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Global Warming, Redux
By Alex Li
This past winter was uncharacteristically warm for New York City. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, it was the second warmest winter since people started tracking temperature in 1870.
Four hundred years ago, winter conditions in Manhattan might not have been that different. The Medieval Warming Period around the 12th century had a profound effect on the course of civilization. Today, with another global warming period on the horizon—this one accelerated by human activity—national futures may again be driven by the rapidly changing climate. This time, however, climate change will produce no winners.
All activity—the movement of air, water, and energy on the earth—is driven by the difference of solar energy received on the surface between high and low latitude. Sunlight hits the equatorial region directly and the polar region at a 90-degree angle, causing the Earth's surface to absorb the most heat at the equator and the least at the poles. The difference in Earth surface temperature acts like a giant engine that pumps life into everything on the planet. This giant engine, however, is likely going to be impacted in the coming decades by global warming.
The Medieval Warming Period is believed to have led to the rise of Europe as a political, technological, and colonial superpower. Europe lagged behind all major nations in the world in terms of population, culture, military, and technology before this natural event. The warming climate reduced the swamps on the European continent and opened up more land for agriculture. Subsequently, agricultural production doubled during this period and population growth increased dramatically. Because of the increase in population, Europe entered a period of unprecedented prosperity epitomized by the Renaissance and the great ocean exploration.
By comparison, in the same period, global warming made regions that were already very dry, like China and most parts of Middle East, even drier. Large-scale drought and crop failure wracked the civilizations found in these parts of the world. As a result, populations in both China and the Middle Eastern nations decreased during this period.
The global dominance of the Western powers that appeared to be the norm for centuries cannot be attributed to chance or genetic superiority. Climate change played an important role in the rise of Europe.
Today, as centuries ago, a warmer planet is unlikely to be appreciated by nations that are already in tropical, subtropical, and dry regions of the world. On the other hand, countries located on relatively high northern latitudes, such as Canada, Russia, and northern Europe would receive a few secondary benefits from the warming globe. But because all states are interdependent , the net effect for these countries will be negative.
The Russian climate may see the most improvement from global warming. The melting glaciers in the North Pole region due to the warming climate may provide an opportunity for Arctic oil drilling. The meltdown of North Pole ice may also open up the seas along the Russian coastline for oil transportation, connecting newly accessible oil fields in Siberia with the global market. It is also expected to increase Russian agricultural yields and reduce winter deaths, as well as heating costs.
On the other hand, countries with large populations and in low latitude regions—such as China and India—may face some serious consequences due to global warming.
In India, climate change may negatively impact agriculture. The Government of India's National Communications predicted that climate change might cause erratic monsoons with serious effects on agriculture since many of their crops—such as soybeans and wheat—are rain-fed and heavily dependent on heavy rain during the planting season.
Climate change is expected to impact China's agriculture and water security, and may create a serious water crisis in China in the next 50 to 100 years. This could even cause regional conflicts between China and its neighbors, threatening the stabilization of China's society and possibly putting a stop to China's rapid economic rise.
Further warming of climate is projected to melt the ice sheet in the North Pole region. Countries like Russia, Canada, and the U.S. are already eyeing possible development in this area. The "open water" will likely develop to a few ocean passages in the North Pole that connect Russia, Northern Europe, and North America. When that day comes, I'm sure Sarah Palin will not only be able to "see Russia from her backyard," but also to jump on a boat and land on the northern Russian coast in time for a cup of tea. Michael Chertoff, the former head of the Department of Homeland Security under President Bush, said recently when he visited Alaska, "All I know is there's open water where there didn't used to be, and I'm responsible for it."
"The past is a mirror and we can see future in it," goes the old Chinese saying. Global warming in the Middle Ages sent lucky Europe to the top of all civilizations. Today, we see the familiar global warming pattern again, but will it make Russia, Canada, and Northern Europe superpowers? Unlikely.
First, there is no comparison in how developed civilization is between the world we live in today and the world people lived in 400 years ago. Agricultural productivity is certainly no longer the only determining factor that impacts the rise of a nation, thanks to the sophisticated global trading network that helps distribute food around the globe.
Second, nations have become so interconnected by political and economic ties that it is practically impossible for a country to be unaffected by an event with global ramifications. In the end, where would Russia sell its newly drilled oil surplus from the Arctic when China and India, two of the world's largest rising markets, find themselves with a collapsed economy because of global warming?
Global warming as we are experiencing it today is an unprecedented global-scale experiment designed by and executed on human beings themselves. While it created geo-political winners four centuries ago, if climate change continues, the whole world loses—Russia, Manhattan, and the rest of the northern hemisphere included.
Alex Li is a graduate student at Columbia University's Earth Institute studying climate and society.
[Photo courtesy of Shutterstock]


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You can use the form to:
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Contact us
When you will receive a response
You will only receive a response if requested. Responses will be within the timescales as described on our Customer Service Charter and Standards page.
If you contact us online we aim to reply to all queries within 5 working days; however for complaints this will be within 10 working days to allow time for investigation (Adult Social Care complaints are responded to within 20 working days. Children complaints can also take 20 days but the customer will be informed if this is the case)
When you are not happy about a county council policy or process (rather than how we have applied that policy or process) this is known as a representation. This does not mean the policy or process will be immediately investigated and changed. However, if we receive a significant number of similar representations and it is within our power and responsibilities as a county council we will consider investigating the concerns being raised.
Unsatisfied with the response to your complaint
If you are not satisfied with the response you can ask for a senior manager to review it. You can do this by contacting the person who responded to your initial complaint.
If the senior manager's response does not satisfy you, you may ask the Chief Executive of the County Council to review your case. The Chief Executive, or delegated senior officer, will then investigate and will aim to respond within 10 working days. If they are not able to provide a full response within 10 working days then they will inform you and give a date by which you can expect a full response.
The Chief Executive's or the delegated officer's decision will be the final response from the County Council.
If you are not satisfied after the council has considered your complaint, you can ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate. The Local Government Ombudsman is completely independent of the council.

subset: commoncrawl


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This-N-That Thrift Store This-N-That Thrift Store
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Mission Statement
This-N-That thrift store exists to help the community by giving back to others. Our mission is to help meet the needs of disadvantaged people in the community in various different ways such as bridging the gap for those in need by providing tangible household resources, offering volunteer opportunities, job skills which transfers into current work experience and offering competitively low prices to the working community.
Clark County Christian Center is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization strongly involved with the community. The center owns and operates C4 Radio internet station, Suited For Employment, This-N-That thrift store and provides various community programs. Our mission is to serve the community.
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I'm pleased to confirm that since Tuesday I kept going. Yoga on Wednesday and then as the weather was wet and snowy on Thursday and Friday I did my Wii Just Dance. Which my husband thinks is just dancing around but you do actually have to follow the routine and if you pick the songs with the higher sweat rating they do really get my heart going and leave me panting. After doing 30 mins and just over 2000 'sweat points' on Thursday, which I was proud of, I told my BF who has been doing Just Dance workouts and others for over a year and she basically told me I should aim higher and sweat more. 2000 points didn't cut it with her! You can read her diet blog here. She's right to keep pushing me, and it worked. On Friday I did over 3000 points and finally felt that so far illusive, adrenaline rush!! I was knackered and wanting to stop but I kept pushing myself and then I was flying - not literally. But I felt the 'rush' of a new burst of energy, and then felt ecstatic to have beaten my target.
I've been very disciplined about fitting my exercise in. Even on Thursday which was a very busy day for me, I had been Christmas shopping around town in the morning and usually that would be enough to knacker me out for the rest of the day. But I came home, had some lunch and then got down to it. Yesterday was a rest day, and then today at about 9.15 a.m I donned my new running shoes and off I went! The weather this morning was perfect for it, dry and cool, not cold. I've also bought one of those handy ipod holders you can strap to your arm. So as you run you have your favourite tunes on and I also use the App mapmyride to measure how far I have been. So this morning I set the App to walk mode, but I ran approx 40% of my walk. This is only my second trip out, attempting to run, and my running bursts felt good, a bit longer than the first time and much more comfy thanks to my new trainers.
I covered 4.05km in 34 minutes. Walking doesn't burn many calories unfortunately, but I definitely worked up a sweat and came home invigorated, yet breathless, and ruddy faced!! My aim is to build up my running bursts so that I am running at least 60% of the time. Fingers crossed the weather in the coming week is dry as I much prefer to be out exercising than indoors. I forgot to get myself weighed but will do so soon. Onwards and upwards! I'll leave you with a new photo of me, check out the hair growth!!


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Climate Change Atlas for New England
The Climate Change Atlas is a useful tool that assesses the potential changes in habitat for common tree and bird species in the eastern United States. New data have been prepared for 107 tree species in the New England and northern New York as part of a synthesis of regional climate change impacts on forest ecosystems that is underway. A webinar in May 2015 featured Louis Iverson (US Forest Service) and Steve Matthews (Ohio State), who described how the Climate Change Atlas projects changes in tree and bird habitats under climate change, as well as the new data that are available.
NEW! Climate Change Tree Atlas results for the New England region are now available via the Atlas website.


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Night Shift and the Nature of Fear
Let's talk about fear. We won't raise our voices and we won't scream; we'll talk rationally, you and I. We'll talk about the way the good fabric of things sometimes has a way of unraveling with shocking suddenness. – Stephen King, Introduction to Night Shift
I finished reading Stephen King's first collection of short stories, 1978's Night Shift, a few months back, but have avoided writing down any thoughts on it.
No one wants to expound on a subject of which they feel they have little to contribute, and for me everything that needs to be said about Night Shift was said perfectly by Stephen King in his introduction to the book. In fact, it may be one of the most perfect pieces King has written, if not certainly the most perfect he had written in 1978.
King's opening act serves as an essay on the nature of fear: why he writes horror, and why people read it. I found myself not only more mesmerized, but more haunted by this than any of the tales in King's gruesome set list. Continue Reading


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How long does it take to become a Physician Assistant?
"Just how long does it take to become a Physician Assistant?" is the top question that's asked on every single PA-related online forum. Well, here's the answer:
- The admission requirements vary depending on institution. Most institutions require students to have a science-related college degree while a few training institutions grant admissions even to students who have healthcare-related work experience. If you have a science degree and some experience, the admissions committee will welcome you with open arms. So, the point here is that you must count the years that you have to spend in getting a degree and/or the work experience.
- Here's an important note: if you do not want the admissions committee to reject you, read up on the history of Physician Assistants and ask a doctor or a healthcare professional to help you prepare for the interview. These professionals will know what an admissions committee will likely ask. If your application is rejected by the admissions committee, you have to take the time wasted into account just in case you don't get admission in another college.
- Before you enroll for a Physician Assistant course, know that the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) requires students to complete a 26-month "accredited" course before starting practice. So, add another 26 months to the calculations, and ensure that the college you are about to enroll with is accredited. The exams are administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants' (NCCPA). Ask the institution for an information package or a brochure.
- The Physician Assistant's admission process requires a student to open an account with Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CAPSA). Now, CAPSA does not process applications in quick time – it takes rather long. So, you must ensure that you take this CAPSA-process time into account and apply early – it should not be that your application is cleared after the college has started its course. You must ensure that you do not lose any time.
- Some colleges require students to complete other application formalities, such as applying to an affiliated or accompanying university. Take this time into account while calculating the admissions process and as another part of the answer to every budding Physician Assistant's favorite question – "Just how long does it take to become a Physician Assistant?"
If you consider the factors stated above, you will realize that becoming a Physician Assistant is a long process and requires a few years of study and experience, and very careful planning and preparation.
Can I start practicing as a Physician Assistant after my graduation?
Once the Physician Assistant course is over, the graduate has to be tested before he is allowed to practice. These testing programs and exams vary from state to state. However, one thing is common and that is all Physician Assistant graduates must successfully complete a licensing exam that is administered by the state. Some states allow Physician Assistants to start practice after passing the license exam, while some states don't. You should factor this time into your calculations as well.
How much time does it take to become a PA-C, and what is a PA-C?
You should know that Physician Assistants who take the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants' (NCCPA) exam are given the title of PA-C (Physician Assistant-Certified). If the PAs want to latch on to the "C" after the PA, they must maintain 100 hours of continuing education every 2 years, and get their skills tested once in 6 years.
So, all these factors answer the critical question – How long does it take to become a Physician Assistant? As stated earlier, becoming a Physician Assistant is a long process and therefore one must be sure of what one does every step of the way. Calculate the time that will be taken before enrolling for the course and you will find that careful planning and timing can lead you to success in the profession.


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Patrick Regan has kindly shared the material from his George Heath site with readers of the Victorian Web, who may wish to consult the original.
[Presentiment — Foreshadowings — A Dread — Foreknowledge
of Sorrow — A Damp on the Spirits — As the Thermometer
will sink, tho' the approaching storm be days distant.]
[Secret composition — Rhymes — A Wild and Ardent Love of
Nature and Song — But feeling at first ashamed to own it.]
Faded as fades the twilight into dark
Or as the brook into the rivers rush.
When the first bright truthful dream is rudely broken, the
flowery paradise of fancy vanishes and the real world
looks so hollow and desolate — the mountains when seen
from a distance and bathed in golden sunshine, look
beautiful indeed, but when the cloud hangs upon their
brow, and when seen nearer, look inaccessible, sterile and
Faded as fades the twilight into dark, as fades the sunbeam
in the land. — There fell a shadow on her as a blank falls
on the earth, when, noiselessly a cloud obscures the sun.
O realm of joy and love! O land of light,
O home of peace eternal, infinite,
How longs the soul so press with untried wing,
The changeless glory of the noontide skies;
To drink the nectar of thy taintless air;
To lave its prisoned feet, so weary now.
Amid the calm, belustered land of
Thy ever smiling ocean crystalline;
To wander o'er thy golden sanded shore;
To bask amid thy living growths and blooms,
To revel 'mid the light and love of God.
O far off island in the monster sea;
O longed for, hoped for, shadowed, unrevealed,
We gaze with longing, tearful eyes, into
The great dark silence of futurity
Wondering what pilot-star shall guide us there.
The spirit reaches out with yearning hands
To catch the floating weeds that speck the shore.
Wrestlings, upsoarings huge, unspeakable,
Feeling aye upward, blindly upward still
As gropes the tendril towards the larches top;
As turns the blind his blank white eyes towards
The gorgeous beamings of the setting sun,
And reaches out and laves his withered hands
Amid the soft warm volume of his rays,
And feels within a pallid reflex of his light,*
And tho' he cannot see it, knows 'tis there.
Home of the beautiful, the good, the true,
How faints the immortal 'mid the realm of day,
Worn out with watching, yearning, heat and toil,
O'er shadowed with the constant cloud of sin;
How languishes, and grieves, and toils, and pants
To reach its native purity and rest.
O clime of tuneless tides, unshadowed skies,
Unfading blooms, untroubled hearts and brows,
How dear thou art: we clasp our hands and kneel.
Our tear-damp eyes strain upwards towards the stars
Which gaze unpitying down with sylph-like calm,
How dear thou art! We love thee more even than
The home-sick exile loves his motherland:
We stand, like him, upon the shore and pierce
Far o'er the dusky glamour of the waves
Towards where we dream thou art, beloved home!
*Correction by the Author (a lunar rainbow as it was).
* * * *
Oh! all we know of beautiful and good!
Oh! all of fair that in our purer hours,
We dream might be — if other things might be —
If earth were pure, and sinless all could be —
Oh, all the holy whisperings of light,
Of glory and of purity that float
Into our souls in hours of calmer thought,
Are found, beloved, in thee — beloved, in thee!
Oh, all the lofty soul imagining,
The ideal world we revel in sometimes,
But dreamed of here, in thee are realized.
Oh! all the spirit tides that surge and dash
With panting, articulate murmur, 'gainst
This shore of flesh, shall find an entrance there.
Sometimes we wander in the world of sense
And grow enamoured of its fading toys
And clasp the finite to the infinite.
And wonder why the weary void remains.
Sometimes its toils and care around us press
And clasp us close and cumber us about
And surge us from the living path afar.
Anon its trouble-times rescinds our faith
And then thou seem'st to be so far away.
We cannot realize thee — cannot feel
That thou art ever. Clouds so dense, so close
Around thee cling: thou grow'st to be a dim
Strange shadowing of fair legend lore,
And, oh! our souls could weep, as one
Weeps o'er the funeral of his loftiest hope.
And then some vision rises on our souls,
Some sense on which the seal of God is stamped
Distinct, complete and unmistakable.
It may be sunrise with her waking harp,
Her swell of song and dance of rosy dews;
It may be sunset with her flowery flood
Of radiance down pouring from the hills;
It may be midnight 'neath the awful stars,
And then we feel thee, O, so near, so near,
That we could almost grasp thee in our hands.
Autumn. The world was sad around: the change had come.
And Nature's face grew dim, and mute and sad —
Her gaudy weeds dropped fading round her form;
Her rainbow tresses, glossy once and fresh,
Brushed back to wanton with the love-sick wind,
Hung round her features limp and lustrous.
Her face altered, yet we scarce knew where;
Or looked the same, and yet a change had come
As when a fatal blight falls soft upon
A darling mother, who has seen old Time
Notch sixty marks upon the calendar
Of years, surrounded by the lives she got.
A change falls on her frame — a saddening blank —
They know 'tis so; yet scarcely comprehend.
The sweet lips smile so sweet; the lustrous eyes
Shine forth as light. The voice, though weak, and low
Is still as full of kindliness and love.
And yet something is different, — something changed —
A stooping of the form, patter of the steps,
A fading of the crimson from the cheek;
A weary sigh, perhaps they know not what,
And yet they feel she fadeth day by day,
And know her doom is fixed. The leaves hang sere
Upon the silent tree.
* * * *
The tearful sun wading through a hideous mass of inky cloud.
* * * *
Arrived as 'twere unto a stand-still point in life —
Even as a weary and belated traveller in a strange
Land arrives at a place where two ways cross —
His feet are blistered; his heart is sad, and he longs
To reach some friendly shelter, and would fain
Start on that way which will soonest bring him
To it; but the thence untravelled ways stretch
Far o'er the desolate moor and out into the dreary
Night, and he, sorrowing, hesitates, knowing not
Which to choose.
* * * *
Akin to nature building nests in imitation to birds.
* * * *
And when the first green leaves came budding out
Upon the gooseberry arid the currant trees,
We raised him, and he gazed a long wrapt look
Through the green windows o'er the daffodil beds,
Then smiled, and said, "Please, mother, go and bring
The one small twig with tiny leaves at top?"
I got him one, and then, and then a withy twig
With little yellow goslings dotted o'er,
He looked them round as if examining
Their web and thread — the marvel of their make,
Then, kissing them, look'd up, and softly said,
"Thank God! thank God, I've seen the leaves again.
I stand alone amid the human world —
No hands fall softly on my fevered brow;
No tender voice gives shape to pitying words,
That loving, lingering eyes are frequent with,
'Tis sad to have no friend, no love, and none
To feel a passing interest in one's dreams.
The western bard says, "none was ever yet
So utterly alone and desolate
But that some kindred heart responded to
The secret beatings of his own." But, ah!
I stand alone upon the senseless hills,
Outside the centre of all human ties;
I stand upon the hills where nothing grows
But shrivelled penury and stunted care,
And where the chill wind of adversity
Beats over on my white and stony brow.
I stand and gaze upon the jostling throng —
The surging sea of faces in the vale —
The scathing, struggling mass of life and strife;
An ocean rocked and tossed by passion winds
Whose waves for evermore upsurge and sink,
Upon where crests, like ocean weeds and flowers,
Strange faces changing and commingling aye
Rise for one moment on the paly light
And gleam out spectral — fade and disappear,
While others rise — faces of morning hues —
Spring dawning faces, — beautiful and bright.
Touched into sunshine by the heart's delight;
Limned into laughter by the tickling shams
And many-coloured shells that float around —
Sweet girlish faces soft and apple bloomed —
Chaste youth and maiden gleams — crisp dusky locks,
And long brown glittering tresses stuffed and twined —
Pure faces white and innocent, wrought into smiles,
By the congenial contact with their kind,
Bring out things that raptures, gazes upon and smiles.
To see the sheeny sea unconscious of
The mass of hideous life that writhes below —
Calm solemn faces — faces ribbed with care —
Wild — agonized, imploring, torture-twitched —
Weird, hideous, cunning, stony-staring ones,
Convulsed and passion-warped and writhen —
Long, wrinkled, shrivelled, mad and vacant eyed,
Sad, patient, suffering faces white as is
The snow upon the unflinching northern hills,
Whose placid summits kiss the icy clouds —
Brooding, despairing faces, mute and blanched
With swoon-like motion bellowing evermore —
Rise, fall, commingle, vanish, swell and sink.
I stand a statuary sentinel upon
The dimless hills that skirt the plain of life,
My vision like a waif of air floats o'er
The dismal scene. I watch the constant whirl,
The eddying circle of the pied whirlpool
Deep in whose centre, ghastly horror-ribbed —
Enthroned amid the Sodom of his spoils,
Sits ghoul-eyed Death, in undisputed power
While round him float on black and putrid wing,
His goblin ministers, who do his will,
Impurpled crime, besotted ignorance,
And rabid lust and passion frenzy-fired.
* * * *
Night's pallid sentinels — the sleepless stars.
* * * *
He watched the shooting stars slip from his hold,
And glide with sheeny trails athwart the abyss,
And suddenly fade out and disappear;
And there his simple heart would, wondering, deem
Them worn out worlds, whose sands of time had ran,
Whom God had summon'd to the judgment seat.
* * * *
It was a bitter, cold, and sterile Spring,
One of those spiteful Winter-ridden times
When surly March lays down the sceptre
With a scowl, and, clinging to the dropping skirts
Of maiden April, spits his withering spite,
O'er half her length. The wind, day after day,
Howled fitfully among the pregnant trees
That waited patiently the cuckoo's chant
To hum their mass of heaving hidden life.
An almost constant rush of broken clouds
Swept o'er the wild and eerie looking sky.
Alternate storms of rain and hail poured down;
Anon the sun flushed forth with glistening rays,
And all the blue would be a moment clear,
Save here and there huge bouldered heaps of clouds,
With smoke — like billows gorged and globular,
And wool-white, flossy, upper sides, sometimes
Lay black in the pale blue long sinuous seams,
Of bushy branching mare-tail straggled far —
Besides the window he would sit and watch
The blustering hail flush white upon the world,
And then the great big bellied cloud slide off
And form a black wall on the southern rim.
And then the sunshine and the radiant bow
Limned 'gainst the sullen black with apex lost
Amid the blue that stretch'd above or gaze
Along the windy, rock-bound passages
Of the auriferous clouds, which seemed to be
Long vistas opening into unknown lands.
Then he would sigh, "The parable of life,"
And still he lingered, and the time wore on
And came the south wind with the filtering showers,
The sultry air, and distant thunder-clap,
And all things seemed to surge with prisoned life.
The birds sang, and the fickle swallows came
To skim upon the surface of the pool;
To build a nest upon the drooping shed,
To sit amid the sycamores and sing.
* * * *
Sorrow, like an eclipse hung upon his brow.
* * * *
The past seems far away, and all things changed,
Stand amid the present calm, and gaze far
Back and all the calm receding but fadeless past
Seems like a feverish-troubled dream.
* * * *
As slips the moon into the bosom of a still white cloud.
* * * *
The earth holds up its sad pale face to the soothing kiss of night.
He watched them twittering past the window, glide,
And said, "Thank God, I've seen ye once again,"
And thereupon he sang a little song —
"Thrice welcome, fragile messengers of Spring,
Gay visitant of Summer's holiday —
The most assiduous votary of mirth —
Glad herald nymph in Flora's fragrant train —
Wrapt worshipper at Phoebus' pageant shrine, —
Thrice welcome to our homely sea-girt isle,
And to thy tenant-right upon the beam,
And to our fields and bowers, our homes and loves.
I saw thee with thy tribe awhile ago,
Twittering a gay farewell, serenely glide
Into the gold of morning's misty realm.
I watched ye till ye faded from my sight.
And then I bowed my head and wept, for ah!
I never hoped to see ye birds again,
Unless, indeed, to watch ye from above,
Where never wing of yours may hope to soar.
I wondered often as the days went on
How far you were, if any friendly tale
Had chanced to chase your flight, if you had gained
The wished for port, all safe and well, and if
Your wings were very tired with winging o'er
So many hundred leagues of mottled waves.
All through the winter days I wondered oft
What spot of earth your restless wings had found —
If some gay tract amid unheard of lands —
If some rich island home 'mid virgin tear —
If some salubrious haunt 'mid unknown climes,
Where foot of man has never stamped its mould,
And never voice of mortal echoed 'mongst
The flowers festoon'd and forest-braided hills,
And not one sound disturbs its charmed sleep,
Save now and then the echoing roll of some
Enormous crumbling rocks o'ercome at last.
* * * *
What though the world should never hear my song,
Sings not the nightingale a tender song
Amid the forest shades, and 'neath the night,
Unto a slumbering world? And why? Because
God gave to it a song — and thus it sings,
Not unto man, but God, who blessed it so.
* * * *
The night comes forth with sadness, leading on
The dusky gloom, swaithed hours thro' whose darkened realm
The hearsed clouds, with sad funeral pall,
And muffled step and slow, pass on and on,
Crape-plumed and draped, like mourners to a grave;
Like sobbing women bending o'er their dead;
Like languid ghosts with hands clasped 'cross the eyes;
And e'en the day seems like a still white slab
Upon a tear-damp grave, on which one reads
The mournful legend of departed joy.
* * * *
O Fate! I only asked thee for a friend,
A tender, loving, sympathising friend:
I never hoped to win a dearer tie.
O Fame! I only asked thee for a wreath,
A simple wreath, to please my friend withal.
O Life! I only asked thee for a moderate lease,
A simple, quiet lot, ungilded by
The gloss of wealth and power, but blessed with health.
O Earth! they have not deigned to heed my prayer;
Thou wilt be kinder to me, mother earth.
And give me all I ask of thee, I know,
A quiet resting-place.
* * * *
I've seen the sun that through a Summer's day
Rode gloriously across a cloudless sky,
Sink 'mid the western mists with solemn face,
Kept off his beams, and all his power at night.
* * * *
The noontide glory, twilight's mystic calm,
The morning's flush, and sunset's ardent glow,
Are marvellous; are all Thy works, O God.
[Describe some of the Works — Grand Scenes.]
When he would pause in listening attitude,
And to his eye would spring the ready tear,
And he would softly sigh; while round his soul
Association wove its mystic spell.
* * * *
[Songs of the Day — The Night — The Seasons — Songs of the
Heavenly Bodies — A Perpetual Voluntary of Praise to God.]
My life is full of change, and hence of pain;
A beauteous object rises on my sight,
And joins the current of its life with mine —
A tender object that my soul could love.
It blooms before me chaste and glorious;
The tendrils of my heart entwine it round:
I glow to love it so, till I could kneel
And pray in piteous strains — Abide with me;
Be true, and pure, and tender, as we dream
That life and love should be; O share with me
The sadness and the dream of life; and then
So I can bear the shadow and the storm,
And live and wrestle as a man should do:
Oh, do not leave me as the rest have done!
But ah! just then it fades and leaves a pang,
A wailing bitterness within my soul,
A tomb amid the graveyard of the past;
While others come to fill the vacant place,
But only come to fade when dearest loved;
And thus my life is one long scene of change,
Until association, sighing, haunts
Sad memory's blotted page, and every scene
Reflects a shadow on the stream of life.
* * * *
No sound was heard
But the simultaneous sobbings of the wind;
And, far away amid the night somewhere,
The guttural mutterings of a cataract,
Like the dull murmur of approaching storms,
A distant clamour of awakening winds,
Or hollow murmurs of subsiding waves.
* * * *
By Time's resistless toil, huge piles that through
Unnumbered ages laughed his power to scorn;
Or crush of giant tree, that years and years
Had stood up spectral, naked and decayed;
Or wildly, frightful growl, or shriek of some
Fierce beast, or monster bird apocryphal;
And if ye sported o'er unfurrowed lakes
Unexhausted by the song of plashing oars,
Or rippling laugh of tourists on the shore;
Dull, stagnant lakes, besotted in their rest,
Half matted o'er with water, weeds, and flowers, —
Bestudded here and there with wooded isles,
Whose charming foliage braids their sombrous shores, —
Great strumpet sketches, swelling in the glamours
Of Sol's uxorious spell, whose amorous gaze
Flaps fulsomely and changelessly upon
Each pulseless breast, from day to day, or if
He wandered to the far-off orient,
Where flash the glittering spire and mineret,
And dome and mosque, and temple huge mooresque,
And floats the gay gondola dreamily;
O'er charmed lakes that drank the lustrous sky,
And azure bays that whisper of the sea,
No timorous rivulets, 'twixt banks of bloom,
And where the luminous firs thy dreams, 'mid
Great forest stretches of umbrageous palm,
And 'cross the gay festoons of creeping vines,
That span the still ravines and forest breaks,
And golden-plumaged birds with singings glide,
And 'mid the bosky vales a world of flowers,
A tropic growth of flowers luxuriates,
And virgin lilies bend o'er crystal streams,
And nod and kiss the ripples as they glide
Beneath the soft aroma-breathing breeze,
And airy groups in robes fantastical,
In all the gay romance of love and youth,
Make resonant with laughter-trills the heights,
Where glows an incandescent radiance still.
* * * *
My life seems thus to me — a hay-day morn,
With sunshine fair and calm but dim with mists,
And cauled with clouds that bulged their black-ribbed shapes
Along the glory of Aurora's bower.
A dawning dimmed, and damped with shades at first,
But mid-day up the east a rift rose up,
And from the ether calm, and blue beyond,
The sun steals forth with wonder-making power,
And poured an evanescent glory out,
And wakes to life the music of the earth —
A rapturous song of happiness and love.
Anon a storm ferments adown the west,
And silently the great black clouds steal up
And gather round the foreheads of the hills.
The wind upsprings fitfully at first,
And chafes the elements to hideous war.
The lightning glares; the thunder roars and rolls;
The rain pours down, and darkness all the day:
Even so my life was calm, but dim at dawn.
Anon a glory burst upon my life,
And o'er my tranced and listening soul there stole
The wondrous echo of a raptured song.
Anon affliction's cloud closed o'er my soul,
And Sorrow's tempest bursts around my head,
And all of joy seemed hustled out of life;
But ever, 'mid the pulses of the storm,
The echo of that song comes back to me,
And fills my life with charity and love,
And gives me fortitude to live and hope —
The one sweet drop of nectar in my cup.
* * * *
A long black shoal of clouds lay in the still
Blue ocean, like rock bow'd shore of some
Chaotic island waste, huge blocks on blocks,
Vast oblong heaps of parti-coloured shade,
And isolated lumps of gleaming quartz
Unshaped, auburn, like tufts of yellow broom,
In strange confusion tumbled everywhere.
* * * *
Rich honey falls, like dew, had drizzled on
The sheeny leaves of the old oaks and elms,
And glistened there, exhaling nectar's scents:
Each tree a posey fragrant, and a busy mart
Where myriad bees awoke a constant hum.
* * * *
Be mine
To sow the country with a plenteous stock
Of noble deeds; to simplify great thoughts;
Digest great truths, and soften down harsh shapes
For lesser minds to grasp; to say sweet things,
And throw them broadcast to the winds; to heal
Sad wounds that ache, and purify the font
Of inner thought; to think for those who toil
And suffer silently, and have not time
To think the life they feel; to be the voice
That utters all the panting heart of still
Blind, patient, labour-life, throbs audibly
To dream; to raise the standard of example
Worthy of life; to soothe, with kindred hand,
With tender, pitying hand, the weak, the wronged,
The erring, suffering ones, and to the bad
Be evermore a conscience of reproach.
* * * *
The floods far up the valley blustered white
Amid the dark moon-mingled scowl of night;
The hills around them rose black-bowed and stark;
The clouds above them swayed in densest mist;
The torrents hissed and surged, and sobbed the wind,
Like the vast heavings of a deathless mind
Gone mad with agony — strong, furious, shrill;
Anon, exhausted, calm and stony still.
The tempest fiends, with fearful shriek and bark,
Lashed into madness, wrestled 'mid the dark,
Low cringing, crouched the black wind within trees
And bushes stooped, as men sunk on their knees
In awful prayer — stern, ghoul-like eyes afraid
Gleamed pitifully amid the shifting shade.
Storm demons, vapour-draped and icy-faced,
Hurl'd headlong torrents o'er the shuddering waste;
Anon the slopes precipitately tore
Horse wreaths of cataracts, whose thundering roar
Clashed with the trumpet blarings overhead,
Dimmed to the shuddering soul in shadow dread.
Beyond the hills the huge volcanic blaze
Of belching furnaces, a ghastly haze
Of lurid sallowness, now dark, now bright,
Hung on the clouds amid the western night,
An awful scoffing of sardonic spleen;
A fearful laughing of a devilish dream.
* * * *
Noon-day, and dark and drear: the tempest lowers;
Loud round the heights the wild Boreas roars;
Anon the murk breaks up; the sun bursts forth,
While foaming storm-steeds rear far up the north,
And great white bulks athwart the azure sweeps,
And on the circling hills the snow lies deep.
Then the grey steed dust thickens on the air,
And long grim shadows gather, gape and stare,
And o'er the landscape bursts the torrent fray,
And gloom and desolation rule the day.
Vast night hath vanished, and the quiet stars
Have passed into obscurity of light,
And o'er the wintry landscape big paunched clouds
Glout sullenly; the light is scarcely light;
A damp all-clasping gloom is everywhere.
My temples ache and throb, and sickness burns
Silently within me.
All my hopes and dreams
Have pressed into the shadows for a time,
And with the day — the melancholy day —
My darkened spirit holds a gloom-brow'd vigil.
How very small our little objects seem!
How very trivial our pursuits and plans!
When viewed in retrospect.
And hunger still the mouthing vapours rolled
About the dark, dumb mountains, and the trees
Grew awe smit, standing spectre still: at times
A shuddering brake about the upper leaves,
And all the body of waters waiting long
In awful calm, and durst not utter voice.
Anon! South-east the clouds upsprung above
The gaunt horizon, and an arc of pale,
White, misty light spread upwards, widened out,
And all the earth-pearl sown from east and south,
And shadow-darkened from the west and north,
Lay wondrous still and eerie underneath;
And, lo! an angel with a mist-wreathing brow
Rose, faintly-shadowed, 'mongst the snowy steam,
And grew, and grew in grand proportions, while
The upper light upon his inner robe
Of radiance dimly, subdued, down-poured.
* * * *
Existence is a child's race for the cup,
The golden cup, that 'neath the rainbow lies.
The more his.
* * * *
The darkness was rift with a noise like a cataract's fate,
And earthward swept, blinding a radiance as awful, as bright;
The island bent fear-struck, the forest, the fen, and the night.
The reef and the ocean were all
A-quiver, a-glamour, a-glimmer with light.
* * * *
[Second Daughter.]
She sang sweet songs in her young girlhood's days,
Around the lanes and around our lowly cot;
And she could sing — O how my lass could sing!
Youth passed among the fields o' Summer night,
And bent their heads to listen to her song.
* * * *
A dense disordered march of vapour-rack
Shot through with mists of lights, dividing wide,
Stirred o'er the mountains 'neath the southern sun.
The trees, like lank, impassioned hands outstretched,
With mute imploring gestures, rose distinct
The deadly gloom; as when some new waked soul
Lifts up strong, agonising hands for light.
* * * *
Emblems of a rushing noise.
he drowsy sibilence
Of wind-swept oaks whose robe of withered leaves
Have struck through all the blasts of winter fierce.
* * * *
I've one withered leaf hangs on an oak
Through all the change of Autumn, and the blasts
And sterile loneliness of Winter; while
The frail companions of her Summer's day
Have dropped away and mouldered into dust.
I've seen it hang a shrivelled thing amid
The fructuous opulence of young maid Spring,
Until another generation burst around
And hid it 'mid the tincture of her charms,
Until the first brown tinge had spoiled the green,
Then slip away in silence, as if 'twas
The first fruits of another Winter dearth.
So I am now a withered thing, alone;
A waif of other days — all things are changed;
I long to slip away unseen, unheard,
To those I loved, that long have left me lone.
* * * *
They tell me that the more the vine is pruned,
The deeper, richer is her wealth of fruit;
They tell me that the more her roots are pressed
And prisoned low, the stronger and the higher
The palm lifts up her head unto the heavens.
I know that more the creeping camomile
Is trodden on, the more luxuriantly
It grows; the richer fragrance flings around.
So be it with my life; the more the scythe
Of death lops off the dear ones from my stem,
The greater growth of tenderness, the fruit
Of truer, wider sympathies for all.
The loved, the sorrow-thirsty round me cluster.
The more affliction grindeth on the roots
Of my existence, still the more my soul
Wings upward towards the atmosphere of heaven,
Where vision hath a grander, wider zone,
And where the air is purer; and the more
Misfortune stampeth on the bud
Of my out-going hopes, the greater be
The calm luxuriance of my flowing thoughts;
The richer fragrance of my words and deeds.
* * * *
[Thoughts for a Prayer.]
And thou, O Virtue, with the brow benign,
O Virtue, purest spirit of the earth,
And rarest, whether in the garret high
Above the grossness of the city's sin,
Or in the valley 'mongst the villages,
Or on the mountain's brow, where pastoral toil
Makes beautiful the landscape, where dwellest thou?
O come and dwell with me, and calm and curb
Impulses, headstrong waywardness, and bring
My passions underneath thy sway benign!
O come and be my prompter — be my friend,
And travel with me under every sky,
And lead me up the path of innocence
Unto the home where holy honour sits
Enthroned, and communes with calm-browed peace.
* * * *
And I was conversant
With all the moods of nature, and to me
They seemed the shadowings of things beyond.
I thought that, may be, in this visible,
The shape, the pattern, the unravelling
Of the invisible was charactered,
If but the puny mind of puny man
Could rise above itself and comprehend
The mighty hieroglyphs. I loved the stir,
The throb, and heaving of the Spring; and then
The wide magnificence of Summer, with
The glow of suns; the wave of woods and chant
Of animation; then the mournful roll
Of mist-surpliced, and wind-wielded Autumn, borne
Athwart the hecatom of leaves full low,
And silent-like funeral; and then
The dearth and dissonance of Winter: Death
Awaiting resurrection life.
* * * *
I looked Death firmly in the face, and ceased
To start and tremble at the thought of him.
I reasoned with my coward faculties,
And quivered at the name, and conjured up
Before in array the figure Death,
In every possible shape, and drew a line
Round all his terrors and his properties,
And analysed, and pondered deep, and viewed
Them o'er in every aspect, till my mind,
Accustomed to their seeming, ceased to fear.
I chose the fearfullest of shapes, and reasoned thus:
"The worst, if it should come, is only so.
I'll steel my soul to meet the most severe.
A thousand things may hap to soothe the blow,
Or may be change the current for a time.
There are full many chances in the lap
Of Providence: 'tis probable that I
Shall draw a blank; and yet 'tis possible
That I may draw a prize; I cannot tell:
I know not, but at least Death will but be
A visitor once; why should I die and die
A hundred deaths a week? I thought, I'll work,
And do the little I may do while I can.
* * * *
The clouds lay all along the mountains, where
The night marched like the tide from sea to sea,
And mists in ragged fringes hung upon
The edge of darkness.
* * * *
Sometimes when we have sped the downward course
With headlong foot, a sadder pause falls on
The fever of our spirits; e'en as one
Who wanders in the darkness; comes at length
Unto a chasm's edge and knows it not,
But feels a sudden dread within his soul,
The presence of a danger which compels
The shuddering sense to check the giddy foot
Before the last, the fatal step is taken.
Last modified 4 September 2002


text:
Substantial Source Water Protection Program Implementation Award
This award recognizes systems that have made substantial progress in implementing measures that protect their source water from contamination. In addition, this year we extend special recognition to the Edwards Aquifer Authority for coordinating source water protection in their area of jurisdiction.
- Criteria
- Past Winners
- Nominate a PWS for Next Year's Award
- How Can My PWS Become Eligible for This Award?
To be recognized for having substantially implemented a source water protection (SWP) plan, a community public water system (PWS) must meet these criteria:
- Completion of a SWP project in which these tasks were accomplished:
- potential sources of contamination (PSOCs) identified in their source water susceptibility assessment (SWSA) were ground-truthed
- best management practices (BMPs) for protecting the PWS's water sources were recommended
- Has successfully implemented at least one of these BMPs:
- Adoption of source water protection ordinances;
- Adoption or existence of contingency plan;
- Dedicated source water protection staff or staff dedicated to a watershed (or groundwater) protection plan;
- Implementation of source water protection outreach and education;
- Adoption of or participation in any source water protection BMPs that may be part of an adopted watershed (or groundwater) protection plan.
- No major violations or enforcement actions against the PWS during the recognition calendar year.
- Have not received this award in prior years.
Past Winners of the Substantial Source Water Protection Program Implementation Award
- City of Houston
- City of Marion
- City of San Marcos
- City of Schertz
- City of Vernon
- Cash Special Utility District
- County Line WSC
- Crystal Clear WSC
- Diamond Pure Water Company
- Granite Creek
- Green Valley SUD
- Gruene River
- Meadow Woods
- Oak Meadows
- Pattison WSC (2017)
- San Antonio Water System
- Sierra West
- Texas State University
Congratulations to each of these water systems!
Special Award: Source Water Protection Partnership
The Edwards Aquifer Authority is responsible for protecting the recharge area of the Edwards Aquifer in Hays and Comal counties. In 2006, the EAA:
- coordinated meetings between the TCEQ and interested water systems in those counties
- identified potential sources of contamination to the aquifer in its recharge zone
- worked with local school districts to incorporate information about source water protection into the curriculum
- provided local public water systems with lists of best management practices for protecting the aquifer
As a result, the area receiving the EAA's outreach produced 13 of the systems recognized in 2006. For these activities, the EAA was presented a special Source Water Protection Partnership Award.
How Can My PWS Become Eligible for This Award?
Start by completing a source water assessment (SWA). If you have already completed your SWA, begin implementing the recommended BMPs. For more information, review Source Water Assessment and Protection: What's the Connection? or contact our Drinking Water Special Functions staff and ask to speak to a member of the Drinking Water Protection Team.


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Friday, January 8, 2016
Five Minute Friday: Seek Him FIRST
Seeking Him first. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that I need to do is sit down in whatever quiet space is available with a cup of tea, and open His Word. Fill my mind with Him and His thoughts FIRST. First, before Facebook, before getting immersed into social media, or the cares of my day- my husband, my children, my work, my Netflix list. First.
The Bible tells us that if we will seek Him first, then "all these things shall be added to us." God wants to add to us, but we must FIRST seek Him.
I don't know about anyone else, but I know that when I put Him first, it pays off. I'm still learning various ways to put Him first, I know it goes beyond reading the Bible first thing in the morning. It's in thinking His thoughts first in any given situation. It's in obeying Him FIRST before I question. It's in sharing Him with my children and others before I share anything else with them. Seek. Him. First.
This post is a part of Five Minute Friday where writers set their timer for five minutes and WRITE. Click over to see more submissions!
Posted by Becky Hubbard at 11:09:00 AM
Five Minute Friday: Seek Him FIRST
Becky Hubbard
Faith|Five Minute Friday|Spiritual Growth|The Word of God|Comments Links to this post
Labels: Faith, Five Minute Friday, Spiritual Growth, The Word of God
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text:
This is a difficult post, because I'm honestly torn on how I feel about this company. But I have to be honest and I wouldn't want to recommend you guys something for you to be potentially disappointed. Always here for honesty, guys and girls. To give you a bit of background, Blow LTD is an app that's pretty much like Uber for beauty. You find someone close by and book them for hair, make up or nails. They pop around to your house, do it for you and leave. Simple.
To make it easier, I'm just gonna list the pros and cons. Sound cool? Cool.
Pros – it's convenient, it's quick, you have an option for hair, nails or make up, you can book in groups if you want to, and they can come to your home, hotel or work place.
It's majorly convenient – if you're in work until 5 and have a night out at 10, it's great knowing you can book someone to pop around, sort out your hair and leave. Fab. You can also book in for a few people if you're having a girls night in, hen do, night before your wedding, etc. And they come to your home, hotel or workplace – so getting your nails done on your lunch is actual possible. Amazeballs.
I will admit was quite nice knowing I was in my own house, I didn't have to make myself look fancy, I could sit and let my fake tan dry while we chatted away. It took away the pressure of blow drying my hair which is the biggest task when I'm going out.
Cons – it's expensive, I wasn't impressed with the quality.
Gosh, this is tough. I will state that I only had a blow dry and cannot comment on the make up or nail side, and I've only had it done the once, so my review doesn't reflect the whole range of the app. But lets talk about my experience.
Okay so, I'm really protective of my hair. Real protective. It is my baby, my pride and joy. To give you an idea of how much I love my locks, I drive an almost two hour round trip to get my hair done by the lovely Adele at Trimmers in Skelmersdale. She's a master when it comes to colouring, trimming and styling my hair and I trust her, so it's worth the journey knowing I'll be happy when I leave. Having someone come into my house when I don't have anyone recommending them isn't something I'd usually do – but I thought I'd give it a try. It should have been £40, but it was complimentary so I could test it. Now, £40 for a blow dry (I washed my own hair) is steep, in my opinion. But if the style worked out, then fair enough.
Unfortunately, I wasn't really happy with how my hair looked. It didn't look awful, but it wasn't worth the £40 I would have paid. But there is obviously a time limit for these girls to get hair done and go. If I had paid the £40, I would have requested at least a partial refund.
Will I be a return customer?
The question is – would I use them again? Hmm. With a discount code, yes. Simply for the ease of it. But I wouldn't pay full price for a blow dry when I have to wash my own hair and they're using my electricity (blow drying is one of the main household appliances that use the most electricity). I'd definitely give their make up looks a go if I had a discount code – their bespoke make up is 60 minutes for £55, their express make up is 45 minutes for £30.
Why not give it a go yourself and see what you think?
I've got a discount code here: CAR20


text: At last!: Judith DeLozier visited Moscow to teach students the all-new 3rd Generation NLP techniques and practices. 3-day NLP 3rd Generation NLP seminar and 1-day Statemanagement seminar. Judith is a remarkable NLP trainer, great person and very good teacher. Enjoy the latest addtions to NLP world! Must see for anyone, interested in self-development, coaching and etc.