text:
Surla is a magical, black cat, and Idis is a witch and her keeper. In an attempt to escape the mean and evil witch, Surla accidentally switches bodies with a high school girl named Cathy. The two must live the life of the other while hiding from the wrath of Idis.
In the interim, the cat shows Cathy how to show off, be cool, and just pretty much how to survive high school. As with any typical high school, there are cute jocks and mean girls, and the two must live through it all—and figure out how to escape the witch and switch back!
This was another Freaky Friday story—but with felines. Oddly enough, some parts of the story were told from the eye of the cat. Well, of course, these were magical cats, for god's sakes!
It kind of reminded me of the movie, Hocus Pocus, with its Disney antics and fumbling witch that may have taken a likeness to the funny Bette Midler, but there wasn't as much magic as I thought it would've had.
By the end, Surla made some really good friends in Todd and Chrissy, just like Sabrina in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, but what's to happen when she must leave and return to her cat body?
The showdown, I thought, was sort've confusing. I didn't really know what the heck was going on. And, above all else, it ended with a cliff-hanger, which I hate. "Idis is…" That's it? See, the writers/publishers do this to you on purpose, because they want to force you to get the next book in the series. What a jip! And why is there a series? I mean, how many times can you switch lives with a cat? Well, judging from the title of the next book, BeSwitched Witch, someone might be switching with Idis, the evil witch. That might be worth checking out a little.
Overall, this was a cute, funny, easy-to-follow story that was mostly intended for the 12-year old audience judging from the simple writing style.
My rating: 3 stars


text:
Dachshund Rescue of North America
Toggle navigation
Dogs That Need Your Help
Senior to Senior Program
All Available
Bonded Pairs
Senior Dachshunds
Special Needs Dachshunds
Donate Now
2020 Calendar
Adoption Process
About Us
How Can I Help?
Applicant sign in
About Us
Apply for a Dachshund
Become a Foster Home
Dogs That Need Help
Donation Ideas
Purchase the 2020 Calendar
Happy Tails
Join DRNA
Memorial Garden
Newsletter Signup
Search Dachshunds
Senior to Senior Program
View All Available
Who to Contact
* opens in new window
Lucy Draper
to list
Story submitted 2011-03-17
Lucy was many things - opera singer, kibble inhaler, knitting buddy and a fabulous under-the-blanket hot water bottle. Above all though she was an affectionate and constant companion to Jackie.
She was a great little traveler which included much time spent in Ottawa, Vancouver, PEI and her favourite - Mexico. Ever the "sun bunny" Lucy would seek out and claim any little scrap of sun she could. The photo of her on a beach chair says it all.
Lucy will be missed deeply but we are all comforted by the many happy memories shared over the last five years.
We are so thankful that she welcomed us into her little heart even if it was only when Jackie was away!
Keith, Kate, Ramona, Anabel (and Basil)
Copyright © drna.org - All rights reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bert & Portrait
Originally uploaded by NellyMoser.
Of course in my opinion her taste sucks. She favours a cluttered look with masses of pictures and ornaments featuring cute animals, birds and flowers. Artificial flowers, hideous cushions and vile clashing patterns abound.
So it was pretty certain that she wasn't going to like Zoe's painting of Bert. But she didn't have to go on about it.
"I dinnae know why you put that oul thing in a frame."
"Because we love it."
"Huh! Will I dinnae like it. It lucks naethin' leck Bertie."
"Well everyone else likes it. It's greatly admired."
"Humph! I dinnae know why ivrybody thinks Zoe's so good at the painting. She can paint nane! That's naethin like Bertie."
"Huh? Everyone who comes in here knows straight away that picture is of Bert."
"Bertie's face wis niver that colour in his life! Sure she's painted him green!"
Not true. Bert's had a green face manys a time in the past. Usually due to overindulgence in alcohol and/or recreationals. But Pearlie never seen it because he always kept his head under the blanket on those mornings.
But I'm not the only one who has been insulted thus by Pearlie or had our flesh & blood held up to ridicule.
Recently Bert's cousin presented Pearlie with a framed photograph of her baby granddaughter. It was one of those snaps that are taken in old-fashioned garb and the baby was wearing an outsize pinafore and a mob cap.
"Oh I dinnae like that. Can ye no get me a nicer one? She looks like a wee frog in that."
Pearlie has taken the frog child's photo out of the frame and replaced it with one of Charlotte Church. The child's grandmother has not been back since.


text:
Chapter 279: One of Five Summits, Xiao Ren
Duan Xinhe realized that the powerful Cyan Hidden Dragon had awaken from inside the Innards of a God and quickly, his face turned pale. He hurriedly jumped onto his ninth phase Gluttonous Insect Monster.
This Gluttonous Insect Monster's evasion abilities were very powerful. The falling rocks and dirt layer didn't successfully cover it, and Duan Xinhe forcefully escaped from the underground cave-in, jumping into the sewer region.
The sewer system was the city's underground infrastructure, so it was obviously sturdier. With the release of the Cyan Hidden Dragon's power, these sewer regions only shook, but didn't show any signs of collapsing.
When Duan Xinhe rode his ninth phase Gluttonous Insect Monster down the sewer, Mo Xie had just brought over two soul pet trainers from Soul Alliance.
"Duan Xinhe!" Su Xinyi immediately discovered Duan Xinhe and his Gluttonous Insect Monster flit across his vision, and his expression became excited.
The Hidden Dragon egg had always belonged to Soul Alliance, so this time, the people of Soul Alliance who came to Li City were determined to get this Cyan Hidden Dragon. This is why they had to kill Duan Xinhe, or else the Hidden Dragon Egg would fall into other peoples' hands.
The two didn't mind the shaking and collapsing underground world. After all, the Cyan Hidden Dragon wasn't something they could deal with
A soul pact incantation started. Su Xinyi and Songbo both summoned their demon type soul pets. A ninth phase commander rank demon's running speeds were definitely not inferior to the invisible Gluttonous Insect Monster. After a second, the two people started dashing through the underground tunnel!
Soul Alliance commander Xiao Ren stood silently in the fork of the underground tunnel. At this moment, the man was as calm and still as a black steelcast statue, emanating a metallic quality.
"You two, run as far as you can." Xiao Ren's voice was like metal on metal, heavy and powerful.
This sentence of Xiao Ren's was naturally directed towards Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng. Both brother and sister let out a breath. Knowing that the Cyan Hidden Dragon was about to appear, they each hastily summoned their soul pets and planned to leave there.
"You two don't think that you are so smart. Once I get this Cyan Hidden Dragon under control, I'll come deal with you." Xiao Ren saw that both of them looked as if they had escaped recognition and simply laughed coldly.
Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng's faces immediately turned paler, because they didn't think that Xiao Ren would actually recognize them.
"Leave……" Ye Wansheng bit down. He knew that nothing he said would matter, and escaping was the only correct choice.
The shaking underground was getting more and more intense. One could already feel some of the underground tunnels shattering. Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng were very quick to act. They safely found the exiting well and reached the ground of the western street area.
Yet, though they reached a safe place, both the brother and sister's expressions didn't look too good. Ye Wansheng was in a bad mood because of the Soul Alliance expert Xiao Ren's parting sentence.
Clearly, Xiao Ren had already recognized the two. They had fallen into a tiger's den. If not for the Cyan Hidden Dragon awakening, they definitely would've been captured.
Ye Qingzi wasn't just worried about Xiao Ren's words. She was still thinking about Chu Mu, who was still deep in the old site main hall. With such a commotion underground, the Li City old site should be more or less buried completely. Chu Mu definitely didn't escape. If he died by getting buried alive like this…...
"This Xiao Ren indeed has the nose of a dog. How did he recognize us even like this? Whatever, no matter what, we have to leave here." Ye Wansheng said to Ye Qingzi.
Ye Qingzi blanked, but she didn't wish to just leave like this, so she intentionally found a question and asked, "Who is this Xiao Ren?"
Ye Wansheng looked strangely at Ye Qingzi. He felt that Ye Qingzi should know about Xiao Ren, yet she was putting on a look of complete ignorance.
"Xiao Ren, Bin Xian, Tian Mang, Zi Deng, and our master were known as the Youth Five Peaks twenty years ago. Of the five, Xiao Ren was the youngest and had the most average fame of the five. The reason he became one of the five peaks was because his power was way beyond people of his age. He had a good relationship with our master at the time. About not long ago, he even represented Soul Alliance to visit our master and saw us.
"I thought the guy had long forgotten what we looked like. This was quite a few years ago, meaning our appearances are also different from what they are now, but he still recognized us……" Ye Wansheng said.
Ye Qingzi was actually still worried for Chu Mu's safety, and she was unwiling to leave, so she followed up with a few more questions.
In reality, the things about Xiao Ren that Ye Wansheng said were all known to Ye Qingzi. Xiao Ren was a very legendary character within the entire soul pet world. For him, age was no longer a restriction. When he was part of the younger generation still, he often challenged middle-aged generation experts and often won.
Soul Alliance had always been able to raise up soul pet trainers that were completely abnormal. Xiao Ren, who was at the tip of the soul pet world at just the age of forty, was one of the most outstanding ones. His most notable soul pet was the Three Headed Feathered Beast!
"Alright, stop asking, I know what you're thinking about. Even if you're worried and don't want to leave, we at least have to find a safe place to stay. Did you think the Cyan Hidden Dragon is only a house or two large?" Ye Wansheng quickly caught onto what Ye Qingzi was thinking about and said, "Dong Qing seems to be bringing people over. Let's go to him. It'll be safer that way."
Ye Qingzi nodded, and rode her War Court Black Beast towards the approaching Dong Qing.
Yet, just as Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng was about to leave, the ground under them suddenly sank down!!
Without any warning, almost at the moment Ye Qingzi and Ye Wansheng escaped the region, the ground suddenly sank, causing dozens of houses to collapse with a huge boom!
In the air riding his Horizon Feather Bird, Dong Qing's vision was very broad. From his angle, he could just see that nearly a circle of a hundred meters radius suddenly sank down, creating a shocking empty crater, as if struck by a massive meteorite. The scene caused everyone to suck in a breathe!
"Cyan Hidden Dragon, the dragon is about to appear!!"
The experts behind Dong Qing were the middle aged generation experts from each faction that were here to kill Duan Xinhe. These experts almost were all soul masters who had several *** phase commander ranks. Together, dealing with Duan Xinhe definitely wouldn't have been an issue.
Yet, making them fight the incredibly powerful Cyan Hidden Dragon was definitely throwing an egg against a hard rock. The power of the Cyan Hidden Dragon was known to everyone in Li City. Initially, hurting the Cyan Hidden Dragon had cost them countless lives already…...
"Everyone back off, don't act recklessly!" Each faction's leader said to their members.
The Cyan Hidden Dragon's destructive abilities were very powerful. One misstep could cause a huge amount of casualties. In the situation where no true expert could fight it head on, these people didn't even have the right to go near!
Dragon roars transmitted through the ground, causing the entire Li City to shake with it.
With these terrifying roars spreading, from above, one could see that cracks started spreading within a kilometer's radius from the crater!
These cracks were still spreading even further. Some crossed through wide streets, some passing along gorges, while even more ripped houses in two.
The dense amount of cracks signified the imminent destruction of this part of the city. Seeing this scene, the experts of all the factions looked incomparably shocked.
After the dragon roars, three almost simultaneous beast roars came from underground like claps of thunder. Though not as earth shaking as the Cyan Hidden Dragons' roars, they still had a powerful intimidation.
Most importantly, these three roars were directed straight towards the Cyan Hidden Dragon, meaning a powerful soul pet was challenging the Cyan Hidden Dragon head on!
"What organism is this triple roar, daring to provoke the Cyan Hidden Dragon?" An expert from the Merchant's Alliance immediately asked.
Almost everyone present were experts of the middle aged generation. Of them, none dared to get within two kilometers of the place the Cyan Hidden Dragon was. All of them could only ride their flying type soul pets from afar and watch the cracked city area. What confused many were, after the Cyan Hidden Dragon awoken, there still was some middle aged expert daring to fight it head on!
"Xiao Ren, it must be Xiao Ren. That triple roar was his Three Headed Feathered Beast!" At this point, a more knowledgeable middle aged expert said.
"Boss Xiao truly is courageous!"
"Indeed, people of Soul Alliance truly abnormally powerful. If it were any other faction, which middle aged expert dared to fight the Cyan Hidden Dragon?"
Underground, after the massive Three Headed Feathered Beast appeared, its steel-like angular body had shattered the narrow passageway even further.
Xiao Ren still stood silently in place. He used his soul remembrance to scout out the agitated ground.
He could feel that the Cyan Hidden Dragon had already awakened, and specially let his Three Headed Feathered Beast to roar and provoke the Cyan Hidden Dragon. However, what he found strange was, this Cyan Hidden Dragon didn't seem to have a single bit of its attention on his Three Headed Feathered Beast, instead quickly travelling towards a different direction for no apparent reason, as if something important were there.
"Yu[1], follow it!" Xiao Ren jumped onto his Three Headed Feathered Beast and commanded.
The third head of the Three Headed Feathered Beast controlled the power of rock type. When quickly chasing the underground Cyan Hidden Dragon, the Three Headed Feathered Beast also directly cast a rock type technique to move swiftly towards the Cyan Hidden Dragon.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter


text:
If you're searching for a leading acupuncture therapist near Midland Park NJ, look no further than Bergen County Acupuncture. Regardless of what your reason is for wanting to try or continue with acupuncture, our professional center has the expert acupuncture therapists to help you feel better than ever. At Bergen County Acupuncture we consider ensuring our clients are as prepared as possible regarding treatment throughout our time together an essential part of our job. Because acupuncture is an ancient medicinal practice, many people these days simply aren't aware of the many healing abilities that the treatment holds. From psychological healing to physical wellbeing, acupuncture therapy in Midland Park NJ is capable of getting you on the right path to total-body health.
Acupuncture Therapist Midland Park NJ
Without using invasive surgery or toxic medicines and chemicals, acupuncture near Midland Park NJ has been proven successful when it comes to treating a variety of conditions. For some patients, western medicine, such as surgical interventions and pharmaceuticals, is just too harsh on the body, and ends up doing more harm than good. If you have tried everything for an illness or pain, and nothing seems to work, then acupuncture is an excellent treatment to try. The heavy western medicine treatments many undergo may impede the body's natural healing process by throwing the body off balance. This is a situation where acupuncture can play an important role. An acupuncturist in our comfortable clinic can utilize tiny sterile needles to make sure that your body's inner energy is directed to areas which are not functioning the way they are supposed to. An acupuncturist is capable of encouraging your body's natural healing process of the body by placing these tiny needles in corresponding locations on the skin. To restore your natural healing with acupuncture therapy in Midland Park NJ call us today.
Acupuncture Center Midland Park NJ
Whether the patient is fairly healthy, or quite ill, at our facility you'll find an acupuncture therapist near Midland Park NJ with the ability to encourage ultimate healing by working with your body's chi. The body's inner healing energy is referred to in acupuncture treatment as its chi. For many individuals, acupuncture can assist in relieving anxiety, and keep them healthier throughout their daily lives. You do not need to be experiencing a major medical issue to give acupuncture a try, because it it's capable of being beneficial for practically anyone in search of greater levels of well-being. This is an alternative many individuals do not consider as a result of the fact that they don't comprehend the effectiveness of this ancient Chinese medicine practice.
Acupuncture Midland Park NJ
Acupuncture near Midland Park NJ is a tried and tested medical system, making an acupuncture specialist a medical specialist. This is a practice that has been demonstrated repeatedly to be highly effective, having been employed for thousands of years with fantastic success. Acupuncture therapy can be utilized for a wide range of ailments, or merely to feel better in your daily life. For those people who are attempting to give up smoking, acupuncture has been shown to have significant benefits. Most patients feel relaxed during the treatment, helping to set it apart from most western medicine. While needles are used, most patients never feel discomfort from these, as they're so small, and placed very strategically by the expert acupuncturist. Call us today in the event you want to learn more about acupuncture therapy from a qualified acupuncture specialist in Midland Park NJ.
,"acupuncture Midland Park NJ, acupuncture center Midland Park NJ, acupuncture clinic Bergen County NJ, acupuncture specialist Midland Park NJ, acupuncture therapist Bergen County NJ, acupuncture therapy Bergen County NJ, acupuncturist Bergen County NJ


text:
Pergo is renowned for superior high quality and trendsetting design, a repute going back all the way in which to the invention of the laminate ground. In case your wooden floor is just too weak for such pressure, it may be a good idea for you to lay an extra floor on prime of the existing one, for energy. What makes our vinyl merchandise good for these moist areas is the fact that its Sansol backing is a waterproof membrane that is resistant to mould, bacteria, mildew and rising moisture. Made by the well-known company Dean Flooring Firm, these are good for inner stairs, albeit a bit more expensive than the design above.
With the primary row down, it's a good suggestion to drill small holes in the flooring subsequent to the wall and drive finishing nails by the flooring and into the subflooring. In the event you're trying to find flooring that can ship a excessive-finish take a look at a low value, Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) flooring is the right product for you. For instance within the dining room it is hardwood or carpet…that's it. No tile or vinyl is even thought-about.
Many such floors have been covered over in the early twentieth century however soon people realized that their horrible vinyl flooring was hiding a veritable treasure. In case you have youngsters, big pets, or host frequent gatherings the place guests may be sporting heels like stilettos, strand bamboo flooring would be the most durable, but it will be more expensive. Composite and Vinyl are both considerably costlier however waterproof and simpler to put in. And final however not least we provide the opportunity of digital printed flooring with which you'll be able to design your flooring with any print you like.
Once I had the walls completed and there was no chance of getting glue or paint on the new flooring, I started laying the tiles. Fitted by interlocking seams on either side and end of the vinyl flooring panel, installation is normally achieved in just a few days relying on the scale of the world to be completed, which suggests much less enterprise interruptions.
One among UK's leading suppliers of bubbles floor tiles, bathroom, kitchen and vinyl flooring. Armstrong gives installation guides for all flooring sorts so you can complete your FLOORING MERCHANDISE. Cork is another first rate choice of flooring for canines amongst environmentally conscious dog and home combo owners. Luxurious Vinyl Tile is one of the latest, hottest flooring selections immediately, offering sturdiness with an unbelievable, natural beauty.


text:
Since our inception, Riley Mazda has already offered our clients with a wide range of options when it comes to their favorite car models from Mazda. Whether you are looking to buy a brand new car or you want to trade in your old car model, we are here to assist you. We also have with us a team of exceptional technicians who can help maintain your cars at all times. Come visit us now! We are only about 37 miles away from Brookfield.
About Brookfield, CT
A town found in Fairfield County in the state of Connecticut, Brookfield is the home to more than 16,500 residents. Located at the Berkshire Mountains, the southern foothills, in particular, it is considered as one of the top 30 places to live in America by the Money Magazine. It was in 1788 when it was established, with its name derived from the first minister of the Congregational Parish, Rev. Thomas Brooks.
Driving Directions from Brookfield to Riley Mazda
Distance: 37.2 miles
Travel Time: 48 minutes
Start: Brookfield, CT
- Start by heading south on US-202 W toward CT-25 S 0.8 mi
- Use the left 2 lanes to make a left turn and go onto US-7 S 4.2 mi
- Take the I-84 W/US-7 S exit toward Norwalk 0.4 mi
- Go onto I-84/US-7 S 3.7 mi
- Take the left 2 lanes to take exit 3 for South U.S. 7 S toward Norwalk 0.3 mi
- Go onto US-7 S 15.1 mi
- Take a slight right turn toward US-7 S 0.1 mi
- Go onto US-7 S 1.9 mi
- Make a right turn onto Grist Mill Rd 0.2 mi
- Take the left 2 lanes to make a left turn onto US-7 S 3.3 mi
- Take the Interstate 95 S exit driving toward New York City 0.3 mi
- Go onto I-95 S 5.9 mi
- Take exit 9 for US-1 toward CT-106/Glenbrook 0.2 mi
- Take the right 2 lanes to make a right turn onto US-1 S/E Main St 0.6 mi
- Make a left turn onto Myrtle Ave 0.2 mi
End: Riley Mazda
75 Myrtle Avenue
Stamford, CT 06902


text:
About our clients
Our clients are operating in 170 countries worldwide. If desired, Radar Cyber Security delivers its services to all their corporate locations worldwide.
Size of company measured by number of employees
Our clients include medium-sized and large companies. Our largest client employs 350,000 people worldwide and ranks among the global top 3 in its field. Radar Cyber Security renders its services at the overall group level of the client.
Companies by industries
Radar Cyber Security has listed and non-listed companies – among them undisputed world market leaders – as clients as well as authorities and public institutions.


text:
Isreal LaPlante - Izzy
Isreal "Izzy" LaPlante has been tattooing for over 25 years everywhere from Philly to Cali, Anchorage to Guadalajara. Specializing in your imagination, Izzy can be found in the studio on the days he is scheduled to work from noon to 8pm except during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota in August when he can be found tattooing with our brothers at The Rosini Gypsy Tour Tattooing at 1016 Main Street downtown Sturgis SD across from Rally Headquarters. Give a call down to the shop to find out when he's in this week.
Check out the upcoming events page for information on these events. *Updated when we get the dates and remember to update.* If you don't see the info on our events page, call the shop and ask Izzy what's up.
Check out his work in the shop or here in his gallery and come get his experience put into you.
As Izzy says, "I have a way of getting under your skin."


text:
Dell introduces new servers, targets SMBs
Company expands PowerEdge portfolio to include new entry-level rack and tower servers
Dell has announced the newest additions to its Dell PowerEdge 13th generation servers with the introduction of four new entry-level servers.
According to recent global research of IT decision makers, the top IT pain points of small and medium businesses (SMBs) around the globe include performance, hardware capacity and IT complexity. Designed with future growth in mind, the latest Dell PowerEdge servers address these specific pain points to help customers accelerate performance, adapt to changing application demands and attain greater operational efficiency.
"Dell has a long history addressing the unique needs of small and midsize customers," said Jed Scaramella, research director, Enterprise Servers, IDC. "Dell's mainstream server portfolio is growing, and their new entry-level PowerEdge servers will be appealing to additional SMBs around the world who are hoping to save time and money while reducing business risk."
The new Dell PowerEdge servers include the PowerEdge R330 and R230 rack servers and the PowerEdge T330 and T130 tower servers. For the first time, Dell's entry-level server T130 features Dell's leading OpenManage systems management portfolio giving SMBs simple and intuitive tools that reduce deployment time by up to 40 percent and provide streamlined management.
The latest generation of entry-level PowerEdge servers
Offering large amounts of internal storage capacity, configuration flexibility, and an expandable memory footprint, the new entry-level PowerEdge servers feature up to four DDR4 memory slots and up to four or eight hard drives depending on the model. The new server line-up includes:
• Dell PowerEdge R330 – a versatile rack server ideal for small businesses, remote offices of large institutions and OEM customers who are seeking enhanced hardware availability and serviceability. The PowerEdge R330 provides up to 56 percent more internal storage capacity than the previous generation server.
• Dell PowerEdge R230 – a rack server excellent for distributed applications in SMBs, hosting companies and OEM customers. This server has 100 percent more memory capacity, three times the maximum internal storage capacity and two times the I/O expansion compared to the previous generation server.
• Dell PowerEdge T330 – an expandable, rackable tower server for SMBs and departments and remote offices of large corporations that need greater internal storage. The PowerEdge T330 is designed for future growth, with up to four DDR4 memory slots and up to eight 3.5-inch hard drives.
Dell PowerEdge T130 – a tower server for driving collaboration and productivity applications in small offices/home offices (SOHO). The PowerEdge T130 provides two times the memory capacity compared to the previous generation server.
As SMB customers prepare for future growth, the new PowerEdge servers can be combined with Dell's end-to-end portfolio of hardware, software and services to enable operational efficiency and flexibility at any scale.
"There are over 125 million SOHO and SMB customers around the globe, and these customers operate in challenging, fast-changing environments – with most not having the luxury of a dedicated IT department. These customers require IT solutions that help them prepare for future growth, drive application performance and improve operational efficiency," said Ashley Gorakhpurwalla, vice president and general manager, Dell Server Solutions. "Dell has been helping customers in this space achieve their goals for decades and our new entry-level PowerEdge servers have the performance, expandability and flexibility to help them do business even more efficiently."


text:
New Accessible Rome Airport Transfer Service
If a trip to the Eternal City is in your future, then make sure and check out the new Care to Fly program offered by ADR Assistance. Although assistance for disabled passengers at Italy's airports is mandated under European Regulation 1101/2006, ADR Assistance goes one step further at Fiumicino and Ciampino Airports, and now offers wheelchair-accessible ground transfers to arriving and departing passengers
The transfers are priced at €45 ($52) for a standard car, and €75 ($87) for an accessible minivan. Passengers who book this service will be met by an ADR employee, who will assist them through security and accompany them to their departing flight. Arriving passengers will receive baggage assistance, and help through the airport to their awaiting vehicle.
For more information about the Care to Fly program, visit www.coopairport.net/sessione_scaduta_adr.php. Special assistance can be requested by calling the service's hotline at 06 650 790 90 from inside Italy, or +39 6650 79 090 from abroad. Passengers can also e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com with their reservation requests.


text:
Get ready for Winter with this super cute cable beanie that you can get at Amazon right now for just $9.99!
This is a great accessory piece for the cold weather!
This item will ship free for all Amazon Prime members. Or, regular members can score free shipping by adding $49 or more worth of eligible items to your cart. You can get a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime here.


text:
- Heavy-duty design includes a rugged wall and seal rings for maximum protection.
- The tapered design allows the part to plug multiple inner diameters or cap multiple outside diameters.
- Plug dimension "A" should be approximately 1% larger than the inner diameter of the part. Minimum of .020".
- Cap dimension "E" should be approximately 1% smaller that the outside diameter of the part. Minimum of .020".


text:
Avoiding tax in the UKPosted: 2019-01-20 Filed under: Analysis & comment 21 Comments
I was asked to help a friend of mine, a (~50 year old) widow, complete her UK tax return recently. In the UK the final deadline for filling in your own tax return is 31 January, and the process these days can all be done online via the taxman's excellent website. Her finances were illuminating.
What is a rich widow?
This widow's income is roughly as follows:
- £45k of earnings. She is a freelance creative.
- £25k of investment income, about half of which was taxable ('unsheltered'). She has about £700k of investments, roughly half in tax-free accounts (ISAs/SIPPs), and half unsheltered. She has no other income-generating assets.
- £10k of contribution to her pension. She is a (non-executive) company director of her ex-husband's company which doesn't pay her but does make £10k per year payment into her SIPP.
- £12k of (realised) capital gains last year, all in unsheltered accounts .
This lady's total income/gains last tax year amounted to over £90k. This puts her in the top 10% of the UK by income, but not the top 5%.
But how much does an 'average striver' pay in tax?
Now, before we continue with my widow friend, let's have a think about 'average Joanna', a typical striver in the UK.
Consider Joanna, a (hypothetical) 50 year old who works full-time for the NHS, earning £45k (roughly the London average wage). For a like-for-like comparison, her pension (contribution, from her employer) and (NHS pension investment equivalent) income on top of this would add about £25k to her taxable income, all tax-free.
Joanna pays £6.6k of tax, and £4.4k of national insurance, totalling £11k of tax/NI. This works out as 24% of total gross pay.
How much tax does this 'rich widow' making £90k pay?
What total tax/social charges (National Insurance, in the UK) do you think she owes on her annual income/gains?
Before continuing reading, think of a number.
My friend is clearly 'well off'. Rich, you might argue. Her income last year was comfortably ahead of an MP's salary (though not an MP's total earnings, on the same definitions). With over £80k of income you'd think she was clearly a higher rate income tax payer, and so some of her income would be taxed at 40%+. If you estimated that she pays about 30% tax then you'd have been where I would have guessed, given a few seconds to think about it.
If you guessed about 20%, on the basis that I wouldn't be writing a blog post about this if it was an easy number to guess, then fair cop to you.
The actual figure? This well off widow's tax bill (including her Ltd company's tax bill) for the last tax year totals….. less than £10,000.
In other words, around 17% of her pay, and only 10% of her total income/gains. I think, based on the figures in this BBC article, that on a personal basis the widow is in the bottom 5% of UK income tax payers.
One of two big drivers of my friend's low tax rate is that she works through her own Ltd company, and all her £45k turnover goes through it. This Ltd company employs her, on a salary of £11.5k (co-incidentally the personal allowance, i.e. the amount you are allowed to earn personally before paying any income tax). The company then declares a profit of over £30k, pays 19% corporation tax on it, pays about £400 national insurance (on the £11.5k salary), and passes the rest through to her as a dividend (on which she pays a further 7.5% tax).
The other big help for my friend is the tax assistance she is getting for her pension and ISA saving. The £10k pension contribution she receives is tax completely free. And the £10k-£15k dividends that her pension/ISA investments receive is also tax free. In this respect, my friend is taxed very similarly to 'average Joanna'; in fact because she has, relatively, a smaller pension but more assets outside the tax-free pot, she is arguably more highly taxed than Joanna.
The rich are just like you and me, but pay less tax?
There is something counter-intuitive about the UK's tax system.
- A young graduate in a good job, earning perhaps £35k, will pay tax/NI of around 25% of earnings, but will see deductions of over 33% of earnings (due to their income-contingent student loan repayments a.k.a. graduate tax).
- That young graduate's dad, in a similar job, who by now is significantly richer than the young graduate, will probably be paying tax/NI and deductions of under 25% of earnings due to having more pension/similar assets saved, and no loan repayments to make.
- And some richer folk out there are paying tax/deductions of under 20%, as per my widow friend. On average, the top 10% of households by income (equivalent to income of £75k+, I estimate), are paying an average tax rate of 'only' c.30% of total income, based on my reading of the UK Treasury's 2017 graph below (which does need careful attention!).
There is something odd that the highest tax rates apply to regular jobs, and lower tax rates apply to unearned income, and then arguably the lowest of all tax rates apply to fixed property. You'd think the government didn't like people to work in jobs.
When the left says 'let's tax the rich more', the media immediately jumps to 'that means putting up income tax, and then normal middle class people will be paying more than 50% of their income as tax'. Not likely, that isn't.
Policy prescriptions
I can't help but wonder about the policy implications from these observations.
While no firebrand leftie myself, it feels reasonable to me to ask richer people to pay more tax than poorer people. Obviously there will be reliefs/incentives that will create exceptions/opportunities but the widow I'm describing here doesn't deploy very many of those.
Putting it another way, I think people like my widow friend could pay, say, £12k of tax instead of £10k of tax (i.e. 20% more tax) and it wouldn't cramp her style at all. If you could increase the tax take from the top 1% of the country by 20% you'd have, well, enough to paint a lot of red buses.
For starters, she should pay more National Insurance than the £400 she pays at the moment. By contrast, Joanna pays over £4k NI. This was the direction Phillip Hammond, our Chancellor, went in until he got stopped by the Tory backbenchers / media backlash / cowardly PM / take your pick. If you made the minimum contribution £1500 you'd have an extra £1k out of her straight away.
Secondly, the increase in personal allowance, much as it is positioned as 'lifting poorer people out of the tax net', the main beneficiaries are the higher earners like the widow. If her allowance was £6k, not £11k, you'd have another £1k out of her. Job done.
Of course you could tax unearned income more. Dividends and/or capital gains could be taxed more. To make £1k more out of my widow you'd need to reduce the dividend allowance to nil, or put her dividend tax rate up to 15%, or a blend of both. I think these would have 'unintended consequences' because money is easy to move. Certainly it would be good for accountants and lawyers.
You could raise corporation taxes. If you put an extra 3% on corporation tax, raising it to 22%, you'd have over £1k more from my friend. The 26% proposed by Labour would raise over £2k more from her; annoying, but I contend it would change very little. But some companies would leave the UK, and others might not move here; I suspect Labour would end up with a lot less than the £2k they think they'll get.
You could raise property taxes. My friend hasn't moved for ages, won't move if she can help it, but lives in a house worth over £2m. Her council tax of around £2000 amounts to 0.1% of her property value a year – a fraction of what she'd pay in the USA, for instance. If you asked her to pay a 'mansion tax' of 1% p.a. she'd feel you were forcing her out of her home, but if she was asked to pay £4000 a year council tax, she could definitely do it. She would however hiss and cluck a lot.
Or, you could put income tax rates, any of them, up to whatever you like. It wouldn't raise a penny from my friend the widow.
Either way, those blasted taxes don't seem too bad from this perspective. At least as long as you don't go to university just in order to 'get a proper job'. What am I missing?
21 Comments on "Avoiding tax in the UK"
Great post and fully agree that our tax system is too lazy and closing simple loopholes that drive this type of inequality must be done ASAP To drive greater social cohesion and investment. I don't think the Isa allowance should be £20k (lower). Radical idea but I think that all dividend income should be taxed as personal income (folks have ISAs to shelter dividend wealth) vs dividends at a corporation tax level which should only apply for companies with more than 250 employees (employees not turnover a more difficult bar to achieve esp for family offices, hedge funds etc … but rewards the real wealth creators and employers in our society). Also in favour of a land tax being linked to your council tax to more accurately reflect the property wealth that many hold but agree this shouldn't be punitive but at least double what folks pay today. Still surprised that we haven't nailed the company expenses" piece … huge abuse IMO by almost all folks who have their own business yet use it to support their personal life. Like you am a conservative, a top % earner who has benefited from sheltering wealth in ISAs, SIPPs and in BTLs and just getting a bit fed up with how unfair the game is to some …
Fascinating post, and shows how some of the inequalities in our country are reinforced. I agree with the above comments that the system needs to be reworked, and I think you've explained very clearly that simply increasing tax rates is not the answer!
This is a common "hack" which allows people operating in LTDs to pay themselves in a very tax-efficient way. As long as the freelancer is allowed to operate as a one-man-band company then the low tax doesn't surprise me.
But what if HMRC only let her work as a sole trader until she really becomes a company? 'really becomes a company' is up for discussion though. I expect some reform (aka IR35 for the private sector) in the Autumn 19 budget.
Contractors, like myself, operating through their own LTDs will start being taxed as a PAYE. However, not sure this is ideal either since they will not enjoy the benefits of perm employment (holiday, sick pay, pension match etc). It's hard to tell who is genuine self-employed too.
Btw this is not a UK-only problem. Buffett has publicly said his secretary should not be paying a higher tax rate than him.
Expect some hissing 😉
I completely agree.
A retired couple can generate £63.1k/year from investments before paying any tax (2×11.85k personal allowance, 2x5k savings allowance, 2x1k PSA, 2x2k dividend allowance, 2×11.7k CGT allowance). An equivalent working couple earning £31.55k each (total £63.1k) would pay a total of £13.43k in tax.
CGT is 28% and corporation tax is 20% when income tax is 47% (inc 2% NIC). Investment income is not subject to NIC but income from labour is. We punish labour mobility through SDLT on property, rather than having an LVT.
Pension tax credits cost the government around £42bn/annum in lost tax revenue, more than the UK defence budget and about the same size as the 2017/18 UK fiscal deficit. Most of this tax relief goes to the higher paid (40/45% taxpayers) or to corporations through lower employer NIC. I've always found disturbing that a Tory government, ideologically obsessed by reducing the fiscal deficit and "austerity", managed to miss this easy £40bn cut. Instead they decided to cut things like Disability Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, SureStart etc. We add to this by providing high income earners with further avenues such as VCTs/EIS/SEIS. Multi-millionaires can benefit from Entrepreneur's Relief with a tax rate of 10% on up to £10mm.
I've utilized pretty much every one of the above allowances. It's legal tax planning. I don't, however, feel the system is in anyway just or fair. It's incredibly poor at wealth redistribution, not progressive, and easily exploited for tax arbitrage. The UK tax system was constructed based on historical vested interests, mainly around land and property. It's now justified via macroeconomic theory that is not just incorrect but often a blatant lie. The UK clearly favours "rentier capitalism". Perhaps appropriate for a country that never did shake off feudalism.
This is a very one-sided piece… to me it looks like quite a bit of thought has gone in to the tax planning here and as for freelancing I would have a look at what Dave Chaplin has written, I think you will find that a lot of freelancers pay considerably more taxes than if they were permanent employees….
Collecting more taxes is not always the answer and there are for more taxes being lost via cash in hand jobs like cleaners, plumbers, painters etc than freelancers
Appreciate the piece is aimed at Contractors but I think Libertine is talking more so about Freelancers which is completely different to Contractors. As a freelancer you tend to have multiple clients at once which is completely different from contracting work.
It tends to include far more 'admin', zero pension contributions and in some instances freelancer=free to some potential clients.
There's a whole world of digital freelancers who don't have the luxuries of contractors/employed. They do it because it allows them to facilitate a more flexible family/work life.
Great post. Some alternative cases for the defence
– The chart you post suggests that only 30% of tax payers are paying in more tax than they take out. With the other 80% very dependent upon the top 20%. There is the additional quote that suggest the top 1% are paying almost 30% of all income tax. This doesn't seem particularly desirable – feels like we are very vulnerable if these people have reduced earnings for whatever reason – recession for example, brexit requiring some bankers to relocate maybe
– I personally have built up a large (for me!) investment portfolio and have structured it such that if I stopped working, I and my spouse could generate approximately £50k of income and pay virtually no income tax. This is all through the allowances ZX Spectrum mentions above. On the face of it, I agree with the tone of the article / comments but…I personally have paid over £1m in income and national insurance tax over the past 8 years alone to earn enough money to help build up that portfolio and worked pretty hard thought it all….I sort of feel like, I've done my bit.
– The investment portfolio I have created also means (a) I will never be a burden on the state (b) I will not make use of some state provision of services – health care, schooling, leaving more resources for others. I don't expect a state pension (although not turning it down if offered)
– I fully accept that I was lucky enough to have an advantageous start in life and I have been lucky enough since to be able to make the most of it
– yes other european states charge a lot on divi tax but check out what belgium's cgt rate is.
– It used to be much worse (? maybe wrong wording) – divi allowance until a higher rate tax payer, no cgt if you held property and were outside the uk, unlimited pension accrual
– a really good way to pass wealth down is for grandparents to give wealth to grandchildren and use their tax free allowance with no impact on grandparents if they live for 7 years. mmmm this doesn't feel like something that is for the greater good now does it…
– family investment companies are a whole new ball game on top of all of this – beyond my means for the moment
– btw – I feel using the CGT allowance on an annual basis to convert capital gain to income is harder than it seems, Psychologically and practically
– just wanted to say, really value the blog, the comments, shout out for zx spectrum, weenie and others
apols if a bit of a ramble.
[…] Avoiding tax in the UK → […]
[…] A cracking piece from Firevlondon featuring worked examples of tax 'minimisation' strate… […]
Well done for pointing out the value the employer contribution in a (NHS) defined-benefit pension.
However, the pensions contribution is simply not tax-free income, as the article indicates. The money within a pension fund is tax-deferred.
It will be taxed when accessed, as income received.


text:
Calgary Flames NHL Pet Jersey
Valid through: April 7, 2020
|In Stock: Ships April 13, 2020
|In Stock: Ships April 13, 2020
You know your pooch is a big fan • maybe even a bigger fan than you are. Just think of all those tough games he has helped you through, loyally by your side through the highs and lows of the gruelling hockey season. Isn't it time that man's best friend gets a reward for his undying loyalty? The officially licensed NHL Calgary Flames Pet Jersey from Hunter is made of breathable polyester micromesh performance fabric and has a stylish and comfort-fitted v-neck cut. This durable pet jersey is decorated in the team colors and designed with printed team name and logos. Features: • 100% polyester micromesh construction • Flat-stitch seams for added comfort • Team name and logo printed on back • Team logos printed on both sleeves • Stylish and comfort-fitted v-neck cut SIZING INFO: This dog jersey uses three measurements, L (LENGTH FROM NECK TO BASE OF TAIL), G (GIRTH AROUND CHEST), and N (SIZE AROUND THE NECK). The most important measurements are the GIRTH and NECK. NOTE: These jerseys run extremely small. We provide the manufacturer supplied measurements here. However, if your dog is at or above the middle of either the Neck or Girth measurement, we strongly suggest ordering up one size. SMALL: L:12-13", G:14-18", N:10-13" MEDIUM: L:14-15", G:16-20", N:11-14" LARGE: L:16-17", G:20-24", N:13-16" X-LARGE: L:18-20", G:27-30, N:16-21"


text:
By Clayton Locke, CTO Intelligent Environments
Although Tim Cook introduced Apple's newest iPhone as just "one more thing" during his annual keynote, the new phonemay just mark a revolution in smartphone technology. There is no doubt that the OLED display, advanced biometrics, wireless charging and an impressive chipset set X apart – but does this phone really represent a step change, or incremental evolution? What does the launch of iPhone X mean to Financial Services (FS)? And what are the significant advances in iPhone X that deserve a closer look?
Facing the Future
In the iPhone X, the Apple button and Touch ID are no more. Instead, Apple is introducing an innovative approach to biometric security guaranteed to excite consumers: facial recognition. Combining its new front-facing camera with improved facial scan technologies, it appears that iPhone X has finally cracked the code on biometrics. It is fast, built on a neural engine chip, and works in the dark using infrared. Face ID appears robustly secure. It will make an instant connection with millennial selfie generation.
For FS organisations, it means that Apple may have just stolen a march in the FinTech industry's long-running battle for biometrics. It also means biometrics is not only here to stay, but starting to pull away from late adopters of biometric scoring and progressive security.
What do I mean by progressive security? At Intelligent Environments, we use a progressive security framework to protect our applications and data. Basically, this approach adjusts the security requirement to the appropriate level according to the risk. Looking at your account balance on your phone is low risk, and may not require a credential. Making a £1000 payment is higher risk, requiring more authentication. The industry has been trained to think in terms of binary factors of authentication. But the iPhone X Face ID service returns to the app an authentication factor between 0.0 and 1.0. The closer to 1.0 the better the match between the enrolment image and the verification image – in other words, there are shades of grey in the authentication factor, it is no longer a binary 'Yes' or 'No'. This puts more nuance into how authentication factors can be used in progressive security framework.
More Power, More Potential
As with every Apple launch, the technology is described as the 'most sophisticated Apple has ever developed.' While we should cut through the hyperbole, the iPhone X represents a step-change in both hardware and software. Improved camera, an OLED panel, faster CPU, better power efficiency, and an emphasis on machine learning means that the potential of this device far outstrips its predecessors.Samsung's grip on the panel market and Android phones have forced Apple's hand to maintain their share of the extraordinary profits to be made in the device market. The pace of this race will get even faster.
As the devices leap forward, the also open up opportunity for FinTech differentiation.Machine learning, embedded in Apple's chipset, can be a key technology to deliver new services to customers on device. New use cases in augmented reality, increased internet of things connectivity, and intelligent workflows can used to drive more consumer engagement. For banks, using these emerging technologies to full effect presents a significant challenge, but those that figure out how to make use of these innovations open up opportunities for differentiation, surprising and delighting their customers.
There is no doubt that the consumer appetite is there: a study by Deloitte found that 40 per cent of adults had a banking app on their smartphone. For millennials, this rises to 63 per cent. Clearly,winning real estate on the smartphone is already a must-win battle for banks. The iPhone X gives us a glimpse of what it will soon take to win the hearts and minds of customers who are deciding what bank they want to download.


text:
Negotiations have not yet started, but it is clear that an announced restructuring at Commerzbank will lead to massive job losses. The country's second-largest lender would need to shed some extra 5,000 positions, a 10-percent reduction in the lender's overall workforce of roughly 50,000. It said the proposed cuts would mainly hit administrative and managerial workers. Earlier this month a trade union representative in the bank's board had qualified the idea that Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank better could merge 'absurd'.
English: http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-commerzbank-facing-massive-job-cuts …
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) email@example.com or the communications officer at the ETUI, Willy De Backer firstname.lastname@example.com. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. Since June 2013 readers can consult our archive and search through all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.
© ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2016. All rights reserved. We encourage the distribution of this newsletter and of the information it contains, for non-commercial purposes and provided the source is credited. The ETUI is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. The ETUI is financially supported by the European Union. The European Union is not responsible for any use made of the information contained in this publication.
This email is sent from www.etui.org.


text:
Call Today: (972) 513-9000
1735 N Story Rd #180Irving, TX 75061
Please complete the form below and click "Request Appointment". Our staff will contact you soon to schedule an appointment.
Exam and X-Rays only $39
Click here for coupon
1735 N Story Rd #180
Irving, TX 75061
Map & Directions
Phone: (972) 513-9000
*By Appointment Only
** Open Two Saturdays Per Month
Affinity Dental, PLLC1735 N Story Rd #180 Irving, TX 75061(972) 513-9000Map & Directions
Dental website design by Dental Web Services


text:
125 in stock
Custom designed BENCHMARK patch, black, olive drab and coyote, hook fastener backing
There are no reviews yet.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Your review *
Name *
Email *
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


text:
The new map render is here everyone!
The new map render is here everyone!
We've all heard about the peaceful times of the shire, the dark age where mortals took shelter from the cold in the iron door tavern, and the many wars with the undead. But not much is said about the simple times of Dagon Fel. Actually, I believe this time period is almost completely forgotten, which is a shame. You should never forgot your roots!
When the dark age ended and all was lost a fleeing vessel shipwrecked on the beach of Dagon Fel. The surviving mortals had no home to go back to, so they did the only thing they could do – begin again.
The first settlement was necropolis. It settled itself right off the beach in full view of the shipwreck. Necropolis suffered from constant bandit raids during it's few weeks of life, and eventually died off and became a zombie infested ruin.
It wasn't long before the old faction "the fleet" made their mark on Dagon Fel. They continued their tradition by starting a brand new tavern where mortals could gather for a pint & share Ancient World stories.
Growing in popularity, the tavern eventually became the capital location on Dagon Fel. Mortals would use the location to trade, meet other mortals, and hold events. The christmas party of 2012 was held here.
But these simple times did not come without it's own conflicts. Different groups of mortals had conflicting goals & beliefs, and this caused many skirmishes to erupt. The early days of Dagon Fel were full of bloodshed and banditry.
And who could forget creeper canyon? 😉
All in all, the early days of Dagon Fel were both brutal yet simple. These mortals are our ancestors, and if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be here today.
The time had finally arrived. The Dagon Fel mortals were looking to the horizon – searching for new land to settle on to call home. This is where it all began!
The votes were cast and the results are here. It seems we almost have a draw between full enabled enchants vs no combat enchants with tool enchants.
However, it may be important to note that I did disregard option 3 in my original blog entry, saying that only option 1 & 2 were valid. This most likely gave some voters the impression they could only choose between disabled & enabled enchants. I believe if I didn't leave that note there even more players would have voted for option 3.
I've already made several necessary changes in-game to bar players from creating any new combat enchants. I'm open to all feedback about this change and I would like to hear your experience with it.
Today one of Terth's Rifts unexpectedly emerged in our realm on the continent of Nautilus Taber. NT is one of the 5 continents currently corrupted by the deadly ash from Dagon volcano. It's clear now that Terth has more power over these region than we once thought. All Mortals are warned to take great caution when visiting the continents.
Among the ruins of the Rift large amounts of netherwart & glowstone was found. It seems these riches are now ripe for the taking & serve as a great reward for those who fought in the battle against the undead.
This video was recorded several days after the opening but I believe it's still very relevant. Basically I'm walking around the Ancient Lands while talking to Ikukelas (another Ancient player) about how the new age is going and I share some of my thoughts on Minecraft. This is Part 1 in a possible 8 part series of videos (yeah, I recorded that much that night). If you would like to see the rest let me know and I'll post them up soon.
What do you guys think about the removal of enchanting? This age being the least PVP focused for a long time I cannot think of a better time to make a big change such as this. The impact of doing this now will be minimal, as previous ages were largely focused around gear & war. I also believe the positive effects from this will ripple into future ages as well.. it could very well become the norm for our server.
For those of you who have been on during previous ages you're likely familiar with the problems caused by high level enchants. They create an aggressive, unforgiving experience for new players among many other balancing issues. I know that many of you vastly prefered the earlier days when there were no enchants and we had a no diamond armor rule. Traveling the wilds wasn't ruled by OP Prot IV diamond players. Worst case scenario you were outnumbered but you were never at a huge disadvantage because you didn't grind 1000x hours.
Some positives I can see coming from this change:
"I honestly don't see how you can think this is a good idea. It literally is pushing minecraft back to the pre-XP beta times pretty much. Sure you keep everything like horses but you are unable to repair items without levels or even name items which would cut out a lot of rp. Overall it is a really bad idea, enchants are now a part of minecraft and should be accepted." -Jakeman664
Enchanting overall was a poorly thought out feature thrown into the game to give it some kind of goal or progression ladder. It's my opinion that Minecraft is a sandbox game where we can create any kind of world we want. Just because Mojang shoves a feature down our throat doesn't mean we have to have it in our game. This is why so many are waiting for the modding API. Players want to customize their experience.
Perhaps if The Ancient World was an anarchy server without a theme, or the theme was high fantasy, it would make sense to have enchantments in our world. But TAW has always been very dark, even more so now with Conquest texture pack. I was having a discussion earlier with Tidge and Doyl where they made the comparison between Morrowind & Oblivion from the Elder Scrolls series. If TAW was one of those, it would be Morrowind. When I see players fighting undead on the continents I imagine them wearing rusty, battle-worn iron armor, covered in molten ash & blood of their foes. Not elves wearing perfectly crafted diamond magic armor, magic enchanted bows, & cleanly washed hair.
On another note – It wasn't my intention to remove custom item names. That is a feature I very much liked. I will see if I can find a way to bring it back without needing XP.
Please cast your vote in the poll below!
NOTE: I put the third option in for those who wanted it. The truth is, it's not a practical thing to implement. At this point in time I'm only considering options #1 and #2.


text:
Renita Mendonca Bio
Chef Renita Mendoca is featured on this season of "Chopped" on The Food Network. Chef Rens brings with her a cooking technique and exuberance reflecting influences that she has assimilated beginning in her native India. Renita has had the great fortune to work with leading luxury hotels across the world spanning The Taj Group of Hotels-India, Sun International Group of Hotels-Dubai, Hyatt International-Oman, Compass group and AVI food systems in both the United States and Spain. As a recipient of a culinary scholarship at Johnson and Wales University, she had the opportunity to work at 'The French Laundry' restaurant in Napa Valley. Chef Rens' specialties include Indian, Thai, French, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.
Call 1-800-842-5275 ext. 267 today to register.


text:
Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton is alive and well, he was discovered today with his very own YouTube channel promoting a video response to Coke's "Coming Together" spot that addresses they're role in the obesity debate (see it HERE). In the attack ad, Mr. Pemberton goes on to explain the what he claims to be truth behind coca-cola and their contribution to obesity.
Image to the channel below, and the "Honest Coca-Cola Obesity Commercial" above. I'm pretty sure this wont up for too long so share it quickly.


text: Brian Strickland - January 11, 2019 New Rangefinders for 2019 Sig Sauer KILO2200LRH BDX Rangefinder (Jeff Phillips photo) Shooting a bow at big game is largely about confidence, and one of the key elements in building your confidence when it's time to touch the release is knowing the exact distance of approaching game. Today's rangefinders have it all. Whether you're taking the shot from a steep ridge down to unsuspecting game or shooting long distances when half-yard increments are important to making the killing shot, rangefinders really have become an essential tool for bowhunters. Here are some new options available this year that are worth taking a look at.Bushnell NitroNo rangefinder product guide would be complete without including Bushnell, and their latest advancement is the Nitro. Besides having the ability to provide accurate reading out to a mile, the feature-rich Nitro also incorporates Bushnell's exclusive Angle Range Compensation (ARC) technology that provides the true horizontal distance; Brush Mode that is designed to ignore brush and tree branches in the foreground; Bullseye Mode which acquires ranges of small targets without inadvertently measuring background target distances and when more than one object is acquired, the closer of the two objects is shown on the LCD display and the typical Scan Mode. The Nitro's forged polymer armor housing and EXO Barrier coating repels rain, snow, oil, dust and debris.Halo XL500Halo has been spitting out affordable rangefinders for years, and this season they do it once again with the XL500. As the name suggests, the ergonomic XL500 offers an accurate reading out to 500 yards, and with the clear 6x magnification you won't have any issue zeroing in at longer dis-tances or having too much magnification for those chip shots. Its standard mode provides quick reading with a single push of the button, while the scan mode flashes readings quickly as you move from target to target. To top it off, this water-resistant unit encompasses Angle Intelligence technology, so you'll know the precise pin to use regardless of the angle.Hawke Endurance SeriesWith three models to choose from, the new Endurance series from Hawke will meet the needs of bowhunters and gun hunters alike. With the development of OLED technology, the Endurance se-ries offers a fully multi-coated 6X optical system with an adjustable diopter display that features red illumination icons. This provides extremely high light transmission with true color capabilities that not only give you a precise yardage reading, but does so regardless of the angle or rain condi-tions. Water- and fog-proof, the Endurance series has a durable ergonomic feel and is available in 700m, 1000m and 1500m versions. Sig Sauer KILO2200LRH BDXThe Sig Sauer KILO2200LRH BDXRangefinder is the ideal unit for the crossover hunter who spends time in thefield with both a bow and rifle in hand. Working in conjunction with Sig'sSIERRA3 BDX rifle scope, the KILO2200LRH utilizes Ballistic Data Xchange (BDX)to automatically illuminate a holdover dot in the scope for those long distanceshots. Simply download the SIG BDX app on your Android or iOS smartphone, pairthe rangefinder and riflescope together via bluetooth, set up a basic ballisticprofile and you're ready to hunt. Just range as you normally would, and theKILO BDX rangefinder will utilize its onboard Applied Ballistics Ultralight toinstantly show you where you need to hold for the shot. The KILO2200LRH BDX isalso equipped with AMR (Angle Modified Range) to give true horizontal distancesand the HyperScan mode provides distance readings 4times per second as you scan across targets. The SpectraCoat antireflectioncoatings on the 7x25mm optics ensures superior light transmission and clarity,while the Lumatic OLED display automatically adjusts intensity levels to matchthe lighting conditions. Maximum range on reflective targets is a whopping 3,400yards and with deer and other game the maximum range is1,300 yds. GET THE NEWSLETTER Join the List and Never Miss a Thing. Sign Me Up


text:
Documents required for Residency. How do I get them?
General Information
So you need a police report from a distant country?
I can advise you through the process of obtaining each and every police report from countries which issue them (very few do not, North Korea springs to mind !). Whether from Australia, China, Seychelles or any other country let me assist and guide you on the police certificate and the legalising process to make your application for residency all that easier. The same applies for marriage or birth certificates, often couples travel to distant romantic foreign beaches for their wedding, well I can help you to get that certificate as well.
UK Fast track Apostille Service
If time is of the essence and you are not in the UK I can get the Apostille for you in the UK on a same day service for any UK certificate and couriered then directly to me. This avoids having the certificate sent back to you from the issuing authority and then you sending for Apostille back in the UK who will then send back to you after 10 to 14 days. Please ask me for this service it is a great time saver.
Specific Instructions for UK Certificates
Please use this link which is the ACRO form. I recommend you use the premium service which should see it processed in 3-4 days
The ACRO link covers all of the UK including Northen Ireland.
Specific Instructions for UK Certificates
You can apply from overseas, when it asks for proof of residential address it can be any where outside the UK, it is simply to prove that the applicant is who he claims to be. If you do have family or friends in the UK I would advise you use that address and request that upon receipt they send the document to Milton Keynes for Apostille. This is just to save time and postage.
Milton Keynes is the only place in the UK that processes Apostille stamps and it must be done either directly by post, or by using one of the many companies around Milton Keynes to do that for you. Processing time is a matter of days. Please follow this link for instructions:
Please note that Milton Keynes can courier directly to any address overseas and the charges are much cheaper than having the family or friend send it.
For marriage, birth and death certificates from the UK you can order online here:
Please remember that these certificates too need to be Apostillised at Milton Keynes.
List of Hague Convention countries.
I have reproduced this link as a guide from the official Hague Convention website. IF your country is not on that list you will require the Consular Legaisation route as explained below:
For Consular Legalisation which was required from every country before the Hague Convention on Apostilles simplified it, Andorra simply does not have Embassies or Consular officials outside these valleys. The protocol under the "Co-Principality" with France and Spain is that their Embassies and Consulates look after the external affairs of Andorra. In some countries around the world Embassy staff are not even aware of this so it may take a little explanation at times just like Schengen exemptions !
Sample Consular Legalisation Stamp where the red stamp is the Embassy of France in Canada - click to enlarge
Specific Instructions for FBI and USA Certificates (all links correct as at March 2020)
Obtaining the FBI Identity History Summary Check ( FBI Police Certificate)
Immigration requires that if you were either born in the USA, or apply with a USA passport, or sometimes if your last country of residence is the USA, then you will require an FBI police report (now known as an identity history summary check). Please note for the purposes of immigration a State police certificate Apostillised or not Apostillised is not acceptable.
USA citizens and permanent residents can either apply directly to the FBI or may use a system of approved channellers who are authorised to process your fingerprints and documentation on your behalf.
USA citizens and permanent residents can either apply directly to the FBI or may use a system of approved channellers who are authorised to process your fingerprints and documentation on your behalf.
Please note to use a channeler you must be in the USA and the secure PDF certificate can be with you the very next day. If you apply directly to the FBI it will take 16 weeks currently. If you are a USA citizen or a Permanent Resident and intend to apply for residency please contact me first, this saves a huge amount of time.
Obtaining the Apostille of a Federal document in the USA.
Once you have received back your FBI certificate and they will only send the FBI certificate to an address in America you must then send off the document to be Apostillised at the U.S. Department of State, Authentications Office. There are companies available in Washington to do this for you, an example is here, please follow this link:
Once these documents have been obtained and stamped as required it is always best to email them to me for preliminary approval at Immigration here in Andorra. Please remember also that you have 3 months from the date of the FBI police certificate, NOT the date of the Apostille, otherwise you will need to repeat the whole process again to be accepted in Andorra. This is a major reason why you may need to use the system I have set up to get the certificate easily and quickly.
Apostillisation of Marriage Certificates, Birth Certificates, Divorce Certificates and other documents which are required for Andorran Residency from the USA.
All certificates including but not limited to Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Divorce Certificates etc must be apostillised in the State in which they were issued, and do not require to be sent to The Department of State, Authentications Office in Washington.
Once these documents have been obtained and stamped as required it is always best to email them to me for preliminary approval at Immigration here in Andorra. Please remember also that you have 3 months from the date of all certificates ( except birth certificate), NOT the date of the Apostille, otherwise you will need to repeat the whole process again to be accepted in Andorra.
I have contacts in America that can get each and every certificate and get them Apostillised.
General Advice on Apostilles
Each country has its own procedure for issuing certificates and for apostillising them or for legalising them. Whilst I cannot on this website give details and procedures for all countries, I can offer this general advice:-
Identify which documents you are going to require for your residency application in your specific circumstances.
Identify which documents you are going to require for your residency application in your specific circumstances.
Find out how these can be obtained by your country's authorities and apply.
Find out whether your country is a party to the Hague Convention which allows the Apostille stamp to legalise the document for use in Andorra. (See the tables below and find out whether your country is a party to the convention):#
- If your country is a party to the convention, find out who is the issuing authority and how to submit your documents for the Apostille stamp.
- Ensure your documents are either in English, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish (in some but not all cases in German)
IF the documents cannot be obtained in any of these languages they must either go for OFFICIAL translation and be notarised as such in your country, and then BOTH the original document AND the official notarised translation must be Apostillised.
Alternatively the original documents can be Apostillised without a translation but then officially translated in Andorra. This alternative should be used depending on the language and only if it is impossible to obtain notarised translations in your country.
All of this may sound complicated but in most cases is quite straight forward and I am here to guide you.
If Your Country is not a Party to the Hague Convention
If your country is not a party to the convention you will need to find out which department is responsible for legalising documents for use in other jurisdictions, normally the Department for Foreign Affairs, or Ministry of the Exterior, and then:-
The same procedure for translations should be applied as if being Apostillised.
The same procedure for translations should be applied as if being Apostillised.
After the correct legalising stamp has been appended the documents (and official translations if done) must then be presented to the Embassy of Spain OR France in your country for their stamp to be added. This is a most important additional step not required for Apostilles. The Embassies of Spain and France look after the interests of Andorra overseas, although on some occasions this needs to be explained to them !!
In all cases I recommend to applicants to e-mail me the documents for approval in advance from Immigration. I can also assist with your questions, and please if in any doubt contact me as this is a vital step in your application and if the wrong stamp is applied it WILL be rejected AND you will need to resubmit the documents when corrected.


text:
Dick Veerman (1963) is the moderator of Foodlog, the leading Dutch community in news and opinion on food, agriculture & society. Veerman is considered an independent sharp mind on nutrition, food marketing, food politics, and the role of civil society and government in policy making.
He was trained as a philosopher and linguist in Utrecht and Paris. Veerman started out his professional career as a strategist in the financial services industry (1988) and moved over to consulting in databased marketing (1995). A severe illness forced him to slow down in 1999; he completely recovered using a gentech based drug. In 2005, he founded Foodlog, one of the few interactive news sites that succeeds in keeping the conversation going while having impact on society.
Two live interviews* with Dick: at Ikon's OBA Live (March 2013, by Mieke Spanish) and Café Weltschmerz (May 2016, by Catherine Schrama). In Fork (March 2018) he spoke out about the conversation in society: We do not question each other.
*Both interviews are Dutch spoken


text:
We're on a quest to find the next "it" artist. So, who better to ask than a few of the District's most prominent and well-versed art influencers? Armed with a wealth of knowledge, the following trailblazers, all of who are curating, creating, organizing and leading the pack in DC's art scene, share who are among their favorite rising artists.
Consider yourself now in the know.


text:
Min 2 years of experience of entire Mobility Solution Life Cycle on native applications and Hybrid application development would be an add-on. Sound knowledge in Android Building Blocks (Activity, Services, Content Providers and Broadcast Receivers),. Should have sound knowledge in parsing XML and JSON Parsing. Good knowledge on Data Structures, Sound Knowledge on OOPs Knowledge and experience in web technologies XML, HTML5, CSS and REST, SOAP, JSON, SQLite. Experience in MVP architecture and Android ORM (Object-relational mapping) Familiarity with one or more of the cross platform application development IDE/tools Appcelerator Titanium Studio, JQuery Mobile will be a plus. Ability to learn new technologies Cross Platform App Development, Mobile Platforms, SDK Having valid Indian passport would be add-on Team handling experience is must. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Be a part of development team working on innovative mobility applications for FarmERP and other challenging projects. Be playing a critical role in design, development and deployment . Fast prototyping of proof-of concept features / application based on brief. Develop and maintain advanced features on Mobile Application environment. Manage the delivery of working piece of application Optimizing performance for the applications Keep up to date on the latest industry trends in the mobile technologies Design and build advanced applications for the Android platform Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define, analyze, design, and ship new features. Work with outside data sources and API's. Unit-test code for robustness, including edge cases, usability, and general reliability.. Work on bug fixing and improving application performance.. Continuously discover, evaluate, and implement new technologies to maximize development efficiency.
Android SDK Android Development Windows Mobile Development Android SDK


text:
Wednesday Stats!
-Average single family home prices are up 13% with the average 2018 price at $447000. 2017 was $394000
-Active single family listings are down 27% so if you are still working with your Realtor….don't give up. Inventory is WAY down!
-Apt condo prices are up 18% from 2017
-Patio home prices are up 11% from 2017
-Lots prices are up a whopping 53% from 2017
-Townhouse prices are up 15% from 2017
Feel free to contact me if you are looking to sell your home or buy a new one.


text:
Archive for Human Rights Insanity
The Justice FarcePosted in America, Britain, England, European Union, Human Rights, Muslim, News, People's Rights, Political Correctness, Prison with tags Crime, Criminals, Hanging, Human Rights Insanity, Prisons on 11/04/2017 by floroy1942
Some Governments Never LearnPosted in Britain, David Cameron, England, European Union, Human Rights, Justice, News, Police, Politics, Prison with tags British Justice, British Law, European Charter of Human Rights, Human Rights Insanity, Justice Ministry on 30/08/2014 by floroy1942
We all know that some governments can be pig-headed and never seem to learn the lessons of the past. Well, that is certainly true of the British government currently headed by David Cameron.
I read with great surprise yesterday that almost 1,000 prisoners had escaped from just one prison, HMP Sudbury since 1995. These include a murderer, burglars, men convicted of assault and fraudsters. Of these, twenty-four have never been recaptured because Derbyshire Police have only now released photo's of the escapees asking the public for help in catching them. In the intervening years their looks will have substantially changed so the chances of recapturing them are slim.
But really, 1,000 prisoners from just one prison, it makes you wonder what the total from all prisons is?
This report begs the question why was Mark Mackenner, who is serving a fifteen year sentence, sent to an open prison in the first place. Our open prisons are full of people like killers and serial rapists who should be kept in maximum security prisons, and not in low security prisons like Sudbury where they can just walk out through the front gate. There is something very wrong with our prison system.
To me it seems that we have become so lax in our handling of criminals, that it's a wonder we bother putting them in prison at all. Behind this fiasco of course is the Goody Goody Brigade and the Human Rights Laws that are strangling proper justice in Britain.
Because of these people we now have to send prisoners to so-called 'Open Prisons', and allow them unsupervised days in the local community 'to allow them to adjust to entering society again' when near the end of their sentence. At this point the inevitable happens and they do a runner!
This practice may be good for some criminals, but the one obvious solution is missing. Has the Justice Ministry never heard of Tagging?
In my view, no prisoner should ever take part in such a scheme unless he is willing to be electronically tagged so the authorities know exactly where he is at any given moment. Should any prisoner remove the tag, alarms will go off and the police immediately sent to the last known location to track him down. Any prisoner who does this should never be given the chance of day release again and be sent back to a maximum security prison to serve the rest of his sentence.
The big problem here is that once again the Goody Goody Brigade and the Human Rights nutters will complain that tagging infringes their Human Rights. Human Rights or not it would inevitably be cheaper than spending thousands of tax payer pounds in efforts to catch these runaways.
All these nonsensical rules about the handling of criminals has made us ultra-soft on crime, which I believe is one of the reasons why criminality is so rife in our society. Instead of making the punishment so hard that no-one would ever want to go back to prison we handle them with cotton-wool so as not to infringe their Human Rights!
The upshot of this approach means they just go out and do again what got them in prison in the first place. There is no deterrent in Justice today!
I strongly believe we should withdraw from all European Community Laws and rules that infringe on our sovereign justice system and get back to the old standards that have served our country well for generations. Only then will we be able to treat criminals the way they should be treated, and make them less likely to re-offend once they have served their sentence. These so-called 'Open Prisons' are a joke in anyone's language and should only be available for inmates during the last three months of their sentence, during which time they would be tagged whenever they go out into the community.
If the government do not make some hard choices very soon, we might as well turn all the prisons into youth clubs or old folks homes and give up on meting out justice.
The Squirrel and the Grasshopper – A Tale of Modern Times!Posted in Human Rights, Immigrants, Insanity, Modern World, MP's with tags Australia, Bleeding Hearts, Grasshopper, Human Rights, Human Rights Insanity, Insanity, Modern Times, Modern World, Nanny State, Politically Correct, Squirrel on 18/11/2009 by floroy1942
Does the following joke ring any bells? It should in today's world!
The Squirrel and The Grasshopper
The Rest of the World Version.
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs, dances, and plays the summer away.
Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter and dies out in the cold.
The End
The Australian Version.
The squirrel works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building and improving his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs, dances, and plays the summer away. Come winter, the squirrel is warm and well fed.
A social worker finds the shivering grasshopper, calls a press conference and demands to know why the squirrel should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like the grasshopper, are cold and starving.
ABC News shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper; with cuts to a video of the squirrel in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food.
The Australian press informs people they should be ashamed that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer, while others have plenty.
The Labour Party, Greenpeace, Animal Rights, and The Grasshopper Housing Commission of Australia demonstrate in front of the squirrel's house. The ABC, interrupting a cultural festival special from St Kilda with breaking news, broadcasts a multi cultural choir singing 'We Shall Overcome'.
Bill Shorten rants in an interview with Laurie Oakes that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his 'fair share' and increases the charge for squirrels to enter Melbourne city centre.
In response to pressure from the media, the Government drafts the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The squirrel's taxes are reassessed. He is taken to court, and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home, and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work.
The grasshopper is provided with a Housing Commission house, financial aid to furnish it, and an account with a local taxi firm to ensure he can be socially mobile. The squirrel's food is seized and re-distributed to the more needy members of society – in this case the grasshopper.
Without enough money to buy more food, to pay the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, the squirrel has to downsize and start building a new home. The local authority takes over his old home and utilise it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Australia as they had to share their country of origin with mice. On arrival they tried to blow up the airport because of Australians' apparent love of dogs.
The cats had been arrested for the international offence of hijacking and attempted bombing, but were immediately released because the police fed them pilchards instead of salmon whilst in custody. Initial moves to make them return to their own country were abandoned because it was feared they would face death by the mice. The cats devise and start a scam to obtain money from people's credit cards.
A 60 Minutes special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the Housing Commission house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain it. He is shown to be taking drugs. Inadequate government funding is blamed for the grasshopper's drug 'Illness'.
The cats seek recompense in the Australian courts for their treatment since arriving in Australia.
The grasshopper gets arrested for stabbing an old dog during a burglary to get money for his drugs habit. He is imprisoned but released immediately because he has been in custody for a few weeks. He is placed in the care of the probation service to monitor and supervise him. Within a few weeks he has killed a guinea pig in a botched robbery.
A commission of enquiry, that will eventually cost $10 million and state the obvious, is set up.
Additional money is put into funding a drug rehabilitation scheme for grasshoppers.
Legal aid for lawyers representing asylum seekers is increased.
The asylum seeking cats are praised by the government for enriching Australia's multicultural diversity, and dogs are criticised by the government for failing to befriend the cats.
The grasshopper dies of a drug overdose. The usual sections of the press blame it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity and his traumatic experience of prison. They call for the resignation of a minister.
The cats are paid $1 million each because their rights were infringed when the government failed to inform them there were mice in Australia.
The squirrel, the dogs and the victims of the hijacking, the bombing, the burglaries and robberies have to pay an additional percentage on their credit cards to cover losses, their taxes are increased to pay for law and order, and they are told that they will have to work beyond 65 because of a shortfall in government funds.
The End


text:
Sewer Line Replacement
Does your sewer line need to be replaced? Replacing a sewer line may be necessary if you are experiencing slow drainage or back-ups caused by blockages, roots, broken seals, broken cracked corroded or collapsed pipes. At Moyer, we realize that a fully function sewer line is not a luxury but an absolute necessity. Moyer's professional plumbers are fully trained and ready to restore the sewer line for your home.
Contact us today to get started!


text:
5 Things Every Dad Must Do For His Daughter
Let's face it Dad, YOU are the most important male role model your daughter will ever have. Every other male in her life will be measured by the yardstick you create. As a father of two daughters myself, I know this can be a scary proposition.
So it's up to us to make sure we are being a positive influence in our girls' lives. Not to minimize the role of Mom–their role is certainly just as important. But Dads, we have a unique responsibility to help our daughters mature into the confident, productive, and lovely women God has planned for them to be.
I just finished reading a free ebook called "5 Things Every Kid Must Get From Dad." It was written by the good people at Fathers.com, the same people who promote the WatchDOGS program in many of our area schools. It's an easy read with lots of good thoughts for dads regarding their relationships with both daughters and sons. If you'd like to download it for yourself, simply click HERE. And just so you know, I plan on posting the 5 things every dad must do for his son too—we can't leave the boys out!
So, in my own words, here are 5 pieces of advice the book gives us Dads regarding daughters:
1) She needs you to give her words of comfort.
Dad, all our precious angels are going to screw up eventually and those times will provide us with teaching moments. But not the ones we usually assume. There will be a time and a place for lectures, but this is not it.
Instead, this is the time to teach our girls there is nothing they will do that will make us stop loving them. Her mistake is the perfect opportunity to teach grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Sure there will be consequences for her actions but she will learn more from those consequences if she knows you are on her side.
2) She Needs to Know You Think She Is Beautiful, Inside and Out.
The image your daughter forms of herself during her growing years will influence every aspect of her life—her grades, her choice for a husband, her career path, even her health. So if you want her to develop a healthy self-image and succeed at life, you've got to let her know you believe in her.
One crucial area she will need your help in is body image. Give her affirmation that her perceived imperfections don't make her inferior, they make her unique. Above all never criticize her body shape or physical appearance but rather encourage her to live a healthy lifestyle.
And even more important is to verbally appreciate her sense of humor, compassion, giftedness, intelligence, courage, and personality. She needs the first important man in her life to value her for who she is instead how she looks.
3) She Needs You to Cast a Positive Vision Without Placing Expectations.
Your daughter needs to be confident enough to shoot for the stars but secure enough to know you'll be proud of her even if she only reaches the moon. Help her find and excel at the things she is good at and enjoys doing. Even better—participate in those activities with her.
But beware of placing unreasonable expectations on her. Nothing will kill her confidence faster than believing she is a failure because she didn't come in first, didn't make an "A", or didn't live up to your example.
And think about this, one benefit of building her confidence is that once she recognizes the potential in herself, she won't have to find a Mr. Right to feel complete. Instead she'll be able to spot the young man who appreciates the rare person God made her to be and who values the qualities you helped develop.
4) She Needs You to Protect Her, and Not Just Physically.
The world is a scary place. There are a lot of forces out there that want to destroy your little girl. Be on the lookout for influences that lead to a destructive lifestyle or world-views that don't match what you know to be Godly. They can take the form of inappropriate friendships/relationships, authority figures, pop culture, music, or entertainment–anything that opens doors to values contrary to God's.
And Dad, this is your opportunity to shine. Not necessarily by fighting her battles for her but instead by helping her build her own defenses even before these influences begin to creep near. Teach her to be an independent thinker and to prove all things for herself. Instruct her how to handle situations involving strangers, peer pressure, and authority.
You won't always be around. But the lessons you provide will remain with her for a lifetime.
5) She Needs You to Walk the Fine Line.
There are a lot of shades of gray in this world. She is going to be looking to you to help figure out where she should draw her own personal lines.
To do this she needs your input on issues like sex, drugs, alcohol, modesty, materialism, and placing herself in undesirable situations. Help her develop the skills of discernment and of making wise choices in life.
And of course as a father, you are going to need to set some limits for her until she strikes out on her own. Eventually this will lead to discipline—something she will desperately need. But remember discipline should be used as a tool to teach, not a weapon to belittle. It's not about your image as a father. It's about helping her identify her own boundaries.
Can you think of other things dads MUST do for their daughters? It would especially be awesome to hear from those who have grown daughters—any pointers you can share from having been there, done that?
Live The Mission,


text:
The biomass volume tables and the default biomass stock as well as growth rates are often estimated considering only the merchantable or commercial volume. Estimating only the commercial component of the tree biomass, which is largely the main tree trunk, may be adequate for industrial roundwood producers. However, for estimating carbon stocks and changes for climate change mitigation projects and greenhouse gas inventory estimation, all the above-ground biomass including twigs and branches and even leaves needs to be estimated. To convert merchantable tree volume into total biomass, biomass conversion and expansion factors (BCEF) are used (IPCC 2006). Biomass conversion and expansion factors expand dry weight of the merchantable volume of above-ground biomass or growing stock to account for non-merchantable components of the tree, stand and forest. Such factors can also be developed for local tree species by harvesting trees and estimating the proportion of merchantable and non-merchantable components. Default BCEF values are also available in literature (IPCC 2006). The factors can be estimated using the following broad steps at a species level or for a given forest type:
Step 1: Select tree species or the forest type for determining BCEF Step 2: Adopt the sampling method described for estimating above-ground biomass from the harvest method Step 3: Select at least 30 trees of a given species or a mixture of species for a selected forest type
Step 4: Cut the trees to the base and segregate the above-ground tree into the main tree trunk or the merchantable bole and the remaining tree components such as tapering tree stems, branches and twigs Step 5: Estimate the volume of the merchantable tree component and the remaining biomass using methods described for the harvest method (Section 17.1.1) and extrapolate the estimate obtained from the trees and sample plots to a per hectare value. Step 6: Estimate BCEF by calculating the ratio (BEF) of total volume to merchantable volume and multiplying by density:
BEF = (Total volume of trees/ha)/(merchantable volume of trees/ha) BCEF (in t/m3) = BEF x density (t/m3)
BCEF can be estimated for a given species, a forest type consisting of multiple tree species and young or mature plantations or forests.
Biomass expansion factors (BEF) could be used if a biomass equation provides the merchantable biomass (t/ha) directly. BEF expands the dry weight of the merchantable volume of the growing stock to account for non-merchantable components of trees.
Total biomass can be estimated in two ways depending on the units of merchantable biomass estimates (as volume in cubic metres or in tonnes per hectare).
Total biomass (t/ha) = (total merchantable biomass (t/ha)) x BEF
Total biomass (t/ha) = merchantable biomass in volume (m3/ha) x BCE
Was this article helpful?
What you need to know about… Project Management Made Easy! Project management consists of more than just a large building project and can encompass small projects as well. No matter what the size of your project, you need to have some sort of project management. How you manage your project has everything to do with its outcome.
What is the biomass convension expansion factor (bcef)?