text:
My MVP won't be your MVP. The guy I want is more of the sabremetric version. Most people would say the MVP is Orb, but he wasn't. He was defeated, head-to-head, by another horse who will be named this year's MVP: Oxbow.
Derby: Sixth
Preakness: First
Belmont: Second
2-1, Oxbow.
I'm sure I'll be the only guy who voted for Carmelo Anthony for MVP over LeBron James in this case, but I'll stick to it.
Runners Up: Gary Stevens, Rosie Napravnik
In this case, I want to say Todd Pletcher for bringing so many girls to the dance while closing the deal with just one, but it's that one that was the most impressive feat of courtship, er, training that will place him elsewhere on this list.
The LVP during the Triple Crown, hands down is Michelle Beadle. When she was Colin Cowherd's sidekick, she was a charming, attractive, witty counterbalance. But being what amounts to a Daily Show correspondent mixed with Matt Lauer mixed with Kenny Mayne makes me want to swallow a shotgun.
She always came across as someone who would rather be somewhere else and, let's face it, most reporters would. The Triple Crown to her felt like a career black hole. Take heed, Michelle, even General Zod came back from the Phantom Zone. She grabbed Oxbow's tongue and I'm almost positive The Coach loved having her blonde hair around his pristine barn. Maybe she'll improve, but anytime I heard her voice I closed my eyes and dreamed of Jeannine Edwards.
Runners Up: Louisville rain, Todd Pletcher, Verrazano, Rudy Rodrigruez, Mike Battaglia
Rookie of the Year
Curlin, in his first crop of three-year-olds, bagged himself a Classic winner in Palace Malace. Curlin, if there were Triple Crown Postseason Awards back in 2007, would have, no doubt, been the MVP with his incredible third-place finish in the Derby (after A. Beyer said he was too inexperienced to even finish in the Top 10.), winning the Preakness before getting nosed by a girl in the Belmont.
Curlin's book, without question, will swell with viable mares that may make him the next great sire, maybe even the next A.P. Indy.
Runners Up:Kevin Krigger
Most Improved
Gary Stevens, at age 50, came back like Roger Clemens, picking his spots, rising to the occasion in big races. Stevens and Oxbow might go hand-in-hand for an unprecedented tie in the Triple Crown Postseason Awards. Both tanked the Arkansas Derby then finished sixth in the Derby. They followed that effort with a front-running win in the Preakness, and then just a gutsy, gritty second-place finish in the Belmont.
Stevens just couldn't stay away from the game. Even Chantal Sutherland couldn't stay away. For all the substance abuse we see on the backside, none may be more infecting than the horse itself.
Hold on!
I smell a three-way tie: Todd Pletcher.
Yes, the Toddster, the Pletcher Industrial Complex, is also Most Improved. He saddled 10 Triple Crown mounts. Ten! Yet he sneaked in there with his most impressive bout of training by winning the Belmont Stakes with Palace Malice. Blinkers on for Derby, front-runner, faded to 12th. Blinkers off, on the lead, perfectly ridden and relaxed, finished first.
Only the trainer and maybe Cot Campbell (because, let's face it, he had to) had faith in this horse and PM delivered. Pletcher will not be remembered in 2013 for having the most horses saddled, but guy who won the Belmont. End of story.
Runners Up: Belmont weather, Mike Smith
Least Improved
Will Take Charge, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, came into the Derby off a seven-week layoff. Fresh, he finished eighth, the Preakness sixth (in a short field) and 10th in the Belmont. Call it fatigue, call it what you will, but Will Take Charge had every chance to improve and failed.
Biggest No-show
Kegasus. If Kegasus goes down in flames, allow me to light up like a monk with him. In an age where we need a mascot the likes of which we haven't seen since Joe Camel, who made smoking so accessible to impressionable children, we need Kegasus more and more to pollute, corrupt and pillage Baltimore on the second Saturday in May.
Runners Up: Nick Zito, The Thorougbred Times
Most Surveyed by Cameras
Rudy Rodgriguez
Anniversary Most Forgotten
Secretariat's 40th


text:
Tell a Friend
Send a Comment
New? Register Now
About Us
Available Courses
Security, Privacy & Policies
Contact Us
Find Your Agency
System Requirements
FAQ for Parents
Parent Testimonials
Blended Pre-Service Training
PRIDE Model of Practice
Get On the Map!
CEU Info & Forms
Free Webinars!
FAQ for Agency Staff
Solutions Newsletter
Agency Testimonials
Link to Us
Endorsements & Approvals
System Requirements
Free Resources
FPC on DVD
New Courses
Press Releases
Solutions Newsletter
FPC In the News
The New Generation PRIDE Model of Practice
(Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education)
FosterParentCollege joined with the Child Welfare League of America to develop the New Generation
PRIDE Model of Practice
for agencies. Within this model, the new pre-service training component introduces parents to the practice of trauma-informed care using 12 online classes and five in-person meetings. Additionally, the
PRIDE Model
emphasizes the mutual assessments by the agency and the parents regarding the family's ability, willingness, and skills in providing care for children.
Benefits of the New Generation PRIDE include:
For Agencies and Parents
Enhancing trauma-informed parenting information and skills
Focusing on the impact of fostering on all members of prospective foster families
Reducing parent costs, travel, and time away from home
Enabling parents to learn at their own pace and time
Demonstrating examples through interactive vignettes
Reemphasizing the practice of mutual assessment
For Agencies
Standardizing the content and quality of training
Allowing more staff time to provide one-on-one support
Providing in-depth core training
Using proven effective training techniques
Increasing training opportunities for staff and potentially providing CEU credits
Adaptable to local requirements
Helping the agency offer a structured yet flexible training schedule to potential resource families
Retains Parents
The benefits for agencies include improved retention of potential caregivers through the pre-service training component by providing greater flexibility and reduced costs.
Research Supported
Northwest Media and the State of Oregon completed a comparison study of hybrid pre-service training with traditional in-person classroom training. The hybrid training consisted of four classroom meetings and 10 self-paced FosterParentCollege.com courses.
In our research, the hybrid program, like the traditional program, produced significant increases in both awareness and knowledge. The completion rate for the hybrid program significantly surpassed the traditional program and the hybrid program garnered very high levels of satisfaction.
Learn More
about research accomplished by FosterParentCollege.com.
Learn More
about the
FosterPRIDE / AdoptPRIDE Model of Practice
Learn More
about the CEU program for staff.
FPC Home
About Us
Available Courses
Security, Privacy & Policies
Contact Us
For Parents
Find Your Agency
System Requirements
FAQ for Parents
Parent Testimonials
For Agency Staff
Blended Pre-Service Training
PRIDE Model of Practice
Get On the Map!
CEU Info & Forms
Free Webinars!
FAQ for Agency Staff
Agency Testimonials
Link to Us
Additional Resources
National Organizations
System Requirements
Free Resources
FPC on DVD
What's New
New Courses
Press Releases
Solutions Newsletter
FPC In the News
Social Media
©1999-2019 Northwest Media, Inc. Email:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? This question, first asked by Tertullian in the third century, is perhaps the most famous articulation of a tension present in Christianity since its founding: the dialectic between faith and reason. A number of internationally recognized scholars came to Fordham University in New York in June to discuss how reason and faith intersect and clash, a topic that has been much debated in recent years in arenas ranging from popular culture to academia to papal addresses. Charles Taylor, John W. O'Malley, S.J., the Rev. Michael Himes and Christine Wiseman served as keynote speakers for the conference, entitled "Faith and Reason 2009: A Dialogue at the Heart of Jesuit Education," which was held from June 16 to 18 at Fordham's Rose Hill campus.
Adventures in Reason. Charles Taylor, a leading contemporary philosopher, began the conference with an address on "Reason and Its Adventures Since the Enlightenment," identifying some areas where societal trust in reason had taken a wrong turn in recent centuries. Two of his more prominent critiques dealt with the degree to which Western cultures accepted the notion of "reason alone" as a hermeneutical tool (as opposed to its traditional scholastic twinning with faith), and the overweening confidence placed in reason for the interpretation of reality and the betterment of human societies.
Ultimately, Taylor noted, even reason requires interpretation, reflection through tradition and community, and articulation by way of hunches, insights and even a kind of "epistemic faith" in order for it to be most useful. To elevate reason beyond its capabilities and limitations is to make it an idol just as much as any fideist or fundamentalist makes an idol of his or her particular articles of faith.
Four Western Cultures. The historian John W. O'Malley, S.J., of Georgetown University, followed the next morning with "Reason in Four Cultures: the Prophetic, the Analytic/Scientific, the Humanistic, and the Artistic/Performative." O'Malley asserted that medieval universities traditionally were rather secular enterprises, in the sense that their goal was largely the practical education of students, and it was only with the humanist-inspired development of the "college" that the notion of training well-rounded students for the benefit of the common good became popular. The Jesuits in particular excelled at the development of these smaller colleges devoted to a Renaissance curriculum.
O'Malley also discussed the nature and mission of contemporary American Catholic universities, stressing that they not only have a social responsibility, but that part of that responsibility is to teach and treat the subject of religion honestly and with rigor. While professional schools and graduate programs might seek to train students for specific careers, the humanities should retain their pride of place at the undergraduate level. And it is still possible, O'Malley declared, for a university "to be both secular and Catholic."
Perspectives on Faith. The Rev. Michael Himes, a theologian at Boston College, spoke next on "Faith and Its Adventures Since the Enlightenment," defining faith as more than simply adherence to a statement of belief; it is also an act of allegiance and an incorporation into a body of believers.
Since the Enlightenment, Himes noted, faith has been considered to be in conflict with reason not only because the religious wars of the 16th and 17th centuries spurred a desire for a "universal religion" based on reason, but because the explosion of scientific knowledge and historical awareness made it difficult for any religion to assert its own truth claims at the expense of others. And yet reason has been caricatured and deemphasized through the centuries by believers, particularly after the "turn to the will" became a popular notion in Western thought.
Himes also noted that contemporary Islam's struggles with modernity offer an opportunity to reflect on how Western Christianity has dealt with its experience of post-Enlightenment reason, and commented that the sudden popularity of polemical atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens testifies to continued misunderstandings between faith and reason.
Himes concluded with an image of the intellectual tradition of humanity as a cocktail party where every teacher works as a host, inviting each new and perhaps uncomfortable guest to come and mingle with history's greatest minds and most generous souls. "We have the privilege," he reminded participants, "of helping others to love what we fell in love with ourselves."
Character and Service. The final address was delivered by Christine Wiseman, provost and chief academic officer at Loyola University Chicago. She spoke on "Reason and Faith, Character and Service," addressing ways in which a Catholic university might form character and promote service among its students. She identified personal modeling as the first of these. When faculty and administrators model lives of faith as informed by reason, they create a narrative for students to remember and value. Wiseman identified institutional modeling as a second response, suggesting that the unique role of a Catholic institution is to make it possible for students to search for reality in the sciences but also to search for truth at levels that transcend the personal and look beyond to the "common good."
A third method for navigating the relationship between faith and reason can come from the experience of scholars working for truth in diverse fields such as the liberal arts, Wiseman noted: poetic expressions of the human quest for truth embody the goals of a Catholic university as much as any articulation of reason.
The conference was organized by the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture and was sponsored by the East Coast provinces of the Society of Jesus on behalf of administrators, faculty and staff from the 12 East Coast Jesuit universities. "As our institutions continue to wrestle with what makes them unique in the increasingly brand-driven world of higher education," noted the New York, New England and Maryland Jesuit provincials, "we thought that an exploration of faith and reason would offer a perfect forum for reflection and connection across disciplines and institutions."
Intellectual Fault Lines. Peter Steinfels, co-director of the Fordham Center on Religion and Culture, pointed out in his introduction that although the words "faith and reason" sound as if they go together, like "bread and butter" and "love and marriage," there is serious disagreement in the academic world. He pointed out that a proposal at Harvard three years ago to name a mandatory course "Faith and Reason," was watered down to "Culture and Belief." "It is not too much to say that the pairing of faith and reason, whether in tandem or in opposition, has become a shorthand or code signaling all kinds of intellectual and political fault lines," Steinfels said. "No doubt this is partly a reflection of our stubbornly binary way of conceptualizing all sorts of matters, as in male and female, conservative and liberal, or PC and Mac."
After each major address, a panel of respondents offered further reflections before breakout sessions were held for participants. More information on the conference can be found at http://www.faithandreason2009.org.


text:
Software Bloats: epic failure and how to prevent it
Bloating is one of the most fatal horrors that can happen to a piece of software. It is when you have a nice working software that everyone loves, and then you start adding odd crazy features into the software that nobody but you (who spent numerous hours thinking how you could reach perfection in your software) needs or uses.
It might seem not very likely but believe me, if you don't shackle your thoughts, you'll definitely bloat it. For example, consider Apple TextEdit, which is somewhat a counterpart of Notepad on Mac OS X.
TextEdit was a very powerful tool, yet simple enough for taking a few notes. It could open MS Word documents and other RTF-like formatted documents, as well as pure ASCII text files and it would automatically recognize the encoding and save with the appropriate encoding, all without the need to go through application preferences.
Now they have added Versions and a lot of other magical stuff to TextEdit (as well as many fundamental OS X apps such as Preview), and it takes ages (in comparison to a nerd's typing speed) for it to open, save, close and behave. Personally I haven't used Versions once in this whole year I've been having OS X 10.7 Lion, and I don't think everybody else has, that's why most people hate Versions (dare Google it!).
Another case would be Mozilla Thunderbird, which is a magnificent piece of software, but I strongly doubt that anyone unfamiliar with the mechanics of modern EMailing protocols could cope with it.
Thunderbird is a strong Mail client capable of almost anything, but I bet half of my blog readers won't be able to start checking their mail with it. It wasn't like that in the first few versions, but the developers got involved in the software so deep they could only see the world as an EMailing infrastructure, and anyone has to know whats the difference between IMAP and POP3 to drive in their world.
How to prevent it
They say that people use 20% of a software's features 80% of their time, so bloating will just make this percentage look uglier. The best method to prevent bloating AFAIK is to go agile, this way you would only implement what your customer needs and uses, and if they didn't like it, you would either change it or dump it.


text:
The Armant Brothers were like other antebellum plantation owners along the Mississippi River. They loved a good bet. Endowed with the recent inheritance of their father, Jean Baptiste Armant's plantation, in 1858, the Armant Brothers had money with which to gamble. Their profitable 1150-acre sugarcane plantation was located on the Mississippi River between present-day Oak Alley and Laura Plantations in Vacherie, Louisiana. Before the Civil War, it was the neighboring plantation to Valcour Aime's plantation — La Petite Versailles.
All of the wealthy planters along the river had a variety of ways in which to compete and gain the monetary upper-hand of their peers.
A popular trick card game called "Boston" was often played in private clubs. (One of these clubs in New Orleans occasionally had visitors from the city of Boston, Massechusetts attempt entry assuming it was a private club for Bostonians.) In that club, one of the wealthiest planters on the River, Duncan Kenner, was said to have lost $20,000 ($485,000 today) on one game of Boston and was still not considered a plunger.
Horse racing was another exciting way to win money, or lose one's money in the antebellum south. The gaming Mr. Kenner also loved racing his thoroughbreds — so much so that he built a track and stables at his home Ashland Belle Helene near Darrow, LA.
John Burnside, the Sugar King of Houmas House plantation, was also passionate about racing horses. Once he stabled a champion thoroughbred in his billiard room in order to keep it hidden until a race at Kenner's track. Did Burnside win? Yes, he did.
I learned of the latter story while on tour of Houmas House plantation. On this same tour, I noticed a map of the Armant Plantation hanging on the wall in the billiard room. This map was of particular interest to me since it is the plantation of one of my ancestors, my 5th great-grandfather Jean Baptiste Armant who inherited it from his father. I thought it was strange to have a map of a neighboring plantation in the home so I inquired about why it was there. The tour guide told me that the Armant Brothers, who had inherited that plantation, wagered it in a bet and lost it to John Burnside in a horse race. A whole plantation lost in a horse race? I had to know more.
If this story is true, I am appalled that my ancestor cousins were so careless as to bet their inheritance on something as fleeting as a horse race. If false, I wanted to clear the name and reputation of my Armant kin. So I began my own investigation to determine the details of this story.
It is true that John Burnside began acquiring plantations soon after he bought Houmas House in 1857. In fact, he purchased 12 more plantations before, during, and after the Civil War — sometimes for pennies on the dollar. Could he have acquired some of them through bets? The evidence of the gambling habits of the local planters did give credence to this possibility.
I first inquired of Dr. Kevin Kelly, present owner of Houmas House, to find out how he discovered this story. He said the story was told by a descendant of the Miles family — former owners of Houmas House. The descendent, Dr. Henry Miles, who was born in Houmas House in 1901, died around 2005 and I was told that he was the lone historian of the Miles family. Therefore I was not able to verify this story directly.
I decided to go to the St. James Parish courthouse to see if I could find any property records that had to do with the transfer of the plantation from the Armant Brothers to John Burnside. The old documents I found were fascinating — some written in French,and others in English — with handwriting and signatures written with a flare seldom seen today.
I did find a document of the property transfer containing the signatures of one Armant brother, the signature of John Burnside, and others, but it was on a document of the purchase of Armant plantation, not a transfer of ownership without payment.
Most of the plantations that Burnside owned were acquired during or after the war, but this one was purchased before the war in January of 1860 — six years after the death of their father. Armant Plantation was ordered by the court in September of 1859 to be auctioned on January 12, 1860 to settle inheritance and succession issues. The land was divided into 31 sections and sold individually. John Burnside bought 29 of the sections including Armant's French-style plantation home on the river. He purchased the homestead for $25,000 ($630,000 today) and the sections of land for $68,102.77 ($1,700,000 today).
Victor Armant, one of the brothers, bought two sections of land for $23,681.10 ($597,000 today) that held some of the plantation buildings, possibly used for sugar manufacturing. The final section of land was purchased by another individual.
Stories, even those that can't be proven true, often have a grain of truth to them. So I wondered if possibly Victor may have lost his portion later by gambling it away — maybe in hopes of winning back his beloved home. I went back to the St. James courthouse to see what I could find. And once again I found another document stating that John Burnside bought Victor's portion in 1866, a year after the war ended for $3500 ($54,000 today) — a fraction of what Victor paid for it.
I don't know all of the possible nuggets of truth that have caused this story to survive, but as former U.S. President John Adams once said,"facts are stubborn things." The facts I have discovered so far show that Armant Plantation was purchased by John Burnside. Could he have won another of his plantations in a horse race? That could be an interesting investigation. But I am satisfied knowing that my ancestors were not the type of people who would needlessly squander their inheritance. Jean Baptiste Armant's family reputation can be held in high regard once again.
Jean Baptiste Armant, Sr. and Rose Carmelite Cantrelle Armant are my 5th great-grandparents. They are also the grandparents of my 3rd great-grandmother whose story is told in "Of Plantations and Hurricanes."
© 2013 Melinda Holloway All Rights Reserved


text:
- 4 beds
- 3 baths
- $383,990 price
- 1027493 mls id
- Square Feet: 3,208 sqft
- Neighborhood: Water Oak
Listing Description
No description available at this time.
- New Construction Yes
Subdivision: Water Oak
- Price Range $339.9K - $396.9K
- Sqft Range 2,511 - 3,817
- Subdivision StatusActive
Subdivision Description
*Less than 10 lots left! Contact a community sales counselor to make one your home!*;;Water Oak is located 20 minutes north of Austin on the South San Gabriel River. Water Oak at San Gabriel is a forward-thinking conservation community built around the philosophy that neighbors should interact with each other and the land around them. Designed to respect the natural environment, the community preserves and protects hundreds of acres and includes miles of interconnected trails, open natural areas and limited-access preserves. With the San Gabriel River running through the community you can bet it is a beautiful site to have a home.
1004 Winding Way Drive Georgetown, TX
Powered by Placester


text:
10:00 am
Outdoor Idaho "Rec Tech" Whether producing custom jet boats, some of the world's best-known knives, high-end fly fishing reels or calorie-packed and great-tasting energy bars, the people leading Idaho's recreation technology companies share one characteristic: They love Idaho's great outdoors. This episode features the adventurous men and women behind these innovations.G
10:30 am
Dialogue "Morris Dees" Marcia Franklin talks with human rights activist Morris Dees, the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dees, an attorney, is known for his cases against white supremacist groups. He led the civil lawsuit in 2000 against Richard Butler and the Aryan Nations in Idaho which ultimately bankrupted the group. Franklin asks Dees to reflect back on that case, talks with him about the other human rights issues in which he has been involved since then, and asks him how he views the civil rights landscape at this time in American history.G
11:00 am
Well Read "Ian Rankin, Standing In Another Man's Grave" Ian Rankin's latest crime thriller finds former detective John Rebus investigating the disappearance of three women from the same road over a 10-year period. D
11:30 am
Closer to Truth "Did The Universe Have A Beginning?" Some scientists claim that the universe did not have a beginning. Some theologians contend that the universe did not need a beginning. D
12:00 pm
NOVA "Making Stuff: Colder" In this mini-series, New York Times' technology correspondent and best-selling author David Pogue takes a wild ride through the cutting-edge science that is powering a next wave of technological innovation. With his humor and zest for discovery, Pogue meets the scientists and engineers who are plunging to the bottom of the temperature scale, finding design inspiration in nature, and breaking every speed limit to make tomorrow's "stuff" colder, faster, wilder and safer. Cold. D
1:00 pm
Raw to Ready "Mack Truck" The highway truck - a modern workhorse, a heavy hauler vital to commerce - carries an 80,000-pound payload and must operate in every condition from sub-zero cold to triple-digit heat. To survive, it must be strong, durable and fuel-efficient, like the Mack Pinnacle, an engineering achievement made possible by platinum, petroleum, copper, manganese and polyurethane. D
2:00 pm
Life On Fire "Ash Runners" On the volcanic island of New-Britain off the coast of Papua New Guinea, a handful of animals have learned to live with the Earth's moods. When ash from a volcanic eruption invades their habitat, the choice is simple: leave or stay and adapt. In truth, it's not that easy, since volcanoes and their actions are unpredictable and each creature responds in its own way. D
3:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL
4:00 pm
4:30 pm
Journal NULL
5:00 pm
Racing The Rez For the Navajo and Hopi, running is much more than a sport, it is woven into the cultural fabric of their lives. Encouraged by their elders, many Navajos and Hopis begin running at an early age - to greet the morning sun, to prepare for a ceremony or simply to challenge themselves in the vast, southwestern landscape. In the rugged canyon lands of Northern Arizona, Navajo and Hopi cross-country runners from two rival high schools vie for the state championship while striving to find their place among their native people and the larger American culture. D
6:00 pm
POV "Up Heartbreak Hill" The finale of the series begins with Harry facing deportation to the United States. Ruth and Section D decide to break Harry out of custody. Elena reveals attack plans designed to push Britain and Russia into war. Revelations and double-crosses place the safety of a passenger plane in doubt.G
7:00 pm
Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart, An "American Masters" Special "An American Masters Special" This film takes an in-depth look at Lou Reed's achievements, from his role as lead singer/songwriter for the Velvet Underground, the highly influential band produced by Andy Warhol, through his prolific career; to his rock opera collaboration with director Robert Wilson. Throughout, Reed speaks candidly about his extraordinary career and most challenging musical work. The program also looks at rare behind the scenes footage, clips, and vintage material. D
8:00 pm
PBS NewsHour NULL
9:00 pm
Nightly Business Report Tonight on Nightly Business Report, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all reported a double-digit rise in October sales. What's working for the country's biggest automakers and can it continue? And, earnings have been powered in part by companies buying back stock. But does a stock outperform the market historically when it repurchases its shares?. D
9:30 pm
Journal NULL
10:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL
11:00 pm
POV "Up Heartbreak Hill" The finale of the series begins with Harry facing deportation to the United States. Ruth and Section D decide to break Harry out of custody. Elena reveals attack plans designed to push Britain and Russia into war. Revelations and double-crosses place the safety of a passenger plane in doubt.G


text:
Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2004 News Releases > May 2004 > Churches dealing with dilemma over music styles
Churches dealing with dilemma over music styles
Sit in on a few worship services in today's churches, and you might just encounter something that wouldn't have been seen 30 or 40 years ago. The traditional hymnals might still be in the pew shelves, but some of the songs sung might not come from there. And folks might not have to pick up a book at all, as lyrics are likely to be projected onto screens or church walls.
Changes in musical styles in worship are to many simply a sign of the times, influenced by the growing genre of contemporary Christian music and a resurgence of the praise and worship movement. To others, the arrival of praise choruses and deviation from the traditional hymns of yore is a source of great irritation.
But as churches try to deal with the challenges of reaching a younger generation - many of whom grew up during the initial praise and worship movement and others who do not know the traditional hymns - ministers of music are working new arrangements and popular choruses into their worship services.
"In order to reach and involve people, you've got to appeal to all generations if at all possible," said John Burke, minister of music at Southcrest Baptist Church in Lubbock and a 1979 graduate of Wayland Baptist University. "The message doesn't change, but musical styles do change. I'm trying to use those styles but the text is primary."
Burke said though his education dealt with traditional worship styles, he was already seeing churches beginning to experiment with a blended worship service, and the praise and worship movement was in its early stages. After graduating, he served as music and education minister at First Baptist Church in Brownfield, where he introduced blended worship and began to add orchestration to the services. Later, at Bacon Heights Baptist in Lubbock, Burke said blended worship was in infancy and he was able to grow and expand it. After joining the staff at Southcrest 13 years ago, he introduced the same worship style and has even seen it evolve over the years.
Burke said he's now seeing more churches moving away from the model of single song leader, pianist/organist and traditional choir. Some are employing a praise team - typically an ensemble of six to ten individual vocalists - as worship leaders, with accompaniment by keyboards and an orchestra or instrumental ensemble and choir.
The style really isn't the issue, Burke argues, as long as the text is scriptural and the service is geared toward leading congregations to worship.
"The first thing I consider is the text, then the chord structure and ease in singing," Burke said. "Part of my call is to help lead people to worship God, because they sang a certain song and the pastor preached the Word and it all touched them."
Burke said he has seen at Southcrest the coming together of generations to worship. The older members appreciate that traditional hymns are still sung, though Burke said sometimes they may be in a new arrangement or rhythm. The younger generations enjoy the newer choruses but have a new appreciation for the older hymns as they are presented in a new light.
The key to it all is striking a balance between relevance and focus on true worship of an awesome God, according to Robert Black, assistant professor of music at Wayland Baptist University and director of church music studies.
"The issue is not so much the style of music but our attitude toward God," Black said. "You can use good materials, but if it's for the wrong reason, God doesn't honor that."
Black said the change in musical styles in churches goes deeper than the notes on the page. As churches try to assert their relevance to a society that is interested in God and spiritual things but not so much organized churches, "we've become more market driven," he said. "The worship service is one of those things where we've tried to find out what people want and give them more of it."
Instead, Black said, the focus of worship should not be on appeasing congregations but designing services in true worship of the creator and engaging church members and others to join in. Genuine worship, he argues, will attract the unchurched more than glitzy shows and productions in the church.
"Are our services for God or to reach people?" Black asked. "I think there must be a God-centered service; it's a mistake to try and only appeal to people. Blended worship is the easiest solution because it allows both."
Black said relevance in worship is vital when it comes to music. Some of the older hymns, he argues, are losing their appeal to young people because of archaic language that doesn't have relevance in the present day. In contrast, classic hymns such as "Amazing Grace" and "Because He Lives" are timeless and remain relevant across the generations because of their message.
"I don't think we need to throw away our heritage, nor should we reinvent the wheel in every generation. We just need to choose what is still relevant," Black said. "Everything we do should point people to God. Our attitude should be on God, and it shouldn't matter about the music. The service should be a dialogue with God - featuring praise, repentance and restoration."
Black said he sees a parallel between the current challenges and early U.S. history, when two styles emerged with different worship structures. First Baptist Church of Charleston, among the leading "regular" Baptist churches, was known for worship that was centered on God. Black said there was a small amount of structure, much warmth and serious Bible preaching.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Sandy Creek, N.C. Baptist Church, in the "separate" Baptists tradition, were less planned services with loud music and more of a fun atmosphere aimed at reaching the lost. Services at Sandy Creek, Black explained, were more "horizontal - aimed at building relationships between people - rather than vertical like the FBC Charleston services, where the focus was on building relationships with God."
Burke said he is encouraged by services where congregations are engaging in true worship and feels the changes are just helping to encourage that.
"I think we're on the threshold of some great times of worship," Burke said. "People are hungry for real worship and they want to participate. And it all leads up to the invitation, which is the most important part of the service. The music often leads up to the question: 'What are you going to do with Jesus?'"


text:
Produced by Tom Isern and Prairie Public
Broadcasting, Fargo,
North Dakota, 2006, 2-CD audio set
Candles at Canaan: Signs of Life in a Lonesome Land is a two-CD set featuring regionalist essays by Tom Isern, a folklorist, professor of history at North Dakota State University and "Plains Folk" columnist for Prairie Public. Isern is a lifelong resident of the Great Plains. His pal, Bob Groves, who provides the musical interludes between the essays, is a professor of music at North Dakota State University, Fargo. Isern is author or co-author of six books about life on the plains.
Essays in the set celebrate life on the plain - memorializing the Can Pile of Casselton, the petrified wood shrines of New England or the Grandin smelt fry, for instance. The title essay of the CD set is a sketch of the Christmas Eve service at Canaan Church. "Like all the 24 essays in the set," said Isern, "this one has a message of hope - hope about living a good life on the prairies."
Isern's essays have been published in newspapers across North Dakota, and they became a radio feature on Prairie Public in 2004. "We love running Tom's essays on Prairie Public because he offers such insightful nuggets of commentary about life on the upper great plains," said Bill Thomas, director of radio for Prairie Public. "We've wanted to produce a collection of Tom's essays for some time, and it's great to see the whole project come together and the public's positive reaction to it."
"A community has to find its center somewhere," from Smelt Fry. "There is a role in any community for specialists charged with the preservation of tradition," from Lutefisk & Meatballs. CD #1 includes the following essays: 1) Can Pile 2) Sister Catherine's Grotto 3) Cruel Cold Land 4) Driving to Manfred 5) Newcomers 6) Social Capital 7) Take Back the Taverns 8) Holiday House 9) Smelt Fry 10) Signs & Wonders 11) North Dakota Rant 12) Mysterious. CD #2 includes the following essays: 1) Lutefisk & Meatballs 2) Turkey & Kraut 3) Cruel Cold Land 4) Chubaracka 5) Red-eye 6) Chokecherry Hostile 7) Cowbell Game 8) Goat Game 9) Rednob's Return 10) Cradle Hymn 11) Cather Christmas 12) Candles at Canaan.
Tom Isern's website is www.plainsfolk.com.
Candles at Canaan: Signs of Life in a Lonesome Land
2-CD audio set is $20.00 plus Shipping & Handling


text:
When I was at Harris Farms yesterday buying milk, the folks there said there was still skiable snow in the wooded sections. They had told me this a few weeks ago, but it kind of went over my head. But after seeing the conditions in the wooded sections of Pineland last weekend, which were better than expected, I figured I'd give it a go.
I hiked in about half a mile across the pasture to the Joe Buzzell loop. Yep, in the woods it wasn't all that bad. Sure, some bare patches here and there, but they were somewhat rare and easily avoidable. The snow was thin in spots, but overall not bad.
Goal today was work on technique. I ditched the poles and leaned them against a tree a few times to get more efficient at using my legs. I had neglected to continue doing this earlier this season, and I became more reliant on my poles as a result. Not good. But the drills today definitely helped, as it seemed tough at first but easy at the end. I probably skied at least a third of the time without using them.
I also worked on my V2. I can V1 and V2-alternate pretty easily and naturally, but just the straight V2 is much tougher, at least for me. Still, I made some progress today.
Also, Jim helped me wax my skis last weekend. This made a very noticeable difference. Pretty big, in fact. Much more glide.
Skate skied 8.0 kilometers @ 9.6 kph.
Trails, thin snow.
Moderately hilly.
Upper 30s, sunny.
Long pants, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.
By the time I got home, temps had warmed up into the lower 40s with bright blue skies dotted with small, puffy clouds. I figured I'd run now rather than later, while the muscles were still warmed up.
Shoe choice was a no brainer. Strapped on the Vibram Five Finger Sprints and hit the roads. If this weather keeps up, it won't be long before I'm running the trails in them.
Run went well. Kept the pace down as I usually do with the VFF's, especially on the roads, until my feet get fully adjusted. Looks like more chances to do just that are ahead. However, I did run the last mile in a bit under 8:00/mile and did so comfortably. I believe that's a first. Good run.
Ran 4.6 miles @ 8:34/mile.
Paved roads.
Mostly flat.
Lower to mid 40s, sunny.
VFF Sprints, shorts, windbreaker, short sleeved shirt, cap.


text:
(First posted in May 2013)
In one of my posts about John Barnes I wrote about how the Plymouth Colony
government struggled to deal with his drinking problem. At one point they even
made it a crime in 1661 to sell him any liquor. Even that didn't seem to work, and
I wondered how effective that strategy could have been, given that John imported
and sold liquor as part of his business as a merchant. I think this next record shows
one way he could get plenty of liquor.
Up until the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies merged most of the towns
south of Boston, such as Yarmouth on Cape Cod were part of Plymouth Colony. This
record from 1667 deals with how much rum and sacke(white wine from Spain) were
brought into Yarmouth during 1666m and certain discrepancies of amounts on the
invoices of the shipments. Among the people practicing what might be considered
"creative bookkeeping" were Jonathan Barnes and his brother in law, Abraham Hedges.
5Jun 1667
The Account of the Liquors brought into Yarmouth the Year last past, giuen
in by Mr Thacher.
The 15 of the first month, Elisha Hedge, one barrell of rum.
Mr Hedge, 9 gallons of sacke.
September 14, (66,) by John Barnes, for Elisha Hedge, fifty gallons of rum.
For Mr Sprague, 10 gallons of rum.
For Samuell Sturgis, 30 gallons of rum.
For Edward Sturgis, Junir, 25 gallons.
Jonathan Barnes brought sundry barrells of liquors to the towne, since which
hee did not invoyce with vs, but did after some distanceof time invoyce it
with the Treasurer.
The first weeke of Aprill, (67,) Edward Sturgis, Senir, 22 gallons of sacke, which
was invoyced, tho not in due time according to order.
Att that time, there were fiue or six barrells of rum bought of the merchant att
Satuckett, whcih was not invoyced, but concealed one barrerll ; Jonathan Barnes
had another barrell ; Joseph Ryder three more, hee seized for the countrey,
which haue bine since condemned, viz : Samuell Sturgis, one barrell of rum ;
Edward Sturgis. Junir, one barrell of rum ; and Abraham Hedge, one barrell of rum,
which lyes responsible for his father to cleare betwixt thia and the Court in July
Boardman, halfe a barrell, or somwhat more, which hee invoced.
The first week in June, 67, Jonathan Barnes invoyced oNe barrell of rum for
John Mokancy, Abraham Hedge had about three barrells last sumer, which it is
vncertaine whether invoced or now. Plymouth Court Records Volume 4
I'd be willing to bet that some of the misinvoiced rum ended up in a tankard that
Jonathan's father John drank with gusto!


text:
Does anyone else have a bit of a holiday hangover? Too much punch? Too many cookies? Well, I'm sad to report that last night's episode of Top Chef Seattle won't do much to settle your stomach, thanks to the awful antics of season 2 leftover Josie.
1. It's pretty clear that everyone is hoping that The Josie Show is cancelled very soon.
2. In the restaurant business, if you call someone an —hole, it is forgotten the next day. Except when it isn't.
3. Oysters don't grow in Hawaii.
4. John Tesar grew up the son of a bayman on Long Island's east end.
5. I cannot shuck oysters to save my life.
6. Drago's oysters are garlicky-buttery-cheesey awesomeness. I could probably consume 50 of them in one sitting.
7. Josie claims she's been an athlete her whole life, which seems implausible.
8. Josie's remarks to Micah about his sexuality were terrible and inexcusable.
9. I'm no Buddhist, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to say "Namaste, b-tches."
10. When you're at judges' table, it is best to discuss your food and your food alone, Sheldon. Do not take any lessons from CJ. Ever.


text:
Here's the idea: I would supply you with the new screen and the control panel/screen PCB from my synth, and you'd fix it. It's an easy fix, but I can't afford to break this machine so I'd rather have someone experienced with soldering complete this.
If you already happen to own an OB12 and/or live near LA that's a huge plus. Thanks.


text:
The Weekend Genealogist: Timesaving Techniques for Effective Research
Betterway Books, 2000 - Crafts & Hobbies - 134 pages
Researching family history takes time - time that many people just don't have. This book shows them how to maximize their research efficiency by saving time and utilizing what little they have in the best way possible. Melnyk teaches how to make every minute count through step-by-step instruction and sidebars highlighting important tips and procedures. A wide variety of organizational techniques illustrate how to streamline research using everything from research facilities and the Internet to research trips, the postal service and more. Readers will learn how to focus their efforts to get the best results possible in the time available. Selling points: Addresses the very common reader frustration of not having the time necessary to do the work needed. Oganization and research techniques are presented in a clear, easy-to-understand fashion, appropriate for beginner and advanced researcher alike.
From inside the book
Try this search over all volumes: notebook
Results 1-0 of 0
What people are saying - Write a review
The Weekend Genealogist: Timesaving Techniques for Effective Research (PBS Ancestor)User Review - Not Available - Book Verdict
Melnyk, a professional genealogist, addresses the need for time management and organization in this latest how-to-do-genealogy-better guide. She gears this toward new genealogists strapped for ... Read full review
Review: The Weekend Genealogist: Timesaving Techniques for Effective ResearchUser Review - Jennifer - Goodreads
This book was very handy. It gave me a reason to look at records that I never really considered looking at before. It has really wet my apetite to start looking again. Now just to find the time! Read full review
Controlling the Paper Pile
Gathering Information by Mail
Getting Your Computer and
4 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
actually ahnentafel ancestors binder birth CARPENTER catalog cemetery census records chart number citation clerk clues contained copies correspondence log created database death document E-mail family group sheets Family History Centers Family History Library federal filing system film folder form for personal format GEDCOM genealogical research Genealogical Society genealogists historical society Holly important index cards interest Internet keep letter log sheet look mailing lists marriage microfilm National Archives notebook offer organizations Overview Form paper pedigree chart pertaining photocopy probate question record types request research facilities research log research trip Rutland Rutland County Salt Lake City Soundex specific record spelling staff Stephen Nichols Stephentown sure surname Timesaver tion town transcribe transcription types of records Vermont vital records volunteers write
References to this book
Tracing Your Family Roots
Lise Hull
No preview available - 2005
Tracing Your Family Roots
Lise Hull
No preview available - 2007


text:
You are not logged in.
Earth Man: Could you tell how many stones are there?
Alien: There are 10 stones.
Earth Man: No, there are 4 stones. We count in base 10
Alien: But, we count in base 10 too.
Moral: Every base is base 10.
'And fun? If maths is fun, then getting a tooth extraction is fun. A viral infection is fun. Rabies shots are fun.'
'God exists because Mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists because we cannot prove it'
I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Team USA stayed alive in the America's Cup sailing regatta on Thursday, taking the first of the day's two scheduled races by a comfortable 31-second margin and preventing Emirates Team New Zealand from closing out the competition.
The second race was canceled after the wind exceeded the limits, which has become a familiar pattern resulting largely from a decision earlier this summer to lower the wind limits following a fatal training accident.
In the race that did take place, Oracle won the start with a shrewd maneuver that pushed New Zealand away from the line, and then showed impressive speed on the critical upwind leg before dashing home for the victory.
New Zealand has mostly dominated the best-of-17 finals series and now holds an eight to two lead.
"We know the nation is watching us, but once you get into the start box you don't really think about that," said Grant Dalton, managing director of the New Zealand team and a grinder on their 72-foot catamaran.
The Kiwis turned in the latest of several textbook performances in moving to the brink of victory on Wednesday, and seemed to have beaten back an Oracle revival that saw the U.S. boat win two thrilling races over the weekend.
But Thursday's first race suggested the momentum could be shifting once again as Oracle showed the speed, tactics and boat handling it needs to match the polished Kiwi team.
"We have to finish this thing," said Ben Gordon, a 36 year old New Zealander who lives in San Francisco. "The boat's are dead even and it's getting a bit dodgy."
Wednesday's second race was also canceled due to a strong breeze and outgoing tide. The AC72 catamarans can attain speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, but are hard to control and potentially subject to capsize and equipment failure in high winds.
Sweden's Artemis Racing suffered a disastrous accident in May, when its boat broke apart and capsized, killing British Olympian Andrew "Bart" Simpson. That incident, which came after an Oracle boat capsized late last year, prompted a series of rule changes including a substantial decrease in the wind limits.
Ellison's team won the America's Cup in Valencia, Spain in 2010 and with it the right to set the rules for this year's competition, including choosing to race on the AC72s and to hold the regatta on windy San Francisco Bay.
The Kiwis first won the America's Cup in 1995 and successfully defended it in 2000 before losing the trophy three years later to Swiss biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi in a disastrous campaign that left the team in shambles.
(additional reporting by Noel Randewich)
Editing by Alden Bentley


text:
Read the original story in The Oregonian here.
Late last month, in a flurry of plastic tubs and cardboard boxes, the most heavily populated city block in Oregon shifted -- but not by much. That designation now belongs on the next block over, where more than 800 Portland State students moved into brand-new student housing.
The 978-bed University Pointe apartment building takes the crown from the block where PSU's Broadway dorm is located, which had been the most-dense block in the state at the time of the 2010 Census. And that block, in turn, had taken over the designation from the site of PSU's Ondine dorm, which was densest in the 2000 census.
The pattern is unmistakable, and its impact on businesses and residents in downtown Portland is no less so. The school's push to bring more of its student body into on- or near-campus housing -- University President Wim Wiewel has said he wants to see 25 percent of students living in the university district from roughly 10 percent now -- has become perhaps the biggest development initiative in one of the most visible parts of the city.
"You can really tell there's twice as many people at PSU there were 25 years ago," said Charles Rynerson, a demographer at the Population Research Center at PSU, and a student at the school in the mid-80s. "There are just a lot more bodies walking across campus."
The newest apartment building's massive scale is the product of a partnership between the university and a Texas company that has built student housing at more than 170 campuses across the country.American Campus Communities, a publicly traded real estate investment trust, built the $90 million University Pointe.
The private firm and its investors -- who maintain and manage the building, and collect the rent -- get to tap into the higher education boom. Outfits like ACC now run dorms across the country for schools that didn't want to take on a multimillion-dollar construction project on their own. In this case, PSU gets a new on-campus housing option without the construction debt.
The university, like other urban campuses across the country, collected classroom space block by block over the years, and paid little consideration to what happened after evening classes wrapped up.
But school officials realized foregoing the campus atmosphere, complete with 24-hour student residents, came with a cost. They now say students benefit from living on or near campus, where they can use the school's out-of-the-classroom resources and, research shows, boost their GPA.
"One of the barriers of choosing an urban university is that challenge of, 'Where will I live?'" said Jackie Balzer, the school's vice president for enrollment and student affairs. "Our whole goal is that they (American Campus Communities) build an environment that promotes success."
The land under University Pointe stays with PSU but will be leased to ACC. In 65 years -- with the possibility of two 10-year extensions -- the building itself transfers to university ownership, too.
Other private developers working independently of the school are also building new housing as close to campus as they can, including Eugene-based Master Capital Management, which is building an 8-story, 129-bed apartment building with ground-floor retail just across the street from University Pointe.
A recently approved urban renewal district around the university will likely draw even more development. It's expected to raise $169 million by 2041 for redevelopment, including money the school will use to add to its classroom space and $46 million for affordable housing.
More 24-hour residents means more demand for local shops and services, and that's a need the district isn't yet ready to meet, said Craig Sweitzer of Urban Works Real Estate. He said clients like pubs and breweries, pizza joints and ice cream shops have looked at the area and largely walked away.
"They would love to be in that neighborhood, but there hasn't been that kind of space," Sweitzer said.
But each infusion of new 24-hour residents increases the temptation as campus starts to feel a little more vibrant after classes end for the day.
"You're not just selling lunchtime," said Sweitzer. "A lot of retailers, particularly food venders, really survive and make money on evening trade. Kids who live there, they want to go do stuff."


text:
I took one of those depression-quiz thingies online today, and out of 45, my score was 42. I win at depression! Which I guess means I lose at life right now.
Right now. I'm stressing that. This day is not so good. Yesterday was bad. Today is even so much worse, like you would not believe. And yet I'm hanging on. No choice in the matter, after all.
My doctor has prescribed, in addition to an increase in the medication that I am not 100% sure is working in the first place, a complete work stoppage for the next two weeks. No work. That means no blogging, which I argued was not "work," per se, but he argued back that it does in fact tax my already limited mental/emotional reserves, which I can't argue with. It is staggeringly hard to think right now. Plus it's like the keyboard designers TRIED to make it harder for us to type. I have to put so much muscle into it!
In addition to not working, I have been commanded to entertain myself like it's my job, until (please yes soon?) the meds are working. I just finished watching "Eat Pray Love" on Netflix. Julia Roberts has such a veiny face! I found the movie smug (not surprising) but diverting.
So while I won't be updating with much of anything for the next two (2!) weeks, I will be checking in. And if you have any ideas for non-challenging, soothing diversions, I am all eyes. And appreciative (if mis-firing) brain. I love you guys. I kind of mean that, like a lot.
Doctor's orders
I took one of those depression-quiz thingies online today, and out of 45, my score was 42. I win at depression! Which I guess means I lose at life right now.


text:
davewilk needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 155 designs submitted by 66 freelance designers.
Hydro creates custom software and web applications for the water industry. Our new logo should be clean, and not too techy
Hydro is a company that produces web applications and software for the water industry. This includes industrial clients like water and wastewater treatment companies, chemical engineers and consulting engineers.
Our new logo should work well on a dark and light background, for use on the web and in stationery.
We like clean designs, and would like to see something with a symbol and the word Hydro. Obvious choices for the symbol are water drops, but this has been overdone. We're open to suggestion on other water symbols, e.g. waves, springs, streams, water bubbles
Regarding colour, our immediate choice is a colour that represents cleanliness and water. Blue would be our first logical choice, but we're open to suggestion
- clean design
- symbol and Hydro
- suitable for light and dark background
- to be used in print and web environments
- cliches...
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
I just came back from 6 nights of Scout summer camp in middle Tennessee (June 19-25, 2011). Every night I slept in a Grand Trunk Ultralight hammock with my brand new Dp Hammockgear top quilt and underquilt. Here are my thoughts...
Summary: At $180 for the set, you get what you pay for. Perfect for summer use. Durable and comfortable. Not for tall people.
Materials: Ripstop nylon inside and out with a thin (1/2" maybe?) batt of synthetic insulating material inside. The inner skin, outer skin and insulation are only attached at the perimeters where it's all sewn together, so the insulation kind of "floats" between the layers.
Test conditions: Hung next to a lake with light breeze and moderate humidity (no dew) at night. Lows for the six nights ranged from 72F to 62F. There was also some rain to deal with. I slept in shorts, t-shirt and socks and no hat.
Top quilt:
- Weight: 480g
- Length: Just a little bit short for my 6'2" frame, but workable.
- Construction: Good and solid
- Insulation capability: Slept comfortably down to 62F.
- Features: The elastic "head hole" meant to keep the quilt snug around the shoulders just didn't work for me. I'm too tall and my neck is too big. I ended up doing some surgery to detach this feature and make it more "conventional."
- Footbox: Just fine for my needs.
- Stuff sack: Workable, but the string is kind of a pain. I will replace it with a conventional string and lock.
Under quilt:
- Weight: 500g
- Length: Long enough for my hammock.
- Construction: Again, solid
- Insulation capability: I tweaked on the underquilt several times during the week to bring it up snug under the hammock and eliminate drafts on the ends. Once that was done, I was snug down to 62F with a light breeze.
- Suspension: I ditched the bit of shock cord and hooks that came with the UQ and added my own shock cord system that worked better.
- Stuff sack: See above.
General comments about the system:
What I liked...
- The top quilt fell into a puddle and got wet but still kept me warm that night. I'm guessing that down insulation would have been a problem.
- It's light and durable, and packs up relatively small.
- The price... $180 for the set.
- Insulation was just right for the summer temperatures. Anything more and I would have roasted.
My biggest complaints are...
- It's a little short for me.
- Head-hole didn't work for me.
- Had to replace the suspension.
- No way this is good to 40F... Maybe 50F. Dave should advertise this as a summer-weight insulation system.


text:
Monday, June 1, 2009
Limited Edition M&Ms Coconut
Hot on the tails of the Limited Edition Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms will be the release of Limited Edition Coconut M&Ms in August. (More here)
The cream colored packet holds 1.5 ounces of green, white and brown milk chocolate morsels flavored with coconut.
As with most limited editions, the package is a bit slighter than the regular products. This one clocks in at 1.5 ounces instead of the normal 1.69 in a Milk Chocolate M&Ms pack.
The package is cute and playful, featuring Ms. Green reclining in the sand, leaning against a coconut filled with coconut M&Ms. In the background the Yellow Peanut M&M is falling out of a coconut palm laden with more coconuts.
The contents smell much like most M&Ms, sweet and slightly woodsy but only the slightest whiff of coconut.
The individual lentils are a bit puffier than regular M&Ms, though not as big as the Peanut Butter variety.
Inside they're just milk chocolate but with an added touch of coconut flavoring (but no actual coconut to be found in the ingredients).
The chocolate is fudgy, the flavor is a little salty and tropical but with a strange yogurty tang (kind of like Hershey's) ... the crunch of the shell is crisp.
On the whole, it's a nice change-up, very appealing. It's not something that I think deserves to be made part of the regular repertoire. But see the review on Hershey's Almond Joy Pieces.
UPDATE 9/29/2009: Mars has announced that M&MS Coconut will become part of their permanent line of candies. You can expect them in stores starting in December 2009.
Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:27 am
Next entry: Javaz - Milk & Dark Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans
Previous entry: Hershey's Almond Joy Pieces
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.


text:
Construction, pool, appliance, garage doors, electrical and other topics relating to home maintenance repair and improvement.
April 28th, 2017, 12:14 AM
home contractors, including Plumbers Electricians, Tile carpet, builders, Appliance repair and installation.
Leveling sunken drives and sidewalks
February 20th, 2019, 03:10 PM
October 25th, 2018, 04:56 AM
Mechanics discussions, Internal combustion engines, Hot rods Automotive, and Small engine performance and repair. Chainsaws line trimmers, Edgers, blowers, mowers,motorcycles and other devices.
April 4th, 2018, 09:47 AM
There are currently 45 users browsing this forum. (0 members & 45 guests)


text:
The good news is that we're wired to appreciate fairness. The bad news is that sometimes we feel justified in cheating. But under what conditions do people act dishonestly to help or hurt others?
"Situational inequity" can trigger powerful emotional reactions that drive dishonest behavior, said Francesca Gino, a UNC Kenan-Flagler organizational behavior professor who has studied the question.
"A lot of the research I've done looks at ordinary people and examines the effect of situational factors on people's behavior," Gino said. "It's not that these people are rotten, but there are factors in certain situations that can lead them to cross ethical boundaries."
Gino and her colleagues set up two experiments that measured participants' emotional reactions of envy, empathy, happiness and guilt. They randomly paired participants and observed how inequity between them influenced the likelihood of one dishonestly helping or hurting the other, while varying the financial incentives for dishonest behavior.
They found that participants engaged in dishonest behavior to relieve the emotional distress caused by wealth-based inequity:
Although they found that financial self-interest does influence dishonest behaviors, the stronger motivation is to reduce inequity. Individuals were willing to pay or forgo pay to relieve emotional
Their findings highlight the importance of emotional reactions to pay equity and inequity in driving dishonest behaviors. This work joins the stream of research examining the ''when'' and ''why'' of dishonesty. It shows that circumstances of the victims and beneficiaries of ethically questionable actions, a previously overlooked factor, also have significant explanatory power.
Negative emotional reactions to inequity (such as envy) are powerful drivers of dishonest behavior that hurts another, Gino found. But even positive emotions (such as empathy) can have negative consequences when they drive dishonest behavior that is economically or socially costly (when helping another is costly to a third party or organization, for example).
The results have important practical implications and suggest that:
Life is full of inequities, and the business world is no exception. A supervisor makes more money than a line worker. Executives have more privileges than middle managers. In those examples, though, the inequity is justified and doesn't produce a behavior-changing emotional reaction.
Businesses need to make clear their reasoning behind awarding some people more favorable treatment than others, Gino urged. "If there are inequalities, they need to be explained so people are able to regulate the emotional reactions they have to inequity."
Some companies go to great lengths to level the working conditions. At Intel, for instance, everyone works in cubicles, even senior managers. If inequities can't be explained or justified, get rid of them, Gino said. If employees feel they are treated fairly, they will be less likely to do things that ultimately hurt the company.
"Unjustifiable inequities can generate envy among employees," she said. "As a result, people end up crossing ethical boundaries to relieve their emotional distress."
Gino's other research reveals that unethical behavior increases when people can't see or make the connection to the people they are harming. And her work shows that it can be a process. Cheating can increase incrementally. If someone cheats a little on an expense report and no one seems to notice, the next time he might cheat even more. If he doesn't catch any flak from that, he might branch out a little more each time until at some point he is behaving in outrageously unethical ways that would have surprised even the perpetrator early on.
Healthy work and social environments depend on the ability of leaders and employees alike to spread ethical norms and values — while reducing the attractiveness of unethical misconduct, said Gino, who continues to research how to best accomplish this goal.
Very simple steps can greatly increase ethical behavior. Installing highly ethical leaders in a corporation can inspire others throughout the organization to raise their own ethical behavior standards. Even signing their names at the top of an insurance claim form or a tax return can influence people to fill out the form more honestly.
"People want to see themselves as good," Gino said. "They feel some emotional distress in situations that aren't fair. Sometimes they'll do what they can to relieve that emotional distress, no matter who it hurts."
Francesca Gino is a former assistant professor of organizational behavior at UNC Kenan-Flagler.


text:
Moxie Design Studios
Stylish Websites for Authors and Artisans
May 2, 2017 by Joelle Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name *
Email *
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Joelle Reeder
Moxie Design Studios, Inc.
4075 Park Blvd, Suite 102-120
San Diego, CA 92103


text:
|International Space Station Imagery
high res (0.5 M) low res (45 K)
|JSC2004-E-44837 (October 2004) --- Computer generated version of a starboard side view of the International Space Station, as it appeared on October 15, 2004. The newly arrived Soyuz 9 docks to Pirs aft port with the Expedition 10 crew aboard. Soyuz 8 is docked to the Zarya nadir port. Resupply vehicle Progress 15 remains docked to aft end of Zvezda Service Module.
Curator: JSC PAO Web Team | Responsible NASA Official: Amiko Kauderer | Updated: 11/19/2012


text:
The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 2, July 1898 - April, 1899
Description: The Texas State Historical Association Quarterly Report includes "Papers read at the meetings of the Association, and such other contributions as may be accepted by the Committee" (volume 1, number 1). These include historical sketches, biographical material, personal accounts, and other research. Index starts on page 323.
Date: 1898/1899
Creator: Texas State Historical Association


text:
When you fly two space craft around the moon for days on end, you may as well do something useful with them. So NASA created this beatifully colorful map of the moon, which shows how its mass varies over its surface.
The color indicates how much mass certain parts of our rocky companion has: red indicates more massive areas and blue corresponds to less mass. The image was generated from data acquired by two satellites, called Ebb and Flow, that together are known as GRAIL—Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory.
They use microwaves to measure the gravitational fried across the moon, which is easily done because of the lack of atmosphere. In fact, those conditions make this the most detailed gravity map of any body in our solar system. And, perhaps, the most colorful view of the moon we've ever seen. [NASA via New Scientist]
Image by Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT/GSFC


text:
Robert Pattinson: "I am not James Dean"
At 25, the most famous vampire of the world away from the "twilight" zone for other horizons. In Water for Elephants, he plays a healer of elephants caught in a tumultuous love story. Confessions of a Hollywood idol with teeth not so long and broad-minded.
It is a lunar be receiving in his suite at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles. A long skinny figure, a pale complexion, blue eyes, melancholy and the right hand disciplining her hair disheveled, Robert Pattinson always seems caught in some silent reverie whose extirpent his interlocutors. Courtois, British until the end of its Dr. Martens expertly unlaced, he then resumed the course of her earthly life. A life that the tabloids identify any event: a kiss to Kristen Stewart on the set of Twilight, Revelation , Rio de Janeiro, a birthday party at a friend's arrival at Vancouver Airport, the acquisition of a dog whose Twitter echoes ... His life is chronicled in real time, you almost forget he is an actor. But at 25, the dandy vampire tries to make the thickness. He is preparing to tour with David Cronenberg in Cosmopolis , the adaptation of the cult novel by Don DeLillo, and is found in May in Water for Elephants *, opposite Reese Witherspoon and disturbing Christoph Waltz ( Quentin Tarantino revealed in Inglourious Basterds) , in the role of a healer of animals crazy in love with a beautiful married woman. Enigmatic encounter with an icon, a young man and old school trend, rebel and conformist, a beautiful aristocrat punk girls flowers. In theaters May 4 (France)
Madame Figaro. - You shoot a lot. Besides the last two episodes of the saga Twilight , you'll see in June in Bel Ami , Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, and soon in Water for Elephants , by Francis Lawrence. What attracted you in the role of Jacob Jankowski, animal trainer in a circus?
Robert - First, the book of the young novelist Sara Gruen, an incredible success in the United States, whose action is in the 20s in a traveling circus. Suddenly, with this role, I had the opportunity to leave the modern fantasy of Twilight , to live among the animals, touching the concrete things.
You seem drawn to the romantic past ...
Rob:Yes, I include the history of America, I'm interested. In reading the script, I immediately hooked. It seemed obvious and easy. Jacob is a being tormented and mysterious. He lost his parents, he does not want to dig into his past and if this includes traveling circus, it is to prove himself as a veterinarian. It also ignores that he will live a violent passion and forbidden.
Your profile is accurate: that of being lonely, misunderstood and very attractive. It is a common point to all your characters.
Rob: That's true. As if Edward, the hero of twilight , was the common thread of all these roles. Jacob sees things in black and white. As for Edward, he always distinguishes good from evil. In a sense, my characters are Manichaean. That's why I try to bring inner complexity.
And Bel Ami , how did you work? Georges Duroy, the hero of the novel, is older than you.
Rob: It made me hesitate. And then I started because Maupassant is my favorite French writer. Bel Ami is a classic unbeatable. With Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci, my playmates, we had fun. I concentrated on my game its great freedom of action.Bel Ami is an animal, my first character is completely cynical and ironically enough honest. But it is destructive. He plays a sort of game where nobody respects the rules, where everyone has connections, a great travesty worldly where the key is to pretend. He cares, he does what he pleases, and that is precisely that appeals to women.
A bit like you after all ...
Rob: Oh no! I'm no Don Juan. This is something that is beyond me and is actually quite cool, all those fans who take pictures of me, these blogs, this buzz. Frankly, I have no sex appeal. Just strolling in Los Angeles, London or Paris to find a bunch of young guys like me. I am not James Dean.
One thing you rebel, a dark side. Who are your role models, your favorite actors in movies?
James Dean only made three movies, I like Giant with Elizabeth Taylor. But for me, the great icon of the 60s, it's Marlon Brando, with this kind of rage internalized, this duality between masculinity and tenderness hidden. I'm also a fan of gangster films with James Cagney and Paul Newman, especially in Cool Hand Luke . And among actresses, Isabelle Huppert and those I love the golden age of Hollywood as Ava Gardner, the arsonist, and Katharine Hepburn, whether class, so rough and so funny. Kristen Stewart, whom I admire, has a small side of Hepburn.
Audrey than Katharine?
Rob: No, Katharine. I'm not a fan of Audrey. I know she likes girls of my generation, but I find it a bit too girly.
What kind of women you attract?
I do not hate nerds. For a girl attracts me, it must be somewhat specific, it has an idea about the meaning of life, she reads a lot. But I can not say I prefer blondes, brunettes or redheads. I like the emotional, elegant - in the sense of elegance requires knowing what you will or not. The clothes, because they are expensive, do not guarantee a good look. I think we must above all be yourself. That said, I love the Chanel look, even in very young women!
And you, are you a fashion victim?
You see the anthracite jacket I wear today? Well, I found my home in an old suitcase. I had at 15. It is an Agnes b. , vintage 90, and she always goes. Otherwise, I'm a fan of Marc Jacobs , Proenza Schouler for girls and boys, and I buy lots of pants at Dries Van Noten .
Fashion is very important including the cinema. I think for example work done by Jean Paul Gaultier on the Fifth Element : Designed by the film.
You wear a fragrance?
Mine, my body odor. (Laughter.)
What is the project that you currently taking to heart?
Well, one morning the phone rang and it was David Cronenberg on the line. He offered me to play in his next film, Cosmopolis . It was almost as if Hitchcock sought me. Cronenberg is a great director. The good news is then accumulated: Juliette Binoche give me the reply, and also the director-actor French very talented, Mathieu Amalric. The icing on the cake, it is an adaptation from a novel by Don DeLillo, one of my favorite authors. The role is very hard, a crazy day in the life of a millionaire whose life is turned upside down in twenty-four hours. I'm trying to turn it, it's really exciting.
What do you do with your days when you are in idleness?
Well, the problem is that I know more relaxing. I turn all the time. My life is reduced to work, and besides, I'm out of my house. My home is the hotel. Obviously, your room is done every day, there are advantages, but I'm starting to feel a little rootless. I could even list the hotels that I prefer over the world: Rome is the Bernini Bristol, a charming palazzo, and Paris, Le Crillon. Once I have an hour before me, I play the guitar but mostly I read, I devour.
Modern writers?
A bit of everything. I started Underworld by Don DeLillo and I have a predilection for the French novelist Michel Houellebecq. Within the Meaning of Combat , he wrote that sentence that resonates in me a lot: "We've been through hardships and desires without the taste of childhood dreams. "I feel close to the hero of Houellebecq ...
from Le Figaro Madame | via KStewAngel | Translation via pattinsonstew


text:
- Benefits
- Description
- How to use
- Ingredients
- About the brand
- Reviews
Contains two individual polishes and one nail polish remover in a pretty organza bag:
** Piggy Paint is not chemical free - please see the ingredient tab and Our Promse for full details.
Perfect for Party Fun! Piggy Paint is formulated from a high percentage of bio-degradeable ingredients and dries to a hard, durable finish!
** The statement "Natural as Mud" refers to the bio-degradeable ingredients
Wash hands with soap and water. Apply 2 -3 thin coats of Piggy Paint. Air dry 60 seconds. For a quicker dry time, blow dry polished nails for 1 minute with hair dryer set on warm heat/low blower setting.
For safety purposes, please follow manufacturer's instructions on blow dryer and always monitor your child.
Nail Polishes: Aqua, acrylates copolymers, butoxy diglycol, methylisothiazolinone. May contain: mica, red 34 lake, ultramarines, titanium dioxide, iron oxide pigments, red 28, yellow 10, violet 2, orange 5, zinc sulfide/copper.
Nail polish Remover: Corn alcohol, butyl diglycol, aloe vera extract, vitamin e, embittering agent.
** Piggy Paint is not chemical free - New formulations now include Methylisothiazoline (MIT) at a level of 0.01% - This ingredient probits bacterial growth at very low concentrations - Bacteria may be introduced when re-dipping the applicator brush in and out of the bottle.
Country of Origin: Missouri, USA
An eco-friendly nail polish designed specifically for fancy girls. Easy and fun to use - 'Angel Kisses', 'Clouds of Candy', 'Dragon Tears' ... Great colors for some fun time!
Founded by Melanie Hurley, a stay-at-home mum who decided to create a non flammable, water-based nail polish formulated with a high percentage of bio-degradeable ingredients.
** The statetment "Natural as Mud' refers to the high percentage of bio-degradeable ingredients contained within Piggy Paint - the products are not Chemical Free - Please see the ingredients tab and our Ingredient Policy (Our promise) for full details.
- Benefits
- Description
- How to use
- Ingredients
- About the brand
- Reviews


text:
AdaCore provides educators with the GAP Package at no cost. This comprehensive toolset and support package is designed to give educators the tools they need to teach Ada. The package includes an integrated binary distribution of the GNAT tool set and a variety of add-ons and libraries.
Instructors also receive direct help and support for all academic versions of GNAT including: assistance in using the system, suggestions for workarounds when system issues arise and help in understanding Ada 95 and Ada 2005.
The GAP Package includes:
Tools and Resources
An integrated source and binary distribution for Windows, Solaris, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X including:
- GNAT compiler & toolset
- GNATbench
- The SPARK toolset
- GNAT for MINDSTORMS NXT robotic platform
- HTML documentation
Plus source releases for: PolyORB, GtkAda, ASIS, AWS, XML/Ada, GNATcoll, AJIS and POSIX API,.
The Community
A place to share knowledge, fresh ideas, resources and teaching materials such as:
- Slide presentations
- Articles and papers
- Lecture notes
- Books and videos
- Programming challenges
Online technical support from AdaCore's team of Ada experts.
For more information about joining the GNAT Academic Program, please contact us at: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
The cupboards aren't bare at FISH, at least not yet. The stocks are getting low at the food banks of Hood River County, and the community's help is needed as the demand for food takes its annual November spike.
How to help: Non-perishable food can be donated anytime in a box at the Hood River site, 1907 Pine St., or 9-11 a.m. Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Call 541-386-3474 or email email@example.com for details.
Cash donations can be sent to Becky Bugge, 3481 Ehrck Hill Road, Hood River. Help is needed Nov. 20, 9 a.m., unloading the Oregon Food Bank truck, at the Hood River site.
"They are kind of bare. We'll be okay. This happens every year, but things are getting kind of low right now," said Lorinda Hoffman, Hood River food bank coordinator. "But we have the food bags in grocery stores, and this is the time of year lots of food drives happen," Hoffman said. Food drives help but they are hard to predict until November. "We really rely on those, but often they happen and we don't know about them until the food shows up," Hoffman said.
"The last weekend in October was really big," in terms of demand, Hoffman said of the Hood River site. "And the biggest demand time of the year is always in the week just before Thanksgiving, and during the Christmas holidays. "But until this time of year, there are very few food drives going on, so our supplies can get pretty low," she said, adding that recent cutbacks in SNAP (food stamp) allotments have driven up need. Last Saturday, 26 families came to the Hood River site, up from the average of 19. Hoffman said the food bank in Cascade Locks, population 1,000, had 53 families come to get food last month.
Shoppers at Rosauers and Safeway can purchase $10 and $20 bags filled with pasta, canned goods, peanut butter, formula, and other regularly needed items. The purchased bags then stay at the store until FISH volunteers collect them for distribution to food bank clients. The grocery bag donations contain known commodities, helping food bank coordinators place their Oregon Food Bank orders for other needed supplies. Such local donations are critical at this stage, because the next delivery from Oregon Food Bank won't be until Nov. 20.
Meanwhile, clients will come to the Hood River food bank, the largest of the four, on Nov. 8, 9, 11, 15, 16 and 18, and to Odell on Thursdays and Parkdale on Mondays. (Food bank sites are open Monday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day.)
The Portland-based Oregon Food Bank is the source of much of the food distributed at Hood River, Odell, Parkdale and Cascade Locks food banks. A food donation barrel is also available in front of the Hood River food bank site. Pasta, stew, chili and soup are always needed, and donations of tuna and cooking oil — two of the more expensive staples — are particularly welcome.
*Originally published in Hood River News 11/11/13 online website http://www.hoodrivernews.com/news/2013/nov/09/time-feed-fish/


text:
The Eyes Have it: UH Debuts first Visual Studies program in TexasNew Visual Studies Minor Kicks Off This Fall with Inter-Disciplinary Course
In addition to being the first of its kind in Texas, visual studies at the University of Houston is the most inclusive, interdisciplinary program of its kind in the nation, said Tracy Xavia Karner, associate professor of sociology and director of the new initiative.
Visual studies brings together 25 affiliated faculty members from more than a dozen disciplines – from anthropology to art, architecture, cognitive science, computer science, communication, history, literary and media studies, optometry, philosophy, psychology, technology and sociology – to offer a broad array of educational opportunities to UH students.
"This initiative in visual studies reflects a broader shift in academia toward reinvigorating the curriculum, and it capitalizes on new technology and new ways of seeing and thinking," said John Antel, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. "A minor in visual studies will position UH graduates to take the lead in this highly relevant field in today's image-saturated society."
The VS program also is unique in its community partnerships, Karner said.
"Houston is the home of one of the premiere photography collections at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), as well as home to Fotofest, the leading photography event in the United States," she said. "Our local partnerships with the MFAH, Fotofest, Houston Center for Photography, Project Row Houses and Watermark Fine Art Gallery enrich the educational resources we can make available to our students. As we go forward, we hope to reach out to our medical and business community, which uses some of the most advanced imaging technology in the world."
The inter-disciplinary program offers its first course, "Introduction to Visual Studies" (Visual Studies 1300, also listed as Anthropology 4394 in UH course listings) this fall. The course will be led by the Jerome Crowder, assistant professor of anthropology and co-director of VS, in cooperation with the affiliated VS faculty. Each week, the three-hour course will feature two lecturers from different academic backgrounds offering insight related to visual studies.
"We have identified a number of people on campus who will help shape this program and help it grow," Crowder said. "Each faculty member or expert involved with the program will contribute a different perspective related to the concept of visual studies. It's this kind of insight and dialogue that makes UH's program unique."
The course is the first stage of this three-part sequential minor program. During the second stage, students select from approved inter-disciplinary courses, which include courses such as "History of Art," "Literature and Film" and "Survey of Architectural History." During the third stage, students take the minor's capstone course, VS 4300, which focuses on a mentored research project or a community internship supplemented by an essay or project related to this experience.
VS also hosts public lectures featuring noted guests specializing in art, photography and other visual topics. Photographer Sally Mann, visual sociologist/photographer Cathy Stein Greenblat and artist John Paul Caponigro were among recent guests featured at VS events during the 2007 spring semester.
For more information on UH's visual studies program, curriculum and events, visit www.visualstudies.uh.edu.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.
For more information about UH visit the university's 'Newsroom' at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.