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The Mystery of Myrtle Lake
By Teresa Holloway
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – There are some mysteries so old even time itself has nearly forgotten them and the Myrtle Lake Resort off Lockout Road in Grapeland would qualify for that category.
In the early years of the 1900s, Myrtle Lake Resort was the recreational area of choice for Grapeland residents. Many out-of-towners enjoyed the tour into the East Texas forest which ended in surprisingly modern entertainment.
There is only one located photo, no history on the paddle boat's owners or the group of enterprising locals who dammed and built the levee in the Pedro and Bennett Creek area. No one seems to know what happened to the boat later.
Because of the intervening years and lack of historic recording, much mystery surrounds the area. Most visitors or residents who may have visited the resort have long since passed away and stories from the lake's dedicated patrons are gone, now. Only a handful of heirs remain to recount tales told by their ancestors.
Soon even the stories will follow the lake into the mists of the past.
The spillway erected on Bennett Creek or Pedro Creek, even the creek name is debatable, once created and a lush, fertile two acre aquatic environment. The old picture shows a cut over area where the forest has been thinned drastically.
The resort provided not only entertainment for the community, but also a needed haven for tropical plants and native species such as birds of paradise shrubs and palmettos, fish and deer.
The paddle wheel boat and pavilions with electricity – almost unheard of in those days – once held dancers and dreamers. One can imagine the sound of the frogs and crickets underscoring the old gramophone music, perhaps soothing the brow of genteel ladies adorned in lacy gloves and crinoline skirts. It doesn't require much imagination to hear water lapping beneath the boat, feel the deck gently moving beneath booted feet.
Fine young gentlemen in ascots, waistcoats and flat hats frequented the resort. In those early 1910 to 1920s years, fashion was crucial as it was a statement of wealth and power in an era where very little of either could be found.
There were rumors of gambling and drinking on the boats, both of which were considered taboo in the era, but none of the rumors were proven.
The few remaining stories around Grapeland have the same theme; Myrtle Lake Resort was once the meeting place for the wealthier families in the area and an entertainment venue for incoming visitors of note.
Mr. Dan Walling of Grapeland, now in his 80s, has a few vague memories of the old resort. "I know from what my father told me, down the road here a couple of hundred yards, Myrtle Lake was just a little further down from the Y, going on straight.
"Sometime in the early 1900s, some local folks got together and built a concrete spillway and earthen dam. It allowed the Pedro Creek to build up, or Bennett, whichever it was called at the time, until it was two or three acres in size.
"They had a pavilion or floating pavilion, it was fair sized. It was big enough to have a party on.
There were some bathhouses and changing rooms," he recounted. "It was open to the public at the time. It wasn't an exclusive club or anything.
"It only lasted about five or six years. About early 1920s, a big storm came along and washed out the dam and spillway which was not all that well built to begin with," he shook his head. "That was the end of it."
There are shattered and broken old bricks on the downward side of the old levee.
Bob Rounsaval agreed. Rounsaval's father –in-law, Leon Leamons, regaled him with a few stories from his childhood.
"When he was a very young man, in his teenage years, he said there was one of those paddle boats on the lake. He said they did have gambling on it … it was a party boat.
"According to Leamons," Rounsaval recalled, "The boat went as far down as Boots Skidmore's place. That would be about two miles. It was a pretty good sized lake," he said.
Rounsaval was one of the first to locate the old levee site. His property encompassed the area and he explored the area extensively on foot. "All of the sudden, one day I just walked the other way and there it was – those concrete pylons. Trees had grown up in there. It had a washout on the spillway side of it," he recalled.
The earthen works and concrete are still clearly visible, an echo of a lively past now forgotten.
Myrtle Lake no longer slumbers beneath young oak trees. The waters have long since dried away under the Texas sun despite the maturing trees' shade. Only a few seeps remain in the darkest hollows.
The area is all but unrecognizable. Within a few years even the remnants of the early concrete spillway will disintegrate into rubble, and the forest, drinking from the many natural springs in the area, will succeed in its mission to reclaim the once popular lake site.
Already Mother Nature has made progress though one can still discern the earthen walls and water level line of the old dam above the former lake bed.
The water logged stumps have almost disintegrated to ground level but, as if in silent testament to the former glory days of the absent lake, stubbornly refuse to give way completely.
Here and there broken bricks are strewn about, probably victims of the 1920s flood that also removed their host.
With a little imagination one can hear the tinkle of crystal glasses across the water and laughter, accompanied by the whir of the paddles. Soon, even those old shades will fade.
Too far back to remain even in memory, the mysterious Myrtle Lake Resort is wreathed in the fog of the past as surely as this morning's fog over the old levee.
Another small part of history has been consigned to the province of myth and legend in the Grapeland area.


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"God, please bless Mommy and Daddy," a pyjama clad little boy prayed, kneeling beside his bed. "…and dear God, take care of Yourself. If anything happens to You, we're sunk!"
God had promised to bless Abram and make him a great nation. However, this meant that at the age of seventy-six, he had to pack up and leave his home with no clear direction as to "where." God's only instructions were, "Leave and I will show you the way." For eleven years, Abram did just that, but there was no sign of God keeping up His end of the deal. Abram and Sarai were still childless, and one could not be "a great nation" without first having a son.
Abram started thinking that maybe God needed some help in fulfilling His promise. Therefore, when Sarai came up with a way that "they" could achieve God's promised child, Abram rationalized it as being a good plan. Abram wanted things in his own time. He was not willing to wait any longer. Thus, like many of us, he took matters into his own hands, married Hagai, and fathered a child thinking that all would go well.
Abram played with Ishmael, spent time with him and loved him as any father would. Yet, something was different. Abram was not walking in the will of God. Therefore, God was silent. How bitter were those years for Abram?
Had he concluded, like the little boy, that without God he was sunk? Had he realized that taking things into his own hands had not only hurt him but also those in his family? I am sure Abram soon recognized the folly in not waiting and trusting in God. Yet, how many times during those years had Abram felt he had disappointed God? How many times did he wonder if he had wandered too far from God?
After thirteen years of agonizing silence, when Abram was ninety-nine, the Lord finally appeared to him.
"I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); walk before me and be blameless. I will
confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your
numbers." Gen 17:1-2 (NIV)
Up to this point, Abram knew God only as El (The One True God), Elohim (The Creator), and El Elyon (The Most High God / The Sovereign God). Now God revealed a new name to Abram.
El Shaddai – The All-Sufficient One. The Almighty. The Nourisher .
("Shad"meaning "breasts" – pointing to a mother who tenderly provides nourishment for her child)
El Shaddai was reminding Abram that He was The All You Need God. He was The Almighty who knew exactly what He was doing – at all times! In essence, God was saying, "Abram, for eleven years you experienced me as El Shaddai without knowing it. Then, you decided to trust in yourself. For thirteen years you have been trying to do things your own way. You have discovered, painfully, that YOUR way does not work. Now learn a new thing about me. I am El Shaddai. I will do what I have promised and I will do it at exactly the right time!"
Abram needed to get this! We need to get this! We need to understand that God wants to bless and nourish His children, and because He is Almighty…He will do just that! God's provisions may not look the way we want. His promises may not be fulfilled when we want, but He is El Shaddai! He will do what He says!
It is to Him we must run when we are depleted in our relationships, finances, ministries, and workplaces. He will never turn us away. He will be more than enough!
He is EL SHADDAI! He is not only our Nourisher, El Shaddai is our protector!
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High (El Elyon) will rest in the shadow
of the Almighty (El Shaddai)." Psalm 91:1 NIV
El Shaddai keeps His promises! Abram lost sight of that in his wait. As a result, Abram's great solution turned into his biggest nightmare! Have you not also experienced the same thing?
The quandary is we have refused to see God as El Shaddai and allow Him to be the Almighty in our lives!
The result?
We have kicked Him out of our schools, government, homes, and even our churches.
El Shaddai is All-Sufficient! He sustains us freely! He is all we need. Job recognized this (Job13:15). Habakkuk clung to this (Hab 3:17-19)! Paul rejoiced in this (2Cor 12:9-10)! Abram learned this and as a result, fell on his face in worship before El Shaddai (Gen17:3), submitting to His Lordship. El Shaddai then poured Himself into Abram. He changed Abram's name to Abraham and made him fruitful at an age when fruitfulness was considered impossible!
When I submit to El Shaddai as Abram did, He will also pour into me all that I need to be light in
this dark world. In fact, the more I submit, the more He will pour, until the over-flow pours down onto those around me!
Does your heart echo the little boy's prayer?
If so, then you have experienced God as your El Shaddai. If not, then may I suggest you get to know Him as your El Shaddai?
He wants you to. Will you let Him?

subset: commoncrawl


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It is 2005 this weekend. It doesn't seem that long ago that a majority of the world was wondering about what would happen when the year 2000 arrived. We all survived and the Y2K consultants are now all "blogging" on to the next opportunity..The end of the year is a natural time to reflect and think about the challenges and the opportunities that you have gone through this past year. According to psychologist John Norcross 40% of adults have New resolutions. The three most popular are:
1. Loose weight
2. Quit smoking
3. Increase exercise
Here are some other interesting stats:
1. 75% are faithful for one week
2. 55% one month
3. 40% 6 months
4. 20% two years later
Goal setting and then perservering to achieve those goals can be a diffcult task. My experience has shown with goal setting in general and career related changes, is that you have to want the change. You need a particular benefit to the choices that you make. The goal has to be beyond yourself in many cases for it to stick. You need to identify support systems that will help you preserver and maintain some level of accountability.
If you are serious about your New Year's resolutions try the following sets to make sure that you can be one of the rare few that stick to them and make their goals a reality:
1. Write each one down. More importantly, write down the WHY. Have a plan. Be specific and descriptive but long enough that you won't lose focus. I think this is a majority of reason why goal setting often doesn't work. You need a "WHY". Goals are empty without the "WHY".
2. Tell the RIGHT people..By sharing your goal with the right people you can get support and accountability. Some of us need to put our stubbornness and pride aside and make sure that we have people helping us stay on track.
3. Make sure to CELEBRATE the little successes along the way…I know a person who bought a CD every time he went for a run. This may be a little expensive but it is what worked for him.
If you follow the above advice, achieving your New Year's resolutions should be a little easier this year. Remember not to be too hard on yourself. Maybe that should be your first resolution


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Please contact your preferred therapist using the details below. If you prefer to email, please select your preferred therapist from the drop down box.
Gaynor or Paula can usually offer an initial assessment appointment to you within 48 hours of contact to the service.
Paula Louise Brocklehurst
Contact: 07913 653 030
Gaynor Anne Bodsworth
Contact: 07989 272544
Email Us
Our Locations
Tailored Counselling Services is located on the southern edge of Mansfield close to the A617 MARR Route which links south Mansfield to the A60, and the A38 providing access to Junction 28 of the M1 Motorway. Anglia Way itself is just off Southwell Road West, one of the main arterial routes in and out of Mansfield, with disabled access and ample free car parking to the front of the building.
All consultation rooms are welcoming, discreet, private and comfortable.
Our Consulting Address is in easy reach of Lindhurst, Rainworth, Harlow Wood, Forest Town, Mansfield, Blidworth, Geen Line Industrial Estate, New Clipstone, Ravenshead, Mansfield Woodhouse, Haywood Oaks, Newstead Abbey, Old Clipstone, Pleasley Vale, Sookholme, Skegby, Sutton in Ashfield, Kirkby in Ashfield, Farnsfield, Papplewick
Unit 13
Anglia Way Industrial Estate
Acorn Medical Practice
11-13 Wood Street


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Jordan Kinsley tried to make Britney realize that her boyfriend Ralph is just using her but Britney thinks her mom is just a dumb bitch. Upset, Jordan decided to teach her daughter a lesson by fucking Ralph in the living room and make him cum all over her big natural boobs. Collapse
Available formats
Niche & Categories


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Amsterdam – In our newest book, curator Lukas Feireiss asks about the phenomenon we call legacy. 'Is it the creative and intellectual heritage that one generation passes to the next? ' he asks. 'Is it asset or accident? Is it deliberate or random? Is it our choices and actions, our words and deeds? Or is it something entirely different?'
To get to the root of that answer, Feireiss lets the protagonists do the talking. In Legacy: Generations of creatives in dialogue, more than 40 creators, connectors and thinkers are paired up to discuss the intangible gifts they've left behind. Their stories provide personal insights into their work and life, while investigating a wider perspective on the realm of art, design and curation in the 20th and 21st century.
There's Olafur Eliasson and his mentor, architect Einar Thorstein, talking about the creative process of model making. Architects Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeskind critically questioning the concept of legacy with their respective artist daughters Charlie Koolhaas and Rachel Libeskind. Reading between the lines with Ahmir Questlove Thompson and George Clinton. Exploring a family's legacy in the woods of Cape Cod with three generations of Chermayeffs. Reflecting upon Le Corbusier with Tom Sachs. 'It has been my explicit intention to create a source of inspiration for creatives beyond established etiquette,' its author explains.
To crack open that etiquette, Legacy's methods range from classical interviews to essayistic narratives, as well as more experimental formats. The book is now available for pre-sale in our web store and will be delivered from September 10 onwards. But in the meantime, here is a preview of its content, with a selection that speaks of the intimacy, the boldness and the disruptive nature of the conversations that make up its 272 pages.


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The Balance with Fairy Tales
I have to admit that it really pisses me off when I hear people barking about how delusional women are for believing in fairy tales. These breeds of pessimism annoy the hell out of me and I want to scream and kick the naysayer every time. Listen lady or buddy, I'm really sorry you fell on hard times, that life kicked you in the teeth and you gave up your heart for the mediocrity of lost hope. It's a real shame, but hey don't drag me down your downward slide of despair. Yes life can suck sometimes, romances go bad and our hearts get broken. But the road doesn't stop there unless you say it does.
There are those who have had their hearts completely shattered but continue to raise their hand beyond the dust to reach out for one more glimpse of love. In their reaching you feel the need to set fire to their remaining ashes. Well shut the hell up, who asked you for your misery or your horrific opinions. If you're not being asked, then shut your mouth sit on the sideline with your trusted misery to console you. Leave the dreamer alone, let the believer be. Your followers of heretics are just around the corner, go and find them, the dreamer is not interested in your service.
Aaaaaahhh, now with that said and taken care of, I would like to talk you who still believes in the fairy tale. You know the Prince Charming, the Princess that both rescue one another. She sees his endless charm and beauty and she is the woman who finally sees him for who he really is. "Where have you been all my life?" they anxiously exclaim as they know that have been truly found and seen. Their beauty is matching, the love they share for one another is strong and they are committed to one another for eternity. He loves her, she loves him and nothing can come between them.
Doesn't that just want to make your heart sigh? That these two perfect beings have found one another and alas they can live life in perfect harmony till the end of time.
Here's where other realities join the picture and take place. Prince Charming leaves the toilet seat up, the Princess shaves her legs with the same razor he uses on his face and both refuse to make the bed every morning. Then there's the in laws. One set are overbearing, constantly in the middle and don't have a real grid for personal space. The other set of parents are almost non existent, they're caught up in the whirlwinds of their own lives and rarely get to speak to the happy couple, less alone actually connect with them.
Then there's the finances. While Prince Charming has lived a very lavish lifestyle, the Princess comes from a more conservative background and approaches money a bit differently. Prince Charming gets upset as if the Princess is restricting him and his freedoms which have been entitled to him. The Princess has grown up in a home where she can freely express her emotions whenever she chooses to do so, so she does. Prince Charming finds this a bit upsetting, as his family did not speak of such matters as it was considered impolite.
So while you may see that at first life was rather charming, as they journeyed more into life together, complications arose, things were misunderstood and change was needed. But hey, that's the balance to any love story. I had an amazing relationship where I felt like my guy was practically a mind reader. We did everything together and had a blast. We laughed often, kissed a lot, and held each other almost all the time. But we struggled with communication, communicating our needs, our wants, therein lined the challenge. That's the balance with Fairy Tales, they come with many more perks than an average relationship, but they'll still have those issues that will need to be worked out.
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May 2020


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The Berk Hath 2011 annual report
You've read the previews, now read the real thing. Buffett's annual lump of homespun came out just a few minutes ago and is available to read right here.
Cherry cokes served, the end
Five days of metals and miners: Feb 25th
It's Saturday again, so here we are with the last five days' worth of action in the gold bullion ETF (GLD), the silver bullion ETF (SLV), the miner ETF (GDX), the junior miner ETF (GDXJ) and the copper ETF (COPX)
1) Silver wins
2) The others did pretty well, too.
3) The end
The Friday OT: Zepparella: When the levee breaks
As a rule I'm no big fan of tribute bands, in the same way that a print of a work of art isn't art, it's a print. But this is one magnificent exception to the rule.
Just an absolutely cracklingly, wonderful top job of just about my fave LedZep track (at worst in the top five, mail for further details if you care enough) that nails the song stone cold. I hope you enjoy it as much as I've done in the last 48 hours.
The Buenos Aires train crash
We followed the events at Once station in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina on Twitter when news started to break about the train crash that has left 50 dead and upwards of 700 people injured (some still in critical condition), but as soon as the news grew to international headline size this mouse-voiced blog let the issue drop. However, two days later there is something I feel like pointing out. Of the 50 dead, six of the people were Paraguayan, three were Peruvian, two were Bolivian and one was Chilean. Or in other words, nigh on a quarter of the deaths were suffered by foreign nationals living and working in Buenos Aires who made the commute to the centre from the generally respectable but less well-off areas of
Southern Western* Gran Buenos Aires.
I still don't know what to make of that statistic and I'm certainly not trying to lay blame (the current situation in Argentina, as no South American country I know of does anguish better than the Argentines) or saying that any one death is less or more lamentable than any other. It just strikes me that Buenos Aires, a cosmopolitan city to which people migrate in order to try and get ahead in life, is more of a part of South America than its native born residents would normally admit.
Random musing over. Sincere condolences to any and all affected directly by this accident.
*ty to Ariel in the comments section for the prompt correction
*ty to Ariel in the comments section for the prompt correction
Then there was the one about how the Euro was about to crash and burn...
It was all that "Euro breaks 1.30 and it's going straight to parity with the dollar. Bet that made you laugh...
Best to remind TA Voodoo People just how much they blow, as they're not going to tell you otherwise. The fact that their soothsaying is right on occasion is not the point. In fact these idiots are right almost exactly 50% of the time because all they offer is a plain, classic random walk. Mind you, I kind of admire them for actually being able to get paid for what they do. Hey guys, this one's for you (and it kicks ass, too)
Guyana Goldfields (GUY.to)
Your humble scribe has received more than one (
five six to be exact) mails asking for an opinion on Guyana Goldfields (GUY.to) this morning, due to the combo of
1) ....the publication of its feasibility study before the bell on the Aurora project and...
2)...the wholesale dumpage of the stock as a result (see this chart):
13% down at the bell today and dropping fast
As it happens GUY.to is a stock I've watched from the sidelines for a couple of years (traded it once successfully, but sold way too early and haven't returned since then) and nowadays I need to get up to speed on the story, though I did note that the 8k tpd throughput plan in the full feas today is lower than previously expected, so that might be the issue here. Therefore it's time to have a better read of the plan and the backstory....hold that thought, yeah?
Meanwhile, we're all waiting with bated breath for the opinion of Louis Lobito James over at Casey Research, as he's had GUY.to as a recommended buy since June 2011 at a price of $8.69. Surely his informed opinion on today's news is more relevant, as he's the dude with clients underwater on the stock.
UPDATE: Brad Humphrey of Raymond James puts on a brave face, but is right to highlight the thin-looking base case IRR as a problem, methinks. Here's the cover letter to the PDF RayJames just sent out (and I have no idea where you could possibly get a copy of the full PDF, oh no no no no...)
UPDATE: Brad Humphrey of Raymond James puts on a brave face, but is right to highlight the thin-looking base case IRR as a problem, methinks. Here's the cover letter to the PDF RayJames just sent out (and I have no idea where you could possibly get a copy of the full PDF, oh no no no no...)
RATING Outperform 2
Closing Price C$8.40
Event: Guyana Goldfields released the results of its feasibility study for the Aurora project in Guyana.
Analysis: While overall the results were not as robust as we were anticipating (see table below), there remain areas for some optimization. Ultimately, with the known scarcity of projects producing at a rate of 250koz per year at cash costs of <$600/oz (Aurora study suggests ~$520/oz), in a geopolitically stable environment, Aurora remains an attractive takeout (our primary thesis).
Points to Note:
* While the initial capex is modestly higher at $525 mln, this is sized for a 9,500tpd throughput instead of the planned 8,000tpd. Post-feasibility we anticipate the capex could decline ~10%. The 9,500tpd CAPEX is roughly 16% higher than we were forecasting, resizing to 8,000tpd the CAPEX comes in around 6% higher than our forecasts.
* The after tax IRR (at $1,300/oz gold and $100/bbl oil) comes in at 12.7% - it appears this IRR includes the 9,500tpd capex. We expect the revised capex could add ~1-2% to the IRR. We were hoping for something approaching 20%. After tax IRR at $1,775/oz and $110/bbl oil stands at 23.6%.
* The sustaining capex increase is significant - ~$300 mln vs our $181 mln.
* The decrease in underground grade is also a concern from the resource grade of 4g/t to the feasibility grade of 3.3g/t.
* We assume an additional ~1.5Moz LOM given, we believe, the potential to increase the resource is good.
Chart of the day is...
...the latest from Mitofsky on the Mexico Presidential elections:
And when it comes right down to it, the story here is:
- Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI) at 40%, basically unchanged from earlier this month
- Josefina Vázquez Mota (PAN) at 25%, a point better than earlier this month.
- AMLO (PRD) at 17%, a point worse than earlier this month
There's plenty more on the election on that above link, including a fat PDF file report to download. There's also all sorts of drama going around about the private address current Prez Calderon gave to a bunch of bankers a couple of days ago when he said JVM was just four points behind EPN according to a government commissioned poll. But anyway, still early days here and official campaigning doesn't even start until March 30th.
Labels: chart, mexico, presidential election
Why Goldgroup Mining (GGA.to) hasn't mentioned this very important public hearing on Caballo Blanco to its shareholders is a complete and utter mystery
You would have thought that a company such as Goldgroup Mining (GGA.to), that has a lot riding on the local acceptance (or otherwise) of its Caballo Blanco project in Veracruz, would consider it material information that its main public consultancy meeting happened this week in the local area, but weirdly, bizarrely, inexplicably we haven't heard a peep out of the company. Why Keith Piggott and friends should be so reticent in informing its shareholders on how the proceedings is a mystery, especially as the gig made headline news locally. However, IKN comes to the rescue (hoorah!!) of monolinguals who may be long GGA.to right now with the translation of paragraph one of this report on how the hearing went. The report is a long one and well worth reading in full because the reporter does a good job in covering all the issues as debated in the hearing and also makes sure both sides of the debate get their say in print. Anyway, here's para 1 translated:
Tension Rising in Veracruz for Caballo Blanco
Denials as well as justifications of economic well-being were polarized between governmental and private sector opinions regarding the Caballo Blanco mine. Ecology groups talked of a serious environmental deterioration in the zone due to the extraction techniques and protested against the polemic project. The key moment in the meeting held in Actopan on Wednesday was when the Consultative Council for Sustainable Development, Vercruz Area (Consejo Consultivo para el Desarrollo Sustentable Núcleo Veracruz, CCDN núcleo Veracruz), a citizen's body integrated to the Semarnat (the national government office The Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources) demanded that the Federal authorities decide on a resolution of "Not Authorized" to the Environmental Impact Study (EIS, known as 'Manifestation on Environmental Impact' (MIA) in Mexico) that had been presented by the company, Cndyming SA de CV.
The CCDS núcleo Veracruz stated that the NIA presented by Goldgroup Mining and its subsidiaries is inconsistent and with erroneous data regarding the importance of vegetation in the Cerro de La Paita.
IKN back and make sure you read the whole report here for more. What, you don't understand Mexican? And you're long GGA.to? And Piggott&Co won't tell you any more about what went on and you want me to translate more? Oh dear.....
Hey, ever get the feeling that investing in what's essentially a permitting play and not knowing what the hell is going on in the permitting process might just be a slight disadvantage?
disclosure: No position in GGA.to, not long, not short and no plans to change that situation. What, you think I'm nutso?
Mining PRs and the Ottotrans™, Part 55
In the last installment of this occasional series we managed to cut a looooong NR down to just three words, so this time around we're going to keep with the minimalism and reduce the NR from Augusta Resources (AZC) (AZC.to) out this morning down to the same count of three words.
This is what they wrote:
DENVER, CO, Feb. 23, 2012 /CNW/ - Augusta Resource Corporation (TSX/NYSE Amex: AZC) ("Augusta") provides an update on the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) regarding review from the regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Rosemont Copper project.The San Francisco Environmental Protection Agency office is the final agency to submit comments to the USFS on the draft EIS, joining the 25,000 comments of which approximately 10,000 have been characterized as form letters or duplicates by the USFS. The EPA review was provided approximately 30 days past the official close of the public comment period, due to a request from the EPA to the USFS for additional time. The receipt of these comments now allows the USFS to complete its response to comments, and a final EIS for the Rosemont Copper project along with the Record of Decision."This is a standard part of what a regional EPA office does," said Rod Pace, Rosemont Copper's president and CEO. "It's part of the rigorous review process that leads to a robust final EIS required by the National Environmental Policy Act."The next steps for Rosemont Copper will be to finalize the air and aquifer protection permits by the State of Arizona, complete the Fish and Wildlife Service consultation process and develop the draft mitigation plans for species protection, mine reclamation and site closure. Much of the technical and analytical work to complete these next steps has already been completed and peer-reviewed, including hydrology studies and air modeling for the project site. The peer-review process has been on-going for more than two years."Our leadership has always understood that our project would receive the highest scrutiny from all local state and federal agencies," Mr. Pace added. "We want to build a mine, using the latest technologies and highest standards for conservation and protection of air and water resources. The extensive review of the draft EIS by the EPA, as well as all of the other commenting agencies, produces the input needed by the USFS to produce the most defendable final decision documentation possible."In addition to the final comments on the draft EIS, the EPA is continuing its role to provide comment on the ACOE's 404 permit application for Rosemont Copper. The EPA has submitted a 3b letter, which was issued last week, allowing the EPA to preserve their position for future discussions and negotiations as the final Section 404 permit documentation is drafted. An outline of the review/elevation process is included at the end of this press release.The Rosemont team is committed to work with the USFS, ACOE and EPA to ensure that all questions are answered fully and successfully and that the project meets all standards addressed by the more than 300 studies and technical reports conducted over the past six years.
And this is what it means:
More EIS delays
Labels: augusta resources, AZC, ottotrans
The Fraser Institute Mining Survey, 2011/2012
It's just out and you can get your copy of the 131 page wodge of mining fun by clicking this link right here. For your interest, this is what it says about Latin America in the executive summary:
Latin America's average score continues to decrease, this year dropping from 34.3 to 29.6. This is a far cry from the 2005/06 survey, where the average score for that continent was 51.2. Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, and Bolivia pull the average down. There were also disappointments in Latin America for its top scorer, Chile, now at 18th, down from 8th last year, and its most improved jurisdiction, Colombia. In 2006/2007, Colombia scored 24.6 but climbed to 51.2 in last year's survey. This year it scored 38.0, suggesting continued uncertainty in the mining community about policy and policy stability in Colombia.
Anyway, you should read the whole thing. Thanks given to reader MM for the headsup
Labels: fraser institute
Chart of the day is...
...one that compares gold (via GLD), silver (via SLV), Fortuna Silver (FVI.to) and Rio Alto Mining (RIO.v) from mid-September to now:
Choose your own start date if you like, but the stocks look even better on a six month or 12 month chart..
Meanwhile, as a special bonus prize, Setty sends in this and it's only right to share a bit of puerile humour on occasion.
Please remember that the British prime minister is a posh English queen and he has his own dick up his arse. It helps the comprehension of news out of Europe immensely.
Labels: chart
Rumour (update: rumour denied): Alberto Fujimori dead
We know he was taken to hospital from his jail cell this morning, but the rumour now flying around is that Ex-President Alberto Fujimori of Peru has died. AT THE MOMENT THIS IS UNCONFIRMED and we'll be watching for news and bring you an update as soon as the rumour is denied or confirmed.
UPDATE: the move from jail cell to hospital this morning was for an emergency, that we now know. Still no news on the rumour that's growing by the minute in Peru.
UPDATE 2: Rumours still rife about the state of Fujimori right now, but no official confirmation either way at present. Meanwhile this translated from this report in Peru's El Comercio published a few minutes ago:
UPDATE: the move from jail cell to hospital this morning was for an emergency, that we now know. Still no news on the rumour that's growing by the minute in Peru.
UPDATE 2: Rumours still rife about the state of Fujimori right now, but no official confirmation either way at present. Meanwhile this translated from this report in Peru's El Comercio published a few minutes ago:
"...the last two days he has had (cardio)vascular problems, according to his personal medic, member of congress Alejandro Aguinaga.
"His state of health has been complicated for the last two days, he's in evaluations....he has vascular problems which are not connected to his cancer. I'm currently with him" he said to El Comercio.
Aguinaga added that for the moment he could not give any more information.
UPDATE 3: The rumour has just been denied by a hospital spokesperson. However the hospital confirms Fujimori was transferred this morning under emergency status. No other details were offered up and there's still a shroud of mystery about the whole affair.
UPDATE 4: It's 3:35pm, four hours after this episode began and we can now file the story under the "And Fidel isn't dead either" file. Turns out Fujimori had a swelling and loss of feeling in his left arm and he's now back at his normal place of abode (you can hardly call it a cell more like a nice room that just happens to lock from the outside, not the inside). Not very pleasant I'd imagine, but better than death as that could really ruin your plans for the weekend. So ends another interwebnetpipes round of rumours.
UPDATE 4: It's 3:35pm, four hours after this episode began and we can now file the story under the "And Fidel isn't dead either" file. Turns out Fujimori had a swelling and loss of feeling in his left arm and he's now back at his normal place of abode (you can hardly call it a cell more like a nice room that just happens to lock from the outside, not the inside). Not very pleasant I'd imagine, but better than death as that could really ruin your plans for the weekend. So ends another interwebnetpipes round of rumours.
Hugo Chávez's cancer
It's taken a couple of days for the noise to abate, the bullshit on both sides of this issue to die down and a bit of measured, informed opinion to appear. For example, this post from Dr. Elmer Huerta dated Feb 21st, that we translate below. Huerta runs a blog that's good at converting medical-speak into real world language that allows us mere mortals to get to the bottom of a health situation or issue. Here's his post:
The recurring cancer of President Chávez
21st Feb 2012
One of the most valuable tools that we who try to bring health education to the public have is to take advantage of the illnesses of famous people. In these occasional posts at the blog, we have touched on diverse health problems of famous people (see archive). President Hugo Chávez has just announced his current state of health and this gives us an opportunity to look at what "recurrence of cancer" means".
What is a recurrence?When a patient has cancer and is treated with one of the three modes of treatments that exist; surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, either on their own or in combination, the objective is to destroy the cancerous cells that may be in the body so that they never return. If a previously treated patient shows new growth of a tumour, that is called a recurrence.Recurrences can be in one of two forms; local (in the same location where the first tumour appeared) or at distance (in organs in other parts of the body). In the case of the second type, the recurrence is called a metastasis. Obviously, both types of recurrence are not good news for the patient. In general, the metastasis are more of a problem and more dangerous and the local recurrences are more problematic for the specific area. Even though recurrences are in no way an automatic death sentence, it is known that they greatly reduce the probability of a definitive cure. It's very true that nowadays many types of cancer have become chronic illnesses that can be controlled by diverse treatments over long periods of time.
The case of President ChávezIn a previous post we described what we knew about the operation and diagnostic facts about President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela in June 2011. It's important to note that due to the extremely hermetic circle around President Chávez we have never known exactly what type of cancer he is suffering.
Very recently, the President himself said, "...that he has a 2cm diameter lesion in the same place from where the tumour was extracted nearly one year ago." He said that he travelled last Saturday 18th February to Cuba for rigorous examinations where he was given this result. "I do not have metastasis anywhere", he said.
Firstly, let's do the count. From June 11th 2011, the date on which he had his operation, to this week, is only eight months and the objective of the operation was to totally eliminate the cancer. What's more, the objective to have given him chemotherapy which he received in Cuba and Venezuela was to eliminate any remnant of cancer, both in the location where the tumour started (in medicine it's called the primary location) and also in any other place in the body.Therefore, technically speaking (and as explained previously) the problem that Mr. Hugo Chávez has is not a metastasis, as he himself has affirmed, but a local recurrence. What needs to be done now is to confirm whether that the 2cm tumour that has been found in the check-up is a malignant tumour similar to the one extracted in the first operation.
There are cases in which the extracted tumour looks just like a recurrent cancerous tumour but is in fact a non-cancerous benign tumour (this is very frequent in certain testicular and ovarian cancers).
Progression of the cancerAnother important concept in these cases in which there is an apparent recurrence is to define what's calles the progression of the illness. Here we enter into the concept of time.Imagine that a patient is operated upon for cancer and that in less then three months (a time frame on which experts agree) a local or metastasis recurrence appears. This very early an precocious reappearance of the cancer would indicate that the illness is progressing, that's to say there is a progression of the cancer. Obviously, this is a very delicate situation because it indicates that the cancer was never eradicated and it will advance without control.
To sum up, President Chávez is showing a local recurrence of his cancer at only eight months from his original surgery. He has correctly said that he does not have a metastasis, but has a local recurrence. What's left to know is whether this 2cm tumour is cancerous, which will be known after the operation that he will undertake in Cuba that he announced. We'll keep you informed on this.
Netco Silver (NEI.v)
One of the things we do over at the weekly is to highlight and feature stocks or companies that might be of interest without making any formal recommendation on them (because we have this old-fashioned theory about how people can in fact think for themselves and don't need to be spoon fed opinions and told how to think, but that's another story). Here, for example, is the piece that appeared last weekend in IKN146 (Feb 19th) on Netco Silver (NEI.v), a tiny little silver explorer doing things in Argentina right now. Now be clear that stocks get featured like this because they do have something going for them, but on the other hand your humble scribe does NOT own this stock (not then, not now) and is making no formal recommendation here. It's more of a headsup type of situation, a "hey guys, this one exists, waddya think?" kick-off that gives a start-off point for further DD by the reader, if s/he so chooses.
Anyway, here's the note from last Sunday:
That Neymar can't sing is an understatement
Couldn't hold a note in a bucket is closer to the truth. The situation:
- Last night was the wrap up to Brazil's carnaval
- The hottest song in South America right now is "Ai se eu te pego" (translation "I'm going to catch you), which you hear everywhere, not just in Brazil.
- Neymar, new wunderkind of Brazil footy (eg scorer of world's best goal last year) is one of the guests of honour at the carnaval bash. That's him in the green up there.
- He's invited by the band to sing the song.
- Ouch
Well, I'm glad he has an alternate career lined up, cos pro-Karaoke just isn't in the cards here.
Chart of the day is...
...the gold/copper ratio, three years:
I do actually get this technical analysis game, or at least the idea of it. Boiled down, what you have to do is look at charts and from the patterns you see predict which way the squiggly line is going to move next. And here what I supposed to see is a ratio that's about to spring to the upside, right? MACD primed, RSI moving positive, moving averages pinching etc etc, all moving in roughly the same way as August of last year.
Yeah well, stuff it. It's bullshit. There's nothing there. Trading charts like this one above is like flipping coins, except that the people dumb enough to base their investments on chart mumbojumbo will conveniently forget about the times their soothsaying didn't pan out and only point to the times when the sawbones calls came up heads later on, accompanied, of course, by the arrogant hi-falutin' "told ya so" that only gets presented in different ways according to the general education level of the writer (which can get to university level on occasion, but let's face it, the whole concept of believing this smoke'n'mirrors crap means there's never going to be a Nobel prize winner doing the anal ysis).
News roundup (we celebrate a sunny morning)
Yay! My roof is drying out! So to business:
This is a really great article on the pros and cons of the blossoming Argentina fracking sector. If you're into O&G, it's a must-read (dated Feb 8th so I'm a bit late to it, but hey...)
Further to the Wong Fook Hing Book Shop post of a couple of days ago, reader RC sends in the world best Chinese/English translations. I can't choose between "the shrimp fucks the cabbage" and "fuck the certain price of goods" so maybe you can call a winner for me. It's all of a story too, straight out of the Monty Python's Hungarian phrasebook sketch.
Bolivia Weekly runs a report and a recipe link for False Rabbit (falso conejo), one of the better dishes in the Bolivian cookbook.
Heavy rains on the Peru/Chile border uncover land mines, that then get swept along to the sides of the main highways and blown up by the Chilean authorities. A reminder not to aim for the lumps and bumps while driving.
Chart of the day is...
...crude oil, NYMEX April contract, weekly, as many people telling me all about oil these last few days and how inflation and Weimar and QE and and and....
OT: George Carlin on The Death Penalty
For some reason or another I've received quite a few comedy links in mails these last few days (perhaps my friends think I need cheering up) so I watched them all, liked most and....ended up searching for and watching George Carlin every time. So as it's a quiet day at the office, here's a slice of classic Carlin from 1996 to help share the love. There's nobody else like him and the middle chunk of this excerpt has the master in full flow.
And for true Carlin nuts (count me in, but you've guessed that already, right?), this link will take you to the whole 1996 HBO special show on one upload, all 62 minutes of it. Gotta love the interwebs.
Labels: carlin
In Peru, it's not the one percent...
It's the two percent. Positively Commie, no?
That top level A socio-economic group works out at around 580,000 people. Meanwhile if you lump(en) the Ds and the Es together it's over 20 million. Data from Peru's benchmark pollster, Ipsos/Apoyo and the report includes other funstuff, like how the As spend around 20% of their income on food while the Es spend 69% of theirs on the same, or how only 4% of Peruvians consider their income as sufficient.
Chinese proverb
Deep thanks to reader J who sent this in.
"If you are in a book store and you cannot find the right book, you are obviously in the...
The IKN Weekly, out now
There ya go, Ward :-)
IKN146 has just been sent to subscribers. It has over 14,300 words and it has photos of things, too.
Labels: otto, the IKN weekly
Recommended post on current market action
I really liked the post entitled "So is this the end of the bull move or not?" over at Market Narrative today because basically I like reading smart people when they're being intelligent and offering different perspectives to an issue. Recommended reading, just click here.
Nose bandages
Calling a spade a spade
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
One More Blog About Twilight
5 comments:
Loved the illustrations you chose, Bethany! Steven King had a good way of putting it--"Harry Potter is about a boy who goes through hell to fight evil and save the world. Twilight is about a girl who goes through hell to get a boyfriend." (I've loosely paraphrased him there.)ReplyDelete
The sad thing is to see the adult version in 50 Shades. In their readers' defense, though, both hook into some powerful mythology that's been working on women for millennia. The beauty and the beast story. He is and does terrible things, but she has such powerful love for him that she can change him into something good. this little fairy tale that's behind so much that's been written or portrayed through the centuries basically encourages women to stay with violent abusers. It's their fault, after all, that their love isn't strong enough to magically change him into someone good.Replies
I think the other problem with Beauty & the Beast (which I love and is one of my favorites, so please no one send me hate mail, I think about it because I love it so much) is that Beauty has only reflected power - she has power over the Beast, but if he decides she's not worthy of his love, poof, there goes her power and her safety.Delete
Also, I think, in Bella's defense, that it would be more accurate to say that she went through hell to create a family that will never, ever leave her. Which is something that resonates.
Amen to Bethany, Linda, and Stephen King!ReplyDelete
Great blog!
Bethany, you're so right about Beauty (and Bella, etc.) having only reflected power. Ah, but I spent my earlier life as a feminist running a university and community women's center, so I'd better leave this alone before I get on the soapbox and go on for days!ReplyDelete
None of us can change our partner--I've been trying for 61 years with no results. (ha ha) I actually enjoyed all the Twilight movies so far as entertainment, all except the childbirth scene which had to be the absolute worst in history. Hermione was indeed a different kind of heroine. And I did get married at 18, but still managed to do all the things I wanted to do and then some.ReplyDelete


text:
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How To Choose Best Programming Languages For Software Development?
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07 Oct
How many apps do you use after its initial download? or in other words, have you ever downloaded an app and delete it after few minutes/weeks. Yes, would be the answer from most of us. Recent study conducted by the 34SP.com ( Full report in PDF ) found out that 20% of people regularly delete apps within just three months of downloading them, while 39% often delete apps because they've been 'useless'. Here are some...Read More


text: Digital Facebook to Use Facial Recognition to Provide Photo Tag Suggestions By Josh Constine|December 15, 2010 Share By Josh Constine|December 15, 2010 Share Facebook has announced a new photo tag suggestions feature that utilizes facial recognition technology. When users upload photos, faces which match ones tagged in their existing photos will show a suggestion of who to tag. Similar photos are grouped for easy tagging. Users can opt out of being identified by the facial recognition software in their privacy settings.The update, rolled out in the U.S. over the next few weeks, could lead users to be tagged in photos much more frequently. It also brings Facebook up to speed with other photo editing tools including iPhoto, which can already create Facebook tags through facial recognition. Facebook has long been the most popular photo sharing service in the world, and it is this core app which drives time on-site and growth. Facebook began highlighting faces to assist tagging in July, while third-party apps sought to help users find untagged photos of themselves through facial recognition software. The Photos product received a major upgrade in September, with the additions of high resolution photo uploads, an in-line light box viewing mode, and bulk tagging.When users upload photos, they are brought to a Tag Your Friends page. Here, users see a dialogue which explains that their photos have been grouped and names of friends have been suggested. Grouping photos which look similar and therefore likely contain the same friends makes it easier to tag multiple photos.Photo tag suggestions appear in a blue box beneath the recognized photo. It appears that users must opt out of suggested tags, which allows for quick saving of tags if a user thinks they are accurate. Users who receive the new feature will also see a new "Suggest photos of me to friends" privacy setting within the "Customize settings" link. When disabled, users won't appear in suggestions, which will lower the chances of them being tagged.Facebook explains that the update means "you're more likely to know right away when friends post photos." Really, this will reduce the likelihood that a user could be identified in a photo of them which they never knew about since they weren't tagged and notified. Most importantly, photo tag suggestions may significantly increase the number of photos users get tagged in, increasing interconnections, and further cementing Facebook as the keeper of our memories. Share http://adweek.it/2kq2JT4 copy Adweek Adweek


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text:
Introduction: After Narrative, After Conversion
The conclusion to Book IX of Saint Augustine's Confessions would seem entirely appropriate as the conclusion to the work as a whole: Monica's beloved son, so promising yet so rebellious, has finally converted to the Catholic faith, and after some brief time shared between them as fellow believers, the Lord who so faithfully answered Monica's prayers takes her to be with him, and Augustine commends her witness to his readers as the extraordinary example she was. The climax of the narrative came in all its spiritual and rhetorical force, and Augustine narrates the gentle fade out with expectedly reserved finesse. End scene.
To the reader's great surprise, Augustine has more. In fact, though "only" four books remain, the Confessions are not yet three-fifths complete. Augustine has a great deal more to say. But what more is there to say or do? The narrative is complete, and to be sure, Augustine wisely does not attempt merely to continue the story as he was telling it. Instead, he makes a critical decision, grounded in a simple truth that must not be lost to his readers: to have been converted is not the end of the story, but the beginning. If Augustine had left the story there, it would have communicated implicitly that conversion was the "point" of it all, and not the life with God created at conversion, as well as explicitly that Augustine was at the same place spiritually as a bishop ten years removed from his conversion, rather than on the same journey of transformation as all Christian believers. Book X is the spiritual bridge between the Psalms-infused, interpretive re-narration of God's sovereign pursuit, calling, and claiming of Augustine in Books I-IX, and the conceptual theologizing of Books XI-XIII. On the one hand, Augustine continues to confess various sins in Book X, and seeks openly to present where he is in the faith a decade after his conversion, while on the other hand, he moves into sophisticated reflection on the nature of memory, the reason for confession, and other matters. The book is an amalgam of issues and topics, a rhetorical tour de force, a densely packed exploration of questions the reader may not have anticipated but Augustine clearly finds important.
The structure of Book X is both simple and complex: simple in its broad themes spread out with relative clarity, complex in the interweaving of those themes with detours, reroutes, and quick tangents, all discovered to be related to the task at hand. Augustine begins with an extended exploration of the character, purpose, and practice of confession in 1.1-5.7, which leads into a short foray (though with great resonance with what came before and what comes next) into the love of God in 6.8-7.11. A sizeable portion of Book X, and that for which it is well known, is Augustine's sustained reflection in 8.12-24.35 on the nature and peculiar gift of memory: the intangibility of mental images, the process of learning, its relationship to the affections, the perplexing existence of (remembered) forgetfulness, the way memory leads to God yet also must be transcended, and finally the universal pursuit of happiness. In 25.36-29.40, a brief interlude emerges concerning God's presence, love for God in return, and Augustine's soon-to-be-infamous refrain, "Grant what you command, and command what you will." This interlude segues seamlessly from confession and memory to active confession, in 30.41-39.64, of Augustine's current temptations in the life of faith, walking honestly through the five senses touched on only briefly before, along with other potential sins. Finally, Augustine reaches his rhetorical and theological climax in 40.65-43.70, where he finds no other recourse for truth or salvation except in God's mercy, poured out in the true mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ, whose cross offers true and lasting healing for all who are called and cleansed by him. Book X ends in an extraordinary flurry of New Testament quotations hailing Christ as the singular answer for the mass of sins remembered and named in all the previous pages.
Due to the wealth of content available, below we will limit ourselves to exploring three particular themes in Book X: making confession, love from and for God, and finding and praising the true mediator. Both structurally and thematically, these mark the beginning, middle, and end of Book X, and in a way are the poles around which the rest of what is discussed—however greater in volume!—finds its meaning and coherence.
On Making Confession
Having spent so much time in the act of verbal-literary confession, to God and before others, Augustine takes up the topic of confession itself in the beginning of Book X. The first words of the section outline broadly what Augustine's personal telos is in this act: "May I know you, who know me" (1.1). From this overarching aim comes the meaning of making confession—with both vertical and horizontal dimensions—though there is no one clear reason or definition. On the one hand, Augustine speaks out of the hope that, in knowing God through being known by God, he might be found "without spot or blemish" (Eph 5:27); and, on the other hand, in confessing to God through the heart and to others by the pen, he desires to love the truth and thus "come to the light" (John 3:21).
However, to confess one's sins (or better, one's whole self) is neither to tell God something he doesn't already know, nor to share with others something not first initiated and revealed by God to the speaker (2.2). Yet to withhold confession would similarly not keep something about oneself hidden from God, but rather it "would be hiding you from myself, not myself from you." The act of confessing, therefore, is the self-giving of oneself over to the One who, in delight and love, first gives one the gift of knowing oneself. For Augustine the only pleasure and the only joy reside here, in finding oneself in and through God; and thus does confession spring forth both audibly and silently—the soul cries out to God in displeasure or thanksgiving, in love the lips give voice to the heart.
"Why then should I be concerned for human readers to hear my confessions? And when they hear me talking about myself, how can they know if I am telling the truth" (3.3)? There is no simple solution to the problem of trust in public confession: "I cannot prove that my confession is true" to those who doubt. It is Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13:7 that prove decisive: "Love believes all things." Therefore, "those whose ears are opened by love believe me." And yet, though "those love has bonded to itself and made one" will be willing and able to believe Augustine's confessions, for what benefit? In point of fact, Augustine has many benefits in mind. By God's grace, in "hear[ing] the confessions of my past wickednesses, which you have forgiven and covered up to grant me happiness in yourself," the heart of the listener will be "aroused in the love of your mercy" (3.4). To know the mercy of God in another's life is to believe, if only for a moment, that all is not lost in one's own. Moreover, to hear of persons whose past sins were grave but have now been conquered in Christ is a delight and a pleasure. For on account of God's actions in the past of one such as Augustine, many will give thanks to God for God's faithfulness and might, which "is no small gift" (4.5). Furthermore, in hearing both of past sins and of present struggles, faithful brothers and sisters, whether approving or disapproving, will pray for Augustine and insofar as they righteously discern the good and the bad in him, they are loving him. "To such people I will reveal myself."
Yet what comes from moving from the past to the present, from "what I once was" to "who I now am" (3.4)? Apparently "many wish to know" who Augustine is now, even "demand[ing] to hear from me what I am" (3.3). Here he must tread carefully, for the "wish to learn about my inner self, where they cannot penetrate with eye or ear or mind" (3.4) may easily become voyeurism, gossip, or slander. Only God knows human beings fully, and no one is privy to that knowledge except as God reveals it, or as it is shared freely. Augustine is careful, then, to articulate that he confesses before others for the sake of those he has been given to serve, his "masters" (4.6). Not feigning to sit in judgment on himself (1 Cor 4:3), it is "in this spirit that I ask to be listened to," "reveal[ing] not who I was, but what I have now come to be and what I continue to be."
In what follows Augustine entreats the Lord to be present to him in what he confesses, both of what he knows of himself, and of what he does not know of himself (5.7). We might call this section, having begun in 1.1, Augustine's confessional prolegomena to the rest of Book X, as well as his hermeneutical hindsight concerning Books I-IX. After finishing his life narrative up until conversion, the reader now hears from the speaker what he is doing in confessing; and before wading through the still festering sins and trials of the Great Rhetor, Priest and Bishop of Hippo, Augustine prepares the reader properly to receive this sacramental participation in his life, and the life of the merciful God. What comes next, what makes up a sizeable portion of Book X, is Augustine's measured and thoughtful act of confessing today's sins. Even as he takes the time to reflect philosophically on how it is God has made him capable of such reflection, Augustine never loses sight—as we will see in the way he concludes—that the rightful subject of confessional speech is God, and that his self-presentation will have significant impact on the lives of those he loves and is called to serve.
Love From God, Love For God
Having finished his thorough reflections on the gift, nature, function, puzzle, and role of memory, Augustine concludes he has "not found [God] outside it," for everything he knows of God and has learned of God is available to him in his memory (24.35). Yet where does God actually dwell? Per Augustine's experience and recollection, God is pleased to honor the memory by dwelling in it (25.36). Yet God remains immutably separate than the mind—he is "the Lord God of the mind," "not the mind itself." Yet once again, though God has "deigned to dwell" in Augustine's memory, to speak of "places" with respect to the mind, much less concerning God's presence, is ludicrous: "O truth, everywhere you preside over all who ask counsel of you" (26.37). And it is at this moment, that Augustine transitions, seamlessly, from conceptual reflection to uninhibited exultation—and to the beating heart of Book X.
Extolling the God unbounded by memory or learning, who is utterly present to all in careful attentiveness to their prayers, Augustine defines God's "best servant" as "the person who does not attend so much to hearing what he himself wants as to willing what he has heard from you." The remark cannot be taken as anything less than the fruit of Augustine's hard road to submitting to God in conversion and self-renunciation. The time and pain of that journey comes forth in the beautiful opening words to the next section— "Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you" (27.38)—the whole of which is renowned for its rhetorical brilliance in Latin and for the heartfelt depth of feeling Augustine speaks before God. Before his conversion, God was with Augustine, though Augustine was not with God, and delight in created things kept Augustine from delighting in God—and yet, "You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours." The incorporeal God, the immutable God, the God who is everywhere and therefore never limited to a single "place"—the very same God comes precisely to a man bent on "hearing what he himself wants" and overwhelms him with sound, with sight, with smell, with taste, with touch. This is the love of God: the all-consuming beauty of the divine mercy that crashes over every boundary and defense, every shield and rejection. And it is nothing less than the revelation that the greatest creaturely delight is in the Creator of heaven and earth, who gives freely and offers peace to great sinners, who satisfies every desire, who miraculously is able to be loved by his servants. This is none other than the living God discovered, narrated, and praised in the confessions of Augustine.
If "human life on earth [is] a trial in which there is no respite" (28.39), the Christian's (and thus Augustine's) "entire hope is exclusively in your very great mercy" (29.40). The God to whom Augustine makes confession—from whom he receives love, and to whom he returns love—is the God who lifts up, who heals, who has mercy on the lowly, the sick, and the pitiful (which, by extension, includes all humanity). In such a state of need, and in light of so merciful a God, Augustine entreats the Almighty infamously, but earnestly: "Grand what you command, and command what you will." God here is not Sheer Power, much less Absolute Decision or some other philosophical suggestion; God is the merciful one, the origin of love, the gracious giver of peace and joy. Not only is God these things—that is, not only does God have these "attributes"—God has acted this way, toward humanity in general, but toward Augustine in particular! This God is no human projection, no stale idol: he is the living God who, in judgment on all human sin and ungodliness, speaks grace and unconditional love over them, pronouncing them free from all their burdens. Augustine knows this because God has done it to him. In context, therefore, his plea is not part of an abstract debate about free will—it is a prayer to the merciful God to act concretely on his behalf! "O love, you ever burn and are never extinguished. O charity, my God, set me on fire. You command continence; grand what you command, and command what you will."
Augustine loves God because God first loved Augustine. Accordingly, Augustine lives continently because God first commanded continence and granted it to Augustine. The story of command, will, sin, and obedience is, for Augustine, nothing short of the story of the gospel, of God's primal, originating, needless love for sinful human beings. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son... We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:10, 19).
Finding and Praising the True Mediator
In 40.65 Augustine begins to wind down his work in Book X. He even reviews the material he has traversed, such as the external world, the body and its five senses, and "the recesses of my memory," noting that without God he "could discern none of these things, and...found that none of these things was you." In a sense, his explorations and confessions have been an attempt to find God, to know him with the physical senses, to locate him in the mind, to call on him for forgiveness. "But in all these investigations which I pursue while consulting you, I can find no safe place for my soul except in you." Yes, Augustine finds himself once again where all his journeys lead him: God's holy rest.
Yet in his prior yieldings to lust, castigated with "the sicknesses of my sins," Augustine was greedy, "unwilling to lose" the God who had come to him yet also unwilling to give up the lie of his living (41.66). "This is why I lost you: you do not condescend to be possessed together with falsehood." "Condescension" is the key word for this concluding section, for it points backward to Augustine's attempt to "find" God, and points forward, finally, to its definitive answer.
Having lost God, where to turn? How to be reconciled? Was it to angels, or to prayer, or to sacred rites that he should have turned (43.67)? Many have taken such routes, among other more mystical and experiential possibilities, yet they have been ensnared, no doubt often without their knowledge, to the evil one. "They sought a mediator to purify them, and it was not the true one." Little has been said of Christ up to this point in Book X, but it is here that Augustine finally discovers the material, bodily "place" of the true God. In mercy, love, and grace the immortal and sinless God condescends to human flesh for the sake of salvation, and is the true mediator between God and humanity insofar as he is both God and man. God "sent him so that from his example [humanity] should learn humility," and he "appeared among mortal sinners as the immortal righteous one, mortal like humanity, righteous like God" (43.68). In a single paragraph, Augustine lays out a concise but robust Christology: Christ the true mediator, sent to teach humility, voided death by virtue of sharing in it as one "united with God by his righteousness," thus making salvation known both to past and future saints, being both truly human and the eternal Word equal and one with the one true God.
The Incarnation, however, is, like all matters of the Catholic faith for Augustine, not simply about doctrinal purity or theological sophistication. Rather, the Incarnation of God is cause for worship and exaltation: "How you have loved us, good Father: you did not spare your only Son but delivered him up for us sinners. How you have loved us" (43.69; cf. Rom 8:32). Christ was victorious in life and death before God precisely because he was victim; and because he was both priest and sacrifice, his offering cleanses sinners of their "many and great...diseases," for his "medicine is still more potent." Echoing his encounter with the Books of the Platonists and the first chapter of John (VII.9.13), Augustine asks who could have thought the Logos of God was lovingly near to humanity "unless he had become flesh and dwelt among us?"
Bringing that past moment of indecision into the present, he recalls nearly "taking flight to live in solitude" (43.70). But completing the circle, and formally culminating the narrative connections of Books I-X, Augustine recalls God forbidding him to flee, and comforting him with the fact that Christ's death provides for living not for oneself, but for Christ (2 Cor 5:15). The climactic finish entails a furious succession of biblical quotations, some from Paul, but primarily (and fittingly) from the Psalms (6:3; 21:27; 54:23; 61:5; 68:6; 118:18, 22; 142:10). He makes closing, implicit reference to the Eucharist, from which "in my poverty I desire to be satisfied...together with those who" share it with him. Book X's final words: "And they shall praise the Lord who seek him."
We have seen how complex and interconnected the themes and subjects of Book X of the Confessions are, but perhaps nothing illuminates their coherence more than, having just discussed the middle and closing sections, restating Augustine's opening words: "May I know you, who know me" (1.1). Like his later expositor Calvin, Augustine must take up the task to find and to know God as the God who knows Augustine—no knowledge of God without knowledge of self—and thus must make confession, must explore within himself, where (and how) it is that God has been and continues to be. Ultimately, however, what Augustine finds—as he knew he would—is the God of all mercy, neither empirically locatable nor identifiable through the senses, but revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that true mediator between God and humanity, whose gracious healing is sufficient for even such a sinner as Augustine of Hippo.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Loving From Being Loved, Knowing From Being Known: Finding and Praising the True God in Book X of Augustine's Confessions
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The Property
Easton brings to the Sacramento area a living blueprint for sustainability, providing a balance of land uses to meet the region's future needs for homes, jobs, transit, commerce and recreation. The result is a master plan that will afford a superior quality of life.
Easton comprises 6,000 acres in total and has been planned as a vibrant community of five distinct boroughs; each designed with its own character and appeal.
Within the Easton master plan is wide array of product types: Glenborough, designed to offer a diverse mix of housing types, including single family detached homes on large lots with an emphasis on open space and preserved oak woodlands. Easton Place is a transit-oriented, mixed use community with a true urban flair.
Both were approved by unanimous Sacramento County Board of Supervisors vote.
We are now accepting inquiries from builders and developers on Glenborough and Easton Place. Use our CONTACT PAGE or call the offices of Easton Development Company, LLC, at 916-351-8555.
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Easton Development Company, LLC
1180 Iron Point Road, Suite 350
Folsom California 95760
(916) 351-8555
(916) 351-8537
The Easton Plan reflects the efforts of a multidisciplinary team to create one of the finest master-planned communities in the nation. Easton totals 6,044 acres and is located along Hwy 50 near Sacramento, CA.


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With his upcoming full-length LP on its way, Liverpool experimentalist Afternaut has shared an intense preview in the form of new track Disconnect, Getintothis' Patrick Clarke has the exclusive stream.
It's been a while since we last heard from Liverpool's finest video game sound designer-cum-electro polymath Afternaut. It was over a year ago, in fact, that the swarming minimalism of Transmission, a Nikola Tesla-based venture (what else?), capped a prolific run of successful experiments in absorbing, transporting style.
The space between has seen the producer lend the occasional live thrill, but what's more notable in the grander Liverpudlian scheme is just how much the city's more experimental electrosmiths have thrived in his wake. The last 12 months have seen newcomers like D R O H N E, Queen Maud and Jupiter-C employ minimalism for a burgeoning beginning to their careers, Lo Five curate his own regular night for like-minded left-field producers at The Well, and even the return of the ever-erstwhile Faded Gold from her three-year hiatus.
Electronic music has exploded on Merseyside, and though it's a stretch to say Afternaut kickstarted it, questions still remain as to whether he's much more to offer in a now newly saturated city on his new full-length album Skywave. Yet as the static whirs into shape on Disconnect, which you can stream exclusively below, masterful hands soon dispel such doubts.
A clinical throb of bass forms a spine, around it loops a crescendo of synth, at first understated, before long enswarming, as echoing pumps of rhythm surround an airless blend of resonances that jab from all sides, yet the track never loses its compsure; sleek, smooth and robotically detached the track attacks and attacks in hypnotic atmospherics without breaking its dead-eye stare.
Yet Disconnect is not the album's sole peak. Numbers swells with midnight strings beneath a melancholy surge of opaque bass, Isolation floats with hypnotic twists of mind-bending texture, while Downfall, a true highlight, locks into a cold, floating groove of rapid-fire stabs of synth.
It's a return that's been a long time coming, yet even in a city ever-saturated in his style, Afternaut remains firmly in the foreground of the North-West's latest renaissance.


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Questions Are The Key To Success In Enterprise And Life
01/04/2019 | starting a business | No Comments
According to UK statistics, there are an estimated eighty,000 people in the UK operating house businesses from their garden sheds. However, in at the moment's franchise society, where huge corporations have thousands of tangible duplicate small businesses owned by completely different franchisees, small enterprise homeowners and traders often mistakenly have a look at these giant entities for instance to comply with, when the truth is, many of these franchise giants are crumbling below their own weight.
The cloud-primarily based accounting software program is a rage among begin-ups and growing businesses. If what you are promoting has a website, that advertising software will permit your business to succeed in clients throughout thousands of miles with just a click on of a button.
In such instances boutique consultancy corporations turn out to be useful to for example support a specific challenge or give advice on matters associated to a particular topic such as legislation, finance or HR. Bigger companies often make use of larger administration consultancy companies to determine current organizational problems and improvement of plans for enchancment.
Once upon a time, a dance instructor opened her personal studio down the road from her former employer's college, making the most of her former teaching place to start out her personal studio. It was not until the latter part of the 20th century that the phone was used to promote for a business, through telemarketing and the facsimile. The place to begin for any plumbing business, like several service related business, is to find out in as much element as attainable who exactly the individuals are that may be offering the enterprise with income.
One lucrative enterprise you can start with $a thousand as initial outlay is Web business. Now the services of every business might be marketed on the idea of mass communication. Depending on the structure of the plumbing organisation, and their unique promoting points, there may be a customer service department required, or a advertising and marketing department if that is the determining issue of achieving enterprise.
For instance, life science and different companies with R&D cycles require extra time in an incubation program service corporations. Companies most frequently form after the development of a business plan, which is a proper doc detailing a enterprise's goals and objectives, and its strategies of the way it will achieve the targets and aims.
How many youngsters are needed to start a day care business? A virtual business plan walks you through the design of a business plan and teaches you the tools & methods in creating the business plan on your quickly rising company. As a result of an web enterprise does provide a means to stop trading time for cash, it is tough to reconcile this if you've been doing precisely that in a job or profession.
Lastly, the worth of enterprise improvement providers is discussed from the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Another great solution to discover a Christian philanthropist who can assist you start companies is by using the internet. Incubators typically make use of a selective screening course of assessing the feasibility and workability of the marketing strategy of incubatee prospects before letting hem join the program.
Typically, members in seed accelerator packages are skilled startup professionals who're accustomed to the property offered by the seed accelerator come within the type of mentoring, funding and a strong network effect, however there are few or no inner assets, akin to back workplace help features, internal advertising and marketing or authorized advisory specialists or legal.
To get first time clients it's possible you'll need to offer an introductory value, say a months value of dog walks at half price, or you'll be able to offer a goody bag to first time purchasers. Competitive web companies generally take turns promoting each others merchandise as joint venture partners, benefiting both companies way over they would benefit on their very own.
Enterprise Report
I have said many occasions that if you are a breeder, it's worthwhile to be a enterprise. I am referring to people who have owned a gaggle mountain climbing or strolling companies. The financial planning aspect when starting a plumbing business is of crucial importance. This involves an examination of the feelings, or feeling behind the rationale of beginning your own plumbing business.
This implies it's time to revisit your marketing strategy, more exactly it's time to revisit the questioning course of that helped you craft your plan. This is the place you will mark down your mileage from your booklet, any treats you bought, cash spent on gas, solar block, waste luggage, after all your start up kit and the rest you buy that helps you run your business.
In an general sense, the amount of revenue should exceed the prices of the business, and the purpose of any sales and advertising plan is to ensure that that is, in actual fact, the case.
Whenever you go to the physician, she or he will not prescribe a solution to your symptom without a analysis. Use the articles of organization and be sure to create a written agreement that can dissolve the corporate or sell it to your co-owners or another person who will assume your a part of the enterprise. Generally no matter how much you research, plan, or test, issues do not go as anticipated in a enterprise.
Much of households and companies require providers of a digital studio, and so it can be highly worthwhile if in case you have the skill. It is nice when you have a shirt with the name of your company or your title on it. This lets people you are available in contact with know what you do. I've gotten enterprise this way.
Since this enterprise has a high dollar value to get into, most consumers might want to have substantial funds out there or strong financing with a view to buy an existing enterprise or begin one up. The money sources for this venture can be the present owner, an Web enterprise lender, your bank, your kin, loans on property you own or household-cash.
There aren't as many alternatives on this area of interest market as there are in different businesses. These steps, as outlined above, if carried out thoroughly and effectively, with the businesses core imaginative and prescient in thoughts and a positive collaborative mindset as a starting point, will ensure that the enterprise has a greater than 80% chance of success.
List Of Slogans
As in any part of the world, political influence is highly important to begin a enterprise in India. Find all types of information about small businesses, right from beginning a small enterprise, to getting authorities grants, analyzing the market, and many others. Media broadcasters would recruit native business owners to sponsor their show, in change for a couple of minutes of airtime to advertise their products.
The moral issues in enterprise have turn out to be more complicated because of the global and diversified nature of many giant company and due to the complexity of financial, social, international, natural, political, authorized and authorities laws and atmosphere, therefore the company must determine whether to stick to fixed moral ideas or to regulate to home requirements and culture.
How To Come Up With A Business Idea In 7 Steps
I started out with eBay over 15 years in the past and slowly moved over to internet affiliate marketing. Not in an try to intimidate any potential plumbing entrepreneurs, but relatively in an try to illustrate the importance of this strategic thinking course of, and the reasons why it needs to be conducted intimately, and why utilising efficient and skilled enterprise consultants is not going to solely improve the possibilities of success, but probably save substantial money within the medium to long term.
Look for an inexpensive HP Desktop pc for around $one hundred fifty and Web excessive-velocity modem with excellent service at $60 to get started. You can consult with the home enterprise idea for girl in Pennsylvania which is voted to be absolutely the number one greatest enterprise to start.
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In the fashionable period, we cannot separate know-how from enterprise. The scale and scope of the business agency and its construction, administration, and ownership, broadly analyzed within the principle of the agency Generally, a smaller business is extra versatile, whereas bigger companies, or those with wider possession or extra formal buildings, will usually are usually organized as firms or (less often) partnerships.enterprise, questions, success


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Natures Grub Vegetable Garden Mix is a complementary feed suitable for all small animals. This delicious treat mix comprises of a blend of dried vegetables to add variety to the diet of rabbits, rodents and guinea pigs. It should be fed as a treat alongside your pet's regular daily feed.
Composition: Carrot, Peas, Cucumber, Courgette, Parsnip, Sweetcorn, Beetroot, Flaked Sweetcorn.
€2.99 Inc VAT
Estimated dispatch between 30th May and 4th Jun
Weight: 0.150 kg
Height: 12 cm
Width: 12 cm
Length: 5 cm
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Tag Archives: Myanmar
Community Support Boosts MPA Success
A primary goal of the Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES) initiative is to promote Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that succeed in protecting marine biodiversity. An official name and boundaries on a map are a good start, but they are not enough to make an MPA successful. For true protection to happen, an MPA must also … Continue reading Community Support Boosts MPA Success


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When I first heard about the fabric that was added to our product line I was excited, and nervous. I am a crafter. I love stampin' but I also love sewing, quilting, needle work, you name it! I have dabbled in almost all things craft. However, how could I use this new product line in my business without dragging my sewing machine to a hostess party? Well....I often carry a quilting square given to me as a thank you gift from Stampin' Up! employees at the warehouse (I'm not the only one who got one). But today's tour shows one of my first fabric projects . . . and tomorrow you'll see my 'house' of fabric!
I started with this little night light I bought a long while back in the discount section of a local store. I had every intention of changing the cover but never could find the right look . . .
Well....when I saw the fun fabric from the Holiday Mini Catalog, Deck the Halls (page 16) I was sure I was going love the style (I love 'old world' stuff). So here's what I did with it.
I use the pink cowboy fabric as my pattern and the adhesive, my favorite heavy duty guy - Stick Strip (IB&C page 197). I put the tape on the edges of the fabric. The Crochet ribbon (Victoria - IB&C page 190) & 1/8" Taffeta (page 191) were added afterward with mini glue dots. It's been over a month and it's holding up without any problems! I love it and I think it goes with my plans for a French Country makeover in my bathroom!
What do you think?
I hope you will continue the tour and stop back here tomorrow to see what's next!


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Imagine this. You're at a party and everyone is coming up to you. You just signed this huge contract to play sports for your favorite team. Millions of dollars. Everyone wants to get to know you, shake your hand, hug you, take pictures with you, ask you for money, pitch you on their latest deal. Essentially, they all want something from you. How would you feel about that? Happy? Sad? Or just annoyed? Maybe all three. Would you want to stay there? I bet you don't — after all, when people go to parties, they want to relax and enjoy themselves.
So why do you approach a conference or networking event this way? It seems these days, we always have the same conversation. It usually goes something like this:
"What do you do?"
"Well, I do X."
"Oh great. I do Y. Sounds like you need Y to build X. I'd love to show you Y. When can we meet?"
Is this going to result in a sale? Unlikely. The person who does X is already looking for the exit, trying to find someone else to talk with. Why? Because humans don't operate transactionally. Of course, sometimes we can. But what do you think about transactional relationships? Maybe they're exhausting? Toxic? Both? The bottom line is that they're not fulfilling. So instead of going against the flow of human relations, go with it.
Here are my rules for networking.
1. The Law Of Reciprocity
Have you ever gotten anything for free? What does it feel like when you do? If you're anything like me, you feel like you owe the person something in return. For whatever reason, the world has shifted and the status quo has now gone out the window. They did something really great for you, so you either have to return the favor or keep her in very high regard. Enter the law of reciprocity. For whatever reason, most humans want to be "even," or reciprocate a gift that's given.
Do not give with the expectation of getting anything in return. Give freely, openly and with no strings attached. By doing so, you have likely stoked the other person's desire to help you in return.
Listen 10 Times More Than You Talk
My parents weren't stern, but they required obedience. There were many times that I was unjustly punished and objected to my father or mother's tirade. They would cut off my protests and say, "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen to me." That's always stuck with me, and I've heard many variations of the same phrase. For networking, you need to listen 10 times more than you talk.
People are largely driven by their ego, and their ego is all about them. So make the conversation all about them. After all, you want the contact, right? Listen with intent. Repeating anything interesting. Ask follow-up questions. Then, after you get their contact, send an email or text asking about something related to the topics you discussed, or a relevant article.
3. Make A Connection, Not A Transaction
I know you want to bring up your actual need, but don't. This is what everyone does. I get tons of emails, LinkedIn messages and other contacts from people asking about what they need. They don't even say hello — just, "I need this, give it to me." They don't bother to get to know me or see how they can add value to me. You know what I do with those requests? I delete them.
Wait to ask for that connection, referral or business unless they ask about it first. They will find out what you do on their own time and come back to you. Or, if they don't do their research, you can always bring it up to them when they reach out to you — which they will do eventually because you were interesting to them.
When you make connections, you're not a transaction — you're building the trust required to do business (or even have a friendship) together.
Remember, it's not the hare that wins the race — it's the tortoise, slow and steady.


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Chelsea H.
University Y Student Center
Many members know Chelsea's friendly face and welcoming demeanor as they are greeted at the Y, but most don't know that she has lived in almost every country in Central America and even studied abroad in Lima, Peru while attending the University of Maine.
"I've always traveled a lot since I was little," said Chelsea. "I've gotten to experience many different cultures and met a lot of amazing people and I think those experiences are what have helped make me into a more caring, tolerant and open-minded person."
Upon returning home to Maine from studying abroad, Chelsea found herself yearning for her next adventure. After packing up all of her belongings she drove across the entire country by herself before finally settling in Tacoma, Washington. Once in Tacoma she soon found a home working at the University Y Student Center.
"When I moved I knew I wanted to work for an organization that tries to make a difference in the community and I definitely got that working here at the Y," said Chelsea. "I truly identify with their mission and I hope to use my experience here to one day help others in my own way by teaching English in Thailand as well as getting my master's degree in social work."


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The Vermont State Police and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, announced Monday that a federal Justice Department grant funded six new positions on the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force.
The $1.4-million grant will pay for five detectives and one intelligence analyst, who will focus on disrupting the sale of heroin in Vermont, the commander of the Vermont State Police said.
The expansion increases the number of Task Force investigators from 19 to 24, according to Vermont State Police and Sen. Leahy.
The latest news from around the state
"In my years in the Senate, and in my years before it as a prosecutor, I've never seen anything like this," Leahy said of the opiate addiction epidemic. "I've never had anything that's torn at me as much as this does."
Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Harry Chen said Monday on average, emergency services teams in Vermont are now seeing an average of 2.2 or more overdoses a day from heroin or prescription pill abuse. While those overdoses aren't all fatal, that's a big number in a small state, Chen said.
The addition of powerful painkillers like fentanyl and carfentanil, which is used to sedate elephants and large animals, is adding new dangers to the national heroin epidemic, Chen noted.
"We are, quite frankly, overwhelmed at the moment on the law enforcement end of things with the amount of heroin that's coming into the state currently," said Col. Matt Birmingham, the commander of the Vermont State Police. "Our investigations are up about 70 percent this past year on heroin alone."
Maj. Glenn Hall of the Vermont State Police Criminal Division said historically, traffickers have brought heroin into Vermont from New York City, Hartford, Connecticut, and the Springfield, Massachusetts area.
"The single most important asset in doing this work is drug investigators themselves," Hall told reporters Monday. "So these positions, while five doesn't seem like a lot, it is a significant increase in the work we are doing now."
Hall explained that the grant money funded the hiring and training of new state troopers, who then replaced other troopers who were elevated to the Drug Task Force.
Leahy said he will seek renewals of the federal grant money in the future, based on what he hears is working from the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force.
Cari Kelley of Grand Isle, Vermont told necn she still misses her cousin Debbie, a Midwesterner who died from an opiate overdose in 2012, after battling addiction for 30 years.
"It's tragic," Kelley said. "And I would say to my kids, if you get involved in drugs, these are the types of things that could possibly happen to you. And we want to make sure that it doesn't."
Kelley said she would like it if the new efforts announced Monday by the Vermont State Police and Sen. Leahy help spare another family the loss of a loved one.
"She's always on my mind," Kelley said of her late cousin. "It's really scary to watch a family member go through that, and every time I talk to someone anywhere in the country, they say, 'Our biggest problem is opiates.'"
Dr. Chen and Sen. Leahy pointed out that while those new detectives hope to make a dent in the supply side of the drug epidemic, when it comes to demand, health officials, community groups, and non-profits must maintain a laser focus on treatment, education, and prevention.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, Vermont was one of six states to receive anti-heroin grants. Law enforcement agencies in Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wisconsin also shared in the nearly $6-million in grant money awarded in September 2015.