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Virtual reality gained a lot traction and public attention this year. High end systems like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive cater to the technophile crowd willing to spend their paychecks to create holodecks and dreamatoriums at home. For the mobile user, Google Cardboard offers simplified virtual reality through affordable visors. Unfortunately, most of the games offered for this controller-less platform are also quite simplified: Gaze steering; sight shooting; passive watching… However, virtual reality game immersion can not be based on a single gimmick.
Block Blaster VR starts by exposing you into a storyline of how you are born.
This is where Block Blaster VR differentiates itself from the rest. Your story starts as you hatch from an egg and discover your eye blast powers. Quite convenient, since you'll be staring at things to explode them in typical VR shooter manner, starting with that egg shell. But not two levels afterwards, you face your first logic challenge: Destroy more blocks than you have moves for. The VR shooter gimmick turns into a puzzle game, and you overcome that challenge using connect-the-dots and match-the-colors approach. Few levels later, it asks you to reach a minimum score. You have to account for the gravity physics of the blocks to reach the ones hidden in the background, and plan carefully which colors to sacrifice to daisy-chain even more blocks into larger explosions.
Blocks turn into cylinders, then into spheres, jeeps, and tanks.
As the game progresses it becomes more difficult. Interestingly, it becomes challenging not just by making the levels harder, but more importantly, different from each other. The geometry of the blocks change configurations, and even the blocks themselves change from simple cubes to bombs, tanks and pizzas. The perspective also evolves: you stand, you walk, you float… and you eventually fly. Which should be natural since you're playing a dragon trying on a mission of discovery and revenge.
It's rare to me to see a puzzle game with an actual plot. The mix between gameplay and storytelling in a mobile game is quite refreshing. And it addresses one of the barriers of entry to virtual reality: you need to be emotionally invested to immerse yourself in a virtual world.
You get to defend friends make along the way from harm
Even successful VR games lack appealing storylines. It might be in part because stories are long, and the comfort level of wearing a VR headset decreases rapidly over time. Block Blaster VR addresses this by splitting the story in small chunks over the course of more than 60 levels. It can also be turned off for those players interested in the challenge rather than the story. Two shooting gallery challenge levels are included for them as well.
Shooter mode puts aside story mode to defend from attacks from all six sides.
We reached out to the indie game developer at Vehicular Elfslaughter, and asked him about the barriers that virtual reality poses for the mobile user. "People that own flagship smartphones don't even know that they're virtual-reality ready," he responded. "And if they do, most mobile VR games out there are demos or extremely short and disappointing. And they require the use of a Cardboard headset, but that's not usually necessary." The headset indeed enables virtual reality, but VR games could still be played in regular 3D mode by moving the phone or tablet in front of yourself while looking at it directly, allowing mobile users to get a glimpse of VR mode. With respect to the game's mix of shooter and puzzle genres, he commented "I just wanted to create something that wouldn't be boring to me, the developer, since I was going to play test each level two dozen times."
With so many barriers of entry to virtual reality, including cost, headsets, controllers, playability, boredom from repetition, length of play and lack of storylines, it's encouraging to see a game like Block Blaster VR address all of these concerns with a fun game that you can enjoy for a long time. With its unique mix of genres and gameplay, Block Blaster VR will definitely entertain you by testing your wits and skills. Block Blaster VR is currently available exclusively in Android for free, iOS support is currently planned. The shooter challenge and first 12 levels are free, the full game unlocks with an In-App purchase of just $1.99.


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As a child growing up you imagined your life one way. You kind of think it's just going to turn out that way. I mean from your point of view why wouldn't it, right?
Just as long as you do what is expected of you, you'll get what you expect in return. The only thing is, it's a little more complicated than that.
Unless you clearly know where you're going, you're not going to get to where you want to be. As a child you don't really know where you're going, all that is sorted out for you.
You go to school because you are required. You complete 2nd grade then you move on to 3rd. You don't look beyond that because you don't have to.
When you get to high school you contribute more input, you think a little further ahead. You tell your counselor what interests you then they pick from a list of preselected classes for you to take.
You end up selecting a profession based on your basic understanding of it or the results of an aptitude test. It's not really connected with your dreams or desires.
When I was younger I always saw myself owning a business, but I studied law in school. Why? Because I displayed the characteristics of a lawyer: persistence, good negotiator and the like.
I began taking legal classes, but not because I gave up on my dream of being a business owner. I just thought that one could turn into the other, but I wasn't clear on how.
Was I going to work up the corporate ladder and become a partner, maybe start my own law firm? Or simply save up my money and buy a business later? I wasn't sure. Not to mention the fact that I didn't even know if owning a firm was the type of business I wanted.
At the time, I didn't sort any of this out. I just knew that there were ways, so it wasn't impossible. That's all the info I thought I needed.
In the middle of applying for law schools I realized that it wasn't what I truly wanted to do. Just because you like doing something here and there doesn't mean you would enjoy making a living out of it. Sure, I love being right (who doesn't?) and proving my point but I don't want to argue all the time.
I had just been doing what I had to do, what was expected of me. But I didn't get what I expected.
There I was – a twenty-something with bills and a degree that was mostly unrelated to my dreams. So I did what everyone else does. I got a full time job to pay my bills.
For years I was working a dead end job that wasn't getting me any closer to my goals. And how would it? I barely remembered what my goals were. I got caught up with the daily activities of life that I didn't think too far beyond that.
Then it occurred to me that the things I was doing weren't helping me get any closer to my vision but I was helping someone else with theirs. Then I tried to figure out where I went wrong.
I always knew what I truly wanted to do but I wasn't clear on it. I needed a clear vision of the outcome so I could connect the dots.
So I used vision goal setting to put things back into perspective. It went something like this:
1. Writing helps
First I wrote out my vision. I typically tried to keep things in my head but it just made things confusion and added to the stress of trying to remember the details. Writing things down made it easier to sort through.
I described what I wanted to have or to become. At first this can be difficult, putting all your dreams to words and trying to make sense of it. Just jotting down the basic ideas then adding to them later ensures that you have everything out and covered.
I simply wrote about the things I wanted. That's it. No language about what I didn't want. If I thought about something I didn't like, I wrote about what I wanted instead.
I didn't have time to focus on the negative. I felt like I had spent plenty of time on that already. Besides that's not what this was about.
2. See it
I focused on one part of my life, in this case my job. I visualized how I wanted it, which was basically how I had written it.
It made me feel good. I got excited and happy. That's how I knew I was on the right track.
Previously with the whole lawyer thing I didn't feel that way at all. Not that it made me feel bad. I just wasn't thrilled about it. I definitely didn't want to live the rest of my life feeling blah.
3. Adjustments
While figuring out my career aspirations were pretty simple, my home life was a bit different. I never really thought about the details of it before.
Of course I wanted to have my own home but what I thought I wanted didn't feel right.
Townhouses always appealed to me but something just wasn't right. The vision of that didn't do anything for me. So I had to make some changes.
I realized that I had grown out of that ideal. It would have worked great for a certain situation, but I just didn't see myself in it. I found something else that better suited me.
4. Daily review
This was probably one of my biggest early mistakes. I would dream of something, think about a goal and never revisit it. I couldn't come up with a plan of action because it was treated as a passing thought.
Even if I knew what to do, it was only a few steps, not a clear plan. Then when I did things that I didn't want to do that were related, I would stop or procrastinate. It was easy to do this because I forgot why I was doing it, why I needed to follow through.
Constantly reviewing my vision and how I would get there made it easier to work on each step. It reminded me what to do next and the progress I made so far.
If you want your life to reflect your goals, especially if you want a life that is different from the one you have now, you need to have a clear vision. Having a clear image of your outcome makes it easier for you to actively work towards achievement.
Constant review of them keeps it on the forefront of your mind. This makes you less likely to get caught up in the rigmarole that becomes everyday life.
I'm so happy I figured it out, although some help would have been nice. Without doing this I wouldn't have realized what I really want to do.
After assessing my desires I discovered the link between what I was doing and what I wanted to do, helping people. The former just wasn't the way I enjoyed.
Now I help in a more meaningful way and I'm living up to the vision of my prophetic younger self.
How did you picture your life when you were young? Are you living that way today? Are you where you thought you'd be?
Some Amazing Comments
Click The Book Cover Below Pre-order Steven Aitchison's new book The Belief Principle: 7 Beliefs That Will Transform your Life

subset: commoncrawl


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Some of the Oldest Trees in the World: Bristlecone Pine, White Mountains, California
Beth Moon has travelled the world photographing our oldest living Trees. I grew up with an estimated 300 year old oak in my back yard, and it taught me to appreciate beautiful old trees.
Check out more of Beth Moon's Photography. And please do what you can to preserve old growth forests.


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» DeepIRC News
DeepIRC News
ID: 22 Posted by: Ally Date added: 18:08:45 14.08.08
Topic: #News Channel with RSS Feeds
As, on the news written before, we started our own RSS Feeds for News around DeepIRC and our DeepServices, we now revived an old Friend.
Our News Channel. Well it will not be like the old one that only announced News from our Forums, moreover it will be a Channel that has RSS Feeds from different providers and categories.
There are as for example included providers like, Slashdot.org, Computerbase, Heise, Heise Security, the Discovery Channel, N24, Bild, 4Players, T-Online Computer, Computerbild and of course our own Feeds from the Homepage, our Services and Forums.
The News will be announced directly on the channel with an headline and a link to the full News article.
You can of course use triggers like !rss deepirc to get the latest 3 News from the respective providers.
In this way you can read missed News from all categories.
We hope that you enjoy this new Service and you will use it by joining the Channel #News.
Have fun.
Your DeepIRC Team


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Robert Bob Edwards is an American broadcast journalist, a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. He gained reputation as the first host of National Public Radio's flagship program, Morning Edition.
Starting in 2004, Edwards then was the host of The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio and Bob Edwards Weekend distributed by Public Radio International to more than 150 public radio stations. Those programs ended in September 2015.
© 2020 BQOTD. All rights reserved.


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Some of the denizens of Slashdot do not feel that my AMC column today is in the least bit entertaining. Please enjoy the angry angry comments (and, of course, the less angry, more amused ones as well). I do hope AMC's servers don't melt.
84 thoughts on "They Are NOT Amused"
Ars Technica has a discussion going as well: http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/34709834/m/406009601041
This is the first time I've seen one of your AMC columns being discussed in the wild. And yes, it does appear to be hurting AMC's servers.
Well, that didn't take long. I can't get to the AMC column. Looks like their servers may have melted under the heat of fan boy nerdrage.
Note that there has been some amusingly poorly-thought-out criticism of your own design choices:
I like Star Wars, and I still appreciate the article.
Some of those comments make me want to say, "Dude, it's a movie!"
Well, AMC ought to be happy ! You must have generated the biggest number of hits for any column they had…
And, sorry Star Wars fans, but you need to develop thicker skins.
I thought your column was hilarious and, uh, so what? Much of what Lucas throws into that movie is for visual purposes, not functional purposes.
My favorite:
"I think by the time you're writing an article about design failures in Star Wars … you're already beyond just the risk of insanity."
Took me three tries to get the page to load – High traffic?
At any rate, I was highly amused, and I liked the original trilogy.
Well sir, I believe you've been slashdotted… I guess I'll leave a snarky comment later after I've been able to get to the article. :P
Glad to see that shipment of gasoline and matches made it to Ohio safely, John.
you didn't even mention my favorite bit of bad SW tech — the manually operated turbolaser batteries in ANH (a.k.a. 'why every enterprise vs. star destroyer argument was doomed to failure from the start — you gotta be able to see something if you wanna hit it…'.)
oh, and all those sounds that you hear from craft flying around in space? huh…
though i will say this — i kinda give SW a pass on a lot of this because it's nothing more than a fantasy movie using SF iconography (and if you start thinking of it in terms of a rather archetypal fantasy story, it actually feels less problematic.)
star trek, otoh…
@11: Of course Scalzi is beyond the edge of insanity. How else could he ever write The Android's Dream, or Agent to the Stars?
But he has a wife to keep him from getting too far past that edge. So we will allow him his "eccentricities."
I got to the article before the fanboys on /. got to work and started reading it, and I agree with it. There are some serious flaws there. That didn't stop me from liking all 6 movies. There are glaring flaws in the green soldier trilogy, but that didn't stop me from liking all the books. A lot. It's science fiction, slashdotters.
Speaking as somebody who played Han Solo for two and a half years on Star Wars MUSH, Mr. Scalzi, your article made me LOL. I'm just sayin'! ^_^
You missed the biggest design flaw in the lightsabers. It's not just the "missing handguard." It's the fact that they are activated by an *UN-SAFETIED EXTERNAL SWITCH*. And they're hung, swinging freely, from the Jedi's belt.
"Reason there is Jedi cannot love. Find out you will."
I like Star Wars, flaws and all. The article did zero to diminish that. The Star Trek one will be the same way.
Oh, my, my, my. I think your article has upset someone.
I was most amused by the comments attacking the quality of the writing of your article.
My first thought being: "And how many of you have paid writing gigs?"
Anyway, good job on stirring up the internets again!
This about covers it.
Taunting the Tauntable since 1998
John Scalzi, Proprietor
JJS #18: Absolutely. It takes one to know one! ;-)
Christopher #21: Sure, considering that Star Wars survived George Lucas's Episodes I-III, it can survive a little taunting.
There's one comment there that's starts out as a spirited defense, gets a bit less passionate as it goes on and then ends with "Lucas is dead to me for that mitichlorians crap."
I feel like a better person for reading that one.
re: Midichlorians – I had a friend who once worked as an editor for a Star Wars magazine, and everything had to be canon approved. Anyway, he got an awesome story in about black market midichlorians and injections and so on, and the word back from on high was to bounce the story. Presumably because such a story would telegraph one of the flaws in the story building. Sigh.
I thought the article was awesome. Can't say I'm surprised at the reaction over on Slashdot. Commenters there tend to be extreme nitpickers and are often over-enamored with themselves.
Keep up the great work. I can't wait for the Star Trek version. :)
Having just introduced my almost 6-yr-olds to the original three movies (in the unadultered form) and thus having seen each multiple times in the past two weeks….Yes! These and other flaws are rather glaring, though the movies are still a heck of a lot of fun.
What I want to know, is it a Jedi power to miraculously show up just in the nick of time? Luke does this no less than three times in Return of the Jedi: Hours before Yoda's death to get a few last pearls of wisdom; in the middle of the Rebels meeting just in time to be the last volunteer for General Solo's mission, and of course escaping the Death Star right before it blows up.
Re: slashdot: I love the spirited, detailed defenses of the films as well as the ones poking fun. What I hate are the snide "Shut up, it's just a movie" comments these kind of discussions always attract–as if that's some kind of revelation to the participants. I mean, Shut up, yourself. It's just people amusing themselves on the internet.
Scalzi obviously wrote that article (and the veiled threat against Star Trek) as a way to put pressure on AMC: "Are you gonna pay up, or am I gonna have to crush your servers under another pile of nerds?"
IMO, the first two Star Wars movies just about worked — fun adventure romps, but kind of deficient in the world-building department. But with "Return of the Jedi" they fell off a cliff, bounced several times, and went for a swim in the Swamp of Suckitude — since which time they've got their sucky snorkel on and are going for nitrogen narcosis.
(Mind you, I hate Star Trek, Dr Who, Buffy, Firefly, all TV SF series and most SF movies with a vitriol-dripping venom like unto an Alien queen's saliva …)
As for Slashdot, welcome to the chimpanzees tea party! Just try not to pay too much attention, lest it rot your brain.
#14 eviljwinter: (However, you also earn more than minimum wage and get to make this stuff up for a living, so feel free to pour yourself a nice big cup of smug.)
You beat me to the punch (or post). A lot of these insta-haters may have mentioned things like this while giving the films the MST3K treatment at some point (unless they're too tight-assed to do even that), but hey, John got 2,000 now, and 15 when he reached Alderaan, to write 'em up, and well to boot.
(Oh, BTW, John, you didn't really fall for that "I'll pay you the rest when you reach Alderaan" line, did you? 'Cause, well, Alderaan . . . oh, boy.)
Years ago I read an article written from the point of view of an in-universe union safety inspector blowing the whistle on the horrible working conditions on the Death Star: no safety railings around chasms, high-powered laser beams with no shielding, etc. It was awesome.
So, um, a case of this:
Felt a disturbance in the Force, eh? C'mon, man, do I always have to be the one to make the obvious jokes here? Sheesh.
This is pretty funny though. I love watching fanboys squirm. I love BattleTech/Mechwarrior universe with an undying passion, but I'm not going to stand around and argue about the economics of a two story tall WALKING assault machine.
Wow, John riles up the weenie fans, and then Charlie goes after the hardcore quality ones.
This makes me quiver in anticipation for what Cory, Neil, and Neal will do to one-up you all now.
While I enjoyed the Star Wars article, and look forward to the Star Trek edition … yeah, deadline pressure would indeed be the best justification for such easy and well-trod ground. So let me just say I hope you find something *new* to point out about Bad Star Trek Design. That would be fun. (If there's still an amc.com by then.)
I liked the article.
I like it even more now that I've learned it's pissed the Slashdotters off.
So when is your "Why Linux is not ready for the desktop" article coming out?
Well, I howled. And I particularly cherish the comment "The failure mode of science fiction is NOT "fantasy," it is "bad science fiction." That one gets written on the Wall of Great Pithy Sayings. (Someday, we'll find a pithier name for the Wall.)
I loved Nardo Pace too.
Just out of curiosity, Charlie, is there any media SF you DO like?
Slashdot: Proof positive that expertise in one area does not imply expertise in another area … and proof that many experts can remain blissfully unaware of the personal implications of that simple fact.
Since Star Trek is pretty much perfect, I'm sure that one's going to be quite short…perhaps you could do some items from your mailbag to fill the extra space?
I've found that there are still untapped veins of win and awesome in the Star Wars universe, but they appear to be outside the lifetimes of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. There's a lot of good work being done in the Knights of the Old Republic era (two excellent computer RPGs and an ongoing comic book series from Dark Horse), and Drew Karpyshyn's Darth Bane books (he was the writer on KOTOR, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect) are quite good.
I think one of the difficult things about Star Wars media tie-in fiction is that there's a tendency to try and cram the whole ensemble cast in. The best books I've seen from the era near the films are ones where an author had a chance to take a character or two and run with them, while the rest of the ensemble stayed in the background.
(I've been reading up on Star Wars lately since I'm prepping a role-playing game in that setting, and yes, much rationalization is required to result in a world where all those stylistic details make sense, or be jettisoned in favor of "the movie was exaggerating things for dramatic effect, like the starship accelerations".)
Mr. Scalzi,
You appear to have deliberately poked the Crazy with a pointy stick. Are you bored?
"Hmm – wonder what John could have said to attract so much ire?
"Oh my, HERESY!!!!"
Could have been worse – he could have criticised the science in Star Trek.
It's a story folks – not a religion.
(Note to self: do not go any further in that direction!)
#45 U.G.: Funny you mention Battletech. Years ago, I watched what looked like a well-tricked-out Battletech session—beautifully painted minis, hex mat nicely inked with terrain and hazards, etc.—grind to a screeching halt because one player vehemently objected to being told that the forested hex adjacent to his 'mech was on fire, and therefore was either inaccesible to movement, or threatened his heat sinks, or blah blah fun-killing blah. All I remember is that the game was utterly derailed by a point that an amicable coin toss could've resolved.
Since then, interjecting a whining, fanboyish "That hex is on fi-i-i-re!!" has been a macro in my circle for obstructive game-nitpickery.
My favorite part:
…one can say that a significant goal of all those Star Wars novels is to rationalize and mitigate the bad design choices of the movies…
and the response:
Nu uh! See the the Death Star was under construction and R2D2 was an autopilot and C3PO was gay and …
Uh, slashdotters, you're making Scalzi's argument for him. Generally that's considered a non-optimal tactic in a debate.
Who's this John Scalzi guy anyway? The dude obviously knows nothing about Science Fiction…
I love that those guys miss the *real* reason for the storm troopers armor–so the same stunt guys can be used in shot after shot.
And yeah, the Empire needed some kind of OSHA. Who would build all those high catwalks with no railings?
I reckon the Sarlacc might have lived on those big furballs the Tusken raiders roder around on. If they're stupid enough to fall into a giant hole. And isn't there something about it digesting for a thousand years? Suggests that they are long-lived and efficient utilizers of intermittent meals.
As far as C3PO's wiry abs go, I would just chalk that down to the desire for a world that isn't the usual perfect shiny sci-fi environment.
"Who would build all those high catwalks with no railings?"
Republican steelmill bosses.
Andy @59 – to some of the geeks on Slashdot, Star Trek and Star Wars are a religion. I'm a computer programmer and frequent reader of /. But there are some guys in there that scare me….
Meanwhile, I have to agree with John's belief of the stupidity of C3-PO's design. I've always wondered how he translates sign language. 6 million forms of communication, minus that one.
Harry Connolly: "And yeah, the Empire needed some kind of OSHA. Who would build all those high catwalks with no railings?"
An evil empire, of course.
I mean, they built this thing to destroy inhabited planets! Worker safety probably wasn't a big concern.
I guessing that when the Emperor dissolved the Senate, he probably also cut funding for OSHA, the FDA, the NTSB, the SEC, etc, etc. I mean, if you're going to pump up your military budget enough to build a moon-sized battle station, you've got to cut back somewhere, right?
John Scalzi @ 4:
In any event a general observation that there are design flaws in the OMW universe is unobjectionable. I can think of a couple myself, although of course I won't tell you what they are.
Well, yes… but am I the only person who can be remarkably tolerant of 'design flaw' if they serve, rather than hinder, telling an engaging and entertaining story?
I'm waiting for the upcoming additions to the back cover blurbs about the author. You know, the ones that will shortly have words similar to:
"…..who was able to bring two well known website servers to a complete halt just with the power of his observations on a couple of SF's most iconic movies and TV shows…."
Talk about the Force! And written somewhat (a lot) better than the above but along the same general line would really get the geeks attention and generally send book sales soaring.
Just a thought…..
That wasn't nearly as high a level of vitriol as I was expecting. Whew! :-)
Bearpaw @66, an Eeee-vile Empire wouldn't cut those programs to save money. They'd run huge deficites to that, just in case the tax-and-spend rebels regain power.
AMC must be loving all the attention. The worst sin committed against the Star Wars universe are ewoks, Episodes I, II, and III, and Jar Jar Binks. Satirical articles pointing out the lack of scientific thought/effort that goes into the design in these movies (form over function) has a lot of good material to work with. Suspension of disbelief takes on a new meaning when watching most of George Lucas's movies.
I think that we all have at one time in our lives enjoyed the original Star Wars Trilogy and articles pointing out logical flaws in the movie do nothing to diminish their appeal.
Thank you for the entertaining article and I look forward to the Star Trek Edition. A note of warninig: Please be sure to clarify between Trekkies and Trekkers… You don't want to be responsible for bringing down the internets… do you?
Wow, did I miss the bit where Scalzi said George Lucas financed his movies by selling crystal meth to children, then pimping them out to perverts on the internet. Oh, well, at least nobody implored him to stop raping their precious childhood memories…
my personal definition of "Trekker": someone who takes their love of Trek WAY WAY too seriously and expects you to as well. Me, I'm a Trekkie. Not all the episodes were good, but I'm a fan, not a nitpicker (usually.)
Yep, you tweaked a good percentage of the posters at Fark as well. Well done, sir.
Tom G@73:
Indeed — and I'm always highly impressed that Wil Wheaton turned out to be the big ball of well-adjusted win that he is after years of bitter and crazy strangers shitting on him in public regarding things he had precisely no influence over.
Oh, according to Wikipedia, I can be considered a "Niner" also.
How about an analysis of the religious and technological flaws in the Star Wars Christmas Special? You could extend your poking stick even further! (For me, poking fun at Star Wars is like poking fun at a good friend – I only make fun of you because I love you!)
I thought the article was hilarious, but I tend to lurk and waste mod points on Slashdot rather than take time to post, since /. is just FARK for "smart people".
It's 1030 at night on the West Coast and I still can't get in to read MRK'scolumn on AMC.
Sigh. Perhaps they'll go elsewhere tomorrow
This just might turn out to be bigger than when you stunned the blogosphere by taping bacon to a cat!
I read this blog and the AMC column on a very regular basis and I just gotta say that I laughed my ass off over this one!! I even sent the link to some family and friends that I know who would appreciate it. Looking forward to the Star Trek edition! :-D
I agree, Hannah. I suspect that Scalzi is going to have more fun than a basket of kittens taking apart Star Trek's approach to FTL spaceflight.
Just to put this in retrospect – episode IV Movie made in 1975-76, released June 1977 – I think the world worked really well then – geez the speeder on Tatooine was just outstanding – "real anti grav technology that works" kind of breakthrough moment….. and the first time the Millenium Falcon went to hyper drive, well it just didn't get better than that – relativistically speaking isn't that the first time we saw jump to light speed from the flight deck?? Star Trek just had stars moving by the view screen, no Einsteinian effects.
It was the 1977 WOW moments that counted – almost like sex the first time.
Now we can do the revisionism and get a good laugh. Bring on the Trek takedown, gotta have a testimonial to styrofoam boulders. (Just thinking – did transporter "mistakes" have to be hosed down to clean up the goo, or did Scotty just transport it back out to space?)
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Sebastian Brosche, Yoga Teacher, Norway
29 January 2017
There are no shortcuts when it comes to getting on your mat and practicing yoga. The power of your will is what will determine whether you make it or not. The power of this article however, is to help you build that unbreakable willpower and make yoga a habit.
It's that part of the day again. Time to do some yoga and recover from yesterday's jiu jitsu training. If you're already a Yoga for BJJ member, it's safe to presume that you sense how beneficial yoga can be for your BJJ practice. If you're a complete stranger to yoga, looking for ways to improve your mobility and flexibility to be able to train for as long as possible, look no further. Or perhaps you just happened to stumble upon this blog post as a human trying to get motivated for your yoga practice. In either case, this article will try to offer you a few tips and tricks to do just that – make yoga a habit.
"Where we decide to put our energy decides what we'll ultimately acomplish." Ryan Holiday
The goal is to help you stay consistent with your yoga practice no matter what kind of obstacles you might be facing. Our mind can be our worst enemy sometimes and lack of motivation can prevent us from being the best versions of ourselves possible. There is, however, a solution. It's not a magic trick, it's something that can be trained – it's called willpower.
Every one of us stumbles occasionally and experiences something called lack of motivation and we start to procrastinate.
Even though we're talking about yoga in this article, this can happen in pretty much any domain. It's completely normal to not feel like doing something on certain days, however, it's also completely achievable to fight through that. As author Ryan Holiday said: "nobody is born with a steel backbone" – with that referring to a person with extreme discipline. Of course having a steel backbone might be the reason why you're currently a Yoga for BJJ member or thinking about becoming one, but think of it as in terms of having an unbreakable will.
The goal here is to achieve a mindset that can't be broken by outside effects or your emotions. Developing a new habit is a difficult thing, no arguing in that. There's a threshold you have to get to and once you're past that threshold, you won't have to think about motivation anymore. It will feel natural to you as you will get used to spending a portion of your day on your yoga mat.
It's just like learning how to cook a new meal. The first time you're making it, you have to look at the recipe and follow it word by word, as you don't want to mess up. You have to get motivated to start cooking, but once the meal is finished you enjoy the benefits and feel quite satisfied (no pun intended). The next time, you probably still have that recipe nearby but you might deviate from it slightly as you adapt it to your needs. Finally, you discover you can make that meal whenever you want and that gives you confidence for making more complex meals. Before you know it, cooking feels natural to you as you're just satisfying your needs without having to think about it.
"No action should be undertaken without aim, or other than in conformity with a principle affirming the art of life." Marcus Aurelius
I know that the need to feed and the need to stretch can't be compared, but both are dealing with quite a few modern day distractions. Instead of cooking, you feel like ordering take-away. Or instead of cooking a healthy meal, you just feel like having a quick unhealthy snack. Instead of doing yoga, you decide to take a nap on the couch. Or you tell yourself that you'll do it tomorrow, and that tomorrow oddly never comes.
The problem usually arises when you overthink it and follow your emotions instead of your rational long term decisions. In occasions like this, you just have to persist a bit longer and before you know it, you'll be over that threshold and yoga will become a habit. If you catch yourself thinking about whether to do it or not and you start contemplating your life choices, chances are you're still not over that threshold. So keep going!
Willpower is something that needs to be trained to be able to use it as a tool to help you fight and overcome your daily obstacles. Just as you have to train jiu jitsu to improve (and earn your black belt) and train yoga to improve your mobility and flexibility, you also need to train your will/mind. It's not an easy thing to do, but here are a few tips that might help you strengthen your will and help you with getting on you mat on those particullarly challenging days.
Tip #1 – Think of the benefits
It helps if you clarify the reason why you decided to do more or less of something, in this case yoga. Generally if you're trying to improve something in yourself be that quitting smoking, trying to pull guard less often ( 😀 ) or practicing more yoga, what will push you towards achieving that goal will be the 'why'. I highly doubt that the reason why you decided to start doing (more) yoga is to harm yourself and your BJJ practice. You probably want to be more flexible and mobile during training and feel less sore after. If you really want to improve, reminding yourself why you're doing something will certainly help.
Tip #2 – Stay mindful
Use mindfulness to stay on track. So, whenever you're struggling with unproductive thoughts and you happen to catch yourself making excuses, just try to observe those thoughts and let them go. We tend to cling to negative thoughts and instead ofsimply letting them go, we feed on that negativity and that harms our productivity. So next time you're feeling lazy and start to make excuses why you don't feel like doing yoga that day – note that, perhaps write it down and do it anyways. You'll feel much better afterwards and you'll appreciate your persistence.
"No action should be undertaken without aim, or other than in conformity with a principle affirming the art of life." Marcus Aurelius
Tip #3 – Set goals
Setting goals is the next thing that you could do in order to assure yourself success and strengthen your willpower. Try to be reasonable while doing that though and start with something small – do it step by step. Everyone starts at a different starting point and there's no shame in starting as a rock. On a little bit of a side note, being frustrated with your current flexibility is wildly counter-productive and should be noted and avoided.
Yoga for BJJ has numerous programs suited for different levels of flexibility and mobility. If you're starting from scratch, start with the 10 day beginner program and practice 10 minutes per day for 10 days in a row. Continue with the startup week program and in case this one is a bit too challenging for you, try out one of the yoga for rocks programs. Then try out the foundation week program and increase the challenge (Take a closer look of our programs and their descriptions here). But wherever you start, make a commitment to yourself and decide to finish a selected program.
Tip #4 – Track your progress
Tracking your progress might be the best motivator when it comes to staying on track. Why would you stop doing something that clearly benefits you and makes you feel good? You probably won't be able to see the (slow) improvements and observe positive changes in your body/posture/flexibility/mobility when you'll look in the mirror. Taking photos in various poses over certain periods of time or filming your practice can come very handy in such instances, as you can literally keep an eye on your progress!
Tip #5 – Turn it into a habit
It's highly likely that once you'll get past those first few weeks of completed Yoga for BJJ programs, you won't want to stop. You'll want to do yoga more as your body will get used to it. You'll probably develop your set of favourite poses and you just won't be able to not fit those stretches in your daily schedule. Just like that, you'll develop a new habit and it'll get easier one day of yoga practice after another.
That is precisely why the most effort is required in the first week or two of doing yoga or anything with delayed gratification. Just like with jiu jitsu, if it were easy, everyone would do it. But we've known or we now know that with great persistence come great benefits.
To finish off, the next time you're feeling "unmotivated", come back to these five tips and hopefully they will help you get over those particularly difficult days and help you stay persistent with your yoga practice. Keep in mind that the level of improvement and progress you'll achieve is completely up to you and your willpower. If you're not willing to put in the work, you won't be able to reap the benefits. So go get your mat and get after it!
"He who knows these things, and in fighting puts his knowledge into practice, will win his battles. He who knows them not, nor practices them, will surely be defeated." Sun Tzu


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WE Scots have a unique sense of humour and this has translated into our way with words.
Our Scottish slang can confuse, amaze and amuse people in equal measure - and it varies between different parts of the country.
And it appears a Scots language website by the Scottish Government has confused those that use it most.
Language experts said some of the words on the site, including 'feckfupairt' and 'wirhameowerdaeinsan' did not exist.
One sentence on the site read: "Scots is aaroon us in wirhameowerdaeinsan it is a furthie, feckfupairt o Scottish culture the day."
Michael Hance, the director of the Scots Language Centre, told The Times: "It's clearly not been edited correctly as some words don't mean anything at all. Something has clearly got lost in translation somewhere along the line.
After the errors were brought to light, the Scottish Government vowed to correct them "at the earliest opportunity".
The news has inspired us to take a look at the most hilariously unique words in our Scottish vocabularly.
Take a look at our list below and maybe you'll learn some new words along the way.
Blether – Prounced to rhymn with tether. Meaning to have a conversation - as in "I met your granny doon the street and we had a right good blether."
Wheesht – A call for silence, especially children. Such as "Will ye wheesht, you pair! Ma heid's loupin."
Greet – To cry or weep, not to say hello. Such as "Stop greetin, it wasnae that sair."
Crabbit – Prounced krab-it . Meaning grumpy and bad tempered, such as "Yer a crabbit get, so ye are".
Eedjit – Pronounced ee-jit . Meaning idiot, simpleton, one not possessed of all their mental faculties, such as "Yer aff yer heid, ye eejit."
Mingin' - Meaning gross or disgusting, not nice to look at. Such as "He's absolutely mingin'!"
Swatch - Meaning to have a quick look at something. Such as "Gie us a swatch of yer paper."
Glaikit – Prounced gla-kit , meaning stupid, foolish or not very bright. An insult, such as "Wid ye look at the glakit look on his coupon (face)."
Aye right - A phrase used when you don't believe something that you are told.
Fouter – Pronouced foo-ter , meaning one who muddles through or a fiddly, tiresome job as in "This is a right fouter, this."
Peely wally – Meaning pale skinned due to lack of sunshine, something that applies to the majority of Scots, in Scotland.
Clatty - Meaning dirty, not clean. Such as "Yer hoose is pure clatty man."
Yaldi - An expression of excitement or joy. Such as "I just gubbed ye at FIFA. Yaldi!"
Taps aff - Meaning to remove one's shirt due to the slightest hint of sunshine.
Hoachin' - Meaning busy or heaving. Such as "The toon was hoachin' the day."
Hackett - Used to describe an ugly person. Such as "That bird fae the other night was pure hacket!"
Swally - Meaning an alcoholic beverage or slang version of "a swallow of."
Mad wae it - The art of being very drunk. Such as "Aw man, oot ma tree last night, Pure mad wae it!"
Geein me the boak - When something makes you feel sick. Such as "That curry wis pure mingin' man. It wis geein me the boak."
Chebs - Meaning when a woman shows off her chest. Used in similar term to Taps Aff, such as "Chebs oot!"
Patch it - Meaning to give something up or not doing something.
The dancin' - Meaning a nightclub. Such as "Ye goan to the dancin' at the weekend?"
Sound - Used to describe when something is cool, or that a person is okay. Such as "Did ye meet Wee Baz last night? He wis pretty sound."
Wean - The term for a child. Such as "How many weans huv ye got?"
Skelped - Meaning to slap someone. Such as "If you don't stop misbehavin' wee man, then yer gettin' skelped!"
Check out words that have a totally different meaning in Scotland with our gallery below.
And find out how the Glaswegian accent is the sexiest in the world, according to Americans .
For more laughs, visit our humour section .


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Author Affiliations: Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.
In the July 23, 2012, online and September 10, 2012, print versions of Archives, an impressive French clinical surveillance system has been used to assess the impact of syphilis infection on the viral load (VL) and CD4+ cell counts of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected men.1 In France, the national health system facilitates high continuity in primary care, reduces fiscal barriers to care, and enables clinical data to be harvested readily for outcomes research. Because this system facilitates the management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the context of HIV primary care, it is markedly easier to examine the impact of coinfection than in systems in which patients are evaluated for STIs in settings outside of their primary care practice.
Vermund SH. Prevention, Detection, and Treatment of Coinfections: A Priority in Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Persons to Reduce Viral Load and Consequent Disease Progression and Transmission : Comment on "Effect of Early Syphilis Infection on Plasma Viral Load and CD4 Cell Count in Human Immunodeficiency Virus–Infected Men". Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(16):1243–1244. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2012.3770
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Donations Acceptance Program - Announcements
September 1, 2018
Garrett Wright, Branch Chief of the Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) and Kevin McPherson, Director of Brand Protection for Otter Products, sat down with the International Trademark Association (INTA) to be interviewed for the INTA Bulletin. The interview covered the DAP's scope and success and what benefits private industry can expect from partnering with CBP through the DAP.
June 27, 2018
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today a new formal partnership arrangement with Otter Products, LLC, maker of OtterBox and LifeProof brand phone cases, as part of the Donations Acceptance Program. Under its partnership with CBP, Otter Products will donate authentication devices for CBP officers and import specialists to use to quickly and accurately detect counterfeit Otter Products merchandise entering the United States.
"Building off the success of localized enforcement efforts, CBP is now working hand-in-hand with Otter Products to target and deploy authentication devices on a nation-wide scale," said Todd C. Owen, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations. "CBP's formal partnership with Otter Products will help us broadly deliver these highly effective tools to the front line officers and trade specialists who need them most."
As part of its rigorous and ongoing brand protection efforts, Otter Products intends to partner with CBP for the long term by resupplying and, if necessary, upgrading authentication devices as CBP's detection needs evolve.
"CBP's formal partnership with Otter Products extends well beyond the initial deployment of authentication devices," said Brenda B. Smith, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Trade. "Our goal is to provide continuous, organized feedback to Otter Products pertaining to the ongoing use of these devices, their effectiveness, and opportunities to improve upon them so that we may jointly outpace those who seek to profit off counterfeit goods."
The Donations Acceptance Program broadly enables CBP to accept donations of real property, personal property (including monetary donations) and non-personal services from public and private sector entities in support of CBP operations. Accepted donations may be used for port of entry construction, alterations, operations, and maintenance activities.
Public-private partnerships are a key component of CBP's Resource Optimization Strategy and allow CBP to provide new or expanded services and infrastructure at domestic ports of entry. For more information, visit www.CBP.gov/DAP.
February 22, 2018
The Donations Acceptance Program held a webinar on Wednesday, February 21st from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST for interested public and private sector representatives to provide general program and partnership information for engaging with CBP for donations to enforce Intellectual Property Rights.
The webinar was recorded and can be viewed here in its entirety. If you are interested in additional information, a copy of our Quick Reference Guide or any other programmatic information, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
February 15, 2018
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today a new formal partnership arrangement with Procter & Gamble (P&G), as part of the Donations Acceptance Program, to prevent counterfeit P&G products from entering the United States. As part of the partnership, P&G will donate testing devices to verify the authenticity of various P&G products. The devices will help CBP officers and trade specialists quickly determine the legitimacy of the product, reducing the possibility of counterfeit goods from entering the U.S. stream of commerce.
"Intellectual Property Rights enforcement is a CBP priority trade issue, so we are pleased to announce the first formal partnership approved under the Donations Acceptance Program to aid in the fight against counterfeits," said Office of Field Operations Executive Assistant Commissioner Todd C. Owen. "CBP's continued partnership with P&G will help equip our officers with the tools needed to more effectively detect and seize counterfeit P&G products entering the United States."
P&G intends to partner with CBP for the long term by resupplying and if necessary, upgrading donated testing devices as CBP's detection needs evolve.
CBP views its formal partnership with P&G as an important and significant step towards collaborating on mutually beneficial Intellectual Property Rights solutions," said Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Brenda B. Smith. "Our long-term agreement with P&G will help strengthen CBP's immediate and future ability to protect the P&G brand and U.S. consumers."
The Donations Acceptance Program enables CBP to collaboratively explore and implement solutions to trade and travel facilitation and enforcement challenges. This is the first formal partnership arrangement under the Donations Acceptance Program for Intellectual Property Rights enforcement to implement Section 308(d) of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015. Section 308(D) required CBP to prescribe regulatory procedures for the donations of technologies, training, or other related services for the purpose of assisting CBP in Intellectual Property Rights enforcement.
The full CBP news release can be viewed here.
September 29, 2017
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced this week that a new proposal from the city of Douglas, Arizona has been selected as part of the Donations Acceptance Program (DAP). The city of Douglas proposed a donation of a parking lot and adjacent parcel of undeveloped land directly north of the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry to better enable CBP to implement parking lot security measures, reduce port congestion and provide added commercial vehicle staging in support of Unified Cargo Processing efforts. The DAP enables CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to explore, foster and facilitate partnerships for port of entry infrastructure and technology improvements.
"We are excited to partner with the city of Douglas in exploring small-scale, high-impact enhancements at the Raul H. Castro Port of Entry," said Todd C. Owen, Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations. "The city's proposal will significantly improve CBP's ability to enhance port security, reduce congestion and increase commercial throughput."
Pursuant to 6 U.S.C. § 301a (Section 301a), and more generally, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 6 U.S.C. § § 112 et seq., as amended, CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) are jointly authorized by to accept real property, personal property, monetary and non-personal services donations from private sector and government entities. Accepted donations may be used for port of entry construction, alterations, operations and maintenance-related purposes.
Have questions regarding this process or the Donations Acceptance Program in general?
Please click on the link below to submit your questions directly to our email inbox.
June 25, 2017
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) is pleased to announce the publishing of our revised program framework outlining our updated procedures and criteria for evaluating, approving and accepting viable donation proposals. This framework incorporates the legislative requirements introduced by our new Section 301a authorities as well as reflects the policy and procedural improvements we've made over the years to render the program more flexible, streamlined and responsive.
Please note that all proposals regardless of dollar value, size, scope or complexity may now be submitted year-round to firstname.lastname@example.com for consideration. As always, we welcome and encourage our prospective partners to connect with us in advance of preparing a formal proposal so that we may provide front-end feedback and guidance regarding proposal viability and the donation acceptance process.
CBP and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) are jointly authorized by 6 U.S.C. § 301a (Section 301a), and more generally, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, 6 U.S.C. § § 112 et seq., as amended, to accept real property, personal property, monetary and non-personal services donations from private sector and government entities. Accepted donations may be used for port of entry construction, alterations, operations and maintenance-related purposes.
April 18, 2017
The Donations Acceptance Program is pleased to announce that four new proposals from the Anzalduas Bridge Board; Cameron County, Texas; the City of Donna, Texas; and the City of Laredo, Texas have been approved for further planning and development. On behalf of CBP and GSA, we congratulate you on your innovative, forward thinking proposals and are excited to work with each of you moving ahead.
The Donations Acceptance Program is also pleased to announce that beginning today, all new proposals, regardless of dollar value, may be submitted to firstname.lastname@example.com on a year-round basis. By expanding its proposal submission window, the Donations Acceptance Program aims to better accommodate and expedite viable proposals that previously could only be submitted once a year.
Proposals will be evaluated based on their individual merit and ability to satisfy the evaluation criteria posted on CBP.gov/DAP. Prospective partners and interested parties may submit questions regarding the Donations Acceptance Program via email at firstname.lastname@example.com
December 12, 2016
Congratulations to Red Hook Terminals! Their donation of a high-capacity perforating machine to the Port of Freeport, TX was recently accepted through the Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) and is currently being used by OFO staff to expedite administrative procedures.
The perforating machine, while a relatively small donation, has already yielded a high impact; reducing the amount of time it takes port staff to process titles and other documents by 96%. As a result, the Port of Freeport anticipates that it will save up to 166 man hours a year that may be better spent on higher operational priorities. This is an example of how small-dollar value, donated improvements can make a big difference, both for CBP stakeholders and in terms of how CBP operates.
The small-scale donation proposal process offers an avenue for stakeholders interested in investing in and expediting small-scale, high impact border infrastructure, technology and other related improvements. Proposals that qualify as small-scale may be submitted year-round and in turn evaluated 60 to 70 percent faster than large-scale proposals.
For additional information or questions, please contact the DAP at email@example.com.
October 17, 2016
Congratulations to the Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority, whose proposal to upgrade existing air conditioned dock space at the Nogales West Land Port of Entry to refrigerated dock space was recently approved for further planning and development. You can read more about the Port Authority's approved proposal here.
This is the first proposal selected under CBP's small-scale process for proposals valued at $5 million or less. The small-scale donation proposal process is a new offering and avenue for stakeholders interested in investing in and expediting small-scale, high impact border infrastructure, technology and other related improvements.
As a final note, thanks to all those who participated in the live webinar session held on October 11th to provide an overview of the donations acceptance process and answer program-related questions. Please refer to our "Related Content" section for a copy of our webinar presentation. You can also find an audio/video recording of the webinar presentation here.
June 21, 2016
CBP and GSA are pleased to announce that proposals submitted by the City of Donna, Texas, the City of Pharr, Texas, and Red Hook Terminals during the FY 2016 proposal submission period have been approved for further planning and development.
The City of Donna proposed constructing and implementing new inspection facilities and technologies to facilitate inbound empty commercial vehicle inspections at the Donna-Rio Bravo Land Port of Entry (LPOE). The City of Pharr proposed multiple improvements including constructing a new cold inspection facility, a new agricultural inspection training and development facility, and expanding secondary inspection dock space at the Pharr LPOE. Red Hook Terminals proposed donating a perforating machine in support of operations at the Port of Freeport Sea Port of Entry in Freeport, Texas.
The CBP Donations Acceptance Program congratulates the City of Donna, the City of Pharr, and Red Hook Terminals on their successful proposals. We're excited to work with each of you moving forward.
June 2, 2016
The Donations Acceptance Program (DAP) is excited to announce that it will be hosting multiple one-day Roadshow events in select locations across the U.S.
The DAP Roadshow is an opportunity to engage CBP and GSA field/port representatives and program leads in an open dialogue regarding partnerships for port of entry infrastructure, technology, or other related improvements.
Events are currently scheduled for:
Laredo, TX – June 22nd
Tucson, AZ – July 19th
For more information or to request an invitation, please email the DAP at email@example.com.
February 25, 2016
CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske recently spotlighted the growing success and expansion of the Donations Acceptance Program along with the Reimbursable Services Program in his blog post Meeting the Challenge: Alternative Funding Helps CBP Serve Stakeholders.
The Donations Acceptance Program has quickly gained widespread interest and positive feedback as one of few viable mechanisms by which to invest in and expedite port of entry infrastructure and technology improvements. Partnerships entered into under the Donations Acceptance Program are expected to yield substantial operational, economic, and community-related benefits.
As an update on Phase I activities, CBP in coordination with GSA, continues to evaluate the proposals it received during the recent FY 2016 submission period. CBP looks forward to announcing its FY 2016 proposal selections in the late Spring timeframe in addition to unveiling its tentative plans to accept and review certain small-scale proposal submissions on a year-round basis.
Stay tuned for more information…
Information Sharing Opportunities
On Wednesday, October 21, 2015, the CBP Donations Acceptance Program held a live webinar to review the donations acceptance process and provide useful guidance for submitting a successful donation proposal in FY 2016. As a follow-up, CBP held a live Q&A session on Tuesday, November 17, 2015. Questions may still be submitted via e-mail to email@example.com.
Please note that to promote a fair and equitable proposal submission and evaluation process, CBP will respond only to questions relating to the overall Donations Acceptance Program and will not be able to address individual proposal specifics.
July 24, 2015
FY 2015 Selectees Announced
On July, 24, 2015, CBP announced that proposals submitted during the FY 2015 open season from the following stakeholders had advanced to Phase II: Proposal Planning & Development.
|Partner Name
|Port of Entry
|The City of Donna
|Donna Rio Bravo Port of Entry
|The City of Pharr
|Pharr Texas Port of Entry
|The City of El Paso
|The Ysleta Bridge


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Peptic Ulcer
A peptic ulcer is a hole in the gut lining of the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus.
A peptic ulcer of the stomach is called a gastric ulcer; of the duodenum, a duodenal ulcer; and of the esophagus, an esophageal ulcer.
An ulcer occurs when the lining of these organs is corroded by the acidic digestive juices which are secreted by the stomach cells.
Peptic ulcer disease is common, affecting millions of Indians and Asians yearly.
The medical cost of treating peptic ulcer and its
complications runs in the billions of dollars annually. Recent medical advances
have increased our understanding of ulcer formation. Improved and expanded
treatment options are now available.
Major cause of ulcers is the chronic use of anti-inflammatory medications, commonly referred to as NSAIDs , including aspirin. Cigarette smoking is also an important cause of ulcer formation and ulcer treatment failure.
- Abdominal pain
- Hunger pain
- Night pain
- Episodic pain
Other symptoms
- Waterbarsh
- Heartburn
- Loss of appetite
- Vomiting
Homeopathy offers very good medicines for peptic ulcer disease. But for a homeopath, the symptoms of the disease are much more important than the ulcer itself. This is because to select the right medicine a homeopaths needs to differentiate between the finer presentations of a disease which, vary from person to person. A homeopath not only tries to heal the ulcer but also tries to remove the general predisposition to acquire it.


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Eagle Pendant, 2 1/2" White Bone - New Lower Price
Quantity in Basket:
Code: HP/70
Price: $5.57
Choose Quantity:
One Eagle Pendant $5.57
10 Eagle Pendants $53.57 (+48.00)
Hand carved Bone Eagle Pendant that we stock it in
white bone. 2 1/2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches tall.
A hole for stringing, of course, and a
great addition to your traditional or fashion craft work.
Try it on bags and pouches!
Available by the individual pendant and packages of 10.


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book signing day
By addinaf - 8:09:00 PM
so here i am :)
in this exam week come to Ngopi Sore bareng Dee at dixie with my friends, fera and ana :)
i'm so happy :D
though the crowd a little bit annoy me but i'm so happy i can have dee's signature on my books ! :D
my favourite, rectoverso :)
supernova: ksatria, putri, dan bintang jatuh. and also perahu kertas.
supernova: ksatria, putri, dan bintang jatuh. and also perahu kertas.
so bad my filosofi kopi is lost in somewhere i don't know.
but happily from that event i know that i can pre-order the new-cover of filosofi kopi so i can get the voucher when i buy dee's next book, partikel . super yay ! :D
one of the best part is when dee sing us a part of the song that she wrote for perahu kertas movie. the lyric that i only could remember is:
dan aku bahagia dapat menemukanmu dengan radarku
cute, isn't it? :)
so perahu kertas. the part of the song is tell us about the girl who thanked to God that have made him and make her found him :)
cute cute cute ! :)
|the crowd
|me and dee <3
and when i arrived home, the packs is come ! :D
there is a sad story, my test pack, and the journeys lost in somewhere again. i try to ask my friend's boyf to look for it at his book store.
but after he can't found it i decided to bought it online from books.istribawel.com :)
the author of test pack.
and all of the book i've ordered was signed in ! yay ! super yay yay !
i'm so happy today :)
|the books
|from om @adhityamulya
|joker of @vabyo
|tante @ninityunita 's test pack
thankyou for made my saturday night today, books ! :D


text: NASHVILLE --- Tennessee State fell victim to a pair of big plays down the stretch as visiting Fisk University sealed a 69-65 upset of the Tigers Monday night. After Fisk led much of the second half, the Tigers fought back to tie the game after freshman Adrian Pritchett made 2-of-2 free throws following a technical foul with 45 seconds remaining. Chris Davis made the go-ahead layup with 14 seconds remaining and Ty Juan Garth sealed the game with a layup following a steal with three seconds remaining. Davis led all scorers with 20 points. The Bulldogs shot 47.5 percent (28-59) from the field. Jeffrey Anderson came off the bench to add 14. Roshaun Bowens led TSU (1-10 with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Garrett Richardson added 12. The Tigers shot just 36 percent (19-53) from the field and 62 percent (23-37) from the free throw line. TSU plays at Iowa Saturday night.


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Trix's Pub
wonderful down home folks, wonderful place to kick your feet up and have a cold drink and listen to some wonderful oldies on the junk box, and get a taste of the true Bay City legecy
nothing not to like its great and easy on your pocket
Trixs Pub can be found at Broadway St 2307. The following is offered: Bars & Pubs. The entry is present with us since Sep 7, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 12, 2013. In Bay City there are 26 other Bars & Pubs. An overview can be found here.
Trix's Pub is located at 2307 Broadway St, Bay City, MI. This business specializes in Bars, Pubs, & Clubs.


text: "The Lazarus Pit is mythical vats of arcane chemicals in the DC comics universe. The most common user of the pit is Ra's al Ghul. Ra's al Ghul accidentally discovered the first Lazarus Pit as a cure for the dying son of a sultan he worked for. The Pit had a terrible side effect, however; it turned the Prince temporarily insane, leading to him killing the doctor's wife. After being blamed for the murder, the man who would become Ra's Al Ghul was buried in the desert. He was rescued by a tribe and a boy named Huew. After this he used the Lazarus Pit to save himself, and vowed to avenge his wife. The doctor gave himself the title Ra's al Ghul – The Demon's Head".


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That's right. The evil scumbags who work in the City appear to be doing a better job at being modern and liberal than the state-subsidised art world. According to last year's Creative Skillset Employment Census, 5.4 per cent of those working in the arts were from the black or ethnic minorities. In the City, by contrast, figures from 2012 show that 30.5 per cent of employees were from the black or ethnic minorities.
So the decades of smug hand-wringing, the diversity drives and ethnicity awareness classes, the form-filling and box-ticking, has produced an arts workforce that Enoch Powell would have been proud of: 94.6 per cent white. Whereas in the neoliberal cesspit that is Canary Wharf - where the only form anyone has to fill is whether they want their bonus in coke or midgets - they've created a haven of multiculturalism.
For the arts establishment, this must be a bit like waking up and discovering that Nigel Farage will receive next year's Turner Prize for voidal parallelism in post-internet art. For me, it all finally makes sense. All that anti-capitalist rage from artists. All that envy. The years and years of telling everyone else how racist they are. It's just a classic case of the lady (statistically probably white) protesting too much. If any of the CEOs of the major arts organisations ever want to move on, I know a man who loves heading up messed up white organisations:
[caption id="attachment_8721411" align="alignnone" width="520"] Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP/Press Association Images[/caption]


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Interactive Light Sculpture by Teddy Lo Studio
Teddy Lo Studio Shows The Quintessence Interactive Light Sculpture
Teddy Lo Studio, the project leader of the displayed design Interactive Light Sculpture by Teddy Lo Studio says, Quintessence is an interactive light sculpture of the future, connecting with and responding to the environment and audiences of its exhibition space, seamlessly and intuitively. Structurally, the sculpture design is minimal, linear, asthetically light-weight and based on energy flow. It features the artist's patented addressable linear LED product CABLED. When complimented by digital lighting or natural lights effects the spiral, semi-transparent design offers an organic, ambient and responsive glow that stimulates human contemplation. .
Interactive Light Sculpture by Teddy Lo Studio Images:
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Mac mini, iPad Pro, MacBook Air, 100 Million Mac users, and more on the AppleInsider Podcast
This week on the AppleInsider Podcast, Victor and William talk about the Mac mini, the notion that 100 Million Mac users can't be wrong, and the iPad Pro.
AppleInsider editor Victor Marks and writer William Gallagher discuss:
- The MacBook Air remains one of Victor's favorite devices, and is glad the machine is back, but it does seem like a weird fit in the product lineup between 12" MacBook and 13" MacBook Pro.
- The Mac mini just staggers. Victor does an inflation calculation, and the machine feels like good value. $499 in 2005 dollars is about $650 today. The Mac mini at $799 delivers a lot of machine vs a 2005 model, although it's a little light in the storage department as an end-user machine.
- Analysts responded positively to the announcement of new Macs and the iPad Pro - we recorded this before the earnings call, so at the time, we didn't know it would be so short-lived.
We like reader email — send us your comments and concerns!.
The show is available on iTunes and your favorite podcast apps by searching for "AppleInsider." Click here to listen, subscribe, and don't forget to rate our show.
Listen to the embedded SoundCloud feed below:
Show note links:
- There are now 100 million active Macs thanks to high number of new adopters
- J.P. Morgan, Rosenblatt upbeat on Apple following launch of new Macs and iPad Pros
- Apple's powerful new Mac mini perfectly suits the 'Pro' market, yet the complaints have already started
- Should you upgrade to Apple's redesigned 2018 iPad Pro?
- Frequently asked questions about the 2018 MacBook Air
Follow our hosts on Twitter: @WGallagher and @vmarks.
Feedback and comments are always appreciated. Please contact the AppleInsider podcast at [email protected] and follow us on Twitter @appleinsider, plus Facebook and Instagram.
Those interested in sponsoring the show can reach out to us at [email protected].
AppleInsider has affiliate partnerships and may earn commission on products purchased through affiliate links. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content.


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Choose your route
Stay and visit the Hotel Saint Augustin Elysees in Paris
Located close to the Boulevard Haussmann, Hotel St. Augustine is located in the heart of the most beautiful attractions of France. A stay at this hotel will dive in a typical Parisian life. Shops, opera, coffee and cabarets are unavoidable places close to the hotel. The Saint-Augustin Elysees is located close to the Champs Elysees and the Opera Garnier. Only 4 km away is the Eiffel Tower. Sights headlights Paris, meanwhile, are accessible through the metro Saint-Augustin, which is 300 meters from the residence. At 550 meters, you can join the Saint-Lazare train station to go from one end to the other region. Not far from the hotel, the Place de la Concorde also attracted many. Lovers of Japanese cuisine can sit down at the Japanese restaurant located a few meters from the hotel.
Part of the hotel chain Astotel, the Hotel Saint-Augustin Elysees offers comfort to its guests. From the lobby to the rooms, while the development is synonymous with elegance and refinement. All rooms feature luxury with modern furniture, high-end equipment. The hotel offers 63 air-conditioned and soundproofed rooms. These are accessible by lift. Moreover satellite TV, occupants enjoy a broadband Internet connection, safe. Wi-Fi lets you connect in the entire property.
In addition to a hearty breakfast served in the dining room, room service is available for customer satisfaction. A very friendly staff provides 24-hour reception. The same is true for the laundry service and room service. A snack bar is available for guests to have a pleasant time at the hotel.
It should be noted that the hotel does not have parking.
Regarding the internal regulations, the hotel prohibits pets. The payment can be made by credit cards.
Shuttle Hotel Saint Augustin Elysees in Paris
The nearest of the Hotel Saint-Augustin Elysees is Orly, with 27 kilometers away airport. Thus, we put 53 minutes for the car trip. The Charles de Gaulle airport is 35 miles from this hotel, which is about an hour's drive conveyed. The Hotel St. Augustine is located 85 kilometers from the airport of Beauvais. Along the highway, the distance is 68 km. By cons, it will take 1 hour 24 minutes drive to this charming hotel.


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Project Description
eCommerce Store
Curio Design is a Sydney based design team, dedicated to creating beautiful and functional design solutions for the modern home. Our aim for Curio Design was to provide customers with a simple, user friendly experience that showcased the quality and sophistication of their product range.
Using Shopify as the chosen eCommerce platform was as simple choice as any. With over quarter million stores hosted worldwide, Shopify's powerful eCommerce tools make all tasks catering to running a successful online store simple.
We were proud to turn over a launched online storealongside professional product imagery to Curio Design; who now manage the online store in house. Whether an online store or website – we gladly cater to CMS (Central Management System) requirements that mean you can continue to easily manage your own online presence.


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As homes and businesses increasingly become 'smarter' with energy saving lighting options, Southwire has expanded its SIMpull Solutions® line of products to offer a new innovation. The Romex® brand SIMpull® Control & Signal Cable combines the trusted name in residential building wire with low voltage wire to be used in dimmable LED lighting residential applications.
The Romex® brand SIMpull® Control & Signal Cable is a UL listed Class 2 cable for indoor use and designed for 0-10V dimming control of LED or fluorescent lighting in residential applications. Engineered with SIMpull® technology, Romex brand SIMpull® Control and Signal Cable is the safe, NEC compliant answer to your residential lighting control needs.
The dimming signal input to the LED driver is typically supplied through a purple wire (+1oVDC) and a gray wire (Signal Common). The individual purple and gray conductors of the Romex® brand SIMpull® Control and Signal Cable match this color convention to ensure the polarity of control wiring is maintained throughout the lighting system for proper operation.
Please note: Do not use this cable to make connections to 120V AC line voltage. AC power must be turned off before performing any wiring installation. Always install following the devices' manufacturer instructions in accordance with all local and national electrical code requirements.
- NEC compliant for indoor use
- UL listed to UL 13
- Flame retardant per FT4 Vertical Tray Flame Test
- Type CL2
- 16 AWG Solid copper conductors
- Purple and Gray conductors for control/signal applications
- Light blue PVC jacket with SIMpull® technology
- 150 V rating per NEC Article 725
- For use in one and two-family dwellings
- For use in multi-family dwellings where Type NM-B cable is allowed by NEC
- For use in any 0-10V residential dimming, controls of LED or fluorescent lighting
- SIMpull® jacket allows for easier pulling
- Suitable for Class 2 wiring applications
For more great innovative solutions, stay tuned to southwireblog.com.
©2018 Southwire Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved


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"Hey, can you play, Stairway to Heaven?"
And, for the first time in a long while, I didn't automatically change the channel.
It wasn't like I had to break out the air guitar or anything. Besides, it was only a short drive to the polls, and as an official "undecided" voter, I needed some background music to listen to while I was making up my mind. Santorum or Gingrich, 6 of one … half dozen of the other. Only thing is, I've wanted to vote for Gingrich for President for a long time, and this is the first opportunity I've had. I'll vote for Santorum if he gets the nomination, and I don't feel the same way about Romney.
Over the past week, I've received a couple of phone calls each from Santorum and Gingrich supporters, but easily 2 dozen Romney robo-calls. Each call was a negative info hit about Santorum or Gingrich. I kept remembering Barbara Bush last week whining about all of the negative campaigning, and how it is hurting her guy Mitt — but it's always Romney doing the negative campaigning.
There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure, cause you know sometimes words have two meanings ..
I am tired of it, too. It got to where would just hang up on the Romney calls. The talking heads are saying he has outspent his competition 5 to 1, but it seems a lot more than that. Romney has been all over TV. Gingrich has been on radio. Santorum has been on TV, but not that often.
The big question might just be turnout. I voted around 11 AM and was #28 on the roll. There was no crowd at all. Only one other voter at the poll. If the turnout is as light as my experience indicates, the best organization will be favored, and that means Romney. .
And it makes me wonder …
My prediction for Mississippi: Romney 39, Gingrich 30, Santorum 21, Paul 9.
Update: Just got another robo-call from the romney campaign. If he loses, it won't be because he didn't leave it on the court.
More from: Y'all Politics; Jxn Jambalaya
Filed under: conservatism, election 2012, Mississippi, The South | Tagged: conservatism, election 2012, Gingrich, Mississippi, mississippi gop primary, mitt romney, Newt Gingrich, rick santorum, Santorum, Stairway to Heaven, The South, Voting | 4 Comments »