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Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Pumpkin Heir
Never mind.
Note: We know, we know. This is not technically a pumpkin. We kept telling that to Heir 2. We said, "That's not really a pumpkin. It's a gourd and you can't carve a gourd." Is it any wonder he never listens...
Notes 2: Yes, he has way too much time on his hands. I think he needs considerably more homework before he carves anything else that can't be carved.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Just a quick note...
This is Miss Zsas this summer with a mouth full of crab -- literally.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Domestic Goddess -- of sorts
Now, don't be throwing stuff at me…I didn't say all women should like this whole domestic thing or even that this whole domestic thing is what women are born to do. I'm just saying I like this whole domestic thing.
Granted, this is easy to say when you've got a brand new house to play in. And I had lost all sense of domesticity in The House of Squalor. Having to wait for low tide to do the laundry will do that to a person over time.
I've already written about how thrilled I am by the whole laundry situation/ice thing – and these continue to tickle me whenever I hear my washer play it's little finish tune or I hear ice fall into the freezer.
But then there is my work room, miles and miles away from everyone. They have to think before committing to making the journey to my office and usually it's easier to deal with whatever it was without me. So now that I'm not constantly on call, I get my work done a whole lot faster leaving me with time for the whole domestic thing.
You see: I'm such a girl.
I just am. I can't help it. I like to sew and knit and cook. I like stuff to smell good. I think lace is pretty (though infestation is always a problem, so lace should be thinned regularly to prevent froth). I really do like to cook and get a certain satisfaction out of a state of cleanliness (although "too clean" is suspect. This is never a threat when you have dogs.).
I guess I come by this honestly. My mother liked the whole domestic thing. In her yearbook all her girlfriends put for their ambitions stuff like "nurse," "teacher," or "secretary" (what we now call "administrative assistant"). My mother put "homemaker."
She was not among those women I keep hearing about who had to make it through the day on antidepressants. She really enjoyed her home, not only the chores of creating it, but also experiencing the fruits of all that work. It was very comforting to come home from school and walk in the door to a worn, but clean, house, smell dinner cooking and my mother on the couch, listening to an opera. That is security.
Then there is my Aunt Marie. Aunt Marie is a homemaker with style. She never flinches at throwing a dinner party. My best memory of Aunt Marie is of her, at 10 o'clock at night, still bustling around the kitchen laying out the last of a major feast and saying, "See? No trouble at all!" Everyone else is beached at the table, stuffed and sleepy.
Now there is me, with my domestic-loving guilt. I know, I know, there are women who fought long and hard to release me from being chained to the very thing I love. And I know there are women who will accuse me of "loving my abuser." And there are even those who will bitterly point out that I just lucked up into an advantageous marriage that affords me the ability to work at home and let my focus be on domesticity.
I think the intent, though, was always there and led me right to where I wanted to be anyway. Even when it wasn't foremost in my mind I must have subconsciously aimed myself toward where I've ended up.
When Heir 1 returned to public school after being homeschooled, his friends used to call him "The Beav" because his leaving for school looked eerily like the beginning credits to the show Leave It to Beaver. So I was required to stop packing his lunch and had to hide behind furniture until the bus went by so no one could see that I was up and seeing him off to school.
I don't know if that story is funny or sad. Fortunately the bus stop is now down and hill and around a corner, so I don't have to resort to guerilla parenting anymore.
And, in my defense, I don't wear pearls around the house.
Friday, September 15, 2006
boring post with limited capitalization
And so, for your viewing enjoyment, I bring you the view from our bird feeders and refer you to the appropriate Spot-on column because what I really need to be doing is going to the bank and grocery shopping because heir 2 has informed me that "There is nothing to eat in the house," which means we're out of Cocoa Puffs.
In addition, all of a sudden some of my capital letters don't work (note the lack of a capital "h" on my son's name and the fact that I just had to refer to him as "my son.").
And so I will quit while I'm ahead.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Today and everyday
The 9/11 coverage and everyone trying so hard to capture the whole thing with words.
Words words words. Enough already with the words.
Because, thank God, there are no words that are going to recapture that day completely and, in a way, I'm glad such an experience is beyond speech. We assign words to that which we experience and more words to what we experience the most.
So I really just want everyone to shut up and stop speculating and blaming. All we seem to derive from all this is the adrenaline rush brought on by remembrance or anger at whomever. And I don't know that this is a good legacy for those that died.
Is anything good going to come out of watching everybody's version of that day? Not a minute of feeling bad about watching the planes hit the
It's as though we've got a nationwide epidemic of survivor's guilt. Were it any other issue or event, mental health specialists would be telling us to stop dwelling on it. But we keep picking at it and picking at it as though we aren't happy unless it's open and bleeding.
I doubt, given a gift one hour back on earth, if those that died that day would choose to talk to their loved ones about the specifics of their deaths.
So I've decided I'd keep my focus on the only positive thing that came out of that day, the realization that we must find a way to love each other, starting as individuals since you can only control you. I will make it my goal to release hatred and anger toward anyone, not just those only slightly tick me off .
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Project: Run-away!
I watched the freakin' show – twice – okay? I watched Project Runway as penance for having confused it with America's Next Top Model and, thereby, offending the handful of people who both read my Spot-on thing and watch the show.
All I can say is: I want my two hours back.
For the record, I love to sew. I love fabric (you should see my fabric stash…), the color, constructing and planning and creating. I love doing all of it. I'd love to see some of the designers' techniques and construction ideas. At least I'd be learning something.
But once again, we have a contrived situation manipulated to get the most dramatic reactions from the participants. Snore. The words "contrived" and "manipulated" are not what I would consider "reality."
No matter how many times The Blonde I Assume Is Heidi Klum threatened to get rid of one of them by looking severe and pausing between each word she said (Oh! I get it! She was acting.); no matter how stark the spot lighting; no matter how dangerous the music tried to sound – it is, after all, only clothing. The "losers" are not being marched off to an electric chair. Their careers are not ruined. They fold up the garment and head home.
I know this kind of overkill is common among reality shows but I lost two hours out of my life to this one. I'm a little bitter.
But – I tell myself I've wasted time on other things. I have a phenomenal Spider Solitaire score and I can't tell you how many Virginia Tech football games I've sat through.
And another thing: Who came up with the idea to mention Madonna and
I watched it. But I have important things to do. Now everyone get off my back so I can return to Spider Solitaire in peace.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Pathetic excuses
I feel like I've been running a marathon for the entire summer. We were in limbo for so long with The House of Never-ending Construction, we'd neglected the Real World. And Linguini on the Ceiling.
We've been playing catch up and it's been exhausting.
First there were all those dinners we promised to people "once we're in the new house." Not that anyone was keeping score (other than us), but we were kind of anxious to play with our new cooking stuff. Okay, I was anxious to play with my new cooking stuff, though look where that got me (gross photo alert)… (It's much better, thank you JAG. I think scarring will be minimal, in spite of what the doctor warned me about).
(As a side note: We need to schedule a Second Bloggers Convention West or something or we will all descend into social atrophy. Okay – I will descend into social atrophy. Besides, I have White Trasherati's birthday present and I'm not mailing it because I don't do packages because that requires social interaction with a postal employee and my family doesn't do package mailings because if you have to mail a package that means the person isn't as important to you otherwise you'd make it a point to give it to them in person at some contrived event like, say, a Bloggers' Convention West. The Bros have threatened to infiltrate the next one in view of the fact that JAG is afraid of them. This means that John Boy will, therefore, be afraid of her and
And then there is good ol' Spot-On which, I'm afraid, gets all my best ideas, even when those ideas fall flat because I dis'ed a show I'd never seen. (Don't ever do that, by the way. People are very protective about their favorite shows.)
And then there is Fair Week. If you live in a rural area, you know that during county fair week, all things other than the fair come to a screeching halt. Me, I work a church food stand during fair week. I leave early, come home late, scrape the grease from my skin, shower and go to bed. I don't even venture to my office, which is a long, long walk from the rest of the house, to write, let alone read, blogs.
School starts next week, which means the county takes over shuttling Heir 2 back and forth into town at ridiculous times. There's 18 hours a day right there.
I hope that means I can be back in contact with everyone and that suddenly a flood of writing ideas will flow through my brain.
At least I'll save on gas.


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A joyous festive treat, Britten's stunning setting of Christmas themes performed by the amazing boys of Tiffin School.
- Britten A Ceremony of Carols
This concert will last approximately one hour without an interval.
Tiffin Boys' Choir
Harp - Elen Hydref
Organ - Nicholas Wearne
Conductor - Simon Toyne
Tickets £14 (unreserved) Available now from the St Martin's box office - call 020 7766 1100 or buy online. NB a combined ticket offer is available for this evening's two concerts - please ask at the box office.
In association with Sumatran Orangutan Society.

subset: commoncrawl


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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.comments2019-04-03T17:39:00.099-04:00netsettlementnetsettlerhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-59582961277612786862019-04-02T11:37:22.162-04:002019-04-02T11:37:22.162-04:00If only more people understood the difference betw...If only more people understood the difference between being able to feed others and being willing to feed others...Frank van den Tillaarthttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-53026382003315828892017-06-14T02:52:39.337-04:002017-06-14T02:52:39.337-04:00Hi, Brett. Thanks for the thoughts. I think you&...Hi, Brett. Thanks for the thoughts.

I think you'd still have to have some kind of exemption for basic living expenses. People who are just breaking even shouldn't be expected to save. Saving is something you do with surplus, and below a level there really is none. But I think your basic premise that some form of set-aside, whether through taxes or savings, is warranted.

Also, these things are inevitably solving more problem than just one, and have to take very complex stuff into account. I have a friend who is well-to-do who claims that no one should be taxed on money they spend, only on money they save. I think again his theory only makes sense if a certain basic planning for the future is done, but it's apropos here. His theory is that saved money doesn't help the economy much, while spent money is helping a lot. (There's a technical term for this, which is the "velocity" of money.) For example, if he eats out a lot, he's helping others in a way that reflects directly in local paychecks, so the government has an interest in encouraging that. So you want to incentivize people (presumably after they've saved for basics) to employ others.

That, in turn, gets into the messy question of whether you are encouraging resource use or just services. If you haven't seen my article Corny Economics, it gets into that a little. Can't do it all in one post. :)netsettlerhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-58969022083220184852017-06-13T18:56:49.441-04:002017-06-13T18:56:49.441-04:00One idea that comes to mind with reference to the ...One idea that comes to mind with reference to the idea of making people fill a bank account *before* they are taxed is that many aspects of our society are arranged to encourage us to spend our money (and incur debt) and not save at all. A friend of mine who is 65, has nothing set aside for retirement, and is 500K in debt, has a lifelong history of spending on his lifestyle instead of saving. He recently told me "if I had a second chance, I would have spent twice as much." Banks are trying to give us debt, TV is trying to tie buying trinkets to our sexual urges, and the War Machine is telling us we are under constant, imminent existential threat. So clearly we need to spend trillions of dollars on bombs and general domination. How about some kind of incentive for the saving for the less-well-off? Maybe for people below a certain wealth level, if you cannot show you have saved 20% of whatever income you did achieve, then you DO have to pay taxes? One way of looking at this would be "if you can't arrange to look after yourself, we will MAKE you pay so we can look after you later." Another very interesting topic which is coming up more lately is the universal basic income. I think I'm really starting to like the idea. How about a thought-provoking treatise on this Kent? And very glad to have found you here, thanks for the links from our Reddit conversation! Brett Bazanthttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-30035501316364495862017-01-13T17:26:58.606-05:002017-01-13T17:26:58.606-05:00What you want is Social democracy not Democratic s...What you want is Social democracy not Democratic socialism.

Social democracy is more "idelogically inpure" and works better. Nordic countries are good examples of countries where social democracy has been the leading ideology. Nick Nolanhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-13549028666941362472017-01-13T17:25:48.485-05:002017-01-13T17:25:48.485-05:00What you want is Social democracy not Democratic s...
What you want is Social democracy not Democratic socialism.

Social democracy is more "idelogically inpure" and works better. Nordic countries are good examples of countries where social democracy has been the leading ideology. Nick Nolanhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-94745530352207663.post-60608298602404034572015-12-13T23:36:42.399-05:002015-12-13T23:36:42.399-05:00Thanks, Kent. I love it, the Tao is a lot like aut...Thanks, Kent. I love it, the Tao is a lot like autocorrect. It knows how to stir us and keep us in the moment.
RPRomantic Poetesshttps://firstname.lastname@example.com


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Take a Tax Deductible Vacation
This week I'd like to talk about something I really enjoy and that is deducting my vacation. You could say I enjoy deducting it as much as I enjoy taking a vacation. I know, you are probably thinking "he is such an unromantic nerd who gets excited about deducting a vacation". Well you are right! I sometimes miss the boat in the romance department with my quest for the business deduction.....but I am evolving.
Recently, I have learned I can't tell my fiancée' that we are going to take a vacation upon which we are going to work just so we can deduct it. That is just not romantic and caring.
So I tell her "I am going on a business trip and I would love it if you could come along so we can spend some quality time together". For me the bonus is the deduction, I just can't tell her that....
So let's dive in to how to deduct travel with your spouse, girlfriend or significant other.......
Let's go over the Spouse Travel Deduction Basics:
The tax law allows no travel deduction for your spouse for business travel unless you can satisfy all three of the conditions below:
- Your spouse is an employee or board member of the business
- The travel of your spouse is for a bona fide business purpose
- Travel expenses of your spouse would otherwise be deductible.
If your spouse is an employee:
You can deduct their expenses of attending a seminar, conference or trade show. But they would have to be registered to take the courses with you or working your trade show event.
For tax purposes, you should think of your spouse just as you would any employee who came to a conference or trade show. They have duties to perform, courses to attend, continuing education to earn, etc. Be careful to let your spouse know that you are not as romantic and loving to your employees as you are to your spouse.
If your spouse is a board member:
You could plan an out-of-town board meeting. You will just need to prove that you have an "ordinary & necessary" business reason for the out of town board meeting.
To do so, you will need to prove that the primary purpose of the trip is business & that business took place. You will also need to prove that getting out of town was necessary for business reasons.... An example would be to get away from the distractions of the office so "the board" could create a business plan.
This option will take more documentation effort than simply attending a seminar, conference or trade show.
Travel Expenses of Your Spouse are Otherwise Deductible:
Bringing your non-employee spouse along on a business trip can cost very little extra, depending on how much time you have off for the trip. For instance, if you drive, it costs nothing extra to bring your spouse. Your room is probably fully deductible as well. Your meals during the business days of the trip will be deductible - Spouses will not.
For example, when you drive to San Antonio for a conference, you would be deducting the mileage, the hotel and your portion of the meals anyways, so you don't lose that deduction or any portion of it if your spouse goes with you. Do not deduct your spouse's expenses that would not be otherwise deductible by you. So if your spouse rides the river boat, goes to the Alamo, eats lunch on the Riverwalk, plays golf and rides to the top of the Tower, those expenses would not be deductible.
Even if you diligently adhere to your business duties, you still have the evening to spend with your spouse. And if you plan the business vacation properly, you might even have a weekend to spend with your spouse....the topic of next weeks newsletter.
Document, Document, Document
So, where will you take your spouse on your tax deductible vacation? Make sure you spend time with your spouse and enjoy your time together. All work and no play is not a healthy way to live, so enjoy your time with your getaway time with your spouse.
Call us if you have any questions regarding your tax deductible vacation, because the laws are a little tricky in this area and not documenting the trip correctly will kill the deductibility of your trip.


text:
There are many striking similarities between the judgment of Cain and the final judgment that awaits the sinner apart from Christ:
God Gave Cain The Opportunity To Repent
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
God reached out in grace to Cain before he killed Abel (Genesis 4:7); He reached out afterward in mercy (verse 9). As was the case with his father, Adam, Cain was approached by God with the opportunity to take responsibility for his actions and repent and turn to God. Before God became Cain's Judge, He offered to be his Savior.
Cain Could Not Hide His Sin
"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel." (Romans 2:16)
Nobody else may have ever discovered Abel's body or concluded that Cain had murdered him, but God knew. Cain made an effort to deny his actions when he told the Lord that he did not know where Abel was. How is it that someone would believe that their sins could remain concealed from an omniscient God? Nevertheless, people have continued in this belief and will doubtlessly maintain this thought even on the Day of Judgment.
Cain Was Defiant Of God
"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." (Revelation 16:10-11)
Even in the face of judgment for their sinfulness, many will curse and blaspheme God rather than repent and turn to Him. Cain responds insolently to God, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain is defying God by really saying, 'I am not his keeper, YOU are, YOU go find him!'
Abel's Blood Cried Out For Justice
"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." (Hebrews 12:24)
The blood of Christ speaks of better things because it is the only blood that has ever been spilled that cries out to God for mercy rather than vindication. We are gravely mistaken to believe that God will not demand retribution for every single act of sin that has ever been perpetrated. Cain believed that he had forever silenced his brother, making impossible any testimony from whom he believed was the only witness to his crime. But the very blood of Abel "cried out", as it were, for retribution (verse 10). We cannot conceal nor can we cleanse away the bloodstains of our own guilt; those bloodstains, too, cry out to God for justice. Only through the covering by the blood of Jesus Christ can any of us avoid the penalty for our sins that we justly deserve.
Cain Bore The Curse Of God In Himself
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:" (Deuteronomy 28:15)
God cursed the ground because of Adam's sin, but He cursed Cain himself when he murdered Abel (verse 11). As we saw with the judgment of Adam, Eve, and the devil, so we see here the ironic nature of God's judgments. The very Earth whose harvest Cain had arrogantly placed his confidence in, bringing the work of his own hands to God, would no longer yield anything to him. The ground that would later "vomit" out the inhabitants who defiled her (Leviticus 18:25) would reject Cain and deny him the right to subdue it. Nor would it ever again provide a place of rest for Cain to set himself down, he would be a vagabond and a wanderer. He would be like the unclean spirits that Jesus spoke of who walk about the dry places of the Earth: seeking rest, yet finding none (Matthew 12:43). The lost sinner will be ultimately cut off from the presence of God, but his greatest torment comes from the fact that he can never be cut off from himself and the curse that he bears in his own flesh.
Cain's Concern Was For His Punishment
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." (Luke 16:23-25)
Cain, who had shown absolutely no remorse or concern for what he had done, now becomes concerned over the sentence that God passes on him (verse 13). Like the rich man in Hell that Jesus told of whose only concern was for his own torment, Cain is unfeeling in all matters that do not pertain directly to his own desires and his own comfort. This is the way of the lost sinner, as well. Cain complains to God that his punishment is greater than he can bear. It is almost a brief afterthought to him that he will be separated from the presence of God; his biggest worry is that someone might kill him for what he did to Abel! Would he not deserve it if they did?
God Reserves Final Judgment
"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans 12:19)
God marked Cain, preventing anyone else from taking judgment upon him for his murder of Abel (verse 15). Later, God would enact the law of judicial capital punishment (Genesis 9:6), but in the case of Cain, God prohibits any further exacting of judgment by other people upon him. This, too, is a portrait of the Hell-bound sinner: God will serve as the ultimate and final Judge.
Cain Remained Unrepentant
Absent from this entire conversation between God and Cain is any inkling of repentance or contrition on the part of Cain. At no point, before or after the sentence is passed, does Cain call out to God for mercy nor does he ever ask for God's forgiveness. Some Bible skeptics have raised objections over the eternal nature of Hell and God's final judgment of sinners apart from Christ; but there is absolutely no evidence in the Biblical record that any of these people will ever repent and turn to God. It's not that they have not been given enough time, or if they had the chance after they stand before God to call on His name for mercy. The saddest part is that even then they will not repent. Sure, they will complain about the sentence that God passes and will express great concern over the fate that awaits them but, like Cain, they will depart from the presence of God without so much as a single ounce of remorse or confession over the offenses they have committed.
To Jesus Christ goes all glory. In service to Him,
[This post was originally published September 18, 2009]
**All Scripture quotations in this post are taken from the King James Version (KJV) Bible
[If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ or you are not certain where you are headed when this life ends, I invite you to read the article "Am I Going To Heaven?"]


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St Paul's Surgery
Alison Way, Winchester, SO22 5DD
Tel: 01962 853599 Fax: 01962 849982 Out of Hours: Click here
Tel: 01962 853599 Fax: 01962 849982
Out of Hours: Click here
There are 2 ways in which you can order your prescription.
Our preferred way is for you to use EMIS Patient Access. You will have to register if you haven't done so already but once setup its straight forward and allows you to choose from current medication. EMIS Patient Access also allows you to book appointments online, change your address details, view your allergies and soon will allow you to view your blood test results.
Continue to Patient Access options
ONLY if you experience difficulty setting up or logging onto EMIS Patient Access use the prescription form below.
Please note that this route is a secure submission to the surgery but will not bring up your personal details or details of your medication. You will need to enter details of your medication onto the form including the dosage and quantity you wish to order. Please take care to enter all details carefully or your order will be delayed
NOTE: The comments box on the form only relates to prescriptions. No clinical questions should be asked via this route. Should you have a question for your usual GP please use Econsult.
As of 16 November 2015 the Surgery will be offering EPS soon.
EPS enables prescribers - such as GPs and practice nurses - to send prescriptions electronically to a dispenser (such as a pharmacy) of the patient's choice. This makes the prescribing and dispensing process more efficient and convenient for patients and staff. More info below or on the EPS website.
Start using EPS
Either complete our online nomination form, a nomination slip available from our reception or at any pharmacy or dispensing appliance contractor that offers EPS. Nomination means you choose a place for your GP practice to electronically send your prescription to. You don't need a computer to use EPS. You can choose up to one of each of the following:
You can change your nomination or cancel it and return to paper prescriptions at any point. If you want to change or cancel your nomination speak to any pharmacist or dispensing appliance contractor that offers EPS, complete our online nomination form or present at our reception desk.Inform us before your next prescription is due or your prescription may be sent to the wrong place.
EPS is reliable, secure and confidential. Your electronic prescription will be seen by the same people in GP practices, pharmacies and NHS prescription payment and fraud agencies that see your paper prescription now.
Sometimes dispensers may see that you have nominated another dispenser. For example, if you forget who you have nominated and ask them to check or, if you have nominated more than one dispenser.
Dispensers will also see all the items on your reorder slip if you are on repeat prescriptions.
If you collect repeat prescriptions you will not have to visit your GP practice just to pick up your paper prescription. Instead, your GP will send the prescription electronically to the place you choose, saving you time.
The prescription is an electronic message so there is no paper prescription to lose.
You will have more choice about where to get your medicines from because they can be collected from a pharmacy near to where you live, work or shop.
If the prescription needs to be canceled the GP can electronically cancel and issue a new prescription without you having to return to the practice – saving you extra trips.
You can get all these benefits if you:
You will not get as many benefits, if you:
LINK TO NOMINATION FORM - click here
THE BELOW FORM WILL CEASE FROM 30/06/2019. PLEASE ORDER VIA PATIENT ACCESS - read our news section for reasons CLICK HERE
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form
Use Patient Access or the NHS App to book an appointment, order repeat prescriptions and view your medical record.
111 is the NHS non-emergency number. It's fast, easy and free. Call 111 and speak to a highly trained adviser, supported by healthcare professionals.
Mid Hampshire Healthcare Ltd (a GP Federation) was created to enhance the delivery of healthcare services within our local area.
How likely are you to recommend this Surgery to friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment? Please spend 2 minutes to take the Friends and Family Test.
The NHS website. Take control of your health and wellbeing. Get medical advice, information about healthcare services and support for a healthy life.
Patient is one of the most trusted medical resources online, supplying evidence based information on a wide range of medical and health topics to patients and health professionals.


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You've reached SPARC's archived website. Visit our new site at sparcopen.org
- About
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For immediate release
October 19, 2009
For more information, contact:
Jennifer McLennan
(202) 631-8854
jennifer [at] arl [dot] org
WASHINGTON, DC – Today marks the beginning of the first-ever international awareness week for Open Access to research, October 19 – 23, 2009. Hundreds of leading academic and research sites in over 30 countries will mark the week in unique ways, and express their support for the advancement of knowledge through free, immediate, online access to the results of scholarly research.
Open Access Week is designed to help raise awareness of the potential benefits of Open Access to research and to celebrate milestones in making Open Access a norm in the conduct of science and scholarship. Momentum for the incorporation of openness into the fabric of science and scholarship has been steadily growing, as evidenced by the growing number of policies from public and private research funders (including the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the world's largest biomedical research funder) and research producers on college and university campuses (including Harvard University, MIT, University College London, the University of Kansas, and the University of Liege).
The momentum is also evident as research institutions, advocacy organizations, and others around the world will participate in the week and demonstrate the wide relevance of Open Access across disciplines and across constituencies. Activities include:
For more information on these events, or to find activities in your region, visit http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Events_celebrating_Open_Access_Week.
"We're impressed and thrilled by the level of participation in Open Access Week 2009," said Jennifer McLennan, Communications Director of SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). "The commitment to opening access to research results, which we're seeing grow on a global scale, is a sure sign that we're not far away from bringing the full power of the Web to bear on advancing research, discovery, and innovation."
"We'd like to express our deep thanks," McLennan added, "to everyone making this week possible, including our fellow organizers, partners, and event coordinators everywhere." SPARC has issued a video letter and welcome to Open Access Week 2009, online at http://www.vimeo.com/7048906.
Open Access Week is organized by SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), the Public Library of Science, Students for Free Culture, eIFL, OASIS, Open Access Directory, JISC, and SURF. Promotional partners include SPARC Europe, SPARC Japan, Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (UK), SciELO-FAPESP-BIREME (Brazil), The Open Society Institute (New York & Budapest), SURF (The Netherlands), Open-access.net (Germany), The Public Knowledge Project (Canada), My Open Archive (Japan), DuraSpace (US), IssueLabs (US). For more information, visit http://www.openaccessweek.org.
About SPARC
SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), with SPARC Europe and SPARC Japan, is an international alliance of more than 800 academic and research libraries working to create a more open system of scholarly communication. SPARC's advocacy, educational, and publisher partnership programs encourage expanded dissemination of research. Membership in SPARC is open to academic and research libraries of all sizes, which share interest in advancing scholarship through broadening access to research.


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The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) presents Women in Construction Week. The focus of WIC Week is to highlight women as a visible component of the construction industry. WIC Week also provides an occasion for NAWIC's thousands of members across the country to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in the construction industry and to emphasize the growing role of women in the industry.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: February 27Leading Women Entrepreneurs and WPEO Certification Event - NJ
Later Event: March 3WBENCLink Training - Webinar


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Asparagus Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
8 Spears of Asparagus - Cooked to Crisp Tender and Sliced into Bite-Sized Pieces
8 Cups Chopped Romaine Salad
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
Juice of 1/2 Large Lemon (for a more citrusy taste use more lemon juice)
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 oz. Crumbled Goat Cheese (optional)
Put lettuce, asparagus, onions, almonds, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss. Place on 4 plates and crumble goat cheese over salads.
Servings: 4 Salads


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These are pictures from the Medieval Town, Peruges in France where we stopped on our way to Switzerland.
|We ate lunch here
As you can see, nothing has been changed (except modern life) since the 11th Century!
|Medieval garden in Peruges
|Retta and Behcet
So the next morning after we explored Odile Masquelier's garden together, we headed away from Lyon. About 20 miles out Behcet asked me if I would like to visit an ancient Medieval town. What a treat! We stopped in Peruges from the year 1050 and nothing had changed except for a couple of restaurants and little shops. We ate lunch in a very expensive restaurant which was very good, then went into a shop where I bought some batteries for my camera and some German Fairies. Then we drove the rest of the way, past Lake Geneva and on to Behcet's home which was near Aarau. The home was a labor of love designed by Behcet and his wife Reta who he had met through the internet. His wife Reta (Margareta) and I hit it off from the start as she is a Rosaholic like me and loves to be with her roses. Every inch of her yard was full of roses of all classes along with a variety of clematis (never to be found in Florida), Hostas and perennials known and unknown to me.
|Fragrant Cloud
Behcet's record keeping is meticulous, an asset which comes in handy as one of the administrators at HelpMeFind.com.
|Mme. Bovary


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As I sit here today, preparing to file my 2009 taxes via TurboTax and checking the hour to make sure my mom will be awake when it comes time to pay, I recalled a conversation I had with one of their representatives a year ago while sitting on the phone begging her to take my money. Here is what she told me:
I'm Mexican and American Indian. Well, my grandfather was Irish. My parents divorced when I was a baby. I lived with my Mexican father in Florida. Later my mother came to get me and brought me to Georgia. I didn't talk until I was 4. Now I can understand Spanish, but I can't speak it. I have some Italian friends. Sometimes their friends talk about me in Italian and I just listen. I know they're talking about me, but I don't tell them. Well sometimes I do.This conversation reminded me of something I often hear here about Americans. It is perceived that we will share details about our lives within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone. In general, I agree. And, in general, I don't mind. I'd prefer that people be warm and open from the get-go, opposed to cold clams that require a sharp knife and gloves to pry open. I've attempted friendship with a few Françaises and in most cases it's been difficult to get past their lukewarm receptions. By the time they finally decide to open up, I'm bitter from having had to work so hard and usually don't follow through. I'm sure they don't care, or even notice.
I've been dating online. I've gotten some "flirts" and "winks" but that's all for now.
I saw the "Lake House". I wasn't going to watch it because I hate love stories. I prefer horror movies. But then I saw Sandra Bullock was in it and I love her so I decided to watch it.
But as with many things French and American, somewhere in between would be nice. I acknowledge there are limits. For example, it wouldn't be wise to divulge too much personal information to a disgruntled customer who might be crazy enough to open a Match.com account as a strapping University of Florida graduate with a degree in Spanish, who has a soft spot for slow learners and southern belles, who wants to name his first born Rob "Red Cloud at Sunset" Zombie and describes his ideal mate as Sandra Bullock.


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Second 'SCOOP' of the day goes awry for Politico
It's not just the Ben Carson–West Point story that Politico is having trouble with today. Now its report from earlier this morning claiming an inquiry had determined that "key Clinton emails did not contain highly classified secrets" has been changed, too.
Here's the update:
Earlier it was posted as a "SCOOP" (is an all-caps SCOOP bigger than a lower-case scoop?):
And here's how it's posted now:
Oops. This is getting crazy:
And their update comes a little too late as everyone is already running with the original, including this email from Clinton's press secretary Brian Fallon:
More coverage from around the web that needs to be updated:
When will all these sites retract? We'll wait…
Editor's note: This tweet was added after publishing the post.
Read more: http://twitchy.com/2015/11/06/lost-all-credibility-politico-forced-to-update-scoop-on-hillarys-classified-emails/
Comments are closed.


text: Our annual New Families Dinner was held on Friday 2nd March. It was a beautiful evening with many new families present. Thank you to our SCG for planning and hosting this community meal. Fr Joe joined us and led the community with grace. Kindergarten entertained us with their first official performance of the year being a recital of the book 'Mrs Wishy Washy'. It was a great opportunity to establish connections, form friendships and meet new faces. Thank you to everyone who joined us.


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Note: A new GRASS GIS stable version has been released: GRASS GIS 7. Go directly to the new manual page here
If parameters for database connection are already set with db.connect, they are taken as default values and do not need to be specified each time.
If you have a large number of SQL commands to process, it is much much faster to place all the SQL statements into a text file and use db.execute's input file parameter than it is to process each statement individually in a loop. If multiple instruction lines are given, each SQL line must end with a semicolon.
Please see the individual sql driver pages for how to create a new database.
echo 'create table soils (cat integer, soiltype varchar(10) )' | db.execute
Create a new table using a file with SQL statements:
db.execute driver=odbc database=g60test input=file.sql
Insert new row into attribute table:
echo "INSERT INTO nobugs (id,name,east_gb,north_gb) values (30,'Ala',1657340,5072301)" | db.execute
Update attribute entries to new value based on SQL rule:
echo "UPDATE roads SET travelcost=5 WHERE cat=1" | db.execute
Update attribute entries to new value based on SQL rule:
echo "UPDATE dourokukan SET testc=50 WHERE testc is NULL" | db.execute
Delete selected rows from attribute table:
echo "DELETE FROM gsod_stationlist WHERE latitude < -91" | db.execute
Add new column to attribute table:
echo "ALTER TABLE roads ADD COLUMN length double" | db.execute
Column type conversion - update new column from existing column (all drivers except for DBF):
# 'z_value' is varchar and 'z' is double precision: echo "update geodetic_pts SET z = CAST(z_value AS numeric)" | db.execute
Drop column from attribute table:
echo "ALTER TABLE roads DROP COLUMN length" | db.execute
Drop table (not supported by all drivers)
echo "DROP TABLE fmacopy" | db.execute
Update attribute with multiple SQL instructions in file (e.g., file.sql,
instruction line must end with a semicolon):
UPDATE roads SET travelcost=5 WHERE cat=1; UPDATE roads SET travelcost=2 WHERE cat=2; cat file.sql | db.execute
Join table 'myroads' into table 'extratab' based on common 'cat' column values (not supported by DBF driver):
echo "UPDATE extratab SET names=(SELECT label FROM myroads WHERE extratab.cat=myroads.cat);" | db.execute
Last changed: $Date: 2011-11-08 03:29:50 -0800 (Tue, 08 Nov 2011) $
Main index - database index - Full index
© 2003-2016 GRASS Development Team


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"Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes reality." ~ Roy L. Smith
When I was growing up, my parents and teachers seemed to use the word discipline interchangeably with punishment and consequences, and I used to have a visceral reaction to people telling me that if I wanted something, I merely needed to discipline myself enough to practice my craft every day. Now that I am "all grown up" and have some perspective, I agree wholeheartedly (now that I've gotten over my teenaged self's knee-jerkiness). I'm here to share with you that if you understand why you want what you want, then the simplest way to achieve is to first make the decision, commit, make some adjustments and, finally, refine your habits. In my mind, excellent habits means committing to a certain amount of discipline.
Over the past few weeks I've written about making the decision, committing and making adjustments to how you choose to show up. We understand that it takes 21-35 days to create a new habit, so I hope that you have been taking some time every day to practice how you show up, and when necessary, revisit why you made the decision you made (to show up strong, confident, peaceful, etc.)
In my coaching practice, my clients learn a lot about habits. You see, the more we practice our new and good habits, whether for lifestyle, career, or relationship success, the faster we reach our goals. Practicing a new habit is a way to replace an old habit that no longer serves you, and to create an effortless draw toward the success you crave. Simply put: make your own life easier every day by making powerful choices to change your life.
In the interest of keeping it simple, I am offering an easy way for you to refine your choices in how you show up.
3 Steps to Refining Habits:
- Choose one new habit. Commit to work and focus on that for 30 days. Of course, there will be other things you will work on, but really focus on and commit to that particular one (eg., taking a deep breath before you speak - every time).
- Write it down every day. Breathe life into it by writing it down, or by speaking it out. This renews your commitment to it, and is a disciplined practice.
- At the end of the day, celebrate your achievements. At the end of each day, review your day, and make sure you celebrate that you have practiced the discipline of breathing life into your new habit. You can simply say, "I did it!" and that is a celebratory acknowledgement of your success. It IS that simple.
Give this a try. Share your journey with me by leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you and celebrate YOUR success!
Blessings. Gratitude. Love.
Are you ready to refine your choices? Want to go beyond blogs and videos? It would be my pleasure to set aside an hour to share a powerful coaching consultation with you. Click here to schedule your call.
"Refining is inevitable in science when you have made measurements of a phenomenon for a long period of time." ~ Charles Francis Richter


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". . . And live decent hoursJunior and his brothers, about two o'clock in the morning they'd head out to the stash, the place where the liquor was hidden after it was made . . ."
I was feigning the tones of an Ingle Hollow moonshiner, in order to create the illusion of seeing the action through the eyes of someone who was actually on the scene and involved in it, rather than a beige narrator. I began to think of this device as the downstage voice, as if characters downstage from the protagonist himself were talking.
I would do the same thing with descriptions. Rather than just come on as the broadcaster describing the big parade, I would shift as quickly as possible into the eye sockets, as it were, of the people in the story. Often I would shift the point of view in the middle of a paragraph or even a sentence. I began a story on Baby Jane Holzer, entitled "The Girl of the Year," as follows:
"Bangs manes bouffant beehives Beatle caps butter faces brush-on lashes decal eyes puffy sweaters French thrust bras flailing leather blue jeans stretch pants stretch jeans honeydew bottoms eclair shanks elf boots ballerinas Knight slippers, hundreds of them, these flaming little buds, bobbing and screaming, rocketing around inside the Academy of Music Theater underneath that vast old moldering cherub dome up therearen't they super-marvelous!
"'Aren't they super-marvelous!' says Baby Jane, and then: 'Hi, Isabel! Isabel! You want to sit backstagewith the Stones!'
"The show hasn't even started yet, the Rolling Stones aren't even on the stage, the place is full of a great shabby moldering dimness, and these flaming little buds.
"Girls are reeling this way and that way in the aisle and through their huge black decal eyes, sagging with Tiger Tongue Lick Me brush-on eyelashes and black appliqués, sagging like display-window Christmas trees, they keep staring atherBaby Janeon the aisle."
". . . A reviewer called me a 'chameleon.' He meant it negatively. I took it as a compliment. A chameleon . . . but precisely! . . ."
As you see, the opening paragraph is a rush of Groovy clothes ending with the phrase "aren't they super-marvelous!" With this phrase I shifted into the point-of-view of Baby Jane, looking through her eyes at the young girls, "the flaming little buds," who are running around the theater. The description continues through Jane's eyes until the phrase "they keep staring atherBaby Jane," whereupon the point-of-view shifts to the young girls, and the reader is suddenly looking through their eyes at Baby Jane: "What the hell is this? She is gorgeous in the most outrageous way. Her hair rises up from her head in a huge hairy corona, a huge tan mane around a narrow face and two eyes openedswock!like umbrellas, with all that hair flowing down over a coat made of . . . zebra! Those motherless stripes! Oh, damn! Here she is with her friends, looking like some kind of queen bee for all flaming little buds everywhere."
In fact, three points-of-view are used in that rather short passage, the point-of-view of the subject (Baby Jane), the point-of-view of the people watching her (the "flaming little buds"), and my own. I switched back and forth between points-of-view continually, and often abruptly, in many articles I wrote in 1963, 1964, and 1965. Eventually a reviewer called me a "chameleon" who instantly took on the coloration of whomever he was writing about. He meant it negatively. I took it as a great compliment. A chameleon . . . but precisely!
Sometimes I used point-of-view in the Jamesian sense in which fiction writers understand it, entering directly into the mind of a character, experiencing the world through his central nervous system throughout a given scene. Writing about Phil Spector ("The First Tycoon of Teen"), I began the article not only inside his mind but with a virtual stream of consciousness. One of the news magazines apparently regarded my Spector story as an improbable feat, because they interviewed him and asked him if he didn't think this passage was merely a fiction that appropriated his name. Spector said that, in fact, he found it quite accurate. This should have come as no surprise, since every detail in the passage was taken from a long interview with Spector about exactly how he had felt at the time:
"All these raindrops are high or something. They don't roll down the window, they come straight back, toward the tail, wobbling, like all those Mr. Cool snowheads walking on mattresses. The plane is taxiing out toward the runway to take off, and this stupid infarcted water wobbles, sideways, across the window. Phil Spector, 23 years old, the rock and roll magnate, producer of Philles Records, America's first teen-age tycoon, watches . . . this watery pathology . . . it is sick, fatal. He tightens his seat belt over his bowels . . . A hum rises inside the plane, a shot of air comes shooting through the vent over somebody's seat, some ass turns on a cone of light, there is a sign stuck out by the runway, a mad, cryptic, insane instruction to the pilotRunway 4, Are Cylinder Laps Main-side DOWN?and beyond, disoriented crop rows of sulphur blue lights, like the lights on top of a New Jersey toothpaste factory, only spreading on and on in sulphur blue rows over Los Angeles County. It is . . . disoriented. Schizoid raindrops. The plane breaks in two on takeoff and everybody in the front half comes rushing toward Phil Spector in a gush of bodies in a thick orangenapalm! No, it happens aloft; there is a long rip in the side of the plane, it just rips, he can see the top ripping, folding back in sick curds, like a sick Dali egg, and Phil Spector goes sailing through the rip, dark, freezing. And the engine, it is reedy


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How can you pursue a "fresh start" when you're the same person you always were?
If you haven't seen it, I'm going to say here - at the top - that I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and think it's a particularly excellent experience if you go into it knowing very littleabout the plot and characters. So I advise that you only read on if you have either seen The Gift, or you don't care about me trying to care about you right now.
The Gift depicts the slow and fascinating disruption of a married couple when they start to receive visits from an old friend. Now, that synopsis actually makes the film sound rather dull to me. But actually, the film is so laser focused on the three lead characters, on peeling away their layers, that the drama quickly becomes far more fascinating. From the opening scene it's all about learning who these characters are and, before long, relearning. Very little actually occurs during the film to change them, but as a viewer, discovering more about their pasts twists your affections in shocking ways. A powerful theme of the film is the question of whether a person can change, as an adult, from who they were as a child.
Like any superb thriller, The Gift plays on the audience's expectations. The film builds slowly, planting small seeds, aware that they will grow and multiply in the thinking viewer's mind. It reminded me of last year's Gone Girl in this way. Between every scene I felt the desire to turn to those around me to ask, "What do you think about [character] now?"
Perhaps it is thanks to the simple and relatable hook of the film (a visit from the past) that I found the audience to be pulled in very quickly. We wanted to know more about these characters, and before long the film made us regret it (in a good way).
Almost as an experiment to test audience engagement, the middle section of the film includes a series of jump scares (some of which pop, some sizzle out, and some are red herrings). In my screening, we were all hooked. Every time the cinematography forecast a potential jump scare the whole cinema tensed up. Then when the film relieved the tension, laughs, gasps and sighs echoed from every seat. This isn't a horror film, and we weren't a horror audience, so we didn't want to be scared, and that's why it was so effective.
I could see absolutely no flaws in Jason Bateman's performance. It's a similar character and performance to his great role in Disconnect, although The Gift goes much deeper. The audience is shown many more sides of his character than is comfortable. Like many actors known for their comedy, I have always preferred Bateman in dramatic texts.
Rebecca Hall plays a complex role with a wealth of honesty. For the most part, her character is the closest we've got to an audience surrogate. Therefore it is extremely satisfying that she is portrayed with so much intelligence and agency. Many similar characters in other films are ignorant of danger or poorly perceive the events around them, but Hall's character does everything I would have done in her situation - and that's fantastic to watch. The frustrating horror in which the victims never call the police, this is not.
And this point goes across the board. There are half a dozen side characters who appear throughout the film who all seem like such realistic, living characters - even with very minimal screen time. Characters on screen are not often this perceptive of each other, this intricate. Well written, well directed.
Speaking of... how Joel Edgerton wrote and directed this film while giving his incredible, subtly aggressive performance is difficult to comprehend. His became one of the scariest performances I've seen in a while, without even a creepy smile. And it's frightening because it feels so true, and so tragic.
The haunting soundtrack is simple and very effective. Composer Danny Bensi knows how to creep into the back of your mind and disturb you. The score keeps close to a delicate, ponderous little theme for the most part, except when sonic madness is required, which - judging by my tense muscles at the end of the film - was delivered effectively.
The overarching messages of the film are bold, challenging, devastating, but most importantly - important. These are ideas worth spreading (oops hi TED). And tying it all up in a puffy red bow, The Gift is a thrilling character drama which will haunt me forever. Touché, Edgerton, I'll see you in Black Mass.


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Offer Like No Other
Last chance to take advantage of the exclusive 'Less is More' offer
Still no travel plans for Chinese New Year? Make the most of the 'Less is More' offer, which has been extended until 10 February 2014. You can continue to redeem free nights during the offer periods using fewer GC Award Points in all Shangri-La, Kerry and Traders city hotels worldwide. Discounts start at 25 per cent off a standard room; 30 per cent off a Club Room and 40 per cent off an Executive Suite.
Even better, point discounts will apply automatically, so there's no need to plug in any codes to enjoy the exceptional offer. Simply visit the dedicated website www.shangri-la.com/less-is-more when planning your next getaway and find out how to redeem points for stays.


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10 iPhone Apps for Masters in Teaching Students
Getting a Masters in Teachingis tough work, especially when you are trying to prepare for tests for yourself while also trying to learn how to prepare others for tests at the same time. This can create a high stress environment in which it is difficult to stay organized, so having a few easy to use applications for your iPhone to take some of the hassle out of life can really help. There are also a few applications you might want to become familiar with, as they can be used in the classroom once you become an educator. Here, we'll go over some of the best applications for aspiring teachers.
- Dexy: Dexy is a freeform note organizer that allows you to quickly type notes and then find them again later. The application is designed for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and is something of a spiritual successor to programs like QuickDEX for Macintosh. Dexy does not require that you give your notes titles or make folders, or choose where to put them, but instead allows you to create a new card, type a quick note, and be on your way. Later, when you want to find the note, you can type in words from the note and Dexy will locate notes with matching words for you. The app also lets you use the iPhone in a landscape profile for easier typing, change the settings for the font and display, and much more.
- Omnifocus: Omnifocus is the winner of multiple awards, including the Best iPhone Productivity Application Award at the WWDC 2008 Apple Design Awards. Omnifocus is designed to provide students and teachers alike with task management functionality, offering live, automatic syncing, custom action lists that rely on real world location, voice notes, image capture, and much more. The application can be used for everything from shopping lists to work agendas to studying schedules and more.
- WeDict: WeDict is, essentially, a free dictionary program for the iPhone. It includes roughly one hundred and fifty thousand words in the WordNet 2.0 dictionary, making it a useful tool for preparing for vocabulary tests, looking up words quickly and easily when you would rather not interrupt a class, and so on.
- Date Wheel: Date Wheel is a simple application that allows you to measure the time between dates in months, days, business days, and so on. This is perfect not only for organizing and planning, but also can be used to keep track of homework assignments both for yourself and future students.
- BookShelf: BookShelf is an electronic book reader that is a great way to download and read electronic books with pictures in many different formats. Books can be read in either landscape or portrait mode, with the ability to lock modes for easier reading. Bookmarks can be added to documents, and a simple auto scrolling function makes it easy to read hands free. There are even color schemes for text and background color, different fonts and font sizes available, and total offline usage.
- Word of the Day: Word of the Day is a fun application that you can use in the classroom, or to expand your own vocabulary. This app is useful not only for studying for graduate level language tests with vocabulary sections, but for preparing yourself for the English aspect of teaching in a classroom.
- Birthdays in History: This is another fun application that can be used every day in a classroom. It provides the names and biographical information of famous people born on the current date in history, and also allows you to look up the birth dates of a large number of famous figures.
- Wikipanion: Wikipanion is the extension of Wikipedia onto the iPhone, and provides you with full access to the extent of the collective knowledge on Wikipedia. Perfect for preparing for tests, doing research, and getting extra information in the classroom.
- EngLits: EngLits is an excellent way for students to prepare for exams, essays, and more by providing detailed information on and summaries of a large number of classical literature from Shakespeare to Dickens to Tolstoy.
- Words of the World: Words of the World is a fun tool for teaching kids a new word in six different languages every day. This application builds vocabulary not only in English, but in Spanish, Italian, German, French, and Russian as well! Perfect for introducing students to other languages and cultures.


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House prices fell for a second month running in August and the housing market continues to "tread water", according to the latest monthly report from mortgage lender Halifax.
The average house price was £160,256 last month, which was 0.4% lower than the previous month, Halifax said, cancelling out two previous rises as prices drifted back to levels seen at the end of 2011.
Halifax's housing economist, Martin Ellis, said easing inflation should boost spending power and support house prices in the coming months, but added that the market was expected to remain flat heading into 2013.
The figures are at odds with a recent report by the Nationwide which showed that house prices rose 1.3% in August, their biggest monthly rebound in more than two-and-a-half years. Nationwide also recorded a 0.7% annual fall compared with Halifax's 0.9%.
However, the two lenders use different methodology, with Halifax calculating its annual price change figure by taking an average over three months and comparing that with the same period of the previous year.
House price data has been volatile in recent months with low sales volumes as banks rein in mortgage lending.
Ellis said: "A gradual upward trend in spending power, aided by lower inflation, should help to support housing demand in the coming months. Nonetheless, house prices are likely to remain flat over the remainder of 2012 and into next year."
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: "September heralds the start of a final push in property sales before the end of the year, as would-be buyers aim to get into their new homes before Christmas, so we expect to see a pick-up in business in the next couple of months."


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It's been a crazy few months. I should even say: A crazy few years. I've been going full steam for a long time, and I rarely take more than a day or two off from writing, podcasting, blogging or teaching. I never really feel like I need to take a break because I love what I do so much that it never feels like work. Also, being a solo entrepreneur, I never really leave 'the office', it's in my pocket all the time, no matter which day of the week it is or where in the world I am.
I boarded my flight to Paris a week ago exactly and I haven't done any office work other than answering a few emails. I haven't written an article, a blog post or a book chapter in 7 full days. I didn't even work during the 8+ hour transatlantic flight! It's been 100% family fun and camera time.
Part of the reason why I have been more disconnected than usual is that sharing limited bandwidth with three others has been too frustrating to try to spend much time on the internet. Going for an extra walk on the beach with my camera or reading a book at night has been much more relaxing than trying to log on.
I just spent 3 days in Paris with my kids, we walked about 50k, stayed up late and enjoyed every minute of La Vie Parisienne. Now back at my family home in Normandy for the rest of my vacation, I look forward to more walks on the beach, family fun and camera time. Maybe I'll even do a drawing or two. The key is to try not to put any pressure on myself. Phone calls can wait, emails are not all urgent and I already put a few podcast recordings in the queue.
La vie est belle, profitons-en!


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Who's the Author? A Compilation of Children's Author and Illustrator Websites/
Pulling one last copy of my now out-of-print Check These Out, I reminisced about the contents, feeling sad the content is no longer available.
The unit study needs a face lift. Check These Out will get the revision in due time.
Until then, I will be compiling author and illustrator websites for the authors studied in Check These Out, here.
I know many of my readers access these sites as they introduce their children to the people behind the picture and chapter books so well-loved. Every story written carries the fingerprints of the author. Hence, our family enjoys learning about the people and experiences which influence our favorite literary treasures.
For example, did you know E. B. White, author of the beloved Charlotte's Web, lived on a farm? He did! And, Robert McCloskey, author of Lentil, played the harmonica. Interestingly, the main character, Lentil, played the harmonica.
Author autobiographies and biographies are two additional means of learning about an author. Watch this book trailer for In the Words of E. B. White.


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Cardiff Canton Diesel Depot – new book – buy it and support the Group!
The first edition of this popular book by Steve Morris was published 8 years ago and sold out quickly. Since then there have been many requests for copies. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the opening of Canton depot in 2014, the book has been re-printed with a small print run including an update to reflect changes since the first edition, bringing the history of the depot right up to date. The opportunity has also been taken to update some of the captions in the original, a general tidy-up and correct some minor errors present in the first edition. Priced at £12.50 + £1.95 to cover P&P, copies can be ordered on line by clicking here or by post by printing out and sending off the form at the bottom of the attached flyer. A donation of £3.00 per copy will be made to the Growler Group if the Growler Group is mentioned in the buyer's notes on ebay, or if the attached order form is used.


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Voting is allowed only for registered users, you need log in.
А люди тут точно не в тему
I love the subtle colors and composition. This could have been a very ordinary shot but somehow you have made it special. Good job.
You have captured a feeling in this shot! Good work.
Wayne Leach
Three amigos! I think that you have captured a wonderful blend of mood and scenery here! WOW! Excellent!!!! To my `favorites` right now!
Very good photograph. And very pretty.


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Press for Within This Dust
Coming to The Brunton on 21st October 2017 at 7.30pm
Buy tickets for Brunton Theatre here
15 years after the events of 9/11, multi award-winning choreographer and Artist in Residence at BBC Radio 2, Thomas Small, presents his critically acclaimed dance theatre production Within This Dust. Inspired by photographer Richard Drew's iconic images of a man falling from the World Trade Center during the attacks, Within This Dust has been presented to sell out audiences around the world including Sao Paulo, Berlin and New York City 4 times including a sold out visit to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at World Trade Center in NYC.
This cinematic performance by Dundee based dance company Shaper/Caper, includes 3 live dance works blended with animation and survivor's accounts, which balance beautiful movement and subtle storytelling to explore themes of impact, loss, survival and humanity in relation to the stark horror of that day.


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Title:Blindness (Ensayo sobre la ceguera) Author: José Saramago
Author: José Saramago
Genre: Drama
Publisher: Alfaguara
People live their lives as usual. Nothing escapes from common reality, and blind people are a very few. Suddenly, a strange blindness starts affecting all the country. Lots of people die in accidents, caused by this new disease. After thousands of people are affected, the government decides to act. They keep infected people in some quarantine areas like hospitals, old prisons or shopping centres. However, this does not work. After all, everybody is blind.
Well, not everybody. A woman remains in normal state, as the disease does not affect her, and she becomes the new hope for humanity to get back to normal. However, she is locked with a lot of blind people in a local prison. Will she be able to escape from it? Will people become normal again? All the answers to these questions are in Blindness.
I give this book a 4/5. It has a very attractive and genuine plot, and it gets you from start to finish. I think that the beginning and the ending are the best parts of the story, because they are very special, and they make this novel very compelling. However, I think that there are some parts in the book where you could get bored, so I think that it is a bit boring sometimes. But, anyway, it's a book you must read.
Next March, a film called "Blindness", based on this novel, will be released in Spain. I have seen a few trailers, and it seems that the movie is very similar to the book. If you do not like reading, I recommend you to see the film, which has already been released in USA.


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The Complete Guide to Managing Work Items and Workflow with IBM Rational ClearQuest 7, IBM Rational Team Concert, and Jazz
Work items are the lifeblood of software and hardware development. They tell development teams exactly who is doing what, which issues are resolved, which remain unresolved, and which products are impacted. In large team-based projects, however, managing work items can be difficult. Now, two IBM Rational experts show how to simplify and improve every aspect of work item management with IBM Rational ClearQuest and the powerful and collaborative Jazz-based products: IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC) and IBM Rational Quality Manager.
Drawing on extensive experience with IBM customers, the authors tightly link theory with proven best practices, offering implementation guidance, detailed examples, and complete schemas. They present innovative solutions, introduce advanced customization techniques, and walk step-by-step through every phase of workflow development, from requirements through maintenance. They conclude with a full chapter of sample applications and solutions, ranging from Collaborative Application Lifecycle Management to SLAs.
Coverage includes
Understanding work items and their elements
Using work items for changes, tasks, activities, test plans, test cases, risks, builds, and promotion
Implementing best practices for work item application planning, analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance
Describing workflows, including advanced dynamic workflows
Incorporating roles in work items and using them to meet business needs
Using ClearQuest packages and custom integrations, and making the most of Jazz platform integration technology
Getting the most of out the CQ-ALM schema
Implementing effective quality and performance metrics, SLAs, and governance
Improving test management with IBM Rational Quality Manager work items
Creating effective workflows for Scrum and other Agile projects
Work Item Management with IBM Rational ClearQuest and Jazz will be an indispensable resource for all change management administrators, systems analysts, designers, project managers, and quality engineers who are already using IBM Rational ClearQuest, Rational Team Concert, or Rational Quality Manager; and for all IT professionals who want to understand enterprise-class work item and workflow management.


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It's Friday at lunch time, you're cranky cause the weekend is almost here and you're starving. Where to go? The Miami Food Trucks will be at Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay (adjacent to Southland Mall). Come by and check out what they have going and finish off your afternoon with some food from the Miami Food Trucks! This event is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay & Smart Center of Cutler Bay:
March 23rd Lunch Line-Up
Big Kahuna
Bite Gastrotruck
Che Grill
Grill Master Cafe
Jefe's Original Fish Taco & Burgers
Los Chamos
Mangia Mia Italian Kitchen
The Rolling Stove
Sugar Yummy Mama
The Details:
Lunch at Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay
Date: Friday March 23rd
Time: 11:30AM – 2:30PM
Location: 10701 SW 211th St Cutler Bay, FL 33189
Phone: 305-251-0345
Parking: FREE


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Please note new NHS and local guidance on prescribing for minor illness.
Useful information can be found :
Worcestershire Prescribing
Please click on the link above for information on what PPGs can offer to support their practices. Please click on the link above for information on what PPGs can offer to support their practices. Barn Close Surgery is an NHS general medical practice committed to delivering modern, high quality general practice to the local community from our well equipped surgery in the heart of Broadway village.
Our doctors, nurses and all our other staff are dedicated to offering a professional service and this surgery website will help us to keep all our patients up to date with news and information about our practice. We will keep it current with any developments or other details that we feel are relevant to you.
Please have a look around and do send us some feedback if you like. We can use your ideas to improve our online services and further develop the content of this site.
The surgery will be closed on the following dates:
The surgery will re-open on the Tuesday after the Bank Holiday at 8.00am - 18.30pm.
Telephone Appointment Line opens at 8.30am.
Alternatively you can now call a dedicated telephone number 01905 789061, between the hours of 08.00am - 12.00noon, Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday morning if you require an appointment to be seen by a local clinician at locations across South Worcestershire.
Christmas Day - Wednesday 25th December & Boxing Day - Thursday 26th December.
The Surgery will re-open on Friday 27th December at 8.00am - 18.30pm.
Wednesday 1st January.
The Surgery will re-open on Thursday 2nd January at 8.00am - 18.30pm.
We are planning on moving to a new appointment system in the near future. This will enable us to send SMS (Text) message reminders about appointments and lab test results.
To allow us to do this, we will need our patient's individual consent, as well as up to date mobile telephone and email addresses. Please complete the contact sheet that can be collected from reception. Thankyou.
Please can patients used utmost care and consideration in the car park. In the last few weeks, we have had staff cars hit in the car park by patients. One doctor's car was hit twice in consecutive days. We are not obliged to provide parking for patients, so it is important to use the spaces responsibly.
Please do NOT block in any other car.
Please do NOT block the rear entrance to the building - Ambulances need emergency access at ALL times.
DO NOT block the car park or the entry lane when "dropping patients" off.
Once your visit to the practice has finished then please leave promptly and do not use the car park whilst visiting the Post Office/Pharmacy/Coffee Shop.
Use other means of transport if possible - walk or cycle. There is a cycle rack on the right hand side of the car park
If a patient damages another car, then please make this known to reception, and the appropriate action will be taken.
Thank you
Debit Card Machine now available
We have now installed a Debit Card machine for Chip and Pin and Contactless payments at the dispensary.
This will hopefully make all transactions easier. Please use our dispensary if you are elligible to do so. If you are not sure, then please just ask.
Generally, if you live in any of the surrounding villages then we are allowed to dispense your medication.
You can now book appointments and order prescriptions online. At present they are two different systems so you will need a login and password for both. You will need to have already registered at the surgery to use this service.
Please CLICK HERE for Online Repeat Prescription Ordering
Please CLICK HERE for Online Booking of Appointments
You can download the consent form by clicking on the link below. Please remember to bring photo ID when you return the form to reception.
Patient Access Consent .pdf
Please DO NOT request medical advice or try to contact or pass any information to any of the doctors via any forms/email addresses that you may find on this website.
The GPs have made a decision not to deal with any medical queries or information requests for medical advice via email. This is because confidentiality cannot be guaranteed and there is no way of knowing when an email will be read.
If you need medical advice or if you need to give information to your GP, then please make an appointment to see your doctor.
Copyright 2006 - 2019 My Surgery Website | Privacy & Usage | Edit | Staff Home | Site Map | Accessibility | Site T&C's | Service T&C's


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in what is probably the craziest season of the year, it's important to give something that's meaningful but unique. as important as the actual present is, i always try to put a good amount of effort into the wrapping of the gift as well. i know i love receiving beautifully wrapped presents - i even love seeing them on pinterest! to step up my own wrapping game, i've partnered with pinpaper press to become a giving legend [and to help you become one too!]
i'm most likely framing this one and turning it into wall art ^^
i shared a little bit of their process on my instagram, but the gist is that you connect either your facebook, instagram, or pinterest and the photos collected from those accounts are combined and printed into wrapping paper! i printed three different boards from my pinterest [colors, neon, and christmas] and i seriously LOVE how they turned out. my christmas board made the perfect sheet of wrapping paper for the holiday season, and i can't wait to use the other two! if you'd like to become a gifting legend, use the code 12THISNTHAT to get 12% off of your order! and at the end of this week, i'll be hosting an instagram giveaway on instagram where you can win one free design and free shipping! make sure you're following me, becuase you're gonna want to enter this one! trust me, you won't regret it, and your gifting game will be so much better! let me know if you use it - i wan;t to see your designs! merry christmas and happy wrapping!
photos by molly garvin for THIS + THAT


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St. Pius X Choirs
Music Notes
Adult Choir
All are welcome! The adult choir is seeking new singers . . . and you are invited!!
We rehearse every Monday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at church.
We would love to have you sing with us, regardless of experience!
Youth Choir
All 7 - 12th graders are welcome to join Tommy Davis in leading music at the 6:00 p.m. Mass, the 4th Sunday of every month. Please meet at church at 5:00 p.m.
Singers and instrumentalists welcome.
Please email Sara Dvorsky for more information. Thanks!


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We have an established track record in designing and delivering exhibitions that bring visitors and artefacts together to create engaging environments for learning, enjoyment and reflection.
By creating designs that consider how people respond to spaces and relate to artefacts we place the visitor's experience at the centre of what we do. We collaborate with other creative and technical consultants to ensure that all elements are fluidly integrated, resulting in an design that enhances the appreciation of artefacts whilst never overwhelming them. Beyond aesthetic considerations we have extensive knowledge of the practical considerations of designing and implementing within museums. We work with in-house teams to ensure that the design meets all requirements, from access to conservation, whilst delivering quality and value for money.
Our ethos is simple – to deliver designs that effectively meet the project objectives with aesthetics appropriate to the story in question.
• Exhibition design
• Graphic design
• Art direction
• Interpretation
• Design project management
• Design Museum
• Imperial War Museum
• The Jewish Museum London
• London Transport Museum
• Museum of Science and Industry
• National Museum of Scotland
• Natural History Museum
• Science Museum
• V&A Dundee
• Victoria and Albert Museum


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Creamery District Wins Non-profit of the Year
The 2014 Non-profit of the Year Award was presented to the Creamery District at the Arcata Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards Dinner. The award was presented by the Chamber of Commerce on February 21 at the Arcata Community Center. The Arcata Playhouse is the sponsor of the Creamery District.
The Creamery District was nominated by the Chamber of Commerce membership. The top three nominees were then voted upon by the Chamber of Commerce membership in an online survey. Jackie Dandeneau and Louis Hoiland accepted the award on behalf of the Creamery District.
Two other Creamery District members were honored at the Awards Dinner. Holly Yashi received the new member of the year award and Redwood Raks was nominated for Best Small Business.
Mardi Gras Ball
Mardi Gras is in the air at the Arcata Playhouse who is hosting a Mardi Gras Ball that will feature local favorites the Cajun flavored Bayou Swamis and raucous horn ensemble Bandamonium on Friday, February 20th.
Come early for the Mardi Gras Parade and the crowning of the king and queen with mask making at the event. There will be prizes for Best Mask, Best Costume and Best Dancers.
You can sample some Creole and Cajun food like Muffulettas sandwiches, dirty rice with red beans and King Cake as well as authentic Mardi Gras drinks like the Hurricane and The Red Rooster. Get your photo taken by Bob Doran in our photo booth. Dress up and bring a friend to this fun evening.


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Safe Browsing: New Level of Protection for Android Tablets from Maxthon
Maxthon recently introduced a new level of safe browsing for Android Tablets.
Will this new addition also elliminate unnecessary pop-ups?
Maxthon recently introduced a new level of safe browsing for Android Tablets.
Will this new addition also elliminate unnecessary pop-ups?
The newest feature of Maxthon Mobile browser is centered on privacy. It's called Private Mode. Since tablets are usually shared among friends and family members especially children, privacy is very important. This is to prevent children from opening sites that are not appropriate for them. Other additional features in this latest version are Pull down button and Multi tab switch that are both in full screen mode and New feedback system. With regards to those unnecessary pop ups, only in the Kid Safe browser feature can that happen. Because when you set a list of safe sites, anything not in your safe list will be blocked and all advertisements to outside sites from a safe site will also be blocked.
The Maxthon web browser is presently running on its latest version, 184.108.40.2060, and is cross-platform that supports Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X for the PC version, and Android and iOS for the mobile version. For the iOS operating system, it supports iPhone and iPad devices. The Maxthon web browser is included among the browsers I used on my computer because I use several web browsers not only one to have a variety.
Maxthon Asia Ltd., the creator of the Maxthon browser, regularly releases new updates. Actually, you don't have to visit their site just to learn if a new update is already available because the browser itself will alert you if a new release is available and will give you option on updating your web browser. Like the PC version, the mobile version also includes several new features like the Maxthon Cloud Services where you can push text, images, and links to your cloud account.
Here is the QR Code for downloading the Android version of the Maxthon web browser.


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Major Newspaper Stories about Unschooling
Here are two good articles that discuss homeschooling. One, in the Hartford (CT) Courant, focuses on unschooling. Though the headline makes it seem like the article will view unschooling as a way to reform school, the article itself is more about one family and their journey to unschooling, and how North Star and other options can help families with self-directed teenage learners.
The Chicago Tribune did a story about homeschooling, with a focus on unschooling. The article was aimed at non-homeschooling parents, as the subhead indicates: "Supplement your child's education by stealing a few pages off the home-schoolers' playbook." Interesting how both stories intersect on the issue of how non-school activities and places can supplement or replace conventional schooling for children whose parents are not able to fully commit to homeschooling.


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We continue preparing three pieces we have commissioned for their world premieres next week in the Bay Area: Mason Bates' "Sirens," Shawn Crouch's "The Garden of Paradise," and Tarik O'Regan's "No Matter."
Today - Friday- trying out the new acoustical shell in the concert hall of the San Francisco Conservatory where we'll sing three performances next week. We'll also do it in Berkeley and Santa Clara.