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Well hello friends. It's been awhile since I last blogged but I am happy to announce that I HAD MY BABY!!! Man, oh man, life is so different now...in the best (& craziest!!) way possible and I have so many more ideas to blog but waaaaaay less time...haha. (side note- I've been trying to get this post done since we came home from the hospital...ha!)
But today, I will be sharing the birth story of our sweet boy, Luca Kingston Liira. Just want to do a TMI warning that I will be using words like discharge, membranes, cervix, dilated...so if those words make you squeamish, here's the short story... Luca Kingston Liira was born on June 11th (his due date!!) at 2:44am weighing 7lbs 13oz after 22 hours of labour (early labour started at 4:30am on June 10th!)
And now the long TMI story....
I was beginning to get antsy waiting for the arrival of our sweet lion. I went off work on June 1st and used the first week to get lots of stuff done around the house (also treated myself to a pedicure!) but one week later there I was, madly anticipating labour. I had been getting cramping but had no idea what labour would feel like. It's the craziest thing, and everyone says, you just know....which is true but waiting for it to happen is one of the hardest things I've ever waited for. I even had started a blog post entitled, "The Waiting Game", trying to explain how I was feeling but I couldn't put words to the feeling! Let's just say, the more I thought about it, the harder it was to do everyday life so instead I just tried to distract myself as much as possible! And so did James, he was off that week and planned on painting the exterior of our house...he even bought the paint because he was convinced baby wouldn't be coming until a week after his due date but the Lion had other plans...
Two days before my due date, I went to my doctor's office for my weekly check up. For the past two weeks she had tried to sweep my membranes but apparently my cervix was too posterior and the Lion was still a little bit high in my pelvis. Going into this appointment, I was hoping that things had changed but to my dismay, my cervix was still in the same position and once again, she couldn't sweep my membranes. Baby's head had dropped a bit but still not fully engaged. It looked like James' guess of a week late was going to be right. Even though I knew most first babies come late, I was pretty upset. I just wanted to get on with this labour thing...haha.
So I went home and walked cedar hill golf course furiously (haha) then showered at Courtney's house (our shower head finally arrived when Luca was 5 days old ha!) Meanwhile James started painting the gate in our driveway. After I got home, I went to our room to put on socks and as I was lifting my leg, I felt a little gush of fluid. Now I forgot to mention that a few days prior to my doctor's visit, I had a few little gushes of fluid....I was never sure if they were amniotic fluid or urine or just discharge but I mentioned it to my doctor and she said if it happened again, let her know, because if it was amniotic fluid, we would need to go to the hospital.
So I called my doctor and she said to come on down to the hospital and they would check me out. Off we went to the hospital...James had managed to paint half the gate, incase you were wondering! In labour and delivery they swabbed me and then my doctor went to check the fluid under a microscope. She came back a few minutes later and announced that "it took a while to find but there was amniotic fluid...you probably have a small tear in your sac....we'll put you on the induction list for tomorrow...go home and rest and you'll either go into labour or you'll be induced tomorrow!"
OMGEEEEEE. We went from not having a baby for another week to WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY IN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. It was a crazy feeling for us as we walked out of the hospital. That would be our last night without a baby!!!! So we lived it up by watching the office...#livinglarge
Now I really wanted to go into labour naturally. I heard that being induced brought a lot more painful contractions and I am such a wimp when it comes to pain! So I spent most of the night bouncing on an exercise ball to try to get things going. James also did some reflexology on my lower back, hands and ankles. And we also prayed.
Well we must have done something right because at 4:30am the next day I woke up with contractions (THANK YOU JESUS!) They were not super intense but they woke me up and were coming roughly every 8-10 minutes....I just knew, finally, that I WAS IN LABOUR!!!
In our prenatal class, the teacher had told us that early labour was all about distracting yourself and trying to keep your body upright so baby would continue to come down and the good ol cervix would dilate. I couldn't go back to sleep and I didn't want to wake up James so the first thing I did was self tan my face because obviously I didn't want to be pale going into everything..haha. After that I made my labour playlist (which consisted of mellow worship music...Amanda Cook, Bethel, Hillsong United). Little did I know, I would have that playlist on almost the entire labour as it helped me stay calm. I then continued to bounce on the ball and paint my nails...ha.
Around 8am I woke up James because the contractions were getting a lot stronger and closer together. We hung out in the living room while I bounced, bounced, bounced. The only thing helping me was bouncing on the ball and using a heating pad on my lower back. James was amazing in reminding me to drink water after every contraction and reminding me to go pee...ha! We also ended up walking down the street to Thriftys....it took us awhile as I had to lean on him during every contraction.
My contractions started to get closer and closer together and around 11:30am my water broke some more...hello GUSH! It actually ended up doing that twice which was quite annoying as I was very limited in pants that I could wear at 9 months pregnant. We called our doctor who was very happy to hear I had gone into labour (apparently the induction list was huge that day and now I would beat them to the labour room ha) and told us to head to the hospital when contractions were 4 minutes apart for 30 minutes.
I laboured for about an hour longer at home and then it was go time! We grabbed our bags and headed to the hospital around 1:45pm. Man, was that the WORST drive ever. Contractions were very strong and were coming every 2-5 minutes apart. It was super hard to cope in the car and don't even get me started on the weird animal noises that were coming out of my mouth.
We got all checked into our lovely labour and delivery room and were assisted by the sweetest nurse. She checked me out and sadly I was only at 1-2cm! Normally, they would send you home at this time but thankfully because my water had broken, I was either going to progress or be induced. The nurse asked me about my birth plan and I responded, "EPIDURAL as soon as I can have it." She laughed and continued to help me labour. I got checked an hour later and found out I was at 3cm....GLORY! Around 4pm, the nurse suggested I get into the shower to labour there but no thank you, I wanted my epidural and made it clear haha. Unfortunately, there was a shift change so I had to wait an hour before the anethesiologist could greet me. They gave me gravol and it did didily squat, so I took a bit of gas which helped take the edge of the contractions.
Can I just mention how amazing James was? He encouraged me and helped me through every single contraction. They were hurting like hell (probably due to Luca being posterior aka lots of back labour) and James helped calm me down. But how we were both soooo thankful when that epidural came.
The epidural kicked in around 5:30pm and my goodness IT WAS AMAZING. It allowed me to rest while my uterus continued to do the work. Now some people don't like epidurals because your body doesn't progress as quickly, but thankfully I progressed at a normal pace. I received a mobilized epidural which allows you to have some movement in your legs, which helped me during pushing.
We rested for the next few hours. I think they checked me around 7:30pm and I was at 7cm...almost there! At some point they gave me some broth and jello and that was amazing. Auntie Coco (Courtney) dropped off some dinner for James and hung out for an hour. It was nice to have some more encouragement. The new nurse (post shift change) came and checked me just before 11pm and sure enough, I was at 10!!! It was time for my doctor to come and me to start pushing.
Now I can't begin to tell you, how incredible God's presence was throughout the entire labour. His peace filled the delivery room. There were some sketchy things at some points...high heart rate for me, Luca's heart rate going up and down, Luca being too high up and posterior, my pelvis being very small...but through it all, the peace of God was everywhere.
Okay...now the hardest thing I've ever done...THE PUSHING! My doctor arrived and I pushed from 11pm-12am. Even though I had the epidural, I could feel a lot of the pushing and "bearing down" feeling...mostly because he was posterior. I pushed and pushed and pushed for an hour but we weren't making any progress. The anethesiologist came back and suggested we up my epidural and let me rest for an hour so Luca would descend and hopefully turn face down. We said yes and prayed that it would all work out.
Even with the increased epidural I was feeling the contractions a lot but I was able to rest and pray and hope it would all work out. At 1am my doctor checked me and was pretty sure Luca was still posterior...which was not ideal so she called the ob on call to come and try to turn him. Five minutes later the ob came and when she went to check, Luca had turned on his own..praise God!!!
So I pushed and pushed and pushed...oh my goodness it was the hardest thing of my life and I'm so thankful I did squats/worked out my whole pregnancy because if I didn't have that muscle, I don't think I would have been able to push him out (I pushed for almost three hours ha!)....but praise God, one hour and 44 minutes later at 2:44am, Luca Kingston Liira took his first breath. They put him on my chest and my sweet lion roared and roared. He weighed 7lbs13oz and was 20.5 inches long and had a full mane of hair...just perfect.
It was the most amazing moment of my life. To meet this little guy who God revealed in a dream last September, who grew from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a watermelon, who I carried for almost 10 months, whose little feet kept kicking me and hiccups would wake me up. I just kept singing over and over "Little Luca, you have my heart. Little Luca, you have my heart."
Hearing James talk about Luca's grand entrance just melts my heart. He is such an amazing daddy. The love that he has for our son is so beautiful.
We're parents! We have a baby! It's the craziest thing and I have so many more things to share but must go to sleep before the next feed...haha...but there you have it, the birth story of Luca Kingston Liira..my little lion.
Oh little Luca, you have my heart.


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September 19 , 1957 : The US conducted the world's first underground nuclear explosion in Nevada. more...
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Foreign exchange (Forex or FX) arbitrage is the process of capitalizing on the difference in currency exchange rates between two or more foreign exchange markets in order to make a profit. The transaction involves the simultaneous purchase and sale of the targeted currencies. This allows for a closed or no risk position to be taken, avoiding market exposure and exchange rate fluctuations. A person or organization engaging in foreign exchange arbitrage is termed an arbitrageur.
The technique of exchange arbitrage is made possible by the structure of the market itself. The FX market is the largest financial market in the world. It is also the most liquid, with trade in currency carried out continuously from 20:15 GMT Sunday through 22:00 GMT Friday each week. There is no central regulated exchange, and major independent exchange markets exist in several financial centers including London, New York, Paris, Zurich, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney. Arbitrageurs include international banks, institutional and private investors, governments, and speculators.
All currencies are subject to trade in foreign exchange markets, but the vast majority of trading is performed within seven currency pairs. The most frequently traded currency pairs are the Euro and the U.S. Dollar, the U.S. Dollar and Japanese Yen, the British Pound and the U.S. Dollar, as well as the U.S. Dollar and the Swiss Franc. Three pairs are associated with commodity trading; the Australian Dollar and the U.S. Dollar, the U.S. Dollar and the Canadian Dollar, and the New Zealand Dollar and the U.S. Dollar.
The potential to make a profit from exchange arbitrage exists when separate markets are offering different exchange rates between currencies. An arbitrageur might buy one currency in one market while simultaneously selling in another. The profit for the transaction is the revenue generated minus the cost.
In reality, transactions are typically rather complex, often involving multiple markets and currencies. The profit margin for each transaction is usually small; however, the simultaneous buying and selling of currencies makes trading considered to be virtually risk free. The window of opportunity to profit from any discrepancies in exchange rates is usually very short-lived, as these differences are quickly corrected in response to arbitrageur activity. When there are no exchange rate differences to exploit, the FX market is said to be an arbitrage-free market, or in a state of arbitrage equilibrium.
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK!

subset: commoncrawl


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The time has come to bring back one of our most unique, fun, and, dare we say…irreverent? lagers, "40 oz of Freedom!" The name is based on the Sublime album, 40 oz TO Freedom, and the lager itself is an ode to simplicity, laid-back good times, and that late-afternoon-sunshine feeling.
"40 oz of Freedom" is based on exactly what it sounds like — an American Industrial Lager, or malt liquor. However, this take on that classic favorite is also brewed with a traditional pilsner in mind. Add a bunch of U.S.-grown Saaz hops, and you've got a cleaner, crisper, fuller, but still laid-back drinking experience.
Brewmaster Oliver Roberts endeavored to create a balanced but "big honkin' brew" through the use of delicate malts and a close eye on the fermentation process. "40 oz of Freedom" is made with pilsner malt and six-row barley and, as Oliver says, "the closely monitored temperature control during the lagering phase was key to produce a beer that could be so smooth and clean at a higher abv."
Industrial lagers/malt liquors typically and traditionally use "adjuncts," i.e., additions like rice syrups to add fermentable sugars. Brewer Karl says that the addition of rice syrup into 40 oz of Freedom "allows us to up the abv without creating a bigger body. If we got all this sugar from malts [in order to achieve this abv], it would be a very dark, malty beer. Almost all of this addition is fermentable, so there is very little residual sugar. This way, the abv is high, but the body is light."
This bad boy will clock in somewhere in the mid-to-upper 8 percent of abv, by the way. Look for it sometime in April, once it lagers itself into a delicious, refreshing, relaxing take on this classic style. As the sun comes back, we hope you'll be tipping a couple of these back with us. Cheers!


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The JWBS-14DXPRO 14" Deluxe Pro Bandsaw from JET (shown here with optional fence) has been fully redesigned to meet the needs of today's most demanding woodworkers. Gone are the days of adding a riser block; this 14" bandsaw comes with a massive cast iron frame for increased power that makes it ready to meet all re-saw expectations head-on. Couple this incredible feature with a new high tension spring design and many more amazing features, and you have a bandsaw that will last for years to come. Put a new JET 14" Bandsaw in your shop and you'll know that JET tools are Built Better to Build Better.
$80.00 Additional Shipping Charge
This item is shipped from the manufacturer by truck. Air shipping and international shipping are not available for this item. Ships to the 48 contiguous states only. It is not available for pick up at our facility.
|Jet 14" Deluxe Pro Bandsaw
|Jet Mitre Gauge for 14" Bandsaw
|Ripfence for Jet 14" Bandsaw
Copyright 2000-2015, Packard Woodworks Inc., All Rights Reserved


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The medical director of the NHS, Sir Bruce Keogh, is calling for senior doctors to support seven-day working – setting the stage for a clash between the government and consultants over a major reform to the health service.
Keogh believes the shift to seven-day working for consultants is essential if standards are to be raised. There is hard evidence, he says, that patients are more likely to die if they are admitted over a weekend.
But in a head-to-head debate in the British Medical Journal, the chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants committee, Paul Flynn, rejects the idea, asking who will pay for senior doctors to be on the wards seven days a week.
Keogh has asked the NHS commissioning board to take a detailed look at the issue, which he says is already causing anxiety among junior doctors and hospital chief executives. The medical royal colleges, he says, favour more consultant cover at weekends.
The lack of many seven-day services damages five measurable outcomes for patients, he says – preventable deaths, treatment of long-term conditions, outcomes from emergencies, patient experience and safety.
"We must ask why, in many hospitals, expensive diagnostic machines and pathology laboratories are underused, operating theatres lie fallow and clinics remain empty. Yet, access to specialist care is dogged by waiting lists, and general practitioners and patients must wait for diagnostic results," Keogh writes.
"Imagine finding yourself in need of a blood test result, a diagnostic test, or specialist advice but having to wait an additional two days – for what reason? Intuitively many of us find this frustrating and unacceptable. Imagine, also, a young woman who finds a breast lump at 4pm on a Friday. How easy is it for her to get a diagnosis and good advice before the beginning of the next week? What kind of weekend will she experience?"
But Flynn, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist in Swansea, says there is little justification for demanding that consultants – other than those in accident and emergency – work at weekends.
One argument often advanced is that seven-day working is necessary to meet the demands on the NHS and reduce waiting times. But, he says, consultants are frustrated by their inability to make the service they offer more efficient. Financial and organisational systems get in the way. "It flies in the face of all logic to reward a system that is not using its existing resources to best effect over five days by giving it the oportunity to mismanage them over seven," he writes.
"Any clinician can tell you off the top of his head three things that will make their clinic more efficient. Any surgeon can tell you three things that will make his or her operating lists more efficient. It is time the NHS listened to the doctors who can tell it how to solve these problems and stopped just throwing a longer working week at it."
He rejects the argument that the public expects a seven-day service. "Schools and many businesses do not open at the weekends and much of the other infrastructure of society such as public transport does not operate a full service at weekends either," he writes.
But the most important question was who was going to pay, he says. "Many NHS providers are already in dire financial positions to the extent that some of them are consulting on making staff redundant. It is inconceivable that they will be able to staff operating theatres and clinics seven days a week, let alone provide all the other resources that this activity will consume. The public, I think, would rather such resources were focused on the sickest people who come to hospital."
Keogh acknowledges that the proposals come at a time when doctors are worried about the impact of the economic crisis, structural change to the NHS and pension reforms. "Many are worried that the NHS is being commercialised and that their professional values and commitment are being devalued," he says.
"This should not detract from the recognition that healthcare is a seven-day commitment, and this is something doctors feel, believe and understand."


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Registration and Race Kit Pickup
For most participants you will be the first face-to-face contact runners will have with Run Ottawa. Your expertise, friendliness, helpfulness and patience will form that critical first impression. In the eyes of the participants you're a representative of the race and an ambassador for our city.
Registration and race kit pick-up occurs over three days from May 23rd to May 25th in the Shaw Convention Centre located at 55 Colonel By Drive. You will be asked to do one of two main tasks; hand out race kits or event specific t-shirts. A typical shift is 4 to 5 hours in length, dependent on the day. Food will be provided to all volunteers except those working Thursday, May 23rd.
You may work as many shifts as you wish – just let me know your choice of shift(s) upon submitting the request below. Once you submit a shift request(s), assume you will be scheduled for that time slot unless I contact you by email.
Information notices will be sent to all race kit pick-up volunteers explaining where to meet, parking, etc.
Thursday, May 23, 2018
Report at 3:30 p.m. Shift: 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Friday May 24, 2018
Shift 1 – Report at 9:30 a.m. Shift: 10 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Shift 2– Report at 2:30 p.m. Shift: 3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday May 25, 2018
Shift 1– Report at 8:30 a.m. Shift: 9:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Shift 2 – Report at 12:30 p.m. Shift: 1:00 p.m. – 5 p.m
To select your shift click here – http://runottawa.ivolunteer.
If you have any questions please contact Bob Woods at email@example.com


text: Have you ever had one of those moments that you wished you could go back in time and tell your 17-year-old self about? That happened to me recently, when I was contacted by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, for non-Canucks, and kind of a big deal for anyone who grew up before the internet...before even widespread cable). They wanted to use my photo of free roaming bison in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan in their upcoming feature on the Tragically Hip and how could any good Canadian Girl say no to THAT? Even if I haven't really loved anything they've done since Up To Here (ok, ok, maybe Road Apples), you'll still find a few of their tunes on my iPhone and, hey - I don't change the station when they come on the radio, and that's about as high praise as you're likely to get from this music snob. My photo is representing the song 100th Meridian, check out the feature on this truly iconic Canadian band and have a listen through the link below. You could also do worse than to check out Grasslands National Park - Saskatchewan is NOT all flat and boring (that's Manitoba).


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Brochures and Downloads
Latest Brochures of the Romantic Hotel Wastlwirt
Download the latest Brochures of the Romantic Hotel Wastlwirt****.
By request we will sent you the Brochures via Mail. Please inform us about your wishes and your address. All Brochures and Downloads are in german language. Thats how you can reach us:
Postal address:
Romantik Hotel Wastlwirt
Poststraße 13
5582 St. Michael / Lungau
Telephone: +43 6477 / 7155
Fax: +43 6477 / 7156-60
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Zolt Presents Inequality in America: Challenges for Tax and Spending Policies Today at Duke
Eric M. Zolt (UCLA) presents Inequality in America: Challenges for Tax and Spending Policies at Duke today as part of its Tax Policy Workshop Series hosted by Lawrence Zelenak:
This article examines some basic issues related to taxing and spending policies and how different distributions of income or wealth in a society may influence these basic choices. It seeks to provide a guide to addressing tax and spending policies in an era of increasing inequality. This is challenging because it requires a good understanding of inequality and economic mobility, the changing role of taxes and government social spending, the constraints on policy options, and the possible misconceptions that may influence tax and spending policies.
Inequality in the United States has increased dramatically over the last 30 years, whether measured before or after government tax and transfer policies. Perhaps even more troubling than the rise in inequality may be the decline in economic mobility. The American dream of working hard to get ahead may be more fiction than fact.
The same thirty-year period during which inequality has increased and economic mobility has decreased has seen major changes in fiscal policy. Tax law changes have altered the relative tax rates, the relative revenue contributions from different tax instruments, and the tax burdens of different income groups. Government spending on social programs has increased substantially, but perhaps not in ways one might expect. The United States likely has a smaller percentage of government social spending going to the needy than other developed countries. An increasingly larger percentage of social spending is directed at the elderly (without regard to need) and through tax subsidies to the upper half of the income distribution rather than those at the bottom of the income distribution or to low and middle income single-parent households with children.
If one really wants to use fiscal policy to reduce inequality and poverty or increase economic mobility, one needs a new approach. The first step is to identify clearly the relative priorities among reducing inequality, reducing poverty, and increasing economic mobility. Tax and spending policies will differ depending on the weight given each of these objectives, and in a world of relatively limited resources, the government needs to make difficult choices. One key insight is that it may be useful to stop thinking about increasing the income tax burden on the wealthy as the only, or perhaps even the primary, way to increase social spending programs. The U.S. may need less progressive (or even regressive) taxes to fund more progressive spending programs.


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Friday, 29 May 2009
VOR: Casey and co. Save the Day
PUMA Ocean Racing's leward rudder breaks on leg 7 from Boston to Galway. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.
by Riath Al-Samarrai
It had been exciting but uneventful sailing that evening in the Atlantic on May 21.
The wind was strong, blowing about 28 knots and gusting to 35, torrents of water repeatedly pelting the chests and faces of the five men on deck as PUMA closed within 1,100 miles of Galway. That boat revels in such conditions and had just taken the lead in leg seven, but then, as Craig Satterthwaite drove over and through the three-metre waves, the boat suddenly skidded off course.
The wipe out was not severe, but it had been accompanied by one of those noises that sailors instinctively recognise as something bad.
"We heard a big clunk," says Casey Smith, who was grinding the main sheet and joined on the watch by Satterthwaite, Rob Salthouse, Erle Williams and Ken Read, their skipper.
Down below, among the usual booming of the hull against waves and the groaning of strained ropes, the noise was clearer and louder.
"They thought we had broken the boom or the mast or something," Casey continues. "They reckoned they could hear a solid bang."
All resting hands dressed and came on deck and got the boat stabilised again, but it quickly became apparent that something serious was preventing it from fully regaining its balance.
It didn't take long to work out that the port rudder had broken and was most likely the cause of the wipe out. But, as the rest of the crew dropped the mainsail and A-zero, Rob Greenhalgh went into the aft-compartment and put an endoscope through a valve in the bottom of the boat, discovering that barely six inches of the rudder remained.
A decision had to be made. They could have continued because a wind shift at almost that exact moment meant they could turn and sail on port gybe for almost a day, thus keeping the destroyed rudder out of the water and them in the race. But that was balanced against the risk of sailing a badly wounded boat in the Atlantic in spring.
PUMA Ocean Racing, skippered by Ken Read (USA), celebrate rounding Cape Horn in third place, as a naked Casey steers il mostro! Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.
"We thought it would be a bit unsafe," Casey explains. "We were still in a low and it was not going to get any better. What is the prudent thing to do?"
They untied the spare rudder from under the navigation station and began a mission that would remove the remnants of the old rudder before somehow getting a man under the boat to insert the spare.
It was a procedure they had practiced in Newport back in the early days of the campaign, but then, unlike now, it had been in calm water. This time, in the open ocean, the seas were big, up to three metres high, and the wind was blowing at approximately 30 knots.
Casey was always going to take a leading a leading role in the operation.
He grew up on Australia's Sunshine Coast, born into a sail making family. After turning professional about 10 years ago, he rose through the offshore ranks, sailing the Sydney-Hobart race nine times before getting "a bit lucky" when the Volvo Ocean Race introduced an "under 30" rule. It meant each team must carry two sailors aged younger than 30 on the day of the first in-port race and Casey was eligible by just eight days.
He had worked with Read while sailing on Philippe Kahn's Pegasus 52 and got in contact with the American as soon as he heard a rumour Read was involved in this race. "This is the race I wanted to do," he says. His enthusiasm has survived until this point. As a bowman, and a young guy trying to get the respect of the older sailors, he is the person sent up the mast in extreme weather, and spends a lot of his remaining time getting battered at the bow. It helps that "the adventure, overcoming the hard bits" shape part of his love for offshore sailing, but he has taken enough collisions to leave fluid in both his knees and tendonitis elsewhere. "It's all part of it," he says. "I love the challenge of the whole thing." But he is more to the team than just young brawn.
It was his ingenuity that fixed the water maker on leg one, resolving a situation that had Read considering a diversion to Brazil to make a repair. Ultimately they finished second. Then, on the second leg, the team's longitudinal frames cracked and Casey was at the forefront of the repair.
"Plenty of other things too," Read says. "When we break something, Casey fixes it. A bit of a MacGyver. He's great to have onboard. He brings a lot to the team.
"When the rudder broke, he just took over, assigned everyone positions and we got on with it."
Removing the old rudder post was hard work. "We are sitting there banging on hammers, jumping up and down and the thing won't move," Casey explains. "We couldn't apply enough pressure. Then Shannon (Falcone) has this idea."
They dismantled one of their anchors, placing the shaft on the top of the rudder post, and used a complex network or winches and ropes to apply the downward pressure necessary to force out the post. "We had the post tied to a line so we could salvage it and test it to see what went wrong," Casey adds.
Then came the clutch moment. Before the race started Casey volunteered to be one of the crew's two designated "swimmers on watch", meaning in this case that it would be his responsibility to go over the side and insert the spare rudder with the precision timing needed to avoid severe damage to the boat. He put on his survival suit as the keel canted fully to lift the affected side of the boat out of the water.
"It was a bit of a worry," he says. "It was 30 knots and quite big seas. If you got the rudder only slightly in and then the boat crashes down off a wave you are going to do worse damage; you'll risk tearing a hole in the bottom of the boat or hurting somebody.
"I'm going over the side, thinking 'don't go under the boat', just get the thing in quickly'."
All the while Salthouse was thinking "this will either win us the seamanship award or the stupidity award".
Casey continues: "With boat lurching up as it was you are going to get one shot. As soon as you line that thing up to pull it in, it has to go in. Not easy."
It wasn't. Television footage of the manoeuvre shows him dunked into the cold water numerous times and at one point he appears to slip under the boat as it comes down onto a rising wave. He laughs. "All good fun.
"It's what I love about this race. One minute you can be on cloud nine and loving life, sailing along in first, and the next you have a broken rudder, you are going over the side with a spare. The extremes you go through are pretty cool."
Casey Smith up the mast, onboard PUMA Ocean Racing, on leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. Image copyright Rick Deppe/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race.
The mission was a success and two hours, 17 minutes after breaking their rudder they were racing again. Their lead had gone, replaced by a 26-mile deficit in fifth. But they fought on and ultimately came second, prompting Read to fire off an email to the race committee.
"The only nudging he needed from me was to change from his foul weather gear into a survival suit for the inevitable dunking while hanging over the side and helping slip the rudder stock into the bearings," it read. "No fear, no hesitation - his help putting this system in place and implementing the replacement saved our race and got us safely home at the same time."
Needless to say, Casey is Read's nomination for the seamanship award.
Volvo Ocean Race
at 08:30
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Excel Power Ltd has recently started a Linkedin company page and would like to increase our company profile on it.
Please have a look and 'follow' us on Linkedin here: -
Let us know what you think.
Excel Power Ltd - Generator set manufacturer with a head office in Southampton, Hampshire. All generators are proudly made and supported in the UK.


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2018 - 2019 Annual Appeal
a note from our Artistic Director:
In February 2019, 60 Grit Theatre Company will produce an original devised piece, intersecting recovery and performance. Incorporating live elements of visual and performance art, this original piece promises to be a powerful and intoxicating exploration of addiction and reality – the brutal struggle to get and stay sober in a world that often feels to awful to move through without a buffer.
We are thrilled to be partnering with Milestone Recovery for this production, an organization serving thousands of men and woman facing addiction and homelessness in Southern Maine. 100% of profits made from this production will be donated to Milestone to continue their mission to "provide the best quality services to empower individuals with substance use and behavioral health disorders to attain stability, dignity, recovery, and an enhanced quality of life" right here in Portland, Maine. By becoming a financial sponsor of this project, you are directly helping to sustain and expand vital recovery programs within our community while supporting performance that is bold, innovative, and fearless.
We truly appreciate your time and consideration in becoming a sponsor of 60 Grit Theatre Company's production of People, Places, & Things. By partnering with us you will insure we are able to continue to select only the most daring stories and to champion fearless storytelling as we move into the future. Please find our production cost breakdown, in addition to our sponsorship opportunities and contact information, on the following page. Thank you and we look forward to collaborating with you!
Lindsey Higgins, Artistic Director
60 Grit Theatre Company
Checks can be mailed to :
60 Grit Theatre Company
30 Memory Lane
South Portland, Maine
Grey Level Sponsor/Advertiser: $100 - $250
Platinum Level Sponsor/Advertiser: $251 - $500
·Bronze Level Sponsor/Advertiser: $501 - $1,000.
·Silver Level Sponsor/Advertiser: Executive Producer $1,001 - $2,500
Gold Producing Sponsor: (Producer) $2,501 – $5,000
2018 - 2019 Annual Appeal


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The Achievement Dilemma
In a 2010 TED talk, game designer Jane McGonigal remarks that "We are optimized as human beings to do hard, meaningful work."I repeat: humans are optimized for hard, meaningful work.In fact, McGonigal points out that gamers are very likely committed so deeply to gaming because they experience a sense of "blissful productivity," that they find a real sense of achievement when they "level up," (that is, to advance to the next level in the game). The interplanetary enormity of the experience is imbued with "epic meaning." She goes on: "…gamers are willing to work hard all the time, if they're given the right work."Ultimately, McGonigal wants to harness the particular problem-solving expertise developed by the modern gamer to solve the broad social problems of the real world. Fine. In fact, great. It's certainly an interesting idea to toy with.But I think we should point something out: committing 22 hours a week to video gaming (the average number of hours a World of Warcraft gamer plays) is likely made a heck of a lot easier because modern American culture has become so devoid of opportunity for and acknowledgement of real achievement and meaningful accomplishment. We're obsessed with celebs. Our United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors are usually movie stars because they're the only people anybody recognizes anymore.Frankly, it's not just gamers who are "willing to work hard all the time [for]… the right work;" it's an inherent human attribute. Gamers have simply found an outlet.We're all wired to thrive on kicking ass, but our culture doesn't fuel it.Economist Thomas Sowell is (in)famous for taking on the issue of culture and its implications in achievement gaps—both racial and regional—in the US. Let it be noted that Thomas Sowell is pretty polarizing, and that's contextually understandable: he criticizes some core identifiers and cultural traditions of specific people groups and claims they don't lead to societal success. As in, it's their own fault.Now, if it were traditional in some isolated culture to chop off everyone's right hand, it probably wouldn't be as alarming if there were some economist arguing to teach these people to leave their hands attached, for pete's sake. But once you start getting down to brass tacks and talking about philosophy, ethics, education, and personal responsibility and their influences on individual cultures, it gets ugly. People get defensive. They stop thinking.But let's do it anyway.Let's turn the cultural unfitness lens on the aggregate. Let's turn it on ourselves.To achieve something is really just to accomplish it, whether or not it requires real effort. For example, a student may achieve straight A's with nominal mental effort. It's possible to "achieve" things that come easily. However, the Achievement that humans are hungry for is the fruit of concerted effort, courage, heroism, or strength.It used to come in obvious forms: killing dinner. Finding fresh water. Surviving battle. None of that was ever guaranteed.But now?For the average American, it's pretty easy. Ignoring the implications of the financial crisis and its effect on your personal buying power this week, suffice it to say that you know there's chicken breast waiting for you under plastic wrap down the street. Fresh water is on tap. The biggest battle you may fight before next Tuesday is with your Homeowners Association or the copy machine at work.To counteract all this predictability and safety, we've come up with pseudo achievement. In fact, the media has come up with pseudo achievement that both distracts us and causes us to spend money.While there are more examples of this than makes sense to list on a blog, let's zero in on at least one.We live in a culture where you can earn a badge for checking in on Foursquare at a restaurant recommended by a host on the Bravo network. You're getting a badge for being a consumer. You can be the mayor of your local Starbucks.Now look, Foursquare can be hilarious. Mayor Elizabeth has a nice ring to it. Roommates set up their apartments as Foursquare locations and strive to retain mayorship of it. It's funny.But we shouldn't let Foursquare slide without at least noticing it.We live in a culture that doesn't promote achievement outside the sports arena. It doesn't promote creativity. It doesn't promote quality. We're so hungry to achieve something that we'll compete for badges that sometimes take nothing but showing up to earn.
I think we may be becoming very confused.When they "level up," video gamers are presented with challenges the game knows are likely just within their reach. Every new level can be beat. That's the safety of a manufactured reality—with it comes a level of confidence that is unwarranted in the real world. The video game says "you can do this!" …and you can. The real world cheers you on: you can do this! And perhaps you can. And you might fail.But if you do achieve, it's an experience of true "epic meaning."At this point, my only objective is to raise conscientiousness—I just want us all to begin thinking about what this means, being "optimized as human beings to do hard, meaningful work." …And then start wondering if we really are.


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If you are looking for a slightly different take on roasted potatoes, you might want to give this version a try. It differs from its more classic cousins in that the cooked potatoes are lightly smashed before being roasted. Younger members of our family refer to these as smooshed potatoes and that is a pretty apt name for them. It certainly is the only thing that sets them apart from other roast potatoes. The potatoes are smooshed to create a greater surface area for browning while they're in the oven. Having said that, I'm pretty much at a loss for words, other than to tell you that kids love to make these and they actually eat them. Because there is so little to the potatoes, I use my best olive oil for their roasting and finish them with fleur de sel - French sea salt. The one tip I want to share with you concerns the precooking of the potatoes. In order to avoid over cooking or water logged potatoes, I use my microwave to cook them. I place them in a single layer in a large microwave container to which 3 or 4 tablespoons of water has been added. I cover the dish and microwave the potatoes for 10 minutes at which point they are fork tender and ready to be smooshed for roasting. Recipes rarely get easier than this. Here's how the potatoes are made.
1-1/2 to 2 pounds unpeeled small Yukon Gold potatoes
olive oil
coarse salt
4 large unpeeled garlic cloves
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Pour 4 cups of water into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Add potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt and cook at a medium boil for 10 to 12 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. Do not over cook. Alternatively, potatoes may be placed in a large microwave container to which 3 tablespoons of water have been added, and, cooked, covered, for 9 to 10 minutes on HIGH power until potatoes can be pierced with a fork.
3) When the potatoes are cooked, rinse them under cold running water to stop cooking. Place the potatoes on a work surface and, using your fist, punch them so that they flatten a bit. I protect my hand with a thin pot holder.
4) Place potatoes and the garlic cloves on a baking pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle each potato with olive oil. Transfer pan to oven and roast for 15 minutes. Turn potatoes to opposite side, drizzle with more olive oil and bake for 15 minutes longer. Transfer potatoes to a large serving dish. Peel and mash garlic cloves and add to potatoes. Mix well. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
Two Years Ago Today: Thai Cucumber Relish - Ah Jaht
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes - Girli Chef
Hasselback Potatoes - Home Cooking Rocks
Potatoes Au Gratin - Daily Chef
Buttery New Potatoes with Parsley - Drick's Rambling Cafe
Recipe: Potato Latkes - Christie's Cornor
Best Ever Potato Salad - Brown Eyed Baker
Chive and Onion Mashed Potatoes - Real Mom Kitchen
Roasted Radish and Potato Salad - Noble Pig
Cajun Fried Potato Cake - The Flourishing Foodie
Fried Smashed Potatoes with Lemon and Garlic - La Bella Vita


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Contributor Page
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The light independent reactions of photosynthesis, known as the dark reactions, use ATP and NADPH generated during the light reactions to synthesize sugar precursors. In the most common scenario, called the Calvin Cycle, carbon dioxide is incorporated into a stable three-carbon compound called phosphoglycerate (PGAL), which serves as the precursor of glucose and other sugars. Six turns of the Calvin Cycle generate the equivalent of one glucose molecule.
Biologists divide plants into three categories called C3, C4 and CAM, based on the mechanism and location of the dark reactions of photosynthesis. Most plants are designated C3, meaning the first stable compound they generate in the dark reactions is PGAL. This pathway is optimal for plants living in mild environments with abundant moisture and carbon dioxide. Examples of C3 plants include wheat, rice, oats and tomatoes.
In contrast, C4 plants tend to inhabit hotter, drier environments. Examples include corn, sugarcane and sorghum. In order to minimize water loss, C4 plants have a specialized structure called Kranz anatomy, in which photosynthesis takes place in cells arranged as a wreath or bundle sheath layer. C4 plants combine carbon dioxide with phosphoenolpyruvate to form OAA (oxaloacetate). OAA is converted to malate, which diffuses into the bundle sheath cells and releases carbon dioxide, which promptly enters the Calvin Cycle. By concentrating carbon dioxide in the innermost cell layer of the plant, less water is lost due to transpiration.
Finally, certain desert plants such as cacti and agave have developed a form of photosynthesis called CAM, which stands for Crassulacean Acid Metabolism. These plants must conserve water even more efficiently than C4 plants. Rather than keep their stomata (pore cells) open during the day like C3 and C4 plants, CAM plants keep them open at night in order to accumulate carbon dioxide, which they store as malate or aspartate in an intracellular vacuole. During the day, the plant taps these carbon dioxide reserves, channeling CO2 into the Calvin Cycle without losing any water to the environment. This explains why the chloroplasts of cacti are found in the body of the plant rather than in leaves. The CAM cycle also accounts for the ability of xerophytes (desert plants) to survive for months or years without rain.


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To install and operate Riverbed Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector, you'll need:
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|Windows 7, 8, 10 or Max OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or 10.11 (El Capitan)
|Wi-Fi Adapter
|Built-in or external Wi-Fi adapter
|Flash Player
|Adobe Flash Player for running Speed Test. If you do not have the Flash Player installed, download it here http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
|Microsoft .NET Framework
|Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or later (only for Windows). To check if it is installed go to Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs and look for Microsoft .NET Framework.
Request a demo/free trial, contact us for more info, or find out how to buy. We're here to help you get ahead.


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So now without any further ado, a picture says a thousand words!
Many people ask about the fit on a newborn. Evie was about 7 lbs even in this picture and 5 days old. Her diaper is stuffed with a 3 ply bamboo insert trifolded. That disposable diaper lurking in the corner was the last one she ever wore!
Here she is at 1 month old. Notice we have moved out one hip snap but have retained the same waist snap as it moves further down the belly.
At 4 months old, she is chunking up a bit and we have moved the leg and waist snaps out.
This picture was taken when she was 6 months old. This was in fact the last day we used a sz 1 on her for awhile. She had entered that tricky thunder thigh category where we ran out of hip snaps!
One month later here she is using extenders to get an optimal fit. Her legs were too round for the hip snaps of a sz 1, but sz 2 would have been too big on the rise and the waist...
…like so. Here she is at 8 months old in a sz 2 for the first time. It was too "big" on her, but was in fact effective, leakproof and functional. However as you can see, she was just starting to get around and her thighs were beginning to thin out
By the time she was 1 year old, the size 1s were the best fit on her again.
We could also use sz 2s, but remember to pull those wings waaaaaaay up!
At 18 months she was holding steady in sz limbo. Both sz 1 and sz 2 provided a good reliable fit.
Now finally at 21 months and about 23 lbs, we have finally said good bye to our sz 1 diapers and are in sz 2s full time.
Obviously Evie is a pretty slim child, and your child will most likely not follow the same pattern. I hope this gives you a good reference for the way AppleCheeks diapers can be tweaked to fit any child at any stage of their development. Please feel free to ask me or even AppleCheeks headquarters if you have ANY fit issues as everyone is always super willing to help out another Mama.
-By Erin Smith


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The investment objective of the Phillip US Dollar Money Market Fund is to provide liquidity and manage risk while looking to provide a return which is comparable to that of USD short-term deposits. This Sub-Fund will invest in high quality short-term money market instruments and debt securities. Some of the investments may include government and corporate bonds, commercial bills and deposits with financial institutions.
The Managers may also invest the deposited property of the Sub-Fund into a maximum of 3 money market funds which are authorised or recognised by the Authority, including money market funds managed by the Managers during such time or times and on such terms as the Managers think fit in accordance with the investment objective and focus of the Sub-Fund. Up to 10% of the net asset value of the Sub-Fund may be invested into each money market fund.
The management fees charged by the money market funds managed by the Managers will be rebated to the Sub-Fund, as may be agreed between the Managers and the Trustee. The Managers may only use financial derivative instruments ("FDIs") for such purposes as may be permitted under the Code on Collective Investment Schemes and subject to compliance with the limits and/or restrictions (if any) applicable to Excluded Investment Products.


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Here is my story about me staying focused. I couldn't! When I first started my business, I was working out of my house. There were so many distractions – actually I made them distractions. Even though I hate cleaning the house, I would find an excuse that I HAD to do the dishes, or a load of laundry.
Or I would get lost in my emails, on Facebook – whatever it was that made me not get my work done. I really thought there was something wrong with me. And then at the end of the day, I would be mad at myself for not getting done what I was supposed to get done that day.
So I really started to look online (yes, I have always been good at research) to find out if I was the only one like this. Turns out – there are a helluva lot of people who were in the same freakin' place I was!
So – here is the thing. Apparently, our 'subconscious" mind is killing us! I didn't want to believe this at first, but after reading a lot of material about it – it really is true that from the time that we are born, to the time we are about 6 or 7 years old, whatever we hear is accepted into our subconscious mind as the truth. Until we are able (about 8 years old) to really decipher what is true or not, our brains really can't filter the bad crap from the good stuff.
I have a really hard time remembering my young childhood, even though I can tell you that I think it was pretty normal. I asked my sister who is a little older than me and she doesn't remember anything really drastic happening that would make me this way.
So I really couldn't figure out why I was always self-sabotaging myself (as soon as I was on the brink of something big – I would back up) or why I couldn't focus on the task at hand.
One of the good things that came out of my childhood "subconscious" memories is that I do remember that my Dad said to me a lot is "if you don't like doing this anymore, you can quit". I was a baton twirler at the age of 3 and in one year at 4 years old – I was the "Grand National champion" of my age group. This sounds pretty cool – but just know that there were only 3 other competitors in the whole country – so not really that cool. But at the age of 9, a girl came on the twirling scene that was so much better than me – she could twirl 2 and 3 batons at a time. She was winning all the competitions and I was being left in the dust. My Dad kept saying that I could quit twirling because I wasn't winning anymore. What the hell!
Well I think this made me the fighter that I am. I have failed at some points in my life – and I have never given up when it came to finding my happiness, whether it be business or pleasure!
So not being a quitter, I was determined to "fix" myself. And in that search, I found Dr. Stephen G. Jones. He is a Clinical Hypnotherapist with everything I needed. And he has a package deal that I bought and studied and made myself better than ever!
I started meditating, which was really hard for me to do at first. I could not shut my brain off. What I found out one day when I was out on the motorcycle, was that if I hummed, I couldn't think. Try it – you can't do both things at the same time. You hum, your brain is quiet! It's really true. So when I meditate, I hum the entire time so I can quiet my brain.
I also now go to sleep with earphones listening to subliminal messages and when I wake up I listen to guided meditations that really start my day off in the right direction. I also listen to this guy DavidJ who guides you through "opening your third eye" and making sure that all your chakra points are aligned. I have Amazon Music on my phone so I can get pretty much anything out there. Click on the banner to get a Free Trial if you don't have Amazon Prime yet.
This is what Dr. Jones' package includes:
Beyond Consciousness: 8 Subconscious Techniques to Change Your Life is my newest program that combines the power of hypnosis, lucid dreaming, meditation, astral projection, astral sex, the Third Eye and even the Akashic Records to bring peace, clarity, balance and happiness back into any person's life.
To put it simply, if you are experiencing any kind of stress, negativity or imbalance right now, you can use this program to eliminate these negativities from your life so you can be happier and more satisfied with life.
If your problems have been weighing you down, it's time to throw away those heavy boulders that you have been carrying and fly to the heights of the Akashic Records and astral realms. Today marks the beginning of your new life! Embrace it and enjoy it… You have waited for this moment for a long time!
This is an 8-Part audio training, available for immediate download as mp3 audio files, and a pdf transcript of all 8 modules.
If you are not ready to spend any money, you can click here to go to Dr. Jones's website and pull some FREE material from Dr. Jones for you to look at.
But if you are anxious to get out of the proverbial "rut" – CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THE PACKAGE!


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06 Aug
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NGC 6820/3, Emission Nebula/Open Cluster
About this image
This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the KPNO 0.9m-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. NGC 6820 is a diffuse emission nebula that surrounds the open cluster of stars NGC 6823 (at the center of the image). The intense light from the hot, massive stars in the cluster is blowing away the gas in the nebula, causing the distinctive "pillar" shapes on the left side of the image. The image was generated with observations in Hydrogen alpha (red), Oxygen [OIII] (green) and Sulfur [SII] (blue) filters. In this image, North is up, East is to the left.
More: nebulae page, emission nebulae page, stars page, open clusters page.
Minimum credit line: Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage)
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Book review
|Amazon USA Amazon UK
Review by Suze
Harmony Harbor used to be Sophie's hometown. She left when she was eighteen years old hiding a big secret from the people she used to spend time with. When she and her daughter Mia become homeless after a fire she decides it's time to return to her family. Sophie takes a risk because people will want to know what happened all those years ago and she can't avoid their questions. There's one man she especially doesn't want to tell, her childhood crush Liam.
Liam is a few years older than Sophie and when she started to become a woman he knew he loved her straight away. He never had the chance to ask her to be his and he still regrets that. He's surprised to see Sophie after so many years of absence. While Sophie is running his family's hotel he can spend some more time with her and knows his feelings are still the same. However, what made Sophie leave town might come between them. Will they have a chance to be happy together or are they too late?
Sophie is a kindhearted woman. She has been through a lot and she needs a break. Her little girl Mia is traumatized and she needs time and extra love and attention to recover. They are a strong team, which is something I really liked about Mistletoe Cottage. Liam is a good man. He's caring, he's generous and he's altruistic. I immediately loved his connection with Sophie. What they have is rare and beautiful and I adored Debbie Mason's endearing descriptions of their bond.
Mistletoe Cottage is an enchanting story and I fell in love with the story straight away. Reading about the locations was fantastic. The hotel might need a bit of fixing up, but it's a magical place and the same goes for the cottage. Debbie Mason writes about her settings in a wonderful vivid way and she makes everything come to life incredibly well. Harmony Harbor is a great town with interesting inhabitants and I enjoyed reading about all of them.
Mistletoe Cottage is a sweet and romantic story. It has that amazing Christmas spirit. There is a lot of heartbreak, but the festive winter atmosphere makes everything better. It's exactly what I think a good Christmas book should be like. I like that extra spark, the togetherness of people who love each other and the spellbinding effect of wishes that might come true. This first Harmony Harbor book is really special, it's heartwarming and endearing and it brings an abundance of joy and big smiles.
Buy Links
Amazon | B&N | Google | iTunes | Kobo
About Debbie Mason
Debbie Mason is the bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series and Harmony Harbor series. Her books have been praised for their "likable characters, clever dialogue and juicy plots" (RT Book Reviews). She also writes historical paranormals as Debbie Mazzuca. Her MacLeod series has received several nominations for best paranormal as well as a Holt Medallion Award of Merit. When she isn't writing or reading, Debbie enjoys spending time with her very own real-life hero, their three wonderful children, two adorable grandbabies, and a yappy Yorkie named Bella.
Find out more at
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Liam smiled when Sophie cursed out her brother in Italian. "Problem?" he asked once she returned her phone to her pocket.
"I told Marco Mia can watch Casper the Ghost, and what does he put on? Halloween Five. She's . . . six, and he's got her watching horror movies. If that doesn't give her nightmares, the pop, candy apples, and popcorn will. He's thirty-one going on fifteen."
Liam struggled to hold back a laugh. His best friend was an idiot, but he had his back. "Most guys are. Betcha he ends up being Mia's favorite babysitter."
"No, that would be you. I think you're the reason she put up such a fuss about coming tonight."
He liked the kid . . . a lot, and he liked kissing her mother a lot, too. But he and Sophie had a complicated past. And gorgeous single moms with adorable daughters were not in his wheelhouse. The rules in his playbook might not be as old as the ones in Jasper's handbook, but they were as non-negotiable. A relationship with Sophie would be the polar opposite of keeping it easy and simple. There was nothing simple or easy about Sophie DiRossi.
"Liam, did I say something wrong?"
"No . . ." He rubbed his jaw. "Soph, about the kiss—"
"You don't have to say anything. I was upset, and so were you. It was a mistake. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. You know, I should probably get going. Rosa—"
He grabbed her hand before she took off. "Wait. You have nothing to apologize for. I just don't think a relationship right now is a good idea for either of us."
She frowned. "A relationship? How did we go from a kiss to a relationship?"
He didn't have a clue. "That's not what I meant to say. Okay, so maybe I thought seeing that you're a single mother, you wouldn't be looking for just a good time. You're not, are you?"
"I'm a healthy twenty-six-year-old who hasn't had sex in six years. So what do you think?"
He wasn't thinking. He couldn't. Every ounce of blood from his head had gone south.
Enter for a chance to win a book bundle of the Christmas, Colorado series or one of two $25 Amazon gift card by Debbie Mason. Good Luck!
|Tour schedule


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Today after nearly two months in the rolling Portuguese mountains, we left Da Manta. As we drove away The Waterboys' "Too Close to Heaven" created a melodramatic soundtrack pushing us tears. On the journey to Porto nostalgic conversations became reminders of how much we acquired while working here. Menno has been an incredible mentor in the kitchen, and the skills and knowledge he has passed along to us will not soon be lost.
At the moment, leaving this home and family is the closest thing to a breakup we could experience, and it's agreed that what we're feeling is suitably described as heartache. As is taught with any breakup it is important to look through the initial pain to appreciate the growth experienced and what you gained through the relationship, which for us, was a lot. Working with new ingredients, techniques, recipes, and mass quantities has improved numerous aspects of our cooking and exponentially broadened our recipe reserve. The copious amounts of fresh garden lettuce, new cherries ripening daily, and a herb garden just steps from the kitchen door will be missed, but we have never been more inspired to get our own seeds sprouting. We are blessed to have been unconditionally encouraged to keep our dreams bigger than our reality and to pursue them wholely.
Moving on during a breakup is hard, but a key part of the proccess lies in the rebound, in this case, a new adventure, so here's hoping the remedy is found in our next stop, Ireland!
In dedication to our stay at Da Manta this recipe is one of our favorite Menno creations. Its a simple sauce that he originally made to accompany meats as a chimichurri, and is now a staple at the weekly pizza nights used either mixed with tomato sauce or on its own as a spicy green topper. For us saucey gals its absolutely appropriate to put on... Everything.
- one parsley bunch
- one coriander bunch
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 TBSP dried oregano
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 hot chilis, deseeded
- 2 lemons zest and juice
- 2 cups olive oil
- sing a mortar and pestle, or alternatively a garlic press, combine garlic and chilis until a paste is formed. Combine with olive oil and lemon.
- Finely chop parsley, coriander, and bay leaves and add to oil mixture. Enjoy!
Note: We tried this sauce with lime replacing the lemon- also great!
Fat is necessary. Olive oil can be a good choice of fat when used in moderation; extra virgin olive oil contains compounds known as phytonutrients which work to reduce inflammation in the body.
Along with this health quality, olive oil provides a myriad of other benefits including reductions in cholesterol levels due to its high monounsaturated fat content. Studies have shown when participants switched up their fat intakes to increase monounsaturated fat- they had reductions in total blood cholesterol while their good HDL cholesterol- a an essential component necessary for cell structure- remained regular.
Extra Virgin is considered to be the highest quality olive oil due to being less processed and refined- therefore maintaining its flavour, rich consistency, and health benefits.
It has long been thought that olive oil is a healthy fat source which should be regularly consumed- just look at the Mediterranean diet!
The Mediterranean diet, formulated on traditional and unprocessed foods recommends liberal daily consumption of olive oil. Mediterranean citizens following this diet have some of the longest life expectancy and lowest heart disease rates in the world- often attributed to olive oil.


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I am in the process of purchasing a house that currently has a inground pool. I have had a number of pools growing up and all of them had liners (I live in Mass.) I believe the pool is Gunite, but may be some other type of concrete. I am having a pool specialist come out to look at the pool to let me know which type it is exactly.
My question is, if the pool is structurally damaged ie cracks and so forth, what are my options in terms of repair and what is the typical cost(It is a standard 8 ft deep pool and is roughly 16 by 25-30). I have read a number of places of fiberglass and even some places talking liners, but I figured I would check to see what others have done and what is economical.
Also, There are very little if any cracks in the pool, is there anyway to use a plaster material and resurface in pool and then re-paint?
Exsisting Pool Repair.. What are my best options??
Construction or upgrading of new or existing
swimming pools. Pool building materials and
miscellaneous construction techniques.
swimming pools. Pool building materials and
miscellaneous construction techniques.
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- Location: Maryland
If you have a gunite pool then chances are the gunite is surfaced with plaster. If the cracks are very small then chances are the cracks are in the plaster, not the gunite. Your pool professional will let you know but if you are told it is structural damage then I would get a second opinion. Plaster cracks are easy and inexpensive to fix. Usually the most expensive step is refilling the pool.
pool re suface
I'm having mine done over the next couple of weeks. Its been chipped out and now im doing plumbing and concrete deck then we put in ultra poz plaster/quartz finish. I have a 15x24 pool 3/5/3 deep. Cost for chip out and new finish is about $3000.00. Shop around and check Register of contractors site on there license. Lot of them had open or complaints. Some said they had been in business for 20 years but there issue date was 2006. Tells me they had a complaint then started up under a new license. They told me if the sell was cracked you would see hugh cracks in the plaster. They said very few pools do they ever see this the shell is so strong with rebar they have seen hugh voids under the pool where pipes leaked and the shell was still holding everything up.
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Jesus Is Lord_by_LynettesPhotoArt
This is such an important one. These are perilous times for souls. Our society has decided it's superior, some how more intelligent, to "embrace" all religions as equal. Surely we should love and respect all people. But for religions to be equal they would all have to be true. Believing a lie with all your heart does not make it come true.
Truth is the anchor of all life. Truth is not open to opinion nor does it "change with the times". Something is either true or it isn't. There is positively no value in devoutly believing something that is not so and no kindness in letting another believe a lie that will doom them for eternity and not telling them the way to salvation. I can believe I am a man all day with all my heart, but come nightfall, I will surely still be a woman.
That doesn't mean that a person of a different faith is bad or is any less important or not loved by God. It does mean he is deceived by the enemy of our souls and is believing a lie and for us to pretend it is equal to the truth is for all of us to live the childhood story of The Emperor's New Clothes. Everyone pretended to see clothes because the King thought He was wearing fine new clothes, but in truth, he was naked. His belief that he was finely clothed did not alter the fact that he was naked.
Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else: for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Jesus Christ.
We have been told it's "unloving" to believe another's religious beliefs are wrong and "hateful" to say something that could save his eternal soul. I propose that it is the ultimate in "unloving" to know there is but one true and living God and He in His right to dictate any terms He wishes for obtaining the gift of eternal life from Him, has declared once for all ages that no one comes to the Father but by Jesus the Christ. John 14:6 "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me."
So, in love for every soul that may visit here, I will dare to tell you the truth, because all of our eternal souls depend on us believing and obeying the truth and not a lie.
I made this button using Annie Manning of PaintTheMoon's PTM Naturally kit. It's one of my very favorites. You should check out her store.
If you download, leave me some love and God bless your use of it!
Visit my store here.
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The password is jesuschristislord.


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Repair and overhaul of electrical explosion-protected equipment
Click a tab to view specific information about this listing...
- COMPLIANCEgate
The NSW Coal Mine Health and Safety Regulation 2006 requires mines to have explosion-protected electrical plant overhauled and repaired at licensed facilities. The regulation states:
19 Electrical engineering management plan
(1) The electrical engineering management plan for a coal operation must make provision for the following:
(e) the overhaul and repair of electrical plant and installations, including the following:
(i) the overhaul and repair of explosion-protected plant (being work that may alter the explosion-protected properties of the plant) being carried out only by a person licensed to carry out that work
Department of Industry and Investment New South Wales
Click here to view details and other documents from Department of Industry and Investment New South Wales.
Relates to New South Wales (NSW)
Click here to view other documents within the coverage area.


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Whetstone will be attending the Ed-Fi Summit from Wednesday, Oct. 12 to Friday, Oct. 14 in Austin, TX. As a licensee of Ed-Fi Technology, Whetstone supports the push to "empower educators with the information they need to make better choices for their students." The Ed-Fi summit is a gathering of companies, organizations, and state and district leaders with an interest in making it easier to share data to give school leaders a complete picture of performance. Organizations that license the Ed-Fi technology can also integrate their data with the Ed-Fi dashboard which helps schools see all their data in one place.
If you are attending the Ed-Fi summit and would like to schedule a meeting with our CEO, please email firstname.lastname@example.com


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This week has been one of those really busy weeks. Like really busy. So busy that for a second we forgot that tomorrow, April 1 marks four years since Jesse and Dustin joined forces to really start BuildingConnected.
Lillian is napping right now so I thought I would take a few minutes to share my thoughts on what is has been like being the wife and partner to a co-founder in a San Francisco-based tech company, as well as share some highlights.
Jesse is the hardest working person I have ever met and this post isn't meant to brag about him but to share how proud I am of him. In addition to being so hard working he is also the most modest and down to earth person ever.
We always laugh about that one time I came home to our apartment in April of 2013 to see Jesse and Dustin sitting in our living room with a small whiteboard with just an outline of the United States. Impulsive is the one thing Jesse definitely is not but when I came home and saw these two guys in their mid-twenties and saw their plan of taking over the United States I thought for a second maybe Jesse shouldn't have left his full-time job quite yet. Ha! Just kidding, sort of.
In all seriousness, since April 1, 2013, Jesse and Dustin have worked so hard together to bring their vision to life. From their hilarious, I mean humble, beginning of just the two of them in our living room to two weeks later with initial investments of $250,000 to present day with a team just shy of 40 in three offices across the country in San Francisco, New York, and Cincinnati, it is incredible to see what these two have done!
A lot of people ask me if Jesse works a lot and if I am okay with that as his wife with a toddler. The answer is of course, yes. But what people might not know is a couple of things. Jesse is hard wired and actually his happiest (except for being in Sonoma with us girls) when he is working. When we were 23 and first dating he would work on the weekends. It actually really surprised me and was something I always respected. I grew up with my dad in real estate working weekends, especially Sundays so I guess I was unconsciously accustomed to it.
I'll never forget the time I told him I wanted to start a company and he said, "wonderful, now let's sit down and write the mission statement" and we pulled out a FiveStar notebook and started writing down our ideas. Pretty sure we both knew we were going to be partners for life after that moment.
While most couples in their early twenties spend time day drinking and playing frisbee, the two of us bonded over playing sports and talking about work. We often missed out on activities with friends because Jesse had a deadline for a side project he was working on or I had a class to attend. So while Jesse does work a lot it wasn't like he started BuildingConnected and then doubled his working time. Instead, he stopped taking on side projects and focused 100% with Dustin on building their company and product.
I don't really remember the conversation when Jesse told me he was going to leave his full time job to join Dustin but I always knew there was going to be a day when he would start his own thing. It was just a matter of time and I am so happy for him and for Dustin that the two of them got together (thanks to their time at Davis and their friend Chris who rekindled their connection).
As you can imagine in the beginning no one really knew what Jesse was working on and it has been incredible and extremely rewarding to see their users grow and to speak with people in the commercial construction industry who use and love their product.
A lot of people ask me, so what is BuildingConnected? What do they do? To put it simply, BuildingConnected is software for the commercial construction industry. They facilitate the processes involved with pre-construction. So when you're driving around and you see large commercial construction projects being built, most of the bidding and communication has been done through BuildingConnected's platform. They have a lot more great features rolling out soon and it's really going to help the entire commercial construction industry.
It's hard to say what I am most proud of Jesse for during these past four years. He has worked tirelessly with Dustin through stressful rounds of fundraising, built an incredible team of the most hardworking engineers, designers, and product managers (who are also really awesome people), and one of the best looking and working products in software across any industry. He's also been the most incredible father to Lillian and seeing their bond grow has been so special.
Actually, what I am most proud of Jesse is the fact he gets up every single morning when it's still dark out. Even if he is absolutely exhausted he gets up. I can't get over his discipline sometimes!!!
Some of my most favorite time spent with Jesse is the time we spend talking about his company during our walks with Lillian or long car rides to Sonoma. I never get tired of what chatting with him and I love learning from him about their technology stack, their goals, upcoming features, big accounts their sales reps landed, and their plans.
It is with a genuine heart that I can say BuildingConnected has enriched Jesse's life and mine and Lillian's. The things we have learned, opportunities we have had, people we have met, and bond the two of us have formed in being each other's support has made life better. We have been able to have heartfelt, serious and deep conversations about success and more and I am so grateful.
More notably it's made our everyday life better. I always tell people the key to a happy life is to love your everyday life. It's not about the stuff, or the travels, or the Instagramable stuff-- it's about loving your day in and day out with your work and people in your life. I've learned this first-hand from my parents who showed us the joy in being a family, building a community, and celebrating the everyday moments.
I never wish Jesse worked less because he is so happy and fulfilled. He has the lucky circumstance to build something that can really make a difference. Every night when Jesse comes home I can't wait to hear about his day and talk through everything. I cannot express my gratitude to Dustin for choosing Jesse to walk down this path together. Life has become better since BuildingConnected and I cannot wait to see what the next year brings for the BuildingConnected family!
Lillian just woke up from her really late nap but I hope she looks at these posts one day and reads how much fun these early days have been!!!


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Gaslamp Killer
Upon seeing the Gaslamp Killer for the second time I decided it was time I begin using his pet name. I saw him flutter from the bar to backstage, shouting to my friend over the noise, "There goes the GLK, probably drinking maté and champagne again". The GLK fits this artist nicely. The acronym refers to a man with a wicked record collection and copious amounts of hair, or wicked hair and copious amounts of records - whichever way you spin it. The acronym is reminiscent of The BFG (Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant). Body types aside, the GLK is also a sort of BFG. The BFG was known for his giant ears and subsequent great hearing, as well as his vocation, dispensing good dreams to kids. Might we say the same about the GLK? If you ask me, his sets are full of wondrous dreams made reality, and as for the kids part, I for one don't ever plan on growing up. Dancing keeps you young, right?
The Gaslamp Killer, both a DJ and producer is originally from the bay area. William, the GLK, gets his name from a club called The Gaslamp, which he used to frequent. He is a founder and resident of Low End Theory, a weekly music showcase at The Airliner in Los Angeles. He was recently in an iPad commercial, because he often uses the iPad in his sets. Turntablism seems to be the base of his sonic dishes, but he uses the iPad like seasoning. Just this year he also began performing as The GLK experience, a full band. Needless to say he's a busy man, but he always makes time for us Coloradans on his tours.
As the show began, I danced to his vibes, perfectly curated for the dark and stormy May evening in Boulder. I also listened intently. A couple songs in, with a Darth Vader-like voice mod he says, "Gaslamp Killer mother fuckers", capped by an ominous laugh. The mood is set. The GLK shouts out who he is playing often, and I don't take this act lightly. It's a uniquely engaging experience to learn about new music live, from someone who believes in it enough to play it. The expression seem to be as much for the audience sake as for the artists that he wants to put on at every chance he gets.
On this particular evening he sampled artists like...
Tame Impala
Anderson Paak
Great Dane x Promnite
LTGL (living the good life)
Kendrick Lamar
some Japanese footwork
Run the Jewels
It was a magical music buffet fit for a bass and beat-loving princess like me. With the GLK, however, it's not all turn-up and booty shaking. He tends to utilize the stage as a social platform, encouraging cultural awareness, a key ingredient to art appreciation. Somewhere near the middle of his set he bluntly said, "The law enforcement in this country have gone out of their minds". For a moment he shatters illusions. I cheer like a dumb idiot, meaning to cheer his honesty, not the atrocious fact. He doesn't miss a beat however, and I continue to dance, sweat, think and feel feelings.
At some point I lose count of which encore we are on, but at long last when he sparks up a joint on stage, we all simultaneously realize how much work he just put in. The Fox and its employees let him billow in smoke with no qualms. The GLK tells us to meet him at the merch booth, thanks everybody, and finally pays his respects for Los Angeles and Low End Theory.
The GLK is a particular kind of performer, certainly an experience creator as much as he is a man of the music. To me he represents the kind of art I really believe in - art with social consciousness that I can dance my ass off to.
Renee Marino
Twitter: @reneestee


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An 11-year-old Omaha, Neb. girl may never see again after her scalp was pulled off on a carnival ride Saturday.
Elizabeth Gilreath was on a ride called King's Crown when she slid off the seat, her family said at a news conference Sunday. The girl, who her family calls "Lulu," had long red hair that became tangled in the spinning instrument of the ride.
"It went on for 5-10 minutes everybody told me, while it ripped and pulled my daughter around," said dad Timothy.
"They don't even know if the muscles will work and my daughter will be able to see again. That is our baby."
Elizabeth had several surgeries over the weekend, according to Omaha.com, and was still in critical condition Monday.
Grace Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Labor, told the site that there was nothing to suggest that the ride wasn't working properly on the day of the accident, or that the operator wasn't paying attention.
The ride has four cylinders that are linked to two horizontal arms. Riders sit inside the cylinders, which rotate while the arms move them around.
"They don't even know if the muscles will work and my daughter will be able to see again. That is our baby."
State inspectors also checked the ride April 19, Johnson told the site. Ride vendors usually inspect the attractions themselves more regularly.
Jolene Cisneros, who is also a mom herself, watched the accident happen and ran up the stairs to try to stop the ride, she told WTVR.
"This child was without hair," she said.
Surveillance footage showed the ride operator running away after the incident, potentially to find help.
Elizabeth's mom, Virginia Cooksey, posted images of her daughter in hospital Sunday, asking for prayers.
WARNING: The photo below is graphic.
"Lulu is such a amazing and out going little girl she has to make it threw (sic) this she want to be a senator when she grows up," she wrote.
She also called for those responsible for the incident to be punished.
"We have a long road ahead of us."
You can see more on the story in the video above.
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