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A really great primer by physicist Lawrence Krauss on what we have recently learned about the universe, how it is utterly dominated by "nothing", aka dark matter and dark energy, and why the emergent picture is so incomprehensibly bizarre.
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I came across another super interesting lecture on topics very similar to what Krauss covers. It's titled, "Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse?", and was delivered by Professor Alan Guth of MIT, part of the Issac Newton Lecture, 2009.
Krauss is more entertaining and uses better visuals; Guth concentrates more on explaining the physics, which in his case also means less humor and fewer pot shots at religion.
Another related lecture, "Sean Carroll on the Arrow of Time", is worth watching. Carroll, a cosmologist, "gives an entertaining and thought-provoking talk about the nature of time, the origin of entropy, and how what happened before the Big Bang might be responsible for the arrow of time we observe today." Before the Bing Bang, huh?
In his article 'The other side of time' (2000) scientist Victor J. Stenger has written:
"Quantum electrodynamics is a fifty-year-old theory of the interactions of electrons and photons that has made successful predictions to accuracies as great as twelve significant figures. Fundamental to that theory is the spontaneous appearance of electron-positron (anti-electron) pairs for brief periods of time, literally out of "nothing.""
From here he has concluded that our universe may also come literally out of nothing due to quantum fluctuation in the void, and therefore we need not have to imagine that God has done this job.
But is it true that electron-positron (anti-electron) pairs are appearing spontaneously literally out of "nothing"? Are scientists absolutely certain that the so-called void is a true void indeed? Because here there is a counter-claim also: God is there, and that God is everywhere. So actually nothing is coming out of "nothing", only something is coming out of something. Here we want to examine whether scientists' claim that the so-called void is a true void can be sustained by reason or not.
There can be basically two types of universe: (1) universe created by God, supposing that there is a God; (2) universe not created by God, supposing that there is no God. Again universe created by God can also be of three types:
(1a) Universe in which God need not have to intervene at all after its creation. This is the best type of universe that can be created by God.
(1b) Universe in which God has actually intervened from time to time, but his intervention is a bare minimum.
(1c) Universe that cannot function at all without God's very frequent intervention. This is the worst type of universe that can be created by God.
Therefore we see that there can be four distinct types of universes, and our universe may be any one of the above four types: (1a), (1b), (1c), (2). In case of (1a), scientists will be able to give natural explanation for each and every physical event that has happened in the universe after its origin, because after its creation there is no intervention by God at any moment of its functioning. Only giving natural explanation for its coming into existence will be problematic. In case of (1b) also, most of the events will be easily explained away, without imagining that there is any hand of God behind these events. But for those events where God had actually intervened, scientists will never be able to give any natural explanation. Also explaining origin of the universe will be equally problematic. But in case of (1c), most of the events will remain unexplained, as in this case God had to intervene very frequently. This type of universe will be just like the one as envisaged by Newton: "Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done." So we can with confidence say that our universe is not of this type, otherwise scientists could not have found natural explanation for most of the physical events. In case of type (2) universe, here also there will be natural explanation for each and every physical event, and there will be natural explanation for the origin of the universe also. So from the mere fact that scientists have so far been able to give natural explanation for each and every physical event, it cannot be concluded that our universe is a type (2) universe, because this can be a type (1a) universe as well. The only difference between type (1a) and type (2) universe is this: whereas in case of (1a) no natural explanation will ever be possible for the origin of the universe, it will not be so in case of (2). Therefore until and unless scientists can give a natural explanation for the origin of the universe, they cannot claim that it is a type (2) universe. And so, until and unless scientists can give this explanation, they can neither claim that the so-called void is a true void. So scientists cannot proceed to give a natural explanation for the origin of the universe with an a priori assumption that the void is a real void, because their failure or success in giving this explanation will only determine as to whether this is a real void or not.
Scientists want to prove that God does not exist. Since they want to prove it, therefore they cannot claim that it is already an established fact. So the statement "God does not exist" can be given the status of a theory only and nothing more than that. Therefore its fate will be determined like any other theory of the scientific world. Like any other scientific theory it will have to prove its validity afresh at each and every new instance. So, not by assuming that the void is a real void, and thus not by assuming that there is no God, but by any other means, scientists will have to show that there is no hand of God behind the origin/birth/creation of this universe, and therefore their no-God theory is again validated here. So the scientific community all over the world should realize that the story of the origin of our universe from a vacuum fluctuation is a myth only, not a scientific truth.
This is about scientists' claim that our universe has originated from nothing due to a vacuum fluctuation. Here I want to show again that this claim cannot be sustained by reason.
Abbreviation: origin of the universe from nothing due to vacuum fluctuation (OUNVF)
We all know that the theorems in Euclidean geometry generally start with some basic assumptions that are accepted as true without any proof. These basic assumptions are called axioms. Similarly scientific theories also start with some basic assumptions. These are called postulates. So far these postulates of scientific theories were all God-independent. I am going to explain what I want to mean by the term "God-independent". Let us suppose that P is a postulate. Now it may be the case that there is a God. Or it may be the case that there is no God. Now let us suppose it is the case that there is a God, and we find that P is not affected. Again let us further suppose that it is the case there is no God, and again we find that in this case also P is not affected. Then we can say P is God-independent. But in the case under consideration the basic assumption with which scientists start is not at all God-independent. Rather we can say that it is very much God-dependent. Their basic assumption here is this: the void is a real void, and it is nothing but a void. Now if it is the case that there is a God, then this assumption is very much affected, because the void is no longer a real void. If, and only if, it is the case that there is no God, then only it is a real void. Therefore when scientists are saying that the void is a real void, then they are also saying it indirectly that it is the case there is no God, or, that it is a fact there is no God. But my question here is this: are these scientists now in a position to say so? Have their knowledge of the empirical world and its laws and its workings up till now made them competent enough to declare at this stage that there is no God? Because here two points will have to be considered:
1) They have not yet been able to give a natural explanation for the origin of the universe.
2) Similarly they have not yet been able to give a natural explanation for the fact that our universe has become habitable for life, whereas it could have been barren and lifeless as well.
Now it may so happen that scientists completely fail to give any natural explanation for both 1) and 2). In that case will it not be too early for them to suppose that the void is a real void? Because if they are unsuccessful, then they do not know whether there is a God or not, and therefore neither do they know whether the void is a real void or not. But if they are successful, then they definitely know that there is no God. Then only they can say that the void is a real void. So we can say that 1) and 2) are two hurdles that the scientists must have to cross before they can arrive at a place from where they can boldly declare that God does not exist. This is the place that may be called scientists' heaven. Because once they can reach there, then they will have no hesitation to deny the existence of God. Because now they have explained the alpha and omega of this universe, starting from its origin up to the coming of man on earth and further beyond, and nowhere they have found any hand of God influencing the course of events in any way. But, to arrive at that place can they take any undue advantage? Or, can they try to reach there by any unfair means? Can they already assume that there is no God, and based on that assumption, can they try to cross any one, or both, of these two hurdles? But in case of 1) they have just done that. That is why I want to say that OUNVF is a pure case of circular reasoning.
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|Fronto-occipital fasciculus, corpus callosum and superior longitudinal fasciculus tract alterations of first-episode, medication-naïve and late-onset panic disorder patients.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 23084185 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher
|OBJECTIVE: Because of limited knowledge about white matter (WM) tract in panic disorder, we designed this study to investigate alterations of WM tracts in first-episode medication-naïve panic disorder patients. METHODS: Thirty patients and 21 normal controls were enrolled into our study. They all received acquisitions of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 30 directions. DTI images of patients and controls were preprocessed and analyzed to estimate differences of WM microintegrity between patients and controls. We obtained fractional anisotropy (FA) values from the DTI images. FA outputs of patients and controls were compared by non-parametric permutation-based method with global brain volume, age, gender and duration of illness as covariates. Correlations between severity of panic symptoms and FA values were also estimated. RESULTS: First-episode, medication-naïve and late-onset panic disorder patients had altered integrity in WM tracts of right inferior fronto-occipital fasculi, left body of corpus callosum and left superior longitudinal fasciculus when compared to controls (corrected p<0.05). Negative correlations between PD symptoms and FA values were observed in corpus callosum of patient group (corrected p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: WM tract alterations might represent structural pathophysiology in WM of first-episode, medication-naïve and late-onset panic disorder patients.
|Chien-Han Lai; Yu-Te Wu
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Publication Detail:
|Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2012-10-17
Journal Detail:
|Title: Journal of affective disorders Volume: - ISSN: 1573-2517 ISO Abbreviation: J Affect Disord Publication Date: 2012 Oct
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2012-10-22 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 7906073 Medline TA: J Affect Disord Country: -
Other Details:
|Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: -
Copyright Information:
|Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|Department of Psychiatry, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: firstname.lastname@example.com.
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|MeSH Terms
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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Washington: Whidbey Island
Kim Tinuviel works across Whidbey Island, from Maxwelton and Clinton in the south, all the way through to Oak Harbor in the north. Her goal is to deliver exactly what is required, on time, and with a smile.


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Veteran journalist and Afghanistan expert Jere Van Dyk thought he knew enough about Pashtun culture to go where no Western journalist had gone since the rise of the Taliban. In 2007, Van Dyk traveled to Kabul to begin research on a book about the tribal region on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. But soon after crossing the mountains into Pakistan, he and three of his guides were captured by Taliban. Van Dyk's new book, Captive: My Time as a Prisoner of the Taliban, released this week, chronicles the harrowing 45 days he spent fearing for his life.
Shoshana Guy: You have a relationship with Afghanistan that spans many decades. Can you tell me about it?
Jere Van Dyk: I first went to Afghanistan as a very young man in 1973 when my younger brother and I drove an old Volkswagen from Frankford, Germany and to Afghanistan. We ran out of money. We were forced to stay there. What I discovered was a Wild West in the East, at the same time very gentle, peaceful country of absolutely no sense of what we called Islamic fundamentalist. School girls wore skirts and long socks. In the afternoon, you could hear the Rolling Stones as much you could hear the Muslim call to prayer. For me, it was romantic. Also there was certain gentleness there.
I returned in 1981 as a freelance reporter for the New York Times and this time I went to Peshawar. I met with various mujahideen and traveled into the tribal area. I lived with mujahideen along the border and later in the Kandahar area before I came back. I became involved with the Reagan administration as a consultant on Afghanistan to the National Security Council in the State Department. I had a political background as well as a physical background in Afghanistan.
Guy: So, you set out again in the winter of 2008. Where was the trip was initially supposed to take you and what were you trying to achieve by journeying into the heart Taliban country?
Van Dyk: What I was doing was to see how different the Taliban were from the mujahideen to try explaining to a Western audience, as I tried to explain what mujahideen was in 1980's. I also wanted to find men I knew from before who were once allies and today are members of the Taliban and through them — drawing on my understanding of Pashtunwali, drawing on my understanding of the culture, the role of Islam on their lives — see to what degree they were tied to Pakistanis, what degree they were tied to Al-Qaeda and find out what it was really like in very dark world called the tribal areas.
Guy: Describe the feeling when your captors popped from these rocks. What goes on one's mind at the moment like that?
Van Dyk: When I first saw was a pinch of black movement behind a rock and I knew instinctively that everything had changed, that the Taliban knew I was coming there. When they came screaming, get down, get down, I was dead. I felt weak, vulnerable, frightened and totally helpless at the same time. I thought, "I'm dead."
Guy: Then you were blindfolded and transported to a cell in the mountains, where you were held captive for 45 days. How were you treated as prisoner?
Van Dyk: I was treated on one hand very well. They never laid a hand on me. They feed me. They provided me water. Various tribal codes require they provide food as well as shelter. At the same time, I was threatened. I was lead to believe very strongly that if I did not convert I would die. There was one specific case when I was lined up and put on the ground and the men behind me were ready to kill me. On hand I was treated very well but I was frightened to death that I would be killed at any moment.
Guy: There is one scene in your book that is absolutely harrowing where you basically have a near death experience. What were you thinking?
Van Dyk: Ultimately I thought of my family. I thought of my brother, my sister, my nieces and nephews. I thought of their names. I said their names silently. My mother has died. But I thought of my father. My father, a WWII marine who was 94 years old at the time, who in sense I always looked up to. I thought of him watching the video of me dying on the television. I thought of Daniel Pearl. I thought of Nicholas Berg, what it was like for them. I wanted to show my family that I was strong and that I wanted their respect. Ultimately that's what I though of. It was only later, that over periods of time, that I thought of God. That did not intervene then. All I thought then was that I had to die in the right way.
Guy: Your captors insisted you immerse yourself in Islam. Did it help to pray?
Van Dyk: You get through the formal prayer, and at the end on your knees you can say what you want. In a way, I found a comfort in that.
Guy: You found comfort when you had the space to translate it for yourself?
Van Dyk: It was not alien. It was deeply personal. In the Koran, Mohammad said there is no compulsion in religion. But there it was, "you will convert or you will die." There was something in me that rejected that. It was been forced upon me. It was distant. But I found comfort when I would sit on my knees and pray to the God, who became in my mind the God I knew as a boy, it was comforting.
Guy: At certain points you had deep suspicions about your interpreter and your body guards. Looking back, do you think they betrayed you?
Van Dyk: I haven't figured it out. I have received phone calls from the interpreter; some are threatening. I don't know if it's out of fear or that he is so changed himself. I don't have an answer to that. I do know that one of my bodyguards changed completely after they took him away for a while and he was no longer chained to his bed. The allegiance in the room changed. At the same time other bodyguard if you well was always good to me. It was a good cop-bad cop routine. I do know when we are coming out, I was afraid of all of them. Even today I don't know the truth.
Guy: You had an interesting relationship with your main jailer who both protected you and threatened you. In the end, do you think he was friend or foe?
Van Dyk: In the end, he kept his word. He didn't kill me. He said I will protect you. I do think he was a foe. He said, if you come back again, we will kill you. He threatened me constantly to convert. There were times when he was pleasant. Then he was like, I will cut out your kidney. He was like an animal and I was frightened to death of him. At the same time, he ultimately kept his word. He didn't kill me.
Guy: Did it ever become clear to you which faction of the Taliban kidnapped you?
Van Dyk: No. They would explain in detail the Taliban hierarchy, but I don't know how much of that they were making up in order to convince me that I was in one area, not another area. They were so sophisticated in that way. The whole idea was to confuse me.
Guy: Did you learn anything about the Taliban culture that you didn't know before?
Van Dyk: No. I felt there are very few differences between the mujahideen and the Taliban. There is a sense of Pashtun nationalism and a sense of religion. There is a fine line where Islam and tribal codes come together and where they part. I don't think I learned that much that was that was new about the Taliban except I do know that just like their fathers and elder brothers beforehand, they won't give in. I don't believe for a minute there are an Afghani Taliban and a Pakistani Taliban. To me, based on my experiences over the years, they are the same.
Guy: To this day you still don't know the details of how your release was negotiated.
Van Dyk: And no one will tell me. I asked the FBI about this and they said that they brought all assets into the play. Apparently my disappearance was first discovered by a NATO spy? Who was that spy? What do they mean by NATO? Nobody will tell me anything. All I do know, because I have asked them, is my brother and sister did not mortgage their houses. There are a lot of things behind the scene I can't talk about. I do know I don't have those answers and I'm haunted by them.
Guy: How did you re-adjust to life in New York City? What is it like to manage that kind of fear in the aftermath?
Van Dyk: When I came to my apartment, I felt, this is my home, but I'm different now. It's all different. There is a sense of fear and isolation. I would watch my friends and television and movies, and I would see this happy culture, which I didn't feel and still don't feel a part. It's been two years now and as I have started to talk to people publicly, I have a hard time.
Guy: So you are still in process?
Van Dyk: It's the isolation and there is a certain wariness, the sense that no one understands and no one can understand.
Guy: Have the Taliban contacted you?
Van Dyk: Initially a few times but then it stopped. Then the interpreter about forty times.
Guy: Forty times?
Van Dyk: Just a phone hangs up. I can see 92 country code on my cell phone.
Guy: Are you ever going to be free of this?
Van Dyk: What I worry about is the book coming out. I did a C-Span interview and the interviewer asked me, are you wary or afraid that people are going to see this over there? A part of me, yes. I have gone to the FBI and asked, am I OK? They said you are fine.
Guy: Will you ever be able to return to Afghanistan?
Van Dyk: I am haunted by not knowing everything and I may have, by going with the group I went with, betrayed one of my oldest and dearest friends in Afghanistan. I got caught – I have been told – in a tribal feud in clan warfare. I do have to talk to him. I have to resolve this in some way. At the same time, I was told I could never go back to Afghanistan. I don't know yet. I have to see how it plays out with the book and the months ahead.


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Mark Coure has been the Member for Oatley since 2011. Mark lives in Penshurst with his wife Adla, a school teacher, raising their son James, who attends Mortdale Public School and their newborn son Sam.
Being born and raised in the local area, Mark attended local schools St Joseph's Oatley and Marist College Penshurst, and then studying at University.
Before being the Member for Oatley, Mark ran his own successful small business and served on Kogarah City Council for 8 years, advocating strongly for improved local services and infrastructure and fighting against inappropriate overdevelopment.
Since his election, Mark has worked tirelessly to deliver for the local community, including:
· Over $350 million for the redevelopment of St George Hospital, including a new Emergency Department, Acute Services Building, more nurses and beds, along with an additional 108 car parking spaces.
· Major upgrades to Oatley and Narwee Train Stations and commuter carparks at both Oatley and Beverly Hills.
· The protection of Mortdale Fire Station and $29 million for the rebuilding of Hurstville Police Station.
· Upgrades and funding for every single school throughout the electorate, with major works to begin at both Penshurst Public School and Penshurst West Public School.
· Protection of the Georges River with the establishment of the Dharawal National Park.
· Easing traffic congestion by rebuilding Allawah Bridge, widening the M5 East, along with secured funding for on and off ramps at Belmore Road, and the widening of King Georges Road.
Additionally, Mark is personally involved in many local charity and community groups including Lions clubs, Rotary, Meals on Wheels, AHEPA, CASS, RAIN, Learning Links, CanRevive and 3Bridges, and is supportive of local sporting groups like Forest Rangers, Lugarno FC, Oatley Football Club, Peakhurst West Cricket and the Illawarra Catholic Cricket Club.
In 2015, Mark was appointed as Deputy Whip of the NSW Parliament. In 2016 he was made Chair of the Committee on Environment and Planning and Chair of the Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics.
In 2017, Mark was promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, a position he is extremely passionate about.
Following a highly successful 2019 re-election, Mark was promoted to Assistant Speaker in the Legislative Assembly.


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Tech N9ne kicked off his Special Effects album campaign earlier in the week with the new single "Aw Yeah? (interVENTion)." As if that wasn't enough, the Strange Music rapper returns today with his second leak, "Dyin' Flyin'." We saw Tech Ninna tackle issues at a global level on "Aw Yeah?" and on "Dyin' Flyin'" he tackles issues closer to his chest-- his transition from very-underground to mainstream level (and collaborations with mainstream artists). It acts sort of like a personal message to fans.
Tech's new album Special Effects is slated for release on May 5th. It may or may not feature an Eminem collaboration. Pre-order the album here.
Quotable Lyrics
How the hell are you sayin'
That all the records I'm playin' since 2010
I'm not obeying the Strange law
Remain raw, give you happy and pain, ah
Spit with a flame jaw, with the teeth of a chain saw
That's what I do when I'm flying right off the shelf
And when something musical helps you can't keep it all to yourself


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About Us
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Since 1995; California New York Express provides highly competitive rates and a Guaranteed Price with every long distance move. Our estimators go to great lengths to ensure that you, the customer, know exactly what kind of services and pricing to expect. You are encouraged to compare the service, the pricing, and the clarity of our moving quote with those of other long distance movers. Read More...
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Of all long distance movers, California New York Express is the only company to specialize solely in moving back and forth between Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the East coast. This keeps our driving routes short and our rates responsible. Our short driving routes also allows us to offer a Guaranteed Delivery Time Frame backed up by $100 cash back for every day late.
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History Seminars & Events
Naming Project
Historic Designation & Preservation
Film Project
Short Story Contest
Digital Archive
History Seminars & Events
Little Tokyo Clayworks
The Stories You Are About to Hear Are True: Preserving Parker Center
March 22, 2015 | 3:30 pm | LAPD Police Administration Building, Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium, 100 West First Street, Los Angeles
Join the Conservancy and community stakeholders for a conversation about the many layers of history at Parker Center (originally the Police Facilities Building, Welton Becket & Associates and J. E. Stanton, 1955). While many know it from the hit 1950s television police drama Dragnet, this building has a deeper and sometimes controversial history.
The City of Los Angeles, through its Bureau of Engineering, is pressing for a redevelopment project that will demolish and replace Parker Center. The Conservancy believes that Parker Center can and should be preserved and integrated into new construction. At this panel discussion, you will hear about the viable preservation alternatives, and through the conversation with the panelists, you will learn why it is important from a historic and cultural perspective to preserve this building.
Panelists will speak from a number of different points of view about Parker Center's significance:
Panelists include:
Japanese Ghost Stories
October 11, 2014 | 11 am to noon | Little Tokyo Branch Library, 203 South Los Angeles St., Los Angeles
Continuing the 130th Anniversary of Little Tokyo celebration, Little Tokyo Historical Society and the Little Tokyo Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library will be presenting "Japanese Ghost Stories" on Saturday, October 11 at 11:00 A.M. to noon. The program will include readings and clips from DVD-subtitled tales of Japanese ghosts and demons, a Halloween origami craft, and singing fun songs about obake ghosts. The story selections are age appropriate for young children, teens and adults. At the Information Desk, the library validates for 90-minute parking in the Paragon Parking Lot adjacent to the library.
For more information please contact Little Tokyo Historical Society at email@example.com or phone Michael Okamura, president, at 626-840-8409.


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Connected Communication newsletter
- 10
- December
- 2013
I've just clicked send on my first edition of 'Connected Communication', a free monthly newsletter about topics relating to speech, language, voice, music therapy and education. In this edition I'm covering articles relating to toys, stammering during times of excitement, and voice care. If you are interested, then sign up, and stay updated. Until 31st January 2014, […]read more
Supporting Conversations for people with aphasia
- 17
- June
- 2013
Aphasia is an acquired communication disability which can occur following stroke or other brain injury. Each person's experience of aphasia is unique to them. While traditionally, the communication problem rested with the individual, current best practice in this area adopts a social model, in which the person is viewed within the context of their environment. […]read more
Rhythm and singing in speech recovery post stroke
- 21
- March
- 2013
Interesting research published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience highlighting how treatment using rhythm or singing both resulted in improvements in the ability to produce learned phrases in people with language difficulties post stroke (aphasia). In contrast, traditional speech and language therapy can improve the ability to produce novel phrases. The research highlights the […]read more
Making music reduces stress for cardiac patients
- 15
- March
- 2013
A recent medical study has shown that creating music reduces stress levels in people with coronary heart disease. It also found that active music making was more effective effective than than reading a book for the same length of time. To read more about this research go to Neuro-music news website, 7th March edition. Med […]read more
Chime choir puts stroke patients in tune with therapy
- 23
- April
- 2012
Interesting article which describes a music group for stroke patients in which group members played chimes and the benefits of the group. See: http://triblocal.com/naperville/2012/04/19/chime-choir-puts-stroke-patients-in-tune-with-therapy/read more
Carer's week, June 14th-20th 2010, Cork based events
- 07
- June
- 2010
Cork based activities have been organised by the following organisations: Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Cork Branch Cork Family Carer's Forum Carer's Association West Cork Carer's Association Ltd. For further information go to: http://www.carersweek.ie/events.htmread more
Brain Awareness week, 8th-14th March
- 07
- March
- 2010
For more information about events in your area, go to: http://www.nai.ie/read more
Music after a stroke
- 08
- October
- 2009
Stroke Support Limerick are hosting an evening on music after a stroke. Dr Simon Gilbertson, Music Therapist & Lecturer, University of Limerick, will be giving a short talk on the topic. In addition, it will be an opportunity for members of the group which includes people who have had a stroke and their families/care givers, […]read more


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Judge Kent pleads guilty, quits to avoid 'embarrassing' trial
Judge Kent accepts plea deal, retires
Trial 'would have been long, embarrassing and difficult for all involved,' defense attorney says
U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice Monday, avoiding a potentially humiliating trial on that charge and five others accusing him of sexually abusing two female employees.
"A trial would have been long, embarrassing and difficult for all involved," said Dick DeGuerin, Kent's attorney. "Judge Kent believes that this settlement is in the best interest of all involved."
Kent faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors have requested he be sentenced to three years in prison, but the judge is not bound by that recommendation.
Kent was scheduled for a jury trial Monday. Instead, he entered the plea and DeGuerin announced that Kent "retired" from the bench, a status that could allow him to continue to be paid for life. Since the 59-year-old Kent is not old enough to retire, he'd likely have to be certified fully disabled to have his retirement approved. In court, Kent said he's been treated for diabetes and psychiatric and psychological problems for the past three years.
Kent was appointed for life in 1990 and can be removed from the payroll by congressional impeachment or by his own resignation, which is not the same as the retirement he claimed.
Few federal judges ever go to trial, but Kent's would have been the first in which a federal judge was accused of sexual charges. In court papers, Kent not only admitted he lied to a judicial panel investigating him but also that he had non-consensual sexual contact with two female court employees between 2003 and 2007.
Gag order kept in place
In the courtroom Monday, Kent, who normally speaks in loud, clear tones, all but whispered his guilty plea at the bench. The court reporter leaned in and strained to hear what he said.
In most pleas in the Houston federal courthouse, defendants are made to state their crimes, but neither Kent nor prosecutor Peter Ainsworth stated the facts of the crime publicly.
The filed papers stated that as part of the investigation into a complaint by one of the women, Kent obstructed justice by lying about his relationship with the second woman to investigators for a judicial committee.
The plea deal includes that prosecutors will dismiss the other five charges still pending against Kent.
Senior U.S. Judge Roger Vinson, the Florida judge overseeing Kent's case, imposed a gag order on the lawyers and witnesses and kept it in place Monday. Gag orders are designed to protect the rights of defendants from public prejudice before trial.
The two women Kent is accused of abusing each stood in front of the courthouse Monday morning while their lawyers briefly spoke to the press. Judge Vinson's gag order prevented them from saying much.
"I just think this is a tremendously big day for Cathy," Rusty Hardin said of Cathy McBroom, Kent's former Galveston case manager whose complaint started the judicial investigation that led to the criminal case. "She's a woman who had the courage to come forward."
"I'm very happy that this part of the process is over," said McBroom. "I feel extremely relieved." She said she looks forward to Kent's sentencing, set in May. Federal law requires judges to consider the victims' input in sentencing.
Terry Yates spoke to reporters with his client, Donna Wilkerson. She is the current secretary for Kent, although they have not been working together since charges related to her allegations were added to the case.
"She can be a beacon of hope for other people in this situation," Yates said of Wilkerson, who made no comment herself.
Arthur Hellman, a legal expert in judicial discipline, said he hopes this case is a "wake-up call" for the federal judiciary, which generally doesn't zealously root out misconduct among colleagues.
"Even the gag order here is consistent with the general approach of the judiciary in disciplining federal judges. There is a real resistance to disclosure," Hellman said.
The judicial council reprimanded Kent in September 2007. But after the obstruction charge was added to the indictment in January, the council said it would reopen its judicial misconduct investigation.
It is possible Congress could seek to impeach Kent because of his felony plea.


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For Sheets like the Sahara
Sally, age four, routinely wakes up in the mornings with a wet bed. Joe is five years older. But even at age nine, he tries to stay awake all night whenever he sleeps over at a friend's house. He's still terrified he will wet the bed in his sleep. Sally and Joe share a common childhood problem: bed-wetting. About one in five 4 and 5-year olds wet the bed, and as many as one in ten boys still has a problem by age 12. ( For some reason, it's more common in boys than girls.) "It's not unusual for children not to be dry at night at age four and five, and some of us really don't consider it something that should be treated until a child is at least six," says George Sterne, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at Tulane University Medical School and a pediatrician in New Orleans. There may be some kind of physical problem or health condition that's causing your child to wet the bed. If you're concerned about that, you should definitely discuss your child's bed-wetting with a doctor. But usually bed-wetting can be cured without medical intervention, given enough time along with a healthy dose of patience. Here are the techniques the experts recommend.
Rid yourself–and Junior–of guilt.
Realize that you're not a bad parent because your child wets the bed, and make it clear to your child that he isn't a bad child because he wets. "Bed-wetting is a biological problem. It occurs in a child who, during sleep, has not learned bladder-control skills," says Barton D. Schmitt, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, director of consultative services at the Ambulatory Care Center at Children's Hospital of Denver and author of Your Child's Health. "I think it's so important to tell parents of bed wetters that this is rarely a psychological problem," says Dr. Schmitt. "There's a lot of unnecessary guilt imposed on some very good parents because they see themselves as being somehow to blame."
MEDICAL ALERT : When to See the Doctor
Bed-wetting is usually a normal, harmless condition of childhood, but there could be a serious physical reason such as a urinary tract infection, diabetes or a physical abnormality. These are rare, but it's still worth a visit to the pediatrician to rule out such possibilities, says George Sterne, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at Tulane University Medical School and a pediatrician in New Orleans. You should always see the pediatrician if your child: * Complains of abdominal pain, backache or fever. * Wakes up at night regularly with an intense thirst. * Wets during the day as well as at night. * Has pain during urination. * Has urine with an unpleasant odor. * Is suddenly wetting again after months of staying dry. Also, if your child is over age two and shows no sign of bladder control, you should bring this to the attention of your doctor. Some children take longer than others to begin potty training, but your pediatrician should be aware of your child's progress at this age.
Ban punishments. One study found that nearly three-fourths of parents punished their children for bed-wetting. Never punish or scold your child for a wet bed, says Thomas Bartholomew, M.D., a pediatric urologist and assistant professor of surgery and urology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. "Parents should understand that this is not going to help their child," says Dr. Bartholomew. "I've never met a child who wants to wet the bed."
Protect with plastic.
A zip-up plastic mattress cover should be standard equipment on any bed wetter's bed. It protects the mattress, of course. But also it means there's less of a "crisis" when the child wets the bed, Dr. Schmitt points out. Both parents and kids will stay calmer if they know there's not much clean-up to worry about.
Encourage clean-up duties.
You should, however, matter-of-factly tell the child he is expected to clean up the wet bed or at least help. "Even at age four and five a child can take the sheets off the bed and put them in the laundry room," says Lottie Mendelson, R.N., a pediatric nurse practitioner in Portland, Oregon, and coauthor of The Complete Book of Parenting. "It should not be punitive, just an acknowledgment that this is the child's responsibility. It also helps you. That way, you don't feel the child is doing this to you."
Check out your child's motivation.
Before taking active steps to cure bed-wetting, make sure your child wants to stop, says Jeffrey Fogel, M.D., a pediatrician in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and staff physician at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia. " When a parent asks me how to cure bed-wetting I ask, 'Does your child want to be dry?' If they say 'no,' I say, ' You can try all you want, but you probably won't be successful.' " If a child wants to stop, she'll not only cooperate, but her conscious mind will also work on her subconscious to help her awaken at night, explains Dr. Fogel.
Recognize the signs.
A child often becomes motivated to stop wetting when it begins to interfere with his social options, says Dr. Bartholomew. When the child starts to refuse invitations to spend the night away from home, or doesn't go to camp because of bed-wetting fears, you can point out the benefits of being able to do these things. Then suggest some ways your child can help himself get through the night with a dry bed.
Pick a good time.
Before starting, choose a relatively peaceful period-not, for example, just before an exciting holiday or vacation, advises Cathleen Piazza, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and chief psychologist of the neurobehavioral unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. " You should pick a time when you're not having multiple stressors at work and in the household," she says.
Keep bedtimes calm.
Lots of rough-housing or even an exciting television program close to bedtime can increase the risk of bed-wetting, says Patrick Holden, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center. " When kids are excited, they tend to produce more urine," he explains. Instead of letting your child watch television before bedtime, give him a book to read, have a quiet conversation or read a story to him.
Put the child in charge.
You want your child to understand from the outset that staying dry at night is his responsibility. That means don't wake your child at night to take him to the bathroom. " Waking the child doesn't teach him anything about bladder control, and it's probably counterproductive," says Dr. Schmitt. "If the child goes to bed thinking his parent is going to wake him up at night, that's teaching the child that the parent is going to take care of his bladder and that he doesn't have to worry about it. Your child has to go to bed just a little bit worried to stay dry."
Setting an earlier bedtime for your child may help solve a bed-wetting problem, says Ronald Dahl, M.D., director of the Children's Sleep Evaluation Center at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh and associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A sleep-deprived child may sleep so deeply that the need to urinate doesn't awaken her. "Increase the total amount of sleep for the child," suggests Dr. Dahl. "Get on a regular schedule with a set bedtime. Often this can have a big effect."
Reward dry nights. Consistently reward or congratulate your child when she has made it through the night with a dry bed. " You'll get a lot further if you give positive psychological support such as hugs and warm congratulations," says Dr. Bartholomew. Some kids might like happy faces drawn on a calendar or special stickers, says Dr. Piazza. Whatever reinforcement you use, do it first thing in the morning.
Mum's the word.
But if your child wakes up with wet sheets, be careful not to grimace or say something like, "Oh, no, your bed is wet this morning." Instead, say nothing, says Dr. Piazza. " You only want to focus on success," she says. "If we give as much attention to failure as success, we're defeating the purpose."
Make getting up easy.
Some kids are reluctant to leave their beds, and others have been ordered by parents never to get up after they've been tucked in, says Dr. Schmitt. "So you need to give your kids permission to get up to go to the bathroom. They need a flashlight or a nightlight, and they need to be asked if they want a potty chair next to their bed. Some kids who don't want to go to the bathroom are perfectly willing to use the potty chair and go back to sleep."
Give your child an alarm clock.
If the child has a regular pattern of wetting the bed at the same time every night, furnish an alarm clock and explain how it works, says Barbara Howard, M.D., assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. "The child can set the alarm clock to wake him up 20 minutes to half an hour before he usually wets the bed so he can get up and go to the bathroom," she explains.
Encourage a dry run.
This is a "dress-rehearsal" technique your schoolage child can do during the day. "I have the child lie in bed, close his eyes, pretend it's the middle of the night and give himself a little pep talk," says Dr. Schmitt. "It goes something like, 'I'm in a deep, deep sleep, my bladder is full, my bladder is starting to feel pressure and is trying to wake me up. It's saying get up before it's too late.' " The child should then practice getting up, walking to the bathroom and going to the toilet. "I have them actually walk from bedroom to bathroom, so they know exactly how many paces it is," says Dr. Schmitt.
Avoid caffeine.
Caffeine is a diuretic, a substance that encourages urination, explains Dr. Howard. It's in many sodas and in chocolate as well as in coffee and tea. Avoiding these foods and drinks may help your child avoid wetting, she says.
Encourage bladder-control practice.
Explain to your child that she can help "train" her bladder by practicing during the day. Have your child drink a lot, and then wait as long as she can to go to the bathroom. "Have her try to wait a little bit longer each time," says Dr. Piazza. " You want to train a child to associate the feeling of having a full bladder with having to go to the bathroom." Stream-interruption exercises can also help, says Dr. Schmitt. Have the child begin to urinate and then stop briefly before starting up again. She should try to do this several times each time she urinates. "Those exercises build up the bladder sphincter," says Dr. Schmitt.
Buy a bed alarm.
Most experts agree that moisture-activated bed alarms are the most effective treatment for bed-wetting. " When moisture hits the pad, an alarm goes off and wakes the child," explains Dr. Sterne. "It conditions the child to recognize the sensation and wake up before they have to urinate." Alarms are battery-operated, cost around $40 and are available from several companies without a prescription. Ask your pediatrician to recommend a brand or type. Use the alarm until your child is dry every night for one month. In most alarms, wetting triggers a loud sound that awakens the child. A silent, vibrating alarm is also available for children who don't respond to sound. Dr. Schmitt recommends portable, transistorized alarms that are worn on the body rather than the bell and pad devices. And he says parents shouldn't insist on using the alarm if the child is opposed to it.
Stick with it.
Be understanding and patient with your child, and stick with your efforts to stop the bed-wetting. "Conditioning requires time," says Dr. Bartholomew. He compares it to piano lessons: "Children might not get any results in the first month or two, but if they continue to practice, they'll be able to improve."
Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
The service is provided as general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor.


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Aly Folin, CPM, LM
Twin Cities Home Birth Midwife
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (651) 764-6933
Twin Cities Home Birth Midwife
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (651) 764-6933
Water birth is a wonderful option to have available for home! Women birthing at home have fewer restrictions on when they are able to enter the water during their labor. Many of North Star Midwifery's families labor and/or give birth in water. The benefits of water for labor and birth include:
- Pain relief in labor: Sometimes referred to as an "aqua-dural," warm water decreases stress hormones that can inhibit labor and increases the release of endorphins, which are natures natural pain killers
- Potentially shorter labors: Warm water helps the mother relax, which then helps her uterus function more efficiently
Comfort and mobility: The mother can change positions more easily
- Less tearing: Warm water softens the perineum and vaginal tissue possibly reducing the risk of tearing
- Gentle transition for baby: Easing of birth for mother means easing the birth for the baby!
North Star has birth tubs available! The cost of the tub is included in our fee, but each family must buy a disposable liner. If you are curious about how it all works, read more here.


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Apple Days
- Date: –
- Location: Linnés Hammarby
- Website
- Organiser: Uppsala linneanska trädgårdar
- Contact person: Lotta S Saetre
- Temadag, Kulturevenemang, Familjeaktivitet
Did you know that over 200 varieties of apples are grown in Sweden? Get to know a good quarter of them at the apple exhibition att Linnaeus' Hammarby. Find out which apples you have in your garden. There will be a professional juicer if you want to bring your own apples and make "äppelmust" (not to be confused with "julmust").
Throughout the day you may buy apple themed "fika" at Café Sara Lisa.
Entrance 80 SEK. Free entrance for children under 18, students, and employees at Uppsala University.
If you want to have your apples identified, bring about five good apples per variety. There is a fee of 10 SEK per variety.
If you want to make "äppelmust", you will get 5 litres of juice out of 10 kilos of apples. Apples that are mouldy, rotten or severely damaged cannot be juiced, apples with light brown bump marks are fine.


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Election season is pothole season for Houston
Though northern cities often have annual pothole seasons following the spring thaw, Houston's typically comes around just in time for mayoral elections.
Mayor Sylvester Turner on Monday encouraged residents to report potholes, citing a lower number of calls to 311 compared to 2016, when he committed to Houston Public Works employees filling potholes identified by residents within one business day.
"We are consistently hitting our target," Turner said, while conceding fewer people are calling in pothole complaints. "That amazing response is because people called into 311 and city crews took care of the problem then and there. Yes, the numbers are lower but we are fulfilling our promise."
The press conference was an attempt to resurrect interest in his administration's pothole program, Turner said, as well as challenge Public Works to double the number of long-term street panel replacements it conducts each year. He deflected questions about whether the goal also was to respond to criticism from media reports and mayoral challenger Bill King, who has argued the city is failing to address worsening street conditions.
"Houstonians shouldn't have to call the city to report potholes, because a good manager would be proactively monitoring the condition of the streets and prioritizing the worst areas," King said in an emailed statement.
The only other announced mayoral campaign, that of lawyer Tony Buzbee, did not respond to a request for comment.
Houston's streets long have been a point of contention for drivers and politicians, with potholes assuming the most outsized role in the discussion. Streets in many neighborhoods, especially older parts of the city where roadways have not been widened or rebuilt in decades.
"When I have friends come in from Dallas, it is embarrassing," said Ted Whitehouse, 49, who lives in a townhome in the Fourth Ward area, just west of downtown. "They ask about the streets: 'What's wrong with them?,' 'Why aren't they fixed yet?'"
Turner turned the city staff's attention to streets shortly after he took office. In January 2016, he announced that potholes reported by residents would be addressed by the following day. The announcement led to a spike in reports and repairs, though the number of citizen-reported potholes returned by May to around the same number monthly, around 500. By the end of 2016, the number of potholes reported to 311 had reached 9,977. Reports, however, fell sharply from there, to 4,961 in 2017, and 5,509 last year.
Most reports of potholes, however, do not lead to crews actually filling a pothole. Of the roughly 20,000 potholes reported since Turner's promise to fill them in one business day, around 7,500 led to a pothole being filled. That is because reports often were considered duplicates or the pothole in question was determined to be another problem with the street that tar and asphalt would not solve.
Citizen-spotted potholes, meanwhile, are only a fraction of the ones Houston crews fill. Most potholes filled by Public Works are filled because crews spot them, often on their way to other potholes. Public Works Director Carol Haddock said crews are instructed to fill potholes they see around the ones called in, rather than just drive past them while they are in the vicinity.
That has led to positive results in some neighborhoods, said District C Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, whose district is made up of some of the city's oldest neighborhoods.
"That's why we want people to call in, because when they call in, they are repaired around it," she said.
In 2018, however, the number of proactively filled potholes — those not reported via 311 — dipped dramatically. During 2017, crews filled 63,657 potholes. For 2018, the unconfirmed total was about 45,000. Haddock said some of the decline is the result of success in addressing potholes in the previous two years, combined with a greater focus on more substantive street repairs.
Still, critics of city leadership point to 2018 as a banner year for subpar progress. King noted street spending from Houston's capital improvement program, which fell to $96.6 million last year, the first time in four years investment in roads dipped below $100 million. King also said in a blog post that Houston is using less asphalt, about 13,000 tons in 2018, a drop of 22 percent compared to year prior to Turner taking office.
Drivers often are as divided on politicians on the conditions of Houston's streets. Walking downtown at lunchtime Monday, Ruth Stanford, 50, said she believes that since heavy rains on Memorial Day 2016, streets have improved, mostly because of major repairs such as the rebuilding of Shepherd Drive near her home south of River Oaks.
Walking with her, Cathy Rivas, 55, disagreed. She said her commute through Westchase to her home is as bumpy as ever.
"I'm not sure the streets in my neighborhood are worse, but they certainly are not any better," she said.


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Ayatollah Shahroudi while emphasizing on the fact that all prophets managed to achieve their goals by showing kindness and compassion, pointed to the fact that nothing other than love can gather nearly 20 million people in the great pilgrimage of Arbaeen.
The Chairman of the Expediency Council stated: "By understanding the great ability of pure love of Ahl Al-Bayt (AS), the enemies are trying to show a fake version of Islam through Takfirism and evil entities such as ISIS in order to prevent the expansion of true Islam."
He also added that all of these conspiracies have one thing in common and that is the prevention of the spread of the enlightening culture of Ahl Al-Bayt (AS).
Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi added that the love for Ahl al-Bayt (AS) is not limited to Shi'ites and that this ideology should be spread to everyone.
He also added that the opening of this assembly coincides with victory against ISIS and congratulated the people of Iran, Iraq and resistance forces, especially Hezbollah.
At the end of this speech, he also said that: "As Wahabism played a pivotal role in the creation of ISIS and caused many tragedies and sullied the name of Islam, the Islamic world will not be able to rest till the source of ISIS ideology is destroyed.
First Assembly of Lovers of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) and the Issue of Takfiris will be held during two days with the support of the World Islamic Awakening Assembly and, in cooperation with various institutions, including the Ahlulbaytat World Assembly.


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An all time win for Net Neutrality advocates.
If you haven't heard already, the Federal Communications Commission, or commonly known as the FCC, held a 3-2 vote Friday. The vote was on, you guessed it, Net Neutrality. The term is used to define the Internet as a utility. The reason why this is a big deal is because everyone on the internet will be treated equally when it comes to loading time on certain blogs and/or video streaming.
Not too long ago, many major corporations like Comcast proposed what they liked to call "Internet fast lanes" for certain paid services like Netflix. Their goal was providing faster streaming for a premium fee, which resulted in faster loading times for their customer's favorite shows. At a quick glance, this might seem like an awesome idea but it's actually not.
For example, YouTube and Netflix are both juggernauts in video streaming. If Net Neutrality was not implemented to treat everyone equal, then the Netflix corporation could pay their way for more users to use their product. This would make their services a lot faster than YouTube, essentially putting the little guy who already works tirelessly on his YouTube channel at an even greater disadvantage.
This made social media services Like Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, and Twitter outraged. So they started the campaign to defend Net Neutrality. They came up with "National Slowdown Day." Earlier this year on September 10th, sites across the Internet had the "loading symbol" (spinning wheel of death) to show people what would happen if Net Neutrality lost.
Lawyers try to make us think that paying premiums will essentially result in fast Internet lanes for everyone. We are led to believe that corporations will provide premium "hyperspace lanes," however, this is not true. That argument has a double standard. Having "fast lanes" and "Hyperspace lanes" is the exact same thing as "slow lanes" and "fast lanes." One is always going to be faster than others regardless of what you call it. Lets say if Internet Service Providers got their way. They would create their "fast lanes," but then give them the freedom to treat the Internet however they wanted. ISPs could put speed bumps on blogs, so when blog writers don't pay premiums, the readership numbers will suffer.
As a side note, in the conference debating Net Neutrailty, the head of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, said, "The action that we take today is an irrefutable reflection of the principle that no one, whether government or corporate, should control free and open access to the internet." Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, "We cannot have a two-tiered Internet with fast lanes that speed the traffic of the privileged and leave the rest of us lagging behind." Commissioner Mignon Clyburn also said, "We are here because we want to give those with deep pockets and those with empty pockets the same opportunities to succeed."
In the end, the Internet was classified as a utility and Net Neutrality stands!
I learned about Net Neutrality on YouTube from TheNotAdam here, and from CGP Grey here.
Let us know your stance on Net Neutrality in the comment section below!
Other Articles by Jacob Stockwell. Foley Needs A Chipotle!, New Year New Language.


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It can be difficult to take care of ourselves while we work towards change, but it is vital. Wellness needs to be reclaimed and as people working to create change we need to understand that our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being is intrinsically connected to the sustainability of our communities and movements. We must hold spaces for healing, building accountable and authentic relationships, addressing conflict , and transforming the ways we work together. We must integrate collective models of wellness into our work cultures so that we can maintain wellness both within and outside our change work.
It is with this in mind that we offer this Wellness Resource Guide as a tool to help mainstream wellness into our movements and our lives.
In addition – take a look at this publicly crowdsourced google doc on various forms of self care practices – from popping bubble wrap to reading resources on dealing with power.


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Keep the Faith in a Pastel Pink Baseball Cap
Rae Abigael J. Caacbay is a young creative who went through a quarter life crisis by the end of 2016. Though she's still lost, she keeps on moving forward anyway as a ballerina, visual artist, lifestyle blogger, and a BS Interior Design graduate based in the Philippines.
13 comments:
You look so pretty!ReplyDeleteReplies
thank you so much! you're sweet :">Delete
Nice post ^_^ReplyDelete
Have a nice day :*
Hi, it's me --> Zujalica.ba
That cap looks so cool on you ;)ReplyDelete
TheNotSoGirlyGirl // Instagram // Facebook
super cute and comfy!ReplyDelete
I love your 'mall outfit' piece combination of the pastel pink baseball hat, graphic design shirt and black shorts. I'm sure your upcoming beach and out-of-town photos will be a treat to look at.ReplyDelete
New post: National Underwear Day 2018, Panties in the News, Panty Modelling Fail, Thanks to Commenters
You look just wonderful! I love ur smile! ஐReplyDelete
Would u like to follow each other? Lemme know :)
Blog de la Licorne
Your outfit is really cute, especially the hat and the shoes. Hat looks really good on you! xoxoReplyDelete
Vildana from Living Like V
Perfect outfit for the mall Love that hat and the colour is so pretty I love pink xoxo CrisReplyDelete
So amazing !
Sarah, http://www.sarahmodeee.fr/
what a cute pastel baseball cap. You look adorable.ReplyDelete
I like such caps. Amazing fotos!ReplyDelete
Hello! I'm Rae. A ballet dancer and visual artist pursuing a career in Interior Design. This is my virtual sanctuary for interior design adventures, fashion experiments, art expressions, life on stage, and self-preservation.


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Your Visit
It is our goal to make your visit to our office as comfortable as possible. We always begin each appointment with a thorough consultation explaining all of the clinical and radiographic findings, your diagnosis, and all available treatment options. We often set time aside to provide same day endodontic treatment (if it is confirmed to be indicated and necessary). However, a complex medical history or treatment plan may require an evaluation and a second appointment to provide treatment on another day. If you prefer to proceed with a consultation only, please inform us of such and we will be more than happy to accommodate your request.
Please assist us by providing the following information at the time of your consultation:
- Your referral slip.
- A list of medications that you are presently taking.
- If you have dental insurance, please bring the necessary completed forms. This will allow us to help you process any claims.
IMPORTANT: A parent or guardian must accompany all patients under 18 at the consultation visit.
Please alert the office if you have a medical condition that may be of concern prior to treatment (i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure, artificial heart valves and joints, rheumatic fever, etc.), if you are on any specific medications that may affect bleeding (i.e. heart medications, aspirin, anticoagulant therapy, etc.), or if you require medication prior to dental cleanings or dental treatment (i.e antibiotics). We also recommend that your inform us of any need for oral sedatives or nitrous oxide prior to your appointment date.
X-Rays/ imaging
You may request that your restorative dentist forward any relevant x-rays to our office, but this is not typically necessary. It is our standard of care to take any necessary radiographs at our office to aid in diagnosis and treatment. When indicated, we may recommend additional cone-beam CT imaging.


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These are Brad Nichoson's good things
What are some good things you've read?
These are Brad Nichoson's good things
What are some good things you've read?
This is Jason Kemp and these are his good things
What are some good things you've read?
Midnight in Sicily by Peter Robb is a book that combines history, culture, politics and food writing set in Italy.
Hackers & Painters by Paul Graham is a set of essays by Paul Graham who went on to set up Y Combinator. The essays are all thoughtful insights on language and culture from a tech thinker.
Shantaram is a novel by Gregory David Roberts which is about life on the edge in Mumbai, India for an Australian prison escapee. Shantaram is a fast un-put down-able read and covers many ideas adventures which reads like an autobiography.
What are some good things you've watched?
Daytime Tiger is a documentary film by Costa Botes about writer Michael Morrissey who was diagnosed with manic depression. It gives us more understanding about bi polar / manic behaviours.
Flight of the Conchords TV series is about fictious 4th best folk band living in NY.
Bladerunner the movie still looks great after 30 years. I like the script and the way it was adapted from a book plus set design and amazing performance by Rutger Hauer.
What are some good things you use?
I love my Bialetti stovetop coffee maker and take it with me when travelling or even camping.
The new iPad with the retina screen is amazing and combination of hi res screen, mobile portability and touch / tablet is a platform that I can build products for.
Minecraft game on iPad is incredible for visual spatial thinkers and I can see it being used in education as well.
Editor note: this post originally misspelled 'book' as 'boom' and noted Shantaram was set in Italy instead of India.


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Weekend Tunes: Amy Winehouse
I know that there have been a lot of tragedies lately (Norway, my heart is breaking for you and Somalia in famine after having 2 years of no rain) but another tragedy; Amy Winehouse passed away last week. Only 27. Having just turned 28 myself recently, this just feels like such a waste of a life that could have given so, so much. Her substance abuse was salivated over by the media (something that I think is in such bad taste and which they are also doing in her death) and I think that media spotlight didn't do her any favours with trying to get better. It is hard enough to tackle addiction in the privacy of your family and friends, let alone with most of the world watching and waiting for you to fail.
This is one of my favourite tracks from her, In My Bed; and what a fox she is in this video too! How I'll be remembering her anyway.
RIP Amy, the music you made really was awesome.


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Stephanie Pratt and Nole Marin joined together as Runway magazine presented "What's Hot, What's New, What's Next in Fashion" at LAVO on Tuesday.
Stephanie looked stunning in a blue sequined dress as she posed on the red carpet before heading into LAVO for dinner. Kristin Cavallari, was dining with friends at a table nearby and the two caught up for a minute.
Steph tweeted:
"Vegas premiere of "Takers," - Rock and Republic party - and I'm hosting Lavo tonight.... How will there be enough time???!!!"
During an interview, Stephanie was asked about her brother, Spencer. Revealing that she hasn't spoken to him in a year, she said, "When he's ready to come around, I'm going to greet him with open arms. I love him more than anything in the world. He's my blood."
She looks so pretty - I love the dress and shoes!
credit - Gossip Center, Celebrity Paradise
~Kelli at Hills Freak
Click here to see Stephanie's Runway Magazine Spread.
Click here to watch Steph in a behind the scenes video of her Runway Magazine shoot.


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Reality Television
Reality television is a genre of television programming in which ordinary people are put into dramatic or humorous situations and their emotions and behavior are monitored. Such programming is unscripted and relies on real or true events from everyday life or it sometimes takes the form of contests or talent shows where a prize is awarded. Reality television productions are called reality shows and they began forming in the late 1940s but did not become popular until the late 1990s. They especially proliferated around 1999–2000 after the success of shows like Big Brother and Survivor.
Reality shows are often produced in a series and they use film or video footage of sensational and scandalous events to attract viewers and advertisers because they are often broadcast in prime time. Usually footage is deliberately manufactured and speech and actions of the participants are directed and follow a script, but pretend to recreate reality. Reality television actually has an element of unreality because in most of the shows participants are aware that they are on camera and some moments are emphasised over others to create a dramatic and emotional effect.
Reality television programming is less expensive than traditional programming because it uses less and cheaper equipment, smaller crews, fewer sets and not as many paid performers. It started on the radio with a radio series which was later moved to the screen.
The first reality television practitioner, also called "granddaddy of reality TV genre," was Alan Funt who in 1948 introduced his TV series Candid Camera based on his 1947 radio show Candid Microphone. He replaced the hidden microphones with hidden cameras but still created artificial realities and pranks for ordinary people and observed their reactions. At the end of every prank someone from the crew or Funt himself would go to the "victim" and say "Smile. You're on Candid Camera." The 1950 game shows Beat the Clock and Truth or Consequence also put participants in funny situations and competitions and frequently used candid cameras.
Modern reality shows borrow a lot of elements and ideas from these pioneering series which paved the way for reality television. For example the radio series Nightwatch (1951–1955), which followed the daily activities of police officers in Culver City, California, is the precursor of the modern version of the TV show COPS. Audience-participation elements in reality television were borrowed from the series You asked for it (1951–1955) in which viewers requested what they wanted to see on television and dictated the content.
The first reality television show in the modern sense, which became a hit in 1973, was An American Family on PBS. It showed the daily life of an ordinary family called the Louds who decided to divorce in the course of the show. The show's genre was a documentary but it was ground-breaking because of the on-screen coming out of the Louds' gay son which shocked the 1970 audience. Celebrity reality shows like The Osbornes, Nick & Jessica or Hogan Knows Best borrowed the idea for reality-soap genre from the 1973 pioneering show.
An American Family was also an inspiration for other family-based reality programmes like The Real Housewives of Orange County, Little People and Big World which emphasised the drama in dysfunctional households.
In summer 2000 reality television programmes reached their peak of popularity with the successes of Big Brother and Survivor in the United States. Survivor and American Idol, in particular, have topped the American season-average television ratings for a few consecutive years. Those shows along with The Amazing Race, America's Next Top Model series, the Dancing With The Stars series, The Apprentice, Fear Factor and Big Brother have had a global effect on reality television and many countries around the world have produced their own national versions.
Reality television programmes consist of several subgenres such as documentary-style, competition/game shows, self-improvement/makeover, renovation, social experiment, dating shows, hidden cameras, supernatural and paranormal, talk shows and hoaxes.
Documentary-style reality television and competition/game shows are divided into various subcategories. The former focuses on the daily personal and professional lives of ordinary or famous people. Consequently, the variants are either filmed in special living environments with artificially created challenges or include celebrities and certain professionals on the job.
The reality competition or reality game shows present participants competing to win a prize which is not necessarily monetary. Within this category there are different formats such as dating-based competitions like The Bachelor and its spin-off The Bachelorette and job search competitions like The Apprentice or Hell's Kitchen.


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When did you get your first e-mail address? Mine was back in 1995, originating at Philadelphia's premier Internet provider: Netaxs.com, who went by the wayside in the early twenty-first century and sold out to a large conglomerate who has since been swallowed up by an even bigger concern. Nevertheless, Netaxs offered dial-up service, the only thing available at the time that married my 19Kbits/s modem to the Information Super-highway; later upgrading to a 56Kbit/s model, making me feel like I was surfing the Web while being jet-propelled by two Pratt and Whitney engines—funny how things have changed.
Anyone remember dial-up, and the accompanying crazy, bird-like chirping noises complete with the nasal sounds of geese honking, all made while connecting to the IP's mainframe computer by telephone line? Thank goodness that's over with. Now, after the advent of broadband, cable and satellite connectivity, just a flick of a switch is all one hears until jamming to videos on Youtube and rock 'n' roll from the external hard drive.
I maintained my first e-mail address for the past two centuries up until yesterday, finally realizing that it was time to let it go. Parting was such sweet sorrow. Dial-up is a thing of the past, although few still use it for whatever reasons they have. The Netaxs address survived extinction after my switching to cable Internet, and remained number one in my list of e-mail accounts; as I operated a few Web sites on my own machines, utilizing the e-mail addy for contacting me as the Webmaster and owner of the respective domains. However, that all came to an end when my servers severely crashed and burned; no more Pratt and Whitney jet engines to speak of, just smoke and the smell of transformers, transistors, diodes and microchips, sizzling, swan-singing and burning away into mass oblivion. Rather than buying new equipment and starting all over, I decided wearily to hang up my Webmaster's hat, bringing us back to why I let go of my original e-mail account.
Mike Slickster Syndication's former server rack
Upon my attempting to pay last month's Internet bill on the newest conglomerate's Web site, the accounting processor was not available, forcing me to return the next day to make the payment. No sweat, but that incident made me question, why was I keeping open a dial-up account, when only using it for e-mail purposes, costing me twenty bucks a month? Here comes the tirade!
I opened an e-ticket at the IP's site on the 26th of last month, stating I wanted to discontinue using their services, and to please confirm this action. Yesterday, I received an e-mail ratifying my request, but the customer-service rep. apologized for just getting my message after only ten days. This is what she had to say:
Hello Mike Slickster,
Thank you for contacting Big Conglomerate's Customer Care. I do apologize
that you haven't heard back about this request yet. I have created order
# 2317094 to disconnect this account. This order could take up to 30 days
to complete. If you need further assistance please feel free to call Customer
Care at 877-555-5555 (not a real telephone number).
Thanks and have a great day!
It takes thirty days to press "Click," "Delete," or "Turn Off Account"? I can believe it, if it took them ten days to read through their e-tickets. Oh, well, such is life, I thought, and instantly got an error notification sent from my laptop's e-mail client. The message read that it couldn't connect to my Netaxs account, that my username or password was rejected; and the server needed further verification. That was a fast thirty days. Sending an e-mail to the Netaxs address using my other mainstay account, I quickly received from the latter's mailer-daemon, an indication my electronic mail sent was bounced back by Netaxs, confirming my account had been disconnected. Being the obsessive-compulsive, super sleuth that I am, I attempted to log on to the Internet provider's Web site to see if I could get into my account and bingo: there I was, successfully admitted and staring at an invoice that was issued the day before yesterday, conveniently twenty-four hours before the disconnect order was processed.
My blood pressure was beginning to rise over the fact that my Netaxs e-mail address was officially voided, and yet a bill was sent for a month's service when only one day was actually used. A query was spontaneously conveyed to Janelle, confronting her with this and asking why I had to pay? This was her reply:
Hello Mike Slickster,
Thank you for contacting Big Conglomerate Customer Care. The disconnect
order is still in progress for this account. Once the disconnect order
has completed, the billing will back date to the last day of service.
If you need further assistance please feel free to call Customer Care at
Thanks and have a great day!
Not normally one to quibble about twenty bucks, regardless if charged for just one day's service, I feel it's the principle of this virtual infraction of taking ten days for a response to a correspondence. Back in my customer-service days, if I sat on an e-mail for so long without replying to a client, I could have gotten fired! Never would I ever insist nor wish for Janelle's being disciplined for a measly double sawbuck, but I feel ripped-off by the system again; plus I hadn't written a tirade in a while and this made good fodder. On the plus side, after eighteen years using the same e-mail address, I must have been on every spammer's mailing list since the beginning of the twenty-first century; and now my in-box will be free of all that spam sent to Netaxs. Nonetheless, with that in mind, let's for one last time take a trip through my Junk E-mail Bin as cluttered by my first Internet fling, shall we?
Junk Mail In-bin
The first one on the list came from the desk of Adiele Asobi, who sough my assistance for the transfer of "US$25M depository" made by a foreign investor, dead with no heir; and all this money was left behind, blah-blah-blah. You've read this all before; I'm sure. All I had to do is send the following to Adiele's e-mail:
Full Name and Address:
Date of Birth:
Telephone & Fax Numbers:
Coffin size:
Etc., but you get the point: how do these scammers think they can, or actually get suckers to respond to such absurdity, especially when the e-mail was sent to undisclosed recipients?
The next in-line from Gina Dehart read as follows:
Are you starting to look old firstname.lastname@example.com?
Then you need to see this 55-year-old mother and what she did to her face.
She now looks like she's in her 30s (check out her pictures in the article)
The crazy thing is it only cost her five-dollars to do it. See for yourself
by reading her story_below.
http://LetmeRipyouOffFast.com (not the actual URL)
Now that I didn't have to worry about generating more spam to Netaxs, I clicked the URL to find out what it was all about, only to discover a dead link. Don't try this at home if you lack up-to-date virus and malware protection.
The third one extolled:
Cooking Spice That Makes You Burn Calories?
* – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – * – *
Have you seen this firstname.lastname@example.com?
Add this to your diet, and turn your body into a "calorie burning machine."
Simply sleep and burn double the amount of calories. (Imagine… calories
burning while you rest your head on the pillow)Read what this popular doctor
has to say about THIS spice in this "exclusive" news story. It's truly
This really did strike my interest, but again, a dead link was included. Doing a search on Yahoo, I couldn't find anything about spice-induced caloric loss during sleep, although a mention of drinking green tea before bed claimed to increase one's metabolism to aid in burning calories. The only spice I can think of that could do the trick would be "psyllium," a member of the plantain family, which is both a bulking agent and demulcent; and it has long been used in treating both constipation and diarrhea. Take a bunch of that before going to sleep, and guaranteed from the plethora of sit-downs on the pot overnight to empty your bowels, several pounds will be shed. Better yet, try psilocybin mushrooms, definitely known to raise one's metabolism while tripping radiantly in one's sleep; not to mention the excessive weight-flushing, bed-sheet-drenching perspiration subsequently generated in large proportions from the vividly poignant, profoundly strange dreams and hellacious hallucinations encountered along the way.
Fourth, Western Union allegedly sent an e-mail, once again to undisclosed recipients; claiming I was the beneficiary of "$2,000,000.00 (two million United State dollars)," from being scammed and listed by the "West Africa Financial Intelligent Unit (WAFIU)," entitling me to receive the mother lode by sending them $250.00 as a processing fee, and to give them my credit card number. Right, and I'll also hand over my bank-account credentials, as requested, for them to deposit the money; also granting them my Social Security number for tax purposes. These hoodlums must bank on the age-old adage, "There's a sucker born every minute."
The last one showcased from this lengthy list is about publishing one's hard work. I clicked the link given, which put me through a few introductory pages until asking how much I would be willing to spend, to get my book published? Good-bye, here was another obvious scam-a-roo, willing to take as much moola away as possible from some unsuspecting, hapless individual. No publisher worth their weight in salt would charge you to put your book into print, but then of course, your tome must be extraordinary for them to even look at it, after sending a Nobel-prize-winning query letter ahead of time.
Thus ends another long-winded tirade, and most likely the last trip through my Junk Mail In-bin for a while, until my other e-mail addresses end up on the notorious spammer's lists worldwide, and specifically in Nigeria. Good day!


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Fresh pasta is delicious, but it's not always the best choice for every recipe. Pasta is not pasta. Fresh pasta isn't necessarily interchangeable with dried pasta. There's a reason Italians love both versions.
Tag Archives | pasta
Whole Wheat Parsley Fettuccine with Goat Cheese Sauce
My goal with this recipe is to get you into the kitchen and cook. At the very least, whip up this awesome sauce, nothing more than goat cheese and parsley. Feeling more ambitious? Make your own fettuccine noodles to toss with the sauce.
Thinking Outside the Box: The Craft of Real Mac & Cheese
A lot of people believe that creating macaroni and cheese from scratch is difficult, when in reality it takes very little effort and yields results that are a thousand times tastier than anything you'll get out of a box.
Hunger in America (and Fettuccine with Tomato Avocado Sauce)
Inspired by the new documentary film, A Place at the Table, fellow blogger Nicole Gulotta has asked hundreds of us to "donate" our posts today to help raise the issue of hunger and food insecurity in America, and I'm proud to join this chorus.
Green Pasta Supreme
This pasta has all the cheesy richness of alfredo with none of the cheesy cholesterol. I had to send myself to my room after two helpings or I would have eaten the whole thing!
How Eating Clean Changed My Life (and Gluten-Free Grape 'n' Chive Pasta Salad)
I eat like a cavewoman. Not the spearing-wooly-mammoths-and-wild-cats kind of cavewoman, but the hunter-gatherer type. Here's why.
Unprocessed – and Organic – on a Budget (and Fusilli with Chard & Bacon)
Today I'm sharing with you the most helpful tips I know of to ensure a successful month of unprocessed eating without breaking the bank… and a recipe for Fusillia Pasta with Chard & Bacon.
Fregola Sarda with Seasonal Vegetables and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This recipe-for-the-weekend is a bit of a cheat meal, since it's not whole-grain pasta. But the delightfully-chewy texture of these little "pearls" makes it totally worthy. The pasta is definitely the star of the show, so feel free to use whatever veggies you've got on hand.


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You may have seen our personnel in your neighborhoods to include athletic and park venues, as well as grocery, home improvement, and big box stores. There were also several community events to include health fairs, a fiesta, and a grand opening. These were fantastic opportunities for our firefighters to meet the residents we serve, provide safety information, and answer any questions posed.
Of particular note was a door to door effort in the Leisure World community in which 200 homes were checked and over 40 smoke alarms installed! In addition, 20 neighbors from the Bethesda area learned CPR at the Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad Saturday morning. At Fire Station #34, our child passenger safety program checked and correctly installed 24 car seats to ensure young children, infants and newborns will be better protected while travelling in their parents autos.
Below you will find a variety of photos of our personnel out and about during the Community Risk Reduction Weekend.


text: Background: Although leadership is a topic which has been extensively researched, there is limited literature concerning co-leadership, especially in connection to start-ups. Moreover, as those who are co-leaders in start-ups often also are co-founders and co-owners, it is vital that their co-leadership dynamic is functional as a way of staying in business. Co-leadership is described as a leadership form which has become more commonly used, which further adds urgency of exploring the topic of co-leadership dynamics, and how to make it functional. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a functional co-leadership dynamic can be created between leaders who are simultaneously founders and owners of a start-up. Method: This is a qualitative study, for which is used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 11 co-leaders in 10 companies. The transcribed interviews have been used together with secondary data to point out specific elements that have shown to be important for a functional co-leadership dynamic. Both the themes of co-leadership dynamics and the context of entrepreneurship, foundership and ownership were used to find and highlight these elements. The elements have been discussed in the Analysis and are thereafter presented in a model. Conclusion: Six elements have been pointed out as important for a functional co-leadership dynamic: Collaborative Attitude, Shared Values & Vision, Open & Continuous Communication, Synergy, Learning & Personal Growth, and Trust. These elements are interrelated, and Collaborative Attitude, Shared Values & Vision, Synergy and Trust are also connected to the contextual factors.


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A place to share my writings, poems, photos, family history, express opinions, and connect with others
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Gatesville, Texas
7 comments:
Know it must have been a nice trip back in time! I'm happy for both of you.ReplyDelete
These are great shots. I'm enjoying traveling with you and can just imagine your husband's enthusiasm.ReplyDelete
What a neat place. It must be fun putting the names with the faces as your husband shows you around.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousNovember 30, 2008 at 10:28 PM
I hope you wrote down or record the stories..I want to get some of my parents' stories recorded...ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 1, 2008 at 8:16 AM
I love that last picture. Beautiful building! Must be the courthouse.ReplyDelete
omigosh, Lin. This has been a fabulous trip for both of you. I always love driving through Pleasant Grove and having Wayne point out his old haunts and tell stories about his youthful endeavors. He was full of vinegar when he was a growing lad. And you are completely right... somehow hearing about their adventures while growing into maturity does help give us a better understanding of them as the men they have become.ReplyDelete
So, I never thought of Allen as a Texan... he doesn't have that slow drawl. Does he even like horses? I've never seen a cowboy hat around your home, that I remember anyway.
This is a good shot of the ?courthouse? I love looking at pics of old courthouses.ReplyDelete


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Very nice. Phal sumatrana is awesome.
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Once again, it's been a long time without you...
An old plant. A keiki is blooming, the mother plant is dead...
Always on time, unfortunately the fragrance it not as exquisite as corningiana's one
Very nice. Phal sumatrana is awesome.
Both are very nice. Just starting to get a few Phal.'s again myself after disastrous loss a couple of years ago.
Great shots as usual ,Eric. Nice to your posts again.
Hey Eric, welcome back! Beautiful blooms.


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skillet chicken with apples & cranberries
adapted from eating well
30 minutes, serves 4-6
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders, cut into thin strips
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 large or 6 small crisp apples, cored and thinly sliced (peeled or unpeeled, your choice)
1 large red onion, sliced
3/4 cup apple cider
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon flour
- season chicken with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme. coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and place over medium heat. add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides (the chicken does not need to be cooked completely at this point). transfer to a plate.
- coat the bottom of the skillet again with oil. add apples, onion, 2 tablespoons cider and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. cook until the apples and onions have softened, about five minutes.
- add cranberries to the apple mixture and sprinkle flour over everything. stir to combine and cook for about one minute, or until there are no more dry flour spots.
- add the chicken back to the pan and add the remaining cider. cover and cook until the sauce has thickened and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.