text:
Brexit got you a bit confused?
Don't worry you're not alone—it's pretty complicated stuff!
This explainer should help cover the really important bits, so by the end of this article you'll know your remainers from your leavers!
You might have noticed that a lot of newspapers, TV shows, and even people around you are talking quite a bit about Brexit. But, what does Brexit even mean?
The Very Basics.
Well first of all 'Brexit', is the combination of the words British and Exit.
It represents the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European union.
So, who made this decision?
David Cameron, then Prime Minister, announced on the 22nd of January 2013 that if his political party (the Conservatives) won the upcoming election, the British people would get to decide whether or not they wanted to stay in the EU. The conservatives won the 2015 general election and the UK got its chance to vote.
What followed was a pretty fiercely fought battle between Eurosceptics and Europhiles both trying to make the best case for whether to leave or remain.
Whoops, sorry—two pretty big words there. Let's get some quick definitions.
Eurosceptic: Someone who doesn't want the European Union to get more powerful.
Europhile: Someone who supports the European Union.
These definitions link pretty closely with:
Remainer: A person who wants to remain in the European Union.
Leaver: A person who wants to leave the European Union.
The Eurosceptic side had people, like Nigel Farage, with the UK Independence Party and Conservatives, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. Among the remainers, there was David Cameron, Phillip Hammond, and the current Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Outcome of the Referendum
On the 23rd of June 2016 over 30 million British people voted on whether or not they wanted to stay in the European Union. The number of people who could have voted that day was over 46 million, meaning a turnout of 72.2 per cent.
The referendum result were:
Leave: 51.9 per cent.
Remain: 48.1 per cent.
But most news programmes and newspapers will round these numbers to 52 per cent and 48 per cent.
This result lead to David Cameron resigning as Prime Minister on the 24th of June 2016. Nearly a month later Theresa May took the up the top job and the responsibility of Brexit.
On the 29th of March 2017, Theresa May triggered article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, marking the start of a two-year negotiation process, which is set to end on the 29th of March 2019.
Article 50?
The Lisbon Treaty is basically an agreement between all the members of the European Union about how the EU should operate.
Article 50 of this agreement sets out a plan for any country which might want to leave the EU. It says once a country has informed the EU of its intention to leave, they have two years to negotiate with the Union on how they are going to withdraw.
So, what exactly are we leaving behind?
The basic idea of the EU is to make relationships between European countries easier.
The EU was set up following the Second World War with the aim to promote peace and cooperation across Europe.
Being part of the European union is like being in a club—currently there are 28 members, including the UK (as we're only in the process of leaving).
But what do you get for being part of this club?
Being a member means being part of the single market, which means no tariffs (tax/duty) on imports or exports between EU members. It also means free movement of people across borders and different law enforcement agencies can work together. The European Union even has its own laws, courts, and currency (but the UK never swapped its Pounds for Euros).
The European Union essentially allows the member states to all get along and work as one big body.
For some people however, this isn't worth the membership fee. People were concerned about the power of the EU and the UK's lack of control over immigration was a big issue for some. They thought the UK would be better off without the EU.
So, what does the future hold for the UK and the EU?
Honestly, that's the part everyone's a little unsure about right now. But stay tuned to The Impressionist for a look at what Brexit has in store for us!


text:
Special Intention
|Submitted By:
|Prayer Request:
|Dear Lord Jesus Our mother Mary and St Martin i ask and pray to you that the paperwork for the passport will be sorted out soon in Jesus Holy Name I trust in You always to help us.
* Prayers submitted through the Prayer Request Form will be moderated prior to publishing, to ensure the bona fides, as best as possible, of the submitter are genuine. St Martin Apostolate reserves the sole right to select/list prayer requests on this website.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
John Plumbe's view of the U.S. Capitol, half plate daguerreotype, circa early spring 1846./
John Plumbe Jr. was America's first nationally known professional photographer.
His early achievements were unmatched but almost forgotten for more than a century after his death.
Plumbe was born in Wales, the oldest of five children of an English physician and his wife. They emigrated to the United States in 1821, settling at Dubuque in 1836.
As a young adult, Plumbe trained in photography in Boston, shortly after French inventor Louis Daguerre announced his glass-plate process.
By 1845, Plumbe was in Washington, D.C., with his own studio, and soon had a chain of 25 in the eastern United States.
Plumbe was the first photographer to make a portrait of a sitting president, James Polk, in 1845. His other subjects included John Quincy Adams, Dolley Madison, Daniel Webster, Martin Van Buren and John James Audubon.
Plumbe published many of his photos in the Plumbe Popular Magazine, the first of its kind.By 1848, many of Plumbe's studios had closed as fees collapsed under the weight of competition.
n 1849, Plumbe went to California, spurred by the Gold Rush and eager to explore a route for a transcontinental rail line.
Plumbe moved back to Dubuque in 1854, where he tried to set up a mill with his brother. But Plumbe was ill from malaria, possibly from traveling in Mexico.
He also was ruined by a financial panic in 1857.
On May 29 of that year, Plumbe took a razor and slit his throat.
In 1972, seven of Plumbe's daguerreotypes were found at a flea market in San Francisco. They depicted the earliest photographic views of the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
In 1977, the Dubuque County Historical Society dedicated a monument at Plumbe's unmarked grave in Linwood Cemetery. In 1998, an exhibit in Washington showed works of the man who was ahead of his time.
Click here to give us feedback or to suggest a famous Iowan for a future profile.
More from Arts


text:
Click here to read an interview conducted by playbill.com with Annaleigh Ashford (former Glinda – Chicago, Broadway; former ensemble, u/s Glinda – 1st Ntl. Tour). Ms. Ashford is currently performing with the Off-Broadway company of "Rent" as Maureen Johnson.
This entry was posted in Media and tagged Annaleigh Ashford. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
From Chris Rock's pointed monologue to Michael Keaton's "fuck yeah" face, last night's Oscars broadcast included numerous "outrageous" moments. But perhaps the greatest few seconds of the 3-hour+ show came toward the end, all thanks to Morgan Freeman and his sudden hankering for Trefoils/Shortbreads.
Moments after presenting the award for Best Picture to Spotlight, and just as Rock was hastily wrapping up the show, the legendary "voice of God" (and now, your turn-by-turn directions) actor spotted the host waving an open sleeve of the Girl Scout cookies and did not hesitate for a second before helping himself. Even while Rock was still talking, Freeman approached, reached behind a seemingly hesitant Keaton, and claimed a few of the delicious cookies for himself. And as seen in the clips below, the downright legend bit into a cookie and promptly walked offstage during the rest of the closing monologue, because he's freaking Morgan Freeman.
You can tell Morgan Freeman is a cookie savage #Oscars pic.twitter.com/jW2DflHZ3M
— Andrew Jerell Jones (@sluggahjells) February 29, 2016
So while Freeman didn't take home one of those gold statues last night, he basically won the whole the damn show.
Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.
Tony Merevick is Cities News Editor at Thrillist and could go for some thin mints. Send news tips to email@example.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.


text:
Olympic Palace
A Class hotel located at Plaka, Athens
The Olympic Palace Hotel borders on the old quarter of Athens, Plaka, near Constitution and Kolonaki squares – the heart of the Athenian business world and nightlife-, within walking distance of the Acropolis and most of the famous ancient sites in Athens. The hotel is fully renovated, air-conditioned, sound-proofed first class hotel, with 90 rooms and suites, room-service, an elegant bar and a restaurant providing international cuisine, direct telephone facilities and colour satellite TV. The Olympic Palace Hotel is the ideal choice for business, holidays or a combination of both.
Hotel amenities
Air Condition, Baby Sitting On Request, Bar, Business Centre, Central Heating, Laundry & Valet service, Luggage Hold, Parking, Restaurant, Room Service, Safe Deposit BoxesRoom amenities
Air Condition, Direct Dial Phone, Hairdryer, ISDN Lines, Pay TV, Satellite Color TV, Sound-Proof Double-Glazzed WindowsOther amenities
Athens Concert Hall, Herodio Theatre, Medical Facilities, Night Life, Shops
No prices have been configured yet
Greece Hotels
Greece Travel Guides Places to Visit in Greece


text:
TAP Portugal
TAP Portugal is Certified with the 3-Star Airline Rating for the quality of its Onboard product and staff service, and the TAP Portugal home base Airport service. View the detailed Quality ratings for TAP Portugal product (seats, comfort, food & beverages etc), cabin staff service, and ground service standards at its home base of Lisbon Airport.
TAP Portugal Ranking
Related to TAP Portugal Rating
Airline Ratings Breakdown
The Ratings shown on this website show headline extracts of the key areas used in final assessment and grading. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in our web pages, the content is naturally subject to change and Skytrax cannot guarantee its accuracy or currency. We reserve the right to make changes to the information on the site without notice.


text:
I am super excited to start 2019 with my new project that allows me to combine;
- personal development
- outdoor adventure
- photography.
The project is about my personal journey to becoming a better photographer but also to improving myself as well.
Don't forget the tip of the week, later on in the post…
Here's how it will work…
Each week I will post a picture and explain the story about how I captured it and invite your [constructive!] criticism. I will also explain the challenges that I have encountered and how I overcome them with a weekly tip on your own personal development.
I will be passing on what I have learnt and have already started a YouTube channel that goes into a bit more depth on what the project is all about.
I want my images to evoke emotion, inspire and make people want to get outdoors.
Honest, Its not about the gear!
I have had a camera since I was about seven and have always taken the odd snapshot but never really taken it to the next level.
I want my images to be worthy of hanging on my wall, other peoples wall or even a gallery
I know what an f-stop is and also ISO and shutter speed so I'm not starting from scratch but up until now my images have been mediocre – average.
As far as gear is concerned I have a DSLR (a Nikon D5100) and a few lenses, you can see some more in depth chat about my gear on my YouTube channel here
I have also placed a condition on myself that I AM NOT ALLOWED TO BUY ANY MORE GEAR
Lets get clicking…
So, January is all about getting started, taking some pictures and setting my ground rules.
I'm starting with landscapes and then exploring outdoor environmental portraits and action/adventure.
Watch out for my first location shoot in the coming weeks …
Tip of the week…
Do something this week that takes you out of your comfort zone, if you are struggling then try taking a cold shower, it works on so many levels both physiologically and psychologically. You only need do it for 30 seconds, TRY IT!


text:
- All content and photographs © Lauren Harter and David Vander Pluym. No commercial use is allowed without permission.
- Western Arizona eBird bar charts: Click here.
Western Arizona birding locations: Click here.
LCRV Rarities map: Click here.
- Lauren's La Paz County Big Year is at 258!
Latest addition: Northern Parula
Recent Posts
Top Posts & Pages
- Arizona Strip AZFO Big Year Bill Williams Birding Locations Christmas Bird Counts Cibola NWR Conservation eBird Events Havasu NWR Identification Imperial County Lake Havasu La Paz County LCRV Migration Mohave County Molt Nevada News North American Migration Count Riverside County San Bernardino County Sound Recordings Species Profiles Techniques Trip reports Vagrants Yuma County
The Fablers
Category Archives: Identification
Streak-backed Oriole at CVCA
It's been a busy past couple months with doing vegetation surveys for GBBO as well as trying to get in as much birding as possible (along with the usual ebird and documenting rarities seen that results from such birding), that I … Continue reading
Posted in AZFO, eBird, Identification, La Paz County, Species Profiles, Vagrants Tagged Arizona, Coyote Willow, CVCA, Streak-backed Oriole, Vagrant Leave a comment
Looning and Grebeing in the LCRV: part 1
I'll just come right out and say it: Lake Havasu is the best place in Arizona to see loons and grebes. Four-loon and six-grebe days are possibilities on Lake Havasu. Loon numbers well into double-digits are not unexpected, and grebe … Continue reading
Sage Sparrow
By now I am sure that most everyone has heard about the split of Sage Sparrow into (at present) two species: Bell's Sparrow (Artemisiospiza belli) and Sagebrush Sparrow (A. nevadensis), two names I think are appropriate or at least I … Continue reading
Photo Study: Two Second-Cycle California Gulls
Phainopepla Fables has been on the back-burner lately as field work has kept us busy, and we've spent the past month or so catching up. We hope to update the blog more regularly now as we should have a little … Continue reading
Posted in Identification, Lake Havasu, LCRV, Mohave County, Molt, Species Profiles Tagged California Gull, Gull molt, Gull plumage, Second-cycle gulls 2 Comments
Is Nutting's Flycatcher actually two species?
Lauren Harter and I have been very busy with work lately and haven't had the time to update the blog as much as we like (but we do have some interesting stuff that we will hopefully finish and post soon!). … Continue reading
Posted in Bill Williams, Identification, Species Profiles Tagged AOU, Costa Rica, flycatcher, Mexico, Nutting's Flycatcher, Taxonomy Leave a comment
Species Profile: Franklin's Gull
The Franklin's Gull is an attractive member of one of my favorite groups. It is also always one of the highlights of spring waterbird migration in the LCRV. With a black hood and a pink blush to the chest even … Continue reading
Posted in Identification, Lake Havasu, LCRV, Migration, Molt, Species Profiles Tagged Franklin's Gull, LCRV 1 Comment
An interesting Ferruginous Hawk
Ferrugunios Hawk, the "Regal Eagle," a magnificent bird and a species I never see often enough. Though the light morph birds are beautiful, I am always amazed at the beauty of intermediate/dark morph birds. The rufous tones to the dark … Continue reading
Posted in Identification, La Paz County, LCRV Tagged Ferruginous Hawk, Parker Valley, Plumage Leave a comment


text:
Improving Productivity And Retention Through Employee Benefits
Neil Morrow
Employee Benefits Consultant
The E B Partnership
Entrepreneurs, such as yourselves, who have left the start-up phase behind should now be spending more time improving your business and looking to attract and retain the right staff who can further develop the business to fulfil its potential and maximise its value. The true test of a successful owner-managed firm is whether its founder is working for the business, or if it is working for them.
A key part of this process is to consider introducing employee benefits for staff which can improve morale, productivity and retention. But what are the options?
Under new legislation all UK employers will have to begin making pension contributions for 'eligible jobholders' with 'Qualifying Earnings' over the next 5 years. As an employer, you will have to make a contribution, as will the employee unless they opt out, but there are many different pension schemes available so it's worth doing your homework to find the one which is best for your business.
Another consideration is the administrative burden this legislation is likely to impose on your HR person/team in reconciling the potentially ever changing contributions, ensuring the eligible jobholders are invited at the correct time and that the necessary reporting is submitted to The Pensions Regulator.
The EB Partnership offers a review which will cover the financial and administrative implications to your business, as well as the Regulatory requirements which you will face over the next few years.
A further consideration is that there are currently 2 main ways of mitigating the costs of introducing a pension scheme for staff, but from 1st January 2013 this is reduced to a single option so for more information please contact us today!
Employee Life and Health Protection
You could achieve great peace of mind for your staff by simply offering some employer sponsored life assurance (amounts between 2 and 4 x basic salary are typical). This can often be done for a tiny premium (the equivalent of a fraction of 1% of your payroll in many cases!). An additional benefit for the company is that the cost can be offset as a business expense against Corporation Tax.
In addition, many companies provide a fully or part funded Private Medical Insurance scheme for their employees with the main advantage to employers being the speed in which employees can receive medical attention thus helping to minimise time away from the office.
Additional Benefits
Recently there has been an increase in the availability of some benefits for purchase by all staff through voluntary schemes. Employees can buy additional life assurance, critical illness cover, medical or dental insurance offered by their employer at discounted rates, and often with less stringent underwriting terms.
Once the benefits package has been agreed, due consideration needs to be given to how to launch the benefits to gain maximum interest and how to continue to ensure that employees are kept aware of their benefits and how best to use them. The EB Partnership combines both face to face meetings with independent financial advisers and online packages to help companies receive value for money from their benefit expenditure.
For more information please contact us on email@example.com
The EB Partnership is an appointed representative of Bond Wealth Management Limited which is directly authorised and regulated by the Financial Service Authority. Bond Wealth Management Limited is registered in England& Wales No. 05050019 registered office: 1 Royal Exchange Avenue, London EC3V 3LT. Financial Services provided by The EB Partnership include pensions, investments and regulated protection products, regulated term insurance and private medical insurance.


text:
For Mike Birbiglia, the play's the thing.
The Boston-bred standup comic credits his success with his critically acclaimed one-man shows to a professor at Georgetown University, where he once "rigorously" studied play and screenwriting.
"He told me not to waste my time writing full plays with multiple actors and a story line," says Birbiglia, on the phone from the U.S., where he's been touring his new show, Thank God for Jokes, to 100 cities. It comes to Toronto Sunday, Sept. 21 as part of JFL 42.
"He said, 'Just write a play with one actor. And you be that actor. All you need is a stool, a glass of water and room to perform it.'
"He's the one who planted that idea in my head."
Birbiglia's shows — What I Should Have Said Was Nothing, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend and Sleepwalk With Me — are all smart, whimsical, well-weaved collections of personal anecdotes that are very honest. At times, painfully honest.
"A lot of the stuff in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, I was uncomfortable talking about," he says of the show that was ultimately recorded for the small screen. (It's available on Netflix.) "Like my first kiss. I never talked about that for years. Eventually, I'd recounted it to friends while hanging out and they laughed."
With a sigh that suggests the embarrassment of that childhood moment still lingers, Birbiglia, now 36 and married, adds, "It was years until I could do it onstage."
Though he doesn't see much of a difference between standup and one-man shows at this point — "it's a hybrid," he insists — Birbiglia's easygoing, likeable approach doesn't have the bulldozing, loud desperation of some standup comics.
Witness the subtle confidence with which he opened his 2008 show What I Should I Have Said Was Nothing. Walking slowly onstage in a nondescript sweater and sneakers, Birbiglia casually says to his audience, "I'm going to tell you some stories."
It's no wonder Birbiglia has become a darling of National Public Radio. One of its flagship shows, This American Life, hosted by Ira Glass, has proven to be the perfect venue for Birbiglia to hone the poignant moments on display in his stage shows.
This is especially true of Sleepwalk With Me, which explores the comic's painful — literally, in one scene — sleep disorder. Birbiglia discussed aspects of the show on This American Life and it was parlayed into a feature film, which was also produced by Glass.
Early in his career, one artistic director described his work as "a little too sad," which Birbiglia says was exactly what he was striving for.
Birbiglia once claimed there is a thin line between laughing and crying. "You're facing down sadness with happiness and optimism, always teetering on the cusp of those two things," he says, promising that Thank God for Jokes finds that perfect balance.
"In some ways, comedy is about a religious experience," he explains. "It's a group of people in a room all laughing about some rumination that one person is telling onstage and laughing in affirmation of, 'Oh, yeah. I've experienced something like that, too!' "
Mike Birbiglia performs Thank God for Jokes as part of JFL42 Sunday, Sept. 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Denis Grignon has been a standup comic for 25 years. One day, he claims, he's going to write a one-man show.


text:
Dudley a scholarship recipient at Lebanon Valley College
Rydge Skyler Dudley of Selbyville is the recipient of an academic scholarship from Lebanon Valley College, the college announced this week. Dudley, intending to pursue a major in criminal justice, has been admitted for the fall 2014 semester.
Among the incoming class of 448 students, 63 percent rank in the top 30 percent of their high school class; 12 students were valedictorians; 52 percent of students earned a scholarship worth half-tuition; and five students received the full-tuition Allwein Scholarship.
Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa., has 1,600 full-time undergraduates studying more than 30 majors, as well as customized self-designed majors. Founded in 1866, LVC has graduate programs in physical therapy, business, music education and science education. Learn more at www.lvc.edu.


text:
Arguably, the most important change that happened for menswear after the French Revolution of the last of the 18th century, was the virtual erasure of surface detail as an important player in men's apparel. By that I mean, the focus shifted profoundly, from layered pattern, complex textiles, and multiple embellishments, to a focus on structure itself. It became all about the perfection of the cutting and finishing of a suit of clothing; not about texture, color, or fineness of decoration.
But lets take a look back at the prior century for a bit, here. Focusing on one particular suit, currently part of the vast collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
The images here are of a French made suit from between 1775-and 1785. Its entirely of silk, and would have been an appropriate garment for an upper class gentleman, or a lesser noble. Its level of decoration marks it as not fully formal court wear, but it would have been acceptable as daytime wear for someone at court.
To begin with, the textiles commonplace to such clothing were densely textural, multicolored, and finely woven. For men, these were more often than not variations of stripes, dots, or diamond patterns. This one is a deep chocolate brown, camel, and cream.
In addition to the suit body, very often the buttons to be used for the suit would be covered to match, and each one embroidered with a miniature version of the motif of the decoration.
And here, more than 200 years later, we still feel the effects of that change.


text:
How I Passed My CISA Exam
The company I work for has been sold. Most of the technology associates expect to lose our jobs in the upcoming months. Fortunately, the companies are offering a generous severance package. As the days counted down towards business close, we were also offered in-house professional training on a variety of subjects, many of which included vouchers for certification tests. Due to low demand, CISA training was not available for in-house training but the company offered to pay for independent study classes. The company would reimburse us for the certification exam if we passed. I took several of the instructor led classes and was approved for an independent study class for the CISA.
CISA Training Classes
I selected the CISA class from Alan Keele at www.certifiedinfosec.com. The class is a self-paced 180 day subscription at a cost of $449.95. He does offer a free trial lesson consisting of a pre-assessment test, training class, and a post-assessment test. I found the trial was a good representation of the general courseware. Keele's training consists of assessment tests and narrated slides. One of the nice things about the class is the instructor is available to answer questions via phone or email. The instructor promptly answered emails, and promptly responded to a voice-mail I left.
The class is broken down into the five CISA domains plus an extra series of lessons for "Consolidated Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Topics". Each domain consists of multiple lessons, each with assessment tests and a final assessment test for each domain. The class offers four final exams consisting of 150 questions each (As of this writing, the CISA exam is 150 questions). You can take the assessment tests more than once, but the order of the test questions will vary each time you take the test. The final exams are random questions from a pool – each time you take the final exam you will get different questions in a different order. The recommended passing score is 95%. I passed all my assessment tests with 95%+ but did need to take a few more than once. My final exam scores ranged from 85-93%.
The material seemed to be geared towards helping the student answer test questions. The slides are narrated and consist mostly of a bunch of test answers without the questions. When I spoke with Keele on the phone, he told me that was the strategy for helping students pass the exam. Since the exam is multiple choice, if the student could recognize the answers, the student will be able to recognize the answer even if the questions were unfamiliar. The CISA test is multiple choice – only one correct answer per question. The assessment questions from the class are in multiple formats including multiple choice, true-false, matching, and "select all that apply" (multiple answers for a question). Although not all class questions are multiple choice, the instructor told me his question/answer format is an easy way of combining multiple questions into one.
After the student answers an exam question, the instructor would provide text and narrated answers. In most cases, the instructor read the correct response, but did not provide much of an explanation. In some cases, the instructor would point out questions and answers that were plain silly and that ISACA's answer is not always the same the way as an experienced professional would answer. I noticed this when I took the test and I've heard the same thing from other people who have taken the exam.
The wording on the narration and slides were quite formal. This format was useful for some of the test questions but not helpful for a true understanding of the material. I found myself going to Youtube to get a better understanding. In my search, I found a series of short lessons from Hemang Doshi. Doshi has a very thick accent and my first inclination was to stop watching and look for another video. I decided to watch his video and found his video very helpful for an understanding of the material. Doshi's videos do an excellent job of explaining the concepts in very simple terms. He uses a keyword approach – "if you see this keyword", then "look for this answer". Doshi's videos are simple – a question, keyword, answer approach compared to Keele's formal approach. I found both classes together to be instrumental in my passing of the exam. I did find the practice tests and material from the two to be very similar, but the approach used in the lessons were quite different.
Doshi has quite a few videos, here is a nice sample of several of his videos:
Doshi also has a mostly free site. The site consists of videos, flash cards, study material with assessment test for each domain, and a final 150 question test covering all domains. The site also has a "30 day strategy for CISA Success". The 30 day strategy is a series of 10-20 questions to be taken one test per day over a period of 30 days. He asks for $30 for the "30 Day Strategy" to be paid upon passing the exam. No credit card or registration is required to take the lessons. Just pay after you pass the exam. I opted for this training, but in hindsight the site offers so many practice tests, it probably wasn't really necessary to take the 30 day strategy. Since I did use the material and passed my CISA, I did pay the $30 upon receiving my score.
The site is supported by pop-up ads and I received virus warnings when some of the ads displayed. The site itself seems to be fine but the pop-ups may not be. My recommendation is to have a good virus checker and close the pop-ups before they have a chance to populate. I would have recommended a pop-up blocker but the practice tests don't work properly with a pop-up blocker on.
WARNING – Be careful when going to the site. I'm not going to provide a link but will tell you where it is. BE CAREFUL (I am providing the website because the information IS very helpful:
My total study time for the exam was about 1-3 hours per day over seven weeks. Although I did not use any of the ISACA study manuals or test dumps, after taking the exams, hindsight tells me they may have been helpful.
ISACA also has abbreviated assessment tests on their website which are free. I didn't take those either but I think I probably should have. I used mostly Keele's paid training Doshi's mostly-free website. There are other sites that offer practice exams. Here are a couple I looked at but didn't do much with. Use at your own risk:
I also used Peter H Gregory's All-in-One CISA Exam Guide for supplemental study. The book has practice exams on CD but I spent so much time on Keele's and Doshi's tests, I never got to try the exams included with the book.
Passing the CISA The Exam
The CISA tests are offered May-June, August-September, and November-December. Previously, the tests were paper tests only given three days per year. The new tests are now online at testing centers and can be scheduled any workday over the three two-month testing windows. If you fail to schedule your exam during the sign-up period, you will need to wait for the next window.
Scheduling and paying for the test are done through the ISACA web site – www.isaca.org. You can pay for the exam without membership or you can become a member and receive a discount for the exam fee. Either way the total cost is about the same. I opted for membership because if I failed the exam, I could get a discount on my second try. Membership also has its advantages such as discounts on training materials and access to free continuing education classes. When you sign up for membership, your membership immediately becomes active, so you can get a discounted test immediately after you sign up for membership. Note that all ISACA memberships run from January through December. Membership is not prorated but I did get a 50% discount off the International dues when I signed up in June (no discount on the local dues).
Exams are scheduled in advance. Pay attention to the sign-up and testing windows. If you sign-up early you can get a discount off the exam fee. If you wait too long, you may need to wait until the next testing window. I signed up in mid-June for a June 29 testing date. Many cities have multiple testing centers, each with its own schedule of available test start times. When I signed up, not all testing times were available at all the centers. My first-choice location and testing time was not available. Fortunately, there were several other reasonable alternatives available. ISACA does provide a link to the testing centers times and locations so you can see what's available before you sign up for the exam. Paying for the exam and selecting the time/location are separate processes. You sign up and pay for the exam, THEN you select your exam time and location. Before you pay for the exam, make sure there is an open location and time slot that meets your needs.
Before I drove to the testing center, I walked my dog to get my daily exercise. I allowed plenty of time to reach the exam center. When I arrived, I drank a little water and grabbed a quick bite. Didn't want to be dehydrated or have low blood sugar. When I signed in, they asked for identification and for me to remove my watch and empty my pockets. They provided a small locker to keep my stuff and reminded me to turn my phone off or keep it in silent mode. They took me to a small cubicle handed me a couple of sheets of blank scratch paper and a pencil (I didn't need them). There was a short instructional video that explained how to take the test. Once I acknowledged I understood the video, the test and four-hour clock started. 150 multiple choice questions with four selections for each question. Only one correct answer per question. The process itself was pretty intuitive. Click on the bubble next to the correct answer then click the "Answer" button. You can change answers any time during the test until you signify you are finished. You can also flag questions for further review. Doing so will display a "flag" above the test question number.
A very common test taking advice for multiple-choice tests is "two choices can be readily eliminated". Although I find this is rarely true in practice, it was true for most of the CISA exam questions. For most questions, I found choosing from the remaining two choices was quite difficult. This was compounded by the fact that many questions were poorly worded. Being a techie at heart, I found many of the questions to be quite technical and the choice was often between two "correct" answers. The test taker needs to know the answer ISACA wants.
I spent quite a bit of time preparing for the exam, and got decent scores on my practice tests. I was confident going into the exam. Then I discovered most of the real exam questions were not ones I studied for. I recognized only a dozen or so questions. Fortunately, there was enough time for me to go through the exam twice. The second time through, I changed a dozen or so responses. Testing taking advice often says "your first response is usually correct- don't change your answers". I did anyway. On some questions, I was quite confident in my new answer. On others, not so much.
When I finished my second pass, there was more than 30 minutes left on the clock. I was really worried. The questions on the test were not the ones I studied for. The exam asked me if I wanted to take a survey but warned me I wouldn't be able to go back and change my answers. I took the survey. Then I got a preliminary score. The results were a little hard to find in all the text that followed the survey but it did tell me my preliminary assessment was a PASS but it didn't give any scores. It said ISACA will review my test and provide me with the final result within 10 days. There was no-print-out I could show anyone. I clicked "Finish" and it asked me for a password to sign out. I informed the proctor, they did their stuff. I was relived the test was over and my preliminary result was a pass.
I think I passed the exam because as I was taking the classes and answering practice questions, I found myself thinking the "ISACA way" about auditing. Other websites will tell you the same thing – to "to pass the test, you need to think like an auditor". Part of "thinking like and auditor" is to know the answer theme ISACA expects:
- An auditor reports, recommends, or ensures. An auditor rarely takes action to correct a situation.
- If an auditor discovers a control issue, the auditor will normally look for compensating controls before reporting. If something isn't the way it should be, that's not necessarily reportable if controls are in place to compensate for the irregularity.
- IT drives and supports the business, not the other way around.
- Know which level within the organization is responsible for what. Depending on the question, the answer could be the Board of Directors, Senior Management, user management, project management, project sponsor, data owners, systems administration.
Upon arriving home, I started to wonder when I would get would my "official" results. When the results didn't immediately arrive, anxiety set in. Did they lose my results? Was my "official" score a fail? On a Sunday, exactly ten calendar days after taking the exam. I got an email with my official scores It gave me an overall "scaled" score and a sub-score for each of the testing domains. I had "officially" passed the CISA exam.
Passing the exam is not enough to get your CISA. There is an application process. Two-Five years work experience is required and needs to be verified, preferably by a supervisor. ISACA's website says CISA applications can take up to eight weeks to process. I applied for my CISA on Monday and was expecting a long wait. I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email on Friday notifying me my CISA was awarded.
The email also notified me that I will be receiving an "Open Badge" from Acclaim. This is a logo and a site that verifies your credential. I received the Open Badge information the next day.


text:
Tomato soup
Here's a really quick recipe for tomato soup that you can make and serve within half an hour. It's a beautiful colour, tastes great and is healthy! There's no need to make this more complicated than it has to be…
Serves 2-3
- ½ onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tin plum tomatoes
- ¾ pint hot vegetable stock
- ½ tsp dried basil
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
Pour a little olive oil in a saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to the boil, fit a lid, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and turn off the heat. Use a handheld blender to blend to a smooth soup.
Taste and season before serving.
Related Posts
One Comment
I think I'm going to do that tonight, since I have all those ingrediants at home. Thanks!


text:
Dr. Anurag Sharma | August 13, 2019
May it be the world's biggest problem; we can always find a solution for any. May it be a social problem, a natural problem or a health problem, we always have an answer, a solution waiting to be found. In today's time, there is nearly no disease which is not having a cure. We now have a way out from almost every problem.
There are certain causes of heart failure like obesity, hypertension, valvular diseases of heart, hyperthyroidism. Treating these risk factors at an early stage can prevent heart failure. Most important risk factor, diagnose and treatment of which is usually delayed in our country, is the coronary artery disease. Untreated Coronary artery disease can lead to heart failure in most of the patients. If any patient has angina (chest pain) at rest or impending heart attack, he/she must be given reperfusion therapy at the earliest, to restore blood flow, either by thrombolysis or by primary angioplasty.
The heart is the protagonist part of the body which can get affected by even the most minor activity change of the body. Changes in the lifestyle can either make your heart healthy or even can take your heart to greater damages. Some of the value points which you need to embed in your lifestyle are as follows. Living according to those can bring a lot of difference in the health of the heart.
Though the problem is the silent invader, still it can leave behind some traces which could be detected and help eradicate the problem before it is too late. These symptoms can be:
If you detect these symptoms, don't give a second thought to rush to your doctor.
Doctors sometimes use a lot of technical jargons which might not be understood by a layman. Usually, in the cases of Heart Failure, doctors are mostly heard using the term Ejection Fraction or EF. Now let's know what EF is and what its link with heart failure is.
It is the measure of the pumping capacity of the heart. It is found out by echocardiography and its value is the most important parameter in these patients.
If a patient has ejection EF of 35% or less, then these patients are at more risk of going into clinical heart failure and sudden cardiac death. The ejection fraction can change with time despite treatment and can increase or decrease depending upon many factors.
You might start to get panicking reading the above statement. But as I said, there is always a way out. There still are many ways by which we can save these people and give them a new life.
Let's find out those ways.
Majority of the patients, if managed by a well-coordinated medical team approach in a heart failure clinic, can lead a very good life without any problems. The medical team approach provides patients with cardiologist care, nutrition management, exercise program and monitoring of certain blood tests.
Few patients can improve by CRT (Cardiac Resynchronizing Therapy), a therapy in which the patients are given triple chamber pacing so that their heart chambers move in a synchronized manner. This leads to an increase in the ejection fraction, symptomatic improvement and increase in their lifespan.
Sudden death is another form of problem which these patients suffer. These patients will be doing fine and suddenly they can collapse because of ventricular fibrillation. This can be prevented by use of proper drugs and by implanting of pacemaker known as AICD. This helps in giving a shock to these patients in case they suffer ventricular fibrillation, and a life can be saved.
The artificial heart is also a choice in a few patients but is very costly and only beneficial to the selected patient group. Heart transplantation can be done in a few eligible patients to give them a new lease of life, and this treatment modality is now available in selected centres in India.
Dr Anurag Sharma holds speciality in catering to every heart problem and holds expertise in handling emergency cases. With years of successful experience and skilled expertise, Dr Anurag has proven to be one of the best and most loved cardiologists in North India.
Dr Anurag Sharma is an Interventional Cardiologist and is a director at OJAS Super Speciality Hospital, Sector 26, Panchkula. He is a heart failure specialist and can help you with any heart-related queries.
Reach out to the best Cardiologist in North India – Dr Anurag Sharma and get the best treatments and guidance for your good health.


text: The Association of the Covenant People Burnaby, B.C. Canada VIOLENCE BY HOLLY MILLS "The God of my rock; in him will I trust. He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour, thou savest me from violence."( 2 Sam. 22:3) "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto thee of violence and thou wilt not save!" (Hab. 1:2) Recently while I was walking with friends we saw some sort of a dispute between and a young man and a woman. I didn't see the encounter at first but my friend said that it looked like there was some domestic violence taking place across the street. She had seen the man hit the woman. As I looked over the woman was walking behind the man and he turned around, stopped and said something to her and then slapped her. We yelled out at that point and the woman turned around and walked back towards us with her head down. We asked if she was ok but she just walked past us with her head down and the fellow was gone. This was some thing I had never witnessed before and it was rather surreal. The man did not seem at all concerned that he was hitting this woman in broad daylight in a very public area and I guess it made me realize that violence to many people today is just a natural way of expressing their anger and frustration. We do not seem to know how to control ourselves today and we just allow our natural feelings to express themselves. Without Christ in our lives it is very easy to feel this way as it is our natural reaction. There are many demonstrations of this violence in the world today. We have the Occupy movements some of which have had violence erupt. We have the student demonstrations over high student fees, violent demonstrations in the Middle East and now others erupting in our Israel nations as well. They all have a different reason but it seems that people think that the way to solve their problems today is by violent means. "For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein. (Hab. 2:17). We have so much violence in our world today. Violence seems to be becoming the answer to problems, such as abortion, neglect and abuse of the elderly, abuse of children and abuse of animals. Violent criminals who have raped and killed young children are not given the sentences they deserve and the families of these young children never receive justice. "Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law." (Zeph. 3:4). God's laws have been abandoned and evil fills our lands. We have lost our way and do not allow God to work in our lives and change our hearts. We continue to do things our own way and try to make God fit into our plans rather that changing ourselves to fit into His plans. We are so arrogant and really deserve everything that we get, but luckily for us, God is merciful and will save us from ourselves if we will only repent and turn to Him. "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:14) When I read these words of Jesus I realized how far down we have come. Can you imagine yourself trying to say these words to this selfish and self-righteous generation? Here in British Columbia we have many contracts coming up with our Government employees and they are asking for the moon. Now, I'm not saying that I know all of the issues with these employees but from what I've heard so far I do not feel sorry for them. With all the troubles in the world today and so many people struggling to make ends meet these spoiled people still want everything that they can manage to get for themselves. There is no humility in our lands. So now we have the prospect of having more strikes and confrontations. In the end violence never solves our problems and we know this cannot go on forever. We have a mighty God and we must pray that He will save us from the violence in the earth. One day soon this violence will end with the final act of violence destroying the Babylonian system that has enslaved us for too long. Our Lord Jesus Christ will then return to set up His millennial kingdom. Hallelujah! "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." (Rev. 18:21). "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." (Rev. 19:1-3). .......... A TALE OF TWO TRAGEDIES BY PASTOR JORY STEVEN BROOKS, CBIA Last November, 2011, my nephew was attacked in his own home by a knife-wielding assailant during a break-in and robbery. He received multiple knife wounds as well as having his neck slit ear to ear, and was left for dead by the thief. Fortunately he was able to weakly dial his cell phone and ask for help at the emergency telephone-assistance number ... "911." An ambulance - quickly arrived in minutes to stanch the bleeding, administer a large blood transfusion and rush him to a nearby hospital. He survived, just barely, facing weeks of convalescence, and was told that if the medical team had arrived only ten minutes later, he would have bled to death. My nephew was able to identify his attacker, a man living in the neighborhood, and last week, the assailant's trial concluded in Detroit with the conviction of the defendant on all three counts: attempted murder, assault, and robbery. Despite the viciousness of the attack, not a word about it appeared in any newspaper, radio, television, or other news source. Not a word ever appeared even in our local community newspaper! Not a word when the crime was committed, nor when the perpetrator was convicted. A crime is a crime, and although it really should not matter to the news media, the fact is that the attacker was black and my nephew is white. Contrast the above with another such tragedy that occurred recently in the small town of Sanford, Florida. On February 26, 2012, seventeen-year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed during an altercation with a neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman. For weeks now, the news media has been in an absolute frenzy about it, with news reports harping over it on every news hour all day long, week after week, usually parsing the same information already reported over and over. The "Project for Excellence in journalism" report from the Pew Research Center stated that about one-fifth of the total news space during the first week in April was devoted to the shooting. Pew states that they sampled a broad cross-section of news outlets, including social media, blogs, newspapers, radio and television. One-fifth of the total news reporting in the entire United States, day after day, devoted to just one tragedy, when there are many thousands of murders and other crimes each year all across America! It is impossible to ignore the stark difference in news coverage between the two aforementioned tragedies. Yet the unfortunate fact about this is that the sole reason for the media bias in such news coverage is the element of race. The victim, Trayvon Martin, is black, and his attacker (as we are told over and over to make absolutely sure we understand) is "white." In actual fact, George Zimmerman is only "half-white." His mother is Peruvian, and in television news stories, Zimmerman actually appears quite dark complexioned. Yet in one news story after another, the emphasis is on the term, "White Latino." In all of this grossly-excessive news treatment, the left-wing controlled media outlets further purposely engaged in what they call, "spin," to convince the listening audience that the death of Trayvon Martin was a racist attack by a white man on a defenseless black man. The Media Research Center revealed, for example, that the "Today" television show purposefully and deceitfully edited the "911" tape from the shooting to make Zimmerman appear to have been motivated by race. After internet blogs publicized this outrageous media falsification, the Detroit Free Press reported that "NBC apologized last week for 'the error in the production process' and promised an internal probe." (But, of course, such falsifying of the news is no accident. Nor will it end anytime soon. Why does the media go to all of these lengths to distort and twist the truth in their news coverage? To the agnostic leftists, "truth" is defined as whatever advances their cause. It appears that the Martin case was seized upon for psychological warfare to support their view of white America as "racist." We are being conditioned to not oppose the influx of millions of nonChristians who are redefining our nation as "secular" and "nonChristian." (Notice that the media has banned the term, "illegal alien" in favor of "undocumented immigrant," as if their citizenship status is just a formality.) The results of this can be seen in the decline in Christian religious faith and morality throughout our land. As an example of this psychological conditioning tactic, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official, Al Armendariz, recently discussed government enforcement policies. MSNBC.com on April 30, 2012 quoted this government official as saying that the Romans conquered a village by taking "the first five guys they saw and they'd crucify them." He added that the EPA, similarly, makes "examples out of people who are not complying with the law ... you make examples out of them, use it as a deterrent method." Now do you understand the reason for the incessant news coverage of Trayvon Martin? The reader should not assume that the above account of my nephew's near-death is simply an isolated incident, as another example in my own experience will demonstrate. On a Saturday evening in April, 1990, our long time church board member, Dorothy Ogburn, drove to a health food store on Grand River Avenue in Detroit to buy some items for our church banquet the following day. Since there was no parking spot open on the road, she drove behind the building to park. As she stepped out of her car, a gang of youths attacked and robbed her, beating her uncon- scious with their fists. A witness called the police, and Dorothy was transported to an area hospital only to die a few days later from her wounds. The attack was especially vicious, for she had severe bruises all over her body nearly from head to foot. Of course, our church members were horrified and upset about this sweet lady being beaten to death, so a few days later my associate pastor went to the police precinct to enquire on the state of the murder investigation. To his surprise, he was told that there was no murder investigation at all. The desk Sergeant told him, "She was just an old lady anyway." It really should not have mattered to the media or the police, but Dorothy Ogburn was white, and her attackers were black, as was the police officer on duty at the police precinct. Imagine if you will, the situation if the racial roles had been reversed. Suppose that a gang of white youths attacked, beat, and killed a defenseless black woman. It takes little imagination to realize that such a state of affairs would have resulted in extensive and continuing media coverage coast to coast. Why this racial double standard? Is the life of a black man or black woman more valuable than a white life? Where is the liberal paean to "color-blindness" and "equality"? The hypocrisy they show is incalculable. Will things progress to a modern fulfilment of Christ's words in John 16:2? "They shall put you out of the synagogues [or churches]: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." The point to be made is that these events are a definite sign of the end times, and the "time of Jacob's trouble" according to prophecy. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it." (Jer 30:7) Daniel wrote of this and added a note of encouragement saying, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." (Dan 12:1) Amen! .......... NOTE: It cannot be said, it is politically incorrect for just about anyone to tell the plain truth about crime and violence in the USA. The "blacks" are about 15 percent of the population but account for about 75 percent of all inmates in prison. So despite some progress in certain areas there is still a HUGE problem in the black population of the USA. Of course it is also a fact that most of the terrible mass killings in the USA have been and are done by "white" guys or white teens; just look them up on the Internet and you'll soon see the facts. The basic ground-roots of it all is that the Israel nations of the West, are filled with violence of every type, from a fist to the face, a kick in the stomach, to beatings, to rape, to killings, to mass killings by one or more mad-men, to gang violence. God tells us without mincing words that in our lands "blood touches blood" - it is ever going on. And Jesus said that before He returns "love will wax cold." We have gross, raw, violent movies, and now raw violent TV in its "drama programs." We have gone from the so-called sport of "boxing" to the play-acting of "circus wrestling" to the now more and more popular "anything goes fighting" - fists, kicking, and just about anything while your opponent is on the floor. Now we even have women boxing; guess that is woman's liberation for you; next it will no doubt be "anything goes fighting in the ring" for women. So for a carnal nation of people how do you stop violence. Well all we have to do is look at Singapore, and learn the simple truth. So do your research, go on the Internet and see how the Singapore Government stops crime and violence. Oh of course you can also look in the Old Testament of the Bible and see how God told carnal ancient Israel as to how to stop crime and violence. But we have rejected the Bible and God. Hence we are in the stew pot of blood touching blood - we have violent Western nations, who wonder why or how to stop violence when there is a mass killing by some nut, but we do not even have the brains or sense to look at how Singapore does it. And if your nation is like Canada (the Government not the majority of the people) your Government thinks capital punishment is "barbaric" even for serial killers or mass murder killers, or child killers, or police killers. So we in the West habor violence, even promote raw violence, in the name of "sport" ..... we seem to like violence in the overall general way, so God will one day give us ALL THE VIOLENCE we can stomach and even more. We are one day going to be given violence in no uncertain way, until there will only be 1/10th of us remaining alive at the coming of Christ to earth. In fact the whole world will be given all the violence it seems to craze, until the world is just about to destroy all human life from the planet. Fortunately God the Father will send Jesus back in time to stop, to destroy those who are destroying the earth, and to bring the earth real peace at last. It will be a peace where God's laws will go from Jerusalem; a time when if someone is going to do an act of wrong, there will come a voice out of the air, saying, "This is the way, walk you in it." An invisible police force to enforce peace and a law abiding attitude. All this and much more is foretold in the pages of Bible Prophecy. I have expounded for you on this website ALL the prophetic books of the Bible, and told you what shall surely come to pass in the years ahead, the bad and the good. It is time for you to study the prophetic books of your Bible, and learn the mind of God, then get in harmony with the Eternal God, and be a part of the first resurrection, to be on Jesus' team when He comes again. Keith Hunt


text:
Marsh Mill, Thornton
A Wind powered Corn mill in the historic county of Lancashire,
Marsh Mill is the most complete tower mill in the North West containing a full set of machinery. The Mill was built in 1794 by the millwright, Ralph Slater. Above the lintel of the main mill door is the inscription "Bold Fleetwood Hesketh 1794".
The mill was built with common sails, with chain and wheel winding gear. By the mid 19th century a 4 bladed fan had been fitted, and in 1896 the local millwright Dick Blezzard installed the patent sails, a cast iron windshaft and cast iron gear teeth. The mill remained operational until 1922 being worked at that time by the Tomlinson's. The mill then underwent repairs in the 1950's and then again in the period 1986-90 when the mill was put back to full working order with new sails. In 1988 as part of the repairs the drying kiln was reinstated adjoining the mill.
The mill is 70ft high from its base to the top of the cap and has 5 storeys. It has the traditional Lancashire type sails, 4 double sided patent ones, and a typical North West boat shaped cap and an 8 bladed fan. There is a gallery at 2nd floor level which enabled the miller to adjust the sail cloths on the common sails which it had when built. Inside the mill the cap turns on a dead curb, there is a cast iron clasp arm brake wheel. There is an octagonal clasp arm wallower set on the upright shaft and lower down the great spur wheel. There is a sack hoist and dressing machine run off a short horizontal shaft, but the main drive powers 4 sets of stones on the 3rd floor. Three pairs are controlled by belt driven governors. On the 2nd floor, the meal floor, there is a belt driven countershaft to power a bolter and jog scry.
In 2011 the mill was upgraded to Grade II*.
Marsh Mill is owned and maintained by Wyre Council, with support from the Friends of Marsh Mill who are Mills Archive Heritage Partners.
Full details
|Power source
|Mill type
|Tower mill
|Mill functions
|Corn mill
|Archive ID
|Thornton Cleveleys
|Historic county
Anthony Bryan, Mills Research Group Database


text:
Shopping Cart
Cart is empty
Total: £0.00
12 Rue Droite
Start on Rue Droite in the Old Town and you'll find Caprice, a compact vintage clothes shop strewn with strings of pearls, vintage furs and faux snakeskin handbags from the 20s to 50s. Once you've had your fix, pop around the corner onto Rue Benoit Bunico to find O'Chineur, an even smaller store stocking vintage designer labels among other collectible pieces.
Puces de Nice
This quaint collection of stores on the side of the old port are perfect for finding little gems. Every surface groans under silver cutlery, floral teapots and vintage jewellery, intertwined with vintage French art and mismatched chairs.
12 rue Droite
Puces de Nice
You May Also Like
City Guides
You know how you have that one incredible friend who knows their city inside out? That's us. We take the world's most dynamic destinations, hand-pick the best bits and give them to you in one place. This is the kind of guide that you don't need to run by a local – it was written by one. Eat your heart out, shop until you drop, drink like a fish, dance your socks off, sleep – then repeat.
Embrace the adventurous appetite of the next generation with an annual subscription. SUITCASE Magazine challenges travel perceptions with thought-provoking photo journals, city guides and articles by award-winning international writers.
Follow Us
We'll tell you where you can find the perfect boutique hotel in Paris for under £150, if you tell us about the best dive bar in your city. Deal? Share your stories and photos with #SUITCASEtravels.
Curate your bookcase with the full SUITCASE library. From Volume 2 through 29, we've been around the world, explored uncharted landscapes and reexamined travel perceptions along the way. We invite you to do the same; grow your collection today.


text:
Who We Are.
Owners Larry and Donna Cahoon started Today's Entry Doors back in 1988, inspired by the vision of becoming Orange County's premier entry door company–THE trusted resource for entry door solutions.
Working side by side, putting in the long days and nights that ambitious entrepreneurs do, Larry and Donna steadily grew the company, expanding their service area from Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, north into Los Angeles.
For years, they delighted customers with their own brand of personal, attentive service, and expert knowledge of entry door systems and design. But as the company grew, so did their need for help in maintaining the experience that customers had come to expect. So son Garrett was recruited into the operation and Today's Entry Doors became a true "family business."
- 1 Who We Are.
- 2 What We Do.
- 3 What We Don't Do.
- 4 We Are Different (7 Reasons Why).
- 5 7 MORE REASONS That Makes Us Distinct
- 6 Values that Guide Us.
- 7 Reviews: What People Say About Us
- 8 Where We Serve
- 9 How We Serve – Our Exclusive Mobile Showroom.
It's not an understatement to say that all the Cahoons and their craftsmen installers are meticulous, quality-driven perfectionists, a trait that's evident throughout their designs and installations.
Every project for every customer is completed with almost fanatic attention to detail.
"We pride ourselves on getting all aspects of the job right the first time," Larry says. "We spend the necessary time with customers up front, helping them envision and design their ideal door system. Then, when installation day comes, we take care of everything in the most thorough and professional manner possible. We offer top quality products, friendly personal service and guaranteed satisfaction.
That's how we grew the company and that's how we will always operate," he adds.
What We Do.
We chose to focus exclusively on Fiberglass Entry Doors.
What We Don't Do.
We Are Different (7 Reasons Why).
*Varies from Manufacturer and Model
7 MORE REASONS That Makes Us Distinct
Values that Guide Us.
Since the beginning, our mission has been to help homeowners design the entry door system of their dreams, incorporating high-quality components that bring their creative vision to life, while meeting their targeted budget.
By staying true to the tenets below, we have fulfilled our original vision of becoming southern California's most trusted resource for entry door system design services, installation and support. Here are the values that inspire and inform all our customer interactions:
Reviews: What People Say About Us
Get To Know Us
Terrific job. Installer was awesome, and materials are perfect.
The new door makes all the difference in the look of the house. I should have had it done years ago!
I was very fortunate to find this company; like others, I did not know where to start on this major project in front of me and turned to Yelp where I saw all these 5 stars for this company and now I know why, and I am glad I made that call.
From the moment they showed up at my door with their showroom on wheels, to the final installation of all my doors to include the exterior I am super impressed with the workmanship and friendliness of everyone I have interacted with - from Donna to Mark, Larry and Garret - this wonderful company worked with me in getting the help needed. I am super confident that the remaining job will be completed by a very knowledgeable team.
I may not have known about them back in Feb when I made the call, but you can best believe - all my friends and colleagues have heard about the outstanding work done and have seen the pictures of the remarkable changes made to my home.
When first shopping around for a new front door, we went to a lumber supplier to look at doors and were told that if we bought the door from them, we would have to find a contractor to install the door and then a painter to paint the door/frame after installation. It seemed like a lot of hassle.
I just wanted to find a company that would take care of everything. I was so glad we found Today's Entry Doors on Yelp.
Click on Yelp image below to read hundreds more raving reviews given by our awesome customers.
More reviews at….
Where We Serve
We service cities all over Orange County, CA and select neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Riverside & San Bernardino counties.
Click here to find complete list of cities we serve
How We Serve – Our Exclusive Mobile Showroom.
For years, customers have shared with us their dislike for door shopping at giant, depot-style improvement stores.
Not surprisingly, their two biggest complaints are uninformed or inexperienced salespersons, and the dearth of odd sized doors that invariably results in a time-consuming return or exchange.
As a company that's driven by customer service, we found this experience unacceptable and took tangible steps to improve it.
To guarantee personalized, 1-to-1 service in every sale, we developed the first fiberglass entry door mobile showroom, which works like this: an entry-door consultant brings a selection of fashionable, full-sized fiberglass doors right to your home–all tastefully arrayed in range of styles and finishes, including elegant hardware and window-glass options.
You shop for as long as you like in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere–helped by an entry door expert with years of personal experience. If you see something you want, you'll receive a clearly itemized estimate right on the spot, as well as a projected delivery and installation schedule.
Entry door experts and 1:1 service–without depot store hassles and headaches. That's what we're all about.
Contact us today for more information or a no-obligation consultation.


text:
I was just about to post an Amazon deal for the Toy Story DVD and BLU-Ray 2-disc combo pack for $11.99 when an extra Amazon deal caught my eye!
Right now if you buy the Toy Story 3 4-disc DVD & BLU-Ray combo pack for $22.49 AND one other select Disney/Pixar movies you'll receive $10 off your total. Since Toy Story is just $11.99, you'll get both of them for just $24.49!
If you're an Amazon Mom you'll get free 2-day shipping. Otherwise, you'll need to spend $25 to get free shipping.


text: Artist Notes: Returning From Murano is a view from the Vaporetto we were on while returning to Venice after visiting the three islands tourists go to see. The sun was setting, and the world was enchanted. The painting is acrylic on stretched canvas, and framed. The framed dimensions are 15 inches high by 25 inches wide. The shadow frame cuts nothing off the picture, which appears to float. The painting was given as a birhday gift to a very dear friend.


text:
The Internet is a minefield of information and one that just seems to keep growing every second. In this day and age, there's nothing you can't find or do over the Internet. Through this powerful medium, you can talk to people on the other side of the world as if they're right beside you. You can write letters that will be received within seconds. You can pay bills, make new friends and connect with old ones, listen to music, and watch movies online. You can even do your shopping online. Shop Until You Drop From Your Couch Indeed, online shopping is one of the most popular functions of the Internet. You can buy anything online, from groceries to furniture, electronics to memorabilia, books to DVDs, clothes to antique grandfather clocks. You name it, and there's probably an Internet website somewhere that has it. It's convenience at its very best. You no longer have to spend hours, or even days, looking for those hard-to-find antique grandfather clocks. You don't have to travel hundreds and thousands of miles to get rare, antique grandfather clocks from obscure locations. A quick search on the Internet can take you exactly where you want to go without having to leave the comfort of your own home, and if all goes well, one of those antique grandfather clocks you've been raving about will be delivered to your doorstep. Risk Worth Taking? Of course, there are security concerns associated with shopping online. After all, you don't have the benefit of dealing with people face to face and it could be very easy to fall for smooth-talking, unscrupulous, and faceless individuals, especially if you really want that hard-to-find painting or one of those antique grandfather clocks. Indeed, think twice before you hand over those bank details and credit card information. Opt to purchase from reputable websites instead of dealing directly with individuals. Most websites have secure payment features, so you'll know that your information is safeguarded and your purchase is legitimate. When you're looking for hard-to-find items, such as antique grandfather clocks and memorabilia, you might not have much of a choice but to deal with individuals directly. In this case, it's best to demand for some sort of guarantee, so you'll know that you'll definitely get what you're paying for. If they really want your business, they'll be more than happy to oblige. Then and only then can you be sure that you're definitely getting those antique grandfather clocks that you've been dying to purchase. Indeed, the Internet and online shopping are conveniences that are fast becoming part of everyone's lives. Before you know it, you'll find that you can't live without it. But then, who can blame you? No longer will you have to deal with irate and annoying salespeople, suffer blisters on your feet while you painstakingly search for the item you need, and stand on long queues. With a quick tap of your keyboard and a few mouse clicks, you're getting the best service. You're getting exactly what you want.
Related posts:


text:
REOPro - Real Estate Default Professionals
America's Largest Social Network for Default Real Estate Professionals
I DISLIKE (and keep my buyers away) when a lender forces/insists on preapproving/qualifying an already pre-approved buyer, to even REVIEW their offer. In your view, is this a good prictice? And who benefits from this? I know of Wells Fargo and BofA doing that in my area and they don't like it when I complain about it!
I do not send any offers without a preapproval letter. I also check on the source of the preapproval to be certain it's reliable. When a lender REFUSES to even review an offer without their "preapproval" I can't help but wonder if they just want sell their loans at any cost, instead of selling the asset.
In cases like this, and on lenders who require a wet signature just to look at the offer, I do my best to find other homes for my buyers. In one case in a particular, the house is filthy top to buttom(my buyer saw a huge live roach and had to kill it so it wouldn't scare his kids!), so in my view THIS lender is NOT concerned with not "wasting time" selling the asset, which is a "reason" I've been given before as to why the requirement. If you care about selling an asset faster, why not market it better....by at least cleaning the thing? Show some pride in what you're selling....can you tell this irritates me!?
One lender I work with specifically states NOT to make these types of notations on their assets' MLS remarks, so as to NOT TO DRIVE BUYERS AWAY! So, it's not just me who thinks this practice is not right for business or for the investor's bottom line.
Are these assets being used as leverage to make more money in new loans, even at the expense of making values go down even more? Who is this practice good for, and why!?
Views: 314
I completely agree.
If someone sends an offer with no pre-approval than perhaps it makes sense to require pre-approval with sellers preferred lender. But otherwise this practice tends to drive many buyers and buyers agents away. This has a net effect of driving down the eventual sale price on the property. I have seen this occur a number of times from the perspective of a listing broker.
I see it as a good thing , from the listing agent's side. I cannot tell you how many "pre-approval letters" I have seen from various lenders and the buyer's credit history was never checked. There are just as many bad loan officers out there as there are agents!
I had my preferred L/O's I have used for this and if they gave me a thumbs up, I would pass it on to the asset manager. But we rejected a few offers when a proper credit check was done, saving us 45 to 60+ days by not getting into bad deals that had no hope of closing.
I think exercing good judgment and checking on approval letters is a good idea, which I do, but to have EVERY PRE-APPROVED buyer get ANOTHER pre-approval as a REQUIREMENT is where my issue lies.
So, I stand firm....if you require across-the-board preapproval through a specific lender (no exceptions), there are PLENTY of COOKIE -CUTTER properties that fit my buyers' needs.
This practice is good for the bank's bottom line. Obviously, the bank is trying to recapture the loan. They need to make money somewhere, right? I haven't seen any deals fall apart because of this, but I do remember when I was working with buyers, I fought this a lot. I know that the listing agent is not allowed to present offers without this preapproval.
If you went to dept stores to buy something with your AMEX and they made it a requirement for you to apply for their card(before ringing you up), what would you say?
I sure wouldn't like it. They can ask me if I wish to do so (to "save" 10%), not a problem but that's the difference here. They're not asking, they're forcing (you can call it anything you want).
This is a good topic, I can see the points on both sides. My buyer agents and I usually send the offers even without the lender required pre-approval. I talk to one of my prefer loan officers and he told me that he usually just pulling credit for people interested on the properties, but not closing too many loans. I also have to do what is the best for my client, if my client wants me to advertise one of his loan officers and try to help them get business, then I would do that. But also I have to be ethical and I will submit all offers to my client, even the most ludicrous ones.
I wouldn't worry too much about this, like my friend the loan officer says, the banks can't force anyone to use them to purchase a house, we are all free to use the one lender that we feel more comfortable with and who we trust, but if we really want a house we would let someone else pull our credit and check to make sure we qualify. Also the listing agent should submit all offers because of ethics and because we have to do what's best for our client and that usually is to sell their property quick and for the highest price.
Just like a seller can ask us not to present any offers below a certain amount, sellers have a right to say do not present any offers without an approval from their bank. Believe me, as an agent, I would love to submit all offers. But if your client says they don't want to see it, then you're just spinning your wheels.
You may actually be doing your buyers an dis-service and violating agency if you "avoid, or steer" them away from a listing because of your personal beliefs on pre approvals. I am an ABR and take my Agency Relationships very seriously. It is not our place to make decisions for our buyers it is our job to give them all the information and allow them to make the decisions. We are fiduciary's not principals. I suggest you educate them on the "cross-qualification" request by the seller and let them decide if they want to do so.
© 2020 Created by Jesus (Jesse) Gonzalez. Powered by


text:
Deodorant Cream
Regular price
Product Description: Our natural underarm cream is safe, effective and will leave you smelling fresh all day. Baking soda, arrowroot and clay combine to help keep you dry and control odor. Organic plant oils and shea butter moisturize and soothe sensitive underarm skin, while aromatic essential oils combat bacteria responsible for underarm odor.
Available in Lavender.
Brand: Meow Meow Tweet
Product amount: 2.4oz glass jar
Ingredients: *manihot esculenta (arrowroot) powder, sodium bicarbonate, *+cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, *+butyrospermum parkii (shea) fruit butter, kaolin clay, *simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, *lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil
*certified organic / +fair trade
Manufactured in: USA


text:
Okay, I've spent the last 20 minutes searching for words adequate enough to describe how much I love this book. I'm failing and there is no sign of me ceasing to fail any time soon. Whatever, all communication is just a form of miscommunication anyway, right?
The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle is a tale of 13-year-old boy, who, unlike most 13-year-old-boys, is as lovable as a golden retriever puppy. He lives in a dilapidated house at the edge of an apple pie, red-white-and-blue town. He shares this house with his dysfunctional family, oh, and I forgot to mention that he also has a mental condition and he is reeling from the death of his best friend, AND he sweats a lot.
This book carries the emotional punch of Of Mice and Men. It has the character depth and heart of Bridge to Terabithia. It is a clinic on how to write from a character's perspective. It is so wonderful on so many different levels it makes me want to cry because I know that I'll never touch the towering mountain that is this book.
Seriously, it's good.
Rating: PG. No sex. One "D" word. No violence.
The awesome: Leslie Connor slays her character portrayals. Her characters are so well-rounded and well-developed that they have a life of their own. I could hang out with Mason and his crazy almost-sister and steal cookies from the kitchen or help grandma with dinner. I feel like I know them.
Quote: "Ms. Blinny takes tiny running steps in place. Happy boots. I like the way she is, Ms. Blinny. How she spills things and doesn't wait for paint to dry."
Favorite character: Mason.


text:
Sir Edward Harland 1831-1895
Born in Scarborough. He moved to Belfast in 1854 to work as General Manager in a shipyard owned by Robert Hickson. He soon bought out Hickson and in 1861 he employed Gustav Wolff as a personal assistant. The following year Wolff was a full partner and the shipyard changed its name. Harland was Mayor of Belfast twice and served as an MP from 1887-1895. He is buried in Belfast.


text:
Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
Palmdale's robust economic development program creates strategies and programs to retain, expand and attract businesses, builds job opportunities, and enhances Palmdale's economic vitality. Those who are interested in starting, keeping, expanding, or relocating a business in Palmdale, will find our staff ready to offer assistance.


text:
Q: What were some important programs in the history of real AI research, and why do AI projects always seem so overhyped?
A: While I refer to these programs in the past tense to help distinguish them from programs very much in use today, versions of old AI software can sometimes still be found and run by those with enough time, training, or enthusiasm.
Here are a few I have chosen to highlight:
AM (Automated Mathematician)
In the mid 1970's, Douglas Lenat made became one of the leading figures in AI by creating programs like AM. Essentially an engine for formalized logical deduction, AM was programmed with certain basic rules about mathematics and heuristics – the "rules of thumb" used by humans and computers alike to learn and act – for finding other rules. It then proceeded to quickly "rediscover" many of the fundamental theorems in mathematics, including some that were considered important achievements in the times human mathematicians first described them.
AM was an important pioneer in the field of automated logical reasoning, and the ability to build rules from existing data is an essential feature of today's more advanced expert systems.
Taking the rule-building talent of AM to the next logical step, Lenat assembled the complex, temperamental Eurisko – a program that could actually make heuristics about heuristics– rules about making rules. Essentially the first program that could learn how to learn, Eurisko is considered by some to have been the first credible attempt at an artificial mind. Eurisko's great freedom to alter itself proved to be its greatest shortcoming, however, since it lacked the "common sense" knowledge to avoid making decisions that were clearly (to humans) stupid or self-defeating. Nevertheless, Eurisko was vindicated as a powerfully adaptive tool when combined with a human's common sense. In 1981 and 1982, Lenat used Eurisko to hustle an annual role-playing competition in which players designed fleets of intergalactic warships, trouncing the competition by using previously unexploited loopholes and unorthodox strategies initially derided by other human players. (He did not enter in 1983 when the organizers threatened to cancel the competition.) Eurisko also provided an important contribution to the design of sophisticated computer chips.
Eurisko no longer exists today in any usable, stand-alone form, but was a powerful eye-opener to the possibilities of human-AI cooperation in the immediate future. Lenat went on to lead Cycorp, an ongoing AI project that is attempting to overcome the limitations of programs like Eurisko through massive libraries of common sense knowledge.
A cooperative endeavor between Douglas Hofstadter and Melanie Mitchell, Copycat was intended to demonstrate how AI might be able to make decisions by drawing analogies. As a small, research oriented project, Copycat was restricted to working with analogies of the alphabetic variety, and accepted problems like, "If abc changes to abd, what is the analogous change to kkjjii?" Problems like these frequently have more than one right answer, and more than one method by which a right answer can be determined. Hence, copycat used many different computational elements (subprograms that are also called "agents") that would attack the problem in different ways and evaluate the elegance or "satisfaction" of a given answer. Without any central control, those agents coming up with the best answers would naturally rise to the forefront and be the ones to give the final answers. And, similar to a panel of human judges, the "dissenting opinions" of the other agents would always remain under the surface.
The ability to draw analogies will likely be essential to any real AI, even if the eventual method ends up being different. The multi-agent aspect of Copycat is found in some of today's narrow-AI programs and real AI design concepts.
Consider a reporter who, after yet another six month draught of AI news, gets a lead on a new project exploring the use of "neural nets" to store information in a more accessible way. The actual mechanics of a neural net are pretty complicated, but are loosely inspired by the way neurons work together in a brain. When this reporter's story is published in a pop-sci context, it will therefore talk about an organization "like that in the human brain", and will probably have a title like "Brain 2.0". Enthusiastic readers will get the understandable impression that this project is not only attempting to create real AI, but has unlocked the secret for doing so – even though it has done nothing of the sort.
Many who might otherwise have been AI's biggest fans have undoubtably become its most obstinate critics as a result of this process, and researchers are done the double disservice of misrepresentation and water-muddying that makes it so difficult for anyone who still takes real AI seriously to find – and fund – the most important projects.


text:
1- Mouse antibody against Protein tyrosine phosphatase, receptor type, C (PTPRC, CD45R) (Subclass: IgGM)
PTPRC (CD45) is a transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase that is present on all leukocytes. PTPRC regulates the threshold of T cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling through dephosphorylation of protein tyrosine kinases (e.g. Lck and Fyn). CD45R and CD45RO are two of multiple PTPRC isoforms generated by alternative splicing. CD45R is found on B lymphocyte and T lymphocyte subsets. CD45RO is present on 50% of T cells, most granulocytes and monocytes and most mature T cell tumours. 351C5 may be used in the typing of leukaemias and lymphomas and in studies of functional subsets of B and T cells.
Applications: FACS IHC IF IP WB
Commercially available at Adipogen. In collaboration with John Habeshaw
Leitenberg et al. 1996. J Exp Med. 183(1):249-59. PMID: 8551228.
Trowbridge et al. 1994. Annu Rev Immunol. 12:85-116. PMID: 8011300.
Murray et al. 1985. Clin Exp Immunol. 59(2):315-26. PMID: 3872187.
Previously at Blizard Institute
Get in touch with the Business Development Office firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Love to Eat Red Meat? A TMAO Test Can Help Assess Your Heart Disease Risk
Pharmacogenomics: One size does not fit all
Quest Breaks Ground on Flagship New Jersey Lab
Diagnosing the Most Vulnerable Patients: Genetic Testing for Critically Ill NewbornsBetter Health
Quest Diagnostics' new NewbornDx Advanced Sequencing test provides a targeted approach to testing in a turnaround time meant for the NICU.
When Exome Sequencing is the AnswerBetter Health
Ask any parent whose child has a serious health condition or birth defect "What is the value of a diagnosis?" and they will tell you that an answer is worth everything. When a child presents with an undiagnosed condition, they may undergo multiple genetic tests in search of an answer. When those tests come back […]
New Lab Approach Identifies Early-Stage Insulin Resistance, a Precursor to Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes, Finds Study in Journal of Endocrine SocietyInnovation
A novel laboratory method can aid the identification of insulin resistance (IR), a precursor to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in Journal of the Endocrine Society.
Quest and UCSF Pilot Novel Approach to Dementia Screening and Care with Top ACO in NYInnovation
Primary PartnerCare will pilot a "clinical pathway" designed by Quest Diagnostics and the UCSF Memory and Aging Center.
Quest migrates ChartMaxx® to Quanum™ Enterprise Content SolutionsInnovation
ChartMaxx® is joining the Quanum™ Solutions portfolio as Quanum Enterprise Content Solutions in order to better align our technology and data analytics solutions, providing a more seamless experience for customers.
Quest CIO Adds Her Perspective at White House AI SummitInnovation
Lidia Fonseca joined several dozen representatives from academia, government and industry at a recent White House Artificial Intelligence summit.
Quest Diagnostics and Cleveland HeartLab Cardiometabolic Center of Excellence Reaches a MilestoneInnovation
New test services are designed to go beyond conventional laboratory diagnostics to assess cardiovascular disease
Showing Healthcare IT Industry We're More Than a Lab at HIMSS18Innovation
Through our Quanum Solutions portfolio, we are delivering health technology and data analytics offerings that help advance quality, outcomes, patient engagement and financial performance across healthcare.


text:
Dear Friends and Family,
This Fall has proven to be one of the busiest seasons of ministry and we are genuinely excited to send this update to you.
Recruiting: Portland & Beyond
Throughout the fall we've concentrated our recruiting efforts throughout the Pacific Northwest. This has including speaking at Christian school chapels and youth groups, sharing at church services, representing Teen Missions at Mission Fest Seattle and running Student ConneXion's "SEND ME!" Missions Conference for students ages 10-20 here in Portland, Oregon. Subsequently we've done trips to speak in Denver, Colorado, Southern California and out to the eastern side of the Cascade Mountains to share with people about Teen Missions. As you can tell we have had very little time to let dust settle underneath our feet.
Student ConneXion:Mission Mobilization
One of the best opportunities we've had, in terms of local ministry here in Portland, has been to coordinate a mission conference called Student ConneXion. Coordinating this event has really opened up some amazing doors to share with people about the ministry of Teen Missions as well as the overall goal of mobilizing youth into a missional lifestyle. It is the latter that has really become central to everything that we do. Whether we are speaking at a church or youth group, sharing at a school chapel, or meeting with local pastors, we are always asking ourselves how can we can be on mission for Jesus and how can we help the local church do the same. What a blessing to see God work at Student ConneXion's "SEND ME!" Mission Conference this year. We saw God bring 308 attendees, from 19 organizations and 50 churches. As a direct result of the conference we saw two confess Jesus as Lord of their lives and nine stand to commit their lives to full-time missions or ministry. Additionally, Student ConneXion partnered with Embracing Orphans to facilitate attendees packing 114 care packages which have now been delivered to children in foster care on the island of Jamaica.
Fast Family Travels
This year we have purposed to include the kids in more of our travels this year. A personal highlight for us was to take the kids to Colorado. As many of you know, one of our sending churches is in Lakewood, Colorado. It has been three to five years since our kids were last in Denver to visit our friends and supporters. As parents we were truly blessed to see our kids interact with many of our friends there, sharing with them about all the places they've been and how God is using our family to advance His kingdom around the world.
FTM Reunion – Mongolia 2017 Team
This year we had the amazing privilege to participate in a team reunion with our Mongolia Team from this past summer. We were able to gather together with 12 of the team members between Christmas and New Year's at our home. It was such a blessing to see everyone reunite and interact like no time had passed since this summer. We were able to spend time touring Portland, visit the Gorge and spend a few nights on the Oregon Coast. We thank the Lord for the opportunities that we continue to have to pour into the lives of these amazing kids and see where He is taking them after the summer.
Summer 2018: Madagascar
We are excited to announce that this summer we are going to get to travel to the island nation of Madagascar to lead an eyeglass medical team. After our Boot Camp training, where our team will receive basic first-aid and eye assessment training, we will then take our team of teenagers to work with the AIDS Orphans & Street Children ministry in Vangaindrano, Madagascar. Once we arrive there we will work with their Rescue Unit Coordinators to help those who come to us for aid. The team will also have opportunities to help out at Sunday schools by teaching Bible lessons, phonics, quizzing and playing games with the children as well as be involved in some work projects at a local Bible school. For the first time in nearly three years, our whole family will be traveling together this summer, as Micah will now be 13 years old and will be coming as a team member. We are excited to have him, and his cousin Ella, join us on this team this summer. Would you prayerfully consider how you might join with us praying for Micah, Abby and Zeke as they raise support to cover their expenses ($7,500) to travel to Madagascar this summer and specifically pray for Micah that God will even now, begin to prepare him for the teen team this summer.
In Him,
The Fasts
Ryan, Erin, Micah, Abby & Zeke


text:
This week's Random Act of Kid-ness comes to us from Milwaukee, WI, where 7 year olds David Torres and Exavier Navejar at H.W. Longfellow Elementary School gave one of their classmates a gift after finding out he did not get any Christmas gifts. David decided to wrap a book and race car from his house, and Exavier drew a picture and wrapped it. They gave the presents to their classmate on the Friday after winter break. The classmate cried when he unwrapped, and said it felt good to get gifts. The principal of the kids' school said:
"These kids have so little themselves, but they still found a way to give."
What an inspiring story! You can read more about it here.