text:
Flash memory
- How many read/write cycles and for which amount of size the flash needs to last without failure?
- NOR or NAND flash?
- SLC (single cell) or MLC (multi cell) flash?
- What about bad blocks and how to deal with them?
- How much flash space in spare do I need for my project?
- If a filesystem is needed: what kind of filesystem?
Erase blocks and erase cycles
Hardware vs. Software
NAND vs. NOR
- bad write performance (several times slower than on NAND flash)
- the very same erase block gets erased far more often and therewith exceed the 'max. erase cycles' far easier (in addition: erase cycles are usually about 1000 times less on NOR than on NAND flash)
Bad blocks
Hardware vs. Software
NAND vs. NOR
LinuxInput devices (in Qt embedded) – take care!
I'm currently working on an embedded project based on Linux which involves a graphical user interface based on Qt.
In our case Qt accesses framebuffer as well as the LinuxInput devices directly – there is no further layer (DirectFB, Xorg, Wayland, etc.) in between.
In this quite common scenario I noticed that Qt is treating the LinuxInput devices in a quite counterintuitive way which may lead into severe security problems.
The embedded device we are using in this particular project has a keyboard which to the userland is exposed as LinuxInput device.
Everything worked quite well, however our Qt application crashed once due to a programming error (our fault) and I was shown the underlying UNIX console which reflected every single keystroke I did inside the Qt application – all typing input within the Qt application also got passed to other applications / underlying shells!
An exposed root shell to the active TTY – possibly hidden by the GUI – is therewith also capturing all input. Since almost all linux (embedded) distributions are exposing login prompts / shells to all TTYs by default, this scenario is far from being unlikely.
My expected behavior would have been: the Qt application is opening the LinuxInput devices exclusively, so that only the Qt application receives data from the input devices.
After some research and asking around I got pointed to the EVIOCGRAB IOCTL implemented in the LinuxInput subsystem.
As stated in $(LINUX_KERNEL)/include/input/linux.h:
@grab: input handle that currently has the device grabbed (via
EVIOCGRAB ioctl). When a handle grabs a device it becomes sole
recipient for all input events coming from the device
This means: When opening LinuxInput devices they're not grabbed, they're not opened exclusively by default.
Okay, I got it 🙂
So let's just find the magic option / command which tells Qt to set up an EVIOCGRAB with an appropriate argument on the going-to-be-used LinuxInput device. Since I didn't find any documentation I grep'ed through the Qt source:
> ~/src/qt.git$ git grep EVIOCGRAB
> ~/src/qt.git$
nothing… so I took a closer look into how Qt implemented support for LinuxInput devices (src/gui/embedded/qkbdlinuxinput_qws.cpp) – still nothing…
So I implemented support for telling Qt to open LinuxInput devices exclusively by optionally passing an 'grab'-argument to the LinuxInput drivers inside Qt.
And here it is – a patch which adds support for passing another parameter named 'grab' to the LinuxInput device driver of Qt – to specify whether the device should be opened exclusively (grabbed) or not.
Conclusion: Take care when using Qt and its LinuxInput drivers – all input might be received and used by other applications as well – including shells running on TTYs.
UPDATE: The patch finally git committed and went upstream. Grabbing can now be configured since Qt version 4.8 (http://www.qt.gitorious.org/qt/qt/commit/947aaa79b05adec527c7500e36766c7ff19f118d/diffs)
RFM12 – kernel patches
Since I got asked several times about the pin mappings and wirings between the rfm12 modules and GPIOs of the devices providing them (in my case the Netgear WGT634U router / the Qi NanoNote) I'd like to try making some things clearer:
In Linux the use of buses is tried to get as abstracted as possible – the idea is that the actual boards (or call it whatever you like as devices, platforms etc) define and expose the capability of buses and its properties.
In our case the rfm12 kernel module requires the availability of an SPI bus – it doesn't matter how it is implemented (native SPI bus, SPI over GPIOs or any other way of implementation). The client module – the kernel module implementing an driver for the actual rfm12 hardware – simply doesn't care and doesn't need to know about that.
That's the reason why the actual rfm12 code doesn't contain any GPIO <-> rfm12 hardware mappings – the rfm12 code is just using an existing and otherwise exposed SPI bus.
The actual wiring / mapping and setup of the SPI bus is done within the platform / board / device code, which is located below arch/${ARCH}/${BOARD} – a common place for code like that is arch/${ARCH}/${BOARD}/setup.c.
This project however seemed to have raised some interest and I got asked quite a few times about the board specific changes I made – so here they are now:
the kernel patches which provide SPI buses on both boards, including GPIO mappings.
Since both targets I used the rfm12 module and driver on are running OpenWrt, I created both patches against the Linux vanilla tree having OpenWrt specific kernel patches already applied.
Changes however are small and clear, so they should be easy to understand and adapt.
The wiring I used to get the rfm12 module working on the NanoNote working by the way is the following:
GPIO | PIN on SD port | PIN on module | purpose / description
108 | D12 (1) | MISO / SDO | SPI: master input slave output
109 | D13 (2) | nIRQ | interrupt
104 | D08 (3) | (unused) | (unused)
X | VDD (4) | VDD | power
105 | D09 (5) | MOSI / SDI | SPI: master output slave input
X | VSS (6) | GND (1+2) | ground
106 | D10 (7) | SCK | SPI: clock
107 | D11 (8) | nSEL | SPI: chip select
There needs to be a resistor (10-100kOhm) between pin FSK (if used) of
the rfm12 module and VDD as pullup – however when just using ASK it isn't needed anyway.
GDB behaves strange while debugging threads
While debugging issues involving binaries on a system running Linux, having a debugger such as GDB available is quite helpful.
However while working on a certain project we recently experienced quite some issues debugging applications involving threads.
Debugging the application on my local workstation worked quite fine, however on OpenWrt-targets – ARM as well as MIPS – it behaved rather strange: stack corruptions, missing traces, weird signals got issued…
After quite some time of debugging the debug issue, we found out the issue is caused by a stripped version of libpthread.so.
Stripped – not in the sense of a more lightweight but compatible version of the pthread library – but stripped by the utility "strip", which purges all debug- and "other unneeded" symbols out of binaries to reduce their size, which usually is applied on all binaries by the OpenWrt framework automatically.
Usually binaries stripped by "strip" are still fully-fledged binaries, still usable with GDB (however without debugging symbols available of course). Applying strip on libpthread.so* however, it seems to strip out also stuff needed by GDB following and tracing threads. Without these symbols / meta-information not needed for running the actual application, but for tracking its threads, GDB results in mentioned issues above.
One might ask why someone is debugging binaries without debug symbols compiled in – reasons are obvious:
- there's not enough storage available
- there's not enough RAM available
- using gdbserver and having the binaries with debug symbols compiled in on another machine communicating with gdbserver
To check whether an object got stripped or not is quite easy using the "file" util:
$ file build_dir/target-arm_v5te_uClibc-0.9.30.1_eabi/root-foo/lib/libpthread-0.9.30.1.so
build_dir/target-arm_v5te_uClibc-0.9.30.1_eabi/root-foo/lib/libpthread-0.9.30.1.so: ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, ARM, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), stripped
$ file staging_dir/target-arm_v5te_uClibc-0.9.30.1_eabi/root-foo/lib/libpthread-0.9.30.1.so
staging_dir/target-arm_v5te_uClibc-0.9.30.1_eabi/root-foo/lib/libpthread-0.9.30.1.so: ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, ARM, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked (uses shared libs), not stripped
Long story short: When debugging applications involving threads, always use a non-stripped version of libpthread.so, even if debug symbols are not needed!
Ben NanoNote able to control radio power sockets
The Ben NanoNote is now able to switch radio controlled power sockets, too!
The rfm12 433MHz module, produced by HopeRF, is attached to the microSD port of the Ben NanoNote, which pins are exposed via an microSD card dummy adapter.
The System-on-a-chip used inside the Ben NanoNote (ingenic JZ47XX) allows us to put the microSD pins into GPIO mode, so we can (as already done for the first device, the Netgear WGT634u router, I connected an rfm12-module to) create and export an SPI bus on top of them to be able communicating with the module.
That way there's no need of opening the device and/or soldering anything anywhere – the module is attached directly to the microSD dummy which gets simply inserted into microSD slot of the NanoNote.
I wrote a basic but fully working ncurses frontend using the rfm12 library listing configured devices waiting for getting switched.
There's also a ready-to-use XMLRPC daemon available which exposes all configured devices and provides functions for controlling them, so UIs for controlling devices are not limited to run on the same system the rfm12 module is installed on.
I've also written a little GUI in python using the qt4 toolkit, connecting to the master via XML-RPC:
Several other frontends are work-in-progress as e.g. a GUI for the Android platform, as well as one based on qt4/QML being able to run e.g. on phones running Meego/Maemo as operating system – both using the XML-RPC interface.
So all major parts of the project are mostly finished now and the API is more or less fix.
The the whole project now consists of (a rough overview):
- the kernel module which communicates with the actual hardware (so the rfm12 module) and exposes a character device to userspace
- the rfm12 library which
- connects to the kernel module
- contains the device type specific data and code to modulate signals which control the actual power sockets
- provides functions for reading / writing configuration files and controlling / switching devices
- UI applications linked directly against librfm12 (an ncurses frontend (shown above) is available yet)
- daemons providing network interfaces (a daemon exporting functionality via XMLRPC is available yet , one doing the same but using JSON-RPC as underlying rpc method is going to be implemented soon)
Devices are getting configured via configuration files, describing the product type of the device, a name and the actual code which is used to identify devices of a certain product type group.
The config used by the applications shown on the photos / screenshots above just looks this:
[socket_A]label = "one"product = "P801B"code = "1111110000"[socket_B]label = "two"product = "2272"code = "1111110000"[socket_C]label = "three"product = "2272"code = "1111101000"
One of the tasks I'm working on right now, is state sharing. While the list of configured devices and it's states (on/off) is already shared among all XML-RPC clients (so having switched a unit in one client, others will fetch the changed state next time they poll/refresh), the state is not yet shared between several processes invoking the librfm12.
Issue is: Every process linked against librfm12 creates its own list of devices, including states – so every process has its own copy. Changes done in one process are not shared among others. This could be solved using IPC (System V shared memory, sockets every instance connects to, etc.).
That's it – feedback and/or participation is highly appreciated!
Source Code is still available on github: https://github.com/mirko/rfm12-ASK-for-linux 🙂
RFM12 under Linux and remote controlled power sockets
Currently I'm working on a project communicating and transmitting signals over the air with an 433 MHz radio module called "rfm12", produced by HopeRF, soldered onto devices capable of running OpenWrt and having at least 3 accessible GPIO's.
Short story long:
These radio modules are capable of sending / receiving over the ISM frequency band, as e.g. 433 MHz or 868 MHz and just cost about 5 Euros.
The idea was to get the module working on several embedded boards running Linux, e.g. routers, microcomputers such as the NanoNote, etc. via a generic software interface.
The rfm12 module is controlled via the 4-wire protocol SPI which basically is based on toggling pins between the machine's logic-levels (high/low) at an individual non-specified clock-speed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus).
Since most of mentioned boards do not own a native SPI bus, but several GPIO's (most LED's are connected via GPIO's on such devices), SPI can be "emulated" by toggling these GPIO's in a specific way (also called "bitbanging").
That way there's no need for any other electronic peripherals such as microcontrollers, semiconductors, resistors, etc. – the chip is directly connected with the board – everything is done in software.
Inspired by the project "ethersex" – a project programming and maintaining a software for Atmel AVR micro-controllers used for home- / building automation – and an approach of soldering the module onto a specific router, communicating via SPI over GPIO's (however used code is rather old, unmaintained and board-specific) – the idea came up to write a generic linux kernel module to support the module from within linux directly.
Based on the ideas realised with the ethersex project, I decided to aim my project on being able to switch remote controlled power sockets of which I own several (to each other incompatible) modules.
Because the rfm12 module is (only) capable of doing FM (modulating payload data on top of the frequency), but lot's of devices are controlled via AM (most remote controlled power sockets included), we emulate AM by simply turning the module on and off in a specific sequence.
Since this operation is timing critical and needs to be atomic, we need to do basic stuff in the kernel space rather than from userspace.
The whole project is going to consist of 4 major parts:
- the rfm12 driver as kernel module which provides an API (accessible via a character device) to the userspace
- an userspace library which contains all the information and protocol (meta)data for such remote controllable devices, providing an (more or less) generic interface and configuration of devices
- an actual application using the library, so controlling the devices – maybe exporting the available functions via RPC (json, xml, etc.) to provide network access
- a remote usable UI (for mobile devices as phones (android/meego), web-related, qt/gtk…)
My testing device is an old Netgear WGT634U I had in spare which has a broadcom 47xx SoC working in and 4 unused GPIO's available.
Implemented yet is support for the most common radio controlled sockets sold – the ones which have a 2272/2262 IC built in (including these Chinese versions which get on fire – http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/create_rapex.cfm?rx_id=142 #25) and the ones using an P801B chip.
I also have a set of radio controlled dimmers which protocol I'm going to implement soon…
For now the source code is hosted on github: https://github.com/mirko/rfm12-ASK-for-linux – there's no project site yet but will be created if the project is growing / interest is getting raised 🙂
UPDATE: In case you're willing to participate, you're more than welcome! Just drop me an email… There's lot's of stuff I'd like to see implemented, especially usable (G)UI's… but for sure it's not just about me: patches, feedback, enhancements and feature-requests (in a certain extent) are highly appreciated!
comments, twitter…
I recognized just a few hours ago, there were comments written, which needed to be approved…
Did so now and tried to respond to them – sorry for the delay and thanks a lot for your input/contributions!
As most people reading my blog do know already anyway and I no longer feel ashamed of using it…
My twitter username: foobarbablub – respectively the twitter page: http://twitter.com/foobarblablub
Polluting the twitter cloud with statements / impressions I don't think they're worth a whole blog post… most tweets are not related to technical / computer stuff by the way – used language is mostly English…
trip trip – hurra!
Long time no news…
some things happened which weren't worth a particular post (or I was just too lazy), so I'll try to summarize of a few things which happen(ed):
== tech stuff
OpenWrt is still my focus – the qt4 package now got libX11 support (besides DirectFB / linuxfb, both accessed by the QWS-part) – thanks a lot to Michael Büsch at this point!
I'm also very interested in the new features of qt4.7 – especially the declarative UI part of qt4.7 called QML – an approach of designing UIs in a declarative way, means, from the UI's point of view (more in the mentioned links above).
I'm curious about how/whether it can/will be used/accepted by "native" designers to write fully functional GUI applications.
It's approach is looking quite promising to me – the language style as well as the implementation – really curious about how it'll do on embedded devices without graphics acceleration. After some talks to qt developers GL support is not required; a number of animations, effects and transitions were optimized for software processing and should be even smoother than rendered via GL.
First usecase is going to be a picture frame, which has the same SoC built in (Ingenic JZ4740) as the NanoNote and therewith is pretty well supported.
The picture-frame is an ID800WT manufactured by Sungale.
Before somebody is going to think, whether I want to promote/support/recommend this brand/product:
From the board layout's point of view it is the worst product sold in Germany I've ever seen! And it's too expensive! And the company violates the GPL!
Take a look at the board by yourself:
The USB Wifi-stick got hot-glued onto the board, it seems they even unsoldered the USB-socket manually (because it looks really charred all around) and connected it with some random wires to a SMD-chip which in fact is an USB-hub. Around there's hot-glue all around, partially charred, partially way too much. This is really the worst in Germany sold product ever!
However it serves the purpose – has supported wifi (atheros), an 800×600-display, a touchscreen, USB-host, etc.
After my holidays I'll try to evaluate and play around with qt4.7-features on that device on top of OpenWrt.
== trips
After almost one week spent in Croatia, Split, participating at the "nothing will happen" conference – which was really amazing and organized by very nice people – I'm going to travel to Bali for one month, leaving in two days.
Actually I wanted to go to Burma (Myanmar), however I mixed them up and booked my flight to Bali, Indonesia… anyway – more beach and sea this time…
This is going to be my third trip to Asia and I'm really looking forward to it – this time for holiday, backpacking without any fixed plans.
Actually I also didn't want to take a computer with me – still I bought an EeePC 1015. Resolution is disappointing, however price, weight, battery life (about 8 fucking hours!) and site serve the purpose of just having a terminal perfectly.
See you there 🙂
QT/KDE on OpenWrt
As you may know OpenWrt's collection of ported packages is continuesly growing.
Many graphical stuff gets ported, as well as graphical desktops and toolkits (lxde, xfce, gnome based on GTK2 – e17 based on the enlightenment foundation libraries – etc.).
However there was no approach yet to port the last missing Desktop "KDE" and underlying Toolkit "QT".
That's why I went to "Tokamak 4" this weekend, a meeting organized and founded by the KDE foundation, intended to communicate and hack together related to several KDE software projects.
We were about 25 people from all over the world and I really enjoyed the stay and nice, friendly and mixed party – surprisingly I was the only one not using KDE (however not for a special reason – just got used to my current environment) :).
They showed lot's of interest in the UCI-System (Unified Configuration Interface) OpenWrt is using.
It's a simple, human-readable, easy-to-parse configuration file format and library OpenWrt uses for services to make it easy writing Administration Interfaces for them (e.g. the webinterface "LuCI").
We were spinning around about KDE Plasma applets which will list available OpenWrt-devices ready to get administrated right through native applications.
Key deal for me however was to get in touch with people who know the QT/KDE architecture very well, for sure promoting a bit OpenWrt, qi-hardware and it's concept of open hardware and why I think having QT/KDE support within OpenWrt is opening lot's of opportunities for both projects.
Since QT is able to use DirectFB (a very powerful but light abstraction for the linux framebuffer) – and therefore does not require a X11 system necessarily – it would be also great for limited hardware such as the Ben NanoNote (32MB of RAM) where I got GTK2-based apps running on top of DirectFB quite some time ago.
I expected to get basic support for QT within OpenWrt done this weekend, however I underestimated the size and complexity of QT – never touched QT-code before.
I realized QT is not just a toolkit as GTK2 is, but a whole framework which tries to abstract as much as possible from the underlying system. It features own backends for multimedia, sound, graphics, even networking – to achieve a stable API and platform compatibility without the need of code modifications, no matter which backends or systems are used below.
In which way the typical issues of such a abstraction-concept – such as getting bloated, having performance issues, being feature-limited as you're usually just able to support the least common denominator of all supported backends, etc. – I've no idea yet – maybe they found a way, will find that out sooner or later.
They also use "qmake" as build-system which is structured quite different than e.g. GNU make, so this got another temporary road blocker as I used qmake never before and had to dig in first.
Back to the port of QT to OpenWrt: I'm having promise to see the first basic QT based application running on a OpenWrt supported device within the next days.
Will let you know 🙂
GTK2 running on top of DirectFB on OpenWrt!
OpenWrt is now able to run applications based on toolkit GTK+ on top of DirectFB!
Using DirectFB avoids having a full blown X11-server (most times Xorg) running, but having the possibiliy of getting nice GTK2 widgets onto your display without altering applications which are using the toolkit.
I was quite happy I got that working, because unfortunately DirectFB-support on part of gtk2 is quite broken in most versions.
Due its incredible slowness of GTK2 on the Openmoko Freerunner (400 MHz ARM, 128 MB RAM) I didn't expect much of gtk2 on top of DirectFB.
Surprisingly, a simple gtk2 app runs quite well and responsive on my Ben NanoNote by qi-hardware (366 MHz mips, 32 MB RAM).
I was curious and started some benchmarking with the gtk2 performance testing tool "gtkperf". However I had to patch gtkperf that it'll be usable with the qvga-resolution on the Ben NanoNote (otherwise parts of the app were hidden and the benchmark will get falsified because not the whole gets redrawed).
Do not compare your results of an original version of gtkperf with mine – varieties may be caused due to mentioned changes! (Patch: http://nanl.de/files/patches/gtkperf/gtkperf-adjust-layout.patch)
What got tested?
gtkperf using GTK2 on:
- Openmoko Freerunner with DirectFB
- Openmoko Freerunner with Xorg and glamo driver
- Openmoko Freerunner with Xorg and fbdev driver
- qi-hardware Ben NanoNote with DirectFB
- qi-hardware Ben NanoNote with Xorg and fbdev driver (not yet done)
|GtkEntry – time: 0.91
GtkComboBox – time: 16.01
GtkComboBoxEntry – time: 10.18
GtkSpinButton – time: 2.37
GtkProgressBar – time: 1.04
GtkToggleButton – time: 2.54
GtkCheckButton – time: 1.72
GtkRadioButton – time: 4.16
GtkTextView – Add text – time: 9.47
|GtkEntry – time: 2.08
GtkComboBox – time: 30.40
GtkComboBoxEntry – time: 21.65
GtkSpinButton – time: 3.54
GtkProgressBar – time: 2.55
GtkToggleButton – time: 4.66
GtkCheckButton – time: 2.71
GtkRadioButton – time: 6.64
GtkTextView – Add text – time: 26.06
|GtkEntry – time: 1.73
GtkComboBox – time: 22.70
GtkComboBoxEntry – time: 16.52
GtkSpinButton – time: 2.60
GtkProgressBar – time: 1.93
GtkToggleButton – time: 3.60
GtkCheckButton – time: 2.28
GtkRadioButton – time: 5.73
GtkTextView – Add text – time: 18.81
|GtkEntry – time: 1.07
GtkComboBox – time: 18.61
GtkComboBoxEntry – time: 10.98
GtkSpinButton – time: 2.81
GtkProgressBar – time: 1.51
GtkToggleButton – time: 4.31
GtkCheckButton – time: 2.60
GtkRadioButton – time: 7.42
GtkTextView – Add text – time: 12.48
The results are really interesting!
On the Openmoko GTA02 (Freerunner) GTK on DirectFB seems to be almost twice as fast as GTK on top of Xorg!
Even though the Hardware of the Ben NanoNote is quite limited compared to the GTA02, the benchmark looks quite promising and GTK2-applications seem to be – unline I expected – really usable on that kind of limited hardware.
What's really confusing to me: running gtkperf on top of the accelerated Xorg-glamo driver for the glamo graphics chip is slower than using the not accelerated Xorg-fbdev driver. However this myth should not be part of this article; I'll get in touch with Lars – the author of Xorg-glamo – regarding this issue.
UPDATE: Lars told me this is related to the glamo-overhead. Data transferred to the framebuffer via fbdev only consists of pure pixmap-data. Data transferred via the glamo-driver consists of data AND special glamo-related commands (telling the chip what to accelerate) which results in more data to be transferred. Normally this shouldn't cause such a discrepancy, however the glamo memory-onnection is a bottleneck and only capable of tansferring around 4 MB / second which slows down unacceleraed content. The glamo chip provides the interface for the SD-card, so the whole bus is shared by graphics- and SD-carc-traffic. That's the reason why e.g. playing videos (unaccelerated) stored on SD-card is that damn slow!
Further tests, benchmarks, evaluation coming soon…
gtkperf: 0.40 (with patch: http://nanl.de/files/patches/gtkperf/gtkperf-adjust-layout.patch)
DirectFB: 1.4
cairo: 1.8.6
freetype: 2.3.9
glib: 2.22.2
atk: 1.22.0
pixman: 0.14.0
Xorg X11 server: X11R7.4-1.5.1
xorg-driver-glamo: b45d78c927715b8814404fc2a34ae0aa1d003c29


text:
What I like in Betina is the way she tries, with no fear, new techniques, patterns and so on... Additionally, you will not find a jewel without an assorting set in Betina's creations. You can have a look in her blog in the following link: http://betinaguelman.blogspot.com/
2. Olga, from France, "P'tits Cailloux" Blog, where you will find jewels from the legends. I like so much the forms and colors combinations Olga uses in her magnificent bead embroidery, beadwork or polymer clay jewelry. Olga does many jewels that can be worn in many ways - such as her flowers necklaces. Also expert in fimo and the lizard friend, I recommend you to visit this talented modest artist. http://ptitscailloux.canalblog.com/
3. Svetlana Eltsova, from Finland, "Reijo" Blog. Svetlana has the most interesting blog I ever encountered on the net about beadwork. A rich source of information and beautiful beadwork from various artists in various beadwork subjects. I feel like being guided in an interactive online museum on beadwork. Thank you so much Svetlana for sharing with us all this fascinating information and making for us the most interesting online beadwork magazine! Additionally to those reviews Svetlana writes, she does the most beautiful beadwork gardens. Very inspired from nature, she makes unique flowering garden necklaces with such beautiful compositions. Mostly recommended! http://reijo.multiply.com/
4. Birgit B., from Germany, "Fofinhas" Blog. Birgit does perfect (and when I say perfect - I mean that) stitching and finishing, beautiful and colorful artistic beadwork. I am fond of her original designs inspired by nature. A candy pleasure to the eye http://fofinhas-perlenstuebchen.blogspot.com/
5. Zsuzsi Veres, from Hungary, "Vezsuzsi Gyongyei" Blog. Zsuzsi' ' s blog is full of excellent pictures of her original beadwork. I honor this blog the award on creative, unique and original forms and designs, for gentle and perfect jewelry beauties. http://vezsuzsigyongyei.blogspot.com/
"Vezsuzsi Gyongyei" - Zsuzsi V.
The rules for passing the award on are (you can copy&paste) :
1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogging community, no matter of language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award-winning has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the ward itself.
4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y pico"blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Show these rules.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Since May of 2017, the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association has annually presented its Distinguished Service Award at its Fivesome/Tournament Auction, its biggest golf event of the year. The Paul Backman Memorial Distinguished Service Award, named after the man who tirelessly led the association for more than a decade as its executive director, honors those who have made special contributions to the Northwest Golf industry in the field of Turf Management.
Mr. Backman, who died in April 2010 at the age of 41, was the Executive Director of the WWGCSA for 12 years. During that time, he worked closely with the other golf associations in the state and coordinated efforts to have golf represented by a lobbyist in Olympia and spearheaded efforts for a golf economic impact study to be done in the state.
He worked closely with superintendents in the region, having graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in horticulture and later earning a master's degree in plant pathology and biological disease control at Penn State University. He also attended Western Washington University and played on the Vikings' golf team. He worked at Overlake Golf and Country Club and was the assistant superintendent at Everett Golf & Country Club before becoming the executive director of the WWGCSA.
Annual recipient will be honored for special contributions over the past year and/or a lifetime of service to the golf industry in the region as it relates to turf professionals. The recipient of this award does not need to be a golf course superintendent, but needs to advance the profession by being a guiding light for superintendents as well as an example to the public at large of the contributions superintendents make to the golf industry and the protection of the environment.
The annual recipient should possess and display the multitude of qualities that it takes to be an industry leader, including but not limited to the ability to work with and motivate others, the ability to communicate effectively, the knowledge and desire to be environmental stewards, the knowledge and background of science to be able to balance the use of chemistry and the needs of the environment to the desire of golfers.
Nomination Process:
A call for nominations will be made each fall, and nominations must be submitted by Dec. 31 in the form of a letter of recommendation for consideration for the following year.
Selection Process:
The final determination of the annual recipient will be made by the Board of Directors of the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association, and should be completed by Feb. 28 of each year.
Honoring Process:
The award will be presented at the annual Fivesome Tournament/Auction.
The first recipient will be Paul Colleran, who was a shining example to others within the association of the dedication, commitment and skills needed to be a highly respected superintendent. Mr. Colleran was the first superintendent at Aldarra Golf Club, starting in the development stage of the course and served for 15 years before he died from brain cancer in October of 2014 at the age of 54.
Mr. Colleran was the superintendent at Tacoma Country & Golf Club for 10 years before taking the position with Aldarra. Both golf courses have been known for being in impeccable condition under his leadership. He grew up in Bellevue, and then played two years on the golf team at the University of Oregon. He then took a year off from college to work on the greens crew at Broadmoor Golf Club, and after that enrolled at Oregon State University and earned a degree in turfgrass management.
Steve Kealy was the recipient of the annual award at the 2018 Fivesome Tournament and Auction at Fircrest Golf Club.
Our host Superintendent John Alexander and his staff put on a show this year with their superb course conditions! After a beautiful day of golf at Fircrest, Steve was handed over the award presented by the WWGCSA Board, which was accompanied by some tears in the crowd. This is just the most recent award in Steve's 30 year career as the superintendent at Glendale Golf & Country Club. Over the years he has proven to be one of the best communicators in the industry for environmental stewardship and the importance of the superintendent in the golf community at large. Steve has also played an important role in the development of the First Green Program which is dedicated to the education of youth with regard to turfgrass management and the world of agronomy. Steve provides numerous hours of community service, donating his time and talents to educate local area high school students on agronomic and environmental issues. This award was extra special to Steve as he was a very close friend of our late Director Paul Backman, who worked tirelessly to promote our profession in the local golf industry. Steve seemed to think this award was far too soon in his career, however everyone that knows him thinks it has probably come too late. Congratulations Steve, you deserve it!


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High blood pressure – or hypertension – is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke that affects as many as 100 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide. Decades of research have demonstrated that the relaxation response – the physiological and psychological opposite of the well-known fight-or-flight stress response that can be achieved through relaxation techniques like yoga or mediation – can reduce blood pressure in people with hypertension. Exactly how these interventions act on the body to lower blood pressure remains unclear.
A new study led by investigators identified the genes associated with the body's response to relaxation techniques and sheds light on the molecular mechanisms by which these interventions may work to lower blood pressure. The findings were published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
"Traditionally, hypertension is treated with pharmacologic therapy, but not all patients respond to drug therapy, and many experience treatment-limiting side effects," said co-senior author. "In these patients, alternative strategies are invaluable. In this study, we found that the relaxation response can successfully helpreduce blood pressure in hypertensive patients who are not taking medication."
The relaxation response is characterized by a set of measurable changes to the body, including decreased respiration rate and heart rate, all of which can be induced by mind-body techniques including meditation and yoga. Long-term relaxation response practice has been associated with increased brain cortical thickness and specific changes in gene expression.
In this study, researchers enrolled 58 people with Stage 1 essential hypertension – defined as having a systolic (top number) blood pressure between 140-159mm Hg and diastolic (bottom number) between 90-104mm Hg. Participants were either not taking medications to control their blood pressure or had tapered off them for five weeks prior to the outset of the study. Participants also filled out standardized questionnaires about stress, depression and anxiety.
Over the next eight weeks, participants attended eight weekly training sessions at which they were guided through mind-body interventions designed to elicit the relaxation response – including diaphragmatic breathing, mantra repetition and mindfulness meditation –while passively ignoring intrusive thoughts. Participants were also given an audio CD that guided them through the same sequence for use at home once a day.
After the eight weeks of training, patients filled out the same stress, depression and anxiety questionnaires and had blood drawn for gene expression testing along with blood pressure measurement. Overall, 13 of the 24 participants who completed the eight-week intervention experienced a clinically relevant drop in blood pressure – that is, specific reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings that moved participants below 140/90 mm Hg, the clinical definition of stage 1 hypertension.
Patients who demonstrated significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure – enough so that their blood pressure was below the definition of Stage I essential hypertension – were classified as "responders." Those whose blood pressure still fell within the definition of Stage I hypertension – and those who did not see reduction in both numbers – were classified as "non-responders."
When the researchers ran gene expression analyses comparing blood samples from the two groups, they found that specific gene expression changes had occurred in the responders over the course of the eight-week relaxation response intervention that were not observed in the non-responders. Specifically, among responders the expression of 1,771 genes differed between the baseline blood tests and those taken after the eight weeks of relaxation response practice.
Further, researchers determined that the reduction in blood pressure was correlated with genes linked to immune regulatory pathways, metabolism and glucose metabolism, cardiovascular system development and circadian rhythm.
"Interactive network analysis of the gene signature identified several molecules, particularly immune system-linked genes, as critical molecules for blood pressure reduction," said first author. "Our innovative in-silico analysis indicates that meditation might be lowering blood pressure by acting on specific anti-inflammatory immune cells (M2 Macrophages). Based on these findings, our lab is now applying these cutting edge "-omics" and Big Data approaches to other alternative therapies, too, including Ayurveda, an Indian holistic healing system."
"Our results suggest that the relaxation response reduced blood pressure – at least in part – by altering expression of genes in a select set of biological pathways," co-first author noted. "Importantly, the changes in gene expression associated with this drop in blood pressure are consistent with the physical changes in blood pressure and inflammatory markers that one would anticipate and hope to observe in patients successfully treated for hypertension."


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Some new photos added. I haven't had that much time to take photos lately, so I still have some new figures waiting. And I have new ones coming in next week, phew.. :)
Cats, owls, roosters
I got some new ones. Not all photos are added yet, but these two are my favourites of my new additions!!!
Umbrella Acacia
This is not a very good photo because it was so dark, but I can't wait to show my new tree!
Schleich 30654, Umbrella Acacia tree.
Plus some really happy-looking animals :)
Timon & Pumba
Safari meerkats, warthog, tiger shark and beluga whale added :) And I think I just learned how to add photos here..
Playvisions orangutan (from Netherlands, thank you!) and 3 figures from Albert Hejn WWF series (also from Netherlands, thanks to another person!) arrived at the beginning of the week.
Wonderful gifts and trades!
Today I received even more figures, this time from two different collectors in Finland. (These I paid for, but some of them I had been looking for a looong time. And the prices were decent, so I'm super happy!)
2 dogs and a cat (I love the cat's eyes!)
My baby bear and baby boar finally got moms.
Colour variation of my donkey.
My sheep got a baby.
And this little baby arrived as well.
Hmm, I couldn't find a way to add photos here, so I just linked them..
Everything is here!
All my figures, except for one orangutan that just arrived, are now on the website. This is the first (hopefully not the last) time!
I'll keep the site updated :)
New photos
I uploaded more photos of my collection. There's around 40 new ones, so they're in almost every category. Check them out!
I try to get at least some kind of photos of all my figures online as soon as possible and update them later with better ones. There's also some info still missing, but I'm working on it..
Trade list updated
Mostly Bullyland but also some other figures added.
Dogs, cats, primates
Added those.
New sea life figures
Many beautiful creatures added! Some are new, and some I just haven't posted earlier. The sea life section is now up-to-date, the rest are not (yet).


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Friday, December 07, 2018
"Keep on doing the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you."
We want to accomplish monumental acts of heroism for God. We want to change the world. But Paul is here calling us to routine acts of faithfulness, and to "keep on doing" them again and again. Those who live by grace don't think in terms of what they want to accomplish, but in terms of how God is changing the world through the faithful acts of quiet servants.
© Princeton Theological Seminary P.O. Box 821, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08542-0803, 609.921.8300 An Institution related to the Presbyterian Church (USA)


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Karma for me as a point within my life has been more a point of mystery or way to out there, meaning that because of the religion my family followed, they feared anything that was outside of the familiar. So Karma was something that I didn't study or really understand till I was more in high school because my family didn't believe in reincarnation. And within high school, I saw Karma more as a point of revenge, where if someone harmed me I desired them to get it back with this belief that Karma will get them and then within the point of harming another, I feared that in some way that I would get it in return. So in a way this stopped me from going all out in being out of control within my actions, but also it was not done within awareness nor based on common sense. So I will do some self forgiveness to clear the point.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to go into an energetic experience of desire toward others within the idea that karma is real and that i wanted it to hit others in a way were i would get revenge on them.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to put my own self interest of seeking revenge on another within the idea of karma instead of seeing what it directly means and living within it based on the facts of what is here.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to see that within my own desires of seeking revenge on another, i am instigating karma onto myself as I am living the exact same as those whom do harm to me.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to not see, realize, and understand that within the fact of thinking of harm onto another I am going to get harm in return as I am the other and the other is me one and equal as the physical.
I forgive myself that i have not accepted and allowed myself to see, realize, and understand the understanding of what i do onto another i do unto myself as I am the other as we are all here as life as this physical reality and we are one and so equal within this fact.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to place energy within the act of karma where in I seek revenge based on taking what another did to me personal and believing that i am not responsible for what has happened to me and/or i believe that i can blame and then seek revenge onto them through the idea I had created of Karma as revenge.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to place emotions and feelings onto the principle of karma and so create an experience of what is karma instead of living by the principle of what it in fact means in the nature law of this existence.
I forgive myself that i have accepted and allowed myself to harm another in any way in my world and not live what is best for all in all ways always.
When and as I see i am going into a point of desiring another to have revenge done unto them through the principle of karma, i stop and breath, and realize that within this very directive of myself of taking revenge on another I am equally doing this onto myself as I and the other are one and equal. So i see, realize, and understand that I am harming myself when i harm another equal and one.
I commit myself to let go of the emotions toward the principle of karma through redefining it to a direct fact and living it's re-definition.
I commit myself to stop judging, blaming, and projecting responsibility onto others.
I commit myself to take responsibility for all parts of my world and balance it back into equilibrium within the principle of karma.
I commit myself to stand within what is best for all by living and so honoring the nature of who i am as life within and as all that exist here as self.
So looking at the current definition of the word Karma, it says:
(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation
To look at the word play:
k - armor
can harm her
Not much revealed there, though i do see that within the statement 'can harm her' it is showing that there is a decision by self, we choose to do harm or do what's best, it's self decision alone. Within this self decision of how one lives, there are consequences that will outflow from self's actions. So Karma is a state of being meaning you as a physical being are a creator and so can create whatever it is that one want. Though living the realization is key of when we create from physical matter as our life and our decisions with this, there are physical effects to our actions and these effects create consequence, through this one will live within and as and so have to stand within and take responsibility for the consequences you create. This is karma, so the point of learning and understanding within this redefinition is to realize karma exist as a fact it's neither good nor bad, but simply is an outflow of a decision we as the creator create within our living reality here in physical matter as we act. We are ultimately responsible for all that we create, and so it is suggested and makes the most sense to create in what is best for all as this is in essence best for self as all life is one and equal as all life is here as the physical reality.
Redefinition of the word Karma - the living of self within the decision one makes as a creator of who one is within the understanding of the responsibility one upholds within the act of creation and so face the consequences that will inevitably outflow from this self decision.
Self-Responsibility - Destonian Wiki
Jesus - Responsibility
Check Out these Awesome supportive sites:
Desteni I Process Lite - Free Course to Start your Journey to Life
Journey to Life Group - On Facebook
Desteni Wiki - For All Things Desteni Related
Desteni Forum - Share your Self with Other Walking This Process
Destonian Social Network
Self and Living Store
Eqafe - Self Perfection Support
Equal Life Foundation - Site


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For all enquiries please contact email@example.com
Several brühl les copains chairs together make a graceful, wonderfully comfortable group. The delicate frame, finished in either brass, chrome, black chrome, copper, blank metal or painted black or white, adds a luxurious touch. The seat is woven using untreated hemp or high-tech black or white string, with optional vertical or horizontal weaving on the armrests. Minimalist and elegantly shaped, delicate yet stable, the carefully crafted les copains chair is available with three different elegantly designed low, medium and high backrests.


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Olafsvik Destination Guide
Touring Olafsvik in Iceland.
Olafsvik in the region of West with it's 992 citizens is located in Iceland - some 75 mi (or 121 km) North-West of Reykjavík, the country's capital city.
Time in Olafsvik is now 05:24 PM (Saturday). The local timezone is named "Atlantic / Reykjavik" with an UTC offset of 0 hours. Depending on your travel resources, these more prominent places might be interesting for you: Stapi, Selfoss, Reykjavík, Keflavík, Ísafjörður or Borgarnes. Being here already, consider visiting and Olafsvik. We collected some hobby films in the internet. Scroll down to see the most favourite one or select the video collection in the navigation.
Weather Conditions Today & Next Days Forecast
Beatkamp Dada Pogrom Eternity
Beatkamp gives you the best synthesizer requiem of all time! Stunning video shot on film in Iceland. This song was produced by Anthony Valcic at Bryan Adams' studio in Vancouver. Written by Dada Pogro...
Weather conditions on Snæfellsjökull
On a foggy day. No need to point out that slow driving is recommended
[HD] Sigur Rós - Glósóli (live in Ól...
Last year, in the endless magic hour of the Icelandic summer, Sigur Rós played a series of concerts around their homeland. Combining both the biggest and smallest shows of their career, the entire to...
Whale (Dolphins !) watching in Olafsvik ...
We saw no whales, but lots of Dolphins. Pure fun to see
Videos provided by Youtube are under the copyright of their owners.
Interesting facts about this location
Ólafsvík is a fishing port in Iceland. It is situated near the western end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, on the north coast of the peninsula. It is on route 54, between Grundarfjörður and Hellissandur. At 23 degrees 42 minutes West, it is the westernmost settlement of its size in Europe. Administratively it is in the county of Snæfellsnes- og Hnappadalssýsla, in the region of Vesturland and it is the administrative centre of the municipality of Snæfellsbær.
Located at 64.89, -23.71 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 0 mi away.
Snæfellsbær is a municipality located in western Iceland. As of January 1, 2011, it had a total population of 1,723. The total area is 684 km². Its administrative centre is Ólafsvík and the majority of the residents live in Ólafsvík, Rif and Hellissandur.
Located at 64.89, -23.71 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 0 mi away.
Hellissandur is a village and part of the Snæfellsbær municipality at the north-western tip of Snæfellsnes peninsula in western Iceland. Once an important fishing area, the village has experienced growth in tourism. The maritime museum has examples of the turf-roof houses once common across Iceland, as well as marine engines and Iceland's oldest rowing boat (1826). According to the 2011 census, Hellissandur and nearby Rif have 544 inhabitants.
Located at 64.89, -23.71 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 6 mi away.
Arnarstapi or Stapi is a small fishing village at the foot of Mt. Stapafell between Hellnar village and Breiðavík farms on the southern side of Snæfellsnes, Iceland. Placenames in the vicinity of Arnarstapi and nearby Hellnar village are inspired by Bárðar saga Snæfellsáss, an Icelandic saga relating the story of Bárður, a half human and half ogre. Arnarstapi was a natural site for landings and harbor for small vessels, and therefore ideal for a shipping port.
Located at 64.89, -23.71 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 9 mi away.
Hellnahraun is a lava field between Arnarstapi and Hellnar in Snæfellsnes, Iceland. The source of Hellnahraun lava field is a crater near Jökulháls, now covered by the Snæfellsjökull glacier. The estimated age of the lava field is 3,900 years.
Located at 64.89, -23.71 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 10 mi away.
Related Locations
Information of geographic nature is based on public data provided by geonames.org, CIA world facts book, Unesco, DBpedia and wikipedia.


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How to revive brands after poll uncertainties
This article has also been published this morning on People Daily! Read on!
Last week marked one year since the declaration of the August 8, 2017 election results. And they were greeted with either jubilation or anger depending on the political divide — President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee and Raila Odinga's Nasa.
There was anxiety and uncertainly across the country. This was a hotly contested election, whose outcome — Uhuru's re-election — was rejected by the opposition.
The tense atmosphere kept sensitive sectors such as businesses on a razor's edge. For months, business remained muted and efforts to resuscitate them has been a slow climb-up the hill.
One year later, though some businesses are on recovery path thanks to the thawed political atmosphere after the Handshake between Uhuru and Raila on March 9. Others are still struggling with looming layoffs and no hope of resuscitation.
As a Kenyan brand trying to permeate the maze and reach the fickle consumers, what are some of the strategies of bouncing back?
First, identify media channels to capitalise on, in the season of fog and fuzziness. Brands can tweak their marketing strategies to resonate with the real-time occurrences. An example can be drawn from brands that intercepted the tense period by memes and marketing opportunities with the celebrity of the season, Martin Kamotho, popularly known as Githeri Man.
His resilience to wait on the voting queue and choosing to manage his hunger with githeri was comic relief the country needed. Brands that associated themselves with him, increased their visibility as Kenyans on Twitter were sharing in the excitement of the Githeri Man. Tweaking your advertising strategies with ideas that resonate locally, always attracts higher returns on investment.
Historically, brands have always taken an apolitical stance during electoral contests, but in the last election, they got embroiled in the circus and some were caught in the political crossfire between the protagonists.
But they weathered the storm by focussing on what makes them tick and kept working at to improve it. The secret is innovation and creativity and to keep the eye on consumer satisfaction.
As the dust settles, brand managers have to keep an eye at the government's priorities and align to them. For example, Uhuru has flagged the Big Four agenda — food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare — and if your brand is seeking to keep afloat, you should align to them and network more.
Perhaps, your brand niche is none of the above. It could be that the train already left the station and you are still making objections to innovations in your line of work. Disrupt before you get disrupted. If you do not innovate, you will find yourself filing for bankruptcy the same way Kodak did in 2012.
Kodak invented the digital camera and had it all in terms of first mover advantage and IP. The digital age was looming, but they did not envision the traction of the digital camera outside the professional market. Sadly, they were decimated by the digital movement.
Do not blame the post-election lull, the competition or the disruptions. Find opportunities to disrupt before you get disrupted.


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Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions
Dear Friends,
We at Black Lawrence Press would like to update you on the recent launch of the Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions – the innovative, and inexpensive, author mentoring system. DCWS matches award winning authors with writers looking to work on the rewriting and editing of their manuscripts. All of the money from this program will go to fund Dzanc's charitable ventures such as our Dzanc Writer in Residence Programs and the Dzanc Prize.
1. Some of the workshop authors involved as mentors have recently been in the news: George Singleton was just awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and Kevin Wilson's short story collection, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, was just positively reviewed in the NYTBR! It's exciting to see such these two, and so many other, fantastic authors involved with this program.
2. The program has taken off in exciting fashion and we've received great feedback already from a number of those that have had their first sessions:
"I can't say enough about how valuable this process has been for me — and will continue to be as I digest her comments and revise my story. Her insight, encouragement and suggestions are just what I needed. I will definitely participate in this program again in the future! Thanks so much for the opportunity." — Jennifer Hollmeyer (regarding mentoring author, Katrina Denza)
"Thank you so much for your time and for your words of encouragement. And thanks especially for being so straight with me — this is exactly the kind of tough coaching I need." — Michael Mussman
"I found the experience quite wonderful." — Caitlin Hamilton
We would love to answer any questions you may have about the Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions, and certainly would appreciate any coverage that you might provide your readership. We believe this is an important program that will help many writers who might not otherwise have access to a mentoring author. Again, any questions, please feel free to ask either via email at firstname.lastname@example.com, of by phone at 734-756-5701.
Thank you,
Diane Goettel
Black Lawrence Press, an imprint of Dzanc Books Black Lawrence Publishing • 8405 Bay Parkway #C8 • Brooklyn • NY • 11214


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February 15, 2014 from 10am to 4pm – Pozhuthana,Wayanad, Kerala Whenever it comes to adventure, Enough has never been enough! The second edition of MTB Kerala is all set to flag off on Feb 15, 2014. Apart from bikers from all over India, hundreds of bikers from v… Organized by MTB Kerala | Type: cross, country, (xco)
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If you've ever been in a choir, you've sung the "Hallelujah Chorus." In high school I recall the audience standing whenever it was sung and everyone would join in. Last year around Christmas I finally got to attend a Messiah Sing, something I've wanted to do for years. It was glorious!
Patrick Kavanaugh, author of Spiritual Moments of the Great Composers (a wonderful devotional, by the way) told the story of how George Frideric Handel during a low period in his life was commissioned by a Dublin charity to compose "Messiah." Given scripture verses as the libretto, he set to work, completing this iconic masterpiece in an astonishing 24 days. Witnesses caught him weeping copiously during the composition process. A servant quoted Handel as saying, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself," after completing the "Hallelujah Chorus."*
Musicologist Robert Myers declared that Handel "has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written."*
As you listen to the Royal Choral Society's rendition, ponder these questions:
- How do you feel when you hear the "Hallellujah Chorus?" Are you compelled to join in? Why?
- In what ways did Handel capture the glory of God as he saw it in the music and lyrics?
- Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that we see God now only as "a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face." Considering the majesty of God as depicted in the "Hallelujah Chorus," contemplate God's glory as best you can, knowing it is but a shadow of what we will see when we meet God face to face. Offer your praise to Him, either by singing along or just using your own words.
*Citation: pages 186-187, Spiritual Moments of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh, available on Amazon.
See our other Praying Twice features here.
Copyright 2018 Susan Bailey


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Elizabeth Hartsock joined the Florida State University Athletics Department in January of 2008 as an Accounting Specialist. She was elevated to Assistant Athletics Director/Business Manager in November of 2010. In her current position, she manages the day-to-day operations of the Business Office while overseeing eight full-time staff members and several student assistants.As Assistant Athletics Director / Business Manager, Hartsock is responsible for preparing and analyzing the Department of Education's Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) and the NCAA financial report. She also is responsible for the university athletic financial statement preparation and oversees and manages the external athletics' audit.
Hartsock earned her bachelor's degree in Accounting at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Ala. Prior to coming to Florida State, she worked in the public accounting sector where she prepared a variety of tax returns and worked on multiple audits of governmental, non-for-profit, and financial organizations and businesses.
She is a current member of the College Athletic Business Management Association (CABMA).


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Barefoot Children in the Sand-CB Duo
Czars 505 Nightclub/Silver Beach Hotel, 100 Main Street, St. Joseph, MI 49085
Parrothead weekend event open to everyone. Tons of entertainment and loads of Phun! Check out the website (ticket link) for all the information. Shoot six holes in your freezer and head to the west coast of MI for some Tropical Phun!


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Most atheists likely consider themselves to be "honest" atheists. Some atheists, however, openly say that a moral atheist is an oxymoron. They actually suggest that deception is valuable. Their claim is that since some animals use deception, why should the "human animal" be any different?
Speaking on the university campuses, I frequently hear the same false arguments. Sometimes, they are traceable to specific professors and sometimes to atheist websites. Some of those sites are so caustic and loaded with misinformation and half-truths that it's obvious whoever was writing them could not consider him/herself to be a moral atheist.
Here's the rub. Our Christian youth surf the internet and land on those pro-atheist and evolution sites. They may have been directed there by teachers or "friends." Lacking discernment to wade through the false arguments presented, some just believe and parrot the information back.
Mary Jo and I see this even in church youth groups and Christian schools. These web-surfers should ask, "How do I know if this site is written by an 'honest' atheist or by one who feels deception is valid? Why should I believe anything this site says if the underlying philosophy of the author (stated or unstated) is that it is OK to deceive?"
Keep in mind the evolutionary deceptions we reported on in T&B over the years: gill slits, yolk sacs, tails in human development, "convincing" pictures of transitions made from a few scraps of skulls. The Piltdown Man hoax was in textbooks 40 years after it was known to be false. Embryonic similarity artwork was also still in books 100 years after it was known to be false.
Warning! Atheists are stepping up their attack. We hope you will prepare your children well.


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Leilani has been in public accounting since 1994 and has more than 18 years of experience providing audit and attestation services to governmental entities and not-for-profit organizations.
Leilani graduated with Academic Distinction from the Philippine School of Business Administration with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. She is a licensed CPA in Illinois. She is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS).
She serves as a member of the Governmental Executive Committee and the Government Conference Task Force of the ICPAS. She also serves as a member of the State of Illinois Local Government Advisory Board, an advisory board that consults with the Illinois Comptroller on issues related to the local government finances.


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For latest Covid-19 information click on the link below.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) update.
Aberdeen campus is located on the Craibstone Estate, about 5 miles from the centre of the City of Aberdeen.
Ayr campus is located on a state-of-the-art campus on the riverside, right in Ayr town centre.
Barony campus is located on the Barony Estate in the rolling landscape of Dumfries and Galloway.
Edinburgh campus is located on the University of Edinburgh's King's
Buildings Campus on the south side of the City of Edinburgh.
Elmwood Campus is situated in the town of Cupar, North East Fife, only 9 miles from St. Andrews.
Oatridge campus stands on its own 283-hectare estate in the West Lothian
countryside and it is within easy reach of the City of Edinburgh.
Horticulture and Garden Design courses at Glasgow Botanic Gardens
Horticulture with Plantsmanship at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh
Campus term dates can be found here
Telephone: 0800 269 453
E-mail: email@example.com


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- Description
DetailsWraparound, visor style, lightweight, sports sunglasses with straight stems and fully adjustable nose pieces for an optimum fit. Excellent peripheral vision giving maximum protection from sunlight and the elements. Aerodynamic and functional yet very stylish.
Frame: dark opaque tortoiseshell brown frame and arms; black rubber arm ends for maximum comfort and grip; fully adjustable, wire mounted rubber nose pieces; wraparound style gives excellent peripheral protection; X-Loop logos on nose bridge and on both arms; large size.
Lens: brown - enhances contrast and depth perception, ideal for variable sunlight; flash-mirror - reduces glare; one piece visor style; full UV protection; shatterproof polycarbonate.
Labelling: X-Loop UV400 protection sticker; CE mark on inside arm; product label with brand name, compliance standards statement.
Pouch: Comes with a FREE microfibre soft pouch worth £1.97, which doubles as a cleaning cloth, and a transparent resealable protective cover.
Case Size: large.
These sunglasses comply with European Standard EN 1836:2005 and block 100% of harmful UVA and UVB rays meeting ANSI Z80.3 UV General Purpose Protection Standards. UV filter category 3 suitable for bright sunlight, driving and general purpose wear.
Approximate Measurements:
A = 145mm across temples
B = 47mm maximum lens height
C = 120mm to arm ends
Not to be used for direct viewing of the sun or in a solarium.
- Additional Information
Additional Information
Colour Tortoiseshell Delivery
We have three options for deliveries within the UK:
Our SUPER SAVER service is FREE by Second Class Royal Mail for order values over £10 or charged at £1.99 for orders below £10. The estimated delivery time is 3-14 days.
Our EXPEDITED service by First Class Royal Mail is £2.99 per order and the expected delivery time is 2-5 days.
Our PRIORITY next day service by Royal Mail Special Delivery is £6.99 per order. A tracking number will be sent to you by email when dispatched and the delivery time is next working day by 1pm for orders received before 2pm.
INTERNATIONAL orders for delivery outside the UK are sent by Royal Mail International Signed For or International Airsure depending on your country. The charge is £6.99 per order within the EU and £8.99 per order to the rest of the world. A tracking number will be sent to you by email when dispatched and the expected delivery time is 5-14 days.
We aim to dispatch all orders placed by 2pm GMT on the same working day.
- Reviews


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For Sale
- 104 3514 Power Road, Mesa, AZ, 85215
- · 1200 Sqft
- $349,000
- Description: Bedrooms: Great investment opportunity 6.78% cap rate. More stable than a residential property. Consistent 100% occupancy with a waiting list that will insure ability for annual rent increases. Office condo is divided into 5 executive offices with common area of reception, kitchenette, hallway and bathroom. Each office is rented separately to an individual tenant. Zoned for general or medical office. Each office is plumbed for water to install a sink if needed and there is a washer/dryer hookup in the...
For Sale
- 17833 N 49th Avenue, Glendale, AZ, 85308-1412
- $249,900
For Sale
- 18225 N 147th Drive, Surprise, AZ, 85374-4419
- 3 Beds · 2.5 Baths · 1521 Sqft
- $229,900
- Description: Energy efficient home with solar system. Monthly solar lease payment is only $145.28 move-in ready with new paint and carpet. Very popular and open floor plan in kingswood parke with vaulted ceilings. Breakfast bar and new sink. First floor bathroom and laundry room that is easily accessible from the garage. Split bedroom floor plan on second floor with large master bedroom with vaulted ceiling 2 sinks in master bath and walk-in closet. Hallway bathroom with tub/shower. Built-in hallway storage cabinet...
For Sale
- 2600 W Cool Water Way, Queen Creek, AZ, 85142-5900
- 3 Beds · 2.5 Baths · 1967 Sqft
- $185,000
- Description: Well cared for and refreshed in 2012 with new paint, upgraded carpet, tile, light fixtures,stainkess steel appliances, landscaped grass back yard, and much more. Enjoy the open air feeling of the vaulted ceiling in entry family room and large loft area on second floor. North - south exposure on low traffic street in morning sun farms subdivision in queen creek. Convienent utility room located on first floor at garage entrance. Covered patio to enjoy cool mornings and evenings. One of the best values in...
For Sale
- 2217 N Recker Road, Mesa, AZ, 85215
- 2 Beds · 1.75 Bath · 1152 Sqft
- $159,900
For Sale
- 3225 W Romana Drive, Eloy, AZ, 85131-9468
- $129,000
For Sale
- 133 1927 E Hampton Avenue, Mesa, AZ, 85204
- 2 Beds · 2 Baths · 988 Sqft
- $95,000
- Description: Wow, smells and looks like new after completing an extensive remodel. New, New, New, paint, tile and carpet floor, kitchen is all new. Bathroom vanities are new. Move-in ready. Nice and cozy living with community pool, tennis court, and amenities. Great location off of US60 and Gilbert Rd. NON-SMOKING UNIT. Water, sewer, and trash included in lease rate.
For Sale
- 11478 W Carousel Drive, Arizona City, AZ, 85123
- $85,000
For Sale
- 87 61 W Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ, 85210
- $29,000
For Sale
- 3755 N Kiami Drive, Eloy, AZ, 85131
- $8,000
- Description: Bedrooms: Land is dirt cheap in Arizona now. Buy now while land prices are low. This is a ready to build residential lot with NO HOA. Beautiful mountain views in a quiet rural setting
For Sale
- 11176 W Cambria Circle, Arizona City, AZ, 85123-6481
- $7,500
For Sale
- 11166 W Cambria Circle, Arizona City, AZ, 85123-6481
- $7,500
For Sale
- 9220 W Debbie Lane, Arizona City, AZ, 85123
- $7,500
For Sale
- 67261 Wells Drive, Salome, AZ, 85348
- $6,500
For Sale
- 419 W 2nd Place, Eloy, AZ, 85131
- $5,000
- Description: Bedrooms:
For Sale
- 323 W 4th Street, Eloy, AZ, 85131
- $5,000
- Description: Bedrooms: Nice affordable residential lot in rural Eloy. NO HOA. Buy now while land is cheap. Good access to Interstate 10
For Sale
- 419 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr Street, Eloy, AZ, 85131
- $5,000
- Description: Bedrooms: Residential lot in quiet rural Eloy. Buy now while land prices are low. Easy access to Interstate 10
For Sale
- 3320 N Country Club Road, Eloy, AZ, 85131
- $2,950
For Sale
- 4645 E Culver Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85008-5612
- 3 Beds · 2.5 Baths · 1695 Sqft
- $1,450
- Description: New York Elegance and European style in a contemporary loft town home. Just remodeled and better than when new in 2005. Wide open living space on second floor with high ceilings. Two car garage on first floor. Three bedrooms on third floor. Gated community with pool. Fantastic central location close to ASU, Sky Harbor airport, Papago Point, Scottsdale and the 202. Move-in ready. NO-PETS, NO SMOKING
Sale Pending
- 2637 Saffron Cir, Mesa, AZ, 85215 United States
- 4 Beds · 2 Baths · 1875 Sqft
- $224,900
Sale Pending
- 10926 W Cambria Circle, Arizona City, AZ, 85123
- $149,900
Sale Pending
- 3225 W Romana Drive, Eloy, AZ, 85131-9468
- 3 Beds · 2 Baths · 1470 Sqft
- $72,500
- Description: This has to be the best home deal in Arizona! Maybe even the entire United States when you consider the year round sunshine that is included! For this price you would probably expect a manufactured home, a home much older, or a fixer upper. This site built home was built in 2006 and a total remodel was just completed. MOVE-IN READY. New paint in and out, carpet, light fixtures and ceiling fans, garage door. Shows like a new model home but costs a whole lot less. The new white fence is included and NO H...


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A U.S. backed group of Iraqi Kurdish fighters has condemned Monday's deadly terror attack by Kurdish rebels in Turkey. The attack killed three people. But a spokesman for the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga says he doubts the naming of a special U.S. envoy will help eliminate the terrorist threat from Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Iraq.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, a hard-line Kurdish militant group linked to the banned PKK terrorist organization claimed responsibility the bomb attack that killed three people in Turkey Monday. The attack is the latest to be claimed by the group, which has been linked to the banned PKK terrorist organization, which has been fighting for a separate Kurdish homeland.
In response to the latest attacks by Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Iraq, the United States Monday named retired U.S. Air Force General Joseph Ralston to be a special envoy for eliminating the Kurdish terrorist threat.
The State Department says the general will have responsibility for coordinating U.S. anti-terror efforts with Iraq and Turkey, which reportedly pushed for the naming of the envoy.
But a spokesman for the Peshmerga, the Iraqi Kurdish force that fought with the United States during the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein, has expressed doubt about the naming of the U.S. envoy.
Peshmerga spokesman Muhammed Qazi, says he does not believe General Ralston will be able to address the root causes of the problem.
"I doubt that this is a good solution because the military solution for the PKK in the area, I doubt that that is going to be having a good end," he said. "The good solution to us, it's a diplomatic solution by all sides to be involved."
Qazi, who condemned the recent terror attacks in Turkey, says he is also concerned about possible unilateral actions the Turkish military may take to eliminate the threat from PKK and other Kurdish terror groups in Iraq.
Qazi say the best way to eliminate popular support for militant groups, is for Turkey and other nations in the region to address the legitimate concerns of their Kurdish minorities.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government has welcomed the appointment of General Ralston as the U.S. special envoy.
In a written statement, the Foreign Ministry said the appointment represents a "new opportunity" for further cooperation with the United States in curbing PKK terrorism.


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|Picture: Psychonaut via Wiki Commons
1. The war on drugs has been a catastrophic and expensive failure, costing governments around the world 100 billion dollars every year. It's a ridiculous waste of public money. The botched attempt at alcohol prohibition in the 1920's should have shown lawmakers that making a narcotic illegal doesn't prevent people from taking it. Policing has also been extremely ineffective. Even in Afghanistan, where there was a huge US military presence, the opium trade reached record levels. A new strategy to combat drug use is required.
2. As a society, we are free to enact all manner of harm on our bodies and minds. We can eat until we die from heart failure, and smoke until we get lung cancer. People who use drugs are harming their bodies, but that is their right in a free country. Your body is your property. Drug dealers are the real criminals because their objective is to increase the number of people who are abusing their bodies with drugs. So lets get a grip and stop locking up drug users.
3. The most effective way to close down a business is to undercut them and take their customers. The drug-dealing business is no different. Western governments should understand that the only way to end drug use is to control the market. If a government nationalized the drug trade; buying in bulk and selling to users for zero profit, all of the drug dealers in that country would be instantly forced out of business. The drive for new addicts would end.
4. If drugs were legalized, something could be done about the problem. Users would have better access to health and rehabilitation services, and their habits could be moderated better by health professionals. The trendy image associated with drug use could be quashed and re-branded. It would be considered a health problem rather than a fashion choice, making it less attractive to the young and vulnerable.
After a short time, sales could be restricted to those who have a preexisting addiction, meaning no new addicts would be created by the system. The dealers wouldn't be able to fill the gap. Any new addicts they manage to create would be immediately lost to the non-profit prices offered by the government. Eventually, the drugs problem would diminish and die out.
5. If drugs were sold legally at zero profit, most of the crime associated with the problem would go away. There would be fewer muggings and burglaries because users wouldn't have to find money to fund their habit. The crime associated with the drug-dealing enterprise would also vanish, though we could probably expect criminals to move into other vices such as gambling and prostitution.
Legalization is a solution that makes sense to professionals working in the field. Lets start listening to them!


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Alcohol Abuse Self-Test
This series of questions about one's use of alcohol and/or drugs is an informal inventory of "tell–tale signs," with many items tailored to lawyers. It is not a list of official diagnostic criteria and does not substitute for a professional evaluation (which D.C. Bar LAP staff counselors can provide in person or refer you to a certified evaluator).
1. Do I plan my office routine around my drinking or drug use?
2. Have I tried unsuccessfully to control or abstain from alcohol or drugs?
3. Do my clients, associates, or support personnel contend that my alcohol/drug use interferes with my work?
4. Have I avoided important professional, social, or recreational activities as a result of my alcohol/drug use?
5. Do I ever use alcohol or drugs before meetings or court appearances, to calm my nerves, or to feel more confident of my performance?
6. Do I frequently drink or use drugs alone?
7. Have I ever neglected the running of my office or misused funds because of my alcohol or drug use?
8. Have I ever had a loss of memory when I seemed to be alert and functioning but had been using alcohol or drugs?
9. Have I missed or adjourned closings, court appearances, or other appointments because of my alcohol/drug use?
10. Is drinking or drug use leading me to become careless of my family's welfare or other personal responsibilities?
11. Has my ambition or efficiency decreased along with an increase in my use of drugs or alcohol?
12. Have I continued to drink or use drugs despite adverse consequences to my practice, health, legal status, or family relationships?
13. Are strong emotions, related to my drinking or drug use (e.g., fear, guilt, depression, severe anxiety) interfering with my ability to function professionally?
14. Are otherwise close friends avoiding being around me because of my alcohol or drug use?
15. Have I been neglecting my hygiene, health care, or nutrition?
16. Am I becoming increasingly reluctant to face my clients or colleagues in order to hide my alcohol/drug use?
A "yes" answer to any of these questions suggests that it would be wise to seek professional evaluation (at D.C. Bar LAP or elsewhere), but may or may not indicate that you have a diagnosable addictive disorder. Evaluations of alcohol/drug problems should be done by a clinician with addiction credentials and/or experience working in an addiction-oriented setting.


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Connect with your Social Network
Connect with your Social Network
Mortgage Forces is an independent mortgage brokerage with years of experience offering and providing mortgage services with a focus on serving military members, DND employees and their families. We offer expertise and quality service that is guaranteed to help you find the best financing for your mortgage, renewal or refinancing needs.
Our network of multiple lenders allows us to offer you the best mortgage rates and excellent advantages. Whether you are buying your first home, building, relocating or refinancing Mortgage Forces is here to help you.
For more information on how you can get started, please contact us or to get started right away apply online.


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This was a recent job we did in Coldwater, MI. Bats have infested this attic and it was our job to handle it. We sealed every entry point and excluded the bats. Once the bats were evicted we completely cleaned out the attic and restored it the way it was supposes to be. If your attic looks like this here are the steps you must take to get it right….
Before Removal: We have plastic runners from the front door to the attic hatch. We place flooring through out the room where the attic hatch is located. Tyvec suits, boot covers, respirators, and eye protection are used for all attic restorations. Temporary lighting will be set up through out the attic. Hoses are ran from the outside to the inside of the house through an open gable or window. Air scrubbers can be set up in the room to pull in any odors or air pollutants out of the air.
Removing the Droppings: We start by removing all of the the contaminated insulation and droppings through a 18 horse power vacuum into 75 cubic feet insulation bags. In some instances for batted insulation we remove insulation into 45 gallon air tight construction bags. All the bags are transferred into a dumpster to be taken away. Most instances the contaminated waste is moved out of the attic through an open gable end or through an open window. Never removed through the home.
After Removing the Waste: Once the insulation and waste is removed we kill off any fungi or bacteria with a mold control. We have a portable atomizer we use to mist the the attic. We deodorize the attic and apply a latex based kill stain to lock in all of the odors and prevent them from entering the home.
New Insulation: Once all the insulation is removed, sanitized, and deodorized we replace all of the insulation with an up to code R value. Depending on whether you want batted insulation so you can install floor boards or R-60 value insulation, we can do it all.
Note: Attic restoration services is an extensive process, which often means greater expenses than all other wildlife control cost. If your damages are by a nocturnal mammal including bats and raccoon's it may be covered through your homeowners insurance company. Contact your provider to see if this type of service is covered. We deal with insurance companies daily to provide estimates and get your cost covered.


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Arturo Fuente Grand Reserva
Arturo Fuente Grand Reserva Cigars are the most traditional and oldest line of the Arturo Fuente cigars and the one the makes the Fuente Family to earn the reputation to this days, for over a 100 Years. Representing four generation of family tradition, every cigar in this line as a personal touch and a consistency that is rare in the cigar industry. Each leaf used in this line is properly aged and selected from the private Fuente Family Reserve. Then cigars are hand rolled by experienced torcedores to satisfy the final destiny: the consumer. Every cigar is this line is packaged in 20 or 25 cardboard and cedar boxes with Humidity Control packages to guarantee the health of the cigar. Shop now Arturo Fuente Grand Reserva cigars at the best online prices here at Cuenca Cigars, your only and dedicated cigar provider! Cigars Online Free Shipping Continental USA in orders of $99 or more. Shop Now Boxes, 5 Packs and Singles.


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During our holiday to Magic Natura, Benidorm with Jet2Holidays we were delighted to find that we had unlimited free access to the Aqua Natura water park for the entire week as part of our all inclusive booking.
The resort ran a free mini bus to the water park and back throughout the day (literally a constant loop!) However, the entrance to the water park is a 5 minute walk from the resort entrance so you needn't worry about the mini bus if you missed it and didn't fancy waiting. You also have free unlimited access to Terra Natura when you go all inclusive at this resort, all three are neighbours and have access links for guests.
Aqua Natura is also open to the general public and at just 10 minutes away from Benidorm and on a bus route it makes it very accessible.
Opening Times:
If you are not a guest at Magic Natura then Aqua Natura and Terra Natura tickets can be purchased as a 1 park or multi ticket and annual passes are also available. They also offer tickets which include meal deals and group deals.
You can also purchase tickets for both Aqua Natura and Terra Natura by using Tesco Clubcard vouchers! In fact just £5 in vouchers will get you a 1 day entry to the park.
We really weren't sure what to expect when we heard that we had an inclusive water park at the resort, on a previous holiday we had a similar facility and as great as it was it didn't prepare us for what we found at Aqua Natura.
The place is HUGE!!!
Aqua Natura has five large sections: the wave pool, the water slides, the kid's pool, the lighthouse breakwater and the Spa-Sun Deck.
There are cafe and refreshment facilities for the general public and as part of our all inclusive booking this included food and drinks (alcoholic and soft) at Aqua Natura, this was situated upstairs (these could have done with a good sluice down to be honest as it wasn't pleasant walking up them!) The menu was a little limited, burger and chips, pizza and chips, chicken nuggets and chips (I believe there was a salad option) crisps, fruit and ice creams but they did the job and the drinks servings were very generous! The girls loved the slushies! All inclusive guest just need to show their room card.
Guests are also able to bring in their own picnic.
The main pool is a graduated beach style entry which makes the pool accessible to all, including those with mobility problems, there were some steeper slopes so bare this in mind. The water park also has water wheelchairs available free of charge to those who require them.
We visited during May Half Term and as you will see from the photos the whole place was very quiet!
There were hundreds of sun loungers around the perimeter of the wave pool and kids zone, general public could pay a small fee to hire these, all inclusive guests were able to use these for free. We never had a problem finding four sun loungers together, quite often getting the same ones on the edge of the wave pool.
The landscaping was quite picturesque, especially with the mountains in the background and the beautiful foliage encompassing the water park, edging the walkways and dotted throughout the pool.
Chris and the girls never waited long to get on the water slides and the children's splash pool was a great enticement for little ones. The water was rather chilly but refreshing in the hot sun.
Over the far side of the water park we were so excited to find there was daily Sea Lion shows.
We watched this each time we visited and on one occasion the girls were invited in to help with part of the show!
The guy running the show was hilarious, he reminded me of a Robin Williams character and he had a great relationship with the Sea Lions, the main star of the show "Charlie" was a 12 year old sea lion and the handler had been working with him ever since he was a pup! You could see their close relationship and respect for one another.
After the show guests were invited to have their photo taken with one of the sea lions, only a certain amount were allowed through during each session but as the water park was quiet whilst we were there this was never a problem. They had a photographer and you could buy photos but they didn't stop you from taking your own photos either.
The girls had an opportunity to see the sea lion and he just couldn't resist a cheeky kiss or two!
They also offer sea lion encounters, one of which was to swim with the animals and interact with them, priced at 35 euro.
We didn't get a chance to do that this time but would definitely book up next time we visit (yes we are planning to go again!)
We watched a group swimming with the sea lion and it looked great fun, swimmers are told to just allow the sea lion to approach you and he was certainly a playful character!
The various sea lion experiences were detailed and priced on a display board near to the sea lion enclosure.
The water park also has a small shop, just behind this you will find the photo shop where you can view any photos taken of you and your group during your visit. There was no pressure to buy but they were happy to tell you all their offers (these seemed to vary depending on what you had looked at, how many children were in your group, what experiences you had visited etc.) They were also open to bartering!
Lastly I mention the Mermaid School!
This was priced at 20 Euros per child (or adult if you wished) and the experience was amazing. I won't tell you all the details, that can wait for another blog feature!
But just look at how beautiful the girls were as Mermaids.
We booked our holiday with Holiday Hamster, They were great and handled all parts of the booking for us. Make sure you check them out if you're looking for great service.
They can also be found on Facebook.
Enjoy your holidays!!!!


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The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is a global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV and AIDS, working in 19 countries and supporting close to 6,000 sites around the world to prevent the transmission of HIV to children, and to facilitate access to services for those already infected. Today, because of the highly successful work of the Foundation and its partners, pediatric AIDS has been virtually eliminated in the United States. With a growing global staff of over 1,000—nine of 10 who work in the field—the Foundation's global mission is to implement prevention, care, and treatment; further advance innovative research and to execute strategic and targeted global advocacy activities to bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide.
Position Summary
Job Title: Research Officers – 2 Positions
Immediate Supervisor: Study Coordinator, Malezi II
Location: Tabora
Job grade: 5
Job Summary
Research Officer is a member of the Strategic Information and Evaluation (SIE) team, will recruit, consent, interview, observe, and trace study participants enrolled in the Malezi II early child development (ECD) evaluation research. The Research Officer will also support monitoring and evaluation of the Malezi II program. This position is based in Tabora. The ideal candidate for this position is a person who pays great attention to detail, holds him/herself to the highest standards of hard work and integrity, and someone who will be comfortable working in rural communities and visiting study participants in their homes.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities
Become knowledgeable of EGPAF research policies and procedures, ethical conduct of research, human subject protection, the study protocol and all requirements of conducting study procedures.
Conduct data collection procedures such as participant recruitment, screening, consenting, interviewing, home and clinic observations, and active tracing of enrolled participants, as per standard operating procedures.
Manage audio and video recording equipment to ensure functionality and use during data collection.
Ensure data deficiencies discovered are corrected.
Conduct data entry.
Ensure that study targets are met, and data are documented truthfully and completely.
Preserve the integrity of the research by reporting any wrongdoing, deviations or violations observed or involved.
Protect collected data and any other study documents and records through organized storage and management, keeping in locked cabinets overnight or when not in use, and only allowing authorized personnel to access such documents.
Represent the study to local government authorities at formal and informal meetings, as required
Plan local travel, write trip reports, and submit to the Regional Program Coordinator as required in a proper and timely manner.
Any other responsibilities as assigned.
Education And Experience
Required Qualifications
University Degree.
Three years work experience in public health (public sector) programs or evaluation research. Prior work with an international NGO or a research organization is an advantage.
Experience in quantitative data collection.
Experience in qualitative data collection an advantage.
Knowledge of early child development an advantage.
Essential Skills And Knowledge
Capacity and motivation to acquire new knowledge and skills in a short time.
Excellent oral and written communication skills (English and Kiswahili); strong critical thinking, problem solving and attentiveness to detail.
Ability to work independently with limited supervision.
High level of computer literacy.
Ability to work effectively within multi-disciplinary teams (excellent communication, negotiation, follow-up, and motivation skills, plus a positive attitude).
Ability and willingness to travel within Tabora up to 75%.
EGPAF is an equal opportunities employer and the position is open to all. Qualified candidates should submit a CV, cover letter and relevant certificates explaining how the experience detailed in the CV will contribute to the requirements of the position and references to EGPAF.
Submissions to be sent to:
Senior Human Resource Manager,
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation,
395 Ursino Park, Mwaikibaki Road, Morocco
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Or e-mail: email@example.com
Closing date: 17th February 2019
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Warning: Never Pay To Get A Job. Legitimate companies dont ask for money.