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I shouldn't have worried as the Tundra is pretty renowned for its ability to run in thin snow conditions or even hard pack river ice. Other than maybe beating up the carbides a bit when I crossed a gravel bar I don't think the machine is any worse for wear. I must admit riding the snowmachine is something I rather enjoy beyond its abilities as basic winter transportation. The snowmachine is pretty much a fact of life in the North and with 8 months of winter I can see why. Folks up here were only too happy to replace the sled dog with the "iron dog" once the machines became more reliable than the barn built experiments the first ones were. One only has to experience sled dogs once in their life to see why Alaskans would be eager to part ways with a rowdy crew of ravenous and yelping Huskies. Alaska still has a deeply embedded mushing culture but the popularity of sled dogs is on the wane and is now viewed as quaint and traditional while all the folks with serious travel requirements in the Bush use a "sled". Perhaps the biggest advantage is a snowmachine can sit all summer and not eat a bite.
My only prior experience with snowmachines prior to moving into the Interior was the thrill seeking behavior of the "high markers" that frequented the Turnagin Pass area south of Anchorage and the endless avalanche search and rescues that our fire department ran all winter long looking for riders buried alive at the base of the mountain. I was initially really put off by the daredevil riders on machines with only slightly less horsepower than an Atlas rocket and an attitude to rival that of an outlaw biker gang. It seemed rather typical of other groups of young men I had known riding toys- whether motorcycles, jeeps, ATVs or jet skis. Someone always has to have the loudest, the fastest, the most horsepower, the quickest take-off and no one was ever happy with stock parts. Often bravado got in the way of common sense and someone was injured or killed outright. I left that kind of thing behind in my late teens in pursuit of a quieter life. I dismissed the whole snowmachining thing as a juvenile endeavor and went out of my way to avoid areas the machines frequented after nearly being ran over while snowshoeing in Girdwood one fine spring day.
When I moved to the Interior however, with its seemingly endless boreal forests and fast frozen river corridors, I was introduced to another kind of snowmachine altogether- the trapper sled. Built narrow enough to travel down the decades old forest trapline trails initially ran with dogs and light enough for a lone person to roll over or maneuver about in tight quarters, this is often a Tundra or an old Bravo. It is the complete antithesis of all the high performance sleds on the covers of "SnoWest" and "Snow Rider" magazines. Lightweight, low powered and "blue hair slow" these machines are made for but a single purpose- to carry a rider and their cargo through the snowbound forest or frozen river as efficiently as possible with the least amount of fuss while the rider went about their business of trapping, hunting, or otherwise conducting work in the wilderness. A look under the cowling reveals a power plant that is no more complicated than a standard lawn mower engine and a drive train with a single centrifugal clutch- durability and reliability are paramount over squeezing out another mile per hour on the top end. Once you're away from the cities and in the real Bush, it is imperative that any machinery be serviceable with only a handful of tools and the most basic of spare parts. Ideally it will only require minimal amounts of both- time spent servicing machinery is time not spent engaging in more important aspects of wilderness life. Life in the Bush is hard on people and machines and while tinkering with a high performance sled is an urbanite's hobby, it is extremely irksome to the wilderness dweller. Its in these areas you'll find these old sleds doing service day in and day out, in rugged conditions that would destroy their thoroughbred counterparts before the solstice.
While I generally find wilderness "infernal combustion" something to be avoided completely and gave up ATVing a couple of years ago in complete disgust (article), snowmachining seems a bit easier on the world than the ATV is. In my travels today through the low lying swamp I saw plenty of deep ruts and holes left by "wheelers" who were out "muddin'" just prior to freeze up. No two ways to look at it- the land there had deep and possibly irreparable scars. Comparatively; the snowmachine slides over the snow pack without much trace come spring. After a brief windstorm or good snowfall my presence there today will become invisible to all.
That's not to say the use of the machines is without compromise however. Most of the machines are 2-stroke and while the newer ones are much better than the old ones, they all emit a stinking pollution for an exhaust. Several manufacturers started producing cleaner 4 cycle machines at the insistence of BLM and state governments all over the West. While I've not been there, apparently snowmachining in Yellowstone is a crowded affair and officials felt the need to mitigate potential environmental damage left by honking scads of blue smoke belching machines. I applaud their efforts as the entire industry is forced to produce machines that run cleaner and leave less pollution than ever before. Sadly the bulk of this technology has proven unreliable in the extreme Arctic conditions of Alaska and lots of old trappers look askance at 4 cycle machines as heavy and balky running versions of Russian roulette. The industry will get there in time however slowly.
The other major detriment to the snowmachine is noise. No other way to say it but even the quietest of these sleds produces a loud piercing whine under power. It is a disturbance to wildlife and other wilderness users without a doubt. In areas where large numbers of the high performance machines gather, the sound of 2 cycle engines running 14,000 RPM is quite staggering. Even a basic one cylinder trapper sled will produce a noisy high speed buzz that seems all out of proportion to the rather sedate ground speed. I've always felt mine sounded kind of like a SuperCub airplane on take off while puttering down the trail at a whopping ten miles per hour (very much like a SuperCub in that respect).
So after a morning spent cruising the woods in my size twelve Sorels (no snowshoes required yet!) with a light pack and a trail axe and an afternoon spent travelling down old traplines on a modern snowmachine; which do I prefer? Not really one over the other in that they are both a necessary component of wilderness life here in the frozen boreal world, but I've got to admit I like the tranquility of snow softly squeaking underfoot as the spruce trees absorb the ambient sounds of the forest much more than the raucous hum of a snowmachine.
Author's note- for a wonderful examination of snowmachines in the Bush and a discussion on the compromises the machines require I'll refer the reader to the Conover's excellent book The Snow Walker's Companion which dedicates an entire chapter to the issue.


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Questions & Answers
The Holocaust left its mark on each surviving Jew,
There. And everywhere.
Why Them and not us?
We're they the sinners and we so righteous?
Did we do enough?
How much did we know?
Was there a lesson learned?
The same baseless hatred remains.
Could it happen again...?
Not while there is an Israel.
How do we replace Them?
By becoming them.
Written by Abe Weiss, a survivor
Weiss, Abe. "Questions & Answers." Survivors Speak Out. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 1989. 15. Print.
Never, never again
To Their Cries
They received no Replies.
Their eyes, so vague
Had dried up.
There were no more Tears.
There were no more Fears.
And then - when all was still
New sounds, far away, began to fill
The air of a newborn Homeland,
Where the wounds would begin to Mend.
And to those eyes and those cries
There were now some replies -
"You have not died in Vein,
and, NO, Dear Ones,
Never, Never Again".
Written by Susan Roitelman, a survivor
Roitelman, Susan. "Never, never again." Survivors Speak Out. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 1989. 23. Print.

subset: commoncrawl


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I know that winter is around the corner when I start having less pictures out in the open as we tend to have cozier weekends at home. My husband is used to go out on the most adverse weather and he strongly believes that "there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes" – easy for him to say when he's spent his whole life on the North Pole while I was swimming on lakes in the middle of the Brazilian winter.
He is right though, I am doing my best to buy clothes by their warmth and not their beauty as I plan on spending more time outside this winter – specially when we go on our road trip from the UK to the north of Sweden this Christmas.
For now, I do want to share some of the best products I've used this Autumn as the season's dry weather tends to make my skin and hair completely dry – this being after a long time of me trying new products that didn't really work and finally finding something that I love. Every product with an * will have a link by the end of this post.
The truth is: I have a mixed skin and hair, meaning that it's not oily nor dry, I'm right in the middle where products for either won't work for me. If I use something for oily skin, my skin gets extremely oily– the same happens when I use dry skin products (I tend to look like Spongebob Squarepants when he visits Sandy). I also have a long, dark, thick hair that is straight on the roots (that tend to get oily) and curly on the tips (that tend to get dry).
The first product that I tried is called Maui*, it's an extremely good conditioner that I've started using around a month ago. They have a lot of smells but all of them are nourishing and treat damaged hair. So far I've tried these two combinations: Agave and Coconut milk – I just can't decide which one I liked better. Both of them made my hair silky, shiny and smell good all day long. I do have to say that I always tend to go for the coconut one, I just love how sweet yet fresh coconut based products smell.
The second point that made me love the product is that the bottle is easy to open so you can use all the product that is inside – nothing is lost. I have just ordered their hair mask which I will review as soon as I've used it for a couple of weeks.
Jumping to skin care, I have combined three products for the last month: Let the Good Times Roll, Imperials from Lush and Olay's night routine moisturizer.
Let the Good Times Roll* is a popcorn face scrub that I use around 2 times a week. The base for this product is quite oily so I try not to use it too often. This is the first facial product that helped me to get rid of those tiny loose dry skin that appear when we switch the heaters on at home while it rains outside in Autumn.
Imperials* is the best moisturizer I've ever used. It is extremely nourishing but it doesn't make my skin oily so I use it every single morning. This is not the cheapest product from Lush as I've paid £16.95 for the smallest pot, but having said that it lasts for ages and unless you're sharing it with someone, you probably wouldn't be able to finish it by the best before date.
Lush products have a short life as they are natural and vegan – I'd take it any day if it meant no harsh products on my face. They are also cruelty free. All their pots are recycled and you get a free mask if you give them 5 empty ones back. I'm about to get mine!
I used to work for P&G before moving to the UK and I've always loved Olay products. This is my night time routine moisturizer and like the Lush one, it doesn't make my skin oily but it still feels soft and moisturized after a hot shower. It is also anti-age but I'll only be able to review that part 30 years from now.
Shifting from skin care to house items, I am completely in love with my throw basket's colour and pattern and I believe it goes well with a lot of styles as it looks really natural – that is the kind of look that I intend to achieve when decorating my house (there's a lot to do still, but this is a good start!). I've decided to share this item as it can be used to store so many things! – Perfect to have in any corner. Unfortunately TKMAXX is out of stock but you can find several different woven baskets on their site.
Last but not least, my warm water bag. I wanted something to keep me warm at the office during the day, but I didn't want it to be too big. This Jordan and Judy silicone water bag is the perfect size to carry with you wherever you go. They have it in different colours and two sizes. I have been using mine for the past month and got plenty of comments about how cute it looks.
Do you have any products your family can't live without on colder seasons?
*Maui Moisture Conditioner – https://amzn.to/2QwllQB
*Let the Good Times Roll – https://bit.ly/2zRmXO3
*Imperials – https://bit.ly/2xjOyoP
*Olay Regenerist Night – https://amzn.to/2qEqA5J
*Jordan and Judy warm water bag – https://amzn.to/2DbaM1H


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That thing you think could happen later today, tomorrow, or somewhere down the road? Yes, it could happen. You might get the diagnosis, lose your job or life savings, move, mourn someone you love, deal with a debilitating disease, lose a good friend, and the list goes on and on. All your worst fears may come true…but playing the "what if" game isn't going to help.
The possibilities of tomorrow might seem overwhelming today, because you are in…today.
Don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)
When you worry about tomorrow today, imagining how you'll be able to deal with something, you don't have the grace you'll have if or when you actually have to face it. You're ill-equipped. You imagine an event, but you can't take into account how God leads up to and surrounds the event. God gives you what you need each step along the way, but you have to embrace what He offers today in order to prepare you for tomorrow. You might not understand how one thing can possibly prepare you for something else. It might not seem connected at all. But God knows.
Just because God prepares us doesn't mean we feel prepared. Facing painful situations is still overwhelming. But can you imagine if you hadn't had the preparations along the way? How much more daunting would it be?
Perhaps you live by the mantra, "Plan for the worst, and hope for the best." You don't want to be caught off guard. But you can't fully plan for every single possibility. You are never going to take all the surprises, good and bad, out of life. God is much better at planning and preparing than you are. And you can trust Him.
Are you willing?


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Scott Mead Fine Art Photography
London | New York
Scott Mead Fine Art Photography
London | New York
Field of Dreams is based on three colours, blue, white and black with a closely cropped horizon line, allowing the viewer to gaze over the abstract, somewhat mysterious bent corn stalks into a dreamy and luminous mid-summer sky. Some have likened the shapes of the stalks to cubist works or even many small Sidney Opera Houses, and I can see those comparisons. In addition, if one looks closely at the clouds and blue sky, it is possible to find nearly half of the alphabet's letters in these shapes and forms.
The abstract field, endless sky, and glowing clouds lull one into dreams, hopes, thoughts of the future, reflections on the past and indeed, evaluation of the present. As always, I hope these photographs provide viewers with a mirror into their inner thoughts, hopes, fears, joys, challenges, loves and much more.
Scott Mead


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Voice Control supports dictation and editing in both operating systems, along with comprehensive menu navigation.
On iOS, the feature utilizes attention awareness to know when a user with physical motor limitations is interacting with their device.
To allay privacy concerns, Apple says that none of the audio processed by Voice Control can be accessed by anyone else, including Apple, thanks to built-in anonymity and encryption.
More to follow...
Tags: accessibility, WWDC 2019, voice control
This article, "Apple Reveals 'Voice Control' Accessibility Feature Coming to Mac and iOS" first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums


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Our Beef Dog Food is an extremely tasty, nutritionally balanced dog food made with all natural ingredients, providing excellent value for money at just £19.99 for 15kg.
Made out of high quality ingredients in the UK, the Beef Crunch is suitable for all medium and large adult dogs and these highly flavoured beefy chunks are sure to delight your canine companion at meal times!
Depending on your dog's preferences, this tasty, natural, and healthy complete dog food can be fed dry, or mixed/softened with a little warm water or yummy gravy.
Analytical Constituents
Crude Protein 18%
Crude Oils and Fats 7.3%
Crude Fibres 3%
Crude Ash 6%
Cereals, meat and animal derivatives (minimum 4% beef), oils and fats, minerals.
Dogs need several different kinds of nutrients to and thrive: amino acids from proteins, fatty acids and carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water. High-quality proteins have a good balance of all of the essential amino acids a dog needs.
Normal adult dogs should get at least 10% of their total calories from protein.
How often should you feed your dog?
It is fine to feed an adult dog one or two times per day. Puppies, however, need two to three daily meals.
Our dog food is ideal for all medium and large breeds: labradors, retrievers, shepherd dogs, great Danes, rottweilers, collies, and many more. Scotia Pets food is perfect for all working dog breeds. A working dog is a type of dog that is not merely a pet but learns and performs tasks to assist and/or entertain its human companions: from herding, guard dogs, search and rescue, hunting or therapy.


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Two-Stage Nonparametric Regression for Longitudinal Data
Ferreira García, María Eva
Núñez Antón, Vicente Alfredo
Rodríguez Poo, Juan M.
MetadataShow full item record
In the analysis of longitudinal data it is of main interest to investigate the existence of group and individual effects under correlated observations across time. In this paper, we develop a nonparametric two-step procedure that enables us to estimate group effects under a very general form of correlation across time. Moreover, we propose several methods to estimate the bandwidth and show their asymptotyc optimality. Since the asymptotic distribution is untractable, we develop a randomization test that is suitable for testing the group effects. Finally, we apply the estimation procedure, the bandwidth selection criteria and the randomization test to the data from the Iowa Cochlear Implant Project.


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The Journey
As HNCC has seen many changes in the 110 years since our founding as Swedish immigrant families living in the local area, we now carry an identity that is community-based and enjoy a fellowship of people of wide diverse backgrounds. We're situated in a quiet rural setting at 17 Haddam Neck Road yet our experiences together are far from reserved. Those who find here an easy to embrace faith-home, also find a lively, family-focused and spirit-filled community whose central purpose is sharing God's gracious invitation to a new life through Jesus Christ. Joy, human connection, and genuine caring are what define us. We easily acknowledge our imperfections, and equally embrace graciousness toward others. Here, you are free to be unique and yourself and to join us on this journey of learning that is life-long.
This lifelong pursuit at HNCC includes many paths such as Sunday School which is held during the school year at 9:00 AM for all ages, children to adults. You'll also find Bible-based study groups and fellowship groups that meet during the week are open to all. A current and relevant youth-based "Confirmation" class and a soon-to-be adult-based Confirmation class is available. We offer an Inquirer's class for any who are curious about the denomination and how it is addressing 21st century needs.
Outreach through relationship building is at the heart of HNCC's many active ministries. We are involved in local, regional and global mission and social justice efforts. From support of our East Hampton Food Bank, to LEEAD International; from Cromwell's Children's home to Ghana, Haiti and Mexico mission work; from our East Coat Seamen's Mission to the fight against human trafficking; you'll find the Covenant Church supportive and involved.
Many of our ministries are listed on this website. We invite you to look at them all and see how Haddam Neck Covenant Church might fulfill your need for connection and simplicity of faith in an ever growing complex world.


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HIV Test
'HIV is an enduring ailment, but you can still live happily with it by developing a strong will'.
No need to be upset or scared, even if your doctor recommends you for an HIV test! Definitely, it is an incurable ailment, but you can still survive with it by availing proper medication, adequate treatment, and staying happy. Reading this article will not only educate you about this illness but will also inform you about types of HIV test and when you should get them done.
The Meaning
HIV is an abbreviated form of 'Human immunodeficiency Virus', which is the same virus that leads AIDS. It is an initial stage of AIDS and the test for same, detects a person with this infection, how long it is suffering from the infection and presently he is at which stage.
Importance of the Testing
By being sure about your infection status can keep you, as well as others around you safe from meeting the infection.
If your HIV test results positive
If the test confirms you with the illness then it does not mean the end of your life. You can still take precautionary steps to protect your health and live more years. You can initiate with the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) that involves medicating a patient for treating HIV infection. People undergoing this medication are required to consume a combination of medicines on a regular basis. It is an effective treatment process that helps individuals with this disease to live longer years and it decreases the danger of sexual transmission of the infection.
If your test results negative
If your HIV test is negative then it is an excellent news and confirms that you are not an HIV patient. However, this does not imply that you are save throughout your life! Rather, it requires you to take preventive measures to combat the ailment so that you do not meet the disease anytime in your life.
Who all should go for an HIV test?
As per the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, every individual falling between ages of 13 to 64 years must go for this testing. It is because such individuals are at a higher risk of meeting the infection. Some major factors that boost the danger of HIV infection are:
- Sharing infected needles, syringes; injecting drugs with an infected needle
- Having sex without proper protection with an HIV-infected person
- Already suffering from tuberculosis or hepatitis
- Meeting sexually transmitted disease (STD), like syphilis
- Having physical relations with more than one individual at same point of time
In any above situation, you need to talk to your health care provider to confirm how often you should take the test.
Types of HIV Tests
Rapid HIV Test – This type of test is useful for regular testing and is for those who want instant results from their evaluation. Such a test deliver results in few minutes after testing the blood specimen. The accuracy level of the test is as high as that of a Standard test and if in case, an individual tests negative then he no more have to go for further evaluations.
Standard Testing – This testing methodology is suitable for routine evaluation or during situations when there is unavailability of the Rapid test. The only difference between a Standard examination and a Rapid testing process is that it delivers results after four to five days of the completion of the process.
Early Detection – This evaluation is meaningful if you have met with a recent incident, such as, exposure to HIV or having unprotected relation with your partner. This form of HIV test cuts the duration of the window period and one can get the test done only after 10 to 12 days of suspecting the infection. This examination checks for the presence of the virus causing the infection. It implies that the test can deliver you accurate results when you are within the window period.
HIV Antibody Test – It is the most popular screening test that examines the antibodies in urine, blood, saliva, and other fluids of the mouth. Antibodies are proteins that the body generates to fight against diseases like this infection. The time duration from which the person infected with the disease, until it produces enough antibodies against HIV is window period. Most of the times, such antibodies are generated within every 3 months in a person who has met with the infection. For this reason, it is advisable for a patient suffering from this disease to get the test done in every 3 months.
HIV antigen test – Such a HIV test can detect the antibody as well as antigen in blood. This test can detect the presence of the ailment much before than the antibody test.
Others tests following the HIV examination
People with positive results should opt for a second test. A second test helps in confirming the ailment. Some types of analysis following the infection test procedure are:
- HIV – 1 nucleic acid test that detects directly for this infection
- Antibody differentiation test that differs from the HIV 1 and 2 form
- Indirect immunofluorescence or Western Blot assay that examines the presence of antibodies
Testing the Infection in 'Pregnant Women'
As per the CDC guidelines, every pregnant woman should undergo a test for this infection as an early detection can avoid passing the disease to the child. Even woman who is planning pregnancy can go for an HIV test in advance.
If in case, a pregnant woman suffers from the disease then she should start with the medications on an immediate basis. It is essential to reduce the risk of transmission to the child and to make sure that the entire pregnancy duration is free from complications.
Home Testing Kit for HIV Test
If you suspect of having HIV but are afraid of revealing its presence then you can opt for the most confidential way of testing, that is, home testing kit. For home use, two types of test are performed. The first type is the home collection kit during which a person has to prick his finger for collecting a blood sample. The sample is send to the lab for testing. You can obtain the results in few days. If the test results positive then the individual has to go with all follow-up evaluations.
You can also opt for the other type of home-testing solution that tests a tube and stick. A test stick is used to swab the gums to collect a sample of oral liquids. For getting adequate results, the test stick is inserted into the tube and then the results are revealed in just 20 minutes. In case the test is positive then it must be confirmed again by doing additional tests for the infection.
In both situations, one needs to visit the laboratory for availing the HIV test results by an expert and experienced health practitioner.
Can HIV Testing be Confidential!
Yes, you can procure confidential testing, but this does not imply that one will not mark results by your name. Rather, such type of testing implies that your test results will include your name and identify all the information, but only people informed by you, will be able to know and analyze your medical records and test results. You can send your positive HIV test result reports to the government or state health departments for adding them in the medical records. In such situation, the concerned departments do not include your personal information, such as your name, age, and other elements. The center does not shares such information with other organizations or testing units.
Besides confidential testing, you can also go for Anonymous testing procedure, where you do not have to provide your name, and you can straight away go for an HIV test. While getting the analysis done, you are provided with a number and your results are explained as per that number. In this case, the number acts as your identity and all your medical records and results are stored and shared based on the provided number.
From where to get the HIV Test done
If you are seeking the assistance of a health care provider, then definitely he can guide you about the same. If but, you intend to perform the HIV test by your own and want to check its confirmation then you can get it done from various units like:
- Clinical centers operated by charitable institutions
- Young people and contraception clinics
- Local drug store offering testing services
- Private clinics that require you to pay some amount for the testing
- Genitourinary medicine clinics or sexual health centers
- An antenatal center, if in case you are pregnant
What can you expect during testing?
The HIV test is not very painful, but yes, you need to be mentally strong and should not feel nervous. The testing process is simple and the practitioner will either collect your blood sample, or gather oral fluids from your mouth, or will ask for both. If your HIV test results negative, but you still encounters trouble then you may get the test done again after next 3 months. However, if the test is positive then your health counselor will talk about it and educate you about the further treatment process.


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Tips On The Way You Can Pick The Most Preferred Online Schools
There are a lot of online schools offering different education programs which can be found but finding the best can be quite a task. It can be hectic for you to pick an online school which will be the best but there are some steps that can be of help as you are doing that. It is important for you to make sure that you have in mind why it is that you want to enroll in an online school and what you need to achieve from it. You may be planning to get some promotion in the place that you work or make your career better in general. Regardless of the goals you have set for yourself, it is vital that you define them before you start searching for one of the best online schools which may be providing the education program which you desire to enrol for. You should ensure that you review the top colleges and universities which have the educational programs that you need online.
After listing the online schools that you feel you can enroll to make sure that you remove those that do not provide the programs that you are planning on pursuing. In case you are planning to enrol in an online degree program, it is necessary that you confirm the accreditation of the school so that you can know the quality of education that is offered there. If you happen to get an online school which has a process of accreditation which is open, it offers recognised programs, and thus it is possible for you to get credit transfers in case you need them. A lot of schools that have top ratings and rankings are accredited by the concerned agencies. It is important that you be sure of the performance of a certain online school before you go and study there even if you need to confirm it online.
After you have shortlisted the schools that offer the education program that you are interested in, you should find out about the details of their courses, the amount of money they charge as tuition fees, the requirements you need to possess before graduating and if there is any difference between a certain program that is being offered in different schools. The information that you collect will be of assistance to you in deciding the most preferred online school for you. You can easily get all the information you need from the internet, and it is not necessary that you must visit the school.
In case you may be having some questions, you can call the school and speak to the academic advisor of that school and get the answers that you may need.


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I am a practicing artist and a Realtor living in the North Shore. Since I was a child, I've loved to draw with anything I could find. It could be just a simple black pencil or some coloured pencils.
I started oil painting in 2014 because it gives me a sense of peace and fulfillment. It is where I could put my dreams, hopes, feelings and thoughts on a blank canvas and let my imagination go wild with no limits.
I displayed my paintings in the Spring Exhibition, Baharan Exhibition and during the Art Crawl. I love to paint sceneries, landscapes, cottages and especially modern arts. I also love photography and you can see some of the pictures on my profile.
I hope you enjoy my paintings and photography as much as I enjoyed painting and taking them.


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Is reputation the new sustainability?
Lately I have been wondering if reputation is going the way of sustainability. Years ago, sustainability and corporate social responsibility was on everyone's agendas in corporate American and around the world. It was hard to distinguish what was the difference between corporate social responsibility, corporate responsibility, community development, philantrophy, charitable giving, sustainability and all the other terms that were increasingly undefined, bundled together and fuzzy around the edges. Today, nearly all companies have CSR reports and it is expected of leading companies. CEOs too agree that CSR is critical to their business. A recent Accenture/UN Global Compact study found that 93% of global CEOs believe that sustainability issues will be critical to the future success of their business and 72% cite "brand, trust and reputation" as one of the top three factors driving them to take action on sustainability issues. Revenue growth and cost reduction are second at 44%. Everywhere you turn, sustainability is on the agenda. All in all, that's a good thing. However, I still think that the terms have been interchangeable and are used indiscriminately except by those really in the know.
In a new book I just heard about, The Nature Of The Future: Dispatches From
The Socialstructed World by Marina Gorbis, she argues that in the future we may start to see Reputation Statement Accounts just like we get from the bank. But these monthly statements will not inform you of your monetary transactions, but will tell you "how much you've earned by contributing to sites such as Wikipedia or Flickr, how many points you've earned by providing rankings or ratings on various community sites, or how much social currency you've spent by
asking someone for advice." We already have these kinds of ratings through Kred and Klout although somewhat different.
Her book also refers to the Whuffie Bank which is a nonprofit built on a new reputation currency that can be redeemed for real and virtual products and services. "The Whuffie Bank issues whuffies based on a reputation algorithm that blends information from different social networks and provides an accurate reflection of people's web reputations. And as the Internet and social networks become a large part of people's lives, your web influence will become an increasingly accurate reflection of you." That sure is the truth looking us in the eye.
I am afraid to say that everyone is a reputation expert today. Reputation means so many things that it is getting harder and harder to pin down. And I hope it does not become the new sustainability which has meaning depending on who you are talking to.
On to the future.


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How to Get the Odor Out Guest Blogs
How to Rid Unhealthy Classroom Odors
The smell of a classroom can be oh so frightening. Is it the carpet?? Is it the old building? Is it a combination of the students and everything they bring into your classroom? Who knows! But, a lingering smell shouldn't stop the students from learning or you from teaching! How to Stop the Classroom Smell? Pin-pointing the stench in a classroom can be tricky. Sometimes we can do it and sometimes we can't. But the good news is that when using Smelleze® Reusable School Smell Deodorizer Pouches, you don't have to (more...)
Natural Ways To Prevent Pet Odors In Your Home
Oh, the unconditional love of a pet. We invite them into our lives and snuggle with them in our homes, but there's one tiny aspect that blemishes this beloved relationship. Pet odor problems. Sure, we could say the same thing about humans, but hopefully, the people in our homes are willing to bathe. Ridding your home of pet odors is as easy as being proactive instead of reactive. Reactive means scattered decisions that usually result in turning to harsh and toxic chemical-laden products. Well, let's change our approach, (more...)
Get the Paint Odor Out and Breath Easy
Paint odor can be extremely unpleasant and may concern you because of your exposure to harmful emissions. It is true that painting your house will give it a welcome fresh new look, but at the same time you might end up with new paint odors and new hazards as well. When faced with this problem, many homeowners look for ways to get the paint odor out in the easiest, quickest, and most convenient way to safeguard their family. The main cause of the paint odor can be attributed to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) it contai (more...)
How to Get Basement Smell Out
Basements Can Be A Scary Place! Dark basements have a tendency to scare kids. Interestingly, these basements can also have the same effect on adults! However, the reasons are different. Children fear basements due to dark corners that transport their mind to a world of monsters. Adults, on the other hand, are terrified of the musty odor that hits their nose when they walk into the basement because it's just adds another problem on their long 'to do' list they have to deal with. What Causes Bad Odor in Basement (more...)
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Smelly Kitchen? Just because a dish is delicious doesn't mean your kitchen will smell really great, too. Chances are, some of these wonderful dishes will leave foul lingering cooking odors around your kitchen and worst, your entire house. Below are a few tips to neutralize those unpleasant food odors. Clean Up Oil and Food Spatter Make sure to wipe your kitchen surfaces clean, especially after frying. Use a rag or sponge, which has been dipped in degreasing dish detergent, to clean up your kitchen. For extra deodorizing po (more...)
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The widespread violence during August 2017 in Rakhine state (Myanmar) led to a massive influx of people from Myanmar into Cox's Bazar. As of March 2018, approximately one million people from Myanmar are estimated to be living in Bangladesh. The coastal district of Cox's Bazar is prone to disasters, which have been hit by more than three cyclones in the past three years.
Local Actors, including Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, have a critical role in supporting governments to address the challenges of disaster displacement, including through initiatives to prevent and prepare for displacement, to respond to displacement and to support recovery and the attainment of durable solutions for those displaced.
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Family members say a Marine veteran was trying to stop a man from robbing a bar in Philadelphia when he was shot and killed.
Michele Gordon says her cousin, 47-year-old Howard White, was killed outside the bar in the city's Olney neighborhood early Thursday.
Police say White talked the man into leaving the bar, but the man then shot White in the head and torso during an argument.
Police say the suspect fled and broke into a nearby home, where he was subdued by a father and son until police arrived.
The suspect and the father are being treated at a local hospital.
White's friend, Dwayne Peel, tells KYW-TV that White grew up in north Philadelphia and was a career military man disabled in an explosion while serving.
This story has been corrected to show the family member's first name is Michele, not Michelle, and to show the veteran is 47, not 46.
Latest Pennsylvania News
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Some put forth that the special curse that was pronounced on Adam because of his sin in the Garden of Eden, has not been lifted and is still with us today, that mankind is still fighting a great battle with "thorns" and "thistles" every time he plants a garden, puts in a farming crop, just a sweating, a hard toiling, a difficult laboring, a constant fight against thorns and thistles that make working the land just about impossible, or very difficult. Is this really the case? Is all mankind, everywhere, in all nations, having to fight and battle the ground that is constantly putting forth thorns and thistles, as some perpetual curse from God, that makes trying to work the soil a constant sweating hardship? Let us be willing to look at this once upon a time popular teaching of many religious leaders and Bible commentators, let's look at it a little closer, within the Bible itself, and also from historical facts as some nations migrated over the last number of centuries into the new world to process and work some very rich and fertile land that they inherited. BIBLE COMMENTARIES Some well noted, if not famous Bible commentators over the last 400 years have espoused in their preaching and in their Bible Commentaries (still available today) that the curse put upon Adam for his sin, is a curse that was never lifted, and is still with us to this very day. Now, I have some Bible Commentaries in my library. I use, from time to time, the popular Bible Commentaries, but I use them VERY CAREFULLY, realizing that the writers of such works were merely human beings as I am, as you are. Often they were raised with pre-conceived religious ideas, from their parents or church or religious college they may have attended to earn their theological degree. I use and read these Bible commentators with the realization they do not all agree among themselves, and that in fact they are wrong in their teaching and comments MANY times. As a member of the Church of God, that observes the 7th day Sabbath and annual Festivals of the Lord as outlined in Lev.23, I must remember that nearly all these Bible commentators of popular Christianity, are from the Roman Catholic and Protestant religious faiths. And as such, we in the Church of God that observe the 7th day Sabbath, would immediately claim such Catholic and Protestant commentators are very wrong on some very fundamental doctrines of the Bible, hence their Bible Commentaries must be taken and used with great care. It should be held by all those who hold the Bible as their only foundation of truth, that NO DOCTRINE should be founded upon Bible Commentaries. The Bible can stand on its own two feet, or shall I say TWO COVENANTS, the Old and the New covenants, Genesis to Revelation. And that the Bible INTERPRETS ITSELF! Putting scripture with scripture, searching the Scriptures, studying to show ourselves approved unto God, together with the help from the Holy Spirit, will LEAD into all truth, just as Jesus promised. To be sure the Bible Commentaries can be a help at times, they do often give us some technical information on the meaning of Hebrew or Greek words, or some historical facts that help us understand a certain passage of the Scriptures. And that is the MAIN use and function they have. Once more let me state, the comments by the popular and well known Bible commentators, are just that, their comments. No doctrine should be based on their comments alone, sometimes they are correct and sometimes they are very incorrect. Use their books and their writings with CARE. LET'S BACK UP Adam was placed in a garden IN Eden, according to the first chapters of Genesis. Notice what is stated under inspiration, in chapter 2 and verse 15, "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to DRESS it and to KEEP it." Now, I submit to you, that these words entail that Adam was to do some WORK! He was not just to sit around, put his feet up, lay in the sun, and watch the birds fly around all day. He was not in some holiday resort, having it all brought to him on a platter, just lazing away his time. God obviously created the garden in such a way as that it needed to be worked and tended, cared for, and looked after, otherwise it would run wild, not look like the Eternal intended it to look. Some WORK by Adam was needed to keep it looking good, as God created it and wanted it maintained. When later on, after Adam sinned, and a land curse was pronounced upon him, I think it should be clear to us that that curse was a special curse from God that meant his work in keeping the land he was to be given (outside Eden, as Adam and Eve were driven out, not able to return, as the narrative shows) was not going to be anywhere as easy work as the work of keeping the garden in Eden. But the fact remains some form of work was required while in Eden. God made man to do work. Life is full of work in one way or another. Keeping a garden does take some work. A farmer seeding and harvesting crops from off his land, a fruit tree grower caring for his trees and harvesting the fruit they produce, does take some work. Man was made to WORK! Now, go over and read Adam's curse in chapter 3. Oh, Adam was still going to have to work, but this time the ground was going to yield thorns and thistles, as never before. His work was going to be so hard, for all the work on the ground he would do, it would still bring forth thorns and thistles in a special way, a real battle indeed. This was a curse on the ground that would translate into the kind of work Adam could never have imagined. Many years ago, while living in southern Ontario, near Toronto, my wife and I rented a house at the edge of a town, a country house with land, that according to my landlord had never been used, virgin soil. I asked him if we could plant a garden. He had no objection at all, and so a section of this virgin land with its wild grass was rota-tilled and vegetable seeds and corn seeds were planted. The land contained no thorns and no thistles. I remember doing nothing at all to the corn patch, it just sprouted corn and grew and grew. Corn grows 5 or 6 feet or more and could care less about wild grass that may grow under its feet so to speak. Wow, that corn was the best and sweetest I've ever had. There really was very little work to do in order to produce that wonderful tasty corn, not much toiling, and no sweating, and no thorns or thistles. The vegetable garden was just about the same. Oh yes, a few weeds and wild grass to pull now and then, but no thorns or thistle fighting, they just were not there. A little more work in that garden compared to the corn patch garden, but certainly no sweating, really just some pleasant evening dressing and keeping of that garden, and only now and then at that, not every evening, only once and a while. In that and other garden experiences I've had over the years, I have never felt I was under Adam's curse of fighting a land that seemed to only want to produce thorns and thistles. Maybe I happened to live in areas where thorns and thistles did not live, I think there are tens of thousands of other families and farmers around the nations of the Western world, who have and are still experiencing what I so vividly experienced on that virgin soil in southern Ontario those many years ago. THREE CURSES ON THREE BEINGS The three curses pronounced on the Serpent, Eve, and Adam, were specific and only for them as individual beings, with the expansion of Adam's personal curse to extend to his offspring because the curse effected the LAND they all would work, to sweat upon as they struggled to produce food to eat among the thorns and thistles God said it would now produce. Let's look at each curse somewhat. The verses that cover the first curse are found in Genesis chapter 3:1, 14-15. From these verses many have taught (and it may be correct) that Satan used and talked through some kind of creature the Eternal had created, to tempt Eve to disobey the command of God not to eat from a certain tree in the garden. It would seem that Type and Anti-type slip back and forth in these verses. Whatever may be the case about the possibility that the serpent the Devil (Rev.12:9) used a physical creature to manifest himself to Eve, or used some other form to talk to her, we do find that the curse was on ONE being. Read verse 14. There is nothing in this curse to say MORE than one being, whatever it may have been, was given a curse. This curse was for this being, no more and no less. To say that "snakes" are from this curse, hence a curse still with us today, is purely of human conjecture, from the fancy ideas of the imagination of the human heart. Many other creatures move around on their belly besides snakes. And I do not know of any snake that eats dust, dirt, or sand, in order to live, or because they have some curse upon them. This curse was upon ONE being, and from the words "all the days of your life" the indication is that this being who was cursed, was a physical creature of some kind, that would eventually die, and in so dying the curse would also die. Nothing here to indicate that the curse of verse 14 was going to last all the way down to our time today. The second curse is found in verse 16. It was a curse upon the woman. Notice it, "And unto the WOMAN He (God) said....." Nothing in this verse to say ALL women from the time of Eve were under this curse. Oh, I know, I know, what has been taught by some preachers of the Bible, and some Bible commentators over the centuries, some still teaching it today. The teaching has been from many religious quarters that ALL women from Eve on, will have PAIN, physical pain in childbirth, and that they are under the THUMB of their husbands, as their mighty ruler. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! The pioneer of modern natural pain free childbirth, in the Western world, GRANTY DICK REID, in his book called CHILDBIRTH WITHOUT FEAR (out of print, but possibly your local Library will have it, very educational and informative), completely, scholastically, from the Hebrew words used in this verse, proves without a doubt this teaching, widely promulgated and believed in his day, is utterly FALSE. Of course the simple way that this teaching can be found to be an error, without a knowledge of the Hebrew (which Granty Dick Reid does carefully and technically expound in his above mentioned book) is the fact that MANY women have PAINLESS childbirths, maybe hard work (then again some do not even have much hard work even, I've known and talked to such women) but NO PHYSICAL PAIN. As Reid brings out in his famous book, many Oriental women, before the modern age, just went out into the field when it was time to bring forth their baby, squatted, pushed as if having a bowel movement, and gave birth, no hard work, and no pain. I have known a few ladies in my life that when close to their due date for childbirth, they thought nature was calling, and needed to go to the bathroom for a bowel movement, and....you guessed it, the bowel movement was their baby coming, no pain, no hard work. They never made it to the hospital needless to say, their baby was born in the bathroom. Many thousands of modern women today disprove the idea that God placed a curse on all women from the time of Eve, a curse that says all women will have physical pain during childbirth. It is not the intention of this study to expound all the truth concerning this verse. What I do want you again to notice is that this so-called curse is given to the woman, to Eve. Nothing is said here that what God told Eve He was going to give her was to be passed on to ALL women for ALL time, as long as women were giving birth to children. The third curse is found in verses 17-19. Like the above two curses, it is given to ONE being, in this case to Adam. Once more nothing is said that it will be passed on to ALL persons, ALL over the world, for ALL time, until the Kingdom of God is set up on the earth, at the glorious coming of the Messiah Christ. Now, this curse on the ground, was something OUTSIDE of Adam, that could and would effect others of his offspring, as they also had to work this same land. Adam lived close to a thousand years, so the effect was long and would have effected an eventual large population. I submit, these three curses were upon single BEINGS only, with Adam's curse or punishment being on the physical land, and hence so effecting numerous others that would come via Adam's offspring. I submit that nothing in these verses state the curses would forever continue on the earth as long as there were physical person on the earth, or for as long as the Messiah is yet to come to establish the literal Kingdom of God. THE SPECIFICS OF ADAM'S CURSE Genesis chapter 3 and verse 17 tells us that Adam's punishment for disobedience was that the ground would be cursed. The following verses get more specific and bring out the main details of this curse upon the ground and the resultant effect it would have on Adam. As we have noted, not only Adam would be effected in his manner of life from this ground curse but also those of his offspring. Here, we see that God was going to MAKE AND PERFORM A SPECIFIC circumstance on the ground that was not there in the beginning. It would be an intervention on God's part with what we call "nature." He would bring about certain phenomena as related in verse 18 (which we shall look at in detail shortly) that would make Adam's working of that land, a SORROW, or more specifically, a TOIL, as this Hebrew word would better be understood as meaning. It is number 6093 in Strong's Concordance for those who may want to research this word in more depth. It is used in chapter 5 and verse 29, where the context is clearly indicating that the WORK and TOIL mankind was now experiencing with producing food from the land was NOT A COMFORT, hence the work and toil not of the garden of Eden, of easy pleasure, but HARD SWEATING TOIL of DIS-comfort. Here is what MATTHEW HENRY says concerning this in his Bible Commentary: "Cursed is the ground for your sake; and the effect of that curse is, Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee. It is here intimated that his habitation should be changed; he should no longer dwell in a distinguished, blessed paradise, but should be removed to common ground, and that cursed........His business shall from henceforth become a toil to him, and he shall go on with it in the sweat of his face,v.19. His business before he sinned, was a constant pleasure to him; the garden was then dressed without any uneasy labor, and kept without any uneasy care; but now his labor shall be a weariness, and shall waste his body; his care shall be torment, and shall afflict his mind. The curse upon the ground, which made it barren, and produce thorns and thistles, made his employment about it much more difficult and toilsome....." ADAM CLARKE'S Bible commentary has this to say: " Cursed is the ground for thy sake - from henceforth its fertility shall be greatly impaired; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it, be in continual perplexity concerning the seed time and the harvest, the cold and the heat, the wet and the dry......" Once more notice the last words of verse 17, "....all the days of YOUR LIFE." A specific curse or punishment on ADAM for all the days of his life, and Adam lived, as some chronologers have worked out, to just BEFORE THE FLOOD, close to the time of NOAH, which we shall come to and study later on in this article. For now, keep in mind Genesis 5:29, and that the word Noah means, rest or comfort. This was a curse upon Adam, a single person, just as the other two previous curses were upon specific personal beings. Yet, Adam's curse or punishment was on the ground he would work, and so effect also his offspring, the rest of mankind that would come via the children Adam and Eve would produce. Certainly Adam would die before the curse ended. Before we study in-depth verse 18, I want you to re-read what I have written about verse 17 above. Now, I want you to meditate on the vast majority of households and farmers in the Western world. I will specifically meditate upon the lands I'm familiar with, England, Wales, Canada, and the USA. Most in those countries who plant gardens and who work the land in growing various grain crops (and I've lived in all the above countries, seen it all first hand, even been part of it at times, making my living in the agricultural/animal world) have been blessed with fertile soil, richly producing mountains of food stuffs that the rest of the world often envies. The land workers of those four countries, though often working long hours at times, do not call their work a discomfort, but in the most part a joyful pleasure, and they are not out in the fields constantly having to fight a running battle with thorns and thistles. The grain farmers of Western Canada and other parts who are organic farmers, some I have lived near, are not fighting a battle against thorns and thistles, and just a puffing, groaning, pulling and sweating in hard laborious toil as they work their land. I have known and talked to organic fruit orchard owners in the Okanagan Valley of B.C. where I lived for three years, and they told me they had to do a little more work to keep their fruit trees healthy by not using chemical sprays to ward off the bugs and the birds, but they were not fighting thorns and thistles, nor did any of them think or believe they were under some terrible hard sweating discomfort that made their life miserable. They thought is was a pleasure to have such a natural working relationship with the produce of the land. The punishment on Adam via the curse God would place on the land "all the days of his life" would be no such pleasure. God would specifically send thorns and thistles, a deliberate intervention in the land, on the soil, outside of the garden of Eden, Adam would be driven from, which would be a very real DIS-comfort, for all, until someone by the name of Noah would be born, and whom his father prophesied would COMFORT the land and people, which the Lord had cursed (chap.5:29). Now to the specifics of verse 18. The JAMIESON, FAUSSET, BROWN, Bible Commentary in three volumes, gives the GREEK word used for "thistle" in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament by 70 Jewish scholars around 200 B.C.) and then states: ".......the calthropy of botanists, a kind of thistle armed with long spines. This latter word is supposed to be derived from a root which signifies 'round,' in reference to its spherical form, or its being surrounded by a downy circlet, which makes it capable of easy and rapid revolution along the surface of the ground. The seed is furnished with means of quick and extensive dissemination, for it has a wing to waft it from place to place, and a hook by which it can fasten on any object that is in the way of its transit. Botanists have reckoned that a single seed of the common thistle will produce in the first crop 2,400 and 576,000,000 in the second, and so on, in the same extraordinary ratio of increase........ .......'The sweat of the face' was to be substituted for a light and pleasant pastime;'the herb of the field' for the delicious fruit trees of Eden......" ADAM CLARKE in his popular Bible Commentary has a long detailed factual comment on various thistles and thorns. I will quote most of it: " .......In the curse pronounced on the ground there is much more implied than generally appears. The amazing fertility of some of the most common thistles and thorns renders them the most proper instruments for the fulfilment of this sentence against man. Thistles multiply enormously; a species called Carolina sylvestris bears ordinarily from 20 to 40 heads, each containing from 100 to 150 seeds. Another species, called the Acanthum vulgare, produces about 100 heads, each containing 3 to 400 seeds. Suppose we say that these thistles produce at a medium only 80 heads, and that each contains only 300 seeds; the first crop from these would amount to 24,000. Let these be sown, and the crop will amount to 576 millions. Sow these, and their produce will be 13,824,000,000,000.......and a single crop from these, which is only the third year's growth, would amount to 331,776,000,000,000,000.......and the fourth year's growth will amount to 7,962,624,000,000,000,000,000.......A progeny more than sufficient to stock not only the surface of the whole world, but of all the planets of the solar system, so that no other plant or vegetable could possibly grow, allowing but a space of one square foot for each plant. The Carduus vulgatissimus viarum, or common hedge thistle, besides the almost infinite swarms of winged seeds it sends forth, spreads its roots around many yards,and throws up suckers everywhere, which not only produce seeds in their turn, but extend their roots, propagate like the parent plant, and stifle and destroy all vegetation but their own. As to THORNS, the bramble, which occurs so commonly, and is so mischievous, is a sufficient proof how well the means are calculated to secure the end. The genista,or spinosa vulgaris, called by some furze, by others whins, is allowed to be one of the most mischievous shrubs on the face of the earth. Scarcely anything can grow near it......It is very prolific; almost half the year it is covered with flowers which produce pods filled with seeds. Besides, it shoots out roots far and wide, from which suckers and young plants are continually springing up, which produce others in their turn......it is extremely difficult to clear the ground of its roots once it has got proper footing......" AAAHHH!! Such is the nature of many species of thorns and thistles. With such comments is the usefulness of Bible Commentaries, a lot of interesting facts and figures already studied and written for us. God was now going to punish Adam (and his offspring who would automatically reap the sweating hard toil by the curse on the land) for his sin, by lifting His hand, or shall we say planting with His hand, the choking, land grabbing THORNS AND THISTLES, that mankind would have to constantly battle against in the sweat of his brow. Adam, all the days of his life (verse 17) and until he returned unto the ground, and was once again dust(verse 19). Stop and think. If this curse was STILL on the earth and all mankind everywhere was still having to battle and fight this curse in the sweat of their brow, then when the white man discovered North America and the Indians (a part of the offspring of Adam), he should have discovered a land just FILLED with mile after mile, acre after acre, of nothing but thorns and thistles (given what Adam Clarke has revealed to us about the swift multiplication of the same), and only some acres that the Indians would have cleared and managed to keep under control, by the sweat of the brow. But the white man found no such overrun land of thorns and thistles, and there sure were not enough Indians in North America to have kept those nasty fellows in the deep blue sea of the Atlantic or Pacific, if God was still punishing man with Adam's curse on the land. This curse for Adam, put on the land, was very SPECIFIC......it was a curse of THORNS and THISTLES! It was not a curse of wild grasses, as found in many nations of the earth, such as North America when discovered, grasses that the abundance of wild life thrive upon. Adam's curse had very specific words within it. And PART of those words most have forgotten or most choose to ignore, but those words are also part of the whole total curse that was to be the punishment for Adam, until he returned to the dust, until "all the days of thy life." To be continued
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October 16, 2016 Teleseminar – Should I Stay or Go After an Affair?
We apologize that the beginning of this teleseminar has quite a bit of static on the line, but it was too good not to post and share with all of you. The static does get better as the teleseminar goes on so it's definitely worth listening to.
Anne Bercht shares great information and insight on how to determine if you should stay or go after there has been an affair in your marriage. She also answers questions and discusses how to handle if there has been abuse in a marriage as that will play a big part in one's decision to leave the marriage. Anne walks you through determining factors, using wisdom, insight and what helped with her personal decision to stay in her marriage as well as clients that her and Brian have worked with over the years and how they decided whether they should stay or go.
This is really an amazing teleseminar that will help YOU make this very big decision.
We encourage you to reach out to our office as well at firstname.lastname@example.com or by calling our office at 360-306-3367 as we want to support you in your healing journey and we also know that making that decision may also require some coaching or attending a seminar. This is a big decision to make and we encourage you make it from a healthy, healed place and not an emotional reaction after learning of your spouse's affair. No matter what you decide, we know that there is happiness waiting for you on the other side of your decision. We look forward to helping you discover the life you want and desire!


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Here is another interesting article on long term benefits of music lessons.
I am a great example of a student who took music lessons through to the end of high school and than took a long hiatus. I returned to playing and studying when my own children started lessons and that led to a wonderful second career in teaching. In many ways, I wish I'd taken that path straight from high school, but it's never too late!


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Remove Deverreb.com (Simple Removal Guide) - Free Instructions
Deverreb.com – adware that shows the "Push Notifications" pop-up and suggests viewing a video
Deverreb.com is called adware[1] due to its ability to display pop-up notifications on infected browsers. This suspicious application launches a black window page and a box which suggest allowing notifications and viewing a certain type of video. Stay away from this content and do not click on anything the adware provides as you might put yourself in trouble with extremely frequent advertising. Also, you can get infected by this potentially unwanted program through software bundles and if this happens there is a big possibility that you will start experiencing redirects to odd websites and running into annoying advertisements each time you start your browsing session. Nevertheless, your infected browser application is likely to be modified in different locations (e.g. homepage, new tab zone) if Deverreb.com pop-up appears on your computer
Deverreb.com pop-up ads are definitely not the content you want to view each time while performing browsing work. However, such notifications might occupy most used browser applications such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer. The worst part is that all unwanted changes cannot be manually reversed if you do not get rid of the adware program and its leftovers from the system.
|Program name
|Application type
|Adware program
|Infected browser apps
|Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge
|Main changes
|This adware can modify the browser's homepage, new tab URL zone
|Income gathering
|Revenue is gathered from beneficial adverts and users' browsing data
|Found in
|Software bundles and unsafe websites
|Detection software
|Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego can perform a full systems scan and identify suspicious objects
Deverreb.com virus is called this way because it has the ability to secretly sneak into the system and perform unwanted changes on web browsers. Also, it does not ask the user for permission to modify his/her applications and computer. If you are infected with this adware, you might find suspicious-looking processes running in the Task Manager section.[2]
Deverreb.com removal is a necessary process to perform if your goal is to bring back proper browsing and avoid the unwanted and maybe even dangerous consequences this potentially unwanted program might cause. One of the most unpleasant features that are related to adware is redirecting to potentially dangerous websites. The program might take you here unintentionally, however, that does not decrease the risk of a malware infection.
Another reason to remove Deverreb.com from your Windows or Mac computer is the methods this program uses to gain income. One technique is via advertising posts which promote useless products and also bring money from each click. The other one is by collecting browsing-related details and sharing them third-parties.
You can eliminate Deverreb.com pop-up ads by using anti-malware software or by performing the manual instructions that are placed below this article. However, we also offer to carry out a full system scan and identify all adware-related content that might be hidden in other locations such as the Task Manager. For this purpose, use a tool such as Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego or any other similar program.
Deverreb.com - adware that provides the "Push Notifications" message
Adware applications come as a bundle product
Cybersecurity experts from ZonderVirus.nl[3] made a research and found out that potentially unwanted programs are very likely to be injected into software bundles[4] of regular software. Usually, adware applications and other suspicious content reach the targeted computer system as a bundle product.
Gladly, users can prevent this type of stealth activity. All they need to do is opt for the Custom installation mode and start responsibly tracking their incoming downloads. If you are performing such process on your own, note that completing each step with big care is crucial, otherwise, you might let rogue content inside your computer system.
Automatical protection is also a very wise choice. There is a big variety of antivirus and anti-malware programs that are indeed handy and reliable. Choose the most suitable one for you and make sure that you regularly update it.
Deverreb.com adware can be removed easily with the help of anti-malware products
Deverreb.com removal should be performed right after detection if you want to avoid all consequences possible. For this process, you can choose reputable computer software or use the manual removal guide that is presented below and created for both Mac and Windows operating systems and also web browser applications such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
Remove Deverreb.com to ensure that your browsing activity is no longer being tracked and all browser changes have been successfully reversed. We have already mentioned the rogue activities and modifications that adware programs bring, and if you care about your computer's safety, do not hesitate and remove the cyber threat right after your spot the first adware-related symptoms.
After you kill Deverreb.com virus and all processes that are related to it, you should once more memorize all precautionary measures that need to be taken in order to avoid similar infections in the future. Remember that your computer's safety is in your own hands and you are the one responsible for browser and system security.
You may remove virus damage with a help of Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Deverreb.com, follow these steps:
Eliminate Deverreb.com from Windows systems
- Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
Uninstall Deverreb.com and related programs
Here, look for Deverreb.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs.
- Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Uninstall Deverreb.com from Mac OS X system
Get rid of the unwanted program and all its components from your Mac computer. If you need some help, use these instructing steps:
- If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
- Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Deverreb.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase Deverreb.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Deverreb.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab.
- Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab.
- Here, select Reset.
- When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Deverreb.com removal.
Get rid of Deverreb.com from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
- Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
- Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
- Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
- Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can't see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
- When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
- Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
- Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Deverreb.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
Delete Deverreb.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions.
- Here, select Deverreb.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Deverreb.com removal.
Remove Deverreb.com from Google Chrome
Chrome might be full of adware content if you have spotted some infections sings. Investigate your browser and remove all dubious changes:
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions.
- Here, select Deverreb.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
- Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
- When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings.
- Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
- Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Deverreb.com removal.
Eliminate Deverreb.com from Safari
Terminate all adware signs from Safari with the help of these instructing lines:
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences.
- Here, select Extensions and look for Deverreb.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
- Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Deverreb.com removal process.
About the author
- ^ Margaret Rouse. Adware. Search Security. Tech Target.
- ^ Task Manager. Computer hope. Free computer help since 1998.
- ^ ZonderVirus.nl. ZonderVirus.nk. Spyware news articles.
- ^ Product bundling. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
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Accor's network of Mercure hotels is continuing to grow in Australasia.
The latest Mercure hotels has increased the network to 49 across Australia and New Zealand.
The Ballarat Lodge & Convention Centre, in the Australian state of Victoria, has been rebranded Mercure Ballarat Hotel & Convention Centre.
This 71-room hotel is located opposite Ballarat's popular Sovereign Hill attraction and boasts two restaurants, 24 meeting and conference rooms, a Day Spa and swimming pool.
Hotel Launceston in Tasmania is set to be rebranded to Mercure Launceston, complementing Accor's other Tasmanian property, The Sebel Launceston. Located within the city's business area, Mercure Launceston features 70 guestrooms, a restaurant, bar and a newly refurbished conference room.
The 74-room Best Western Goulburn, in New South Wales, has joined the Accor network under the name of the Mercure Goulburn. The hotel is located in the regional city of Goulburn, about 200 kilometres by road south west of Sydney.
In New Zealand, the Abel Tasman Hotel in Wellington is becoming the Mercure Wellington Abel Tasman. This 73-room hotel is located in the heart of Wellington's business and entertainment district, and is within walking distance of Lampton Harbour. Facilities include a restaurant, bar bistro and four main function rooms which can cater for up to 120 people.
Chief Operating Officer of Accor Pacific, Simon McGrath, said that, by bringing internationally branded hotels into these areas, the company looked forward to "fostering and growing tourism in the regions".
The four Mercure hotels will join Accor's expanding franchise portfolio of over 70 hotels.


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[Review] NFS Shift 2
[Review] NFS Shift 2
Two years ago EA tried to re-invigorate the Need For Speed franchise, by taking a year out to have a think about what really would be the next great step for the future of one of their flag-ship franchises.
The step they took was to hire UK based Slightly Mad Studios to make what would become the first sim based racer in the series, and a racer that was a hit or miss amongst many gamers.
So two years on, have Slightly Mad managed to capture that audience they couldn't seem to get in the first game, or did they lose their way and lose people instead?
Game Play. 7/10
As we all know Need For Speed is a racer, A racer that over the years as become notable for high speed cop chases and underground street racing - meaning lots of different Drag, Drift and Circuit events.
Shift 2 however takes all of these and somehow manages to make the game challenging for people that are new to racers and even the pro players, who play nothing more then say Forza or Gran Turismo.
The first shift game introduced a camera angle which was the first game to fully integrate the inside of any car that was in the game, and be able to make a motion effect, depending on what it was you were doing In the race i.e. accelerating, braking and even crashing. Shift 2 works on this by adding in even more motion effects and also by adding in the Helmet cam which Slightly Mad seem to be quite proud of seeing as they have it down as a feature on the Back cover of the game case.
The Helmet cam works I guess sort of how you would expect, your view is slightly more limited then if you was using the Cockpit view and also adds in a new effect that gives you the realism that you are driving the car yourself, The effect is that your driver will look in different directions slightly at different things I.e. Bends in the road or even a car about to overtake.
This view looks pretty but it can be a pain to race in though seeing as your view is obscured meaning cars are probably likely to ram into you when you think you are doing fine when in fact your racing into their line.
A major concern gamers had with the first game also was that they felt the games overall feel with the handling was very arcadey, and it seems to me that Slightly Mad went away listened to what people had to say and massively over tuned the racing mechanics.
But in my opinion I believe they went a bit way to over the top and made it too realistic for its own good, especially seeing as its supposed to be a game and not a proper driving simulator.
Of course though this means that I am in fact talking about when you crash or get crashed into in the game, no matter what happens you will ninety percent chance spin or lose some sort of control over your car meaning your going to lose a few places in the race grid.
Which brings me onto the next point in this review, and that is everybody loves a game with a challenge no matter how slight the challenge is or how hard that challenge is to overcome.
When you add the driving mechanic from this game and put it into a race with A.I that are relatively smart and will sometimes bash into you to make you spin or slow you down, then this game can get highly frustrating.
The reason I believe behind this is that with the first game it became very apparent very quickly you could ram cars out of the way and have maybe a ten percent chance of spinning yourself out meaning you could shoot straight to first and have an easy race.
Now with this game you have to race as if you it was real, no more bashing cars out of the way for an easy win, if you bash a car your going to spin or lose control most of the time. And even when you do race good, the A.I no matter what difficulty your playing on will always manage to stay relatively close behind you in case you make a mistake.
Now this mechanic is not a bad thing, but it really can get on your nerves when you lose control and lose a lot of places and know you're not going to be able to pull those spots back in time.
Drift racing as also been massively changed since the last game where you could pretty much drift any corner you wanted and get insane high scores, this time they made it more lifelike with the help and Aid of Vaughn Gittin Jnr, it now takes real skill to drift around a track and score points like a pro, and I'm not ashamed to admit it but these are now my least favourite event types because I'm just plain bad at them.
No doubt though this mode will become a favourite amongst many gamers seeing as how lifelike it can be now, only bad thing about it is though, does a drift car really 360 spin from a stopped motion?
Overall though the changes that have been made to the game play mechanics relate to about fifty percent good and fifty percent bad, Its good there is now a challenge their but that challenge shouldn't be ready to screw you over all the time, I won't go out to say I'm bad at racers, I managed to get 900g from the first Shift ,but with this game, I won't lie I find it hard to get into first at times, and that's what makes me want to turn the game off.
Graphics 9/10
Everything about this games graphics have been enhanced, no longer is the Hud cluttered with lots of different stats or challenges, they stripped it down and made it more user friendly by just keeping what you needed to know on the screen, Exp, Lap, Place and Speed.
The games menus have been given an overall as well instead of just the square boxes you chose from in the first game, this game now features flashy menus, For example on the main game menu when your choosing an option your being rotated between many different fancy looking cars.
Even the career menu looks pretty good compared to again the old square/rectangle style from the previous game, this time you now have what look like Leaflet or handouts for events. Obviously these are made up but they all look pretty professional.
The cars all look superb but a part of me thinks that they didn't really do much to enhance the graphics of the cars, instead I believe they used their time to work on a better damage modelling system, so when a car gets beaten to bits in a race, it will finish it looking like it came straight out of a battlefield game.
One thing that let me down though was their appears to be no windscreen cracks this time around either compared to the first game.
If you took enough damage or a big crash your window would either crash or just smash, like I say that appears to be out on this game but then again I may just not of noticed it or maybe it only happens when you have your damage setting set to the highest.
The Cockpit/Helmet views are where many a gamer will spend their time racing and when your on a straight doing over a 100mph its always good to look at your cars interior and notice all the time and effort that went into modelling it, The only downfall though is when you upgrade a car to works, they all come with the same dashboard interface. Seriously is their no other interface design you could use?.
The night racing in the game is a brand new feature in the game and it really is something to behold, granted you can't really judge the graphics of the game when your zipping around a track in the dark with nothing but your headlights to guide you, But when you see that barrier ahead of you getting closer and closer, you start to feel like that is what night time racing would feel like if you was to be driving that car for real.
Onto the tracks of the game though and this is another area that Slightly mad appear to have worked quite heavily on, normally a track would appear to be quite dull and well grey, but in Shift 2 they all appear to have a sense of shine to them, from the cracks in the tracks from where and tear to seeing bits of other peoples cars lying over them from past laps, To just racing around the Nurburgring's tight bends, everything looks amazing. Massive props to the team for putting in all of that effort.
The last little touch I want to name upon when it comes to the graphics is that, when your hurtling down the track at high speed occasionally you will see fly's splatter onto whatever camera your using, It appears to be more frequent when your driving around in the car view outside, it may only be a small touch but its something that just adds to the detail and look great.
Sound and Music 8/10
When it comes to reviewing a racing game based off of sound it can be quite tricky as well apart from engine noises and music that appears in the menu's, their really isn't much else apart from Vaughn Gittin Jnr occasionally saying your doing well or not. So anyway ill do the best I can do to give you the low down on the sound.
The cars sound really good, but the main fall down where I'm concerned is that some of the cars can sound quite alike, sure your sports cars sound like your sports cars and your muscle cars sound like a tiger is about to break out from under the engine area. But in my honest opinion I don't believe there are that many different car engine sounds to go around all of the cars the game has to offer. Meaning some will sound alike.
The music on the other hand is quite remarkable and something that I guess kind of slapped me in the face when I first started playing the game, because at the time I think I was ready to hear some upbeat dance worthy kind of songs, but instead I got met with some chilled out and quite tranquil remixes or some well known songs, And it all for some reasons seems to fit in perfectly, from waiting for the game to load up to customising your car it sounds great.
Difficulty 7/10
The difficulty of this game is my main concern, as I started earlier on in the game play part, the game just appears to have become a little bit to hard especially on some of the tracks and depending on the level or skill you have your handling and A.I on.
If you never played the first and never witnessed the arcadey feel to the game then you may feel a bit swamped at first, seeing as on any difficulty the A.I will be able to keep up with you and even bash you out of the way.
To all the other racing pros though this game may seem like a bit of a breeze if you have a steering wheel for your Xbox, like I said earlier though I was pretty good at the first game but this game really can infuriate me at times with how difficult it can be.
I'm not sure if they made the rubber band effect from the first game more elaborate in this and included it for all events instead of just the rivals, but just use this as a warning that you may have to replay certain tracks over and over again, Once your in first as long as you don't make any mistakes you should be fine for the rest of the race, but getting to first can be an entirely different story especially with how the A.I like to ram you.
Achievements 7/10
The achievements for this game are going to be either a love or hate situation, they are multiple achievements with high gamer score for doing stuff that you would normally be doing in the career like defeating rivals and winning events, as well as levelling up all the way to 20.
But on the other side of the scale there are achievements that are going to take some serious time like playing online for a set amount of time and winning so many races online in a row to win a certain trophy, also the achievements for mastering corners and racing lines in not only the day and dusk tracks but also the night tracks as well.
For the average gamer who isn't interested in gaining every achievement the game has to offer then I would say with a little bit of effort 700 gamer score would be pretty good.
And to all of the completion junkies out their, you are looking to be spending on the upwards of possibly 30-40 hours on this game.
Whilst Slightly Mad Studios managed to pull off a massive overhaul to the first game, some pieces of shift 2 feel unfinished or tested, mainly the difficulty but that could just be me having problems, sure its ok to finish 3rd in a race but I want to finish 1st for the big money.
Nearly every piece of the game has been improved upon whilst only managing to make a few small hiccups that can be patched at a later date.
Even though this game is good it still can't compete with the likes of Forza, but this game is still one to watch because maybe just maybe in the next iteration of the franchise, Just possibly this could become the next best sim racing game out their.
Final Rating: 8/10
9 years ago
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When my wife and I first started dating the very first meal she made for me was her Chicken Paprikash. Being of Hungarian descent (her Dad's family escaped Hungary in the 1950's) this was a dish she was very familiar with and felt confident serving to her chef boyfriend (me). Of course, I loved it (and would have never told her otherwise if I hadn't) and it has been a staple in our house since then as we both consider this comfort food of the highest order. I mean, what's not to love; chicken slowly simmered in a sauce of onions and paprika, all finished with a healthy (and when I say healthy I really mean unhealthy!) dose of sour cream and served over egg noodles or better yet thick, chewy homemade dumplings-another item my wife excels at!
Up until earlier this year, Paprikash always meant chicken, for us, but earlier this summer we had some pork that we needed to use up so my wife used that instead of the normal chicken. We fell in love with the dish all over again and now seem to make it more with pork than with chicken.
Like with many family recipes handed down from generation to generation, my wife learned how to cook this one by "eye." Until today I don't think she ever measured any of the ingredients that went into the pot. It was kind of eye opening to see how much onion and how much paprika this dish actually uses! Talking of paprika, this dish requires good, "fresh" paprika. If the stuff you have sitting in your cupboard is over 6 months old please trash it and buy new stuff for this recipe as it plays a significant role in not only coloring but flavoring the dish.
Pork Paprikash
serves 8-10
3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder (or other tougher cut of pork)
6 cups onion, peeled and diced (small dice)
3 Tbl. vegetable oil
1 Tbl. salt
5 bay leaves
1/4 cup paprika
2 cups water
2 Tbl. corn starch
8oz sour cream
Dice pork into 1″ cubes. Heat a large pot over high heat and add the oil. Add pork and cook until lightly browned on all sides. Remove from pot and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes until starting to turn translucent. Return the pork to the pot and add the salt, bay leaves, paprika, and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook at a slow simmer for about 3 hours or until the pork is tender and the onions have mostly disintegrated. Dissolve the corn starch in a bit of cold water and add, a bit at a time until thickened to your liking (it should be the consistency of a loose stew). Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or homemade dumplings.