text:
Brazil Real Ends Slightly Stronger
BRASILIA—The Brazilian real firmed against the dollar to end slightly stronger Wednesday as investors contemplated higher-than-expected inflation figures and the possibility of foreign currency inflows.
The real exited active trading at BRL2.0027 Wednesday, from BRL2.0045 to the dollar Tuesday, according to Tullet Prebon via FactSet.
Traders said the local currency gained some strength against the greenback in early trading...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- 77 years old
- Date of birth: Jan 29, 1936
- Date of passing: Jul 25, 2013
|Let the memory of Suzanne be with us forever
This memorial website was created in the memory of our loved one, Suzanne Babbidge, 77, born on January 29, 1936 and passed away on July 25, 2013. We will remember her forever.
The Funeral Service will be on Tuesday July 30th at 11am at the Second Baptist Church. Our mother was very fond of the beacon project so any donations in her name are appreciated: http://www.islesborobeacon.org/donate/
"Happy 81st Birthday Mom!"
"Happy Birthday Mom, we miss you so much!"
"Amy, you mention Sue's sister's name as Elizabeth. I thought her name was Marshall. When Sue and I met the 2nd half of sophomore year, I knew. she had recently lost her older and only sibling in a sailing accident in (I think) Long Island. She had been a student at U.of Mich. or U.of Wisc. or somewhere out west. Sue was now an only child also."
"A day does not go by that I do not think of my dear friend Suzanne--especially today on her birthday. We exchanged cards every year and always looked forward to meeting in the early spring for lunch on the mainland. I miss you Sue."
"I never drive past Sue's house without mentally picturing her and Taffy walking up the road. I miss them both every day."
"You are the first Middlebury classmate whom I really miss. Our lives paralleled each others so nicely that I felt so comfortable confiding in you. I especially remember a fun ski trip we took to Mt. Snow after graduating. Thanks for your friendship over the years."
"I join my husband, Pierre, in his tribute to Sue !"
"Amy, I'm notifying Middlebury (I'm class correspondent). Sue and I were in contact over the years, even though she was in Maine and I in N. Calif. I had been to her family home in Brooklyn. She annoyed me that she refused to do e-mail. I had three snail-mail Xmas cards to do/call. Yesterday did one call and Sue was to be next"
"Donna and I were shocked to hear about Suzanne's passing. We'll be arriving on Islesboro Aug 7 for our annual get together with family on Hewes Point Road. So sad we'll miss her memorial, having her stop by to get Taffy a drink on their walks, her Sewing Circle Fair hug and hearing, "Good to see you again, kissing cousin!" :) Rest in Peace, Sue..."
"I live on Islesboro two houses away from Sue and Taffy. That's how all of my family and friends have always referred to her. Sue was a dear friend to me and my daughter Betsy and my husband Bruce. We loved her dearly and I know she knew this. I loved and will forever miss our daily connections that occurred by chance or by me stopping in because taffy wouldn't let me by without a "hug"."
"I have been blessed to know Sue through her marriage to my cousin, and we became lifelong cousins, sharing the love of family, history, handcrafted items, gardening and values. Her strong values of love of her family and friends, and service to her church and community created a charismatic, joyful person to know and love. I'm glad I knew and loved her, and I always will. God bless!"
"Sue was my oldest and dearest friend from childhood in Rockville Centre. Overnight visits to Islesboro were always so special after I too moved to Maine. We shared our passion for gardening and exchanged our favorite plants. I was blessed to have had such a lasting connection with such a wonderful, strong woman. Sue will be missed by everyone who knew her."
"Dear Suzanne,
Since my first travel to US and for all my life, you will stay in my mind.
In Chappaqua, Islesboro or FireIsland yesterday, in my thoughts and my prayers since today.
"2 short stories: a very strong memory from when I was around 12 and spent time with my pretty and smart aunt sue at Fire Island; and during my interview for my first job out of college, the interviewer asked me if I was related to Sue McLaughlin from Chase--to this day, I am convinced I got the job because of her! Rest in Peace, Aunt Sue, and know you live on in our loving memories"
"Dear Suzanne,when I met Amy, I knew we'd be friends for life! And through her, I made a few other friends for life. For that I am so happy and blessed. Thank you for raising such a beautiful daughter, a true tribute to you."
"To Amy's mom,
I never met you but I did receive a beautiful hand made Christmas wreath made from the branches you all collected, made with love by Amy. You have an amazing daughter who is a life long friend. Her heart is HUGE and I'm grateful to you for her."
"…One of the very best of people;
The kind who insert themselves in life
And make others see the sun,
The kind of person one meets
Very rarely in one's lifetime.
Pierre Henri du Vair,
Quebec City"
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text:
This may have been posted a couple of times online and can be easily found just by searching through the search engine but I just want to share it. I wouldn't have tried to find out how to Decode/Encode in PowerShell if not for Mike Robbins. When I was trying to find his email address so that I could contact him, I found this on the "About" page on his blog (www.mikefrobbins.com).
So in order to get his email address, we will need to run the following commands in Windows PowerShell.
$encodedmsg = "IgBtAGkAawBlAGYAcgBvAGIAYgBpAG4AcwBAAG0AcwBwAHMAdQBnAC4AYwBvAG0AIgA="
$decodedmsg = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($encodedmsg)
$decodedtext = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($decodedmsg)
Write-Output "Mike Robbins email is: " $decodedtext
That's all! I got his email now! It's pretty interesting as it shows that you need a little effort in learning PowerShell to get in contact with the PowerShell expert.
Cheers to Mike Robbins!
Milton Goh


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10 Reasons Why You Should Take on Kayaking
There are all kinds of different sports that people can participate in today. In fact, more than ever, people can branch out into activities that they have never tried before. Fortunately, for people who like to spend their time out on the water playing, it is normally fun to pick and choose different activities from time to time. In some cases, the activities that a person chooses can be relatively new to their taste. However, when an individual becomes more familiar with the sport, they can make an informed decision to try it with others. For instance, some people may be interested in kayak fishing, specifically after they have learned the basics. To that end, here are a few reasons why you should try kayaking.
#1 – Fun Water Sport for different seasons
Some people like all kinds of different water sports. However, many of them can only be enjoyed during the summer time. However, when an individual begins kayaking, they will find that virtually any type of calm weather will do. In fact, some people enjoy going kayaking in the winter season because they love the feeling of the cold brisk fresh air.
#2. Great exercise for building upper Body Strength
Kayaking is also great exercise for people who want to stay physically fit. In fact, sports fanatics can take advantage of these awesome upper body workouts. The work outs that they get usually involves the use of their arms, shoulders, chest and other parts of their body.
#3. Excellent Social Activity
Similar to many other hobbies, fishing kayak is normally a sport that can be done together with other like-minded people. Even though some people may like being alone with solo kayaking, others prefer getting a group together for a day out to share this great hobby.
#4 – Low Impact
Sometimes people may want to exercise but they are having problems with their knees. So, they need an exercise that is considered to be low impact to guard against injury. This is also where kayaking comes in since it is a low impact sport that will protect the joints, ankles and other parts of the body from various kinds of issues.
- Versatile
Kayaking is also a versatile and adaptable sport. This is because these activities can be done in almost any body of water (i.e. large swimming pool, river, and lake). Therefore, people have the opportunity to engage in water polo, leisure paddling or running a marathon race.
- Great for people who seek adventure
fishing Kayaks is a sport that also offers a certain amount of adventure. Therefore, people may plan a day out using it as a way to go sightseeing with children and the elderly. In some cases, people may like a more intense sport that allows them to travel down the river.
- Stress Relief
Kayaking can be used as a great stress relief, and is considered to be one of the most cited reasons for participating. According to the Journal of Leisurability, it has great metal and emotional benefits.
- Sight Seeing
Kayaking can also be used as a method to go sight seeing in different places that have large bodies of water. In fact, people can pick and choose where they want to go. For instance, they may decide to explore Lake powel in Utah or the Twin lakes in Alaska for fishing with their favorite spinning reels.
- Contact with wildlife.
Because kayaking can be done in silence, sometimes animals do not notice people as they are paddling thru different areas. For instance, some people can recall experiences where they have paddled along with a swimming alder, a swimming muskrat and other animals that others may like to get close to.
- Contact with the sea
People experience the sea in many ways. Some of which involves traveling down the sea in a boat, yacht and other sea worthy modes of transportation. In many cases, people are very far above sea level so there are experiences can be limited. On the other hand, when a person is kayaking, they may practically sit under the water.
1 Comment so far. Feel free to join this conversation.
I have been kayaking for the past three straight years. Kayaking is extremely fun and entertaining. You are correct with all the reasons you have mentioned.
Leave A Response


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If you are on Android 4.0.3 then you can update to 4.0.4 and root your device easily using the rooted kernel. The tutorial is very simple, you just need to flash rooted kernel and install Superuser SU app later you can install custom clockworkmod recovery to flash new firmware.
Warning: We are not responsible if the device is bricked or damaged. Do it as your own risk.
1. Required Original International Sony Xperia Neo and Neo V Device ICS running 4.1.B.0.431 Firmware with locked bootloader only. It doesn't works on unlocked bootloaders.
2. There are few data you need to backup such as Music, Videos, Images, Contacts, Call Logs, SMS, APN and MMS Settings should be backed up before starting the update process.
2. There are few data you need to backup such as Music, Videos, Images, Contacts, Call Logs, SMS, APN and MMS Settings should be backed up before starting the update process.
3. The minimum battery requirement for the completion of the process is 70%.
4. It is necessary to disable the Security suites on your Sony Xperia, for this you can follow the path Settings > Security > Mark "Unknown sources" and check it.
5. Again, under settings, ensure that USB Debugging option has been enabled by navigating to the 'Settings > Development Options> Development > USB debugging'.
Note: For 4.1.B.0.431 Firmware there is no rooting procedure but we can root in different way by changing the kernel version to old one. Because old kernel ICS 4.0.3 4.1.A.0.562 can be rooted with flash tool.
Here goes flashing old kernel to Sony Xperia Neo/Neo V
1. Download MT11i_4.1.A.0.562_kernel.ftf from here to your PC.
2. And download one more tool i.e. flashtool-0.9.0.0-windows.exe for Sony Xperia Devices from here into the PC.
3. Install the Flashtool software in the PC. After installing it, go to C: Drive and open the flashtool folder. There you will get drivers folder open the folder and run the flashtool-drivers.exe. Select the Neo device and click on install button. It will going to install compatible ADB drivers for your specific Neo/ Neo V mobile.
5. Now run the flashtool.exe application. A medium size window will be displayed on the screen.
That's it you have successfully installed pervious kernel on your device. It's time to root the device with easy guide.
Steps and Instructions to Root Sony Xperia NEO V on Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0.4 Firmware:
1. Download the DooMLoRD_v1_Xperia-2011-ICS-ROOT-emu-busybox-su.zip file from here into your PC.
2. Extract the zip file with the help of winrar or winzip. Once extracted you will get runme.bat file in the folder.
3. Double click and run the runme.bat file, a command prompt window will be opened.
4. Now connect the device to PC via USB cable. If "PC companion software" is prompted on the device Skip it. Press any button to start the rooting process.
5. It will be going to install Busybox and Superuser SU in the device.
6. When the process is finished it shows a dialog screen with the message "All Done". After booting the device you will able to get SU app in the app list. That means rooting has done perfectly.
Again you need to go back from current old 4.1.A.0.562 kernel to stock firmware ics 4.0.4 4.1.B.0.431 kernel. Although you didn't go back nothing will be happen for your own satisfaction you can revert back stock kernel for perfect running of device.
1. Download 4.1.B.0.431 kernels into PC.
For Sony Xperia Neo MT15 from here.
For Sony Xperia Neo V MT11i from here.
2. After download them Copy both ftf files into C:/flashtool/firmwares folder.
3.Run flashtool software and click on thunderbolt icon. Select flashmode and jump to next step.
4. On below you can select kernel based on your device. If your device is Neo then select MT15. Suppose the device is Neo V then select MT11. Click OK for starting the process.
5. After the completion of the flashing process, turn your device ON. This time your device is going to take some longer duration to open then the usual. Wait till it boot.
6. Then, download the 'Root Checker' app from Google PLAY Store to check whether your device is rooted or not.
Congratulation now! By following the clearly mention above process you have successfully rooted your Sony Xperia NEO and NEO V.


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Sabrent SBT-WCCK USB Webcam With Microphone; 352 x 288; Black/Silver
Item #: 901-GU0044ING
Model #: SBT-WCCK
Brand: Sabrent
Not yet rated.Be the first to Write a Review
$12.29 Each
Sabrent Webcam captures images in 24-bit color at 352 x 288 resolution and includes built-in microphone. Sabrent Webcam provides 42 deg field of view and can be easily installed with USB interface. Webcam can be easily mounted on notebook or PC monitor and provides 30 fps of maximum frame rate.
- Black/silver
- Maximum video resolution: 352 x 288
- Maximum frame rate: 30 fps
- Image sensor: CMOS 1/5"
- Host interface: USB
- Focal length: 5 mm
- Lens iris: F/2.0
- Built-in: Microphone
- 24-bit true color, infrared filter lens coating, 42 deg field of view, 5mm to infinity focal distance, 5.6mm f/2.0 aperture, snapshot button
- Manual focus ring, LED power indicator, mountable on notebook and PC monitor, H.323/H.324 video conferencing compliant
- Device supported: Computer
- System requirements: Intel Pentium 166MHz processor or better, 16MB RAM, 8MB free hard disk space, available USB port, CD-ROM drive for driver installation
- Includes SBT-WCCK webcam, drivers on CD, user's guide
- Warranty: 1 year limited
|High Definition : Yes
|Resolution : 352 x 288
|Product Color Family : Black
|Port Connection : USB 2.0
|Brand : Sabrent
|Weight : 1.00 lbs. per Each
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text:
So just wondering if anyone else feels the same? I haven't been with my partner long, it's only been 1yr but it feel like I'm ready to spend the rest of my life with him, I just won't to skip to the day he asked me to marry him, why can't life go faster sometimes :/ anyone else feel like this?
Most Helpful Guy
I personally believe in waiting a long time. Like a minimum of five years. It's easy to get caught up in the strong emotions and excitement of a new romance. But the fact is that it usually takes a few years for the shine to wear off someone before you start realizing that you can't stand them, haha.
I've been with my gf 7 years, we're not married or even engaged. Some people look at us like we're crazy, but what's the big deal? We're committed to each other, we do everything that a married couple would do, we just want to do the wedding right when we can afford to and we're in the right place. And if we never got married, I don't think it would make a difference, that's just a ceremony that girls get jacked up for since they were children. Just a big formality that costs a lot of money, the girl is the star of the show, and the dude just kind of shows up for, haha.
Probably not the romantic response you were looking for, but I've just seen this movie 1,000 times before. Divorce courts are full of people who got caught up in first-year infatuation and rushed into marriage. That's not to say you guys would definitely be one of them, just sayin' in general. You're ready to get married when you know you'd stick through the worst imaginable things happening to your S.O., when she comes home from the doctor telling you she has breast cancer, may need a mastectomy and will generally be in a fight for her life. When he gets in a terrible car accident and will be in a wheelchair the rest of his life and require constant care for the simplest of human functions. These are real life things that CAN happen and most people don't consider when they want to lock up that chick who gives great BJs, or the dude that can play you John Mayer songs on his guitar. Obviously these are extreme examples, but it illustrates what I'm getting at. True love is rare, and I think people need to be more careful and objective when deciding that they want to spend their lives with someone.00|00|0
I totally understand where you are coming from because I feel the same what I mean is I want to skip to a few years later and be
I gotcha. Well, hey, that's awesome, I wish you guys all the best and it's great that you've found someone that makes you so happy!


text:
[SJM – Kyuhyun/ZhouMi] meiface – WARNING: May Cause Nausea
Title: WARNING: May Cause Nausea
Author: meiface
Rating: PG-13 || Status: Complete
Summary: Side effects of Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi include nausea, light-headedness, and eventual immunity following prolonged exposure. Hyukjae and Sungmin had no idea what they were getting into.
This is so ridiculously cute, LOLOLOL! I love how baffled Sungmin and Hyukjae were over the QMi interaction and how Henry is so adamant about how sickening QMi are together.


text:
Book review: Leading an Inspired Life By Jim Rohn
This book is in my opinion essential reading for anyone who is seriously interested in his or her personal development, and who is committed to taking the necessary action to achieve their goals. My copy gets picked up on a daily basis for my regular dose of timeless wisdom and guidance from the personal development legend Jim Rohn.
Packed with over 460 pages of Jim's philosophies, this hardcover book is a complete collection of his very best teachings, and it contains all of the fundamentals for success. Many of the worlds best known personal development speakers such as Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Les Brown, Darren Hardy and many more, consider Jim Rohn a huge influence in their lives.
When I first read Leading an Inspired life, I read it vigorously from cover to cover. When I re read it, I let all of the wonderful information really sink in and I took notes in my journal about every chapter. I continue to use these valuable notes everyday.
In this book Jim covers in his very easy to read style everything from:
- The Magic word: Discipline.
- The Art of Personal Development
- Setting Compelling Goals
- The Power of Ideas
- The Driving Force of Motivation
- Qualities of Skillful Leadership
- The Road to Financial Independence
- The Keys to Powerful Communication
- The Dynamics of Change and Growth
- The Fundamentals of Business Success
- Fundamentals of Personal Success
- Refining Your Philosophy of Life
- Building Exceptional Relationships
- Mastering the Negative
- Enjoying True Success
The impressive Chapter titles are only surpassed by the great information contained in each one.
I think that I must have read The Chapter on Setting Compelling Goals at least a dozen times, and it never fails to inspire me. Jim Rohn tells us how to set the kind of goals that will push us and inspire us to achieve everything that we want in life. If you follow Jim's two rules for goal setting you will as he says, "Become more than you ever could have imagined!"
This book is almost like a complete encyclopedia of personal development, as you feel as if you are transported to one of Jim's famous seminars. Leading an Inspired Life gives you all the tools and the instructions on how you can become more successful in every area of your life.
I am going to let you in on a little secret. Many of the motivational quotes that I get for my Facebook page "Motivational daily Quotes" can be found in Leading an Inspired Life. Every page of this book is packed with a memorable phrase or quote that will stick in your head long after you have read it.
"Humans can turn nothing into something, pennies into fortune, disaster into success. The reason we can do such remarkable things is because we are remarkable. " Jim Rohn
I personally cannot put an honest value on this book, how can I put a price on a book that has changed my life.
"The major value in life is not what you get, the major value in life is what you become." Jim Rohn
It doesn't matter if you are a life long student of personal development or if you are just searching for the first book of your new library, Leading an Inspired life is in my opinion both an essential and a very enjoyable read, and it is a book that you will enjoy coming back to again and again.
" When your goals are truly important to you, you will not only eventually achieve them, you will also deserve all of the rewards that you reap in the process of doing so." Jim Rohn
If you have not read this book yet, I am genuinely excited what you have in store for you. As Jim used to say, "It could be the day that turns your life around."
Is this the kind of book you want to read?
Get it here! Enjoy!


text:
Waves. Periodic Motion. We are surrounded by oscillations – motions that repeat themselves Understanding periodic motion is essential for the study of waves, sound, alternating electric currents, light, etc. How many of you play an instrument?
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.
We are surrounded by oscillations – motions that repeat themselves
Understanding periodic motion is essential for the study of waves, sound, alternating electric currents, light, etc.
How many of you play an instrument?
An object in periodic motion experiences restoring forces that bring it back toward an equilibrium position
Those same forces cause the object to "overshoot" the equilibrium position
Think of a block oscillating on a spring or a pendulum swinging back and forth past its equilibrium position Demonstrate
Wave types
* Medium = the material through which the wave travels.
The wave is another basic model used to describe the physical world (the particle is another example)
Any wave is characterized as some sort of "disturbance" that travels away from its source
In many cases, waves are result of oscillations
For example, sound waves produced by vibrating string
For now, we will concentrate on mechanical waves traveling through a material medium
For example: water, sound, seismic waves
The wave is the propagation of the disturbance: they do not carry the medium with it
Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium
All waves carry momentum and energy
In solids, both transverse and longitudinal waves can exist
Transverse waves result from shear disturbance
Longitudinal waves result from compressional disturbance
Only longitudinal waves propagate in fluids (they can be compressed but do not sustain shear stresses)
Transverse waves can travel along surface of liquid, though (due to gravity or surface tension)
Sound waves are longitudinal
Each small volume of air vibrates back and forth along direction of travel of the wave
Earthquakes generate both longitudinal (4–8 km/s P waves) and transverse (2–5 km/s S waves) seismic waves
Also surface waves which have both components
John Wiley & Sons
v = f
T = 1/f
WavelengthThe Inverse Relationshipsv = f
PeriodThe Inverse RelationshipsT = 1/f
Start Per 5/6 here
Constructive Interference – Process by which two waves meet producing a net larger amplitude.Constructive Wave Interference
Destructive Interference – Process by which two waves meet canceling out each other.Destructive Wave Interference
BoundaryContinuous Waves – Higher Speed to Lower Speed
Incident + Reflected Wave
Transmitted Wave
Lower speed
Shorter wavelength
Higher speed
Longer wavelength
Note: This phenomena is seen with light traveling from air to water.
Transmitted Wave
Higher speed
Longer wavelength
Lower speed
Shorter wavelengthContinuous Waves – Lower Speed to Higher Speed
Classic example of periodic motion:
Spring exerts restoring force on block:
k = spring constant (a measure of spring stiffness)
"Slinky" has k = 1 N/m; auto suspensions have k= 105 N/m
Movie of vertical spring:
Elastic potential energy stored in spring:
Uel = 0 when x = 0 (spring relaxed)
Uelis > 0 always
We do not have freedom to pick where x = 0
Uel conserves mechanical energy
(Hooke's Law)
Shock absorbers provide a damping of the oscillations
A piston moves through a viscous fluid like oil
The piston has holes in it, which creates a (reduced) viscous force on the piston, regardless of the direction it moves (up or down)
Viscous force reduces amplitude of oscillations smoothly after car hits bump in road
When oil leaks out of the shock absorber, the damping is insufficient to prevent oscillations
Shock absorber is example of an underdamped oscillator (see also critically damped and overdamped)
Superposition principle: The overlap of 2 or more waves (having small amplitude) results in a wave that is a point-by-point summation of each individual wave
(constructive interference)
(destructive interference)
Traveling waves can both reflect and transmit across a boundary between 2 media
Reflected wave pulse is inverted (not inverted) if wave reaches a boundary that is fixed (free to move)


text:
WASHINGTON — The Reagan administration plans to remain on the diplomatic sidelines in the Middle East, forgoing new peace initiatives at the start of its second term and awaiting signs of Arab willingness to negotiate with Israel, senior U.S. officials say.
President Reagan will give that message to Saudi Arabia`s King Fahd when they meet Monday at the White House, the officials said. Fahd arrived Sunday to begin a five-day state visit.


text:
Insightful book on sale now for Kindle!
We Need You to Lead Us
Seth Godin
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Want to give this ebook as a gift?
Look for this button on the right hand
side of Amazon's page for this ebook!
The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller that redefined what it means to be a leader.
Since it was first published almost a decade ago, Seth Godin's visionary book has helped tens of thousands of leaders turn a scattering of followers into a loyal tribe. If you need to rally fellow employees, customers, investors, believers, hobbyists, or readers around an idea, this book will demystify the process.
It's human nature to seek out tribes, be they religious, ethnic, economic, political, or even musical (think of the Deadheads). Now the Internet has eliminated the barriers of geography, cost, and time. Social media gives anyone who wants to make a difference the tools to do so.
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If you think leadership is for other people, think again—leaders come in surprising packages. Consider Joel Spolsky and his international tribe of scary-smart software engineers. Or Gary Vaynerhuck, a wine expert with a devoted following of enthusiasts. Chris Sharma led a tribe of rock climbers up impossible cliff faces, while Mich Mathews, a VP at Microsoft, ran her internal tribe of marketers from her cube in Seattle.
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Limited time offer. Ebook deals may return to full price without notice.
Prices and availability may vary outside the United States.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission.


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The next shop we went to was the silversmith since it was the only other place open.
The shop turned out to be awesome for Omani husbands, since the prices the shopkeeper charged for silver and to decorate rifles was apparently super good.
My Omani husband ran to the car, and got his rifle out of the trunk. We bought a vintage 50 year-old old-school-style piece of heavy silver which the smith tailored to his rifle for 45 OMR. In Mutrah we paid 20 OMR to decorate with very thin new style design silver of a much smaller ring for my husband's
It was very well made compared to the Mutrah one, so the men were super pleased, being like, oh look at my gun, let me see your gun, oh, the site is so much better, ha ha, now it won't move when you fire, jolly good.
I am translating what they were saying in Arabic, I suppose.
Then the silversmith invited us all back to his house for lunch. People in Sohar are always inviting you for a meal, and watch out because if you have plans, they will kidnap you. What started out as coffee, will be a meal, and then it will be a dinner, and then you have to spend the night. Omani generousity here is beyond words. We say no of course.
And then, lo and behold, the silversmith informed my husband there is also a weapons (mostly rifles) shop opening just now next door.
So the men rush to that.
BELOW, photos of the silversmith making the rifle ring and photos of his work area (he didn't mind I take photos but I was a little shy since I am a woman and he's a man and my husband was at my elbow the whole time so forgive the quality, it was a rapid shoot):
The above example is the KING OF KHANJARS. The only way it could be worth more is if it were a historical item. The silver design on the Khanjar denotes its age---not commonly reproduced in the souqs anymore, and the wear on the silver is consistant with its age. Antique dealers will show you how to catch this difference... the wear isn't even like a thief in the souq who uses dirt and stones and sandpaper etc... to try to age an object... Only a real expert could rightfully fake it, and even then, not under a looking glass. The wear should be uneven and it will only be where someone holds and lifts the weapon. Again, can't photograph that for you. My husband used to have a khanjar with silverwork like this about 100-200 years old but he sold it for 150 OMR... it was worth 300-500 but whatever...
The above pictured Khanjar is worth 3,000 OMR. You got that. THREE THOUSAND OMANI RIAL. That is like, nigh nine thousand USD. Why?
Because what the hilt is made of. The hilt of this khanjar is Rhinocerous horn. Due to its rarity (since harvesting it is now illegal) it has a high value in Oman and USUALLY denotes its age thus. Omanis tend to call Rhinocerous horn Giraffe, I don't know, since Giraffe bone isn't expensive, and this at first confused me. My husband's old antique khanjar's hilt was made of sandalwood. Ivory, from elephants, also compose the hilt of Khanjars, and those are around 1,000 OMR.
We waited a long while to go in, but turns out, rifle shop? Busiest shop there.
Emirati lads had wheeled down from UAE just to buy rifles here, and it was always filled with customers, all males, so as we girls sat outside waiting (we could go in but my husband wasn't comfortable with that) and talked about expats rights to purchase and own weapons.
While I am not sure if we are allowed to carry them, I carry a hunting knife myself, and a pocket knife, most of the time (unless I know I am going through metal detectors or something) and when I have travelled from Oman to the US and Europe and Canada, I've always been fine taking even swords, and Omani khanjars (coming into Oman although I have never been asked despite carrying a handgun in my checked luggage I have never declared anything {the gun is not working and cannot be made to work}). Don't trust my advice on this because it is experience not information, but the khanjar is always all good, and swords too. But my father used to buy antique Omani rifles, and he took those back fine to the States. I have been told that I am not allowed to carry a concealed hunting knife but I do. Enough said.
Omanis, when purchasing weapons in Oman, I know this much, the weapons, if they are going to be fired in Oman, have to be registered with the ROP in Qurum, Muscat. Handguns, require a special license. Anything with sites that see-at-night---illegal. Most modern weapons, illegal. Automatic weapons---illegal---but I don't know many Dhofari or Baluchi families who don't have at least one in their home or to their immediate family's name. I have no idea how well controlled the arms trade IS in Oman, but I've gone to stores that front as crappy ugly-ass women's fabric shops that sell bullets for Ak-47s, so...I dunno. Dude at the airport seemed to question why I brought a paper parasol into the country but didn't ask about the handgun....
While he could have no idea it conforms to the regulations of Oman, technically I should have declared it... but since they never ever ask... all I can say is hmmmm. I think I'd make a rather fine smuggler so long as I don't pack salad dressing in wine-bottle-carrying cases or paper parasols :XD
...My Omani husband WANTS me to buy a rifle for myself in case thieves break in to our home, but I don't think I am allowed to carry here, and any rifle small enough for me to shoot effectively is over 1,000 omr anyways, or is a handgun, and illegal to me for sure. So guns and me, are for the shooting range (all of which suck in Oman especially for women) and I can borrow from my husband.
Back to the story at hand... While waiting for the men to look at all the rifles and hand around THEIR RIFLES to have people ooh and aww or whatever men do over rifles, my husband later tells me his rifle was appraised at 850 OMR which he bought for 500 before the war in Yemen so he's like, good right?
I am like, your rifle to you, is what a Chanel 2.55 black leather handbag is to me, so peace out. So we girls went into another store, that looked like it sold pottery and jewelry from the window but ACTUALLY sold old newspaper clippings, and Omani swords and sheilds.
I love swords. I am a sword girl. Leave me in the armoury in the tower of London, and you can go see the crown jewels, and I'm all good.
I have a sword. My father literally forged it for me. Its kind of a family tradition (although I should have been a boy but we broke some rules since my brother died and so now I am the sword-carrier in the family). I guess it will die with my father, since beyond making the sword for me, traditionally, he was supposed to teach me how to make a sword as well, but he thinks I am crap with a hammer and a klutz so... My little sister has a Japanese (cheap katanna I think those are called---they're super expensive the good ones and I don't like anime stuff as much as her so I've never been into them). Once we fought in the backyard with our swords, and I sliced up her arm really good and my father took them away from us, for like, a year.
Yeah, try explaining that to the ambulance medics, my father says, why your kids have sword wounds, and why they had real swords in the first place....
But I won the argument of "you paid too much for your fake sword" since my blade dented and bent her's, and it shouldn't have if her's was real. My uncle has an old Syrian curved saber, up on the wall, and that's the only Arabic sword I saw until I came to Oman and went antique shopping. I guess that's my history with swords.
I don't think I could have married my husband if he didn't know how to use a sword either. On Eids, he's one of the men who do the sword dance (that thing more properly known as what Prince Harry did in Bahla on his last visit to Oman?). I hope he teaches my son one day, even though, I think sword dances are lame, compared to actual bouts with practice swords, but Omanis don't do that anymore, and think practice swords are lame.
Lame says the man who sliced off his thumb with the dancing sword, I say.
I do think they are beautiful to look at, however, and they are worth around 300 OMR. Maybe I'll buy one one day. Somehow I can't see myself buying a fake but pretty one they sell in boxes for you to hang on the wall. That'd be like wearing one of those really bad t-shirts from Ramez that says "Gucci" or "Louis Vuitton" on it and acting like you thought that was chic or something.
The older ones, of better metal, but hard for even me to tell the difference unless there is a maker's mark (many of the swords from 1950s back to the 1850s have signatures on the blade) are made of something better of course. You have to know the maker's signatures too of course, because a sword made last week might have the same, I dont know. My husband said he'd be wary buying a 1000 OMR one... We don't know maker's marks ourselves.
The curved swords are the real ones. These start at 1000 OMR and go up if they are real. They pretty much all tend to be antiques, as the reproductions are not properly weighted (important if you actually use a sword for fighting) and the blade is usually not fixed to the hilt in any proper manner AT ALL. So... if for example if I stuck it with MY SWORD, which is a light-handed 12th century style from Europe, it will snap a reproduction, not from the blade {which would mean inferior metal}, but the blade will come loose from the hilt {which mean reproduction or very very very very bad restoration}). While I cannot see any Omani shopkeeper being okay if I beat their stock with my existing sword to see if the quality is better, my sword, will take a dent from anything Arab worth the 3,000 OMR mark because the way the metal was forged is just better. The steel tends to have a blueish tone if you have an antique dealer's chemist kit with you as well... probably not... but worth getting an expert with you if you are buying ANYTHING above the 3,000 OMR mark.
The quality of the metal in the blade and how it is fixed to the hilt are the number one indicator(s) of value. However, a sword is more prized for its balance after that, and last, on any decoration. Historical ownership of even an antique decorative object may also cost. So it is hard for me to give a guide without, like, making youtube videos or something, and even those would be too vague to guide you if you are a beginner sword purchaser. They can start at 1000 OMR and go up to priceless. Most Omani examples are 1000 to 3000 OMR.
If you want something authentic to hang on the wall, the guys in Sohar Handicraft center are pretty honest. I have yet to find an honest sword-seller in Mutrah souq who gave a fair price;) and even in Nizwa and Sur, its a lot of bartering, and beyond my skill of bartering, usually, to get even 1000 OMR for a real sword of the usual quality---I have to get an Omani from that area and age group to do it for me. Anyways...
We told him the sign is bad for the location. It isn't in English.
He said, when the Ministry of Heritage was running the place it was better and people came and all the shops were open all the set hours, but now there wasn't any point for all the craftspeople to be there, so they just left their GSM numbers on their shop doors.
This is disheartening, because Sohair itself, could use a couple more tourist attractions, and Omani craftspeople, can use all the support they can get, to keep this valuable and beautiful heritage alive... so I hope the Tourism Ministry bothers with something better for the area. At least.... a sign. The website describes how many square meters the souq has but doesn't provide a map, or address, or phone number or hours of operation (we took our GPS and hours from Lonely Planet's webpage I guess, not even the tourism Ministry). The Tourism Ministry's description is more like, this is what we did since 1999, shove it in your FACE Heritage Ministry!... than anything ACTUALLY useful for tourists.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/oman/al-batinah-region/sohar/sights/other/traditional-handicraft-souq and it got us the right way, but was not 100% correct, however there was an English-printed sign that said handicrafts souq on the passenger side driving following the GPS up to that point. After, we went with the way indicated by the sign, which was different than the GPS, but led us to the building and signage photographed below. Despite the English on the sign, I assure you, it is the Omani Handicrafts Souq of Sohar, not Oman's Tourism Ministry, much love to those self-glorifying


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Traveling Luck for Flemings Chapel, North Carolina, United States
Where is Flemings Chapel?What's around Flemings Chapel?
Wikipedia near Flemings Chapel
Where to stay near Flemings Chapel
The timezone in Flemings Chapel is America/Iqaluit
Sunrise at 08:15 and Sunset at 18:27. It's Dark
Latitude. 35.6447°, Longitude. -77.3892°
Weather near Flemings Chapel; Report from Washington, Warren Field Airport, NC 40.7km away
Weather :
Temperature: 14°C / 57°F
Wind: 9.2km/h West/Southwest
Cloud: Sky Clear
Weather :
Temperature: 14°C / 57°F
Wind: 9.2km/h West/Southwest
Cloud: Sky Clear
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Geographic features & Photographs around Flemings Chapel, in North Carolina, United States
- populated place;
- a city, town, village, or other agglomeration of buildings where people live and work.
- USAR Center (2.1km)
- Meadowbrook (3km)
- House (3km)
- Greenfield Terrace (3.9km)
- Greenville Heights (4km)
- Riverdale (4.1km)
- Paige (4.2km)
- United Industrial Park (4.3km)
- River Road Minor (4.3km)
- Biltmore (4.6km)
- Buck Mobil Home Park (4.7km)
- Lincoln Park (4.7km)
- Ripple City (4.8km)
- Lincoln Park (5km)
- Greenville (5.2km)
- Local Feature;
- A Nearby feature worthy of being marked on a map..
- Flemings Chapel (0km)
- Brown Chapel (3km)
- Greenville Industrial Area (3.3km)
- Browns Old Ferry (3.5km)
- Browns Ferry (3.6km)
- Grand Turn (historical) (3.7km)
- Allens Chapel (3.7km)
- Moyewood (4.1km)
- Cherry View (4.7km)
- church;
- a building for public Christian worship.
- Calvary Church (1.2km)
- Calvary Church (2.6km)
- Mount Pleasant Church (2.7km)
- Mount Calvary Church (4.3km)
- Jarvis Memorial Church (5km)
- Phillippi Church (5.1km)
- Saint Pauls Episcopal Church (5.2km)
- Carson Memorial Church (5.3km)
- building(s);
- a structure built for permanent use, as a house, factory, etc..
- Fleming House (4.6km)
- Pitt County Court House (4.7km)
- Regional Development Institute (4.8km)
- Pitt County Administrative Office and Board of Education (4.8km)
- Greenville City Hall (5km)
- Humber House (5km)
- Clement Residence Hall (5.3km)
- school;
- building(s) where instruction in one or more branches of knowledge takes place.
- Third Street Elementary School (4.3km)
- Wellcome Middle School (4.3km)
- Saint Gabriel School (4.4km)
- Belvoir School (4.6km)
- Sadie Saulter Elementary School (5km)
Accommodation around Flemings Chapel
- stream;
- a body of running water moving to a lower level in a channel on land.
- Johnsons Mill Run (2km)
- Harris Mill Run (2.8km)
- Schoolhouse Branch (3.6km)
- Bryan Creek (3.7km)
- Parker Creek (5.3km)
- park;
- an area, often of forested land, maintained as a place of beauty, or for recreation.
- Thomas Foreman Park (4.3km)
- River Park North (4.4km)
- Town Common (4.5km)
- Woodlawn Park (5.2km)
- Amphitheater (5.3km)
- tower;
- a high conspicuous structure, typically much higher than its diameter.
- WOOW-AM (Greenville) (4.5km)
- WZMB-FM (Greenville) (5.2km)
- WBZQ-AM (Greenville) (5.2km)
- post office;
- a public building in which mail is received, sorted and distributed.
- Greenville Post Office (4.4km)
- airport;
- a place where aircraft regularly land and take off, with runways, navigational aids, and major facilities for the commercial handling of passengers and cargo.
- Pitt-Greenville Airport (2.1km)
- levee;
- a natural low embankment bordering a distributary or meandering stream; often built up artificially to control floods.
- Clark Banks (1.9km)
- meteorological station;
- a station at which weather elements are recorded.
- Pitt-Greenville Airport (2km)
Wikipedia entries close to
Flemings Chapel
- Pitt-Greenville Airport airport airport
- Greenville, North Carolina city city o
- East Carolina University landmark education
- Falkland, North Carolina city city o
- Simpson, North Carolina city city o
- Winterville, North Carolina city city o
- Bethel, North Carolina city city o
- Farmville, North Carolina city city o
- Ayden, North Carolina city city o
- Conetoe, North Carolina city city o
- Grimesland, North Carolina city city o
- Parmele, North Carolina city city o
- Fountain, North Carolina city city o
- Robersonville, North Carolina city city o
- Bear Grass, North Carolina city city o
- Pinetops, North Carolina city city o
Airports close to Flemings Chapel
Goldsboro wayne muni(GWW), Gotha ost, Germany (70.4km)
Seymour johnson afb(GSB), Goldsboro, Usa (77.9km)
Craven co rgnl(EWN), New bern, Usa (89.1km)
Cherry point mcas(NKT), Cherry point, Usa (119km)
New river mcas(NCA), Jacksonville, Usa (131.1km)


text:
Expedia Verified Reviews
Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel
Get an overview of this hotelMiami self-catering property with an outdoor pool
Popular property highlights
Located next to Town & Country Mall, this hotel is also 0.5 miles from the Florida Turnpike and 5 miles from Don Shula Expressway. Florida International University and Nova University are a short drive away.
Property Amenities
Complimentary amenities include a continental breakfast, newspapers in lobby, 24-hour fitness facility, and wireless Internet access.
Each of the 106 guestrooms offers cable TV with premium channels and complimentary newspapers.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us! Opens in a new window.
Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Miami (Kendall), FL
Renovations & Closures
- Elevator
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
This smoke-free hotel sits adjacent to Town & Country Mall, which offers more than 100 shops and restaurants, a movie theater, and an indoor carousel. Kendall Regional Medical Center is a short drive away.
Complimentary amenities at Country Inn & Suites by Raddisonk, Miami (Kendall), FL include daily continental breakfast, USA Today newspapers, computer station, and wireless Internet access.
A library is available at the hotel for guests to use during their stay. There is also a 24-hour fitness facility with cardiovascular equipment.
- Library
- Express check-in
- Picnic area
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Elevator/lift
- Fitness facilities
- 24-hour front desk
- Free breakfast
- Business center
- Express check-out
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free self parking
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Free WiFi
- Pool sun loungers
- Outdoor pool
- Computer station
- Smoke-free property
- Terrace
- Luggage storage
- Laundry facilities
- Total number of rooms - 97
- One meeting room
- Number of floors - 4
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
- Fireplace in lobby
- Free newspapers in lobby
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Laundry facilities
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Cribs/infant beds (complimentary)
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Free WiFi
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Premium TV channels
- Air conditioning
- Free newspaper
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Coffee/tea maker
- Microwave
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Shower/tub combination
- Cable TV service
- Iron/ironing board
- In-room safe
- Desk
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Flat-panel TV
Where to Eat
A complimentary Continental breakfast is provided from 6:30 AM to 9:30 AM each morning.
The hotel does not have its own restaurant, but there are several dining options within the surrounding area.
Nearby restaurants:
Kendall Miller's Ale House
Portofino Coal Fired Pizza
Chili's Grill and Bar
On the Border
Romano's Macaroni Grill
Sir Pizza
Nearby Things to Do
Country Inn & Suites by Raddisonk, Miami (Kendall), FL has an outdoor swimming pool with sun loungers and a 24-hour fitness facility on site.
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Minimum check-in age is 21
Check-out time is noon
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Children 18 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets not allowed (service animals welcome)
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Hotel Name
- Carlson Kendall
- Country Carlson Miami Kendall
- Country Inn Carlson Miami Kendall
- Inn Carlson Kendall
- Kendall Inn
- Country Inn Miami Kendall
- Country Inn Kendall
- Country Miami Kendall
- Country Kendall
We should mention
Children 18 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding. Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms.


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I noticed something last week that I found interesting. By interesting, I mean really fucking annoying. Maybe you all can help me understand.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic. Snark is encouraged. Being a prat is not.
14 thoughts on "This one is for you, passengers."
I'm honestly in the give the driver a hard time category :p
However, I have had an officer address me a long time ago when I was still in highschool and my friend was speeding.
Something along the lines of "Do you really trust him driving like that?"
Of course only response I could give was "He is my only ride home…"
You are right some people just don't seem to have any sense and whatever sense they do have points in the wrong direction.
I think this falls under the cateorgoy of "99.9% of people are idiots".
In other news I just wanted to say I love your blog over the past couple days I went back and re-read the whole thing. It's fab and witty but also very real! Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences with us! I love reading them!
Unfortunately, it's incumbent upon you, the public servant, to be the better/more professional person. That can't make it easier, though, when you have to take this sort of stuff every day. 🙁
When I got pulled over for speeding a few months ago, my mom was my passenger and kept her lips zipped the whole time. She later said she wanted to say something, but then realized nothing she could say would actually -help- the situation. Which makes sense!
I always thought they were idiots. We call them "butt-in-ski's."
Well… no, I don't know. I'm one of those people who believe that first of all, before anything else, being polite and respectful costs nothing, so why not show a little respect? I have never gone wrong following my own good advice on this one. Second, when you find you're in a hole, the very first thing to do is stop digging. If I'm the passenger and the driver gets a ticket, I sit quietly and shut up.
1) The good is you are able to see idiocracy at its finest moment. We don't know what a certain % (it be more impressive if I knew the % but college was a long time ago) of the brain actually does. I believe this is the part that accumulates words and spits them out in sentences that are meant to show the level of intelligence of the spewer. The more stupid the sentence, the larger the % of brain not being used. It's as good as an IQ test.
2)A few pop to mind: "You look familiar. Haven't I arrested you before for (insert gender appropriate response) prostitution / pimping?" "Usually people who run their mouth have something to hide. I now have probable cause. License please so I can check to see if you have any outstanding warrants." "Sir/Ma'am……..have you been drinking? Step outside for the sobriety check that will involve a few dance moves."
I tell the driver, "I was just going to give you a warning but your buddy over there did a good job of talking you into a ticket."
That should apply the necessary peer pressure needed to shut the idiot up.
What's really too bad is that you can't scream "They're coming right for us!!!" and then tase the whole stupid lip-flappin, hat-cockin', androgenous wife beater wearin' lot. That's a pretty good cup of shut the hell up, right? I'm SURE they would never mouth off to a MC in Town after that.
Stupid "laws" and "regulations".
Wow. If I got pulled over and my passenger opened their yap at the cop that passenger would suddenly find they'd become a pedestrian.
I've been a passenger a couple of times when the driver's been pulled over. Most of my energy was spent in between the discussions with the nice occifer, telling the driver that no, the world is not going to end, the nice occifer is being polite (and in one case, helpful, not giving half the citations he could have and offering ideas how to fix a glaring problem he couldn't avoid ticketing over).
Really, what is in people's heads? *sigh*
The most delicious cases I get are when the cops pull over some driver because his passenger isn't wearing a seatbelt, and the driver winds up arrested for deuce. Then I get to listen to the jail calls from booking . . .
"Hey motherfucker, its me!"
"Dude . . ."
"Come pick me up!"
"Dude . . ."
"Dude, I am so sorry . . ."
"Get your sorry ass down here and pick me up!!!"
"Dude, I can't, I'm still drunk, that's why I had you drive . . ."
Followed by screams of rage and the sounds of correctional officers doing what they do best . . .
Once again hat is off to you sir, top notch
As soon as the "friend" pipes up, write on the ticket more and
'Say "you need new friends." And walk away.
Why? Because that passenger is not the one getting the ticket, not getting in trouble. That person does not have the ticket as a deterrent to pop off, AND as you pointed out, has problems with controlling attitude. Two things that should not be mixed….
You need new friends is a good one.
Comments are closed.


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Slumps happen and they suck. As savvy fantasy owners, it's our job to decipher whether such struggles are temporary, or if they're fundamental flaws that will lead to a prolonged bout of dreadfulness. That's what this column is all about -- finding trends and figuring out what they mean. So, let's get down to business.
Finally free of his time-share in Boston, Crisp (OF, KAN) is batting leadoff and playing regularly for the Royals. Despite a .200 batting average, Crisp has a .373 OBP due to 11 walks, including nine in the past week. With two long balls, seven RBIs and seven runs, Crisp is providing some definite value in mixed leagues. Curiously, he has no stolen bases through 12 games. Expect that to change as Crisp will provide adequate production in all five major roto categories.
Ethier (OF, LAD) excelled hitting behind
Considering this is a section on trends, let's take a look at Rodriguez's (SP, HOU) last three years.
2006: 135.2 IP, 9 wins, 63 walks, 98 Ks, 1.60 WHIP, 5.64 ERA
2007: 182.2 IP, 9 wins, 62 walks, 158 Ks, 1.32 WHIP, 4.58 ERA
2008: 137.1 IP, 9 wins, 44 walks, 131 Ks, 1.31 WHIP, 3.54 ERA
So, is it a surprise that W-Rod has started the way he has? I'd say no. He 3-for-3 in quality starts, has 18 Ks in 19 IP, a 1.00 WHIP and a 1.89 ERA. Obviously that will get worse, but all signs point to him having a career year, and his being owned in just 46 percent of
Trevor who? That's what Padres must have been thinking, after
In another sign that
Rumors are circulating that
If you are sick of Gordon (3B, KAN) underperforming, your wish may have been granted, as the yearly bust is out until the All-Star break with a cartilage tear in his right hip. So, who does this affect? For starters, it moves
Although most of Kubel's (OF, MIN) starts are at DH, he was one of five Twins outfielders fighting for playing time. Last season, Kubel rarely started against left-handers. This year, Kubel has been given two starts versus southpaws and has gone 2-for-7 with an RBI. He absolutely destroys right-handers, hitting .342 with two dingers this year. The power is legit, and Kubel should approach 25 homers and 85 RBIs. As long as he receives consistent playing time, he's completely mixed-league worthy. The guy is a professional hitter.
There's almost nothing worse than a manager sitting his stud rookie to make sure he is "brought along slowly." This is the case with Snider (OF, TOR), as he sits against lefties and No. 1 starters. The 21-year-old man-beast has been batting ninth when playing, but has shown he can hit for average AND power. He's hitting .290 with three homers, including two prodigious bombs this past week against Minnesota. While it may be frustrating to watch him sit two or three games a week, it won't last long. He's simply too good. My guess is that one month from now he will be batting sixth and playing every day.
In a brutal year for Tigers' pitchers, Gallaraga was brilliant last season. He struck out 126 and finished with a 3.73 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. He's brought that success into 2009 where he's 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. He won't strike out an enormous number of batters, and his stuff isn't "wow" good, but he gets the job done. He should match or exceed last season's numbers, and for some reason the guy is available in 27 percent of leagues. Make an offer to his owner and see what you can do to get him on your team.
With an off-season trade to Colorado, it was expected that Marquis (SP, COL) put up ridiculously bad numbers. To date, he's done the opposite. He's 2-0 with an ERA under 2.00 and a WHIP at 1.00. This will not last. I've watched him pitch the last few years and he simply doesn't have the command to consistently perform at a high level. He walks too many batters and gives up the long ball far too often. As the weather warms up, Marquis will start getting bombarded all over the field.
With injuries to


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�We have a committee working on tax rates. I would like to give an assurance of a level-playing field between private and public sector firms. Whatever the rates, it will apply to all,� Sinha told the Fifth Insurance Summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here today.
The minister�s remarks assume significance at a time when Eradi Committee is expected to come out with its set of recommendations on ways to tax the life insurance business.
Earlier, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) managing director and chairman of CII�s Insurance Committee, Deepak Satwalekar, urged the government to set low tax rates for life insurance firms. He sought amendments in the Income Tax Act, which would benefit the insurer and the insured.
�With the new insurance companies setting up shop, a chunk of the funds will flow into the capital markets. Insurance and pension funds can enter infrastructure financing,� Sinha said.
According to him, one of the reasons why Indian stock markets were considered �thin� was that there was not enough flow of public funds. �I am expecting that as you expand your business, funds will flow into the infrastructure sector on a scale that we have not seen in this country before,� he added.
Sinha sought to dispel the widely bandied theory that public sector insurance companies were ruffled by competition, saying GIC and LIC were prepared to see off the challenge posed by the new band of aggressive private sector adversaries. The government, he said, will ensure that they function as fully, autonomous board-managed entities.
The finance minister said there was a difference in opening up the insurance sector and the others in the economy. But he made it clear that private companies had not been allowed because the state-owned giants were faltering. On the contrary, LIC had recorded a consistent 40 per cent growth in its business, much of it from the rural areas. The government�s primary motive for the deregulation of insurance, Sinha said, was to create a social security net.
The reason the Centre wanted new companies to enter the sector after its deregulation was to mobilise rural savings. According to Sinha�s calculations, if this was done effectively, the share of the insurance business in the gross domestic product (GDP) will jump from 2 per cent at present to 5 per cent.
Initially, the Vijaya Bank will market insurance products through its 841 branch network spread across the 28 states in the country.
�We are talking to a number of insurance companies to market their schemes through our network,� chairman and managing director S Gopalkrishnan told newspersons here today.
The bank�s board gave an in-principle approval to the proposal last Thursday, following which talks were initiated with some companies, Gopalkrishnan said today, after a formal briefing about the bank�s coming public issue to raise Rs 100 crore.
�We will soon submit the details to our board and then approach the Reserve Bank of India as well as the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority for approvals,� he said.
The CMD said that Vijaya Bank was planning a strategic partnership scheme under which it would be free to market products of more than one insurance company. He said the bank was expecting a commission ranging between three and four per cent on such deals.
Commenting on the bank�s public issue of 10 crore equity shares, Gopalkrishnan said, �Our bank has a strong track record of making profits for the previous four consecutive financial years and a consistent reduction in non-performing assets. In fact, we could have easily charged a premium for the issue.��
The issue will be open for public subscription from November 27 to December 4.
The bank�s gross profit rose to Rs 125.44 crore at the end of 1999-2000, against Rs 4.90 crore at the end of 1996-97.
The European polystyrene major had, recently, formed a strategic alliance with the New York-based Chatterjee group for the manufacturing and sales of polystyrene in India.
�There exists a huge future potential of the Indian plastics market and styrenic polymers market in particular,� said Prasad Chandran, chairman and managing director of BASF India Ltd.
Addressing newspersons, Werner Praetorius, head of BASF�s styrenic polymers division said �With BASF Styrenics we will build up a strong and profitable position in one of the most important growth markets for polystyrene in Asia.� BASF BASF Styrenics has a capacity of 60,000 metric tonnes polystyrene in Dahej, Gujarat. However, BASF officials were not forthcoming with more details of the size of the investment and exact equity holding of the two partners.
The plant was shut down for the last two months. Reasons for the closure was not known and BASF officials were not willing to comment on this issue. The primary applications for polystyrene are packaging and disposable products, households appliances and housings for consumer electronics.
BASF has a worldwide capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes polystyrene per year with world-scale plants in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia. The products range from rigid and transparent general purpose plastics to high impact-resistant grades that customers transform using injection moulding, extrusion and blow-moulding technology.
BASF AG sales in 1999 stood at $ 29.5 billion making it one of the largest petro-chemical company in the world having also interests in crop protection products and pharmaceuticals.
Confirming the move, DCL executive director Amitav Banerjee said the new business would be operated through its wholly-owned subsidiary Data-Core (India). Data-Core provides software consultancy.
Banerjee said the talks with the US company for the joint venture has reached a fairly matured level, only a few essentials are left to be addressed. Banerjee refused to divulge the name of the company which is headquartered in Sandiago.
The US company is likely to take up 49 per cent stake in the joint venture.
However, it could not be ascertained how much the US company would invest to take up the stake. Banerjee said the company would concentrate in V-sat-linked communication.
It will not venture into optic-fibre network due to the huge cost of such projects.
�We will source the technology from our US collaborator, which is one of the best companies listed on the Nasdaq,� he said.
Data-Core will work both as consultant and set up its own V-sat hub to lease out bandwidth to the users. It will also provide consultancy to clients who will set up captive V-sat hub.
The company has applied to the department of telecommunication for Ku Band licence. Banerjee said the investment, required for setting up earth stations would come initially from internal generation.
He said the major customers for such service would be government organisations, banks and corporates.
With even the neighbourhood dhaba coming up with its own version of pizzas, carving out a separate identity for the brand and keeping the interest alive is the name of the game.
If it is direct mailers for Pizza Hut, it is a privilege card for regular customers of Pizza Pizza Express. At Rs 700 a year, the card entitles them to food and non alcoholic beverages at its outlets. Domino�s recently gave two pizzas for the price of one within five days of placing an order.
Pizza Hut is taking recourse to direct mailers for the first time. �Different markets need different strategies, this one seemed right for India,� said Batra. Obviously, Indian taste buds are yet to make a serious commitment to pizzas, notwithstanding the promotions galore.
Pizza Hut, which has 15 restaurants in nine Indian cities, has come up with a database of 75,000 thousand customers whom it will start sending direct mailers beginning December.
Pankaj Batra, senior marketing manager, Indian subcontinent, said the idea is to keep the customers abreast of the latest offerings and give them reasons to come back.
Wooing disparate taste buds also assumes different forms. While the Ahmedabad outlet of Pizza Hut is purely vegetarian, the one at Hyderabad does not use beef or pork
Somnath Chatterjee, chairman of the Standing Committee on IT (1999-2000), who presented the report on functioning of Trai to Lok Sabha today, said, �There was an unusual haste with which the Trai Amendment Ordinance was promulgated on January 24, even though Parliament was to meet soon in February for the budget session.�
The panel did not appreciate the fact that the ordinance was promulgated to make the private sector participation more vigorous. It concluded that the ordinance was issued without any justification.
Chatterjee said the committee was �disturbed� over limiting the powers of the Comptroller and Auditor General in matters of auditing some functions of Trai, like tariff setting and regulating revenue sharing.
�It means that the regulator would become non-accountable even to the Parliament. Such a manner of governance is against the spirit of the constitution and a retrograde step intended to weaken its very basis,� he said.
The move will provide a fillip to Exide Industries� plan to emerge as a global player in automotive, industrial and solar battery businesses.
In a notice to the stock exchanges, the company said its board of directors will meet on Friday (November 24) to discuss the possibility of �acquiring a shareholding in two lead acid storage battery companies currently operating out of Singapore and Sri Lanka.�
Industry mavens said the two companies were Chloride Batteries South East Asia Pte Ltd and Associated Battery Manufacturers (Ceylon) Ltd of Sri Lanka.
Exide officials, however, refused to name the companies or specify the stake that the company intended to pick up in the two companies on the ground that the issue was �price sensitive��.
If it goes through, the deal will help Exide gain access to a number of battery brands such Chloride, Dynex, and Jupiter. The arrangement could also give Exide access to Lucas automotive and motor-cycle battery brands which are marketed by Associated Battery of Sri Lanka.
Last April, Exide had decided to try and leverage its association with the Rajan Raheja-owned Chloride Battery South East Asia to route its batteries into the international markets. Exide, whose exports were confined largely to Russia, and West Asia until then, was hoping to capture a slice of the market in the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and China.
The present deal will further cement that association.
EIL is not only India�s largest automotive battery manufacturer but also holds the pre-eminent position as a maker of industrial batteries. Exide has eight factories in India and is putting up a ninth plant at Bawal in Haryana. It has already invested about Rs 80 crore to beef up its existing facilities. The company is expanding battery capacity at its Hosur plant from 450 million ampere-hours (Ah) to 550 million Ah in the next four months.The plant will focus on rechargeable lead acid batteries for which it has teamed up with Shin-Kobe and Furukawa Battery Co. Ltd. The plant will also produce batteries for electric car applications.
The Sri Lankan battery company�s factory at Ratmalana has recently been modernised with the installation of a Sri Lanka Rs 4 crore mill to produce 14 tonnes of lead oxide per day. But its domestic market share has come down from 80 per cent to 60 per cent after the import duty was reduced from 50 per cent to 20 per cent in 1996.
Triumph is believed to be the first listed company that has inducted Ketan Parekh into its board of directors.
Recently, the company earned its spurs as a big shot merchant banker and broking firm having lead managed several Bollywood firms like filmstar Jeetendra-owned Balaji Telefilms that were coming out with public issues.
Triumph International also bagged a high profile client � ABC Limited, Amitabh Bachchan�s corporate venture.
It is in the process of finalising a restructuring package to revive ABCL�s fortunes. Triumph is expected to pump in funds and provide professional guidance to turnaround the ailing company.
It also played a key role in catalysing the merger of Balaji Telefims and Nine Network Ltd, the joint venture promoted by Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL) and Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer.
In fact, Triumph International is known in the stock markets as an affiliate of the Ketan Parekh group. Thus, the news of the big bull/one man army joining the board of the merchant banking outfit has not surprised broking circles.
By virtue of his bulge bracket operations in the stock markets, Parekh has earned several sobriquets, the latest being King Panther.
The Bombay Stock Exchange was informed today by Triumph International that its board met on November 18 to approve the issue of 25 lakh shares on a preferential basis.
The board also decided that the company would be jointly controlled by by Ketan Parekh and Kartik Parekh.
In the last fiscal, Triumph International earned a profit of Rs 19.3 crore against Rs 2.5 crore in the previous year.
The securities brokerage operations continues to be the core business where business income accounted for Rs 35.04 crore.
In addition, the company is toying with the idea of merging its two overseas outfits, Saregama plc and RPG Global Music. While the stock markets are agog with reports about a fresh Saregama plc listing, the company made it clear that no such move is planned in the immediate future.
The parent�s holding 70 per cent in Saregama plc is pegged around 70 per cent, while it is 100 per cent in RPG Global Music.
Senior company officials told analysts here on Tuesday that catalogue sales � the kind where music is slotted into different genres � are expected to grow by more than 15 per cent in the current financial year.
The focus, though, will be on brand building to bolster sales. To achieve that goal, the company intends to use its vast library and come out with specific moods/titles to rev up sales.
The other area of opportunity is presented by the new private FM stations expected to go on air after the government allowed private companies into this highly popular segment of broadcasting. It will utilise its large repertoire of music rights to produce its own set of programmes, which will then be offered to the FM stations in a strategy the company expects will do wonders for its topline growth. A separate division has already been formed within the company to explore the opportunities in this area.
Officials were also upbeat on the response to hamaracd.com, its portal which enables music aficionados to build their own customised compact discs (CDs). The site allows one to listen to selected songs and then choose favourites. The facility is available for a fee of around Rs 375 per customised CD.
In the current year, the company racked up robust sales from its Mohabbatein, the chartbuster of the season. Saregama spent Rs 7.5 crore for the acquisition of the film�s music rights, and Rs 2.5 crore on its promos. It sold 35 lakh audio cassettes, 2 lakh less than the break-even level.
According to company sources, Mohabbatein producer Yash Chopra would share the revenues in a 50:50 ratio if audio cassette sales surpassed the 50-lakh mark under a deal reached earlier.
It is now looking forward to good sales from the forthcoming A R Rehman musical, One Two Ka Four.
Foreign Exchange
US $1 Rs. 46.82 HK $1 Rs. 5.95* UK �1 Rs. 66.45 SW Fr 1 Rs. 25.70* Euro Rs. 39.59 Sing $1 Rs. 26.35* Yen 100 Rs. 42.70 Aus $1 Rs. 23.55* *SBI TC buying rates; others are forex market closing rates
Calcutta Bombay Gold Std (10gm) Rs. 4560 Gold Std(10 gm) Rs. 4490 Gold 22 carat Rs. 4305 Gold 22 carat Rs. 4155 Silver bar (Kg) Rs. 7725 Silver (Kg) Rs. 7820 Silver portion Rs. 7825 Silver portion Rs. 7825
Stock Indices
Sensex 3862.39 -62.31 BSE-100 1994.59 -34.45 S&P CNX Nifty 1222.35 -12.65 Calcutta 107.77 -0.52 Skindia GDR 599.30 +8.06


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On the eve of the Group 3 Hall Mark Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick, Jess Donovan, part owner and breeder of bush raider Our Boy Malachi is packing for the journey from Brisbane to Sydney to watch "her boy" go around in what shapes to be his biggest test to date.
"When we started we had no idea he'd be as good as he was. His older brother Hodgie and Mo was a winning horse in Rockhampton, but for him to go to Sydney and win races and now to be the favourite in the biggest race in Queensland is something very special."
It's a story that echoes the fables of past greats such as Takeover Target and the great Queenslander Gunsynd, which Our Boy Malachi interestingly shares bloodlines with through his sire Top Echelon. The small town horse coming to the big city and blowing them all away is one of racing's favourite tales. Like The Cleaner during the Melbourne spring carnival last year, Our Boy Malachi shapes to be the punters favourite this winter having already been backed heavily to win at short odds in Saturday's Group 3. And why not. The "Rockhampton Rocket" has started favourite on 16 occasions and won 15 of them including his last three races, his first runs in Sydney under new trainers Team Hawkes.
"Dad's biggest goal in life was to breed and own a good horse. When his father passed away he made a promise to him that he would breed a horse that would win a good race. When Malachi won the first of his Rockhampton Newmarket's dad was very emotional because he'd kept his promise to grandad. Top Echelon is one of the more popular sires in North Queensland and we had success with Hodgie and Mo by taking our dam Rusticate to Top Echelon, so we thought we'd do it again. It's pretty cool that he's related to horses like Gunsynd and Kingston Town but it's more by chance than anything really."
Earlier this year Miss Donovan's father, the managing owner of Our Boy Malachi, Col Donovan, passed away from a sudden illness. It was a shock to the entire Rockhampton racing fraternity to lose such an integral member of their tight knit community at just 62 years of age. He was described as a popular figure who touched everyone that knew him. He was specifically known however for being a steadfast family man.
"Dad often got asked why he hadn't sent Malachi to the city earlier. He used to say that it was better to win races with family and friends around. Winning races in Rockhampton meant that he could share the victories with his family and friends, which meant more to him than anything. Eventually though he just became too good to refuse."
Since the passing of her father, Jess and the other remaining owners, Col's wife Katrina and his brother Ross have left much of the decision making regarding Our Boy Malachi's racing career up to Team Hawkes. Michael, son of legendary trainer John has indicated that Our Boy Malachi is being set for a very ambitious homecoming campaign that includes all three Brisbane Group 1 sprints, including the feature race of the Brisbane Winter Carnival, the AAMI Stradbroke Handicap, for which Our Boy Malachi is the standout favourite in early betting.
"He's a quality horse. After this run he'll head up to Brisbane for the BTC Cup, Doomben 10,000 and Stradbroke." Hawkes said.
If Our Boy Malachi is able to capture one of these feature races, Col's mates at the Rockhampton Jockey Club will be celebrating as much as anyone, except maybe Jess.
"If Malachi manages to win a Group 1 for us, it will be very emotional, almost unbelievable. Dad always knew he was a great horse and that was why he was willing to give him the opportunity to run in Sydney. I reckon he had a good idea that he'd be up to this level but we sure didn't. If he wins it will be probably the greatest thing that's ever happened to us."
If Malachi performs as well as expected he won't just be Rockhampton's favourite racehorse anymore, he'll no doubt be Queensland's and in contention for Australia's favourite too.


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7 Ways to Make a Bad Writing Day Good
You know how it goes.
You sit down, ready to work. You've silenced your cell phone, closed the door, and set yourself up for 30 minutes of uninterrupted writing.
You open your laptop ready to make another sizable dent in your project. After all, you've done everything right. You've set aside the time, you've gotten rid of the distractions, and you've embarked on a project you're passionate about.
You sit. Nothing comes to mind. You try to type something, and then erase it. Maybe you get a few paragraphs out, but you know they're not going the direction you want them to. You try again. And fail.
Argh. It's hard enough to find the time to write. What can you do when the right words just won't come?
"Bad writing days," says freelance writer Sarah Painter. "We all have them. We don't like to talk about them. We're frightened that by talking about them we will make them stronger. Or, worse still, we will jinx our productivity and conjure them into existence."
We all know that it happens sometimes. There are days when we just have to let it go and try again the next day. But wouldn't it be nice to salvage today?
It's possible. If you find yourself in a spot, try these seven tips to see if you can get going again.
1. Just write without judgment.
Those paragraphs you're erasing? Don't. At least not on the same day. I have had so many writing days that felt like total wastes of time, but when I read the material a day later, hey, it wasn't so bad. Sometimes, it even struck me as great.
Set the editor aside and just write. Even if it takes you five minutes to do a sentence. Even if it's so hard you're tempted to check your Facebook page instead (don't!). Get the page filled. Save the judgment for another day.
"Our words on paper rarely measure up to the sparkling perfection of the ideas in our heads," says author K. M. Weiland. Don't let your premature judgments get in the way of your progress.
Thriller writer Timothy Hallinan agrees, stating that even though his bad writing days can make him feel like his idea stinks or his talent has vanished:
"But here's an extremely important secret I learned the hard way. When I read the work six weeks later, I can't tell the good days from the bad ones. In other words, I usually have no idea whether I'm writing well or badly."
2. Ask yourself: What are you thinking about?
Is your head really in your story? Or is something else going on?
"You're in a foul mood," says author Juliette Fay, "perhaps after a miserable morning with kids who do not feel like going to school, or making their lunches or picking up the wet bathing suit they left in the hallway last night."
Give yourself five minutes to journal fiercely about whatever's on your mind. Even if you don't think anything is there interfering, there may be something under the surface that you can uncover if you free write for five minutes. Set the timer, go for it, and once you've finished, put it aside, and go back to your project.
Sometimes just the act of "dumping" your feelings on the page will be enough of a release to allow you to return your full concentration to your project.
3. Find a way to sink into your world.
Especially on my current work in progress, I've found that it takes me a bit longer than usual to sink into that other world my characters inhabit.
I chalk it up to having too many other things going on. My brain is running with my long list of to-dos, and it can take me 30 minutes of focused work to really get into the flow.
If you're in the same boat, there are some things that can help you sink in. Try music, but make sure it's music that suits the mood of the part you're working on now. Sometimes piping it through earphones is better than listening to it in the open air—it can help you get into that sort of meditative state that you need to achieve.
Changing your lighting can also help. Dim the lights, or turn off the overheads and simply use a lamp or two. Maybe you need some visual inspiration. Check out your pictures of your characters, settings, or other images that get you into that other world.
Don't forget your body. Are you feeling tense somewhere? Muscles tight? Take some deep breaths, relax your shoulders, and try a relaxing cup of tea or other warm beverage. As long as you're still straddling this world and your fiction world, you'll probably struggle, so give it some time to slow your mind down and sink a little further.
4. Swap scenes.
Science fiction and fantasy writer Elizabeth Moon talks about writers with a "trickle-feed imagination." These are the writers who can't outline their stories, because they don't know what's going to happen until they get there.
In other words, if you're a pantser—and you're someone who writes regularly—you may find that, in Moon's words, you "overrun your inspiration repeatedly." If you've landed in a scene and you're just not sure what happens yet, switch to something else.
Write another scene that you are more aware of, for example, even if it's out of order. Or try writing a bit more background on one of your characters, or settings.
Or, try writing a dialogue between you and the character that dominates the scene you're trying to create. Imagine sitting down for a conversation at a future time, when the scene has already taken place. Ask your character to describe what happened, and his or her feelings about it.
5. Realize it's natural for it to get harder.
The farther along you get in your writing career, the more you learn. The more you learn, the higher your expectations for your work. The higher your expectations, the harder you are on yourself.
All that can add up to a blocked writing day.
"The reason it feels harder than last time is because it is," says women's fiction writer MM Finck. "You learned on the last ones. You are a better writer, and your expectations for yourself are higher. Remember when you wrote that first book? That spiral-bound unpublished beauty under your bed? Every moment writing it was glorious. Because you couldn't believe you were actually doing it! Borrow some of that."
Remember that your last work became the masterpiece it was after you put it through a myriad of edits (and edits and edits). Allow yourself to write at a lower level, if necessary, to get the pages filled, and realize that you could be being too hard on yourself because of your experience.
6. Realize the bad days are normal.
Do you tend to slip into self-doubt on a bad writing day? Do you start questioning your story, your idea, or even your writing talent?
Do you begin to imagine that all your other writing successes were flukes, and that truly, you're just a fraud who hasn't been discovered yet?
Stop the negative train. Realize that bad days are normal and natural. All writers have them. Frequently.
Says blogger and co-founder of Red Vine Web Studio Nicki Hicks:
"We've all had bad writing days: those days where we feel either completely uninspired to write, or sit down with an idea only to find out that the writing isn't flowing like you want it to. It happens to the best of us; it's happened to all writers of every skill level."
It's also normal to start doubting yourself when this happens. Most writers do. The trick is to remember that these days are normal. They are to be expected. You will have them. Think of them as evil forces conspiring to try to get you to stop writing. How much will you fight back?
7. Go into research mode.
Maybe something really is wrong. Maybe you've run into a plot problem, or discovered that one of your characters just isn't fitting.
Maybe you don't have enough going on to sustain a novel. Maybe you aren't clear yet on your theme, or even what you're writing this story for.
It may be time to get help. I've fallen into this trap a number of times and I always turn to craft books (and sites). A couple of my favorites include Blueprint Your Bestseller by Stuart Horwitz, Story Structure Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, and Story Fix by Larry Brooks, but you can choose whatever speaks to you.
Writers are always learning, always practicing. There's always something we can do better from project to project. Maybe your lack of flow has to do with something that you know, subconsciously, isn't quite right, but you're not sure, consciously, how to go about fixing it.
I've found that studying the craft of writing can usually jostle something loose. Often exercises like breaking up your scenes, finding the theme, checking your plot against a standard formula, etc. can all help you see with a clearer mind what's up with your project.
And it's a great feeling once the light switch comes on and you realize what you need to do to move forward. Often, your insights will lead to a new period of productive writing.
Maybe the Muse Has Left, but You Can Win Her Back
Whatever may be causing your bad writing day, I hope some of these tips may help. If not, let it go, do something nice for yourself, and try again tomorrow. If you're still struggling, it may be that the muse has left you—you'll find tips for attracting her back here.
"We have good days, bad days," writes Glenell Rosburg in Writer's Digest. "Some days we write well. Other days we just write. And so my ongoing mantra has become this: Ten minutes of writing is something. Bad writing is something. Something is better than nothing."
How do you manage a bad writing day? Please share your tips with our readers.
Tags: bad writing day, writer's block, writing help, writing struggles


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Prices and Packages
Below you can find the prices of the packages we offer. The packages include Spanish lessons, volunteer work and accommodation. But you don´t pay for volunteering! Click here to read about our vision on volunteering for free.
The prices differ for the two different Spanish schools. For doing an internship instead of volunteering the prices are similar to the prices below. You can extend your package with extra weeks of Spanish classes or extra weeks volunteering or doing an internship. The price for an extra week Spanish classes in the non-profit school is 85 euros and 120 euros for the Spanish Academy. For an extra week in a family you pay 70 euros and for an extra week in an apartment 40 euros.
You can also choose to take private lessons. For private lessons, you pay 50 euros extra per week for the non-profit school and 60 euros extra per week for the Spanish Academy.
When you prefer to have your own space and privacy, you can also choose for a private apartment instead of a shared apartment, which costs 10 euros extra per week.
Included in the program prices:
- Spanish classes in group
- 5 days a week, 4 hours a day Spanish classes
- Preparation and support before departure and during the stay
- Teaching materials adjusted to the level of the group
- Introduction meeting and tour Cusco
- Activities like cooking classes, dance lessons and meetings
- Accommodation in shared apartment, private room (without meals) or homestay (all meals included)
- Information handbook
- Transfer from the airport of Cusco to the apartment / family
- Certificate
Not included in the program prices:
- Administration fee: €30,00
- Flight to Peru
- Flight/Transport Lima - Cusco
- Travel or cancellation insurance (for more information see: Travel Insurance)
Mijn Bestemming Peru is JoHo Worldinsurance partner


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Franklite Hexx 5 Light Low Energy Fitting FL2082EL/518/1123
Franklite Hexx 5 Light Low Energy Fitting FL2082EL/518/1123
Stylish Hexx 5 light fitting in a chrome finish with curved arms and cream fabric shades. The fitting is low energy making it cost efficient and due to its simple design, will work well with any interior. Due to it's small drop, this Hexx 5 light is perfect for lower ceilings.
Other shade options are available making this the perfect choice no matter what your colour scheme is! Please contact our sales team for more information on this or see related products.
Max Wattage 90.0
Diameter (mm) 700
Height (mm) 310
Stock Weight (kg) 0.60
Insulation Class 1 - single insulation, earthed
Fire Restriction: No restriction
IP Rating 20
Lamp Cap G24q-2
Lamps Supplied : No
Open Lamp Max (W) 18
Lumens 6000
|Polished Chrome
|No of Lights
|Franklite Lighting


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Saturday's TV: World War II: The Last Heroes
Pick of the day
World War II: The Last Heroes
Channel 4, 8pm
More than 150,00 Allied troops were killed or wounded between the D-Day landings and the capture of the medieval town of Caen, which was supposed to have been taken on the first day of the invasion. In tonight's programme, veterans recall the horror of that campaign, which began on the beaches of Normandy. Once the Allies had made it inland, mile after mile of hedgerows provided perfect cover for the Germans, and the Allied tanks were no match for the German Tigers armed with 88mm guns that could pick them off before they even realised that they were targets. "You might find a tank on your right being blown up," recalls one…


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|1 Corinthians 14:33
I went about my morning routine. I never bothered to check my phone or even look at social media feeds. I was singing to myself as I got ready, never thinking to turn on the radio as I usually do. I spent the drive into work in prayer so I still had not yet made contact with the outside world.
It wasn't until I arrived at work when a colleague started talking of the overnight tragedy.
"What tragedy?" I asked.
She looked at me stunned that I was completely ignorant and began to share the breaking news.
I am ashamed to admit that even as a former news producer I rarely find time to watch the news. I immediately turned on the radio, began scouring news sites, and caught myself up on the story that everyone was talking about.
A recent discussion in Sunday School lead to our teacher reading headlines and stories straight from the daily paper. It was just a week after the wind storm that devastated our community. We talked of the "end times" and read from Matthew 24:
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. vs. 6-8
It's easy to ask "Why" and wonder how such a tradgic event could happen. It's also human nature to question people, motives and the circumstances that seemlingly tell of more and more darkness. People against each other. Fighting. Hurting. Devastation. Natural disasters. Yet, God's Word tells us not to be alarmed - that these things must happen. How can this be? Why would a good, Sovereign God allow such pain and tragedy?
This isn't a post about free will or the corruption of man. Rather, I simply seek to bring peace in the midst of confusion.
Just because I was unaware of the situation that took place overnight doesn't take away the effects it's having on families, communities and even our nation. It stirs emotions and thoughts in us all. I grieve for those who have lost loved ones. I also think of the family of the shooter. I wonder about him, his past, his life, his family, his experiences, his mental and emotional state and how life got so bad that the best thing he could do to cope was hurt others and destroy lives so greatly.
I can't explain everything. I can analyze all I want but I won't be able to figure it all out. All I can do is pray for those involved and make sure that which concerns me spurs good and not evil. The shock of news like this cannot paralyze us from doing our part to share peace and hope.
Don't let evil get the best of you but conquer evil by doing good. ~ Romans 12:21
However this has impacted you, however you may be coping, remember He brings peace and comfort.
For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. ~ 1 Corinthians 14:33
Previous Posts & Songs of Encouragement:


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Given that the volcanic ash spewing out of Eyjafjallajökull prevented him from going to Poland to commemorate the life and death of the late President, Lech Kaczynski, I suppose that it is not the world's biggest deal that President Obama decided to fill his schedule with a round of golf instead. I actually applaud the President's decision; his job is a tough one, and Heaven knows, from time to time, he needs a break.
I just keep imagining what most of the media would say if it were George W. Bush who decided to go off to play golf, even if events outside his control made it impossible for him to go to a funeral instead.


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GPS is designed to accomplish various difficult responsibilities that would not be possible with a wireless data system. This GPS app is very useful to seek out things and people who are missing or cannot be found. With introduction of new expertise many GPS apps for android have been prepared.
Some of the top GPS apps for android are as follows:
Wise Pilot: WisePilot is useful to organize all the plans on the internet especially if a person is thinking of going on a journey. In such a case one can design the whole journey from beginning to the end. This also includes locations for food and filling of fuels. This entire journey can be planned on the internet, and for all this Wise Pilot GPS app for android is helpful.
Locale: Locale is said to be one of the best apps for android because it is very useful in altering the settings on the handset. It helps to set various tasks on the handset after getting the settings defined. One can set the handset to change the mode of the handset to become silent when in meeting, or set a reminder to update the handset as soon as the person reaches office. Likewise many tasks are programmed and will perform its function as per our desires and needs. But this is possible only for android phones.
Google Maps Navigation: This facility is only for android 1.6 or more. Google Maps Navigation is said to be the most widely liked and used GPS app for android. It has many uses which other GPS apps for android cannot perform, like the ability to provide satellite as well as street views.
Places Directory: Places Directory helps to look through the nearby locations in different fields like banks, hotels, theatres, etc. This GPS app for android will help to know the time required to travel and the different ways to reach the particular place. Also, if ranking and photographs have to be known, then it can be done by tapping on the particular list. In order to see the place one can also see it on Google Maps.
Loopt: Loopt GPS app for android has several features that allow the users to share their locations with other users of the app who are on different mobile service providers such as Boost, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Metro PCS. Also it updates the locations which helps the person to know when friends are close by. One can also change the modes and know timely traffic details. Apart from this Loopt GPS app for android can also share details with Blogs, web sites, Facebook and Twitter.
Co Pilot: Co Pilot is useful for people who travel frequently. The software of Co Pilot can be used on map that is loaded on the memory card of the handset. This GPS app for android has an interface which can be used easily even when driving. Voice alerts are good but the app is not very good for Street view.
Glympse: It can be used with T-mobile G1 GPS so as to locate places and after that one can pass on the link with the same place to friends, associates and others.