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|Print Version
|Senate & Other Democratic Institutions
Mr. Harper has, once again, trotted out term limits for senators. His latest attempt is known as Bill C-10. Presumably he's introducing it in the House of Commons this time because he's more confident he can control its progress in that chamber. But the same old arguments against the bill will prevail.
Term limits are (as I've said elsewhere) a red herring. The real push behind Bill C-10 and all its predecessors has been this simple: you can't have elections without term limits. What Mr. Harper truly wants to create is 105 additional backbenchers that he and his counterparts can control. Forget the historic agreement balancing regional interests against the tyranny of a majority that an appointed Senate represented in 1867. Forget the wisdom of our forefathers who conjured up an appointed Chamber that would act as a counterweight to excessive executive power in the PMO. Forget all that, and forge ahead down a path designed to entrench authority in a one-man show.
Avoid, too, any kind of national dialogue about the health of our federal democracy. Mr. Harper's intransigence ignores recent calls for an adult conversation in this country about strengthening our central institutions. Even Roger Gibbins, CEO of the Canada West Foundation, believes we should revisit this issue. I have endorsed his call for a contemporary dialogue – not least because I believe the quintessential complaint about senators is prime ministerial patronage.
Yesterday, another voice weighed in on the conversation. Brian Marlatt's thoughtful contribution suggests that the Governor General take advice on appointments from the entire Privy Council, not just the PM. As he says,
"Charges of patronage and partisanship would be overcome; there would be no risk to national unity, as would happen if senators were accountable to their province; and senators would not be subject to party discipline, as they would be if elected. Senators would not be just more politicians."
Regardless of the bill's progress through Parliament, and with or without a national dialogue, however, Bill C-10 and an elected Senate will face stiff opposition from some of the regions. Thankfully, Mr. Harper does not get to play alone in Canada; we are a federation not a playpen for aspiring monopolists.
Posted On May 01 03:19PM
Harper's ideas on changing Canada's Senate borders on Treason. He wants to fundmetally change the basic operations of our federal System. For this fact alone he should be tossed to the curb before he can do any more damage to our Canadian way of life.
Posted On Mar 31 11:41AM
Harper's just POd because many of the Senators he opposes will be around longer than he will be! And there's not much he can do about it.
Time to start a 'pink slip' movement for Harper -- let's all give Harper 'the slip'!
Into all things politics, policy and parliamentary.
Posted On Mar 31 11:20AM
According to Serge Joyal's book on the topic of Senate Reform (see the Appendix charts), the *average age* a Senator sits anyway (by choice) ranges from 10-12 years -- so 8-year term limits are really not an imperative reform!
Total red herring, as you say, Senator McCoy. It will look as if he's doing something, when there will be little real change at all (assuming it passes).


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Radish Seeds
$5.66 – $11.99 lb
- — Sprouting Seeds, Kosher
- — High Germination Rate
- — High in Vitamins C
- — Gluten, Cholesterol and Sugars Free
- — Country of Origin: USA
Radish seeds and sprouts have been used in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. Even today those who practice it recognize the value of these seeds and sprouts. The healing power of this herb is truly incredible.
Sprouts grown from radish seeds are delicious and can be a great addition to many salads and some other dishes.
Health Benefits
The healing power of radish seeds is extremely high. The most important health benefits offered by both seeds and sprouts are:
- Lowering blood pressure.
Radish seeds contain flavonoids (anthocyanins). These elements lower blood pressure and have a strong positive effect on the cardiovascular system in general. Therefore, they do not only help for hypertension but also reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Cleansing your liver.
The liver is a natural filter that protects our bodies. The toxins from food and environment poison it and reduce the efficiency of this filter. Radish seeds remove excess of bilirubin from your liver and control its production. They also flush toxins out of your body. Therefore, they can be used in a treatment program for jaundice and for detox.
- Improving digestion.
Radish is a great natural source of fiber. This and the herb's anti-inflammatory properties allow it to influence your digestive system. Seeds of Radish seeds relieve indigestion and constipation. By extension, these effects assist in the treatment of hemorrhoids.
- Reducing the risk of cancer.
Flavonoids possess potent anti-carcinogenic properties. Therefore, eating radish seeds and sprouts on a regular basis reduces the risk of developing various types of cancers, especially intestinal, stomach, and oral cancer.
- Assisting in the treatment of diabetes.
These seeds can affect the rate of blood sugar absorption. The effect is potent enough to be a significant help to diabetics.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Imagine being able to complete your homework in a half an hour each night versus the usual two hours of homework! Which would you choose? When are you being most efficient?
What is energy? It fuels our cars, plays our radios, heats our water, and lights our homes. Energy is the ability to do work. We can use energy to put something in motion or produce light and heat. Think about how much energy you use each day. You wake up using an alarm clock, take a shower using hot water, use appliances in the kitchen to prepare your breakfast, and use a school bus as transportation to get to school. But how much energy do each of those use? How efficient are they?
Energy efficiency is the amount of useful energy you get from a system. Converting energy from one form to another always involves a loss of usable energy, usually in the form of heat. While it would be great to have a perfect energy efficient machine, it simply isn't possible. However, today we are making appliances that use less energy than they did many years ago. The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act was passed in 1990 and now requires appliances to meet energy efficiency standards.
Niagara Mohawk
When you buy appliances, they are labeled with a yellow EnergyGuide Label which gives you the Energy Use and Energy Efficiency Rating (EER). The EnergyGuide labels list the manufacturer, the model, the capacity, the features, the amount of energy the appliance will use a year on average, it's comparison with similar models, and the estimated yearly energy cost. Since many high-efficiency appliances cost more to buy, is buying the less energy efficient appliance the bargain? What you need to factor in is how much it costs each year to operate and how many years you will use it. The payback period is the amount of time you must use an appliance before you benefit from energy savings. The life cycle cost of an appliance is the purchase price plus the operating cost over the projected life of the appliance. Life cycle costs of efficient appliances are usually much less than cheaper appliances.
Calculating Life cycle CostsHow much will an appliance cost to buy and use over a lifetime?
purchase price + (annual energy cost x estimated lifetime x discount factor) = life cycle cost
Appliance Characteristics for Lifestyle Cost Comparisons
APPLIANCE ESTIMATED LIFETIME DISCOUNT FACTOR water heater 13 .83 refrigerators and freezers 20 .76 room air conditioner 15 .81 dishwasher 12 .84 clothes washer 18 .78
Calculating Payback PeriodHow long will it take to recover the extra money you spend for a more efficient appliance?
purchase price of more expensive model - purchase price of less expensive model = difference in purchase price
higher yearly operating cost - lower annual operating cost = difference in annual operating cost
difference in purchase price / difference in annual operating cost = payback period
Example: You are shopping for a refrigerator. There are two models. One casts $100 more than the other but uses $25 less electricity per year. Which refrigerator should you buy?
$1000 purchase price of more expensive model - $900 purchase price of less expensive model = $100
$100/$25 less electricity/yr = 4 yrs
It would take 4 years to realize the savings. However, since the payback period is only 4 years and your refrigerator will last much longer than that, you will save money over the life of the refrigerator and conserve natural resources.
Use these links to learn more:
- http://www.nimo.com/house/enrghome/enrglabels.html
- http://www.energy.gov/efficiency
- Energy Efficiency Guidelines
Did you see a word or two that you did not recognize? You might find it in the glossary below.
Students: Click on the button at the left to connect to the Power Worksheet.
Created for the Fermilab LInC program sponsored by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Education Office and Friends of Fermilab, and funded by United States Department of Energy, Illinois State Board of Education, North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium which is operated by North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), and the National Science Foundation.
Authors: Sue Emmons, Powell Middle School, Littleton, CO; Kevin Lindauer, John F. Kennedy High School, Denver, CO; Linda Lung, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO; John Sepich, Scott Carpenter Middle School, Westminster, CO; ; Janet Stellema, Monarch K-8, Louisville, CO; Edited by Marge Bardeen NTEP II Project PI.
Webmaster: firstname.lastname@example.com
Created: September 9, 1998 revised September 27, 2001
URL: http://www-ed.fnal.gov/ntep/f8/projects/nrel_energy_2/energyefficiency.html


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The great success of 2011 Pet Festival for Animals Taiwan
The 100 years of Taiwan 2011 Wawa pet festival was a great success for Animals Taiwan.
It was cold and a bit wet but our fantastic volunteers worked hard to raise money and sell our merchandise and also helped spread the word about adoptions and how to help the strays of Taiwan.
Over the two day event together we raised over $35,000.
Also a big thank you to Michelle who came along to sell her delicious home made treats and helped raise more money for AT.
We are so grateful to have so many fantastic volunteers willing to take time out on their weekends to help us deliver and pick up merchandise, transport doggies and help sell merchandise and promote AT.
Also a big thank you to Carol who got up on stage a very short notice to talk about AT and what we do.
This is a great start to 2011!!
訂閱: 張貼留言 (Atom)


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Writing Articles/Reports/Research Papers
Budget $30-250 USD
Would Like to Help out with Projects related to research papers, literature reviews, articles, editing, power point presentations etc.
21 Freelancer bieten im Durchschnitt $130 für diesen Job
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Autron @ 11 cts ( Electronics equipment / Singapore ) 0 comments
Final Poll Results: 4:1
(P.S: Sorry for any disturbances the advertisements above may have caused you)
Main issues
1. Options constricted by huge current debt
2. Growth limited by impending sales of Northeast-Asian operations
3. High receivables and writeoffs
Let's start by listing down the pros of this stock. It had previously been in the crosshairs of retail and even institutional investors for its substantial scale and play on the theme of electronics manufacturing outsourcing to Asia, due to its core business of distribution of electronics manufacturing equipment in the region. It has sunk terribly on the back of bad earnings these two years but some point to the balance sheet and say its net assets of A$93M convert to S$0.16 per share based on 694M shares (and conversion rate of A$1:S$1.2 ). Add that to the impending sales of its Northeast Asian businesses for US$60M to North Asia Strategic Holdings which would effectively release S$0.14/share to the group --- when it is trading at $0.11 now.
It would be dangerous to see it as a value play. To be honest I had been interested in Autron initially on the basis of precisely this premise, and yet now I think it's a hotstocknot primarily on the basis of clues from various discomforting corporate/shareholder moves, as discussed below.
Consider the moves of the abovementioned North Asia Strategic Holdings, soon to acquire the Northeast Asian operations of Autron in late October. Originally in May the plan had been for it to inject equity and convertible debt into the Autron group; however in August NASH changed its mind and proposed to buy the entire Northeast-Asian operations of Autron instead. Looking at the full-year results released in September (it incurred full-year losses when up till 1H06 it was profitable and seemed to be turning around its operations) and its fragile balance sheet showing ~A$100M current debt, it is likely that (1)Autron was negotiating from a position of weakness, and (2)the Northeast Asian businesses had greater value, and (3)it was more worthwhile to buy the Northeast Asian distribution business and take control than take a passive equity position in the entire Autron group (from the perspective of NASH).
Next consider substantial shareholder Kingdon Capital Management, which trimmed 3.3% off its previous 5.1% in Autron for around 10-11 cents in early October when the stock rose slightly on volume. It says a lot about its views about the acquisition deal, presumably closing just three weeks later, that it is instead taking the chance of high trading volume to exit the stock. It's a huge loss for them, considering that they bought in June 2005 at ~24.5 cents.
The problem with analysing the mechanics of the upcoming acquisition deal is due to the lack of detailed geographical segmental information regarding its Northeast-Asian business. The financial statements show that revenue contributions from Northeast Asia contribute two-thirds of the total distribution business revenue pie, but say nothing about profits. The asset distribution is opaque, because of high eliminations (possibly due to both geographical segments sharing assets). Autron did not help clarify potential gains/losses in their statements concerning the deal.
Reading past analyst reports, the promise appears to be in the Northeast-Asian markets, where Autron's long history of operations in Asia – more than 20 years in Greater China – has gained it numerous blue-chip customers eg. Taiwanese contract manufacturers. In particular, China as a key PCB producer is the key outsourcing centre and demand centre for manufacturing equipment. A restructured Autron with its focus on Southeast Asia would provide little attraction and would indeed be going the wrong way --- due to the long-term shift of manufacturing activities from Southeast Asia to North Asia. Disposing of its Northeast Asian distribution business also removes avenues for growth of its equipment refurbishment business --- another growth driver that was supposed to drive margin increase.
Enough about growth. What about value? Consider that A$125M (>S$0.20/share) of its total A$210M current assets is receivables --- half a year's worth of revenues. A$10M, or 8%, of these had to be written off as doubtful debts in FY06, compared to none the previous year; this leads one to be concerned about the quality of its earnings and its receivables (I believe these writeoffs were mainly responsible for its FY06 losses). On the liabilities side, as has been mentioned, current debt of ~A$100M has to be refinanced or repaid quickly --- a possible destination for the funds obtained from the sales of its Northeast Asian operations. There remains extensive risk in restructuring the business after the sale and there is little chance of the company returning more cash to shareholders beyond the 1-cent dividend it has declared. Nor is the full extent of the recently proposed share buyback program going to be exercised, in my view.
(1) S&P research report on Autron Jun 2004
(2) UOB research report on Autron Apr 2004
Poll(please vote)
I agree that Autron is a hot-stock-not: Yes/No


text: Greetings, friends. I trust Cataclysm content has been as fun for you as it has for me? Finally having settled in, I've started to power through my trade skills and new professions. Archaeology was something I purposefully abstained from in the beta, mostly because it was the piece of new content I wanted to experience fresh. So after reaching 85 and heading off on new archaeological adventures, I was instantly hooked.


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I'm really happy with my first story for Spanish Glamour! Specially given the fact that it features my teenage crush Alexandra Jimenez, alongside some other wonderful and independent women. If my 14-year-old self knew that this day would come… ah, young Curto would be ecstatic.
Photography: Pablo Curto
Styling: Nuria Sánchez
Hair and makeup: Leo Pereira and Pedro Cedeño (Talents)
Photo assistant: Assiah Alcázar
Styling assistant: Paula Robles
Featuring: Sandra Sabatés, Alexandra Jiménez, Maria Escoté, Carla Royo-Villanova and Espido Freire.


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GFOA's Small Government Forum provides an opportunity for members of small governments to network and exchange information on topics unique to the demands of managing small government. The Small Government Forum was created in 2015 and will hold its initial meeting at GFOA's Toronto Conference in May 2016. The Small Government Forum is currently open to GFOA members in small jurisdictions from the United States and Canada with populations of 25,000 or less, or with employee counts of 500 or less.
The Small Government Forum is open to any active or associate GFOA member. To sign up for the GFOA Small Government Forum, please complete the online sign-up form.
For any questions, comments, or for more information about the Small Government Forum, please contact Eva Olsaker.


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Psychologist, Entrepreneur and Author
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Over the past 30+ years, Dr. Ken Dychtwald has emerged as North America's foremost visionary and original thinker regarding the lifestyle, marketing, healthcare and workforce implications of the age wave. He is a psychologist, gerontologist, documentary filmmaker, entrepreneur and best-selling author of fifteen books on aging-related issues.


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Coolhorse proudly offers supplies for your horse barn, tack room, arena, and home. This ranges from buckets and feeders, arena plows, roping chutes, tack room accessories, leather care, knives, home decor, western toys, and most other supplies needed to live and breath the equine lifestyle. Most orders over $50 ship for free. When you think horse, think Coolhorse.
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So here's an awesome illustration of Kyte by the super talented Sarah Schanze! Thank you so much, Sarah! Sarah has a really cool vikingtastic web-comic that you should all check out too... Thistil Mistil Kistil.
And as I mentioned in my last post, my family is visiting, so the Wellington Division will continue May 23rd. Happy Mothers Day to all you other moms out there! :)


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When summer comes along, energy bills tend to increase dramatically. Take a look into programs like there for some relief from the summertime (bill) blues.
Main Content
Get My Course
When you're new in business you need to spend wisely. That means doing your own bookkeeping, and I show exactly how to do that!
Tell Me More!
Tell Me More!
Want To Know More About Me?
Find out a little about my background and how I got to where I am. And yes, that is me as a baby taking a bath in the kitchen sink 😎
Read My Story!
Read My Story!
On The Blog
Get your personal finances and small business in shape with plain English content with a side of snark & humor!
All You Need To Know About Quick & Cheap LLC Formation
Having an attorney or incorporation service set up your LLC is expensive and time-consuming. I'll show you how easy it is to do it yourself and save a bunch of money, plus explain why you have to pay close attention to your tax situation.
Using Cash Alone Won't Magically Prevent Overspending Or Debt (And Other Thoughts On Cash/Credit Cards)
Cash is the preferred method of payment for many who want to avoid money troubles. Does it really keep your spending in check as many would lead you to believe?


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The Parish Advisory Council is responsible for developing ways our parish can more effectively carry out its mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Team members are appointed by the pastor and include: Toni Carmon, Deacon Chris Reis, Gerry O'Neil, Heidi Thompson, Raymond DeWeese, Teri Heisey and Brendan O'Rourke.
The team meets with the pastor to discuss the methods by which the parish can evangelize. Our goal is to lead others and ourselves into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.


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Here's the idea: move the sensor instead of the lens.
Ok. Think about the implications for a bit.
Are you thinking? Alright, let's go!
You can use a moving sensor for autofocusing manual-focus lenses. The Contax AX did it in the 90s. The problem then was that the Contax AX was a SLR, so moving the film plane required moving the heavy mirror assembly with it. It was a bit like moving the garage to change the position of your car. Doable, but... wouldn't moving the car be easier?
With mirrorless cameras, you don't have a heavy mirror assembly to move. You only need to move the sensor chip. An electronic viewfinder works the same no matter where the sensor chip is.
One other effect of moving the film plane on the Contax AX was that it could turn non-macro lenses into macro lenses. Moving the sensor is also useful for in-body image stabilization, like on the Olympus m43 cameras. Suppose you take in-body image stabilization one step further and make the sensor angle manually controllable. Bam, you've got yourself a tiltable lens.
When you use an autofocus lens, the motor in the camera body or inside the lens needs to move heavy pieces of glass back and forth. This operation is usually slow, noisy and uses a good deal of battery.
If you use the sensor for focusing and image stabilization, you can make the lenses much lighter and smaller. By moving the light sensor chip instead of heavy glass, you can focus faster and get longer battery life.
A native lens made for a movable sensor camera can be a fixed focus lens with the aperture control on the lens. Simple, small and light. Compare this to a common DSLR lens with autofocus motors and image stabilization motors.
Wide-angle lenses on DSLRs require some optical gymnastics to work with the 40+ mm flange distance[distance from the back of the lens to the sensor] required by the mirror assembly. This is why DSLR lenses shorter than 40 mm are larger than 50 mm primes. Compare a Canon 24 mm f/1.4 to the 50 mm f/1.4. Due to the retrofocus design needed, the 24 mm is 1.5x as large, 1.5x as heavy and four times as expensive. With a mirrorless design, you could move the sensor right up to the back of the lens and make small wide-angle lenses. Well, as long as the sensor works OK with light coming from obtuse angles. [src]
A moving sensor also makes lens adapters easier to make. As long as the lens can be focused to infinity and has aperture controls on the lens, it turns into an image-stabilized tiltable macro autofocus lens on a moving sensor camera. And the moving sensor makes flange distances less of an issue.
On the negative side, telephoto lenses may require too much movement to focus in-camera. You'd have to focus them to a rough range first, then use the in-camera focus to do the rest.
Does anyone have ideas on how to build a prototype of something like this? Starting with a sensor chip that moves back and forth. You can get a decent manual focus lens from eBay for 20 bucks and Arduinos should work for the microcontroller stuff (dunno about contrast-detection AF, guess you could make it real slowww). Precision motors & rails? I've got a mostly unused medium format body lying around here, but maybe it'd be better to just make a big dark box with the lens attached to it.
art with code
Rethinking digital cameras a bit
Posted by Ilmari Heikkinen at 1:44 AM
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About Me
Ilmari Heikkinen
- Built art installations, web sites, graphics libraries, web browsers, mobile apps, desktop apps, media player themes, many nutty prototypes


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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Camera Play
I recently dug up my old (like 30ish years old) Nikon 50mm lens that belonged to my Nikon FM camera back in High School. I bought the camera and lens second-hand for photography class, and the FM has long since bit the dust, but I held on to the old lens. It was never worth much and as you can see it's been around the block a few times (and dropped along the way).
I currently use a Nikon D40 with the standard 18.5-55mm lens, which of course is fully integrated with the electronic features of my camera. That means the camera can be fully automatic right down to the focus, and I most often use it that way. I though I'd see if I could use the old 50mm on the D40, and took it out for a test drive last week. The biggest difference is not having any automatic features and having to use the camera manually, being forced to think about f-stops, shutter speeds, and focus all over again. Luckily, since the D40 is digital, I can see a preview of my photo immediately and adjust any settings before taking another photo, no need to wait to develop film! Still, my first batch of photos were mostly out of focus and overexposed. Here's an example - I was trying to focus on Fidget's face, but she was moving so fast that her hair is the only thing in focus.
When I posted about playing with the old lens on the Facebooks, I got several comments about old lenses, mostly how you can experience serious difficulty when using old lenses made for 35mm film with new digital SLR cameras - or shouldn't use old lenses at all. Thankfully, the old Nikon lens connects perfectly with the mount on the Nikon D40, and I am not experiencing any issues with focus that would make it impossible to use the old lens. But it did make me curious about the old 50mm vs. my new lens - was there any difference? I ran a few tests today to find out.
The first difference I noticed is in f-stops for each lens. When taking these shots I realized that the f-stops on the new lens run from f-5.6 to f-29, while the old lens goes all the way down to f-1.8. Since I'm a big fan of depth of field, I like that the old lens offers bigger aperture settings, and could see through the SLR camera that I can get some very shallow depth of field with the old lens. Nice! Here were my test results with the two lenses:
Using the exact same settings on the camera and lenses manually, here are two shots; top is the old lens, bottom is the new.
Can you even see any differences? Hardly, but the bottom photo is a bit lighter than the top photo. I want to say that the focus looks a bit different, but that could just be my old eyes.
On taking another set of photos, I do notice that the old lens has a different field of focus than the new lens. The new lens seems to capture more background in focus than the old lens, even when using the exact same settings. Old lens on the left, new lens on the right.
This photo set includes the old lens on the top, new lens on the bottom.
The biggest thing I noticed while taking this shot was how much easier it is to manually focus with the new lens. It is harder for me to see when things get crisp in the old lens, and although I was trying to focus on the flamingo in the top shot, I really have the flowers behind in sharpest focus.
And the new lens seems to be shooting all the photos a bit more exposed than the old lens, almost imperceptibly. Yes?
The thing I like about shooting with the old fixed 50mm lens is how it forces me to frame the shot and think about composition, not to mention being acutely aware of the light situation when using settings manually. Since it looks like the lens works great with my camera, I think I will leave it on and play some more. Although going through this experiment has taught me that I can ALSO use my new lens with manually settings to get pretty much the same effect - good to know!
What kind of camera do you use? Do you have more than one lens - and if so, which is your favorite?
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text: coolbuster2007 1 Report post · CID: 11107140835 · Posted July 28, 2008 this annoying virus has infected my friend's pc. she has tried to combat it with avg free, nod32 and hijackthis to no avail. it has a "restore" component. does anyone know how to effectively remove sowar.vbs? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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UW Extension Community Development Educator Steve Grabow authored a featured article on "Principles of Community Placemaking" in the March 2015 edition of The Municipality, the monthly magazine of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM). The Communications Director of the LWM invited this feature as part of an issue focusing on community placemaking. The article is found on pages 78-84. The magazine is distributed to 10,000 local officials in Wisconsin. The article is based on Grabow's continuing programming and teaching on community placemaking, and includes:
- Descriptions and graphic imagery around 19 research-based principles of community placemaking. (What is placemaking?)
- Ten methods to apply "placemaking principles" in communities. (How do you do it?)
- Examples of placemaking activities in Jefferson County and Wisconsin.
Link to online Article: http://www.lwm-info.org/vertical/sites/%7B92F7D640-E25A-4317-90AD-4976378A8F8D%7D/uploads/March2015MunicipalityArch.pdf (The article is found on pages 78-84).


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Need to tidy up your home office? This bundle from Axess collection is perfect for all your storage needs! Its compact design includes all the space you need for a well-organized workspace thanks to its open and closed storage spaces. In addition, the work surface is great for laying out homework or setting down a laptop or a printer!
- Bundle includes the printer stand and desk
- Metal knobs in silver finish
- Printer Stand: Features 2 open storage spaces: one on the top and two others on the sides, seperated by one adjustable shelf
- Desk: Features 2 open storage spaces divided by 1 adjustable shelf that can support up to 15 lb
- Desk: Cut out hole in the back panel which allows for easy wire management
- Printer Stand: Features 1 adjustable shelf behind the door
- Desk: Features 1 practical drawer
- Desk: Metal slides on the keyboard tray for smooth gliding
- Meets or exceeds all North American safety standards
- Accessories not included
- Requires complete assembly by 2 adults (tools not included)
- Ships in 2 boxes, make sure to have a friend with you
- Packaging tested and certified to reduce the risk of damage during shipment
- Made in North America with non-toxic laminated particleboard
- 5-year limited guarantee. Any questions? Contact South Shore, available 7/7: 1-800-290-0465 or www.southshorefurniture.com
Customer reviews


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When Hellertown native Bailey Noble landed a gig as a reoccurring character on HBO's hit series "True Blood," she had a ritual she'd go through every time she received the next week's shooting script.
"I never knew how long I'd last on the show," says the actress from her home in Los Angeles. "So I'd sit down and scan the script to make sure I was still alive at the end of the episode."


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No cottage? No problem. Gardening pros show you how to get the look…
Think cottage gardens are only for English people with thatched roofs and all the time in the world for work-intensive, old-fashioned landscapes?
Think again, say gardening experts: By learning the basics of this carefree style and using plants that thrive in your area, cottage gardens can be the easiest to maintain.
1. Go informal
"The English or cottage garden is a style that conjures up a flower-filled landscape bursting with color," says Jane Schwartz Gates, of Gates & Croft Horticultural Design in Santa Clarita, California. The definition of the style, she admits, can be somewhat confusing: "Some see it as the romantic style of an informal garden, some as the more formal country manor, specifically Victorian, and so on …"
While there is a more formal style of cottage gardening, Gates says it's best for large estates that require geometric patterns and other ways to plan and control the use of bigger spaces. The more formal version also calls for more spending and maintenance. "The informal style, for my design purposes, is more flowing, natural and less symmetrical," she says. "It reflects the cozy feel of an 18th or 19th century home garden: white picket fences, curvaceous wrought iron, meandering paths and lots of color."
2. Start with design
"The key to cottage garden design is to not make it look designed." says Anthony Tesselaar, cofounder and president of Tesselaar Plants. Yet there are design elements characteristic of cottage style: "The look is exuberant and unrestrained. Avoid straight lines, tight shapes or patterns. Use a riot of colors: don't stick to one palette. Let plants wander where they will, letting them intermingle with each other." Also, says Tesselaar, use fragrant plants to add another sense to the experience. And let Mother Nature play a role, with flowers that self-seed and grow back in unexpected places.
Other traditional cottage garden staples, says Gates, are winding paths, be they cobblestone or lawn, and architectural features like archways and picket fences.
Even if you don't have a cottage, says Gates, you can work to blend your home into a cottage-style landscape. "Look at the house and surrounding views to see how the theme can be integrated smoothly," she says. Cottage-style elements of your house, for instance, can be amplified in the garden: A contemporary home with stone veneer could overlook a cottage garden with rocks and boulders. White exterior trim might amplify the cottagey look of white window boxes, trellises or sections of picket fence. And a winding path from the driveway to your front door could help amp up the storybook look.
3. Choose easy-care plants
"Cottage gardens got their start in the late 15thcentury as edible and ornamental plots around small, humble cottages featuring plants that grew well in England's cool, wet climate," says Anthony Tesselaar, president and cofounder of Tesselaar Plants.
Such plants, he says, included foxglove, hollyhocks, irises, daisies, hydrangeas, roses, peonies, hostas, lupins, violas, pansies, phlox, Johnny jump-ups, primrose, delphinium, wisteria, snapdragons, bachelor's buttons, columbine and bleeding heart: "But if these romantic, old-fashioned favorites don't grow well in your area, it's important to pick low-maintenance plants that thrive where you live."
In Gates' hot, dry climate, she uses water-wise, heat-tolerant favorites that can take poor soil, like Jerusalem sage, guara, Flower Carpet groundcover roses, cosmos, agapanthus (the Storm series, the only one used at the Dallas Arboretum, is especially drought-tolerant), Festival Burgundy cordyline, 'May Night' sage, coreopsis, penstemon and Jupiter's Beard. Instead of the rolling lawns associated with the cottage garden style, she may also substitute permeable paving – perhaps cobblestones, to stick to the theme.
"We can garden year-round, so we use classic cottage garden plants like dianthus, alliums and rosemary," says Frank Hyman, owner of Cottage Garden Landscaping in Durham, North Carolina. "But the winters are mild enough that we can punch up things with big-leaf plants like brugmansia and hibiscus moscheutus. So we can also do the 'Tropical Cottage Garden' look if we want."
"I always say I do cottage garden style with Oklahoma-loving plants," says Red Dirt Ramblings blogger Dee Nash, who lives in Guthrie, Oklahoma. "I use cannas in it, too. I'm just trying to get the blowsy look. Instead of foxglove, I would plant a salvia or sage."
Kathy Muscato's cottage garden in precipitation-heavy Rochester, NY is stuffed with ferns, variegated hostas and lush, dense groundcovers. With all her rain and shade, she also grows plants that resist fungal disease like carpet roses and fragrant Volcano phlox.
4. Delve into details
Now that you've got your plants in place, Gates says it's time for cottage garden décor.
"Think English street lamps, birdbaths, benches and outdoor fabrics in a Victorian floral print. Small areas can be defined with a little old-fashioned fence or even a row of window flower boxes."
Add a comfy bench or fun swing, and surround it with frolicking roses or fragrant herbs. "Always create a focal point – maybe a seating area or a fountain – then build your landscape around it," says Gates. "Size doesn't need to be a factor to create your own three-dimensional painting of a peaceful cottage garden."
5. Think 'garden shabby chic'
Gates also suggests repurposing well-worn items and materials, for a cozy, homey look that's full of character: Brick or concrete slabs for paths or retaining walls (creeping plants could tumble over the edge), an old-fashioned sink for a whimsical fountain or vintage metal seating for conversation areas.
Tesselaar recommends pieces like old wheelbarrows, a worn wicker chair, a rusted wire egg basket or old metal bucket: "Such features lend an aged, authentic, whimsical look, as well as a sense of stability and permanence."
6. Don't forget the containers
"Containers are a convenient, inexpensive way to add interest to any garden, particularly if you're interested in cottage garden style," says Tesselaar. He gets the look easily by using carpet roses, which are full-figured and romantic, yet drought-tolerant and compact, in a 'cottagey' container like an old washtub or whiskey barrel or one made of hypertufa.
"With containers, you can also easily add a splash of color here and there and be able to move it around the garden to change things up," says Tesselaar. "It's the cottage garden way – ignore the rules, play around and have fun."
Click here for more hi-res Cottage Garden images on Tesselaar's Flickr plant portfolio.
Fact Sheets/Plant Portfolios:
Flower Carpet rose Fact Sheet/Plant Portfolio
Tropicanna canna Fact Sheet/Plant Portfolio
Volcano phlox Fact Sheet/Plant Portfolio
Bluestorm agapanthus Fact Sheet/Plant Portfolio
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About Tesselaar
Tesselaar Plants searches the world and introduces new plants for the home garden, landscape, home décor and gift markets. Tesselaar undertakes extensive research and development of its varieties and, once they're selected for introduction, provides marketing and promotional support through its grower and retail network. Tesselaar carefully selects licensed growers and purposefully keeps its portfolio of plants small, resulting in consistently high-quality, dramatic, prolific plants that are eco-friendly and very easy to grow. The Tesselaar philosophy is to introduce exceptional plants while "making gardening easy" for everyone, so it makes its products as widely available as possible. Tesselaar believes the more gardeners there are, the better it is for everyone.
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Location: Vagabond CrossFit, Easton, Massachusetts
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My name is Kevin O'Malley and I am owner of Vagabond CrossFit in Easton, Massachusetts. I have been involved in fitness my whole life, ranging from playing basketball up until I was age of 22 from different levels, and moved onto taking part in training and running in various running races from marathon distance to ultrathons. I came into CrossFit Training, after I was introduced after my running career, and later on opened my own facility, and now am competing on the national level in the sport of CrossFit. I have a fond respect for the kettlebell community, and the tranfer ability to our CrossFit Training. The IKFF is a great organization and opened my eyes to a new wayof training.


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I recently made a cake for someone I know who wanted to treat his wife with a special cake for her birthday this year. It was a simple and small cake that I made for their family, but it came back with so much gratitude. As a baker, it made me so happy to know that something as simple as a cake can make a person feel special and appreciated.
I made a bunch of blossoms, large and small. I dried them on a cookie rack so they they would maintain their cupped shape.
Then I dusted them with petal dust in various colors.


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About Us
With a deep rooted commitment to customer service, Genesis Garden & Lawn Care Service, inc. has been providing some of the most beautiful outdoor spaces for both homeowners and businesses in the Atlanta area. We pride ourselves on taking the time to listen to our customers and create environments that reflect their vision. It is important that we foster this valued relationship with our customers so that we can provide the highest quality service possible.
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Hackney Podcasts
The Hackney Podcasts give a wealth of fascinating stories about Hackney Wick, and the London Borough of Hackney in general… Most useful ones are; 'Night' / 'Buses' / 'Water' / 'Coffeecast' / 'Olympic Park Tour' / 'Ian Sinclair' / 'Beyond the A12…' / 'Herbed Beans and Olympic Conspiracies' Search for Hackney Podcasts in the iTunes store … Continue reading
Stink house alley
Hackney Wick in London's East End was one of the poorer parts of London. It was made up of very small back-to-back terrace houses with large families. It was very working class with many small factories employing local people. Businesses like Clarnico (sweet manufacturing), Lesney's (matchbox) (miniature toy manufacturing took a large part of Lea … Continue reading
Community – Wick!!
An interactive map, where people of Hackney Wick have made comments on what interests them about the area, and where. http://www.communitymaps.org.uk/version3/includes/MiniSite.php?minisitename=Hackney%20Wick
Video study of peoples reactions to the Olympic park on the residents of Hackney Wick' door-steps. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/video/2009/nov/19/2012-olympics-hackney-wick Of real note is the suggestion that Hackney Wick could become the location for a 'tesco-town' – a form of shopping village!
Sunday Football at Hackney Marshes (1953)
Old video footage of the sunday league meeting at Hackney Marshes in the early 1950's here. I imagine not too much has changed in terms of the scale of the meetings! The website for the Hackney and Leyton Sunday Football Leagues provides some more up-to-date info. http://www.britishpathe.com/embed.php?archive=48552
Interesting Fact?
Hackney Wick is home to the largest number of artists and studio spaces per square metre in the world. Source; http://www.successinthemaking.co.uk/teach-in-hackney/did-you-know/
"Hey man, hope this helps with the project. When i was there it was mainly spent within the park. Sorry i didnt get a chance to send it yesterday! After taking a stereotypical red london bus from the Hackney Wick railway station, through the tyical suburban build up of houses and offices myself and my … Continue reading
Trendy Hackney Wick, check out 'what have you done today mervyn day'
"Lots of interesting stuff about the area…erm plastic was invented there i think. Theres a really good film about the area called 'what have you done today mervyn day' – you can watch it for free at the BFI mediateque. Nowadays hackney wick is trendy and everyone has a moustache and rides fixie bikes and … Continue reading


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Lesson 1 (from Chapters 1-3)
Chapters one through three.
Calvin Trillin write this memoir as a tribute to his late wife Alice. Trillin's love and admiration for her is displayed in the many articles and books in which he features her as a real-life character. When Alice dies, Trillin receives condolence letters from people who know her well, and also from his readers; people who never meet Alice, but who feel they know her well based on Trillin's writing. They, too, share his loss. One reader says in a letter to Trillin that she " ... sometimes looks at her boyfriend and thinks, 'But will he love me like Calvin loves Alice?'" (pg. 6) This lesson focuses on the theme of love.
1. Small Group Activity: Break the class into four groups. Ask students to discuss and record evidence of Trillin's love for his wife Alice. In what ways does love motivate the...
This section contains 7,722 words
(approx. 26 pages at 300 words per page)


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You probably haven't even noticed but I'm not exactly built like a Gazelle. I'm one of those people, as good luck would have it, where my size makes me relatively close to the earth. This is great for lots of things. Skiing* and snowboarding*. Plane flights. Squeezing to the front of the mosh pit without getting the stink eye from your fellow festival goers.
What it isn't so good for is the bar stool. If the name of the game is anything but downing martinis 'til you nearly backward flip off said bar stool, I can't stand them. When a waiter says we have a table available on the bar they might as well be saying can I set you a table on the pavement out front. Continue reading


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"With my support I want to help giving the children of the children´s home a fair chance to enjoy a happy future."
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Photo by dumbledadTracy. Tracey. Traci.
According to baby name sources, it comes from Gaelic roots and means "warlike" after Thracia, a province of the Roman Empire that was part of the Norman conquest.
Of the moment, it's also the name of Mark Souder's mistress: Tracy Jackson.
The Indiana Congressman announced his plans to resign yesterday amid reports he had an affair with Jackson, an aide who handled public relations and communications in his district office.
The name Tracy is one of those that started out as a boy name and is now almost exclusively female.
Hopefully the current association won't ruin the super-cute name's contention on potential moms' baby names lists -- for a girl, or if they're daring and old-fashioned, a boy.
Here are some other famous Tracys:
Spencer Tracy, American actor
Tracy Chapman, American singer
Tracey Gold, American child star who's perhaps most famous for struggling with anorexia
Tracy Pollan, wife of Michael J. Fox
Tracey Ullman, comedienne and voice of Marge on The Simpsons
Would you consider the name Tracy for your baby's name?


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Wednesday, 21 September 2011
tout quarry
Posted by Nicky Linzey at 13:35 4 comments: Links to this post
Labels: dorset, Jack Russell, portland
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Monday, 12 September 2011
My inspiration for drawing has deserted me lately so I'm making do with taking pictures of everything I see. It's strange how I go through phases, only noticing textures or patterns - at the moment it's colours - everything I look at seems so bright and colourful - unreal almost. You will need to click on the pic to get the full effect.
Posted by Nicky Linzey at 17:31 4 comments: Links to this post
Labels: colours, inspiration, sea, seasons
Monday, 5 September 2011
I came across this field of beautiful colours on a walk the other day and couldn't decide what the crop was. I thought it may be millet but I'm not sure. Does anyone know?
Posted by Nicky Linzey at 09:03 7 comments: Links to this post
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We have a new website
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Our early years play a large role in determining our mental health for life. A mentally healthy child is one with a clear sense of identity and self-worth, the ability to recognise and manage emotions, to learn, play, enjoy friendships and relationships, and deal with difficulties. A wide range of interrelated factors play a role, such as individual, family, wider society and environmental issues.
Scotland's Chief Medical Officer explained the connection between early years and a range of physical and mental health outcomes in his 2006 Annual Report. Particular emphasis was given to the importance of pregnancy and parenting in defining health outcomes. Exposure to high levels of parental stress, neglect and abuse can have a severe effect on brain development. There are clear differences between the development of children in these situations and those in less stressful households.
This informed the priorities and actions outlined in the Early Years Framework under which the Scottish Government and COSLA have already committed to:
To support this planned work the Scottish Government and NHS Health Scotland will take forward work to support delivery focused on mental health improvement, as follows:
Commitment 1: The Scottish Government will work with partners and existing networks to develop by 2010 a web portal on mental health improvement for those working with infants, children and young people.
Commitment 2: Promoting Well-being and Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Children and Young People: A Development Framework for Communities, Agencies and Specialists involved in Supporting Children, Young People and their Families outlines the competencies needed for mental health improvement work with children and young people. We will build on this work and focus on infant mental health improvement. NHS Health Scotland will work with partners to improve the skills and knowledge of front-line staff with a particular focus on inequalities.
Commitment 3: There are many effective interventions for mental health improvement among infants, children and young people; however, many of these are not in general use. NHS Health Scotland will initiate a programme in 2009 to disseminate the evidence base for mental health improvement and support its use through practitioner briefings and narratives to present the case to decision makers and planners.
We are continuing to implement The Mental Health of Children and Young People: A Framework for Promotion, Prevention and Care. These actions are consistent with and will support that work.
We are also developing a national health improvement social marketing campaign aimed at young people. Mental health improvement will constitute both an underpinning element and a discrete strand in this work.
In order to assess and monitor future trends, we need to develop a national picture of mental wellbeing and mental health problems among infants, children and young people in Scotland.
In addition to these particular commitments we will continue to offer the following support:
Good early years and school education is a basis for lifelong learning. Not all students are young people, but we know that mental health problems can significantly disrupt the educational and emotional development and physical health of students.
In our work on reducing the prevalence of suicide, self-harm and common mental health problems and improving the quality of life of those experiencing mental health problems and mental illness we will ensure that the particular needs of infants, children and young people are recognised and that appropriate approaches and services are in place.
The Scottish Further Education Unit provides national support to Scotland's colleges and their stakeholders and supports mental health improvement through the professional development of staff and by providing guidance and other resources. Partnership Matters offers guidance to those involved in the decision-making process in relation to students with additional needs, whether they are young people or adults, and how they are supported in Scotland's colleges. Revised guidance, extended to the university sector, will be launched shortly.
Commitment 5: The National Union of Students represents students in most of Scotland's universities and works in partnership with the Scottish Further Education Unit. NUS Scotland will deliver a three-year project aimed at long-term gains in mental health improvement practices.
We will also work with Universities Scotland to advance work on mental health improvement.
35% of Scotland's population are 50 years old or more and this proportion will increase in the coming years. Older people play a crucial role in life in modern Scotland and the Scottish Government is committed to empowering older people to live healthy, active and independent lives. All Our Futures: Planning for a Scotland with an Ageing Population outlines the opportunities and choices available to people as they get older. Promoting mental health and well-being in later life, the 2006 UK Inquiry by Age Concern and Mental Health Foundation into Mental Health and Well-being in Later Life, identified five key thematic areas for mental health improvement - tackling discrimination, supporting participation in meaningful activity, supporting positive relationships, improving physical health and tackling poverty.
Commitment 6: The Scottish Government will address mental health improvement in later life through the creation of a national group (hosted by NHS Health Scotland) which will produce an action plan in response to All Our Futures and the UK Inquiry by 2010.
Improving the treatment and care for those who suffer from dementia as well as improving support to carers is an established national priority of the Scottish Government. Mental health improvement has a contribution to make to this work, both generally and specifically through improving the awareness and education of both health and social care staff and the general public.
Commitment 7: Working with see me..., the Scottish Government will pilot and evaluate awareness-raising approaches on dementia with a focus on encouraging people to seek early diagnosis. The pilot will take place in the first part of 2009 in Dundee and the outcomes will be reported to the National Dementia Forum.
Commitment 8: NHS Health Scotland will publish and disseminate new dementia resources Worried about your Memory? and Facing Dementia: how to live well with your diagnosis. Facing Dementia provides practical information for people who have recently been diagnosed with dementia. Worried about your Memory? is aimed at helping people who are concerned about their memory to decide whether they should see a doctor.
In our work on reducing the prevalence of suicide, self-harm and common mental health problems and improving the quality of life of those experiencing mental health problems we will ensure that the particular needs of older people are recognised and that appropriate approaches and services are in place.
Good mental wellbeing and reduced incidence of mental health problems is important for the healthy functioning of communities. They affect behaviour, social cohesion, social inclusion, crime and prosperity. Similarly, the quality of the physical environment, proper access to nature and green space and access to cultural experiences have an important role to play in shaping the mental state of individuals. Good community relations, civic engagement and local participation support both individuals' mental states and that of the community as a whole.
Most actions intended to promote and regenerate communities will also support the development of social capital and mental wellbeing. There are particular strands of work in place that will support this priority.
The quality of the physical environment (noise and light levels; the layout of buildings; access to escape facilities such as green space and community facilities; the design of buildings including good, secure housing; and transport systems) has an important role to play in mental health improvement.
Commitment 9: The Scottish Government is implementing Good Places, Better Health which will look at the relationship between the physical environment and children's health. It will concentrate on four child health priorities including mental health improvement, with the evidence being used to support policies and decision-making at national and local level. The work will be ongoing to March 2011.
Culture and the arts have significant value for mental health improvement. The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Scottish Arts Council and, when established, Creative Scotland, and others, to develop increased arts and mental health improvement opportunities and to promote increased access and participation. This will include support for the development of high quality artistic practice in the field of the arts in mental health improvement and development of the evidence base for this work.
Commitment 10: Culture and the arts can also support a range of local outcomes and the Scottish Government is collaborating with local government and other Community Planning and stakeholder interests in developing a toolkit to help Community Planning Partnerships to work with culture and creativity in delivering priority outcomes; this will include action in support of mental health improvement.
Paid or unpaid employment or voluntary work is generally better for mental health than unemployment, but its value depends on both the work itself and culture and relations in the workplace. Good mental wellbeing and reduced levels of mental health problems and mental illness can make a substantial contribution to the economy, in terms of increased productivity and creativity and reduced sickness absence. The linkages between mental health and employment have been set out in the three documents Healthy Working Lives, Equally Well and Workforce Plus.
Employers have a legal duty of care to ensure that their employees' mental health is taken into account. A comprehensive and integrated approach to mentally healthy employment and working life should include promoting the mental wellbeing of all employees and preventing work-related causes of mental health problems. Good practice also requires retaining and supporting people in work when they develop or experience mental health problems and facilitating the return to work of people who currently have, or have experienced, mental health problems.
The Scottish Mental Health and Employment Network is committed to improving the mental health of Scotland's population and supporting the recovery of individuals who have experienced mental health problems in relation to employment. The Scottish Government provides support to the Network which aims to raise awareness and disseminate messages about the benefits of employment to mental health, including the role of health and local authorities in promoting best practice.
The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives works to provide advice, information and training on good workplace practices and policies for mental health improvement. It works with partners to promote mentally healthy workplaces, with a specific focus on public sector workplaces and small- to medium-sized enterprises. It is working with the Mental Health Foundation to lead on the European Union public health programme 'Promoting good practice for mental health in the workplace'. It is also working with the Scottish Trades Union Congress and Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health to explore areas where trade unions can offer more practical and sensitive support and make sustainable changes to develop mentally healthy workplaces.
The Scottish Government will work with NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives to develop an outcomes framework for health and work which will include mental health improvement.
Commitment 11: The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives will work with partners to develop a comprehensive programme of work to promote mentally healthy workplaces, with a specific focus on public sector workplaces and small- to medium-sized enterprises.
Commitment 12: The Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities said in Equally Well that we need to do more to address the factors that lead to people losing work or remaining out of work as a result of poor health. The Scottish Government will undertake a review of the current Healthy Working Lives policy early in 2009 with increased emphasis on mental health improvement.
The Scottish Government, NHSScotland and local authorities are major employers and have a key role in promoting good employment practice that supports health and wellbeing. It is important that the public sector shows leadership and demonstrates the behaviours and cultures that we recommend to others. Increasingly we hear the idea of being an 'exemplar employer', but without a clear and common understanding about what that means in practice.
Commitment 13: The Scottish Government will take forward work to develop consensus on what it would mean to be an exemplar employer and agree standards and consider an implementation plan for public health bodies to achieve the standards.
Reducing the Prevalence of Suicide
The suicide rate in Scotland has been reducing since 2001 but it is still higher than in other parts of the UK. In 2002, in its Action Plan to prevent suicide, Choose Life, the then Scottish Executive, established the target of reducing suicide by 20% by 2013. Suicide prevention continues to be a significant priority for Scotland and this target continues to be a long-term ambition for the Scottish Government. Delivery on this target will require action by all sectors.
There is a particular focus in the NHS on developing workforce knowledge and skills. The NHS is working with partners to:
reduce the suicide rate between 2002 and 2013 by 20%, supported by 50% of key front line staff in mental health and substance misuse services, primary care and accident and emergency being educated and trained in using suicide assessment tools/suicide prevention training programmes by 2010.
Choose Life set out a 10-year strategic framework and action plan which identified objectives and priority groups to improve the understanding of suicide and what can be done to prevent it. National implementation support for suicide prevention is now hosted by NHS Health Scotland who:
The Choose Life strategy is now over six years old and an independent review published in 2006 identified areas where it should be developed further or reconsidered.
Commitment 14: The Scottish Government will take forward a further review of Choose Life in conjunction with key delivery partners, including NHS Health Scotland who have a lead responsibility for national implementation, and local government, who have a lead responsibility for local action. The review will be overseen by a National Suicide Prevention Reference Group with the work being completed by 2010. The work will be informed by an independent review of the second phase of implementation (2006-2008).
Data on people who have completed suicide or committed homicide and who had been in touch with mental health services in the previous year helps to develop recommendations for improved patient care. The Scottish Government will continue to fund the Scottish element of the UK Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness. The next five-year report is due in 2012.
We lack extensive information on suicides in Scotland. Consequently, we do not have a clear picture of all the key factors underlying suicides - information that may help prevent future suicides.
Commitment 15: Working with partners, NHS Health Scotland will develop a secure, confidential suicide register for Scotland by December 2009.
The Breathing Space telephone listening, advice and signposting service for people experiencing low mood or depression, complements and supports work on suicide prevention. The Scottish Government will continue to support this service, which is run by NHS 24.
Reducing the Prevalence of Self-harm
Self-harm is a response to underlying emotional and psychological distress, which can include feeling isolated, having a poor body image, academic pressures, powerlessness and abuse or trauma. Self-harm can include cutting, burning, scalding, banging heads and other body parts against walls, and hair-pulling, biting, and swallowing or inserting objects as well as self-poisoning. The full extent of self-harm is unknown, but more than 7,000 people are treated in hospital each year in Scotland following episodes of 'non-fatal deliberate self-harm'. Truth Hurts, the report of the UK National Inquiry into Self-harm among Young People, identified that a comprehensive approach to self-harm requires both a broad, generic focus on mental health improvement and behaviour specific information, training and intervention. The independent evaluation of Choose Life also recommended further development of responses to non-fatal aspects of self-harm.
Commitment 16: The Scottish Government will work with partners to improve the knowledge and understanding of self-harm and an appropriate response. In taking forward this work we will:
Reducing the Prevalence of Common Mental Health Problems
Common mental health problems refer to those symptoms which can be regarded as extreme forms of 'normal' emotional experiences such as depression and anxiety. These problems are common in the population. For example, an estimated 1 in 5 of the population of Scotland will experience depression at some point in their lives and the World Health Organization ( WHO) predicts that depression will soon be the second biggest cause of illness worldwide. Those experiencing depression or anxiety often experience physical symptoms.
Similarly, common mental health problems are more frequent in patients with physical illness ( e.g. diabetes or cardiac problems) than in those without. The evidence base for reducing risk factors associated with depression and anxiety, and increasing protective factors, is developing. Effective interventions include the development of psychological or behavioural skills, prevention of discrimination and abuse and the promotion of better physical health.
The Scottish Government is continuing to take forward work to offer appropriate and timely access to treatment for depression and anxiety and is committed to a range of approaches that meet the different needs of patients, including increased access to psychological therapies, guided self-help, non-pharmacological interventions and prescription of medication. The voluntary sector also offers a range of counselling services to those requiring help with bereavement, trauma, abuse and relationships.
The Government is committed to increasing the availability of evidence-based psychological therapies for all age groups in a range of settings and through a range of providers. This work is being taken forward by NHS Boards with support from NHS Education for Scotland. In addition NHS 24 is piloting access to telephone-based cognitive behavioural therapy and self-help coaching in five board areas. The Scottish Government is also supporting a pilot programme which provides training for staff in supporting the use of the Living Life to the Full resources and this work is hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Commitment 17: During 2009 the Scottish Government will take forward work to develop referral criteria and information systems that would support the creation of access targets for psychological therapies.
In addition to patient-focused interventions there is a need to identify and engage those in the population who are at the greatest risk of mental health problems and illness.
Commitment 18: The Scottish Government will work with NHS Boards to implement the Equally Well recommendation that work to address depression, stress and anxiety is targeted in deprived communities, building on the action already being taken forward under the Keep Well programme (which is focused on anticipatory care) and the Living Better programme (which is focused on the mental health of those suffering from long-term conditions such as diabetes and chronic heart disease).
To address the co-morbidity of substance misuse and mental health problems and illness, Delivering for Mental Health made the commitment to translate the principles of Mind the Gap and A Fuller Life into practical actions. As a result, substance misuse staff identified as providing frontline services have been included in the NHS suicide prevention HEAT target.
The Scottish Government will continue to fund Depression Alliance Scotland, the national charity working with people affected by depression in Scotland to:
Discrimination and Stigma
Those who suffer from mental health problems and mental illness are likely to experience discrimination and social exclusion because of stigma. The law prohibits discrimination and requires public bodies to act in a way that promotes the inclusion and fair treatment of those with mental illness. The Scottish Government tackles discrimination, stigma and social exclusion both through its general equalities and diversity work and through continuing support for the see me.... campaign. In the next two years see me.... will continue to:
Working for a Healthier Tomorrow shows that tackling stigma around ill-health and disability is central to enabling more people to find work and to stay in work.
Commitment 19: see me.... will develop a strategy for tackling stigma within public services and will work with public services, trade unions, employers' bodies and the media to raise the profile of mental health in respect of the Disability Discrimination Act.
The Mental Health Foundation is leading Scotland's contribution to the EU public health programme to address stigma in respect of depression and to develop a toolkit for tackling stigma in workplaces. They will explore, with the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives and NHS Health Scotland, the development of an online mental health improvement awareness course for employers and employees that addresses stigma.
To ensure that equality and diversity considerations are considered and mainstreamed within work to advance mental health improvement in Scotland, we will ensure that any major initiatives funded under this policy, framework and implementation plan undertake and publish an Equality Impact Screen or Assessment. This assessment will include consideration of gender, religion, ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability and socio-economic status. Equality impact screens or assessments will be carried out and published by see me...., NHS Health Scotland, and the Scottish Recovery Network. An assessment was completed for Breathing Space in 2008.
The Scottish Government has funded NHS Health Scotland to host a national mental health and race equality programme since 2006. This programme works with stakeholders to explore experiences of recovery and develop work with black and minority ethnic communities to tackle stigma and improve services. Three local projects in NHS Lothian, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Highland will explore how primary care mental health services can be better designed to meet the needs of these communities.
Social Inclusion
In 2007 the Scottish Government published With Inclusion in Mind which offers guidance to local authorities in respect of their duties to promote the social inclusion of people who have experienced mental illness in the way in which they deliver services. We will continue to offer financial support to this activity and will take forward further collaborative work with COSLA and other partners to develop this agenda.
Commitment 20: The Scottish Government will put in place a programme of support for local areas to implement With Inclusion in Mind.
We will also continue to support VOX (Voices of Experience) to ensure user involvement in service development and action focused on discrimination, stigma, social inclusion and recovery.
Employment is a key element of social inclusion for those with mental illness. The Scottish Government has taken forward the recommendations of the Scottish Parliament's Equal Opportunities Committee by creating a Supported Employment Task Group. This group is responsible for the creation of a disability-focused Supported Employment Framework for Scotland, including the establishment of a strategic plan and national standards. We will consider how this work can apply to mental illness.
The Employability Framework for Scotland, Workforce Plus, aims to help disadvantaged people back into work by harnessing the support of devolved policies and services and adding value to the UK Government's employment programmes. Workforce Plus aims to bring together partners to plan and deliver services in an efficient manner.
A UK Government Mental Health and Employment High-Level Steering Group has been established and the Scottish Government has established a reference group to develop a Scottish perspective to feed into this group. The Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health represents Scotland's interests on this group and aims to bring a Scottish perspective to the development of the UK Government Mental Health and Employment Strategy.
Physical Health
We know that those experiencing mental health problems and illness are at increased risk of poorer physical health including heart disease and diabetes and that this group has higher levels of smoking, alcohol consumption, drug misuse and reduced life expectancy.
In Delivering for Mental Health the Scottish Government made the commitment that:
"... by 2009 we will improve the physical health of those with severe and enduring mental illness by ensuring that every such patient, where possible and appropriate, has a physical health assessment at least once every 15 months."
The information that we receive from monitoring of the General Practice contract suggests that this is largely being achieved with health checks being offered and taken up. However, we know that further improvements can be made in terms of both uptake and the quality of the assessment. We have recently published further guidance with recommendations for implementation. In addition, Equally Well said that health improvement should be more proactive, better focused and better structured for those at greatest risk and in greatest need.
Commitment 21: NHS Health Scotland will review evidence-based approaches and develop health improvement information on smoking cessation, weight management and physical activity designed for people with mental health problems; and will work with NHS Education for Scotland to build knowledge and skills in the workforce.
Recovery and the principles which underpin it have become increasingly important to the way we support mental health in Scotland. The Scottish Recovery Network describe recovery as follows:
"Recovery is being able to live a meaningful and satisfying life, as defined by each person, in the presence or absence of symptoms. It is about having control over and input into your own life. Each individual's recovery, like his or her experience of the mental health problems or illness, is a unique and deeply personal process."
Both the Mental Health Nursing Review and Delivering for Mental Health set out the Scottish Government's commitment to a recovery-based approach to mental illness. The Scottish Recovery Indicator is a tool designed to allow for an assessment of the degree to which local services have developed a recovery orientation.
Commitment 22: The Scottish Recovery Indicator will be available from end April 2009 and should be in use by the majority of mental health services by 2012. The Scottish Government will monitor its use.
The Scottish Government will continue to fund the Scottish Recovery Network ( SRN) to promote recovery-based service delivery and self-directed approaches to recovery, such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning. The SRN has published the Realising Recovery learning materials in partnership with NHS Education Scotland and will support the continued development of the Scottish Recovery Indicator, as well as offering support to those using the Indicator. In addition SRN will work with the Scottish Qualifications Authority to develop new learning materials on recovery and peer support, designed for people with experience of mental health problems. The SRN will also support the continued development of peer support by creating a network and programme to support employers.
Page updated: Wednesday, July 08, 2009


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News blog for the Oxford Experience Summer School held at Christ Church, Oxford
Sunday, 16 December 2012
Concert to tell story of King Richard III's life through medieval music
The University of Leicester will hold a concert of medieval music which will tell the story of King Richard III's life.
Members of the archaeological team behind the search for King Richard III are organising a concert featuring music from the times and places the King would have known.
The concert will be held on Friday 11 January at the Fraser Noble Hall in Leicester and will feature a trio of leading Early Music performers.
It coincides with the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology, hosted by the University's Centre for Historical Archaeology in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History.
Read the rest of this article...
You may also be interested in this Oxford Experience Summer School course "The Lifeand Times of Richard III"
Further information...
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|Mod-WoT.com » Sights for World of Tanks WOT 1.3, 18.104.22.168 » Sniper and arcade sight Predator for World of tanks 0.9.16
Sniper and arcade sight Predator for World of tanks 0.9.16
I think we all remember the legendary fiction Thriller Predator. In this film, a race of predators fought, with people, with Strangers. Presenting your heed sniper and arcade sight for Predator 0.9.16 World of tanks is made on the grounds of this wonderful cinematic masterpiece. The sight was quite cute and original. All the main markers of a sight that you will need for combat are present, but they were serious in the style chosen by the author of the genre. In General, the modification looks holistically and does not cause discomfort when playing, but rather helps to feel like a predator, punishing the enemy tanks.
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Set in the 14th century of the Christian era and told by the main character's daughter, this story is a fine weaving of a 'fictional tale'1 within so many historical and religious themes. Topics covered for which background material was required included: the political differences between Scotland, England, France, Spain and the Vatican; the Crusades; the history of the Templar knights; the history of the Celts, Druids, Christians and Muslims and of course the religious history, legends, superstitions and eschatology of those religions.
The story changes tack so many times in the beginning that it takes some time to work out exactly what the main theme, direction and object is and this I quickly and definitively had determined by the time I got to around page 400.
The main character William McBride finds an opportunity to escape an unpromising future by entering the service of Templar Knights. It is a troubled journey that lands him in hot water and directs him toward the pursuit of a personal salvation of sorts. During this journey to redeem himself and find his destiny, he becomes involved in two different relationships with two different women.
Travelling far and wide and caught up in everything from Arthurian legends, the Crusades and the murder of a Pope, William McBride's journey is really one of deep spiritual self-discovery during a period of great turmoil in Europe's history.
While different readers will have an affinity with different aspects of the tale, I found the underlying spiritual aspect of what I will call 'personal salvation,' to have been the most intriguing. Whilst one could say that this story is about the battle between good and evil or darkness and light, I think that the author's purpose was to make that battle more personal by directing readers through the characters to look for the light in the darkness of their own souls.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was left feeling grateful that I had enough academic knowledge of the topics covered to really appreciate the brilliance of the author and the obvious dedication to research. This book was of necessity a mammoth task. The writing was good and there were no more than three or four 'typos' throughout the text. It was well done.
I heartily recommend "The Legacy of Two Gemini Knights" to anyone interested in historical tales or ancient Celtic legends and the like.
1 Geoff Logan began writing a non-fiction book about his ancestors from the 14th century, but as skeletons began to crawl out of the closet, it became clear that his relatives needed to have their story told in another way. From this revelation, the author's new novel, "The Legacy of Two Gemini Knights" was born. (Publicity Material)
1 Geoff Logan began writing a non-fiction book about his ancestors from the 14th century, but as skeletons began to crawl out of the closet, it became clear that his relatives needed to have their story told in another way. From this revelation, the author's new novel, "The Legacy of Two Gemini Knights" was born. (Publicity Material)
R.P. BenDedek
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Geoff Logan, a veteran university lecturer, has a master's degree in education from Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. He now serves as an independent education consultant. This is his first book.
"The Legacy of Two Gemini Knights"
By Geoff Logan
Paperback $27
Hardcover $36
© Copyright 2002-2014 by Magic City Morning Star
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i finished a simple tote for Ann today. first time without any books or something like that. two pockets inside. Ann picked the materials and i did everything like she wanted. it looks better in reality :)
p.s. i hate my neighbour from the first floor (15/37) please kill him.


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763 MULVEY Avenue in WINNIPEG: Fort Rouge / Crescentwood / Riverview Single Family Detached for sale (South Winnipeg) : MLS®# 2717425
763 MULVEY Avenue WINNIPEG R3M 1G4 : Fort Rouge / Crescentwood / Riverview
Gorgeous character home in Corydon village. Original woodwork throughout. 3 bed-rms up, plus huge family room on 3rd floor. Loads of upgrades that include newer:roof, insulation, furnace, hwt, A/C + much more. Start your family's memories here! Square footage as per city assessment.
Listed by century21carrie.com
Listing information last updated on March 1, 2012 at 12:51 AM (UTC)


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Gosh I can't believe it was our 25th Wedding anniversary yesterday.. and I really put a spanner in the works for any plans Wayne had made for dinner- lol. I went and put my back out ( and a good job at that too!) on Monday morning just by bending over to pick up a toilet roll that my dear pup Pepsi was chewing to shreds. BWAHAHA- yeah serves me right for doing Acrobatics and having my coccyx crushed when younger).. I now look like one of those comic book characters that are bent over double and can't straighten up. BWAHAHA.. like Wayne politely said last night.. you look like you have a carrot up your @ss.... sheee's thanks ;-P lol
Today is the 1st....... which means it's time for the OCT COMPANY STASH @ Pixels&Co...... 30% off for the next 5 days!
(These coordinate with all the other designers products too- so you can pick and choose what you want- so AWESOME!)
And of course some fun Creative inspiration for you today:
By Ruthy (who's son has a banana to his ear talking to his dad- tooo cute!)
Quite funny that all our layouts are showing off 'men or boys'... seems they love to talk just as much as us woman do- lol
*Add On Freebie at bottom of post*
************ @ SugarHillco ***********
We have a brand NEW "Sugar" Designer joining us today...WOOP,
Give a big welcome to Shannon of Scotty Girl Design
Her whole store is 50% off............. don't miss it.
***************** Digital Scrapper ***************
I was thrilled to be asked to be this months October Guest Designer for Digital Scrapper ... and the kit I created below is part of the Premier Membership subscription downloads (including matching QP's, clusters and templates!).
You will also be able to purchase it directly from the Digital Scrapbook store.
Sign up for their weekly NEWSLETTER too so you don't miss any extra 'gifts and tips'!
Premier membership features:
A deluxe scrapbooking kit from one of the top names in digital design
A set of 10 QuickPages and 10 Templates
Four in-depth training videos for both Photoshop and Elements
LEARN MORE <<< here.
This months theme was 'Great Outdoors' and I had a blast creating this.
************* Freebie Alert **************
I added a few little 'Extra's' just for you that coordinate with my Say What? papers and Elements:
You can grab them right HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/s/g9sgzfzwug3i3bt/kb-SayWhat_Freebie.zip?dl=0
I'm off to go straighten out a crooked back for while....... BWAHAHA. Hope you all have a fantastic week further.


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Are you guys ready to get excited?!?
I hope that you've all heard by now that I've decided to create my own indie brand of nail polish. It's been quite a long time in the making, I really struggled with the decision on whether or not I wanted to do this but I have to say that I'm so happy that I have decided to move on with it. And after all of these months buying supplies, mixing, panning, and feeling like I had no idea what I was doing I'm so incredibly proud to say that I'm finally opening up my shop TODAY at 2pm EST!!!!
So I figured that I owed you guys some swatches of the potential pretties you can buy right?! ;) Read on to see what I've come up with! (*warning picture heavy*)
I'm just going to go in alphabetical order here and start off with my absolute favorite of the collection, Blue Ribbon Baby. Blue Ribbon Baby is a "speedway blue" polish with a linear holographic finish. The polish practically glows on your nails! This is two coats for opacity, you may want to go with three if you have long nails if you don't want any chance of VNL.
|Color is a little wonky here, not quite as bright but pretty darn close ;)
Candy Apple is a bright red (candy apple ;)) polish with a slight linear holographic finish. Two coats used here for opacity and a top coat to keep it super shiny.
Falling In October Fest is a fall themed glitter topper with red, orange, yellow, orange holographic, and gold holographic various sized glitters. I mean it's basically fall in a bottle! ;) This color would look awesome layered over any color, one of my lovely swatchers, Becky from GamenGloss actually swatched FIOF over a navy blue and it looked absolutely stunning! This is two coats applied normally over Essie Penny Talk.
Goldfish In A Bag is a pretty shimmery blue polish with orange hex, orange circle, and navy blue and orange holographic glitter. The formula is a bit thinner then the others so I've used three coats, you can also layer it over a similar color for a similar effect.
Sweeter Than Sugar is a sugary sweet pale pink polish filled with holographic pink micro glitters, blue tiny glitters, and baby pink and blue hex glitters. I seriously wanted to get some cotton candy after swatching this one! ;) I used three thin coats for perfect coverage.
Tractor Pulling is a "tractor green" polish with yellow, green, and gold glitters. Remind you of a particular tractor? ;) The base is more pigmented on this one so the glitters hide a bit but I quite like the effect. This is two coats with top coat for a shiny finish.
Under The Ferris Wheel Lights is a shimmery light grey polish with various pastel glitters and a slight holographic finish. I just love the color combination on this one! The pastel offsets the grey holographic in such a beautiful way! This is two coats with top coat to keep it shiny.
So what do you guys think?! I really hope you enjoyed the swatches, I've literally poured my heart and soul into this collection LOL! And if you really liked them then remember I'm launching:
Today, September 6th, at 2pm EST!!!
And my store link is:
Thanks so much for reading guys and a special thanks to my wonderful bloggers and swatchers that are helping me out with the launch!! You guys are all the best!! :)


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Posted by Katie smith / 1/22/2012 / 2 Comments / photography , project 365
Project 366
Wow, I've made it to week 3 without missing any days! :) I've been using my iphone quite a bit more than I thought I would, just because I neer seem to have my camera with me.
1. Mckinney Falls state park, 2. watching Star Trek, 3. Scrapbooking, 4. Saw a couple of bob cats and a coyote while biking, 5. volunteering at the library, 6. Rock climbing, 7. buttons!
tags photography, project 365


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Article by Becky Garrison
To commemorate the International Day of Peace (September 21st), I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell. I first caught this film at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. I reported on the God's Politics blog how this documentary tells a compelling story of how Christian and Muslim women of Liberia joined forces to combat the violent warlords and the corrupt Charles Taylor regime. During a press conference, I learned from Leymah Gbowee, the leader of this movement, that Roman Catholic Archbishop and former president of the Liberian Council of Churches Michael K. Francis became her spiritual rock. The behind-the-scenes prophetic presence of Francis and other religious leaders gave these women the faith fuel they needed to walk the walk.
Armed with white t-shirts, the power of prayer, and their Bibles and Qurans, these women won a long-awaited peace that led to the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female head of state and Liberia's first elected female president. In one scene that had the audience cheering, these women barricaded the site of the stalled peace talks in Ghana. The men could not leave the room even to eat until they drafted a workable peace plan. When the guards tried to arrest these women, they evoked the most powerful nonviolent weapon in their arsenal by threatening to remove their clothes. This strategy worked, as the guards chose not to bring shame upon themselves by forcing the women to expose their naked bodies. The women kept their clothes on but they also kept their promise that if need be, "they'll be back."
Following the screening, director Gini Reticker and producer Abigail Disney introduced a panel discussion with international women activists, which was moderated by journalist Lynn Sherr.
Leymah Gbowee, one of the subjects in the film and a Profile in Courage winner, was unable to attend the screening. I had met her at the press conference last year, where I asked about the role that faith leaders played in this campaign for peace. So I sent a question via email asking how faith leaders continue to assist her and got this response from Leymah:
My faith as a Christian plays a major role in the work that I do, having said that, faith leaders are extremely important in the work that I do and in my personal life. Peace activism is one of the most rewarding fields but has a lot of stress and related challenges associated with it. You constantly find yourself at a place where you are listening to more pains of afflictions and violence, while at the same time dealing with leaders that are not committed to protocols that they sign to or laws that they enacted.
For someone like me who is overly passionate about what I do, I tend to get angry at these contradictions in society at the same time striving to bring some relief to the individuals in a particular situation. Over time I realized I am over-worked and over-stressed but also sometimes at the end of my rope where God the just God is concerned. Many questions of how a just God can allow people to suffer. It is these times that the leaders of faith are of true essence to me. They help answer some of these questions and more.
Secondly, leaders of faith have over the years been the voice reechoing my call as a peace activist through their support. I have encountered Bishops and Imams who don't just encourage me but also are actively involved in ensuring that my work is a success. I often give the example of the Arch Bishop of the Catholic Church in Liberia, who was advising me back in 2003 and mobilizing resources for our campaign. I tell the story of an Imam in Liberia who spent an entire night at a prayer vigil we had. Even when all the Pastors had gone home he stayed giving us words from the Koran about the blessings of building peace. He stayed from 6pm till 6am through a night of heavy rain.
Women of faith have also proven to be my anchor when I feel like my strength is failing me through the prayers and constant reminder of where God is taking me through my work.
I count myself truly blessed having all the support from people of faith. I have no choice but to succeed in all that I set out to do because I have the prayers and the Grace backing me up.
During the month of September and into early October, the filmmakers are launching the September Global Peace tour to carry this film's message of peace in the face of violence around the world. For information on how you can host a screening or for information on any screenings near you, log on to their Web site. For those who cannot make the screenings, DVDs of the can be pre-ordered from the website starting October 15th and will be available at Barnes & Noble and other retail outlets on November 10th.
ARTICLE SOURCE: http://blog.sojo.net/2009/09/23/how-women-of-faith-fought-a-dictator-with-nonviolence/


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It's finally warm enough in New York to get away with a cape! Albeit fur, the ventilation of the dress and cape make it perfect for the warm temperatures of spring. I paired it with my favorite shoes at the moment that match my Alexander Wang Rockie bag perfectly.
This was so much fun to shoot, I had such a great time mounting a huge lion statue and judge the masses with him hehe. These were shot by the amazing Avital! Her Instagram and Tumblr.
Location: New York
Brands: Vintage, Dolce Vita, Alexander Wang