text:
Sea birds found coated in oil after toxic spill in Vancouver's English Bay
|Report an Error
Share via Email
Several sea birds were found coated in oil on Vancouver beaches Thursday after a toxic bunker fuel spill spread across English Bay.
The Vancouver Aquarium said it is closely monitoring the spill to determine its impact on marine wildlife.
But for the birds already found oiled, the odds of survival are slim, said Dr. Peter Ross, director of the Ocean Pollution Research Program.
Although birds can be cleaned, Ross said evidence from past oil spills shows that most of the animals will die.
"Cleaning and rehabilitation and releasing is maybe the right thing to do, but unfortunately, it still meets with a high mortality rate," he told Metro. "Birds don't like to be oiled, so they'll clean their feathers and as a result, they will ingest some oil, and that's harmful."
Focus Wildlife, an organization that works with government and industry to address emergency wildlife issues, is caring for the oiled birds, he said.
It's unclear exactly how many birds were recovered, but Ross said he was told there are several in the group's care. A request for comment from Focus Wildlife was not immediately returned Thursday.
The Stanley Park Ecology Society also spotted one Barrow's golden eye, a type of bird, with oil on it, said executive director Patricia Thomson.
"It is an awful thing to happen," she said. "When the tide goes out, it doesn't mean the spill just goes with it. It means the sheen can settle right down onto the shoreline."
Thomson said the society will continue to monitor the park in the days to come.
While some of the oil is expected to evaporate, Ross said a portion will stay in the ocean and in sediment. That puts a diverse variety of sea life at risk of exposure, including harbour seals, river otters, crows, crabs and salmon, he said.
"Anything that breathes air around the ocean surface is potentially going to be exposed to some noxious gases," he said. "Even if it's a modest spill, there are a lot of different types of animals that can be impacted."
Ross said the aquarium is considering taking precautionary steps to prevent marine mammals from getting close to the oil spill.
For example, if a pod of killer whales gets too close to the slick, he said his team could go out on boats to "guide them away" and into open water.
Ross said it's disappointing that oil spills, even if they are minor, continue to happen in B.C. waters.
"Even with a modest spill, we can see harm and we can see impact," he said.
- With files from Emily Jackson, Metro.
Editors' Picks
More on Metronews.ca
Most Popular
Police search for three suspects after 'vicious assault' of autistic man
Nova Scotia woman told survival 'slim to none' after getting Flesh Eating Disease
Halifax police warn to keep 'attractive objects' out of sight after rash of vehicle break-ins
'You'll be a million dollars ahead of the game:' Contract brewing shakes up beer business


text:
I would really like some advice here.
At the start of july i will be in santiago, chile, and I am wanting to travel overland to buenos aires.
firstly, how difficult is it likely to be as i think this is during winter.
secondly, is there a particularly good route to follow and can you recomend good places to stop at, as i dont want to do this in one journey.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|Matthew Dillon <dillon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
|Tue, 8 Jan 2008 10:47:04 -0800 (PST)
:I think we don't have function to destroy zone initialized by zinit() :(used by pf), so currently pf module can't be unloaded. : :Best Regards, :sephe ZONE_DESTROY() in pfvar.h is a NOP. Anyone want to have a go at writing a zdestroy() function for vm/vm_zone.c to complement the zinit() function? -Matt Matthew Dillon <firstname.lastname@example.com>


text:
Halloween is coming up quick and many people often wonder what a good festive drink would be to serve at their party. I found this list of recipes from Ole Smoky Moonshine that are sure to keep things very fun. It is also a good way to introduce yourself to moonshine. I had never tried it before and I was very scared. I made the Bobbin' For Apples and it was very good.
To jumpstart your Halloween festivities, prepare an Ole Smoky Moonshine cocktail for a ghoulish treat. Spook your guests with stories of moonshiners past while sipping on the frightfully delicious spirit.
While our favorite Ole Smoky Moonshine Halloween cocktails are dangerously delicious, some are more menacing than others. Here are some that will have you howling with delight.
Vampire Cherry
1 oz Ole Smoky Cherry Moonshine, 2 oz cola (Dr. Pepper recommended), 1 oz simple syrup, garnish with 2 or 3 Moonshine Cherries
White Ghost
1 oz Corn Whiskey, 2 oz lemon lime soda, serve over ice, garnish with Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries or a licorice stick
Harvest Moon
2 oz Ole Smoky Apple Pie Moonshine, 1/2 ounce Corn Whiskey, 1 oz orange soda, serve over ice and garnish with a cinnamon stick
Bobbin' for Apples
2 oz Ole Smoky Apple Pie Moonshine, 2 oz ginger ale, 1 teaspoon lime juice, 1 teaspoon Triple Sec, garnish with apple wedge and cinnamon stick
Ole Smoky Moonshine, the first legal distillery in Tennessee, is churning out the shine in three varieties:
Original Recipe (good ole 100 proof unaged corn whiskey)
Cherries (maraschino cherries soaked in Original Recipe Moonshine)
Apple Pie (not your grandma's apple pie)


text:
"I am so sorry for everyone who have had suffered a m/c. It has been almost 2 weeks since I found out my baby was gone. No heart beat. Baby was 12 weeks 5 days. I had a D&C done right away with my OBGYN the next day. It had already been 1..."
Are you sure you want to delete your ?
You will no longer be able to add new data to this tracker.


text:
Taking several pictures in succession can be slow, due to the camera displaying the images for a number of seconds before returning to capture.
Allow the user to toggle image reviewing after taking a still image.
Additionally, be able to configure how long to review the image before the camera returns to picture taking mode.


text:
In feb we came to chennai for lasik check-up in shankar netralaya, we selected Hanu Residency because it is very nearer to jkc shankar netralaya. We are so satisfied with the Services.we feel like Home , staff is too gud very supportive. Food is just like Home. We will definitely choose again.
« Previous Review | Next Review »


text:
CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) — Farmers fro]m across Ohio and Pennsylvania traveled to Canfield today for a farmers conference.
The event included a number of different workshops as well as resources, and information on the newest and most popular crops. First News Reporter Miriam Hobbs talked to attendees.
More than a hundred farmers showed up at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center , for the Northeast Ohio Small Farm Conference.
The event offered small farm owners a number of educational programs and included nearly 30 different workshops.
"There's fruit and vegetable topics. There is crop management topics, livestock topics, marketing topics, funding, small farm grants," said Tony Nye, Ag and Natural Resources.
Meagan Tehua,a five year farmer, came to the conference to learn more about a new technique.
"Vegetable grafting. The new idea is that you can take a very strong root stock and put a new heirloom variety tomato on top," said Tehua.
"I got a lot of good information. It's a good way to find out the new incentives and different things how to improve your things on your farms and so forth," said Carrie McMaster, a farmer in Columbiana.
Farmers got the scoop on some of the most popular crops this season.
One in particular is the hop herb, used for making beer.
Ohio is in its first year of hops production.
"Ohio is really looking hard at the Micro Brewery industry," said Nye.
"So we've got a session on what is the startup costs to get into hops, and what are the marketing opportunities for hops," said Nye.
"I don't know about that. That's a possibility.I never thought about that. That might be something to look into," said McMaster.
And although we had a harsh winter, organizers are still optimistic about this year's production.
"We don't know until Mother Nature decides to make it nice out if we can start really getting out there and start this year's production. But things should be good," said Nye.


text:
Museum of Throwing Cards
Addresses new and interesting links to other sites (not listed on the Genii website) that merit attention.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Posts: 77
- Joined: March 18th, 2008, 12:08 am
Museum of Throwing Cards
For those of you who don't make it to the History and Anecdotes forum, I wanted to mention the throwing cards site I recently set up. It can be found at www.throwingcard.com . Please visit and provide comments.
Gary Brown
- Posts: 4573
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Huntsville, AL
Re: Museum of Throwing Cards
Gary, You'll probably want to get Mac King's Lunch Box O' Magic from Barnes and Noble -- it has a deck of custom Mac King cards in it.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


text: How many of you do it? What ones are there because I'm wanting to get involved - I love mixing for a crowd cos i get far to over analytical and such on my ace. I know there's globaldnb... i already spoke to the guy about it any others you guys know of?


text:
Last: Swimfan
Next will be: Sweet Home Alabama, and Red Dragon
Last: Swimfan
Next will be: Sweet Home Alabama, and Red Dragon
Uh... Spiderman... I think.... oh wait I saw About A Boy in Australia.
Woohoo! Duckgirl, look at your shiney new avatar. Hehe! somebody's been naughty!
Someone needs to be punished because they're so naughty.
Anyway, today I went to the theater twice, and I saw Sweet Home Alabama and Trapped. Both pretty good. Its hard for me to hate a movie mostly because I'm too lazy to, but they're both very entertaining (and both, er, quite different genres).
Last seen in a theater...Spiderman opening day.
Coming up next week I "MUST" see Red Dragon, also want to see Sweet Home Alabama, but that can wait.
I saw Sweet Home Alabama this afternoon and didn't really enjoy it.
We're going to see Red Dragon next weekend.
I'm really looking forward to it.
"That's Numberwang!"
Last adult movie was Planet Of The Apes.
Of course we have taken the boys to several kids movies since but we never find the time to go see adult movies much.
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie!'...till you can find a rock.
It was either Mr. Deeds or Men in Black II I can't recall which one it was as I seen them both right around the same time.
The last movie I saw in the theater I think was "Enough" with J-Ho and the yummy Billy Campbell...it was just so-so...
(Ooooh...Billy Campbell...maybe I need to head over to that "Hottest Men" thread now...)
I saw Sweet Home Alabama. It was a nice movie, but a bit too predictable. The best thing about it was not Reese, who I really like.. but Ethan Embry. I've adored him since Empire Records and you don't see him in much.
I didn't even know he was in it.
If you go through a lot of hammers each month, I don't think it necessarily means you're a hard worker.
It may just mean that you have a lot to learn about proper hammer maintenance.


text:
Apps that recall a time before there were apps
Published 5:18 pm, Thursday, September 13, 2012
Haven't we all at some time been struck by such an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that we wished we could take a time machine to a moment in our past? Now, an app on your smartphone or tablet is that time machine.
Commodore 64 fans will spot the $5 Commodore 64 app in the iTunes App Store with glee, because it even gives you a chance to type in Basic programs. It has a few reproductions of classic games, and more are available as an in-app purchase. The free Android app Frodo C64 is a little simpler, but it requires you to find the original source code for games elsewhere online.
Latest Business News
- UK regulators search Cambridge Analytica offices following Facebook data scandal Euronews
- Meeting set up on Facebook ends in robbery, shooting Fox9
- Salem Toys R Us Employees gather to mourn end of an era WMUR
- Amazon grand opening in Cecil County The Baltimore Sun
- Tariff impact on Wine Country KTVU
- THE END: Liquidation sales begin at Toys R Us Fox10Phoenix
- Meet Budweiser's new baby Clydesdale WLWT
- Groups call on California DOJ to crack down on online sales to minors KCRA
- Celebrate April Fools' Day with a look at 5 notorious hoaxes Fox5DC
- Amazon fullfillment center opens in Livonia creating 1,000 jobs Fox2Detroit
Atari game fans can download the free Atari's Greatest Hits app for iOS. This official app contains the classic arcade game Missile Command direct from Atari's own files and 100 more games via in-app purchase.
Instagram's retro photo filters are well known. But there are other apps that do the same trick for the higher-resolution photos stored in your phone. For a great app to add a dash of yesteryear's sepia to photos, try Photo Editor by Aviary, free on iOS and Android. It's a powerful app, but simple to use. If you spend $1 on its in-app nostalgia pack you can apply some classic effects (and defects) to your photos, even layering them on top of one another.
If you're nostalgic for vintage films then 8mm Vintage Camera - a very successful $2 iOS app - will be right up your street, thanks to its easy-to-use interface and the great blurry clips it generates.
The app VinylLove, $1 on iOS, tries to bring back some of the old magic of vinyl records. The app's interface is designed to let you search through your MP3s as if they were stored in a record crate. It places an emphasis on playing and listening to albums in track order, which is a fast-disappearing habit. It's fun, and if you're a vinyl fan you may appreciate its visual aesthetic. The static noise effect of dusty records is also rather endearing.
For a different nostalgic sound try out Nostalgic Phone Ringtones, free on Android, which will let your 21st-century smartphone ring with some distinctly 20th-century sounds. (The ads are a bit irritating, but you won't spend much time in this app.)
Enjoy your trip down memory lane!


text:
Log Out
Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy have changed. We think you'll like them better this way.
Kevin DuJan and Megan Fox review the highlights of the Cain-Gingrich Debate held on Saturday 11/04/2011.
Sorry we couldn't complete your registration. Please try again.
Please enter your email to finish creating your account.
Receive a personalized list of podcasts based on your preferences.


text:
To print: Click here or select File and then Print from your browser's menu.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2011 - 2016 Bali Discovery Tours, All rights reserved. This message originated from http://www.balidiscovery.com/ Find it online at http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?Id=5940 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4/10/2010) Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel & Suites, Bali has added free high-speed Internet access in all its rooms together with wireless Wifi connections throughout all public areas of the property available to all in-house guests.
The high speed broadband Internet connection provided by Centrin is considered one of the fastest Internet services in Bali, providing speeds of up to 3.5 MBPS.
Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel & Suites has recently undertaken a total renovation of all rooms on the ground floor, executive suites, Sanur Harum Restaurant, ballroom, meeting rooms and created a Club Floor of 42 Club Rooms with an exclusive Plaza Club Lounge.
Keith Bell, General Manager says, "This free high speed broadband service is a huge added value to all our in house guests whether with us for business or pleasure. The commitment to deliver the best began from the very first day that the hotel opened".
Book a stay at the [Sanur Paradise Plaza Hotel]


text:
Representatives from The Fresh Market grocery chain were on hand in Latham this morning to celebrate the start of construction on their Route 9 store.
The store, expected to open next fall, will be the company's first in New York state, as it expands rapidly in the Northeast. And although the store will be small — just 23,000 square feet — it will bring a new grocery chain to a region where many shoppers have been clamoring for new supermarket competitition.
Brian Wittman, a regional vice president at The Fresh Market, said it wasn't particularly important for the company to be the first gourmet grocery in a market that lacks a Trader Joe's, Whole Foods or Wegmans.
But he did say The Fresh Market would have preferred that New York state allow the sale of wine in grocery stores — a restriction that's largely seen as the reason that other grocery chains haven't entered the Capital Region market.
Wittman also said the Capital Region is large enough to support more than one Fresh Market location.
The Fresh Market is headquartered in North Carolina. Its stores typically have an open floorplan, with few aisles. They attempt to replicate the feel of an old-school market, with a butcher, cheese counter, take-out counter and more.
The Latham store, to be built at routes 9 and 155, is seen as the centerpiece of the redevelopment of a mostly vacant shopping center there (pictured above). Plans call for demolishing much of the existing plaza, while building an entirely new Fresh Market near to Route 9, across from a Burger King.
Plans by Benderson Development also call for the construction of a drug-store — yes, another drug store — close to the interesection.


text:
Thanks to MDP, the TE-2 delivers an amazing new ambience effect that satisfies and inspires. Complex internal processing produces an incredibly deep and spacious sound, dramatically enhancing the stra... Click To Read More About This Product
Our product catalog varies by country due to manufacturer restrictions. If you change the Ship-To country, some or all of the items in your cart may not ship to the new destination.


text: Module Name: src Committed By: skrll Date: Wed Oct 23 20:28:11 UTC 2013 Modified Files: src/sys/arch/arm/arm: cpufunc.c Log Message: Fix PR/48332 by reverting to passing 0xffffffff as the cpuctrlmask. Comment out the cpuctrlmask that doesn't work for the imx23_olinuxino leaving it there for reference. To generate a diff of this commit: cvs rdiff -u -r1.126 -r1.127 src/sys/arch/arm/arm/cpufunc.c Please note that diffs are not public domain; they are subject to the copyright notices on the relevant files.


text:
Make an Enquiry
To send a message simply fill out the form below.
Enquiry from Online Galleries regarding "A very rare George III silver mounted natural shell Caddy Spoon made in Birmingham circa 1810 by Matthew Linwood."
|If you do NOT want to receive newsletters from us regarding the antiques trade, please UNCHECK this box.
Share this Page
To send this page to a friend, fill out the form below..
Look at what I found on the Online Galleries website!
|Your Name
|Your Email
|Recipient's Email
A very rare George III silver mounted natural shell Caddy Spoon made in Birmingham circa 1810 by Matthew Linwood.
1810 Birmingham
Offered by Mary Cooke Antiques Ltd
To browse more Antique Tableware click here
To see more from this dealer click here
The shell has a very attractive shape and colour and has plain silver mounts. The bi-fucated handle has a double thread edge border and is marked on the reverse with the single maker's mark of Matthew Linwood who, it would appear, specialised in the production of these spoons. This piece is in excellent condition and measures 3.25 inches in length. As you will appreciate, very few of these spoons were made, however even less have survived because of their fragile nature. A similar example is shown in "Caddy Spoons" by Captain John Norie, Plate 105, Fig c. We can only recall having two others over all of the years.
Length: 3.25 inches, 8.13cm.
Length: 3.25 inches, 8.13cm.
Mary Cooke Antiques Ltd
Mary Cooke Antiques Ltd
12 The Old Power Station
121 Mortlake High Street
Contact Details
+44 (0)20-8876 5777
+44 (0)7769 645559
Opening Hours
Open by appointment only
Mary Cooke, Neil SheppersonView Dealer Location


text:
Having problems with your Saitek Aviator AV8R Joystick ?
Joystick turned off, won't operate
\015 Have Aviator Joystick av8r-01 . It was working fine until I tried to fly the soaring Mission in Microsoft flight Simulator x Gold Delux.\015\012I am hard of hearing, and when they gave the voice instruction to get the tow plain to appear and connect up with the glider. I think I pressed CTRl and y. , Then I noticed my Joystick wasn`t working any more,I must have turned it off, but I could not find out how to get it going. I ended up removing the Flight simulator and the Joystick Programs from my computer, and re installing everything again.Then the joystick worked ok.\015\012Ok was there a way to get the Joystick turned on again?\015\012I am using windows DX\015
Answers :
Ok... that is a VERY Easy fix... all you do is get into a plane with the kneeboard and click controls and find it!
Repair Help & Product Troubleshooting for Saitek Aviator AV8R Joystick
Tips for a great answer:- Provide details, support with references or personal experience .
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box .
- It's 100% free, no registration required.
Suggested Questions/Answers :
How do I reboot it? Compaq 5716 runs very slow Can't download anything paid for interent and the computer just freezes. I want to do a system restore where there is nothing on the computer like brand new.
There are different ways on how to reboot a computer. If your laptop is\015\012not operational like it's frozen or crashed with the mouse frozen, try\015\012the simple steps below:1. The custom way to reboot your computer\015\012is to pre ... Compaq Presario 5716 PC Desktop
Computer wont start up...
Insert your Windows, or Linux disc and attempt to boot/repair install windows. Your POST/BIOS is not detecting your Operating System (windows more than likely). That being the case you may need to reinstall or repair install the OS. Did you or a memb ... PC Laptops
Rebooting When I turned the computer on it tells me windows did not start succsessfully. It wont even start in safe mood...it seems to be stuck in a loop?? I don't have any discs with the computer
Hello! am Fabian,\015\012problem.\015\012when i turned the computer on it tells me windows did not start successfully. it wont ...\015\012\015\012solution.\015\012to solve this problem you need at list the operating syst ... HP Pavilion dv8000t Notebook
Computer wont go past a blue error screen
Your hard drive may have quit(died). No good solution other than replace the hard drive. Do you have a restore disk for you computer,\015\012to use after replacign the HD? \015\012\015\012\015\012Here is the website for Acer PC ... Acer PC Desktops
Computer turns on, wont load windows, then goes to a blank screen
When a PC boots first it checks all of the hardware to ensure all is working properly. The stage two of that is turning it over to the operating system. When it is turned over to the operating system the first thing it looks for is the Master Boot Re ... Acer Aspire 5315 Notebook
Joystick turned off, won't operate
Ok... that is a VERY Easy fix... all you do is get into a plane with the kneeboard and click controls and find it! ... Saitek Aviator AV8R Joystick
Screen Shut off
Hello If your Notebook is not powering on then please perform the following steps. = Power Drain = 1. Disconnect the AC Adapter.2. Remove the Battery.3. Hold the Power button down for 30 seconds to 1 mi ... HP Pavilion ze2000 Notebook
Attack 3 joystick wont opperate on laptop - PC Desktops
First of all you want to make sure you install a driver for the joystick. If you have an Attack 3 joystick you would need to download the driver from ... PC Desktops
My computer wont boot up the fan and light turn on for a second then goes right off....
Follow these steps to determine why your computer won't turn on.\015\012\015\012Computer shows no sign of power ... HP Pavilion dv9000z Notebook
Wont charge my compaq presario r3000 wont charge. its plugged in but when i unplug it it immediatly turns off. the battery life constantly says 3%. it wont drop from that or get any higher. in the bottom right hand corner it says ac power but like i said it wont charge.
It could be that your battery is defective/worn out. If the computer just shuts off immediately (doesnt try to hibernate/standby) then you're likely looking at replacing the battery. They can suddenly do things like this if a cell shorts out in the ... Compaq Presario R3000 Notebook
How to reinstall windows xp if files are missing??
CLEAN INSTALLATIONNOTE: Before proceeding, make sure all necessary backups are completed.* Insert the Windows XP Reinstallation CD into the top CD drive* Remove any external devices from the computer: (except the mouse & ... Gateway 310 Series (158920) PC Desktop
Dell 8500 loading issue
I let you know one simple thing\015\012run a diagnosticsturn off your systempress and hold Fn key ,power on the system, leave fn keyit will start running a hard drive diagnostic\015\012\015\012i will be able to hel ... Dell Inspiron 8500 Notebook
Hi please help me with my acer 3003 wont boot
Try to power up with power cord only and see if it works. If no lights turn on than your motherboard is dead. If it turns on and nothing happens make sure there is memory installed(RAM). If it turns on and you see windows screen than it shuts off ... Acer Aspire 3000 Notebook
My hp wont turn on..the power light is on but its like my laptop is frozen or somethng
· First troubleshooting - When you turn the laptop on, are you able to see the splash screen? This would be the computer manufacturer's screen display that usually shows a ... HP Pavilion dv2000t 14.1" Notebook Laptop PC (Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 1.66 GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD, D... PC Notebook
DELL 1501 inspiron wont start up right
Ok well u may have a worm in your system ! \015\012\015\012\015\012the easyest way to solve your problems is to do a full re-install of the operating system \015\012\015\012do you have a dell restore cd/dvd ? \015 ... Dell Inspiron® 1501 (N11157) PC Notebook
Vaio fj270 wont boot to windows stuck with a blinking underscore
Hello and thank you for using Fixya!\015\012\015\012First, check and make sure there are no CD's in the CDrom player. Also, check an make sure there is no external storage devices, such as a flash drive, external, etc.\015\012 ... Sony VAIO VGN-FJ270/B Notebook
Computer goes on but does not boot
When you start up the PC, do you get any kind of beep sound? If not, I would reckon the RAM modules are faulty and would need to be replaced first. That is the usual cause for this kind of issue. Also when replacing the modules, make sure they are th ... Acer Aspire T160 (AST160UA3400) PC Desktop
Powers up but never goes to boot up screen
Be sure your hard drive is not dead. When you turn it on put your ear on the palmrest and listen for a small spin up noise. Then you should hear a light click sequence. If the hard drive is bad you wont hear that noise.Bad noise will be more unpleasa ... IBM ThinkPad T30 2366 Notebook
Have a gateway Mt3708 it started turning off on its own now I have no screen. I had gotten message reading as follows: YUKON Pxe V220.127.116.11 (alpa) (20060116) (C) copyright 2003-2006 Marvell (R) all rights reserved. Pre-boot Execution Environment ( PXE) v2.1 (C) Copyright 1997 - 2000 Intel Corporation PXE-E61: Media Test Failure, check cable Pxe-mof: Exiting PXE rom Operating System not found. What does this mean? Now the computer wont turn on, only the gateway logo comes on and then nothing. Help
When the logo comes on, press the "tab" key. It should turn the logo off and show you what the computer is doing. This may help:\015\012\015\012THIS IS FOR HP AND COMPAQ USERS (it might help others as well)i had the same problem wit ... PC Laptops
Dell Inspiron laptop will turn on but wont take me to log in screen
I had this too. I didn't read through the whole forum. But my same computer did that and when we talked to dell support we had to replace the whole hard drive. Fortunately it was under warranty and free! ... Dell Inspiron 1501 Notebook
Turns on but wont go pass the startup screen
Try to put an operating system boot disk in your drive then turn on laptop.\015\012When the screen says press any key to boot from cd/dvd press a key.If it is vista when you do boot from cd it will give the option in the lower right corner to r ... Acer Aspire 5610 laptop vista combo with office 2003 professionalLX.AY10X.008 PC Notebook
Hp wont turn on
Kindly check the battery and power supply as first stepSecond step would be to check that ram are intactly fit in there memory module as this one of the major reason b coz of which it might be happeningAs it is risky to cut open lappy as ... HP Pavilion dv6000z Notebook
Toshiba M305D S4830 laptop wont start
"I have M305D S4830 laptop. I put it to sleep in the night. In the \012morning when i tried to turn it on, it wouldnt start. The light on the \012switch turns on and it charges the battery fine, but no HDD activity(but\012 it does spin up and stay ... Toshiba Satellite Laptop with AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor ZM-80 - Fusion PC Notebook
My ibm wont start up??????
The problem is going to be with either the operating system or the hard drive, and you will need an operating system disc in order to solve this problem. After acquiring an operating system disc you can try an operating syst ... IBM ThinkPad T21 Notebook
Compaq laptop My bosses laptop wont turn on and there is a lightning bolt symbol with a corresponding light next to the power on light toward the left front of the computer... same place the power cord light is... But it wont turn on and the light blinks under the lightning bolt? What does the lightning bolt represent or mean? I have a compaq presario V2000 laptop that will never load to windows, it says windws is starting up but will never actually do it, it's frozen and I have no clue how to
Dear its your operating system problem and to resolve it first of all when your system is restarting and the boot screen appear press the F8 key select the safe mode option and wait for the system to log on. As soon as it log on goto start menu--> ... HP Compaq Presario V2000 Notebook


text:
Peep the 2:15 mark of this video that features Jay Pharoah doing an impression of Jay-Z, the sports agent. LEBRON JAMES IS NOT AMUSED, JAY! We most definitely were, though. It isn't easy to get up in front of a bunch of athletes and successfully make fun of Hov. But for the most part, Jay Pharoah managed to pull it off.
RELATED: Gallery: Athletes and Rappers
[via Hip Hop Wired]


text: In message <firstname.lastname@example.com>Christos Zoulas writes: >In article <email@example.com>, >Jonathan Stone <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: Christos, my msincere thanks for the non-inflammatory response. >Jonathan, I don't think that Itojun has ever stated that he does >not want to fix these kinds of problems - in fact he has been very >quick responding to each problem. Yes. I agree. I have said so as much myself, several times. Itojun *is* doing a really great job there. (Do I have ot say i every time? [...] >> Till now, I had assumed that "IPv6 integration" included making sure >> that *non*-ipv6 systems also continued to work. Itojun seems (to me) >> to be saying that *he* thinks its not his job to do that. But it is >> very, very hard to tell. > >I disagree with that as I mentioned before. Then we will have to agree to disagree. In mutual good faith, I hope. Just personally, this strikes me as the key point of disagreement. And its even not over who does the work, but on the quality of support NetBSD gives to traditional, non-IPv6, NetBSD users and installations. >Jonathan, since you have personal interest in getting a non ipv6 system >working, I suggest that you keep sending bug reports [preferrably as PR's >instead of flames :-)] and we will fix them before 1.5 is released. I will report what I find. But I simply dont have time to do that task as effectiively as it needs to be done. I have papers to write, a thesis to defend, and a day job. I wish I could but it is not realistic of me to say I can. >It is definitely a good goal to be able to run all applications on a >non ipv6 system. I agree, only I'd s/good/vital/, for some part of the user base. When I think about this from a content-providers perspective, there are excellent reasons to *not* be an early adopter of IPv6, but to stay with solid IPv4 implementations. I would hate to see NetBSD moving backward from that perspective. >Finally, yes the code is very new it has been tested only on specific >configurations. It has not been stressed a lot and behaves non-intuitively >in some cases. For example: > > mv /etc/services{,.foo} > telnet machine.name > >and watch the error message. >Let's calm down now and consider for a minute that Itojun is setting his >own plan and goals on ipv6 integration. These are very well aligned so >far with the NetBSD goals for the same. I am not so sure I agree on the last sentence (up to now at least, when you say: >I am pretty sure that testing on >ipv4 only systems has not been given enough attention. *thank you* That has been the point of contention here all along. Heck, its only natural, when the people doing the integration work are doing it beacuse they are pro-IPv6. Some of them go as far as running v6-only (v4-free) setups. I have no idea whether Itojun does, but I think you see on the cause for concern. >But now that we >know how things break, we are going to be more careful when making changes >so that there will be less breakage. Wow. Thats, all I was hoping to hear. From where I'm sitting it sounds like a 180-degree switch. "Thanks" is all I can say. >Still though nobody is promising to >do all the testing, but probably the importance of that will decrease as >the system stabilizes more. Understood. ("of course", even ). Myself, I would test more if I could. But most of the IPV4-only systems I control are still running 1.4.x. The few that aren't only have 3 or 4 entires in /etc/inetd.conf, so there's not much I *can* test, because I'm not using it. I think it really would help a *LOT* if there was, say, a list of which subsystems (with subsystem defined by rc.d scripts) have been hammered on on an IPv4-only systems, and which haven't.


text:
What Do Girls Actually Think When a Guy Can't Get It Up?
Submit your Ask a Babe questions below.
Q: What are a female's thoughts about a guy who can't get it up for them?Like the whole too much alcohol excuse, or whether it's the girls fault that she can't turn him on enough.
A: Let's just start off at the most OBVIOUS jumping off point for my criticism here– you considering your inability to get a hard dick, potentially being the fault of the girl you're trying to stick it in.
Right. Cuz that's a valid excuse.
Think back to the first time you got hard in front of a girl; no doubt it was between 5th and 7th grade, while at school.
In front of your math teacher.
She was 45.
Did her pudgy muffin top and grey roots prevent you from popping a woody in the middle of an algebra lesson? Nope, not at all. Because all you had to do in order to achieve that trouser tent was daydream of touching the boob of the chick in front of you.
That's all it took. And frankly, that's usually all it takes these days, so don't run around seeking a scapegoat for your erectile dysfunction.
You actively chose to take the girl home in the first place, so at some point you clearly thought she was attractive enough to get naked with. If your penis disagrees later in the night, that's not on her, breau.
As for the too much alcohol excuse you mentioned, it's sort of weak and frankly, can only hold up so long.
Q: After hanging out with this girl twice, I tried messing around with her…now she says I am asshole and only want one thing, which wasn't true. I just felt like she was giving off all of the signs but I guess I was wrong. What do I do to get out of the doghouse?
A: It would help me if I had a gauge on your age, because I think it would explain a lot. It sort of sounds like the chick in question can be no more than 15 years of age, which gives me that anxious creeped out feeling at the pit of my stomach..because these days, in the real (adult) world, everybody's just tryna get theirs–man or woman. If a little game of How's your
Father didn't go down–you know, a little rough housing here, some grab-ass there–it would almost be a little weird.
Perhaps this candidate simply isn't prepared, or of age, so let it go. Exit the doghouse at your own free will, and move on to a more age-appropriate and sexually adventurous lady friend. The last thing you need is the PTA knocking down your door.
Or worse, her father.
Q: I've been going on dates with this awesome girl. We have a ton in common and she's super hot. We're starting to get somewhat serious which makes me pretty nervous because I don't want her to see me without a shirt on.
It's not what you would think: I have a terrible tattoo of a Dave Matthews album on my chest.It's completely embarrassing and I really don't want it to be a turn off…how do I explain myself without looking like a total idiot?
A: Hm.
Not that I'm all that familiar with his music–I've only seen him in concert around 11 times….Fuckin' early 2000's, man.
Unfortunately, your chesticle is basically screaming that exact line every time it's exposed.
Fuckin' early 2000's, man.
Mother, even. So it goes. These are the things that allow us to laugh, learn, and reflect on how the fuck we could ever be so dumb.
To answer your question, you've gotta rip the band aid and just straight up show this chick. If you're embarrassed, tell her. She might even think it's cute.
Q: Lately one my buddies has been going to cycling classes (Soulcycle to be exact) in the city and claims there's a ton of babes there and I should come to a class. I'm a little apprehensive though because it definitely seems a little gay. Is it becoming the norm or should I steer clear?
A: There's no doubt about it: dudes in a spin class can seem…a little gay. While it's definitely one of the toughest workouts you can crank out in a 45-minute period, there's something about a dude in spandex sweating all over a stationary bicycle that just…doesn't turn me on. It just isn't that straight. To counter my unintentionally homoracist remarks, (love the gays) I have multiple friends who have run into the likes of David Beckham, Jake Gyllenhaal, and numerous other celebrity babes who I can't think of right now but are definitely straight and definitely on my to-bone list.
I think best practice is to try out a class with two of your straightest looking friends so as not to jeopardize your chance at getting the number of the chick spinning next to you after class.


text:
Are you having a lovely holiday weekend? We are having fun playing outside but we can't wait until Iron Man 3 comes out on blu-ray...and it has nothing what-so-ever to do with Robert Downey Jr. *swoon* ;D
Happy weekend lovelies! Look for fun recipes and giveaways coming this week, previews on our Instagram!!
Iron Man 3 is coming to Blu-Ray and DVD
September 3rd!
September 3rd!
Marvel Studios' Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Thanks to Marvel and Disney for the pics and information.


text:
General Description:
"In designing the building, Harold Van Buren Magonigle and his associate, Robert W. McLaughlin, Jr., drew upon the architecture of early basilica churches and Greek forum. However, they also wanted the architecture to reflect the people and environs of Nebraska. ...The thinking behind the design was to create a style of architecture that captured the emotional ideas of a free church in a free land, emphasizing liberty, liberality, intellectual power, democracy, confidence in people, and faith in God. ...Native colors of Nebraska are used throughout: old rose and tawny gold – one the color of the sunset sky, the other the color of the harvest fields. Red brick, in seven sizes and five shades, was used in the construction. ...The 171-foot tall, sixteen-sided "Singing Tower" dominates the building. It houses Nebraska's oldest true carillon... . Sculpted figures
representing the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are located at the tower's four corners... . Above the main doors is the round "rose window". At the center of its cruciform mullions are a chalice superimposed on a shock of wheat that is made up of smaller, tied bundles. The mullions display grape vines and clusters of grapes.
...On either side of the rose window are two large, square, glazed polychrome tiles. The one on the left shows a peacock in a grape vine. The one of the right is of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Both are early symbols of the Resurrection. Small tiles representing various ancient Christian symbols are found beneath the large tiles. They include: the fish (an early symbol used by Christians to identify themselves), the open book with the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet "alpha" and "omega" (God who is "the beginning and the end" of all things), the Christmas rose (Jesus' birth in Bethlehem), the Star of David-interlocking triangles (Jesus' lineage as a descendent of the House of David/symbol of the Trinity), the dove (the Holy Spirit of God), the pomegranate (symbolic of the Jesus' resurrection and the spread of the Gospel), and several crosses—"Chi Rho" (from the first two Greek letters in the word "Christ"—XP), Jerusalem (the wounds of Jesus on the cross and the mission of the church to proclaim the Gospel to "the four corners of the earth"), anchor (Jesus Christ, our sure anchor), and Coptic or Egyptian (modeled after the Egyptian ankh representing immortality)."
"...A large body of correspondence evolved between Magonigle and Wyland regarding the philosophy of the church's design.
It was agreed that First-Plymouth should represent 'a break with the traditionally eclectic approach to church architecture (and tie into) the limitless space of the prairies.'
Olson Construction Co. was chosen as the general contractor, Abel Co. donated the bricks and Angelo Tagliabue of the John Donnelly Co. was the sculptor.
To represent the prairie, Magonigle and his associate, Robert W. McLaughlin Jr., chose seven sizes of polychromatic bricks in five native colors. The overall color scheme was centered on the theme of old rose representing the prairie sunset and tawny gold for the harvest.A general concept supposedly developed around a European manor/farm, with the 800-square-foot enclosed forecourt representing an area where area families and their livestock might be protected from hostile forces, the main sanctuary a barn and the carillon a granary or silo. The primary south entrance doors with polychrome tile surrounds and deep blue tiles recalled the vast expanse of Nebraska's skies, while the rose window above represented the earth supplanted with a cross for the church, which in turn featured a central sheaf of wheat for agriculture.
...The interior of the church, from the walnut pews and decorative floors, features earth colors... .
The completed church was...second only to the state Capitol in architectural merit." (http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_b8d4fe5a-c9a6-541b-92e1-d6788fc8a374.html)
Technical Information (Size,mfg., etc.):
According to some of Magonigle's correspondence, the Mueller Mosaic Tile Company of Trenton, New Jersey supplied the tiles for the tile work, and the American Terra Cotta Company of Chicago supplied the terra cotta that was used in the Chuch's construction--the trim, the statues of the apostles on the carillion, etc.
Year Created:
Does Installation Still Exist?
Location of Installation:
2000 "D" Street
Lincoln, NE 68502
Additional Information, Websites, Citations:
Photos below courtesy of Michael Padwee (2011).
Submitted by and Year:
Michael Padwee (tileback101"at"collector.org); October 2011.
NE_LINCOLN--First Plymouth Congregational Church


text:
This is one of my favorite vegan products. I don't use a lot of replacement products (as I like to call them) because they aren't healthy. By this I mean fake meats, vegan cheese, etc. What can I say, sometimes a girl needs her coffee with cream. If I don't have this creamer, I just use almond milk and coconut palm sugar. But I am obsessed with anything hazelnut so this is my go to coffee creamer.
Author Archives: bythewayimjordan
Pancakes (V, GF)
This is the first gluten free vegan pancake recipe that I really love. It is sooooo easy and I have already started to play around with the basic recipe to change it up a little. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen (link).
- l.5 large bananas (original calls for 2 medium)
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground flax
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- vegan chocolate chips
- A few dashes of cinnamon
- Blend bananas and almond milk in a blender
- Add oats, baking powder, and cinnamon and then blend again
- Add flax and chia seeds and then blend for a short time just to incorporate
- Let sit for a couple minutes so the batter thickens
- Scoop out 1/4 cup of batter into a hot nonstick pan and place a few chocolate chips on tope of each
- Flip once bubbles start appearing in the middle (about 2 minutes on each side)
- Top with fruit, syrup, powdered sugar, or nut butter and serve
Makes between 8-10 pancakes
Easy Vegan Enchiladas
- 1 can of organic black beans (or pinto)
- 1/2 a can of enchilada sauce
- 1 can diced black olives
- daiya vegan pepper jack cheese
- 6 corn tortillas (mine are gluten free)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Drain and thoroughly rinse beans
- Put beans in a medium bowl and mash with a fork
- Stir in the olives
- Fill one tortilla at a time with bean and olive mixture and a sprinkle of cheese
- Roll up and place in a baking dish (because I don't fry the tortillas in oil like traditional enchilada recipes the tortillas might break open, microwaving the tortillas first will help with this, but I don't mind so I skip it)
- After the baking dish is full, cover with enchilada sauce and sprinkle more cheese on top
- Cover the dish, if your baking dish doesn't have a lid just use foil
- Bake for 15-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling
I served mine with chopped organic romaine lettuce, half an avocado, and tapatio hot sauce. So yummy!!! This is a great basic recipe that can be easily modified. I have made a larger batch using 12 tortillas, the whole can of sauce, and one can black beans and one can pinto beans, but that was when I had company… I cant eat 12 enchiladas on my own! Adding veggies, herbs, or using green enchilada sauce are easy changes to this recipe. Enjoy!
I love sandwiches
Even though Udi's gluten free bread isn't vegan (it contains egg), I still enjoy making a sandwiches with it every once in a while. I find it to have the best sandwich bread texture out of all the gluten free breads. I haven't found any vegan gluten free breads yet. You could always make a wrap with a gluten free tortilla, but sometimes you just want that fluffy bread! My favorite sandwich fillings are romaine lettuce, green bell peppers, cucumber, olives, balsamic vinegar, and raw vegan garlic spread. Sooo yummy!
Banana Chocolate Smoothie
- 1 banana
- A handful of spinach
- 2 tsp ground flax seeds
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp raw almond butter
- Chocolate almond milk
- Ice
- Soak the chia seeds and ground flax in the almond milk so chia seeds become "jelly"
- Put all ingredients in blender (add almond milk to blend smoothly)
- Blend and drink!
Valentine's Postcards
I wanted to send a few Valentine's cards this year so instead of buying some, I decided to make my own. And I found the perfect printable! These hand drawn postcards are so adorable; click here. This was the perfect rainy day, lounging in bed craft.
I decided to print out four of the white cards and then add a little color to them with my prismacolor pencils. And here's how they turned out…
Since I didn't have any envelopes, I decided to actually send them as postcards. So I got out my ruler and drew on the back of the cards (I had to get out of bed and move to my desk for this step haha).
Voila!! The perfect Valentine ♥
DIY Ornaments: Winter Wonderland
I found the inspiration for this ornament on Pinterest….of course! I made a dozen of these adorable ornaments to give out as christmas gifts. I tied a white ribbon in the loop for hanging the ornament and bought little Chinese take-out boxes to wrap them up in.
- mini christmas trees (Michael's sells these in packs of 12 for around $3)
- "make your own" glass ornaments (make sure the opening is large enough for the base of the tree)
- hot glue
- tweezers
- salt
- glitter (I used Martha Stewart glitter in Snow)
Step one:
- add glue to the base of the tree
- use your fingers and the tweezers to place the tree inside the ornament
- hold the tree in place with the tweezers to let the glue set
Step two:
- using a funnel pour in the salt and glitter
- put the ornament top back on
And you're done!


text:
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Era (02/03/11)
TITLE: California Gold Rush Continues
By G Frank Miller
Mariposa has a delightful walkway that runs along the creek that bears the town name. The path and creek parallel Main Street and as you walk along the creek you hear the clear water rushing down and away from the Sierra Mountains. Looking toward Main Street you observe the backs of various businesses.
As I strolled along this pleasant walkway, I came across a baby stroller. It got my attention and I looked all around, but couldn't see the baby who had been pushed to this spot. I finally looked down the deep river bank and observed a young woman with a little boy. They were about 15 feet below me right on the edge of the creek. The woman was kneeling down and the little boy was standing by her with his hand on her shoulder. They both appeared to be looking into the clear water of the creek.
As I watched, I noticed that the woman had a large pan in her hand and appeared to be panning for gold. She seemed to be pointing things out to the boy as she washed the sand away looking for gold flakes. What a cute picture they made. I supposed it was a little "home schooling" history lesson for the boy.
About an hour later I passed the spot on my way back to the hotel and was surprised to see the woman and boy still by the creek. The woman had moved upstream about 20 feet and was vigorously digging in the bank with a spade. The boy was playing along the creek not far from her. I was curious. This was either a very long history lesson, or there was more to her story than I had thought at first.
My curiosity got the best of me. I scrambled down the steep creek bank and walked toward her. She looked up as I approached and gave me a rather unwelcome stare.
"I'm sorry to bother you," I said, "but I was watching from the bank and my curiosity got the better of me."
"I'm working," she said.
"It looked to me like you might be panning for gold."
"If you are going to rob me, don't waste your time. I haven't gotten anything today," she said.
"Oh, please don't think I'm going to rob you. Like I said, I'm just curious and wouldn't think of robbing you. Why are you panning for gold?"
She looked at me like I was an idiot for even asking that question. "Don't you think people would pay money for gold?"
Then she added, "Let me tell you my story and then maybe you'll leave me alone. My husband works construction and is having a difficult time finding steady work. We have bills that we must pay and it's hard to put food on the table for little Eric here and keep a roof over our heads. I prayed to the Lord one day just before Christmas and asked Him to show me a way to help us until there is more work in construction. After praying, I seemed to get a feeling that I should do something about gold.
Later, when I mentioned this to my husband, he reminded me that when we were in school here in Mariposa they taught us about the Gold Rush and how people panned gold out of these creeks. Maybe there is still some gold here. We decided I should give it a try. So that's what I'm doing. I hope this answers your questions because I need to get back to work fast before it gets too dark."
"How is it working out?" I asked.
"We're paying our bills."
"Praise the Lord," I said as I scrambled back up the bank and she returned to her prospecting.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.


text:
Piedmont Regional Dental Clinic is a non profit dental clinic serving the adults and children of the Piedmont Region.
Who is eligible for our services?
Children and Adults covered by Virginia Medicaid or uninsured and financial qualified Adults and Children can qualify for our discounted dental services program.
Eligibility is done on Tuesday and Thursday from 3-4:30pm.
Eligibility Screening
An eligibility screening must be done to see if you qualify for our discounted dental services if you do not have Medicaid. Our eligibility qualifications are based on total number of people living in the household and total annual household income. These guidelines are based at 200% or below 2012 Federal Poverty Guidelines.
Open enrollment for Eligibility Screenings are held on Mondays and Wednesdays between the hours of 2pm - 4pm
Eligibility Paperwork
Click Here for a downloadable eligibility application. And this form is for someone who is helping you financially.
What to Bring
Check Here for a list of what to bring to your eligibility screening (first meeting).
Patient & Office Policies
Click Here to learn more about our way of working
New Patient Paper Work
Hate waiting? Download your new patient paper work now and have it ready for your first appointment. This saves you time and gets you in to see the dentist faster! Need help with your paper work? Give us a call prior to your first visit and we'll meet with you.
Click the picture to download. Or Click Here.
Prices and Services
Click Here for an explanation of services and costs.
PRDC is not a free clinic.
If you have Virginia Medicaid, FAMIS, FAMIS Plus and the service is a covered service by your Medicaid coverage the service is at no charge to you. PRDC will file the claim at no charge and reimbursement for services will be made directly to PRDC.
If you qualify for our discounted dental services you will be asked to pay a small fee. Services must be pre-paid before an appointment time is given.
Forms of payment accepted: Cash, Money Order, MasterCard, Visa and Discover.
Customer Survey
At PRDC our patients are important to us and this survey is intended to help us determine what we can do to meet your needs. Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey and provide comments. Thank you for taking the time to let us know how we are doing and what we can do to provide better service. Please click the link below to complete the survey.
Click Here to take our survey.


text:
August 25, 2005
Dodgers' Bradley may need surgery on knee injury
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) - Los Angeles Dodgers
outfielder Milton Bradley has an 80 percent tear in the patella
tendon of his left knee that could require surgery, the team
said on Thursday.
Bradley also has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and
will seek a second opinion this week.
while running out a ground ball.
Bradley left the game and has not played since then. He
tested the knee during batting practice on Tuesday, then told
manager Jim Tracy he could not play.


text:
Judge: Former FEC heads may testify for Edwards
By MICHAEL BIESECKER
Associated Press
GREENSBORO, NC (AP) — A federal judge will not rule out two former Federal Election Commission members from testifying for former Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, who's defending himself against campaign finance violations while hiding his mistress.
US District Judge Catherine Eagles in Greensboro said Friday she will decide later whether the commissioners could testify as experts on campaign finance law. She says she wants to hear the prosecution's case at Edwards's upcoming trial.
Those commissioners are expected to say Edwards did not violate the law when he failed to report nearly $1 million in payments from two wealthy friends to hide and care for his pregnant mistress during his 2008 White House run.
Federal prosecutors wanted to disqualify the commissioners' testimony.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
More: continued here


text:
Read Red Book
fervently underlining significant
passages in the little red book.
Marriage counsel...
She sighed. "He's just not the man I married. He used to be so romantic. Always bringing me flowers. Opening the car door. Giving me the most wonderful massages!"
She shook off the memory.
"Now he spends all his time with his friends, drinking beer, talking football. When he is home, he sits in front of the TV and expects to be waited on hand and foot. It's like I'm some sort of fixture!
"I just don't understand what happened," she finished, burying her head in her hands.
After a brief silence, the counselor asked, "Have you told your husband how you feel?""What's the point?" she responded without looking up. "People can't change the way they are."
What can i?
what do I really care
I have no fear
Guilty not guilty
I am an innocent man
in a controlled land
The jury is set
the answer will come
I have to be strong
in my heart
Here they come
I hope they understand
that I have done no wrong
against anyone
Ha Ha all raise
now it is time to pay
this is your judgement day
Here it comes
you are sentenced to Death
because you have shown no regret
so say we all
Tomorrow at sun rise
you will swing from the old oak tree
up at Gallows point
Guilty not guilty
I am an innocent man
but they turned me down
Tonight there will come some tears
but they will never be seen
because they are inside
guilty I was
at least so they said
but I am not afraid
I know..
but not what you are drinking
come on over here
and we can share
I can not move
but I can feel the groove
shy shy that is what I am
I know what you want
but not how to give it
come on baby give me a shot
you can see that I have a lot
I can not speak
but I know how to teach
shy shy that is what I am
I know what you need
but not how to show it
come on baby give me your hand
and I will make you understand
I can not play
but I know the game
shy shy that is what I am
I know that you are lonely
but not how to explain it properly
come on baby open up and smile
and I will give you my best company
even if I am a little bit shy
I know that you need me
but not how to give you my heart
in a way that makes you understand
that I will never let you down
please take the first step
because I am a little bit shy
but I will never make you sad
or cry
Potato or Tamato..?
Never know when to end a word in o, os, or oes?
Goodness gracious me! I am sure that there must be a secret school for greengrocers and fruit and veg employees ... where they are taught a difficult and secret way to use apostrophes at the end of vegetables. It is a miracle if I ever see a sign outside a greengrocer which *doesn't* have an apostrophe where it isn't needed!
[Feel free to send photos of offending signs to share with us!]
Words ending in O do NOT - I repeat - do NOT need an apostrophe *s* to make it plural!!!
When a singular word ends with a consonant (non-vowels) and o,
it is normal to add es to form a plural:
Exceptions - no *e* before *s*
When a singular word ends with yo or io, add an s:
What does it all mean??!
A noun is a naming word or an object (e.g. shoe, house, computer, employee).
one potato
two potatoes
two potato's is WRONG
one tomato
three tomatoes
three tomato's is WRONG
one piano
two pianos
two piano's or pianoes is WRONG
one studio
five studios
five studio's is WRONG
Unless you have a school teacher who is correcting your work, you probably have no-one who proofreads for you, who can spot the errors ... and yet it is so important. As working adults, many of us are required to do a fair amount of writing for our jobs, no matter which field we are in, so taking the time to learn grammar, apostrophes, punctuation, parts of speech and commonly misspelt words, will be a skill we can build on and improve with practice. Good luck!


text:
Pros: Awesome cleaning, simple maintenance, lifetime filters, bagless.
Cons: Price initially, not all attachments fit on vacuum.
A couple of months ago I managed to blow up our Hoover vacuum. We looked online that night and decided to replace it with a Hoover bagless.
At the store I compared the prices of the vacuums and wanted to "look" at the Dyson's since they look so strange. I compared the cost of replacing filters and decided that the Animal would be cheaper in the long run since we wouldn't have to replace any filters.
The basics
The Dyson Animal is a futuristic looking purple thing. It is odd looking in our historic home.
The Dyson uses "Root Cyclone" technology. The Dyson website claims Root Cyclone gives higher suction power. Spinning air creates centrifugal force. By making the air stream spin, dirt and debris are subjected to centrifugal force. The dirt and debris are thrown out of the air.
Because the airflow is unobstructed there's nothing to clog, so suction power remains constant.
The cord is 35'. The hose is 17'. Maximum reach is 53' although the Animal will follow you if you pull this far. The motor is 12 amps. Suction power is 270 airwatts which means nothing to me! It does have great suction, even with the attachments. It weighs just over 19 pounds. It has a convenient carry handle and does not feel that heavy.
It comes with a two year warranty. This model is a different color and adds attachments not available with other models although the vacuum is the same. There is one model that offers a three year warranty instead of two and is offered at independent stores only. My recommendation is to figure out which attachments are important for you and choose the model that matches your needs. With all of our animals, we decided the Animal is what would work best for us.
Included with the Animal are stair tool (with velour strips), brush tool (brush head twists), crevice tool, Animal turbo tool (a power brushbar), and floor tool(for under furniture). Also included is a carpet cleaning kit which is "zorb" - a sprinkle which is worked into the carpet and vacuumed up for odor and dirt removal with an attachment to work the zorb into the floor, and "dyzolv" - a spot stain remover spray. Especially the Animal turbo tool helps with pet hair, dander, and dirt the pets leave around the house.
The brush, stair, and crevice tool attach to the actual vacuum. The rest do not, so I had to find a place I wouldn't loose them.
There's a permanent HEPA filter that is washable. no expensive replacements. Included is a sticker for you to circle the month you started using the vacuum and six months after to remind you to wash the filters with water. The filters are lifetime filters. There is a pre-motor filter which is the only that is cleaned and a post-motor filter which is lifetime that does not require washing.
There is a "Bactisafe" screen which traps and kills bacteria, molds, and allergens on contact.
Noise level
The Animal is not as loud as our Hoover was. It is bearable, until you get the fringe of the oriental rugs in it! It makes a horribly loud noise when the fringe is being vacuumed.
Emptying container
Emptying the container is simple. It is marked clearly to let you know when to empty. We alway empty before or at the mark. There is a release lever to pull the container out, then holding it over the trash (or in a bag to decrease the amount of dust with the bag held against the container) you pull a trigger and the bottom opens to release the trash. I empty over a bag and have not noticed a problem with dust.
Ease of use
I find the Dyson very easy to use. My 4 year old was able to effectively use it in a large open area. It easily adjusts to different height users. It does not put unnecessary pressure on my arm/wrist. I do have a nerve disorder and would notice if this was an issue. I had a self-propelled vacuum before and this is the same or easier to push than the self-propelled vacuum.
There is a large button to power on/off. There is a foot plate to press on and pulling the handle back toward you engages the vacuum.
There is a bare floor setting and a carpet setting. On the bare floor setting the brushbar does not turn. Even on the carpet setting, the brushbar does not turn until you begin vacuuming.
For attachments, you press the hose release (which has the wand inside the hose) then 1) slide the wand cap and place the attachment on the end. 2) Remove the wand and place the attachment. 3) Reverse the wand into the hose and click the attachment onto the end.
We prefer the reverse wand method so we don't have to bend as much.
Our experience
I hate to know what was in our carpets before we had this! We tested it out and even when the carpet looked clean, I could still see dirt coming in. I vacuumed a lot longer than I would have without seeing the dirt. Our carpet was much more vibrant with deep colors since we got the dirt out.
I am very impressed with this vacuum. I grew up with Kirby's and when I had to buy, I had Eureka and Hoover's. This is my favorite vacuum. I am very pleased with it's performance on wood and on carpet. My biggest gripe is the horrible noise it makes on the rug fringe.
With the long range, I can now reach all but two stairs without moving the vacuum upstairs. We have 19 steps on the staircase - old victorian home. We are very pleased with each of the attachments as well. We tested each of the attachments (still haven't opened the zorb or dysolv yet). They are simple to attach and work very well.
I have seen these for sale on the Dyson website, various stores like Target, Best Buy, etc. The prices do range a bit.


text: note snoopy Hi Dana, <p> I've managed to run your example script on both the latest rakudo built from git, plus rakudo star 2010.07. <p> I do notice however, that as soon as I put a blank line anywhere in the input file, I get the same error message as you: <code> Beth Ana Charlie Dave Ana vs Dave | 3:0 Charlie vs Beth | 3:1 Ana vs Beth | 2:3 Dave vs Charlie | 3:0 Ana vs Charlie | 3:1 Beth vs Dave | 0:3 </code> Produces: <code> snoopy@snoopy-laptop:~/git/rakudo$ ./perl6 /tmp/score.p6 Method 'split' not found for invocant of class '' in <anon> at line 12:/tmp/score.p6 in main program body at line 1 </code> So I think it's got something to do with the input data or the line separators. Maybe the cut-and-paste introduced something? 859263 859263


text:
Goldschmidt gets winning hit off Beckett in 9th
Goldschmidt gets winning hit off Beckett in 9thArizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Pollock, left, celebrates his game-winning run against the Los Angeles Dodgers with teammates Eric Chavez (12) and Cody Ross during the ninth inning in a baseball game on Sunday, April 14, 2013 in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers 1-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX (AP) -- Paul Goldschmidt hit a game-winning single off Josh Beckett with one out in the ninth inning Sunday, lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0.
Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill pitched six-hit ball for 7 1-3 innings and three relievers got the final five outs for Arizona, which shut out Los Angeles twice in taking two of three.
Beckett (0-2) retired Martin Prado on a grounder to short to start the ninth. A.J. Pollock followed with a double to center field. Beckett ran the count to 3-0 before walking Miguel Montero intentionally. Goldschmidt then singled to right field.
Tony Sipp and Brad Ziegler each retired one batter to finish the eighth after Nick Punto singled leading off and advanced on Beckett's sacrifice.
J.J. Putz (1-0) walked one in the ninth.
Beckett, who had struggled at Chase Field throughout his career, allowed six hits and struck out nine over 8 1-3 innings, his longest outing since a complete-game shutout on June 15, 2011, for Boston against Tampa Bay.
Beckett entered with a 1-2 record and 5.16 ERA across 22 2-3 innings in Phoenix.
Cahill struck out four without walking a batter, the first time he's pitched without a walk since September 12, a 3-2 win over the Dodgers.
The Dodgers' best scoring chances against Cahill came in the seventh and eighth innings.
Adrian Gonzalez doubled off the center field wall - his third straight hit and sixth and his past seven plate appearances - leading off the seventh, Los Angeles' first player to reach second base.
But Prado caught a looping line drive by Andre Ethier, A.J. Ellis flew out to center and Cahill induced Luis Cruz into a routine grounder to third to end the inning.
In the eighth, Punto singled and was bunted to second by Beckett. Cahill gave way to Sipp, who retired Carl Crawford on a grounder to first, and Ziegler, who forced Mark Ellis into a grounder to third to keep the game scoreless.
Arizona fared little better against Beckett, who allowed only Cliff Pennington to advance to third base over the first eight innings. He reach third twice. Pennington singled in the third and doubled in the fifth.
NOTES: Gonzalez finished 3 for 4. . Dodgers CF Matt Kemp finished 0 for 4 with three strikeouts to drop his battitng average to .174. Kemp has struck out 14 times in 45 at-bats. . Diamondbacks 2B Aaron Hill left the game in the bottom of the fourth after aggravating his sore left hand. Hill was making his first start since he was hit on the left hand Tuesday against Pittsburgh. He drove in a run as a pinch-hitter Saturday and was 0 for 1 against Beckett before he was replaced by Pollock. . Cahill needed only 93 pitches to get his 22 outs. . Prado started the game in left before moving to second base to replace Hill. . Los Angeles RHP Chad Billingsley, who scattered five hits and allowed one run in six innings against San Diego on Wednesday, faces LHP Eric Stults and the Padres on Monday. ... Arizona RHP Brandon McCarthy brings a 2-0 record against New York into Tuesday's start against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. McCarthy, who is 1-0 in two starts in New York, will face RHP Ivan Nova.


text:
My Trackers
my Nutrition
my Fitness
my Weight
Other Goals
my SparkPoints
Community Home
Community Feed
Message Boards
Challenge Central
Member Blogs
What's New
Health & Wellness
Weight Loss
Stuff We Love
Healthy Family
Pregnancy & Postpartum
Instant Inspiration
Food Database
Lifestyle Centers
The SparkPeople Blog
Calendar Challenges
Stream hundreds of free workout videos and track them in one click. Get fit at home, at work or wherever you are!
Today's Featured Video:
Core Fusion: Yoga Meditation and Stretch
Visit SparkPeople.TV
Access hundreds of thousands of recipes that are healthy and easy to make. Get full nutrition info for every recipe and track with one click!
Today's Featured Recipe:
Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche
Visit SparkRecipes.com
Secrets of Success
Bah Humbug, or, Why I Don't Do Christmas
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Aside from the obvious fact that I'm Jewish. But don't mistake that for saying that I'm a good Jew. I'm not. I just identify with it because that's how I was raised. I celebrated Christmas with the best of them for many years. But I walked away from it a good 15 or more years ago and never looked back.
A friend made the whole point for me: it isn't about its traditional meaning anymore. It's about excess and commercialism and I utterly despise that part of it. And since I was not raised Christian, the traditional meaning – the birth of Christ – has no meaning to me anyway.
I used to be pretty rabid about it. Anything Christmas was anathema to me. Keep it away from me, shut off that awful music, don't wish me a merry Christmas, don't even discuss inviting me to your Christmas gathering. But over the years I've calmed down about it and in my usual self-analytic way, I have figured out why I feel as I do, I can keep it personal, and I can let everybody else do their Christmas thing without getting all up in arms about it.
I'm no longer a person who gets offended when someone says "Merry Christmas" to me, unless I know they are saying it just to push my buttons. I know most people mean it with the best of intentions; they really do wish for everyone to be happy at the holiday season. And there's nothing wrong with that. You don't need to be PC and change the phrase to "Happy Holidays" because you're worried about offending either. In fact, that's worse, because it's phony.
But I still don't like it. The endless music and ridiculous advertising are choke-worthy (kind of like political season, no?) And I choose to ignore the whole thing, as much as being part of a Christmas-crazy society will allow. There are a lot of things about Christmas that just make no sense to me.
Here is something I find funny: When the folks who celebrate Christmas decided their Jewish friends were being left out of all the fun, they elevated Hanukkah to a major big deal just because it falls at roughly the same time as Christmas. (Whose bright idea was that anyway?) Most devout Jews laugh at that, because Hanukkah is a nothing little holiday, no more than a blip on the Jewish calendar. Sure, Hanukkah is fun, and it should be recognized, but it's just not that important. In fact, if you look at the calendars of exclusively Jewish schools, they don't close down for Christmas or Hanukkah. They take their holiday breaks in September, at the so-called High Holy Days, and in late March or early April for Passover, which are far more important holidays. And yet somehow, many "worldly" Jews have been sucked into the same excessive, commercial crap for Hanukkah that has become the modern celebration of Christmas.
Here is what I don't understand: Why do people feel obligated to jump through hoops to please people who have no appreciation when it is a burden and no fun? Decorating? Baking? Shopping? Spending more than you should? If you truly enjoy doing this, then go for it. But the more people I talk to, the more I am convinced that most people don't do it because they enjoy it. They do it because it's expected, and because they are trying to please others.
Someone please tell me, if you don't enjoy it, if it causes you stress and puts you in debt, then why do you do it? Are you trying to please others? Why would you allow another person that much power over you?
Decorating to me is make-work. It makes more cleaning, more effort, more clutter. And it's *stuff* for my dogs to get into and ruin. Or hurt themselves on.
Baking? Well, that just means more calories, which I definitely don't need. And more make-work.
Shopping? Bite your tongue. Shopping on Black Friday or Christmas Eve? You wouldn't catch me dead.
And why, oh why, do people feel obligated to go into debt and spend more money than they have on gifts? Especially when 90% of those gifts aren't wanted, aren't appropriate, and aren't worth their price tag?
It's the thought that counts? Bullsh*t. Nobody wants another silly tie, another bottle of cologne, fuzzy slippers, or some random t-shirt. The fact is, no thought at all goes into gifts like that.
Gift giving in general doesn't make a lot of sense to me, at least not for the current societal compulsion that is modern Christmas. I give gifts to people I love because I want to and because I can. I don't need a holiday for that; I can and do give gifts whenever the fancy strikes me. It's one thing to give Christmas gifts because it symbolizes the gifts brought for that baby in the manger. It's quite another to give Christmas gifts out of some obligation created by the retail industry.
As far as receiving gifts, I'd rather buy my own. I'm picky. I don't do cologne, jewelry, or accessories. I prefer to buy my own clothes, so they fit right and are of styles that I can actually wear. Definitely don't buy me a pet; pets are highly personalized. Electronics? How do you know what bells and whistles I need? Household appliances? Are you saying I need to do housework? Thank you. Music or movies? Do you know my tastes? No, anything I need or want, I can get – prefer to get – on my own. Don't spend your money on me. Spend it on someone who truly needs it, better yet, spend it on yourself.
Are you going to say that I'm taking away the pleasure you get out of giving? Sorry. I've heard that argument before and it doesn't wash. Give to charity, give to a panhandler, give to a worthy cause. But your right to give me a gift does not take precedence over my right to refuse one.
When I was married, we used to overdo Christmas just like everyone else. We spent too much money, made the rounds to all the family gatherings, gained weight by eating too many obligatory Christmas cookies, and made our house into a safety hazard with tinsel and breakable ornaments. It was exhausting, stressful, and not the least bit fun. I finally put my foot down and said "no more Christmas for me" when my (now ex) husband insisted on buying gifts for every sibling, niece and nephew, and under-the-rock relative he could think of, many of them people we hardly even knew and who most certainly didn't need another toy or poorly fitted sweater. I said no, we had a huge fight, and I said if he wanted to do it, he could do the shopping, wrapping, decorating, and baking alone and it damn well better not come out of my paycheck. And that was the end of that. I haven't gone gift-shopping, decorated my house, or baked another Christmas treat since then, and I don't miss it one little bit.
Some readers are sure to be offended by this blog. If you're one of them, I'm surprised you've read this far. But please don't post a comment saying I'm spoiling your holiday, or that I need to find faith. This holiday no longer has anything to do with faith. Please remember, to each his own.
Call me "Humbug," call me "Scrooge," call me anything you want. Call me a student of sociology, because I prefer to watch from the sidelines and try to figure out what makes ordinary, reasonable people behave like fanatics at Christmas. Participate? Thanks, not for me.
Share This Post With Others
Report Inappropriate Blog
Member Comments About This Blog Post
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
HI Laurie,
Christmas is big business. Some speciality retailers make most of their money off of Christmas sales. My wife loves Christmas because it brings the family together. She starts playing Christmas music in October! I am also instructed not to buy anything for myself in the last three months of the year, which I despise!
I am a crotchety old guy. I dread opening packages because I always get clothes I don't like and will seldom wear. I get clothes that my wife and in-laws think I should wear.
I like to pick out my own clothes. Since people are going to spend money to buy me stuff, I will ask for items I can use or would like. But since my tastes, are a little at odds with what my wife and her mom and dad, I get stuff to donate to Goodwill.
I like that I get a holiday off. I like seeing my grown children. I don't want anything!
Thanks, Bruce
1910 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
I 100% agree, Laurie. I have not bought even one thing this year. And I find myself feeling vaguely guilty about that, but for ALL the wrong reasons, since I am a mom and a grandma. And at least I realize it is all the wrong reasons. But I have hated for years what this holiday has become, and have become totally convinced that the entire holiday thing is nothing more than a marketing conspiracy geared to enrich the retailers. LOL Well,I'm not participating this year, and will probably not ever participate again. I'm boycotting guilt and phony sentiment geared to create that guilt in my own personal life, I guess.
1912 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
I agree with 98% of what you said and couldn't have said it better, and I'm a Christian, LOL. I don't mind if other people have fun with Christmas but none of the Christmas traditions of our culture have any meaning for me except for the spiritual ones, primarily prayer and some of the Christmas hymns. The most common cultural symbols of Christmas have nothing to do with the meaning of Christmas. The most important holiday for Christians (if they know their faith) is not Christmas but Easter (and not the Easter bunny version). But given the fact that there are a lot of nominal Christians and poorly educated Christians, just like there must be among Jews, people often make their own faith and mix and match what they like.
So to try to avoid all attempts of political correctness I'll just say
1914 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
I adored your blog. So truthful, so sensible and SO RIGHT on! I used to be one of those crazed people that darted here and there to get Christmas JUST RIGHT!
Worked myself into a lather getting gifts...the PERFECT gift!
You are SO right about getting things..and I might add receiving things (I'm thinking MIL here) that are absolutely without any thought or meaning...and most likely marked down on the close out table.
Finally one year after reading all about Feng Shui I went through our house and threw out every thoughtless gift she had ever sent to me. It felt fantastic!
After all the book's suggestion was that if you look at something and it doesn't fill you with joy...why keep it? Nothing that little woman has sent to me in the almost 35 years of marriage to her dear son has filled me with joy...well...other than the fact that she does deserve credit for bringing this sweet man into the world...but that's it...I'm telling you..flat out...that's it!
As I get older and wiser I realize that Christmas is all about the commercial game...much like modern medicine...it's buyer beware. This year we are not going to be here for the holidays so it gave me the perfect excuse not to put up a big time consuming tree, and drag out Christmas baubles that take three times as long to repack and put away. It's kind of like Thanksgiving Dinner...3 days of solid work...then 20 minutes of eating...and boom it's over. Then another 3 days of clean up. Gez...I have a business to run...that's the smart place to exert my energy.
I put out a few little accents for my Annual Girls Christmas Craft party...we have a beautiful little fiber optic desktop tree that gives me every bit as much pleasure looking at as the big tree that I know I will ultimately have to break down and put away. I like Christmas...simple! No big 'ta da' gifts we give our best friends a Costco card knowing how much they love Costco and knowing that they have a boatload of grandchildren to buy for. Practical I am!
I think we as Americans are realizing how very blessed we are to have each other...not stuff. No one is ever going to take all that 'stuff' with them...so it's the people that we need to concentrate on. I'm pleased to have such a practical and realistic and truthful friend...you are indeed a sparkler for sure..for sure!
But I will wish you a Merry Christmas...only because I believe in all the magic that the belief in a Santa that performs good deeds for the beautiful children in our world need to look forward to...until...they come to an age that reality sets in...oh to view the world through the eyes of a trusting and innocent child that puts cookies and milk out for Santa...those WERE the days...yes they were!
Hugs to you my friend!
1921 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
Indeed, the "Christmas Season" has become highly commercialized and profitable.
1924 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
Laurie, I'm glad you pointed this out.
This is the second year I've done Hanukkah, because it's a way for me to connect with Scott's Jewish background. It's been really fun learning to cook new things, choose small fun gifts, and read prayers. We don't celebrate any other Jewish holiday together, and I guess that's because Hanukkah is more accessible as it coincides with Christmas.
I've never done a tree, but sometimes I hang ornaments around the house or put up Christmas cards that I receive. It makes my house feel a little special, but cuts the work down by a lot (and expense). I keep a paper nativity scene up all year long because it was a gift from a family I love in Germany and it reminds me of them. I'm sure people who visit think I'm nuts. ;)
I can totally understand your feed-up-with-it perspective and I admire Carol's way of making everything her own special adventure!
1925 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
And that is why I just love my friend CALGALFOX!!
1925 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
Haha, I'm glad you pointed this blog out, because (of course) I want to respond. I missed it because it was in between people that blog every day and sometimes twice a day, so it got lost to me.
I LOVE Christmas. Not the religious side or the commercial side, but what it stands for in my family. During the month of December we do Christmas crafts. We sit around together and make things. You can call if "make work", I get that. I was raised as the youngest in a family of five and my mother told me when when I was older that having us kids to craft projects kept us out of trouble and gave her free time.
I thought that was pretty brilliant as a parenting technique and chose to raise my kids the same way. Both my boy and girl can sew, draw, paint and generally engage their creative sides. Honestly, raising two kids with ridiculously high intelligence levels, I don't think I would have survived their childhood without arts and crafts. ...but we don't have television and never have.
Speaking of television, since we don't have it we don't get the political or Christmas advertising. One year I was in a toy store because Casie wanted a "doll that was soft and sized more like a real baby". When I was in that isle at the store, there were two mothers discussing a specific toy baby that had some name and did something specific. I don't remember what it was, but it brought home to me the difference between hearing advertising and not.
What is Christmas to me? It's the time spent together with the ones you love, doing something fun together. Our annual gingerbread house party is that kind of thing. We spend days cooking the gingerbread and assembling the houses. The kids help bake and Tom always does the assembly (being an engineer and an artist, his house building is the best) and the house smells amazing for weeks.
Friends gather and we decorate the houses...well, actually I don't decorate a house because I don't really like that part, but that's okay since I do what I like. Whole families come and join us, parents and kids all enjoying gluing (with icky-sticky frosting) candy to the gingerbread house.
In recent years it's been Casie and I who decorate the tree, although Tom always does the lights (it's that engineer thing). Every year we think and talk about what our theme and colors are going to be for the stupid tree. We did bronze, copper and brown last year. We made hangers for the ornaments out of copper wire, crystals and beads, they were beautiful and we had a great time.
Presents... I know what you mean about giving and getting gifts that are obligatory. Our family just doesn't work that way. If I see the perfect gift for a family member I get it for them, but if I don't they don't get a gift from me. Tom's family used to draw names so my side of the family thought that was interesting and we tried it. We all got gifts for the person we drew, but we got gifts for anyone we found them for so we stopped drawing names. Tom's side does we my side does for the last ten years now.
I pick someone every year and give a gift that is totally unexpected. A random person in my life that would never be on my gift list and that is totally fun for me. Things like the operations manager at my last job is married to this beautiful Mexican woman and I thought a matched pearl necklace would be beautiful on her. So I made the necklace and gave it to him to give to her. He was thrilled and she loved it.
I also give to Toys for Tots every year. I try to give at least twenty-five gifts. One year they didn't have enough baby stuff so I made sets of blankets, hats, booties and a rattle...I did eighty of them and it was really fun. This year I gave twenty-five soccer balls, because who wouldn't like getting a soccer ball?
So if someone doesn't like getting gifts like you, I am not offended, I just wouldn't get you anything. Or...I would make sure it wasn't at Christmas-time. You see, for me Christmas is a state of being, one which I embrace all year.
Oh, and Christmas music...bring it on!
Take care my friend.
1925 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
I call you sensible. And you KNOW darned well you are going to get some (if not a lot of) flak about this. Imo that is one of the many reasons people don't get along.
Not many can agree to disagree peacefully. I applaud you for having the balls to speak your mind freely and I agree with what you said.
Why is it that people look @ you as if you've lost your mind when if asked you say you don't do christmas?
It's NOT WRONG to be different!
1928 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
1928 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
The only thing I will call you is "right." Except for the fact that I am not Jewish, I almost felt like I wrote that as I read your words. I really hate the commercialization of the holiday. Gifts were fun when I was a kid, but the memories I treasure are not of any specific item, rather of family stories and happy moments gathered around the table at a tasty meal and long after. We lingered there, after the food was gone, and enjoyed each others' company. My family tradition days are long gone, parents divorced, grandparents passed away, and I will never get those precious moments back.
What I DO choose to do with my holidays is becoming much less each year. I will have a tree only because my mom owns a Christmas tree farm. It will be small, likely a "tabletop" tree. I don't make a big meal, but if my husband wants his family to come over, it will be potluck style. Each family brings a food item and it's served buffet-style.
Some folks will say I'm insane, and I frankly don't care, but I use plastic plates, bowls, utensils and cups. I get a big plastic table cloth from the $ store and most of my cleanup is simply wrapped up in it and thrown away at the end of the meal. Non-traditional? Yes. Irreverent? Possibly..... but no more so than serving a pasta and salad buffet for Thanksgiving. (No turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc. in my house this year!) At least it was better than the year we had a pizza party on Thanksgiving, lol.
I believe you celebrate what you want, when you want, and how you want. Otherwise, it is simply an extra load of stress and work that no one is ever completely satisfied with anyway (just look at the return lines at the stores on 12/26).
I applaud you for doing what is right for you. In the end, there is no proof Jesus was born in December, much less on the 25th! But, that's a whole other blog response.........
Take care and have a beautiful winter and enjoy any holiday you celebrate and have joyous days on those you don't. :-)
1928 days ago
Report Inappropriate Comment
My SparkPage
Hanukkah was a miraculous time. No miracle is minor. I'm not Jewish, but every miracle from Creation to the birth of my Savior is worthy of awe and worship. I appreciate every time God's power is shown now or I read the record of it in past time.
PS. I do not stress over gift giving, nor put myself into debt to do it. I enjoy my decorations. They bring me happiness and peace. It's all a balance.
1929 days ago
Add Your Comment to the Blog Post
Log in to post a comment
Disclaimer: Weight loss results will vary from person to person. No individual result should be seen as a typical result of following the SparkPeople program.
Get An Email Alert Each Time
LMB-ESQ Posts
See Today's Featured Member Blog Posts
More Blogs by LMB-ESQ
Why is it so hard to get back on track?
- 7/16/2016
2016: Another year, another new start
- 12/12/2015
2015 Winds of Change
- 1/3/2015
Recent Discoveries
- 6/29/2014
View All ›
close ×


text: Report Abuse Home > Poetry > Haiku > LOVE! LOVE! March 10, 2010 By TEDDYBOY, pueblo, CO More by this author IT CAN LAST FOREVER OR IT CAN LAST ONE DAY « Previous article More by this author Next article » Post a Comment Login Be the first to comment on this article! Email me when someone replies Share on Facebook