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Consultants use a number of different approaches to determine whether a downturn is on the way. Here's what the seven of them incorporate into their formulas.
MIAMI—Predicting the timing of the next downturn in the hotel industry is a little like forecasting stormy weather—everyone knows it can turn with little notice and the results can be catastrophic.
Looking ahead can pay great dividends when it comes to preparation, according to seven members of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants who spoke during last week's Hotel News Now/Castell Project think tank called "Now is the time to think about the next downturn."
Speaking at the 1 Hotel South Beach, the panelists outlined key indicators—ranging from revenue per available room performance to job applicants to investor sentiment—that they look when weighing whether a downturn is on the horizon.
- Read speakers' advice on preparing for a downturn
- Read takeaways from consultants on dealing with a downturn
Amanda Chivers, managing principal for Crown Hospitality Consulting, said while it's easy to focus on RevPAR when looking for signs of a potential downturn, she puts a lot of stock in capital-markets trends.
"We definitely look at investors' sentiment and where the money is going in the capital markets," Chivers said. "When I start to see a lot of my clients, which are private equity firms and building capital funds, raising money … It's typically a sign that they are preparing for what's to come."
Deborah Friedland, managing director for EisnerAmper, also looks at financial-related trends when determining the state of the hotel industry.
"My main indicator right now is the flattening yield curve," Friedland said. "What we're seeing is that the two-year treasury is pretty much in sync with the 10-year. That's worrisome. That's a key indicator that a recession is possible and might be occurring more quickly than we would have thought."
Last week's Wall Street selloff was a bit scary, too, because traders didn't jump right back in and could be an early indicator of turbulent times ahead, she said.
Suzanne Mellen, senior managing director-practice leader for HVS, said that things look good at the moment with 4% compounded annual economic growth forecasted, hoteliers have two sure-fire ways to see dark clouds looming.
"When you start to see hotels start to not meet their budget, and they have all sorts of reasons why they're not meeting their budget, but you can't quite put your finger on it — that's usually a key sign," Mellen said. "Also, year-over-year evaluations. And thus far we've been holding steady on most values, but with rising interest rates and real flattening of RevPAR and net income, those may start to slip. So that's what we'll be looking at."
Tea Ros, the Switzerland-based managing director for Strategic Hotel Consulting, said warning signs can vary by region around the world, and at the moment things look stable.
"There's nothing that sort of pokes out in the sense that this is a major concern, this is something that we all need to be collectively looking at, keeping an eye out," Ros said. "There are lots of issues and challenges in each of the regions and on a country-wide basis. But I wouldn't say these are indications of a wider downturn."
For example, she said that for the past few months she's been getting "a lot of 'What's up?' messages from Middle East hotel leaders.
"Usually when you get the 'What's up?' messages, when the (leader) himself is calling—it's not the team, it's not their advisors—it's the guy right at the top who is always trying to diversify their investments, trying to go outside Middle East and find investments outside," Ros said. "That, to me, is a very clear indication there is trouble in the region. People are looking to diversify. But that's a region's specific issue and not the overall downturn."
Ros said it is a good idea to keep an eye on unemployment and longer-term stock market results as key indicators of an impending downturn.
Cecilia Gordon, director law firm Goulston & Storrs, said she watches for two things:
- "One is when an increasing number of clients start saying, 'I have to agree to that,' and they don't push back that one last time on the deal term, or they don't say, 'I just can't accept that. I have to agree to that, I have to accept it,'" Gordon said. "Then we start seeing that significant number of deal calls—something is clearly in the air."
- "The other thing I look at is … when people start saying, 'I'm not so sure about hotels because maybe they're not institutional quality investments,'" she said. "That may have shifted since the last downturn—there's a lot more institutional money and institutional faith in the asset class."
Judy King, founder & principal for Quality Management Services, said she looks at unemployment figures and the applicants-to-open-position ratio as key indicators for the health of the industry.
"Right now, there are many clients that are in a deficit for some positions," King said. "We're having to talk (applicants) into taking positions that they never applied for in the first place. And so what we're looking at is: How many people are out there who are interested in work?"
King said when there are many more applicants applying for a smaller number of open positions means the economy is tightening and a downturn could be on the way.
That ties into department-specific challenges, according to Jennifer Findlay, founder of Core Essence, a spa-and-wellness consultancy. Keeping tabs on future bookings for services is one way to spot an oncoming downturn.
"In previous downturns, cuts and closures were a big theme in spa and wellness," Findlay said. "We're hopeful that our business models were put to the test, and from previous learnings, now we've come back in the wellness world with more robust, more resilient, more agile business models.
"There's been a real movement away from spa being looked at as a luxury, and now it's really moving toward (being) a necessity," she added. "It's not something that (guests) are doing monthly or annually, but something that they're enjoying daily."


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Nursery Manager
Posted on Mar 25, 2020 by Connectedrecruitment.com
Connected Recruitment are currently working with a market leading nursery group in the west of London area.
My client is a nursery providing high quality childcare in which children are 'learning through play'. Supporting team members to achieve their own personal goals whilst maintaining an 'Outstanding' level of care which enables children to develop to their full potential.
My Client are currently recruiting for a rarely available experienced Nursery Manager position in their Teddington High Street setting.
The ideal candidate will have one of the following qualifications NVQ L3 Diploma in Early Years, NNEB, Montessori Diploma, Early Years Degree or QTS.
You must be able to develop a fantastic rapport with children and demonstrate significant understanding of children's learning and development, and education.
As a Nursery Manager will demonstrate the following skills and abilities in management and early years education practice:
Strong curriculum planning and self-review skills.
Strong leadership acumen.
Contribute to the professional reputation of the nursery.
Maintain professional and respectful relationships at all times.
Demonstrate a passion for and a commitment to teaching and learning with a focus on delivering quality learning outcomes for children.
Be committed to quality teaching and learning.
Demonstrate good verbal and written communication skills.
Be positive and proactive with team members.
Create a warm and welcoming environment for all children and parents.
Be willing to participate in a range of staff development activities.
Be self-motivated, innovative, reflective and prepared to think beyond the boundaries.
Be results orientated.
Demonstrate good organisational and time management skills and abilities
20 days holiday + Bank holidays
Free uniform
Ongoing training packages
Employee assistance program
Discounts of major high street stores
If this sounds like the job you have been waiting for please apply.
Safeguarding and caring for children is a primary concern. An Enhanced DBS check and reference checks are essential prior to employment
Reference: 870473491

subset: commoncrawl


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Technical Focuses
Optical Bonding:
The interfaces between man and machine, known as HMI, are becoming increasingly important. Devices with touch displays must therefore increasingly smarter recognize multiple touch points as well as gesture and accordingly learn to understand movements naturally and thus, correct errors automatically.
Embedded Displays:
Displays in generall become more functional, their complexity increases. Embedded displays require an ever greater computing power, better sensors and better systems that are integrated in the display from the outset.
Thermal Management
As a result, the packing density of displays grows. This also increases the demands on the built-in technology, in order to protect devices from overheating, or a temporal, local or entire failure.
Volumetric Presentation:
Also 3D capability will be an increasingly important area of display technology. Thus, it can entirely become accepted, it requires a thoughtful advancement in accordance with physical processes.


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You have a tempered glass screen protector on your iPhone but need to remove it. Have no fear. Below is our simple, step-by-step guide on how to take off a tempered glass screen protector:
Step 1: Assemble tools and prepare
Like any other project, having the right equipment for the job will make the whole process go a lot more smoothly. Fortunately, the recommended tools for this task can commonly be found in most households. Here's what you'll need:
- a toothpick
- a credit card or business card
- an alcohol wipe and microfiber cloth (optional)
Step 2: Lift the corner
Start on the top right corner of your iPhone and use the toothpick to carefully lift the screen protector glass away from the screen. You only have to lift the protector off just enough to slide a card underneath.
Step 3: Loosen the edges
Take a credit card or business card and insert it under the screen protector, about 1/2" toward the center of the phone. Next, slide the card around the entire perimeter of the iPhone until you return to the initial position. Repeat this process one additional time for good measure.
📢 Want 25% off all our awesome products?
Use coupon code BONUS at checkout.
Step 4: Slowly remove
With the card still inserted at the top of the iPhone, slide the card all the way under the glass across the entire width of the iPhone. Slowly slide the card down towards the bottom of the phone, while simultaneously lifting the screen protector away from the screen. The key is to do this slowly as possible, as to not apply too much pressure to the glass (which may cause it to bend and crack).
Step 5: Finishing touches
Once you have successfully removed the screen protector, set it aside, and use an alcohol wipe and microfiber cloth to clean and dry your screen. Voilà!


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Yes, our Stormsure Energy+ casement window range are manufactured in the UK and are triple glazed, feature an A+ energy rating and offers U values down to 0.8W/m2K.
View the range here.
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Last week, our health insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida) sent us a letter about yet another rate increase. Between our two policies, this is the third or fourth increase in the two years since we launched our individual policies. The latest hike for my wife's policy jacks the rate by a few … Continue reading Our Health Insurance Costs are Skyrocketing!
Category: Insurance
Clearing Up Car Insurance Confusion
One of the most frustrating things about many insurance products is their complexity. Just when you think you've answered the question: "How much will I get if..." something else surprises you about how the benefits are structured. Over the past year, I've been knee-deep in research on health and car insurance products as a result … Continue reading Clearing Up Car Insurance Confusion
Progressive Snapshot Review
Nearly two years ago, I revisited my auto insurance premiums as I do every few years. I decided that switching to Progressive was the most logical and inexpensive choice among the 4-5 providers I quoted. Through two fender-benders, they have remained competitive in pricing and fantastic to work with in their claims process. In September … Continue reading Progressive Snapshot Review
How to Be Ready for Medical Emergencies
When health problems knock at the door, how will you respond? Here are a few pointers for getting ready based on our recent experience.
Parking Lot Hit-and-Run
Last week, a fellow member of the human race decided to nail my car in the parking lot and flee. These are my tips for dealing with the situation.
Can We Boil Down Personal Finance to Simple Ratios?
That's the premise of a new book by Charles Farrell, "Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security at Every Stage of Life." The book lives up to its title—people at any stage of life can pick this up and figure out exactly how they relate to where they should be, according to Farrell. … Continue reading Can We Boil Down Personal Finance to Simple Ratios?
Does Having AFLAC Make Financial Sense?
I don't know how AFLAC makes money with our pregnancy insurance policy, but I honestly don't care--it pays off for us in the end. Can it do the same for you?


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Landscaping can increase your property value by up to 12.7% according to a 2007 paper by Virginia Tech horticulturist, Alex Nieniera. Adding greenery and tidying up your landscape also improves the environment and has had a positive impact on your health.
Here, are 5 cost-effective tips for landscaping your home borders that will increase your property's value.
1. Develop A Strategy Before You Start
Before you start, it is important to develop a strategy on landscaping your home border. Do not over-clutter your landscaping with too many plants, but also, keep in mind not to have plain grass. Encourage diversity and consider planting shrubs and perennials.
2. Match Your Design With The Style Of Your Home
No matter whichever type of landscaping you are opting for, match it completely with the style of your home. This will not only increase the value of your property but with this cost-effective method, you will be able to impress guests with your classy sense of style.
3. Maintain A Seasonal Balance
Your landscaping should maintain a seasonal balance. Plant blooming bulbs for the spring, annual beds during the summers, shrubs for the fall and the evergreens for winter. When a potential buyer comes over to purchase your property he/she will only be impressed if they notice that the home will look different and beautiful in every season.
4. Edge Up The Lawn
Edging up your lawn neatly clears up the look and makes it appear tidy. It not only reduces the effort of maintaining but also will make your garden look tamed. This helps you to create a neat separation between your driveway and lawn.
5. Shred Your Garden When Required
We're sure you would not like bushes to grow and convert your beautifully designed garden into a bush. For this reason, shredding the plants and grass of your garden should be carried out. Once your garden looks tidier, it will certainly get noticed by potential buyers.
If you need any more information about Driveways, please contact us or call us on (516) 781-0356 or (516) 783-6754.


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No matter what area of expertise and skills you are looking, entrust the professional staff at Burke Employment Solutions with your hiring needs. As human resource support specialists, we have permanent placement, pre-screening and testing experience in almost every occupation imaginable. We understand that all client hiring needs are different which is why we work with you on customized solutions for your company.
Get Started Today with
Burke Employment Solutions
Job Opportunities
Burke Employment Solutions
71 King Street, Suite 206
St. Catharines, ON L2R 3H7
phone 905.641.3070
fax 905.641.0478
email email@example.com


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The following photos were taken during my visit to Anacapa Island in the pacific coast of California during September 2011. Anacapa Island is part of Channel islands maintained by U.S National Park service. It was absolutely brilliant and vibrant place to visit. If you happen to visit as a group, I would strongly recommend a night stay in the camp sight. You need to make reservation for Ferry service and Camp site in advance. You can find more details about Anacapa Island here and here.
For more photos, Visit my tumblr page.
Provide your feedback in the comments section.


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Everybody in the two Telugu states, especially the residents of Vijayawada, love both cinema and politics. And 'NOTA' is a cinema with a political subject.0
Why do human beings find it so hard to live and let live? Countries are messing with each other. Religions are messing with each other. Castes are messing with each other; people mess with each other.0
I am comfortable with doing mistakes. It's a normal thing. If a mistake happens because of my own decision, I am OK with it.0
Cricket, politics, and cinema is what a majority in our country are most passionate about. They have the power to divide the best of friends depending on which side you are on.India, Cricket0
Exploring the dark side of my characters' personality is my forte.0


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What could a doctorate do for you? The Ph.D is a non-medical doctor in today's society. Of course, in ecclesiastical work it might be Th.D. Same level of degree in a different field. No matter what the field, it's always a head turner when someone is called doctor.
If you are pursuing a career as a university-level educator or seek a professorship, you will need that post-graduate degree. Those three letters will open up the door for a significant rise in your potential income and prestige. Frequently today, even smaller colleges want their instructors to have doctorates.
Large research corporations like the pharmaceutical companies employ chemists and biologists with Ph.D's. The school districts even in communities of 3,000 to 5,000 people now look for school superintendents with their doctorates in education. These types of jobs regularly pay into the six figures. The mega-churches of today often will only give a good look at pastoral candidates with their doctor's degree in hand.
Publishers of professional books and journals seek out Ph.D's to write for them. If they are not sought to be the author, their endorsements can help raise the status of a book or an article. New programs look for Ph.D's when they seek expert guests on a wide range of different subjects from political commentary to space exploration.
Being among the world's leading authorities in your field is a big deal. You have paid the price with the time, expense, and effort to climb a very high mountain. It is expected that their will be reasonable rewards in money, prestige, and influence. Generally, these will be granted without question.
You will have open doors to book publishing opportunities. Invitations to public speaking engagements can be sought and secured. Access to people of power can also be a perk of that Ph.D. There are plenty of reasons to want it. Only a relative few are able to carve out the time and effort to secure it.


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Insects and other foods the trout may be eating:
1. Blue-winged Olives
2. Little Yellow Quills (
3. Needle Stoneflies
4 Slate Drakes
5 Great Brown Autumn Sedge
6. Midges
7. Sculpin, Minnows (Streamers)
Adult Midges
When the pupae hatch into two winged adults, there's little time for the trout to catch
them although they sometimes do. The adults usually leave the water just as soon as
they are free of their shuck. As mentioned in yesterday's article on midges, most of
them are eaten by trout when they are still in their pupa stage of life and therefore,
you are better off fishing pupae imitations than adult imitations during the actual
hatch. Keep in mind you can fish the pupa imitation in the surface skim. It doesn't
have to be fished below the surface. In other words, you're not going to have very
good odds when you're fishing an imitation of the adult during the actual hatch.
After the midges hatch from the pupae, they buzz about in erratic motions, darting
about in an unpredictable pattern. The adults become important to anglers when they
are mating and depositing their eggs. They mate in swarming masses. It's common to
see fish rising and midges skittering along the surface of the water at the same time in
just about any type of water that holds trout. Most adult species skim the surface of
the water when they deposit their eggs. They rarely lite on the water to deposit their
eggs but they do usually end up falling and dying on the water after they deposit their
Midge Clusters:
Although this isn't the case very often in the streams of the Smokies and other
freestone, pocket water streams, It's not uncommon on some waters to see large
clusters of midges along the bank. When this happens you will usually see trout rising
to them. These clusters of midges occur during the time the midges are mating and
usually, in streams where there's large concentrations of midges. The current and
wind combine to collect them along the banks and in current seams in clusters. This
will usually concentrate the trout and cause a feeding frenzy. It's not uncommon to
see trout feeding on the surface even in very cold water when there's clusters of
midges on the surface.
Fishing Imitations of the Adults:
It isn't easy to see the hook size 20 and 22 dry fly imitations of the adults on the water.
This is especially true when your fishing water that isn't flowing smoothly which is
usually the case in the streams of the Smokies. It's also common for trout to just sip
the adult egg layers from the surface with little surface disturbance. If you have
trouble seeing the small dry flies, you may try fishing the adult midge fly in tandem
with a larger dry fly. The larger fly acts like a strike indicator except it won't necessarily
go under when a trout takes the midge.
On the streams of the Smokies, and other similar fast flowing pocket water streams, a
nine foot, 6X leader is usually plenty long and light enough. Tie on a hook size 16 dry
fly such as a Blue-winged Olive dun, for example. Tie an 18 inch long section of 6X
tippet to the bend of the BWO dry fly hook and the size 20 or 22 imitation of the adult
midge on the tag end. When a trout takes the adult midge fly, you will see the larger
BWO dry fly stop drifting or move in a direction it wouldn't otherwise move.
"Perfect Fly" Cream Adult Midge
Imitation. This is one of our most popular
and best selling flies. It comes in hook sizes 20 and 22 and is of course, much, much
smaller in actual size than the image.
Our New DVD Release "Stalking Appalachian Trout".
Copyright 2011 James Marsh
Flies You Need
Flies You Need


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With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, extra security measures are important to prevent hackers from stealing personal information, a spokeswoman from the Office of the Chief Information Officer said.
Meanwhile, one study found that data breaches are on the rise and organizations are unprepared to detect them. The study, done by the Ponemon Institute in 2013, found that data breaches increased in both severity and frequency last year.
The study found that downtime for an online retailer during Cyber Monday could cost as much as $3.4 million in lost sales and brand and reputation damage.
Students should take precautions at all times of the year, but the holidays are a good time for reminders, said Katharine Keune, a spokeswoman for the Office of Chief Information Officer.
For online shopping, she said students should be careful about what wireless networks they use.
"All wireless networks are not configured and operated as securely as OSU's," Keune said in an email. "Free networks that restaurants and coffee shops provide are generally not encrypted,"
Encrypted wireless is generally more secure, she added.
Keune also said when shopping online, it's important to ensure devices undergo regular security updates and to make online purchases from mainstream online stores.
Mainstream stores are more likely to have a professional security staffs which means better protection. Keune said there are many sites waiting to prey on naïve users.
The Identity Theft Assistance — an organization that provides assistance to victims of fraud — suggests using credit cards instead of debit cards when shopping, according to its website. Credit cards don't protect you from getting hacked, but they have a number of features that make getting money back much easier. Debit cards are linked to real checking accounts, and are more difficult to get refunded, while credit card issuers are required by law to cover your losses if they exceed $50.
Credit card hacking has become a growing concern. In the past year, cyber-attacks have hit retailers including Target, Home Depot and Jimmy John's.
Some students have learned the hard way to be more careful with their credit and debit cards.
Svetlana Kravtsova, a third-year in neuroscience, said she lost her debit card two years ago.
"I left my debit card on the top of my car at a gas station and drove away," she said.
Although she canceled the card before anyone could use it, she said the incident made her keep track of her cards more. She said she plans to go Black Friday shopping with her mom, but they have a shopping system.
"After each time we check out, I look back to make sure my mom didn't leave anything behind," she said.
Trevor Kirkpatrick, a third-year in animal sciences, said he's never experienced his credit or debit card being stolen, but knows others who have been affected.
"I know somebody who had $17,000 stripped out from California and it was kind of a freak deal. They had fraud protection so they ended up being good, but that led me to back up everything," he said. The victim of the credit card fraud was a friend's dad who lives in Ohio, Kirkpatrick said.
He also said he has a few ways he protects himself from fraud.
"My mom always told me when you go to restaurants to pay you lay your card face down, because anyone could write your card numbers down. I also like putting in my pin because it makes me feel safer," he said.
As far as concern for Black Friday, he said he thinks crime has become a "two way street."
"I think criminals are getting smarter, but also there's more cyber protection," he said.


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The first major success story in small-footprint Windows operating systems was Windows Embedded CE (also known as "Windows CE"), which emerged as a strong standard platform for embedded systems, especially in Industrial Automation. During the launch of Windows 8, there … Continue reading
Tag Archives: windows ce
Welcome to the InduSoft blog!
Thank you for stopping by! Our blog provides opinions relevant to the automation industry including HMI and SCADA, as well as updates on hot new features and downloads for InduSoft Web Studio Several departments within the company will provide regular … Continue reading


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We can nourish our skin both from the inside and outside. Eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and staying hydrated can work wonders not only for our health but also for our skin, and can diminish the need to use lots of fancy (and expensive!) skin products. What you put on your plate may end up being more important than what you put on your skin! Continue reading
Category: Nutrition
The aim of the Nutrition section is to provide general information on diet and nutrition to the general public. The contents of this Web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Web site. The Tasteful Pantry provides no warranty on this information and no liability is assumed by the Tasteful Pantry or the author for the recommendations, information, dietary suggestions, menus, and recipes provided. Products mentioned or omitted do not constitute endorsement.
The 6 Best Herbs for Healthy Digestion
We're excited to share with you this guest post Jill Cohen, our friend and certified herbalist. Jill lives in Boulder, CO where she teaches herbal and earth-based education to youth and adults.
If you're reading this blog, chances are good you're personally familiar with food intolerances and digestive discomfort. Chances are also good that you're conscientious about choosing foods that nourish your body and avoiding ones that don't – at least for the most part!
In addition to making informed food choices, another way to support digestive and overall health is to incorporate medicinal plants into your diet. Continue reading
My Favorite Fats for Cooking
There are so many different types of oils and fats to cook with these days, and for every one there's a different opinion on which is healthier. Many fats that were previously considered categorically bad for us have now been proven to be acceptable and even beneficial for us. Below are some of the factors to keep in mind when choosing a fat, and my favorites for cooking. Continue reading
Why Grass-Fed is the Best-Fed
As the grass-fed craze continues, we start to look at it as more of a cultural staple rather than a passing fad. Why has this stuck around? Because grass-fed is the better quality meat, and the better tasting meat. We know that "grass-fed" options aren't always clear, and marketing terms on packaging can get confusing, so we have brokendown some of the packaging claims for you below. Continue reading
Dear Lea
Dear Lea: I just found your site – love it! I'm 66 and in need of a change – big one – among which I want to become healthier in my older age. What is the best way to start eating healthier – I'm a junk food junkie – mainly sweets. I would rather eat them than a good meal. Also, not fond of many meats, dont eat many fruits/veggies, etc. Basically not a good eater (and I feel it, it shows). –KE Continue reading
Benefits of a Plant Based Diet
First let's get clear about what we are talking about. The term plant-based diet is one that emphasizes vegetables, beans, peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. There are different types of plant-based diets: vegan with no animal products such as meat, eggs or dairy; lacto-ovo vegetarian with no meat but including dairy products and eggs; and lacto-vegetarian with no meats or eggs but including dairy products. You can also eat a plant-based diet without going completely vegetarian. Some people call themselves "pescatarian" if their plant-based diet includes fish or "flexitarian" if they occasionally eat animal products. While vegetarian diets are usually defined by what they exclude, think of what they include—lots of vegetables, grains and fruit. The whole foods plant-based idea does not require complicated instructions – just start to eat more whole, unprocessed foods that come directly from plants. Continue reading
Keeping Your Healthy New Years Resolutions
Did you make a New Year's resolution to be healthier, to lose weight or to change your diet? If you saw our previous post on 10 Healthy New Years Resolutions, you may have gotten some good ideas to kick off your New Year in a healthy way. Many of us charge into the new year with ambitious goals to change our lifestyles; in fact almost 50% of Americans make New Year's resolutions, but less than 8% are actually successful keeping them longer than a month. Now that's a bleak statistic! But fear not, below are some tips to help you harness that enthusiasm and help you succeed in 2015! Continue reading
8 Tips to boost Your Digestion Over the Holidays
One word comes to our mind around the holidays – indulge. Whether your guilty pleasure is green bean casserole or pecan pie, we all have something that we may give in to because it's the holiday season. However, these choices may have consequences when it comes to our digestion, which can mean gas, bloating, and discomfort. Plus our digestive systems may need a bit of a boost to help us break down the quantities of food we can tend to eat during the holiday season.
Surviving Holiday Parties…With Your Waistline Intact
It's that time of the year to eat, drink and be merry! But that doesn't mean we have to kiss our waistline goodbye or sacrifice all the good work we've done for the other 11 months of the year to put good food into our bodies. Especially when our routine is thrown off by holiday parties and family gatherings, it can be tough to stay mindful and disciplined about our health, but the good news is that there are ways to do it and to still ENJOY the season. At The Tasteful Pantry, we're all about loving our food, both in terms of taste and its effect on our bodies. After all, what good is it to eat delicious food then feel awful afterwards? Below are some tips from our Registered Dietitian Lea on how to survive your holiday parties with your health in tact. Scroll all the way down for our helpful infographic on steps you can take before the party, as well as these steps below on what to do at the party. Continue reading
A Happy Thanks – Giving
Just a quick post to say THANK YOU to all of our readers and sharers. We have loved sharing our knowledge, love and tastes with you and look forward to being a resource to help you expand your taste buds and lifestyle in a wholesome and delicious way.
We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with scrumptious and nourishing food, family and fun!
-Jennifer & Lea


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Introducing the crew of the U.S.S Silverado! Captain Stafford gets a nasty surprise when he takes command of his new ship. Laziness and incompetence reign as this crew of unique officers try to come to terms with their new assignment...and each other! Will they put aside their differences long enough to survive an unexpected trip? Find out in the first Star Traks: Silverado story!
1.2 Let the Games Begin!:
Getting a starship ready for launch is a long, difficult, and stressful process. Fortunately, Captain Stafford and the crew of the USS Silverado have the professionals of Spacedock to assist them...if both groups can just stop attacking each other long enough to get some actual work done.
1.3 Ship of Dreams? Part One:
Dreaming about someone else at the same time they are dreaming about you is a bit odd. But what if both of you are having the same dream at the same time? And so is everyone else on your ship? And you can't wake up?
1.4 Ship of Dreams? Part Two:
Will Stafford and T'Parief defeat the maniacal Queen Wowryk? Can Fifebee and Noonan save the crew from their bizarre fate? Just how many times can Lieutenant Jall die?? Find out in the twisted conclusion to Star Traks, Silverado: 'Ship of Dreams?'!
1.5 Welcome to Hickville:
Stafford and his crew finally have their first official mission! All they have to do is recover a derelict ship. But they soon discover that the ship in question is not quite as derelict as they thought.
1.6 Last-Minute Packing
What do a donut, Toronto, Yanick Farms and redheads have in common? They all turn up somewhere in Silverado 1.6: Last-minute Packing! And if that doesn't gab you, how about we throw in an explosive decompression, just for kicks?
1.7 Pit Stops, Pitfalls and Piracy
The Silverado is finally ready to make with all that Boldly Going stuff, but they have to make one brief pit stop along the way (Hence the title). Unfortunately, someone is ready to end this mission before it even gets started.
1.8 Contents Under Pressure
Romances start to warm-up on Silverado as two couples plan their official first dates. But something's about to rain on their parade and bring the Silverado's mission to a shuddering halt...again!
1.9 Fragmentation
An attack by the mysterious Mistresses incapitates the crew. It's Lieutenant Fifebee to the rescue! We hope...
1.10 Are We Having Fun Yet?
The Silverado has been attacked. The ship is adrift. Enemies are all around. And no one is coming to help. TIME TO PARTY!!!
1.11 Aftertaste
Regrets, recriminations, and some really awkward moments. Sounds like the day after a party to me!
1.12 Close Encounters of the Disturbingly Sexy Kind
After withstanding several trying...er...trials, the crew of the Silverado has finally found a beautiful planet teeming with exceptionally attractive and...er...friendly inhabitants. Surely nothing can go wrong here, right? Right? Why are you all laughing at me?
1.13 Red vs. Blue
The crew of the Silverado performs an interpretive dance about the 2004 US Presidential election! Okay. Maybe not. Instead, Captain Stafford decides that it's high time his crew trains for the coming battle. Time for some old-fashioned war games!
1.14 You Can Say That Again!
Lieutenant Jall and Dr. Wowryk come down with a severe case of "Same Sh**; Different Day." No seriously. It's the same sh**. Actually, it's the same day, too.
1.15 Catfight, Part 1
The events of Season 1 come to a head when a distress call comes in from some very sexy old friends. Not old old, just familiar old. They're actually young. But moving on...check out part one of the Silverado Season 1 Finale!
1.16 Catfight, Part 2 - SEASON 1 FINALE!
Wowryk, Stafford and an unexpected ally penetrate the Matrian Dreamland while Noonan works to rescue Jeffery in the Season 1 finale of Star Traks: Silverado!
Book 1: Intermission
What would you do if you suddenly had to deal with a murder investigation, people who have tried to kill you and body parts you really shouldn't have? If you're anything like the Silverado crew, you'd respond with logic, dignity and poise. HAH! I can't even write that with a straight face!


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March 20, 2015 by Colin Moore
The Northwest Missouri State University team of Andrew Nordbye and Adam Almontadi took the day-one lead in the FLW College Fishing Open on Kentucky Lake. While their pattern seems to be effectively refined – they were using only one lure and had no others out on the deck – Nordbye and Almontadi don't have this one sewed up yet. The rest of the top five is just a few pounds behind the leaders.
Here's how they made it into contention going into the final day.
2. University of Kentucky – Ryan Collins and Hunter Fulcher – 22-14
The Kentucky duo of Ryan Collins and Hunter Fulcher "bounced around several bays," notes Collins, but the pair didn't have a 15-inch keeper before noon. Collins says their fish were caught on three different baits.
"The fishing was definitely better for us in the afternoon," adds Fulcher. "We were targeting areas where a creek channel would swing in close and away from a secondary point. We had our boat in about 20 feet of water and were fishing in about 15 feet. We culled once, at about 2:30, and caught some smaller fish in shallow. But, definitely, the better fish were out deeper."
3. University of Alabama – Ethan Flack and Konnor Kennedy – 22-9
Fishing within 20 minutes of takeoff at Moor's, the Alabama team of Ethan Flack and Konnor Kennedy "fished random stuff that looked good" and had no particular lure pattern going for it.
"This lake kind of sets up like Guntersville, except without the grass," says Kennedy of Kentucky Lake. "So we sort of fished the way we would back home. We culled two fish, but I don't know if we can duplicate what we did today."
4. Clemson University – Jacob Reome and Matthew Garvin – 22-5
Clemson anglers Jacob Reome and Matthew Garvin don't plan to change anything on Saturday. They're dialed in on a pattern that they think can hold up for a second day.
"We're going back and running the same stuff," Reome says. "We've got two or three spots with one really good one that we caught a limit from. We fished it until about 11 o'clock when we got up to about 20 pounds. With us, it's all about the bait we're using."
Garvin adds that the key for Reome and him has been concentrating on secondary points in coves and bays. They haven't been wasting a lot of time fishing the shoreline in between, but rotating among the points where they caught fish in practice and today.
5. University of Arkansas System-Fayetteville – Zachary Pickle and Drew Porto – 21-13
Arkansas anglers Zachary Pickle and Drew Porto are fishing shallow on a specific type of structure that, according to Porto, "is very hard to find."
Pickle and Porto caught eight keepers off a 30-yard stretch of bank far down the lake, fishing two lures of a particular color. Porto says nothing else worked for them.
"We're on a gizzard shad pattern," adds Porto. "The bigger fish we caught had gizzard shad sticking out of their gullets. The bass are sitting off a ledge and rolling up to eat shad once in a while. It's like a 20-minute window when it happens, and it's been starting at about 10:30. If the water heats some, which it should do Saturday, it's only going to get better."
Others of Note
The two "local" schools here, Bethel University of McKenzie, Tenn., and Murray State University, put teams within striking distance of the top. Bethel's Kristopher Queen and Grant Rutter staked out sixth place with 21-13, and Ty Dyer and Joseph Huggins are currently 10th with 20-11. Ryan Kirkpatrick and Logan Thomas managed an 11th-place showing for Murray State with a 20-pound, 3-ounce stringer.
Tags: college-fishing kentucky-lake march colin-moore headline-story 2015-03-20-kentucky-lake


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September 15, 2016: Reigning champion Khalin Joshi of Bengaluru maintained his three-stroke lead in round three of the PGTI Ahmedabad Masters presented by Kalhaar Blues & Greens. Joshi, who brought in a card of one-under-71 in the penultimate round, took his tournament tally to 12-under-204.
Delhi's Rashid Khan also fired a 71 to hold on to his overnight second place at nine-under-207.
Khalin Joshi (68-65-71), the second round leader by two shots, was off to yet another terrific start as he birdied his first two holes for the third successive day. Joshi then scrambled for a bogey on the fourth before quickly recovering ground with another birdie on the fifth.
There seemed to be a twist on the back-nine as Rashid Khan (67-69-71) closed the gap to one stroke after an eagle-birdie run on the 12th and 13th. Rashid came extremely close to achieving a rare albatross on the par-5 12th where his approach from 200 yards out landed within a foot of the flag for a tap-in eagle.
Both Khalin and Rashid bogeyed the 14th with the former limiting the damage with a 12-feet conversion after hitting his second shot out of bounds. But Joshi, who closed the day with birdie-bogey on the 17th and 18th, was back in the driver's seat with a three-shot cushion at the end of the day as Khan conceded a disastrous double-bogey on the 18th where he found the slope of the water hazard and had to take a penalty drop.
Joshi said, "I didn't shoot a low number but it was a decent round since the playing conditions were tough today. The wind was up, the tees were pushed back and the pin positions were not easy either. It was tough to commit to a shot.
"I've enjoyed some splendid starts this week and that has set it up well for me in each round. However, for the second straight day today, I closed the round with a bogey. So I'm a tad disappointed with that.
"The good news is that, I struck it better in round three as compared to the first two days. I'll not go out there in the final round thinking about defending my title as that will only put further pressure on me. I just need to play my best and that should do the job," added Khalin.
The stage is thus set for a fascinating duel between the 24-year-old Khalin and the 25-year-old Rashid, two golfers who have played a lot of golf together in their formative years.
Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow too maintained status quo on day three as he held on to his overnight third position courtesy a 71. His total stood at eight-under-208.
Panchkula-based Rolex Ranking leader Shubhankar Sharma was in fourth at six-under-210 while Sri Lankan Anura Rohana was a further shot back in fifth place.
Noida's Vikrant Chopra produced the day's best score of 67 to move up 17 places from overnight tied 28th to 11th position.
Ahmedabad's Varun Parikh, the lone amateur to make the cut, returned an 80 on Thursday to be placed tied 41st at 11-over-227.


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Baia Mare => Tăuții de Sus => Baia Sprie => Mara => Deseşti => Hărniceşti => Sat Şugatag => Giuleşti => Berbeşti => Vadu Izei => Sighetu Marmaţiei => Iapa => Câmpulung la Tisa => Săpânţa
Distance: 88.7 km
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 min driving time
This route focuses on the UNESCO World Heritage wooden churches in Maramureş County, but can be enjoyed simply as an excursion throughout the county in order to bask in the great outdoors and take in the stunning landscapes of the countryside. Additional times and distances are provided between UNESCO sites on the route.
Baia Mare => Deseşti (42 km, 1 hour)
The route begins with a steep and winding ascent into forest covered mountains. At the top of the Gutâi Pass, the picturesque landscape opens up before you. The road, then continues its winding journey down in the rolling countryside on the way to Deseşti.
The first World Heritage site on this itinerary is Deseşti, where, in 1717, according to the legend, the wooden church was set ablaze by a Tătar invasion. Many villagers died trying to save the church. With only a stone pillar remaining of the original church, the villagers could not, according to tradition, build a new church in the same location. This place was not considered good, because of the many deaths that occurred here, trying to save the original church. The villagers selected another location and attempted five times to roll an altar stone into place. When the stone finally remained erect, the new church foundation was establish and was called "Pious Paraschiva."
Deseşti => Sighetu Marmaţiei (33 km, 45 min), Săpânţa (from Sighet - 15km, 35 min)
The remainder of the day's itinerary does not feature another World Heritage church, but allows for ample time to explore some other prime attractions, while on route to the village of Săpânţa. Vadu Izei it will be the last village that you pass through, before reaching Sighetu Marmaţiei.
As you arrive in Sighetu Marmaţiei, simply continue along, until you reach the center of town. Before entering the central part of town, keep an eye out for the Sighet Village Museum located on the right hand side of the road. This museum provides visitors with a snapshot of traditional life in a Maramureş village.
Sighet, as the locals call it, is small enough for visitors to explore in a few hours on foot. A few hours can be spent exploring the sights of Sighet, before travelling the short distance to Săpânţa or one can see the sight in Sighet in the morning. Be sure not to miss the Sighet Prison and Museum of Arrested Thought, the Elie Wiesel Memorial House, and the Maramureş Ethnographical Museum among other sites. Click here for more information about tourist activities and objectives in Sighet.
Following a pleasant morning in Sighet, the route continues on to Săpânţa, located very close to the Ukrainian border.
Săpânţa is a pleasant village, which is well-known throughout Romania for its "Merry Cemetary" or Cimitirul Vesel in Romanian. The cemetery and its iconic grave markers are the result of a local wood carver named Ioan Stan Pătraș, who carved the first wooden marker in 1935. The markers are unique in that, each one is inscribed with a witty epitaph and picture describing something relevant to the deceased life and/or death. Each marker is different and reflects the life to whom the cross belongs. Pătraș died in 1977 and is buried in the cemetery, directly opposite to the main entrance to the church. His legacy can be seen in the large cross, which he carved and painted for himself prior to his death. The creation of the markers continues to this day and is carried on by Pătraș's apprentice, Dumitu Pop, who lives and works in Pătraș's former home and workshop - which is also a museum. The number of new markers annually averages around 10, but depends on the death rate in the village.


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|Find the clean energy source in this photo.
Don't you hate it when someone else is minding your business?
It is such an intrusion, an invasion, an uninvited insertion of someone else's expectations into our lives and our privacy. Few things are more galling and few things are less welcome. Always true and universally recognized, this is something we can all agree on.
Until we need help, that is. Funny, isn't it, how welcome someone else's interest becomes only when we decide we want it? But so often we are unwilling or unable to communicate our needs, to ask for assistance, or to find the people who could help us. This, I am pleased to let you know, is precisely why this parish exists: to mind one another's business!
It could hardly be more appropriate if, instead of a spire, atop our church we had a towering brick smokestack straight out of the industrial revolution; and if, somehow, the work of prayer were to emit visible exhaust (non-polluting, of course); then, we would be able to see our prayers rising before the Lord, like clouds of radiant smoke billowing heavenward, spreading across our community at all hours of the day and night.
This parish is a factory of prayer, a union of mutual effort and energy, roaring with the good and generous exchange of spiritual strength, and welded together by our communion in Christ. Whether you or I realize it at any given moment, whether we have asked for it or not, whether we know the names of the people or not, whether we want it or not, people of this parish are praying for us, for me and for you.
More effective than the common currency of the European Union, the sacrifice of prayer is a shared medium of work and wealth that binds us together in spirit, and gives us the strength we need to function in the face of adversity or uncertainty. These prayers absorb some of the impact of pain and punishment on us, and magnify the good and the grace that nourishes our joy. Never seen or handled, much less taxed, prayer has no expiration date, but neither can it be hoarded.
As manager of this operation, I get to point this power-production in the direction where it is most needed. When people tell me they're praying for me, I thank them, and tell them to keep it coming – because I burn them fast! I try to bring every intention of which I have been told, or that I have observed, or that I can only guess, to prayer – my own, and our common prayer of the Sacred Liturgy.
Still, there are the entrepreneurial souls out there who persist in praying on their own, or in small groups. They too direct their exertions toward brothers and sisters and their needs and intentions, whether they know of them directly, or not. Rooted in Eucharistic unity, these dedicated pray-ers can sense and respond to circumstances and situations that are fully known only to the mind of Christ.
These people are messing about in your business and in mine, in the most powerful and productive way possible. Thank God! Let us pray for one another – Oremus pro invicem– and keep these fires burning.
Monsignor Smith


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Maintenance is complete! We got more disk space.Become a Patron!
>implying this isn't what the peak of female beauty looks like
not technology
Is this the new AMD processor everyone is talking about?
Have we reached robo waifus yet?
females are robotic in a way i guess they could be considered as bio technology same as we
why wont cunnybros post on /g/?
>>71355280That's exactly what I'm implying, yes.
esujseqqoy2qqgb3y1yyj1gy1oyg0jnbb4ppn1festxllgusp3hmnmqd test


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Many parents are concerned when their child develops a fever -- namely, that it will damage the brain. Rest assured that a fever is just a sign of illness, and is not harmful. Thankfully, most feversare caused by common conditions which will cause your child no harm. In healthy kids, fevers usually don't indicate anything serious. Although it can be frightening when your child's temperature rises, fever itself causes no harm and can actually be a good thing — it's often the body's way of fighting infections. Also, not all fevers need to be treated. High fever, however, can make a child uncomfortable and worsen problems such as dehydration. Please keep in mind that all kids get fevers, and in the majority of cases, most are completely back to normal within a few days. For older infants and children (but not necessarily for infants younger than 3 months), the way they act is far more important than the reading on your thermometer. Everyone gets cranky when they have a fever. This is normal and should be expected. However, if you're ever in doubt about what to do or what a fever might mean, or if your child is acting ill in a way that concerns you even if there's no fever, always call the office for an appointment.
Children whose temperatures are lower than 102° F (38.9° C) often don't require medication unless they're uncomfortable. There's one important exception to this rule: If you have an infant 3 months or younger with a rectal temperature of 100.4° F (38° C) or higher, call Dr. Simon or go to the emergency department immediately. Even a slight fever can be a sign of a potentially serious infection in very young infants.
For children and infants older than three months, the illness is probably not serious if your child:
Also, don't worry too much about a child with a fever who doesn't want to eat. This is very common with infections that cause fever. For kids who still drink and urinate normally, not eating as much as usual is OK.
When to Call the Doctor
The exact temperature that should trigger a call to the doctor depends on the age of the child, the illness, and whether there are other symptoms with the fever.
Call the office or seek emergency care if you have an:
Call the office for an appointment if your older child or baby has a fever and also:
Seek emergency care if your child shows any of these signs:


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What is an active bystander?
You may have heard of the term 'bystander' before, but what does being an "active bystander" mean?
Being an active bystander means seeing a situation unfolding and doing something about it. Taking action. Not just standing by. It means effectively (and safely) intervening when you see someone looking uncomfortable or if they're in danger.
The opposite of an active bystander means seeing a situation unfold and doing nothing about it when you can. An inactive bystander or witness, if you will. And being inactive is more common than you'd think.
A term known as the 'bystander effect' was coined to describe this very social phenomenon.
What is the bystander effect?
The term 'bystander effect' came about after the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City, 1964.
Kitty was a 28 year-old woman working at a bar in Queens. One night after a shift, a man named Winston Moseley followed her outside her apartment and stabbed her 14 times. After walking away and leaving Kitty for dead, Moseley came back and stabbed her several more times until she died, after no one came to her aid.
Reportedly, 38 of her neighbours witnessed the attack, hearing her cries for help (the number has been debated in subsequent years) but failed to step in and help her.
After this tragic incident, social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley popularized the term 'bystander effect' that describes situations just like this.
Why do we do this?
There are two major causes of the bystander effect.
The first is due to a diffusion of responsibility. This means that, in the presence of many other people, there is no pressure for any one person to respond. When there are many witnesses, individuals don't feel the responsibility to act, since the responsibility is thought to be shared among all of the witnesses present.
The second reason is due to social influence and conformity. As individuals, we monitor the behaviour of those around us to determine how to act because of the need to behave in socially acceptable ways. This can mean that when other witnesses fail to react, individuals take this as a signal that a response is not needed.
If not now, then when? If not you, then who?
As a functioning society, we have a responsibility to take care of each other. This starts at an individual level with separate people standing up and speaking out for their fellow human beings.
But, it's important to have the skills to be able to safely intervene. You now know what being an active bystander is, you just need to know what to do if you ever find yourself in that situation.
What can I do to be an active bystander?
If you see someone being harassed, and you feel safe to do so, step in and offer assistance. This is especially important when the person in danger is part of an oppressed or minority groups including, women, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Taking action can look like many things. It could mean:
- Calling police
- Saying something to the perpetrator to diffuse the situation
- Showing the perpetrator that you're there and watching what's going on
- Saying something to the people beside you about what you're seeing (loud enough for the assailant to hear)
- Pretending that you know the person being harassed or starting a conversation with them so they're not alone.
From big things to smaller things, showing solidarity with the person experiencing harassment makes all the difference.
Our STOP model is an easy way to remember what to do. STOP stands for See, Talk, Offer support, Prevent.
Author Madeline Storey is the Communications Coordinator at White Ribbon Australia.


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LOVE #6 LOVE: FROM THE BOOK "750 ENGAGING ILLUSTRATIONS" LOVE FOR ENEMIES In Context, Martin Marty retells a parable from the Eye of the Needle newsletter: A holy man was engaged in his morning meditation under a tree whose roots stretched out over the riverbank. During his meditation he noticed that the river was rising, and a scorpion caught in the roots was about to drown. He crawled out on the roots and reached down to free the scorpion, but every time he did so, the scorpion struck back at him. An observer came along and said to the holy man, "Don't you know that's a scorpion, and it's in the nature of a scorpion to want to sting?" To which the holy man replied, "That may well be, but it is my nature to save, and must I change my nature because the scorpion does not change its nature?" Evangelism, Perseverance ...... In "The Grace of Giving," Stephen Olford tells of a Baptist pastor during the American Revolution, Peter Miller, who lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and enjoyed the friendship of George Washington. In Ephrata also lived Michael Wittman, an evil-minded sort who did all he could to oppose and humiliate the pastor. One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter Miller traveled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor. "No, Peter," General Washington said, "I cannot grant you the life of your friend." "My friend!" exclaimed the old preacher. "He's the bitterest enemy I have." "What?" cried Washington. "You've walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in a different light. I'll grant your pardon." And he did. Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back home to Ephrata - no longer an enemy, but a friend. Grace, Enemies ...... In "The Northwestern Lutheran," Joel C. Gerlach writes: Eight times the Ministry of Education in East Germany said no to Uwe Holmer's children when they tried to enroll at the university in East Berlin. The Ministry of Education doesn't usually give reasons for its rejection of applications for enrollment. But in this case the reason wasn't hard to guess. Uwe Holmer, the father of the eight applicants, is a Lutheran pastor at Lobetal, a suburb of East Berlin. For 26 years the Ministry of Education was headed by Margot Honecker, wife of East Germany's premier, Erich Honecker. . . . [Then] when the Berlin wall cracked . . . Honecker and his wife were unceremoniously dismissed from office. He is now under indictment for criminal activities during his tenure as premier. At the end of January the Honeckers were evicted from their luxurious palace in Vandlitz, an exclusive suburb of palatial homes reserved for the vets in the party. The Honeckers suddenly found themselves friendless, without resources, and with no place to go. None of their former cronies showed them any of the humanitarianism communists boast about. No one wanted to identify with the Honeckers.. . . Enter Uwe Holmer. Remembering the words of Jesus, "If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also," Holmer extended an invitation to the Honeckers to stay with his family in the parsonage of the parish church in Lobetal. . . . Pastor Holmer has not reported that the Honeckers have renounced their atheism and professed faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. But at least they fold their hands and bow their heads when the family prays together. Who knows what the Holmers' faith- inaction plan will lead to before this extraordinary episode ends? Enemies, Evangelism ...... LOVE OF GOD In his book "Enjoying God," Lloyd Ogilvie writes: A factory employee named Kenneth worked for the largest manufacturer in Illinois for twenty-four years. The wages and benefits paid at his factory were double what the average factory job paid in America. He had steady work. He was forty-four years old, yet he had never attended a union meeting. He was a contented, middle-class worker-until 1992. From 1992 until 1994 you could find Kenneth at the end of the day shift parading through the factory, holding an American flag along with two other workers, chanting, "No contract. No peace. No contract. No peace." Kenneth called out the cadences for about one hundred middle-age marchers. What turned a contented worker into a thorn in this manufacturer's side? The turning point came in 1992, after the union had been on strike for nearly six months, when the company threatened to replace its striking workers. That did something to Kenneth. It turned him bitterly against his company. Kenneth angrily explains, "I finally realized two years ago, when they threatened to replace us, that as far as they are concerned, I am nothing to them." I am nothing to them - Kenneth's whole attitude changed when he concluded, whether rightly or wrongly, that he had no worth to the company, that he was replaceable, that they didn't care about him as a person. Even the toughest, manliest laborer in America craves loyalty, craves to have others care. There is only one place where we are assured of that. God values us and cares for us so much that even when we "went on strike" - rejecting his will for our lives - instead of rejecting us in return, he sent his Son to die for our sins. Bitterness, Faithfulness, Men, Significance John 3:16; Rom. 12:10;1 Peter 5:7 ...... In his book Enjoying God, Lloyd Ogilvie writes: My formative years ingrained the quid pro quo into my attitude toward myself: do and you'll receive; perform and you'll be loved. When I got good grades, achieved, and was a success, I felt acceptance from my parents. My dad taught me to fish and hunt and worked hard to provide for us, but I rarely heard him say, "Lloyd, I love you." He tried to show it in actions, and sometimes I caught a twinkle of affirmation in his eyes. But I still felt empty. When I became a Christian, I immediately became so involved in discipleship activities that I did not experience the profound healing of the grace I talked about theoretically. . . . I'll never forget as long as I live the first time I really experienced healing grace. I was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. Because of financial pressures I had to accordion my studies into a shorter than usual period. Carrying a double load of classes was very demanding, and I was exhausted by the constant feeling of never quite measuring up. No matter how good my grades were, I thought they could be better. Sadly, I was not living the very truths I was studying. Although I could have told you that the Greek words for grace and joy are "charis" and "chara," I was not experiencing them. My beloved professor, Dr. James Stewart, that slightly built dynamo of a saint, saw into my soul with x-ray vision. One day in the corridor of New College he stopped me. He looked me in the eye intensely. Then he smiled warmly, took my coat lapels in his hands, drew me down to a few inches from his face, and said, "Dear boy, you are loved now!" God loves us now, not when we get better. God loves us now, as we are. Acceptance, Fathers, Grace, Joy John 3:16; Rom. 5:8;1 Peter 1:8;1 John 4:7-10 THAT IS TRUE AS GOD IS LOVE, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN WE ARE NOT TO CHANGE - BE CONVERTED - TO HIS WILL AND WAY OF LIFE - Keith Hunt ...... Jackie Robinson was the first black person to play major league baseball. While breaking baseball's color barrier, he faced jeering crowds in every stadium. While playing one day in his home stadium in Brooklyn, he committed an error. His own fans began to ridicule him. He stood at second base, humiliated, while the fans jeered. Then shortstop "Pee Wee" Reese came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around Jackie Robinson and faced the crowd. The fans grew quiet. Robinson later said that arm around his shoulder saved his career. Encouragement, Failure GOD LOVES US EVEN WHEN OTHERS DO NOT - Keith Hunt ...... To be continued
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On Christmas Eve, the Philadelphia Inquirer featured a story about our parish's fundraising efforts for a new heating system to replace the broken boiler in the church. The article describes some of the activities and groups that have invested their time, talent, and treasure in the campaign to raise the $40,000 needed.
The parish staff and parish council is grateful for all of the donations and work, including those who have helped set up for Mass in the hall before the temporary diesel heaters were up and running, and those who have woken up before dawn to get those machines working so that the church was slightly warmer for the holiday and feast day celebrations of Eucharist.
The story is a great reminder that we are better and stronger together! Christmas blessings! Read the article here.


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The Greens have made another smart strategic move, this time a bit of self-flagellation for daring to suggest immigration controls were a good thing…
Kia ora kotou, nihao, namaste, annyong, kamusta, talofalava, bula, salam alaikum
And warm Pacific greetings – on this cold Dunedin morning – to you all.
It's a privilege to be representing the Green Party at your AGM.
We in the Greens are deeply concerned that the debate about immigration policy in New Zealand has, over the course of time, come to be dominated by populist politicians preaching a xenophobic message in order to gain political advantage.
This ugly strain of political discourse is quieter at times of low net migration into New Zealand, but rises at times of when net migration is high – as it is now, and so, at this election, sadly, the xenophobic drum is beating louder.
Last year I made an attempt to try and shift the terms of the debate away from the rhetoric and more towards a more evidence-based approach.
We commissioned some research which indicated that immigration settings would be best if tied to population growth.
Unfortunately, by talking about data and numbers, rather than about values, I made things worse.
Because the background terms of the debate are now so dominated by anti-immigrant rhetoric, when I dived into numbers and data, a lot of people interpreted that as pandering to the rhetoric, rather than trying to elevate the debate and pull it in a different direction.
We were mortified by that, because, in fact, the Greens have the ambition of being the most migrant-friendly party in Parliament. And I am sorry for any effect it may have had on your communities.
Migrants are not to blame for the social and economic ills of this country.
Migrants are not to blame for the housing crisis.
Migrants are not to blame for our children who go to school hungry.
Migrants are not to blame for the long hospital waitlists.
Migrants are not to blame for our degraded rivers.
It is the government's failure to plan for the right level of infrastructure and services that has caused this.
So today I am not going to talk about numbers, but about values.
And, in all honesty, I don't think New Zealand will be able to talk about numbers and settings until we've had the conversation about values and principles.
Until we can agree on those, we'll just lurch around responding to changing circumstances or the latest headline.
And what are the values that the Green Party stands for? We stand for an open, inclusive and tolerant Aotearoa New Zealand that welcomes people who want to make a contribution.
We stand for an Aotearoa that stands up to racism and scapegoating and xenophobia.
That's what's missing from the debate about immigration. The rhetoric and scapegoating around election year means that people miss the fact that 'immigrants' aren't a sea of strange faces.
They're people, families, individuals. With hopes and dreams and aspirations. With fears and anxieties and worries. Humans who need love and need to love.
New New Zealanders who love their new homes and want to do so much to give and to give truth to that love.
But New Zealand needs to be better at showing that love back. We haven't always lived up to that Kiwi mythos of giving people a fair go and being welcoming to strangers.
We have a tendency to treat immigrants as economic units who are either a benefit or a threat to our narrow economic interests.
We tend not to think of immigrants as people in their own right, as people who come to this country for the promise of a better life – as all our ancestors once did.
Look at how we treat our migrant workers – often putting them through harsh conditions and low pay just for the privilege of coming here.
It's shameful that although only 5% of the total workforce are migrant workers – about a third of prosecutions involving employment condition violations involve a migrant worker.
And MBIE doesn't have enough resources to deal with the problem. We know from their 2016 annual report that they're falling well short of doing the interventions they need (up to 1049 short) and that one in five investigations are taking longer than six months.
That's unacceptable. We will invest more resources into the Labour Inspectorate so that we can have more proactive investigations and less migrant worker exploitation.
And look at how we treat non-Pakeha New Zealanders in this country. According to a report by the human rights commissioner – one-in-ten Pasifika and one-in-five Asians have faced discrimination in the last 12 months.
Having a non-Pakeha name means you're 50% less likely to get a call-back for a job interview. Being a migrant means you're more likely to be over-qualified and over-experienced in the job you do.
And we need to address these issues. The Greens want to trial ethnicity-blind and gender-blind CVs to address discrimination.
Look also at how we treat our multicultural associations and migrant centres. Last month the Canterbury Migrant Centre was forced to close due to lack of funding.
The value that your groups bring to New Zealand – not only in easing the settlement process for new migrants but for the diversity and social connections you bring to your areas has been underappreciated for far too long.
The Greens at the heart of government will initiate a funding review so that the valuable work you do is rewarded and recognized through a consistent baseline of funding – so you can get on with the job rather than having to constantly chase the next dollar.
Look at how we rip off foreign students with the promise of a so-called high-quality New Zealand education and a pathway to residency.
But then thousands, if not tens of thousands, of these students end up in terribly dodgy private training establishments, doing courses that get them a certificate barely worth the paper it's printed on and of no value to being able to find a job.
And in the meantime they end up being exploited, working for below minimum wages, and unable to get decent accommodation at a price they can afford. I mean, what way is that to treat anybody, let alone a guest in our house? That's just a rip-off.
I'm proud to lead a party that stands for the politics of love and inclusion, not hate and fear.
I'm also proud to be standing with the most diverse list of candidates we've ever put forward for an election. They include:
Two Pasifika candidates – Leilani Tamu, a former diplomat and Fulbright Scholar, and Teanau Tuiono, an climate change advocate for the Pacific Islands
Two Chinese New Zealanders – David Lee, a City Councillor, and Julie Zhu, a freelancer in the theatre and film industries
Raj Singh, an Indian lawyer and successful business owner
Rebekah Jaung, a Korean doctor, currently also doing her PhD
Ricardo Menéndez March, from Mexico, a migrant rights campaigner.
And of course, many of you will have already read about Golriz Ghahraman, who came to New Zealand as a nine-year old refugee from Iran, and who is now an Oxford-educated human rights lawyer who puts war criminals on trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
These, our candidates for Parliament in this year's election, represent our commitment to the journey of looking more like modern New Zealand and being able to advocate for all New Zealanders.
And we are the furthest along this journey that we have ever been – thanks to the efforts of my colleague Denise Roche, who has been reaching out to ethnic and migrant communities, with sixty-five meetings all over New Zealand, over the last three years.
But we do still have a long way to go.
We will continue to make sure that our party not only looks like modern New Zealand – but also reflects the needs of all New Zealanders.
We haven't always gotten it right – and we won't always in the future, either.
But I promise that we will listen to you and learn from our mistakes.
Openness, inclusiveness and tolerance must win out over racism and scapegoating and xenophobia.
Love and inclusion must win out over hate and fear.
We are only great, when we are great together.
…as the most middle class Party, the Greens are are moving further away from being an environmental justice party towards total adoption of Identity Politics as their core.
The apology also shows how under the thrall the Greens are from uber liberal twitter opinion who were in the throws of ecstasy yesterday as word of the self-flagellation was released.
For anyone outside the Red Peak bubble of uber liberal middle class Green identity politics, the incredibly mild position James Shaw had taken on immigration which caused so much twitter outrage looks as culturally alienating as a schism between vegans and vegetarians, but rallying migrant voters to the cause is a smart tactic as TOP continues to siphon off support with far more radical environmental and cannabis liberalisation policy as the Greens move to middle class respectability.
The Green apology also raises an important point in the immigration debate. By stating the bleeding obvious, which is that it isn't the immigrants fault for moving here, the Greens put the focus back on the neoliberal Government policy that is at fault, but this is a difficult line for the Greens to walk.
The Democrats embraced neoliberal globalisation because their middle class voter base have the education to transfer their skills employment wise around the world, the domestic working classes who don't have transferable skills however rebelled to Trump and Brexit. The Greens, being so painfully middle class, have to embrace the employment pretensions of their activist base which demands open door immigration policies while ignoring the impact of that immigration on the working classes who have to compete for rentals, jobs and public service infrastructure overload.
Policy like ethnicity-blind and gender-blind CVs to address discrimination is so far outside the comfort zone of most NZers it's surprising the Greens decided to openly announce it, but with this self-flagellation, the Greens are firmly walking away from working class economic social justice issues and towards middle class values.
Seeing as the Greens are running out of electorates to appeal to, it's a smart move and inoculates them to the outrage their activist base are going to implode with the moment that activist base learn to count and realise Labour + Greens won't = 51% without NZ First.
Speaking with sources who are in the know, the truth about immigration post the election is that Immigration NZ are expecting a huge influx of NZers moving from Australia back to NZ as the economic squeeze in Australia continues. National are privately waiting to change those immigration settings so that they have a bargaining chip to play with NZ First, but the economic settings that require huge numbers of migrants to move to NZ to keep the property bubble inflated and the property speculating middle classes voting National will remain in effect because of this new huge number of NZers who will flee Australia.
National will simply replace foreign migrants with NZ ones to keep the property bubble in place. Until a political party is prepared to deal with the chronic under investment in our social and physical infrastructure, the same chronic underfunding that is rotting our society will continue.


text:
Survey of Siam Sterling Nielloware
- $9.99
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Survey of Siam Sterling Nielloware by Charles Dittell is the only E-book to provide a comprehensive survey of the
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Survey includes over 120 photos, rare in the E-book world. It goes into detail to reach its three
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Niello jewelry and related items, (2) to provide information on the manufacture and distribution
of these items, and (3) to inform readers as to their historical and cultural background.


text:
People are finding all kinds of unique ways to propose to their significant other, and thanks to social media, we get to witness the creativity play out on screen. During the Morning Boost segment on TODAY, host Hoda Kotb shared the latest engagement moment for an Alabama couple whose proposal was caught on camera.
The proposal happened at a wedding, of all places, with the help of a bride named Amy, who wanted to share her special day with her brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law.
In the video (below) women gathered for the bouquet toss. On the count of three, instead of tossing the bouquet into the air, Amy turned around and directly handed the flowers to her brother's girlfriend.
Seconds later, Amy's brother appeared and proposed to his visibly surprised girlfriend as excited guests watched. While speaking to TODAY, Amy said: "I got married and my brother got engaged. This was the most special day of my life."
While it's usually not a good idea to steal someone's thunder by proposing at their wedding, it's always a happy occasion when the bride and groom are in on the surprise and supportive, as was the case with this couple. In the video, Kotb notes that the bride and her brother had been "planning this maneuver for weeks."
Cheers to the bride and groom, and to the newly engaged couple!
Cover image via yourweddingteam1997 I Shutterstock


text:
Event details
- 2019-06-03 22:24 to 2019-06-04 22:24
Date: 8th – 9th July 2019
Venue: Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire
The Hotel Summit is specifically organised for senior professionals who are directly responsible for purchasing and procurement within their organisation, and those who provide the latest and greatest products and services within the sector.
A highly focused event that brings together hotel professionals and key industry solution providers, the Summit consists of one-to-one business meetings, interactive seminars and valuable networking opportunities; in less than two days!
For more information, click here.


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Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ice Hockey/Columbus Blue Jackets task force
|WikiProject Ice Hockey
|(Rated NA-class)
You need an up to date image (above), as Nash is now the Blue Jackets captain. GoodDay (talk) 01:33, 7 April 2008 (UTC)
So I went through and tagged every single Blue Jackets related article I could fine. There were a few hundred. I think I got them all. Anyways now that they are all tagged and in their respective task force directories. You can all go to the main blue jackets task force page and see which ones are close to "leveling up" and maybe prioritize. Good luck with this task force. -Djsasso (talk) 22:21, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
Syracuse Crunch Article needs major work!Edit
The article is one of the worst articles of all the AHL teams. I'm going to do some research and work on the article a little tonight and more tomorrow but it needs quite a bit of work.--Bhockey10 (talk) 21:37, 11 June 2008 (UTC)
Wikipedia 0.7 articles have been selected for Columbus Blue Jackets task forceEdit
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Request for information on WP1.0 web toolEdit
Hello and greetings from the maintainers of the WP 1.0 Bot! As you may or may not know, we are currently involved in an overhaul of the bot, in order to make it more modern and maintainable. As part of this process, we will be rewriting the web tool that is part of the project. You might have noticed this tool if you click through the links on the project assessment summary tables.
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