top five.
The 'dolphin' sounds
When preemies sleep, most of them make cute clacking noises that resemble dolphin sounds.
Every ounce gained was a milestone
When our son was born at 6 months, weighing 2.99 lbs., every half-ounce he gained was celebrated!
50 paperclips = 0.5 ounce
Kangaroo care time
I looked forward everyday to Kangaroo Care time. Preemies spend most of their time in an incubator, and so not being able to hold them at will can be emotionally difficult for any parent. The Kangaroo Care method, a skin-to-skin method for holding a baby, is known to improve their overall health.
Buying regular size diapers for the first time
We were the happiest parents at the check-out line the day we went to purchase regular newborn size diapers.
Preemie diaper… smaller than an ipod touch.
The people who helped us
Like most preemies born in rural areas, our newborn baby had to be transported to the nearest Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) by LifeFlight.
Having a home away from home was crucial. The Ronald McDonald House, located near the hospital, enabled us to be close to our hospitalized infant during difficult times.
An entire dedicated team of professionals was assigned to look after our preemie. The NICU doctors, nurses, dietitians, etc. followed our baby's progress 24/7. And even afterwards, once we went home, follow-up clinics were organized and early intervention programs were put in place.
We will ALWAYS remember and be grateful to the people who helped us!
Keep spreading the word #WorldPrematurityDay
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One comment
I didn't have a preemie but my daughter was in the NICU for the first 24 hours of her life and I have a deep love and respect for the IWK. They're an amazing team and we are lucky to have them in our province!


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Ossido di magnesio , 500 mg, 250 Pastiglie rivestite
Informazioni sugli integratori
Per porzione
|% dose
|Magnesio (come ossido di magnesio)
|500 mg
Essential Mineral Support
Magnesium is one of the most important minerals in the body, necessary for every major biological process.** Its primary role is in enzyme activation and it involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions.** The mineral is naturally present in many whole foods such as legumes, seeds, tofu, and green leafy vegetables, however due to the high intake of processed foods in many people's diets, supplementing magnesium is helpful in supporting overall wellness.**
Piping Rock's Magnesium Oxide supplements deliver 500 mg of this essential mineral in each easy-to-swallow coated caplet. Adults take one (1) daily with meals to support bone and muscle health and to help promote central nervous system wellness and energy metabolism.**
Piping Rock's Promise:
We proudly offer you our ever-growing selection of Vitamin & Supplement products designed to help you achieve your wellness goals at the lowest cost in the industry! The beauty lies in the depth of our assortment. Piping Rock carries hundreds of Vitamin & Supplement products for Men & Women's Health. We offer capsules, powders, softgels, liquids, organic formulas and much more. Our products are stacked with premium ingredients, sourced from all over the globe. Our robust product line is evolving every day to meet your wellness needs!


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Yes, this is as great as it sounds. #becausewine Sipping wine and stringing beads. For this class, bring in your broken jewelry and enjoy an excellent wine tasting while learning how to revive your pieces. Jeff Tweiten from Vintage Wine Bar @ Harbor Square Wine Shop will educate you on relevant seasonal wines and pairings, while Amy Margaret guides you through fixing your broken jewelry. Join us to make that wine list a little less intimating and leave with jewelry as good as new.
Class space is limited and seats fill quickly. Purchase tickets in store or over the phone.


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SOY simple - authentic Japanese recipes
Rustle up authentic Japanese dishes in a matter of minutes with these delicious recipes by Tim Anderson.
Miso soup is like a bacon sandwich: even when it's bad, it's still pretty good. Instant miso soup from a packet is totally fine, but next- level, from-scratch miso soup is nearly as easy to prepare, so you may as well upgrade!
Serves 2-4
4 tablespoons miso - use a red or barley miso if you can
500ml dashi
1 tbsp mirin
2 spring onions (scallions)
2 tbsp dried wakame or a handful of fresh spinach (or both)
Embellishments, such as asparagus, courgettes (zucchini), squash or kale, cut into pieces slightly smaller than bite-sized, or mussels, scallops, etc. (optional)
1cm strip of lemon peel, white pith removed, cut into fine shreds
350g (12 oz) block of firm silken tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 pinches of toasted sesame seeds
Combine the miso, dashi and mirin in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cut the white part of the spring onions into pieces 1cm (½ in) thick, and add those to the pan. Finely slice the green parts of the spring onions and reserve for the garnish.
Reduce the soup to a simmer, add the wakame and/or spinach and cook for just a minute or two. Now is a good time to add any embellishments you might like - for example, asparagus in the spring, courgettes in the summer, diced squash in the autumn, kale in the winter, and mussels or scallops pretty much anytime. These are strictly optional but they will add another dimension of flavour and texture to your miso soup and make it that much more satisfying.
Cook for just a few more minutes until the veg or shellfish are cooked through and tender (but not soft).
Add the lemon peel and remove from the heat. Divide the tofu into deep bowls, pour over the soup and garnish with the sliced green spring onions and sesame seeds.
Matcha is the espresso of green tea - thick, intense, sharp and short. Its bitterness is invigorating for some, off-putting for others, but it's that intensity that makes it work so well in desserts - especially with sweet, creamy flavours like that of mascarpone or similar soft cheese. This is one of the easiest ways to enjoy matcha - even if you don't really enjoy it on its own.
Serves 4-6
2 tbsp full-fat (whole) milk
1 tbsp matcha, plus a little extra for dusting
1 tbsp vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
500g (1lb 2oz) mascarpone, at room temperature
75g (2½ oz) crème fraîche
100g (3½ oz) caster sugar
Tiny pinch of salt
Whisk the milk and matcha together, breaking up lumps as best you can, until a thick, glossy, paint-like mixture forms.
Add the vanilla and stir it through, then add the mascarpone, crème fraîche, sugar and salt.
Whisk until everything is smooth and incorporated, then keep whisking to thicken and aerate. You are essentially making a whipped cream using the fat in the cheese.
Stop whisking when soft peaks form, then spoon into cups or glasses. Sprinkle a little matcha on top of each before serving.
This comforting recipe has a name that's kinda cute, kinda disturbing if you translate it directly: 'parent and child' rice bowl. Which I suppose, at the very least, is a little more poetic than 'chicken and egg'. At any rate, it's very delicious. It doesn't usually contain butter or mushrooms but for me the combination of butter, eggs, mushrooms and sweet soy is irresistible.
Serves 4
80g (3oz) butter
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
100g (3½ oz) shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed and thinly sliced
200ml dashi
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp caster or granulated sugar
8 eggs
4 large portions of cooked rice (350-400g/ 12-14oz uncooked)
2 spring onions (scallions), sliced
Pinch of Shichimi Togarashi to serve (optional)
Melt the butter in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat, then add the onions. Cook until the onions soften and brown, being careful to avoid burning the butter. Add the chicken thighs and mushrooms and cook until these begin to brown as well, stirring frequently.
Pour in the dashi, soy sauce, mirin and sugar and let it reduce slightly, coating the chicken. Reduce the heat to low and crack in the eggs.
Break up the yolks and stir the eggs gently a few times; you should keep them very loose and runny, almost like a sauce for the chicken and rice. When the eggs are cooked to a semi-scrambled consistency, remove from the heat.
Scoop the rice into deep bowls and spoon over the chicken and egg mixture. Garnish with the spring onions and the Shichimi, if you like.
Gyudon - a humble bowl of beef on rice - is kind of like the Japanese equivalent of a burger. It's fine for lunch, decent for dinner, but where it really shines is well into a night of heavy drinking. Sweet and beefy and savoury and satisfying (and almost impossibly cheap in Japan), it's something I could eat for just about every meal, just about every day.
Serves 4
400g (14 oz) skirt/hanger/flank steak
2 tbsp oil
4 onions, thinly sliced
2cm (¾ in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
200ml Sweet Soy Sauce (see recipe)
100ml dashi
4 large portions of cooked rice (350-400g/12-14 oz uncooked)
40-50g (1½-2 oz) red pickled ginger
Toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
Place the beef in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up, then slice it against the grain into very thin strips.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) and add the onions. Cook over a medium heat until they are soft and brown, then add the beef and ginger. Let the beef brown a bit, then add the sweet soy sauce and dashi and let it reduce slightly, to the consistency of a thin syrup.
Place the rice in deep bowls and spoon over the beef and onions along with the sauce, then garnish with the pickled ginger and sesame seeds. If this doesn't make you feel all warm and wonderful inside, you may be some kind of robot.
Sweet soy sauce
Makes about 350ml
200ml soy sauce
200ml mirin
100ml sake, water or dashi (this is mainly to take the edge off the soy sauce)
100g dark brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, unpeeled and bashed (optional)
4cm piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced - don't bother peeling it (optional)
2-3 teaspoons cornflour, mixed to a slurry with 1 tablespoon cold water
Combine all the ingredients except the cornflour slurry in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the consistency of a thin syrup - it should reduce by about a quarter. Remove the garlic and the ginger, if using, then whisk in the cornflour slurry and boil briefly until nice and thick. Leave to cool, and keep in an airtight container in the fridge indefinitely.
Weekend Magazine


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The VSHC Guide to Bedford. Part 1: Top 5 Places to Eat
The Vintage Suit Hire Company is proud to welcome visitors from all over the country owing to the unique nature of what we do. As purveyors of our worsted wool suits for hire or purchase, our shop is perfectly located in the heart of our home town, Bedford.
We have curated a series of lists of places to go to if you have the time before or after your appointment with us, and the first is related to the wonderful selection of food.
As foodies ourselves, we would hate for you to leave our town with empty stomachs, so here is our top 5 recommendations of where to eat in Bedford:
Spaghetti John's: Bedford is blessed with the largest concentration of Italian families in the UK and as such have some incredible Italian eateries. We are rather lucky to have Spaghetti John's just across the road from the shop; they offer amazing speciality food and a competitively priced set menu for lunch and dinner, which is great if you need to feed an army of groomsmen. Spaghetti John's also serves a wide range of traditional gelato which is to die for from their Gelateria, and owner Gianni offers VSHC customers a discount too!
Herd: A VSHC favourite and the best burgers in town, bar none. Small, independent, supercool and just around the corner from our shop. Brilliant rosemary chips and the hottest jalopeno coleslaw in the Home Counties. They have a nice range of craft beers too and a bar out back.
The Embankment: The Embankment is a stunning gastropub sat on the bank of the River Ouse. Whether you cosy up by the fire in the winter or sit on the patio watching the rowers on the river in summer, there you won't find a better spot in the county. The Embankment offers high quality British grub and boy do they deliver!
Gunn's Bakery: If you are unfamiliar with the mind-blowing Bedfordshire Clanger than you MUST Google it right now. The best place to pick up this local speciality is Gunn's Bakery just around the corner from our shop, on the High Street. Go here to grab something quickly on the move – we recommend the Lamb and Jam clanger!
The Longholme – If a riverside walk is your thing, The Longholme is a great little hidden gem of an outdoor café on the other side of the river by the Longholme boating lake. Over there they make a fabulous brunch including fluffy pancakes, and not to mention really good coffee. Best of all, in summer boat hire is available, and soon bicycle hire.
We are always happy to give recommendations for places to visit in Bedford when you have your appointment. To book in an appointment with us, please get in touch via email on email@example.com or call us on 01234 910620.


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We had such a great time this past weekend in Tokyo! I can't wait to share all of the interesting things we ate and got to experience, but first I want to share some of the things that will make any trip to Tokyo just a little bit easier.
1. Flights
There are two main airports for Tokyo. Haneda Airport, is the closer of the two. Narita Airport, is farther away, but from my experience they offer more flights and oftentimes tickets can be quite a bit cheaper.
For this trip, we opted for a more comfortable flight on Asiana Airlines flying into Narita. Our roundtrip tickets were in the mid $200s, but we were able to check a bag and have assigned seats. There are many other carriers (including quite a few budget airlines) that fly from Seoul to Tokyo and prices can be as low as $100 roundtrip (from Seoul).
One of the great things about Japan is that you are authorized a 90 day stay upon landing. So no visa worries for United States Citizens.
Keep in mind that Narita Airport has Terminal 1 and Terminal 2/3. To see which terminal your airline is in, go here.
2. Money ($1 is equal to about ¥101)
Cash is king in Tokyo, so make sure to plan on carrying it around with you at all times. Even large coffee shops and Daiso did not take credit cards!!! This was surprising to us and a huge difference from the US and even South Korea, where we hardly ever have to carry cash.
If you bring cash to exchange, I would advise to exchange it at the airport as currency exchanges are not on every corner like in some countries. Additionally, keep in mind that if you don't make it to a money exchange in the airport and you arrive on a weekend, the banks are not open Saturday and Sunday and exchanges may not be open until 10 AM.
It is just as easy to just bring your debit card, but don't forget to call your bank to let them know you'll be travelling! It is very simple to withdraw from one of the 7-11 ATM machines that are located all over the airport and all around the city. We ended up having to use the ATM because we needed to catch the last train from the airport, and didn't have time to exchange the money we brought. Then the next morning, nothing was open or nearby for us to exchange our money. Keep in mind that although withdrawing from the ATM is convenient, we were charged a $5.00 ATM fee on top of the 3% foreign transaction fee by our bank, the ATM however did not charge an additional fee.
This is what the 7 Bank ATM machines look like.
3. Luggage
Even if you pack light, you may not want to lug your backpack with you if you arrive before you can check in, or you have to check out and your flight isn't till much later. One of the things that we ended up taking advantage of in Tokyo was the abundance of lockers at most major stations (Tokyo Skytree, Shibuya, Akihabara, etc) and even sight seeing locations. The lockers ranged from ¥300 for a small locker (could probably fit 2 regular size backpacks) to ¥700 for a large locker (could fit a roll on carry on luggage, duffel bag and maybe some smaller bags). And some of the lockers said you could keep your items there for 3 days!
We ended up using the lockers on our last day and they made the whole logistics of sight seeing on that last day a million times better.
4. At Narita Airport
When we arrived at Immigration, the line was a little long, but not too crazy. Customs actually was the part that took longer than expected because the agent wanted to check our passport for the departure stamps from Korea.
5. Traveling from Narita to Tokyo
There are tons of options for getting into the city center from Narita Airport. I opted for the N'EX as the stop we wanted was one of their main stops and also the roundtrip ticket was only ¥4,000.
When we entered into the airport, we saw that the train ticket counter was closed (the photo below was taken on our way back out of Narita Airport), however there were signs for another ticket counter by the tracks.
We followed the well-marked signs for the train (which led us underground) and there were signs for JR, Keisei, and Keikyu lines. If you want to utilize the N'EX, check their timetables to ensure that it is running when you want to take it. You can see the timetables here:
Our goal was to catch the last N'EX train at 9:44 pm, so we followed the JR signs. We waited in line and told them we wanted roundtrip tickets for N'EX and they asked to see our passports (as the special ¥4000 rate is only good for foreigners). Tickets were provided to us with a car and seat number and then an additional open ticket was provided for each passenger. The open ticket could be exchanged when we were ready to head home and was valid for the next 14 days. I'm happy to report that we made the 9:44 PM train with about 3 minutes to spare!
The ride on the N'EX was good and the cars pretty clean, but it was bumpy compared to the A'REX in Seoul (I have definitely become spoiled). We departed Terminal 1 of Narita and arrived at Shinjuku station at 11:01 PM. We were then able to use our pass to take the JR Yamanote line to get us to Shin-Okubo station at no extra charge.
There are even locks on the train for your luggage so you can be sure that your belongings stay put. Honestly Tokyo is pretty safe though.
If you are interested in others ways to get to Tokyo, from Narita or Haneda Airports, here is a guide I found while we were there.
6. Public Transportation
So as I mentioned earlier, there are multiple companies who run trains in Tokyo. This makes for a very confusing situation as trying to interpret the subway map is akin to looking at a child's work of art.
You can find the subway map here.
So first things first, if you plan on really packing a ton into one day, you can get the Tokyo One-Day Free Ticket. This allows you free travel on 6 of the public transportation systems in Tokyo (JR, Tokyo Metro, Toei Metro, Toei Bus, Toei Street Card, and the Nippori-Toneri Liner). This sounds great, but this Free Ticket will cost you ¥1,590 per adult and ¥800 per child on one Calendar Day.
The most places we visited was 6 stops in one day and we didn't not even break ¥1,000, so to me, unless you are going to be go go go all day, the Free Ticket won't be the most cost effective.
What I would recommend is that you just get a Suica Card (JR Rail Product) or a Pasmo Card. The cards basically are the same, but just sold by different companies.
Even though they are sold by different companies, it allows you to use the card on any of the lines in Tokyo (no matter the operator). The card only costs ¥500 (which is refundable) and allows you to preload money onto the card. It makes it way easier than stopping each time to buy a new ticket and the fare just automatically deducts from it. The cost of each ride varies based on how far you are going.
Here are the screen by screen instructions on how to buy your Pasmo card.
JR also provides a video on how to purchase the Suica card from the machine here.
So here we are on the train inside Tokyo!
There are definitely a lot of people who use the subway system, so be prepared to have people invade your bubble!
Overall Tokyo was easy to navigate and the people were friendly and helpful to foreigners. In my next couple of posts I will share with you some of the exciting things we got to experience and hope this will post will help get you started on planning your own trip to Tokyo!


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Technology does not just affect the relationships of modern couples but is now an integral part of the everyday life.
Itshapes the way we communicate, make new acquaintances and even fall in love. According to a survey by the American Pew Research Center, 38% of people – estimated at 11% of the population – have used applications on their mobile or web pages to make new acquaintances. But how do these new ways of acquaintance and communication affect people's relationships and how they shape our sociability and connection with others?
Technology enthusiasts believe that relationships have improved since technology offers more opportunities for new acquaintances and ongoing communication with our partner. However, there are also those who believe that technology does not allow people to come closer, have meaningful communication and more serious relationships.
The most important thing is to realize that the only way to build successful relationships over the internet is to transfer the relationship from the internet to 'real' life as quickly as possible. For those who use technology means like the ones mentioned at universal-robots.com for new acquaintances, they must take care to create a true profile with information that characterizes them at that time and of course not to lie about age, costs or interests.
Internet flirting, can not only lead us to the wrong people, but lacks direct communication. The impression that people shape from the profile of others has nothing to do with creating relationships, that is, the chemistry created online between two people may not be present at a four-fourth meeting. You could choose the perfect profile of someone but when you talk to him on the phone, you cannot even have a normal conversation.
Technology gives us the opportunity to communicate with more and more people but ultimately can create further problems in our existing relationships. Technology can move us away from our partner, friends, but also the opportunity to communicate effectively with someone, to observe his expressions without creating questions of trust or misunderstanding. People do not look at each other, but we need to use technology in smarter ways, such as using the phone instead of the email or the message to make more effective communication.
The inexhaustible use of technology and how universal it is mean that it gives us the ability to communicate at the same time with many people but also with our partner who may be in the opposite home or in the next neighborhood or neighborhood as a result instead of facilitating us to creates a hidden problem in human relationships that are definitely not "built" online but through "face to face" communication, without realizing that the internet essentially alienates us and takes us away from the short of us, our friends, our friends and generally substantial, face-to-face communication that must have with the people who deliver us the power of companionship.
After all, it is always in the way we like to use technology for our relationship with other people. It is in the way we like to use it in order not to seem like we just want to take advantage of the other people. Technology is really into our lives and we need to find the right way to use it in order to be a beneficial fact instead of a disaster. We need to follow the rules of the development and at the meantime we got to understand the basic parts of every kind of relationship with the other people. This is how we are going to succeed in using all the technological means instead of being victims of them. It is deceptively simple, but not without it's challenges.


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Lakeshore Advance: "Grand Bend's Baillie, co-chair of the Huron Shores Transit steering committee, said the initiative began in August. He said the region has been identified as lacking in public transportation, a reality that has acted as an impediment to growth, social mobility, quality of life and employment.
"It's holding us back," Baillie said of the lack of public transportation. The Ministry of Transportation has identified the Huron Shores Transit area as underserved by public transportation."


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* Weak euro zone industrial data knocks bloc bond yields further
* Spain's parliament rejects 2019 budget proposal
* Spain spread over Germany widens marginally (Adds U.S. inflation data, comment, updates prices)
By Virginia Furness
LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone bond yields fell on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected drop in industrial production in the bloc, while the Spanish bond market held firm after parliament voted to reject its 2019 budget.
Further evidence of slowing growth in the euro zone pushed long-term market inflation expectations to new lows, while putting downward pressure on bond yields in the bloc.
The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said industrial output in the 19-country currency union fell 0.9 percent month-on-month for a 4.2 percent year-on-year decline.
Germany's 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the region, fell to as low as 0.119 percent. It drifted higher as U.S. Treasury yields rose after data showed a rise in U.S. consumer prices when food and energy are stripped out.
In late trade, most core 10-year bond yields were down around 1 basis points, while a key measure of the market's long-term euro zone inflation expectations fell below 1.44 percent to its lowest in over two years.
The steepest yield falls came in southern Europe on the back of a rally in risk sentiment.
"There has been a lot of appetite for the periphery, there is appetite for risk in general after so many days of the opposite," said BBVA bond strategist Jamie Costero.
Italian bond yields fell as much as nine bps across the curve.,,.
Spanish bond yields were largely unmoved after Spain's parliament rejected the socialist government's 2019 budget proposal on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's first major legislative defeat.
The rejection raised the chances the government will call a snap general election.
"Let's assume we go to elections from here. It's not the worst thing for Spain because, judging by the polls, we will get a working agreement between right-wing parties," said Lyn Graham-Taylor, fixed income strategist at Rabobank.
"At the moment Spain has no working government and obviously the market doesn't like uncertainty, but you can see why Spanish yields are largely flat on the day."
The spread of 10-year Spanish debt over top-rated Germany briefly widened to 111.1 basis points.
Spanish 10-year bond yields were last down 0.5 bps at 1.24 percent.
Natixis rates strategist Jean-Christophe Machado said the limited price moves suggest investors are more concerned with Brexit developments and news flow out of Italy.
"The fact that Italy is in a bad position has given Spain a boost," he said. "If you want to be diversified, you go for Spain. The Spanish bond didn't blink with the BTP (Italian yield) widening."
However, Machado said Spanish bonds were in the longer term vulnerable in the face of further negative developments in both BTPs and Brexit. (Reporting by Virginia Furness; Additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Catherine Evans)


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Who will be walking beside me down the Aisle?
Most little girls dream of their wedding day a second after watching a Disney fairy-tale...
As we grow older we begin to understand the sanctity and tradition that comes hand in hand with a wedding. We become aware that other people also matter on our special day.
Yes other people! Like the groom, the in-laws and our parents. They are the people that make that day special. But happens when one those special people cannot be present on the most precious of days?
Well apart from the awkward questions, conversations and statements such as:
"your dad must be so proud of his little girl"
"is your father fond of your new groomie ?"
There comes a moment where there is an abrupt awakening and your heart is flooded with questions like:
what would his reaction be to me in my dress?
who is going to walk beside me down the Aisle into my new life ?
How can I fill the void where the daddy daughter dance is meant draw time to a halt?
Although there isn't anything that can be said or done to bring them back, even for that moment and you feel a deeps sense of loss as a burden upon your heart there are a few things you can do to that may make your spirit a little lighter on your special day.
The first is accept that he is not here, it is not okay and that is okay.
The second is to remember a father's heart is for his daughter's happiness. If he was here he'd want the special day to be all about his special girl. So let it be.
The third is to know that by marrying a man that will love, respect and cherish is you is enough to honour the man who loved you first.
The fourth is to realise that even if you have to walk down the alone it's okay, because you have walked this far and don't have to walk the rest of your life alone.
The last is to bask in the Ambience of being a bride, embrace the people who are celebrating with you and cling onto your new future. Dad would be proud of the woman you are and how far you've come.
Author: Zipporah Kuria


text: When a 20-year-old man complained about the noise in the apartment next door, he was hit in the forehead with a black pole, police said.Police arrested his neighbor, also 20, on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and giving police a false name after finding him hiding in a closet.The victim told police the incident began at 2:45 a.m. Jan. 17 when his neighbor in the 300 block of Laurina Street started pounding on the walls. When asked to quiet down, he started banging louder, a police report said.The victim told police he went next door and again told the suspect to quiet down. The suspect then struck him on the forehead with the pole, police said.The suspect denied hitting the victim and told police he hid in the closet because he thought he was being evicted. The pole, which was 6 to 7 feet long, was leaning against his living room wall, police said. The victim drove himself to the hospital.- A gunman in a ski mask and dark clothing robbed a 31-year-old man outside the Stonemont Village Apartments at 2930 Stonemont St. The victim told police the man came up to him at 9 p.m. Jan. 17 and demanded that he empty his pockets. Pointing the gun at him, the robber took his wallet, $80, a bank card and keys before running toward Philips Highway, police said.-After leaving Winn-Dixie at 9866 Baymeadows Road, a 25-year-old woman was loading groceries in her car when a man grabbed her wrist at 9:40 p.m. Jan. 14. He demanded money, and when she told him she didn't have any, he grabbed her purse and took $40, police said. Then he threw down her purse and told her she'd better not be lying, or he would hunt her down, police said. He fled on a gray bicycle.The following are crimes and other incidents reported recently on the Southside to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office:Grand theft:St. Augustine at The Lake Apartments, 11001 Old St. Augustine Road - Two air-conditioners valued at $9,000 were stolen between 6 p.m. Jan. 15 and 8 a.m. the next day.State Farm, 1944 Southside Blvd. - An air-conditioner valued at $3,000 was stolen from the back of the business between 6 p.m. Jan. 15 and 9 a.m. the next day. Two weeks prior, the contractor told police that someone broke the motion lights.Vehicular theft:Plantation Apartments, 7061 Old Kings Road S. - A silver 1986 Buick Century was stolen between 1 and 11:30 a.m. Jan. 16. The vehicle later was found abandoned in the 3700 block of Toledo Road with its front tires flat and the ignition switch damaged.The Registry at Windsor Parke, 13401 Sutton Park Drive S. - A black 2007 Honda motorcycle was stolen between 9:30 p.m. Jan. 17 and 7 a.m. the next day. The 27-year-old victim told police that he had locked and covered the cycle.600 block of Grove Park Boulevard - A white 1972 Chevrolet was stolen from a carport between 9:30 p.m. Jan. 15 and 5 a.m. the next day. The truck was found a few hours later in a creek at 10800 Heckscher Drive.Burglary:Bridge Hampton, 8290 Gate Parkway W. - Two televisions, two DVD players and jewelry valued at $2,760 were stolen between 10 a.m. Jan. 15 and 7:30 p.m. the next day. The front door was kicked in and the patio screen cut.Baypointe Apartments, 4500 Baymeadows Road - A 44-year-old woman, who's in the process of moving, unlocked the front door of her apartment at 9:30 a.m. Sunday and found that someone had removed several cans of paint from a storage closet. The burglar poured the paint on walls, clothing, pictures, carpet, the tub and flooring. The burglar also ripped several pictures and stole coins from a large water bottle. Damage was estimated at $4,150.


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Singer/Songwriter Cherine Anderson out of East Kingston, Jamaica has surpassed all expectations when she performed at three of Barack Obama's Inaugural Balls earlier this year. She has also performed at the World Special Olympics in Idaho and is currently promoting her first official release "The Introduction - Dubstyle" on tours in the US, Australia and Europe with Sly and Robbie, Michael Fronti and Spearhead, Slightly Stoopid and Pepper.
"The Introduction - Dubstyle" which is available on iTunes is a combination of dancehall, soul and lover's rock and is produced by Grammy winning producers Sly and Robbie, David Norland, Gussie Clarke and Errol Brown among others.
The talented Anderson not only performs, but she also wrote all nine songs and co-produced several of the tracks.
The album which should appeal to all ages with the roots, dance and dub tunes is a female anthem as it speaks to the harsh realities faced by young girls in the inner city.


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Seaborne Creek Nature Fest
November 2 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pmFREE
Come enjoy the Coastal Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist's fun and FREE Seabourne Nature Fest. This is a great day of fun experiences and includes horse-drawn wagons, face-painting, crafts for the kids, nature tours, butterflies, wildlife, native plant sale, food and much more! It is held from 10am to 4pm at Seabourne Creek Nature Park in Rosenberg, located at :
3831 TX-36, Rosenberg, TX 77471 For more information go to Seabourne Nature Fest
Google Map to Seabourne Creek Nature Park


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Trick-taking card sport, a variant of Spades, with online multiplayer. Adda52 is a superb place to enhance your poker abilities and study many new methods from different great players. In case your opponent is Going Alone, greatest to guide a card with a swimsuit that you've agen sbobet got a number of of. This offers your companion the chance to trump over your opponent. Usually in board games, each participant is conscious of the doable moves of each different player.
889 playing cards are in the sport, with another 45 formally coming out in about three or four weeks. Every match is spread throughout 5 maps, every letting you play 4 playing cards. The video games have changed and the cards themselves have changed, but one thing is nearly certain; taking part in playing cards will continue to evolve and be a preferred previous time.
The way you play bluff on-line card sport is along the same strains you play bluff in a brick and mortar atmosphere. All 9 of the video games listed beneath are quite a lot of fun, and do one thing totally different from Hearthstone that make them worth checking out. A singe deck is split evenly amongst players. All of the mobile slots games will be performed right here utilizing just about any cell device with web entry.
Learn all concerning the guidelines of blackjack, baccarat, craps, and different video games in our on line casino sport guides at But when solitaire is your desire we've a number of varieties you'll be able to play below. Our card video games at a glance: 20er-Rufen, Bauernschnapsen, Belote, Bridge, Buraco, Canasta, Chinchon, Doppelkopf, Escoba, Gin Rummy, Hearts, Jolly, Spite and Malice, Königrufen, Mau Mau, Pyramids, Rummy, Rummyclub, Schnapsen, Skat, Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, Tarot and Ulti.
Expenses for hero powers are gained by enjoying mana cards. Magic: The Gathering Online is a more actual port of all of the systems and cards, however is troublesome to endorse except you might be already a fan. Mainly, each participant has a deck of playing cards containing spells and lands. three-5-eight is a three participant "trick taking" card game, within the Whist group.
Played by barely different rules, in China this game is known as Gong Zhu (Catch the pig). Participant with most playing cards wins the game. Card video games have been round since time immemorial. Whereas drafting three playing cards at a time is very enjoyable when it was launched, Everlasting's drafting permits deeper strategies and deck development.


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These instruments are able to play more than one pitch at a time, and do not need to play with other instruments to create harmonies. Piano and keyboard players aren't often needed for orchestral groups but can have exciting roles in small and big band settings that play jazz, blues or musical theatre styles, to name a few. Many classical pianists will pursue careers as soloists. There is a difference, however, between the two instruments.
The electronic keyboard creates sound electronically, and can imitate the other keyboard instruments as well as produce many other sounds.
Interesting fact: the keyboard is extremely versatile and has been used a great deal in popular music and also contemporary classical music.
The piano creates its sound by striking strings with hammers and is used in many different types of music, from classical to jazz. Although players will often start on an electronic keyboard, the playing technique for the piano is different, and prospective piano players should obtain a piano for piano lessons.
Interesting fact: it is easier for a pianist to play the keyboard than for a keyboardist to play the piano.


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Cordkillers 202 - B.E.S. - Brushwood Electronics Shenanigans
The circuses of internet and terrestrial content. C.E.S. product announcements. Animaniacs, David Letterman, Runaways, and Game of Thrones will all return! With special guest Roberto Villegas ( http://cosmicradio.tv )
CordKillers: Ep. 202 - B.E.S. - Brushwood Electronics Shenanigans
Recorded: January 8 2018
Guest: Roberto Villegas
Intro Video
Primary Target
- FX chief: Even peak TV can be a 'sideshow' to internet
- FX Networks CEO John Landgraf speaking to TV Critics Friday
- "To be honest, as incredible as television's become, it sometimes feels to me like a sideshow in what has become a daily three-ring media circus."
- The total number of cable, broadcast and streamed series hit an estimated high of 487 in 2017,up 7%.
- The 117 streamed series from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu etc. rose 30 percent, over 2016.
How to Watch
- Smartenna+ emulates seven TV antennas to find the best OTA signal
- Channel Master's new Smartenna+ is an amplified, indoor TV antenna that uses an internal processor to analyze your TV reception. It emulates seven different reception patterns and chooses the best one for you.
- Channel Master and Ethertronics Announce the First Processor-Enabled Consumer TV Antenna
- retail for $89 and will first be available through Channel Master's online store. Pre-orders are available now with inventory expected before the end of March.
- Tivo's new TV platform will combine cable and streaming
- TiVo is launching a streaming service marketed at TV service providers called the Next-Gen Platform. The service offers cloud DVR plus access to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. A cable TV service for instance could use it to provide linear, over-the-top (OTT), on-demand and DVR platforms. The service can tun on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Android TV as well as smart TVs, cable boxes and mobile devices.
What to Watch
- 'Animaniacs' Revived at Hulu With 2-Season Order
- Animaniacs is coming back with a series on Hulu starting in 2020. Steven Spielberg will executive produce alongside Warner Bros. Animation president Sam Register, Amblin Television co-presidents Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank. Hulu also gets the library rights to Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, the subsequent Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain and the complete Tiny Toon Adventures collection.
- David Letterman's Netflix show "My next guest needs no introduction" premieres January 12 with guest Barack Obama
- Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events season 2 arrives March 30th
- Netflix's She's Gotta Have It from Spike Lee has been renewed for an 8-episode second season.
- HBO confirms the final season of Game of Thrones will air in 2019
- Hulu Renews Marvel's Runaways, But ABC Won't Commit to Inhumans
- Hulu announced it will do second season of Runaways. ABC says Inhumans "didn't perform for us at the level that we would've wanted." but they haven't yet cancled it.
What We're Watching
- Brian: USS Callister Black Mirror, Deadwood, Shape of Water, finished American Vandal
- Tom: Poldark, Black Mirror, Finished watching all 7 seasons of Voyager, Deadwood
- Roberto: Rwby vol 5, Erased, Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation, Animaniacs
- On the Lookout: The End of the Fxxxing World
Front Lines
- TCL's 6-Series Roku TVs sport a metal design, 4K and Dolby Vision HDR
- TCL announced its 6-series Roku TVs with with a new Roku TV voice remote, 802.11ac WiFI, Ethernet and three HDMI 2.0a ports. There's also the 5-series without the metal styling of the six. TCL also announced the Roku Smart Soundbar, which can be paired to a TV or simply be used as a standalone speaker.
- How Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix Fared at the 2018 Golden Globes
- At the Golden Globes, Amazon's Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won Best TV musical or comedy and best actress. Hulu's Handmaid's Tale won for best TV drama and best actress. HBO's Big Little Lies won best limited series along with best actress, best actor, supporting actress. Netflix only won for best actor in a musical or comedy with Aziz Ansari for Master of none.
- Altice drops Starz, directs customers to its online service
- Cable company Altice dropped Starz over a carriage fees dispute and is directing its customers to sign up for Starz online service instead. Altice is replacing Starz with Hallmark Drama, Cowboy Channel, Sony Movies and MGM HD. About 1 million Altice customers subscribed to Starz according to Reuters.
- Amazon Kills Unpopular Anime Strike Service
- Amazon has dropped its $4.99 a month Anime Strike add-on channel and rolled the movies and shows into the general Amazon Prime service. Amazon also added the option to add CBS All Access to Amazon Prime for $9.99 a month commercial free. The $5.99 a month version that includes commercials won't be available on Amazon for a few months.
- SyFy greenlights George R.R. Martin space opera TV series
- SyFy has greenlit Nightflyers for production based on the George R. R. Martin novella. Jodie Turner-Smith (The Last Ship) will star as Melantha Jhirl, with Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) as Dr. Agatha Matheson. Eoin Macken, David Ajala, Sam Strike, Maya Eshet, Angus Sampson and Brian F. O'Byrne also star. The show will air on SyFy in the US and Netflix on the rest of the world.
- Netflix is officially making a 'Bright' sequel
- Bright was a feature-length movie starring Will Smith that appeared on Netflix in December. The movie scored 28% on Rotten Tomatoes but 88% from the general audience. So Netflix has announced it will make a sequel.
Dispatches from the Front
Hi guys,
I thought I would add a few thoughts from one of your old guys listening to the show since the beginning of Frame Rate. I wanted to add a few thoughts about SFS - Subscription Fatigue Syndrome. Though I am sure I could afford most of the services out there now, I know that I will not subscribe to much more than Netflix and unless Amazon screws up really badly, I will always have Prime for all of it's benefits besides the streaming service. I doubt I would subscribe to the upcoming Disney service, and might miss out on a few Marvel movies, but it would be only a small loss to me. I will never use any Apple service because I have an extreme distaste for everything the company taints. Hulu lost me as a possible customer years ago with their brilliant pay for the right to watch commercial plan. CBS All Access may be the only way to watch Star Trek Discovery, but since that is the only thing there I might remotely be interested in, it is massively overpriced to me.
And that pretty much nails down my fatigue problem, too much money for too few shows spread across too many services. I think I will keep watching what comes to Netflix and Amazon a year or more after they run their course on some other service, and if they don't show up there, I'll never know what I missed, and will feel much less fatigued.
Hope you guys have a greatly successful new year.
One of your still too few bosses,
- Dave
Brian, Tom, Brice, & Guest?
I thought you'd enjoy this. It's a new (to me at least) piece of software from Plex Labs (also new) for watching shows synchronized with your friends. I have tried it yet, but it is from Plex Labs.
Plex Labs is a place for 3rd party apps and passion projects.
Love the show,
- Michael
This has come up on the show before, my wife says she can't tell the difference between HD, 4K or HDR. That said, we were in Target (not even looking at TVs) when she sees an OLED TV and stops dead in her tracks! Long story short, I know what I'm getting next Christmas! ✌
- Rob
I got an email from MoviePass that was a blanket blast. They said lots of people got double or wrongly billed. Hopefully it works out. I am loving MoviePass and will probably see all the best picture nominated movies this year. I may actually watch an award show (antenna TV) because I am more invested.
- Sean
Tom and Brian,
Thanks for all you do. Since I moved in to an apartment with a community antenna in 1990 I've never paid for Cable TV. Thanks for all of the entertainment and information along the way.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
- John


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Oh, it's been a long time since my last post here. I'm sorry for the long silence, but I think that I'm in a little holiday mood, I allowed myself to be slightly lazy few weeks before my big step. Nevertheless I'm continuing to shoot and these are not organized photo shoots, just streets, cities, things.
Today I would like to show you some pictures from Plovdiv - ancient city in central Bulgaria with amazing spirit. The old Bulgarian houses, the narrow store streets are like taken from another time. And to all this I spent my time with two amazing friends - intelligent, beautiful and funny. It was an amazing day for me.


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Every now and then I get hooked (I hook myself) into reading articles about wardrobe statistics, spreadsheets, formulas, and apps. What's the "right" number of clothes to own, and how many pieces in each category, and what color scheme, and more left-brain analysis. (Recognizing that in much of the world, people have three or four outfits, this is obviously a self-indulgent, first world activity.)
There's always a pie chart for "how do you spend your day?" and mine is kind of embarrassing: 70% cool casual, 30% you'll-never-see-me casual and zero percent for the office. That's a humble-brag, I retired from paid work three years ago.🙂
My overall wardrobe jam is to be organic and authentic. Not to stress – or even think hard – about numbers of clothes and shoes. I don't plan my outfits in advance, unless I'm traveling. I'll wear the same outfit two days in a row if I feel like it. But there is still that lurking analyst inside me, trying to figure out the parameters of dressing.
Does it matter how much you have as long as you love it and wear it, or even love looking at it? I say no, of course not, what if you collected coins or French horns for pleasure? You do you.
I still wanted to know where I stand in the pack, so I did a total count, excluding workout-only clothes, PJ's, and undies. Here is my tally, higher than I thought:
52 tops (all seasons, all types – from tanks to cardigans, mostly thrifted)
17 skirts
3 jeans and pants (that sounds weird – why not more jeans?)
16 outerwear/blazers (mostly light to middle weight for Florida weather, and all thrifted)
16 shoes and boots, all of which I finally love (mostly retail)
13 dresses
Total = 117
not counting workout clothes, pajamas or underwear/socks
The number was higher than I expected, because I only have about 65 hangers. The rest of the goods are tees and tanks, folded away in a dresser, and therefore outta sight. What did I learn from the exercise?:
I have enough tops, but the fact I still hunt them while shopping means I clearly don't love all 52. Fifty two beloved tops would be enough for a couple of years without buying a new one, yeah?
I actually have enough of everything, and can easily do a one-in, one-out guideline. This is comforting, as that's how I like to roll. There are no gaps in my closet, unless you count Versace trousers and Valentino shoes, heh.
I am average. Sigh. The one thing I do not want to be. According to a 2016 survey, the "average" American woman has 103 items of clothing.
Have you ever done the clothes count? Willing to share your number? Stay fabulous and have fun with your closet, xo,
Here's some wardrobe-enhancing pieces to browse:
Please be aware that links to vendors may be affiliate links. I do benefit from your purchases through the links on the blog.


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On Conflation and the iOS 6 Maps App
The Macalope points out a subtle yet meaningful distinction in this week's column:
The current Maps app is quite nice. The data stinks. When Google gets around to shipping its own app, what you'll get is the opposite: great data with a lousy app.
A point somehow lost amidst all the people storming One Infinite Loop with torches and pitchforks.
Apple's Maps app, in and of itself, isn't the problem. The problem is with the app's backend data. The challenge for Apple is fixing Maps to be as useful as it is beautiful. That's the key.


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This cool coffeeshop is where the suburban scenesters get their fix.
If you happen to find yourself in the quiet suburban streets behind Cavendish Square, follow the heavenly waft of sizzling bacon into Starlings Localé, a glowing-warm coffeeshop that happens to be the edgy sister of the ever-popular Starlings on Belvedere Road. I visited during the week and by mid-morning the small place was heaving, with work types enjoying the free wi-fi, bottomless cups of coffee fuelling intense business meetings, and the leisure set enjoying a late breakfast.
Parking is a bit tricky (unless you're in an SUV and can mount the pavement), but once inside, your temporary irritation will subside. Dining solo, I opted for a seat at the street-facing counter, but you could also huddle at one of the tables or, if the sun is out, take a seat at one of the patio tables. Today, an elderly couple sits outside sharing a pot of tea, with a little dog on its master's lap, making full use of the blankets provided.
Fresh and comforting
Localé offers simple and tasty breakfasts and lunch. Portions are generous, produce is fresh, and the food is delicious. I started my morning with a warm and creamy red cappuccino, opting for the herbed scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and extra avo on the tastiest toasted rye bread.
The laidback vibe does not mean the service is slapdash or inattentive; I was never left waiting to be served. The staff is friendly, chitchatting with the locals in between making sure everyone has been attended to. My drinks and food arrive promptly
The decor is cool and contemporary, with on-trend plants creating a natural vibe. Plus, there's a mini boutique at the entrance to the restaurant that sells divine decor and clothing by local designers. We love the gold-pineapple-print tunics by Be True, and the cushion covers, cosmetic purses, and placemats by A Love Supreme!
We're not sure how to pronounce it – Locaal or Locaal-ay? It doesn't really matter, though, because it's definitely going to become our local.
Open Monday – Friday, 7am – 5pm
Saturday, 8am – 4pm
Sunday, 8am – 2pm
Contact 076 368 1704
Location Corner Mark & Bishoplea Roads, Claremont


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Dates and times are not the actual Appointment. Someone will contact you with a confirmed date and time.
Failed to send email due to the following internal exception. Please call administrator for help.
Bruce's Automotive has been in business since 1955. We're a busy, well known family-owned and operated shop that cares about our employees and our customers.
We're looking for an experienced automotive mechanic with experience in Asian and European vehicles.
A little about what we offer:
Does this sound like you?
Call 716-652-2940 or apply in person at 518 Main Street, East Aurora NY 14052


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Growing up with parents in the Real Estate Industry and Creativity in my heart, this is home for me.
I am so excited and thankful to be part of this growing team and great company culture.
My focus is on creating a 'WOW; 5-Star' Service Experience. I reach out to previous Clients, Market our Listings and acquire new Buyers and Sellers. I look to support our Agents so they are better able to serve.
The Clients are why we are all here and I want them to know that they are more than important.
The best is yet to come; which is pretty incredible, because Option One is already a blessing to all involved.
Carly Hanvey Marketing


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One of the all-time great MCs, touring for his fucking phenomenal album The Impossible Kid. With the mighty Homeboy Sandman, one of the most interesting cats to ever grab a mic. IF YOU LOVE HIP-HOP THIS SHOW IS NOT TO BE MISSED!
Venue Nightclub, Vancouver, 19+, Tickets $30, Available online here.


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Many dad and mom discover that mealtimes turn out to be tougher as their toddler begins to achieve his independence. When you get it into your head that your little one does not like, or won't eat, sure kinds of food, it is incredibly difficult to feed them to her—It is imply to make my kid eat food she doesn't like." So you then slim the range of foods you provide and your child's meals restrictions are bolstered.
If your youngster has been recognized with a meals allergy, you'll want to learn all you'll be able to about it – together with exactly which foods to avoid, tips on how to learn labels, and easy methods to recognize the early indicators of an allergic response.
Once you have efficiently re-launched a food you may proceed consuming it while you introduce other new foods. I'll clarify more in a bit, but consuming more various meals gives better vitamin and is sweet for the mind, intestine flora and social life. In other words, in case your signs will not be enhancing and you are still consuming the 4 Horsemen, take away those first before introducing new meals into your diet. Martins is a part of a small analysis neighborhood involved in understanding what stops individuals from attempting new foods. THE ONLY LOW CARB POSSIBILITY: Most gluten free or excessive protein meals are deceptively excessive in unhealthy carbs.
There aren't any official meals guidelines for babies beginning solids, and there isn't any scientific proof suggesting it's best to introduce one sort of food earlier than one other, assuming the foods aren't choking hazards. Alternatively, in case your child can grasp a spread of foods (crackers, small bits of meat, and foods with blended textures such as yogurt with blueberries) you are probably coping with a food choice or an consuming habit. Cease pondering of meals primarily when it comes to vitamins and begin considering of them when it comes to texture. This is really widespread when folks have very broken guts – fermented foods are POWERFUl.


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WHEN it comes to woodscrews – or even fastenings in general – we have a bewildering choice nowadays.
The cordless drill driver and modern woodscrews have made what was a chore into a simple job with, usually, much better results than we could have expected 20 years ago, writes PETER BRETT.
Who drills pilot holes these days? Or who greases screws before twisting them in with a big screwdriver like we used to?


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One of the facets of art education I am the most passionate about is art appreciation. Art appreciation teaches students how to think, communicate and evaluate visually. Unlike language, images are universal. I feel that it is vitally important to get students to not only look at a variety of images but get them to describe, analyze, interpret and evaluate what they are seeing (Feldman Model). According to the Artful Citizen, Three Year Report, studies prove that students achieve greater academic success when they have a better understanding of visual images. Students also exhibit greater growth in core subjects, math and reading, while also showing increased social-emotional awareness (2005).
Abstract art is difficult for many adults to understand but today we tackled one of the greats, Kandinsky. Kandinsky, the great Russian abstract painter, is the subject of the children's book, The Noisy Paint Box. The book is amazing, and explains how Kandinsky saw colors, shapes and lines when he listened to music. In true Kandinsky fashion, we listened to sounds different instruments make, then created the lines and shapes that reflected those sounds. It was a lot of fun to see the what each student created.
Students created these masterpieces while listening to Richard Wagner's, Lohengrin (Prelude).


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The rise and fall of legendary jazz musicians is an overlapping narrative of eras, styles, and historical moments. Thelonious Sphere Monk is one of the undisputed greatest American musicians of all time, though the journey to his legendary status was far from glamorous.
Monk was a "musician's musician," praised by the artistic community, but considerably outside the popular and acceptable mainstream. His first deal with Prestige Records fell through when his music was deemed too complicated and difficult for the mainstream American audience. This viewpoint, fueled by music critics, damaged Monk's early reputation and caused sales of his first recordings to drop.
Riverside Records bought Monk's contract from Prestige for a low price, and the buyout would shift Monk's career into one that would bring his genius to the fore. Monk's time with Riverside would provide some of the greatest recordings of his career. In order to put Monk on the map, Riverside asked him to do something unorthodox: cover an entire album of Duke Ellington songs.
Crossroads of Legends
The Duke himself was dropped from his label, Capitol Records, in the same year as the release of Monk's cover album—1955. The Duke Ellington Orchestra was struggling to stay together, and Ellington's profile had fallen considerably due to what many considered to be an outmoded style.
Swing and the big band era fell out after World War II; many were turning to the rising Sinatra and the era of jazz crooners. Ellington was having a hard time booking gigs, as a struggling economy was turning to smaller combo bands. This smaller arrangement served night clubs and cabarets far better than expensive, bulky big bands, and it was this environment that gave rise to the bebop movement that Monk is considered an integral founder of.
On paper, Monk and Duke were polar opposites. Duke's music was appealing and polished, while Monk had a reputation for abrasive, complicated twists and turns in his music. Many viewed Duke as a staple of the wing era, while Monk was considered an irreverent outsider, incapable of playing traditional, conventional standards.
Monk Plays Duke
Riverside producer Orrin Keepnews is credited with convincing Monk to play the Ellington standards. It may have seemed like a gamble, especially with Monk's reputation as a poorly selling wild card. But Keepnews knew what he was doing. Ellington's beloved music was already familiar to audiences who had a hard time keeping up with Monk.
From the opening track, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)," Monk reversed critics' beliefs that he was incapable of staying true to tradition. At the same time, Monk took creative liberties over Ellington's pieces, demonstrating mastery over both tradition and innovation. Throughout the album, Monk turns familiar groundwork into subtly complicated inversions, playing in the spirit of the Duke with his own personal brand of genius.
The album was met with mixed success, with some critics welcoming it hesitantly, and others feeling that it lacked the energy that made Monk's previous work interesting. A second cover album of various standards was commissioned, and met with the same mixed success. Though things seemed slow in the coming, both Monk and Duke would experience great success in following years.
Career Revival and Genius Recognized
Towards the end of 1956, with two moderately successful cover albums under his belt, Monk recorded and released his first album of original composition, Brilliant Corners. The album became the most critically acclaimed album of the following year, earning Monk a five-star reputation as one of the most important leaders of the bebop movement.
Monk's entire body of work remains among the greatest of all jazz musicians, with the Ellington album cementing the beginnings and golden years of his career. Future musicians were inspired to cover jazz legends, including Monk himself, whose songs have long since been inducted into the canon of jazz standards despite their difficulty.
Monk and his music remain a testament to the timelessness and nearly unlimited opportunity for innovation throughout all of jazz.


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The Art of Finding Dory Signing & Panel
The Art of Finding Dory Signing & Panel
Come hear the artists of Finding Dory share stories from behind the scenes and see their development work for the movie. Bring your questions for the Q&A session and meet the artists one-on-one as they sign copies of the art book The Art of Finding Dory!
Featured Guests:
Kristen Lester - Story Artist


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Cultivating Ecologies
RGS/IBG Conference 2015 (Exeter 1st-4th Sept) Session Call for Papers,
Session convenors: Stephanie Lavau (Plymouth University) & Franklin Ginn (University of Edinburgh)
Whether as fossil fuels, domesticated crops, weedy foot-soldiers of Empire, habitat for endangered species, cosmopolitan globalisers from below, carbon sinks, or indicators of climatic change, plants have been significant players in cultivating the ecologies of the Anthropocene. Cultivation, like domestication, is often narrated as the taming or appropriation of the wild through human practices of control, selection, categorisation, exploitation, privatisation, breeding, and tending. The consolidating field of plant geographies have shown the power of plants to exceed and subvert such narratives, as well as beginning to scrutinize the ties of labour, disease, affect and violence that bind human and plant communities. New plant science, meanwhile, has also demonstrated plants to be communicative, adaptive beings with a hitherto under-appreciated phenotypic plasticity. This has provoked sustained meditations on the challenges to received notions of personhood, ethics and vitality posed by vegetal life. Finally, if plants and their cultivation have led us into the Anthropocene, it remains to be seen how better ways to live after the Anthropocene might take root out of new ecologies of cultivation.
In this session and its accompanying field trip, we invite participants from across the discipline to disrupt monocultural accounts of cultivation and help produce a mixed crop of stories, including those that address:
- Agencies involved in cultivating ecologies with, for, or against plants
- Ecological work as practices of cultivation
- Political ecologies of / resistance to the Gene Giants
- Plants in imaginary, extra-terrestrial, or prehistoric ecologies
- Prevailing ideas of domesticated/cultivated ecologies as either civilised or inauthentic versions of the wild
- Ambiguities, accidents and exchanges that unsettle dreams of control and certainty
Topics could include critical geographies of horticulture, agriculture, silviculture, ecological restoration, rewilding, post-industrial ecologies, landscape management, botany, and gardening. We particularly welcome papers that combine empirical fecundity with theoretical speculation.
Please send abstracts of 200 words or less to email@example.com and email@example.com by 18 February 2015.
Marder, M. 2013. Plant thinking: A philosophy of vegetal life. New York: Columbia University Press.
Hall, M. 2009. Plants as persons: A philosophical botany. SUNY.
Pollan, M. 2013. Plant intelligence. New Yorker
Head, L., J. Atchison and C. Phillips. 2014. The Distinctive Capacities of Plants: Re-Thinking Difference Via Invasive Species. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers.


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Up Most of Luther Again
Left the Temple, rode into wind on Pioneer, construction in two places on Luther, which led me to turn around before hitting the very top of the pass.
Nice ride though, almost 30 miles and 1800+ feet of climbing - feeling better going up than I have yet.
Next ride, I hope to be on Friday.
Here's the workout log link.


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Name: Claire Caldwell
Hometown: Monticello, IL
Occupation: College…
How long have you been doing CrossFit? Only 8 months, but feels like forever
What do you enjoy about CrossFit and being a member at KMC? Crossfit is a totally different sport than what I grew up with. I love the mixture of all the different types of workouts and how people react to them. The coaches and members want to see everyone succeed and it's an amazing environment to be a part of. Even tho I can't feel my whole body after a week of good workouts, I look forward to coming back and starting all over again on Monday.
What's your favorite exercise/movement in CrossFit? For some reason my favorite movement is snatch. I guess it's because it's one that I'm not the best at and it makes me want to work on it more.
What is one CrossFit/fitness related goal you are working to achieve? Muscle ups!!
What is your favorite food? Anything breakfast related
Favorite sports team? STL cardinals
Where is one place you would like to visit? Alaska to see the Northern lights


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Ocean inspired. She will love this beautiful gorgeous Sea Breeze © Personalized Sling Bag for Girls.
Refreshing and gorgeous. Her INITIAL and NAME is placed in the middle of this eye-catching design. This dual-pocket sling Bag measures 8" x 9" (inches) with plenty of room inside for all her things. It has a zip-close at the top, with a Velcro close on the flap.
Note: The Jewelry in the photographs is NOT included. :)


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Phone: 1(800) 920-7574 Mon-Fri 9AM-4PM CSTEmail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text: Add to Cart Compare Quick view Staedtler Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser MSRP: Now: $2.43 Was: Erase mistakes cleanly - without smudges. MARS PLASTIC. Easily erases lead and marks on delicate tracing and drafting papers and on film without smearing, smudging or tearing. DUOPLAST. Superior eraser for use with ink or pencil-mark corrections... MSRP: Now: $2.43 Was: Add to Cart Compare Quick view


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You may not be thinking about this, but it's true. Your cup of tea may be loaded with pesticides. Even popular brands you may buy are not immune to this. That is if they are Celestial Seasonings and Lipton. Both of these brands contain high-levels of pesticides in their teas, research shows.
Even if those are not the brands you buy, it is particularly important that you pay attention to this for the brands that you do buy even if the teas you drink are organic. Organic certification on the labeling is still your best bet yet in buying tea that is produced without the use of synthetic harmful ingredients, however, "Organic tea isn't an instant solution to problems in tea growing. Many farming practices can be certified as organic while still committing human-rights abuses or being damaging to the environment," according to RateTea.com, a site that allows you to rate and review teas and is committed to sustainability,
Therefore, if organic tea isn't an instant solution to this, you can just imagine what non-organic teas may contain. Let's look at what recent research studies show regarding pesticides in tea. Greenpeace tested teas imported from China and India since they are the world's largest and second largest producers of tea, respectively, and the organization published the results in two reports called Pesticides: Hidden Ingredients in Chinese Tea and Trouble Brewing: Pesticide residues in tea samples from India.
For China's teas, Greenpeace found that all of the 18 teas sampled, they contain a "variety of pesticides," and "as many as 29 pesticides were detected." AlterNet reported that "nearly 67 percent of [China's tea sampled] contained pesticides that have been previously banned under the Stockholm Convention."
Key findings show that a total of 34 pesticides were found in 46 of the 49 Indian teas tested, and 46 or 94% of them contained residues of at least one pesticide. Close to 60% of the samples contained more than 10 different pesticides, and nearly 60% of the samples contained at least one ingredient above the Maximum Residue Level set by the European Union (EU-MRL), with almost 40% of the teas sampled exceeding the levels by more than 50%.
What does this all mean?
This information does not mean that you should not continue to drink tea or that tea time is a thing of the past. I personally still drink tea. This information helps you to be more conscientious and be more mindful about what you put into your mouth especially if you are a tea lover like me.
Even if you buy the same brand every time and it tests good for you in the past, it's vitally important to continue to check each time you purchase new food and beverages of the same brand. In fact, I recall listening to Beth Daniel, co-founder of Quantum Techniques (QT), speak one time about an experience she had had with her tea. Daniel buys the same brand of green tea each time, yet, one time, she tested her tea and it didn't test good. From self-testing, she found out that the tea bag had mold on it.
That's why at QT, it is strongly urged that you muscle-test all your foods and beverages you consume all the time. That is one of the ways you can minimize your health risks and reduce your toxin stress levels. And, it's just one simple step. To learn more about self muscle-testing, go here.
So after learning about pesticides in tea, can you still drink tea?
Yes, you can still have your tea and drink it too.
For a list of organic teas and organic tea companies, go to Ratetea.com. There are 218 of them listed in alphabetical order. Click each one to learn more about the brand.tweet


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Hi everyone. In case many of you may have been wondering where I have been, I'm still here and living. Finding time in the day to do various things can be a hard juggling act, trying to balance work, family and generally just life . As a result, I have decided to take a take some time out from blogging like I did a few years ago and trying to prioritise spending quality time with God which if I am honest, have failed miserably.
Please keep me in your prayers as I 'recharge my batteries'


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ComputerworldUK has met Ocado's chief technology officer (CTO) Paul Clarke to find out why the world's largest dedicated online groceries retailer believes it should be considered as much a technology company as Google or Facebook.
"I'm very definitely a CTO, not a CIO," says Clarke, who has been in the role and in charge of the online grocery company's Technology division since 2012.
"What we do here in terms of technology is very different from what most companies do. It's not IT and certainly we fight quite strongly when anyone tries to put that label on it," he says vehemently.
"The bit that people call IT, which is things like helpdesk, DBAs, purchasing computer equipment, desktop apps and things like that. That's a tiny little piece of our estate."
As Clarke reveals, projects that Ocado Technology deals with include a major move to cloud platforms, which will involve a replacement of its large, on-premise Oracle estate, and experiments with smart vision systems and robotics. This will be supported by a high-profile recruitment campaign the company is running to attract the type of skilled people who would be interviewing for a major tech company like Google, to Ocado instead.
Like that scene in Monster's Inc
Ocado Technology uses and builds technology that ranges from the typical business systems, like supply chain, finance and employee systems, to e-commerce and mobile applications, all the way to "more exotic" things like robotics for its warehouses.
The retailer has heavily automated warehouses, two for food, one near its headquarters in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, one in Dordon in the Midlands, and a non-food warehouse in Welwyn Garden City, also in Hertfordshire.
"If you've ever seen the first Monster's Inc film, where Sully is jumping on the doors. Our warehouse is a bit like that," explains Clarke, referring to a scene in the animated film which shows thousands of doors, lined up and zooming around a factory environment.
"Things are flying around the place, cranes are whizzing around at 30km an hour, 7,000 boxes are on the move typically at any one time, 24km of conveyor, thousands of junctions - and it's all automated. There are people doing parts of the process, but all of the moving of goods and coordination are automated. Even where human beings are involved, the systems are controlling that."
But the technology does not stop at the warehouse.
The company develops systems associated with its delivery vans, which includes routing systems, route optimisation, tracking of vans, collecting all the big data that relates to the vans, such as GPS, engine revs, fuel consumption, how fast they're cornering, how fast they're going over speed bumps.
In addition to this, Ocado has a big data and analytics optimisation division, which are working on data science and mathematical modelling, and specialist areas, which include the robotics and the high-fidelity mathematical simulation of its facilities
All this, before you even get to the "real secret sauce stuff", which falls under Ocado's special R&D department,'10x stream', about which, unfortunately, Clarke remains tight-lipped. The secretive R&D department is based on an idea from Google's co-founder Larry Page, who believed that making a 10 times improvement can be tougher than making a 10 percent improvement, because making something 10 times better requires you to go back to the drawing board.
"It forces you into making radical new steps that are game-changing type, disruptive steps," Clarke explains.
He also promises: "People don't get bored. We offer them the chance to move around [the business]. Although teams don't like to see their prized people leave, it's part of our culture that you can never say no to that.
"But what goes around comes around. Even if you give up one of your prized people, you get somebody else. What it does is spreads the knowledge across the teams. So we strongly encourage that."
Ocado v Google- next section


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Fast track career growth
So a lot of people want to fast track their career graph.
Theres nothing wrong with wanting things to be fast paced.
We want a faster internet connection. For most people 3G and 4G is also not fast enough. We live in an instant world of instant gratification.
What can one do to fast track your career growth.
1. Name correction or a Name enhancement.
2. Rewire your brain and subconscious mind to break that glass ceiling
3. Improve your earth luck. Activate your yang energy and enhance career, recognition and wealth sectors in the house.
4. Get rid of objects that cause stagnancy. Broken stuff, clocks that dont work, sad paintings, metal cupboards, old clothes and excessive junk or hoarding.
5. Cleanse your aura and the house energy.
If you need assistance with the above.
You could call us on 9900120034


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Event held on October Oct 17
4 days of AC at Sawtell
Provided by: SAWTELL CROQUET CLUB
Event runs from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Daily, until 20/10/2019
To Be Held At
Address: Lyons Road, Sawtell NSW 2452Find out more about this location...
Visit this location on the My Community Directory website. Note, this opens in a new window.
12th annual Association Carnival at Sawtell Croquet Club
Contact the event organiser
Extra Information
Type Clubs & Groups
Format Sporting Events


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PHYSICAL DISC: Little Dragon Tales: Chinese Children's Songs
Product REVIEW:
Ok, first of all we are big Shanghai Restoration Project and David Liang fans, having purchased most of the SRP catalog in digital format over the years. When we saw this new CD announced we actually pre-ordered the physical disc from Amazon for our newborn son to not have to worry about streaming and digital files for the nursery. My wife is Chinese and she immediately recognized all of the songs that are on the disc from her own childhood in China, and they are well produced by David Liang with his signature mash-up sort of style if you can call it that?
As recommended in the Wall Street Journal:http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/12/10/tao-jones-the-grinch-teach/
The Shanghai Restoration Project and Yip's Children's Choir present:
Little Dragon Tales: Chinese Children's Choir
Classic Chinese Children's songs with a Modern Twist
CD distributed by Cheng and Tsui company
Digital albums distributed by IODA
Available for sale Nov. 29th
Produced by Dave Liang of The Shanghai Restoration Project
Yip's Children's Choir Canada vocals recorded at Encounter Studios in Toronto, Canada (Engineer: Rami Azer)
Vocal editing by Olivia Bloom
Mastered by Nathan James
Video by Luke Mines
Design by Yi Ce courtesy of NeochaEDGE
Translation by Sun Yunfan
Album title contributed by Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu
This project would not be possible without the help of the wonderful people at Yip's Canada: Christian Bayly, Linda Cheng, Ron Ka Ming Cheung, Katherine Kwok, Mali Zhang, and all of the kids and staff!
Special thanks to family, friends, and fanshttp://youtu.be/njl_H0Lj73I
MP3: Little Dragon Tales: Chinese Children's Songs
PRODUCT REVIEW: We don't have anyone in our family who speaks or studies Chinese, but my daughter (2 1/2) stumbled on a video of these kids singing on Youtube and loved it, so I bought the CD. The songs are really enjoyable to listen to, and are upbeat but at the same time good for bedtime listening. We all hum along to it (and my daughter insists now that she speaks Chinese).


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Access to professionally managed investment portfolios provides unprecedented diversification in terms of income sources while retaining all the benefits of the blockchain universe, including decentralization, transparency, and transferability
Variety of available tokens linked to traditional investment vehicles.
Our goal is to become the industry standard and one-stop solution in investment portfolios and tokenization, regardless of whether in the fiat or crypto world. Blackmoon bridges the gap between these two worlds while taking advantage of both


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There is a growing body of research which suggests that's willpower may be a limited resource. Regardless of how much discipline you have, it appears that having to use it at least temporarily reduces your available willpower. Having to make more decisions earlier in the day apparently depletes your ability to make quality decisions later in the day. This appears to be the reason some influential people, such Steve Jobs or Barack Obama would always wear nearly the same outfits. Judges also appear to be making less favorable decisions the longer it has been since they've had a break.
Knowing this, there are some decisions we can make ahead of time that reduce our susceptibility to decision fatigue, or willpower depletion. Taking breaks, and reducing the amount of decisions one has to make earlier in the day also help.
Our whole day we have to fight distractions that try to prevent us from getting what we need done. Whether it's email, the desire to do your online banking or shopping during work hours, a flood of notifications coming from your phone or computer, or your co-workers asking for your help. The easiest and most surefire way of resisting these is to eliminate as many of them automatically before they even get to you. Turn off the email client on your computer or phone, and set aside one or more specific times of day when you manually check them. Ensure your browser isn't sending you notifications from your favorite sites throughout the day. Turn off notifications on your phone, except for the bare minimum required for your work or home life.
Further, block sites that you should avoid on your browser, and make other browser as inaccessible as possible. Or purchase an app such as focus (https://heyfocus.com) to block it on all browsers.
Whenever you are tempted to open a non-work related site, stop yourself and count down from 5, and pretend your boss is standing right behind you. If it helps to pretend you have to ship your browser history to someone at the end of the day, do that as well. Even if your work requires you to wait for something, such as the completion of a test suite, you're better off staring at the screen, or getting up to get a coffee, than breaking your work flow and randomly browsing the web. It may be easier to go cold turkey this way than starting to read something on a site that you may wish to complete later.
The reward for this is a much more productive day and more time concentrating on the problem at hand. It allows you to push past your discomfort and solve problems you may otherwise be tempted to ignore or only superficially address. Over the course of many weeks, months and years, the result is accelerated learning instead of slow stagnation. Even if your employer doesn't recognize your increased productivity, over time you will become much more skilled and in demand by other employees, and more capable of selling your services to the highest bidder. Regardless if it doesn't affect the ability to get the current job done since you may be blocked by forces outside your control, for your own personal and professional growth, it is better to attempt to do a related work task, or to do some learning related to your field.


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Let me help you make your writing right!!
I will help you polish your manuscript so it shines prior to publication. I will work with you to proofread, complete content edit, or critique. I will make every word count! I self-publish my own books and can help you in the self-publishing process if you decide to take that route.
If you would like a quote, please fill out the form on the "Request Services" page and I will contact you. Every project differs in price based on number of pages, whether it's a novel or children's book, your timeline for editing to be done, etc. For non-children's books I charge per page so please let me know – in your request – how many pages and the date you would like editing complete. Thank you!


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GOP candidate Courtland Sykes is facing major backlash over his thoughts on women's rights. The Republican candidate set off a fury of anger when he shared his position on traditional family values and gender roles which was inevitably is the antithesis of what modern feminists advocate for today.
Sykes is hoping to unseat Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.
He took jabs at career-driven women who forgo family life for the sake of resisting the "patriarchy" that feminists believe prevents equality.
He also called feminists "she-devils" and shared he and his fiancee, conservative illustrator Chanel Rion, have a set of expectations for one another in their relationship.
"I want to come home to a home-cooked dinner at six every night, one that she fixes and one that I expect one day to have my daughters learn to fix after they become traditional homemakers and family wives," Sykes wrote of his fiancee before taking jabs at progressive feminists who have pushed anti-family agendas.
"Men and women are different and gender-bending word games by a goofy nest of drugstore academics aren't going to change anything — except the fantasy life of those confused people in ivory towers."
"I don't want them [to] grow up into career-obsessed banshees who [forgo] home life and children and the happiness of family to become nail-biting manophobic hell-bent feminist she-devils," he continued.
Sykes then praised women like Kellyanne Conway and Ivanka Trump for maintaining their careers without sacrificing their home life.
"There are amazing women with amazing careers," he continued. "You take Kellyanne Conway or Sarah Huckabee Sanders. These women absolutely should be celebrated."
Many thought Sykes' post was a joke.
Is Sykes on to something here?
To see more from Pat, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to "Pat Gray Unleashed" with Pat Gray weekdays 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET, only on TheBlaze Radio Network.


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Design Trends: The House of 2015
The National Association of Home Builders recently conducted a survey of more than 300 architects, designers, builders, and other industry experts to see how the home of 2015 will differ from today's average home.
Results reveal that the interior design and floor plan of the home of the future is going to change to reflect social and behavioral changes. For example, the family room is predicted to grow at the expense of the formal living room, reflecting the trend towards casual entertaining.
The average size is forecast to be in the 2,300-2,500 sq ft range, comparable to today's average. The strongest trend will be towards luxury. Extra bathrooms, state-of-the-art lighting and plumbing fixtures, and, I suppose, home automation systems.
Other predictions for the average home:
- 9-10 ft ceilings
- 2.5-3.5 bathrooms
- Larger kitchens with islands
- Fewer walls seperating their family rooms and dining rooms
- Recessed lighting
- Larger garages
More luxurious outdoor spaces are expected, too, with the proliferation of full back yard kitchens. Eco-friendly 'green' construction is also expected to play an increasingly pervasive role in home building and design, such as efficient water conservation devices and energy-efficient appliances.
With Phoenix real estate and Scottsdale real estate, I believe we'll continue to see more integration of technology and design to suit the modern lifestyle. For example, climate control, lighting, and audio/video control systems that are centralized and adaptive to the homeowner's lifestyle and preferences. We'll see built-in refrigerators that track expiration dates and quantities and automatically update your shopping list accordingly. And out-dated materials, such as vinyl laminate countertops, will all but disappear as man-made or engineered materials (such as Silestone countertops) become more affordable.


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