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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions):
My accountant tells me I can give away $10,000 every year. Is that true?
Well, actually, your accountant is a bit out of date; the new number is $14,000 per year. The number has been indexed for inflation, and every few years, it goes up by a thousand dollars. You have to comply with both the IRS gifting rules, which say you can give $14,000 away every year to any person, and you can make as many as those gifts as you want. But Medicaid doesn't care about the IRS rules; Medicaid will make you comply with the Medicaid transfer rules, which is why they look back for five years and divide the total amount of gifts by $285.
How much will Medicaid let me keep?
When you make the application for Medicaid, your resources must be less than $2,000 on the first day of the month that you make the application. Once you are on the program, you will be contributing most of your income to pay for the cost of your care, and you will get a personal needs allowance that in Washington State is approximately $60 per month. If you are married, your spouse may be able to keep some additional liquid resources. And the applicant can have one home of limited value, if they're single, a house of any value, if married, a car, prepaid burial, and personal furnishings.
I have a will, so that's all I need, right?
No. A will is a great tool for setting forth your wishes. You get to name who you want to be in charge of your estate. That person is called a personal representative. In addition, you get to specify who will receive your estate when you pass. But a will does not provide for a lifetime decision-maker, a will may not address non-probate assets like IRA, or life insurance policies that have death beneficiary designations. If you own those types of assets, it would be important to coordinate them with your will.
I downloaded a power of attorney and will from the internet. Isn't that really all I need?
Downloaded powers of attorney are one of the biggest sources of frustration and hardship for our clients and their adult children. Those one to two page documents often don't address the necessary powers that are necessary to conduct critical business for them. And families often don't understand the problems with the documents until it's too late. For example, we had someone come in a couple of weeks ago, who had a downloaded power of attorney done several years ago, and needed to do planning to pay for that spouse's long-term care. Unfortunately, the power of attorney did not allow that planning. So, we had to utilize an expensive court proceeding to get the necessary authority. That cost the clients additional money, and there was a delay in the process. As to a will, oftentimes, people will use these simple wills from online, but they won't be read until after testator's death. Then we discover that the testator's intent was not met, and it's too late. That can't be fixed. So it's really important to see a qualified Elder Law Attorney to help you assist in planning your critical estate plan.
But a will avoids probate, right?
No, nothing could be further from the truth. It's going to depend on what you own at that, whether or not your estate is subject to probate. So if you were to pass away, and came into our offices, we would determine everything you owned at your death, and put it into two columns, either the probate column or the non-probate column. So let's talk about non-probate assets first. There are things like IRAs, life insurance, annuities that actually help complete the death beneficiary designations on them; those designations control who receives them at death. But anything that you passed away owning, like real estate, or a bank… or an investment account that's just in your name, that's a probate asset. And so whether or not, a formal probate, or a small office estate affidavit is necessary, depend on the total value of your estate and any issues that need to be resolved at your death. There are terrific tools to avoid probate; one of the most popular is the revocable living trust. This contractual document can be funded to own all of your probate assets so that a probate can be avoided. Our clients really like that type of trust.
How do Medicaid transfer rules work?
Each state has its own unique set of rules. So it's really important to remember that the rules of every state are different and, all the states rules have changed overtime. This has been one of the most challenging areas of my practice since 1983. In Washington State, the state looks back to the five years immediately preceding the date of your application. Each transfer or gift that you made is examined to see if you got fair market value for it. If you did not receive fair market value for it, then the state adds up all the assets that you gave away, and divides it by the then current average cost of care. So, let's do an example. In Washington today, the average cost of care is $285 per day. So if you gave away $28,500 in total in the last five years, Washington would divide your gift of $28,500 by the $285 divisor and come up with a 100 day penalty period. Now the 100 day penalty period does not start until you have submitted an application you are medically needy and financially eligible. Then the state would impose a 3-month penalty period, meaning they would not pay for your care during that time period.
Is it true that Medicaid can take my house?
Medicaid does not actually take the house, but Medicaid has the right to a lien against your house. What this means is that you can go on Medicaid owning a house, but at your death, Medicaid is entitled to get paid back for the amount of care. If you have a spouse, the lien is postponed until the spouse's death. In Washington State, every now and then, the estate will send a letter to the surviving spouse after the death of the Medicaid recipient, and request that they get paid back now. That is not proper. If you get one of those letters, you should seek the guidance of an Elder Law Attorney. The estate is not entitled to be paid back until your death, and only if you own the house at the time of your death.
I always thought Medicare would pay for my healthcare needs.
That comment is what my staff hears most often. It is a very common assumption. No, Medicare is really only for a short term stay in a rehab facility. So I like to think of Medicare as short term care and Medicaid as the aid to pay for long term care if your resources are not sufficient.
What are the differences between Medicare and Medicaid?
Comparing Medicare and Medicaid is like comparing apples and oranges. Medicare is a program that was enacted in 1965 to help seniors pay for health care needs. At that time, the average life expectancy of seniors is between 66 and 72, so folks worked until 65, retired, and then passed within a few years. Today, people are living much longer and the actual life expectancies are between mid-80s and some people are living as long as a hundred or longer. Medicare was also created prior to the prevalence of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Medicaid is the program that provides aid for seniors to pay for long term care.
What are the biggest threats to my retirement savings?
Well, I think that's the cost of long-term care; costs are really rising. In Washington State, the average cost of care is over $8,000 a month. And just last week, I met with a client in an assisted living facility whose monthly bill was $9,000. To prepare for those costs, we need to figure out how we can best utilize our resources, empower ourselves and figure out what planning we need to do so that we can be prepared in the event that we have a long-term care need.
Shouldn't I just put my house and bank accounts in my children's names?
Oh, my! We often hear bankers recommending this, and that may be helpful in terms of paying your bills, but generally it won't give you the other assistance you may need. For example, a joint owner of a bank account can't contact an insurance company, cannot access your IRA, cannot make your healthcare decisions, and the list goes on and on. In addition, adding a child's name to a bank account or a house can put your assets at risk to your child's creditors. Or even worse, what if your child has a disability, and is in need of needs-based assistance? What if your child files bankruptcy? Your child's creditors may try to attach your resources. I've got a list that continues on and other considerations that are important. Generally, as clients consider all of those issues, we find better planning options for them than risking their life savings and home, by simply adding the child's name to it.
Why should I do estate planning?
There are hundreds of reasons why people do estate planning. The most common are somebody who wants to provide for their spouse, someone who wants to make things the easiest possible for their children or someone who has a unique plan that wants to happen. When you come in to our offices, one of the discussions we always have with clients is, "Well, what happens if you don't do anything at all?" And most of the time, our clients are surprised by that answer, and in fact that helps motivate them to do an estate plan.
When should I do estate planning?
Well, we need to do our estate planning before it's too late. Sometimes, that can be hard to figure out. In our offices, we have crystal balls in each of our conference room tables that remind us we don't know the future is going to provide. So, if you want to keep the court out of your life, both during your lifetime and in your death, then you want to make sure you plan in advance. If you want to protect the assets from the cost of long-term care, then you probably will find that you have the best options if you plan five years in advance.
I'm pretty sure I will never need long-term care because my spouse and children have promised they will keep me at home, just like I did with Grandma.
Oh my, but times have changed. Thirty or more years ago, when you helped grandma, most likely she needed care for three weeks, maybe three months. Today, illnesses last much longer. Often we see people needing care for three years, six years, or even longer. The statistics today are that 70% of individuals already age of 65 will need some sort of long-term care, whether it's in a facility or at home. The statistics also are shocking on how many persons actually have Alzheimer's disease. Every 45 seconds in the US, someone has a stroke. One out of 9 persons over the age of 65 has Alzheimer's and that number increases to 33% of those over 85 years old. And 1 million Americans are diagnosed annually with Parkinson's disease. These chronic diseases are the most common reason why people need long-term care, but people who are frail, diabetic, or have other illnesses that caused them to need assistance with the activities of daily living, also can need long-term care.
If the cost of long term care is too high, what can I do?
We recommend pre-planning so you can take advantage of legal tools that are available and so that you can best empower yourself in the case of the long term care need. Some of the legal tools that we use are testamentary special needs trusts, house protector trusts to protect the family home, powerful powers of attorney to avoid the need for guardianship. Generally, the earlier we start planning, the more options you'll find that you have.
When should I do pre-planning for long-term care?
You want to do pre-planning for long term care before it's too late. If you have a diagnosis like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, you want to make sure you get in as soon as possible. If you don't have any kind of chronic care or diagnoses, then now is the time. It's always important not to let one of the diagnoses, like Alzheimer's, dementia, or Parkinson's creep up on you. Over time, your legal capacity to sign and execute a plan can change. Last week, I met with a woman whose husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seven years ago. She kept meaning to come in, but didn't come in until last week. Unfortunately, her spouse does not have the ability to legally participate, so we're going to have to go to court to pursue her planning options through first getting a guardianship. Then it would be up to the court on whether or not we can plan for her. I'm very optimistic we'll be able to get the court to approve her planning options, but that's always an extra wrinkle and, most importantly to them, it takes additional time and costs additional money. So starting soon is always a good idea.

subset: commoncrawl


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Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/557/6623
From The Socialist newspaper, 19 November 2008
Democratic republic of Congo: Civil war erupts once again
RENEWED FIGHTING has broken out around the city of Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between armed forces led by the rebel general Laurent Nkunda and those of the Congolese president Joseph Kabila, deepening the region's humanitarian crisis. The fighting is taking place as talks are on-going between the two protagonists, brokered by the United Nations special envoy, the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Iain Dalton reports on the background to this conflict, particularly the role of the western powers, multinational companies, regional elites and UN troops in fermenting and perpetuating the civil war.
IN THE last few weeks over 250,000 refugees have fled from North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire) near the border with Rwanda. This brings the total of internal refugees in the region to over one million.
Rebels in the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), under the control of ethnic Tutsi, Laurent Nkunda, have been advancing on government strongholds in the province - particularly the regional capital Gomu.
Although this conflict has only been major news headlines for the last few weeks it has been going on for years, since Nkunda rebelled against the DRC army in 2004.
The conflict has been a disaster for the people of the Congo. Since the civil war began in 1998 over five million people have been killed, life expectancy is only 45.8 years in the country as a whole, and in North Kivu it is 43.7 years; 73% of the population are in poverty.
Additionally the region has seen large usage of child soldiers and North Kivu province itself is the worst area for sexual violence in the world - according to United Nations (UN) 2007 figures there are around 350 rapes a month, although local figures suggest over 800 in April 2008 alone.
Unresolved conflict
Yet the civil war in the DRC was supposed to have ended in 2003. Then, a peace deal was signed to end six years of fighting after the deposition of the dictator Mobutu Sese-Seko. Laurent Kabila, who headed the Rwandan-backed forces Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre (AFDL), tapped into the mass discontent with Mobuto's rule and declared himself president.
However, this coalition broke up almost as soon as Kabila took power and Rwanda in particular began backing a new rebellion, the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD) to look after its own mineral interests in the country. Kabila was backed with arms and troops by the regimes of Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
In reality, however, an on-off civil war has been going on ever since the deposition of the first prime minister of the DRC, the anti-imperialist Patrice Lumumba in 1960.
The Belgian colonial government and other western powers had wanted a compliant stooge post-independence government. Lumumba was deemed too much of a threat to the imperialist powers and the CIA-backed colonel Mobutu took power in 1966.
The western powers considered Mobutu as a bulwark against communism in the region. He crushed the remaining Lumumba supporters (Lumumba had been executed in 1961) but sporadic revolts continued thereafter and were fought with the aid of western powers. Some rebels, such as Kabila, even carved out their own statelets within the country and financed themselves through trafficking gold and other materials.
The collapse of the USSR at the beginning of the 1990s meant that Mobutu's bloody regime became unnecessary for maintaining US interests in the country.
Added to the political crisis was the backlash from the ethnic civil war in Rwanda when over one million ethnic Hutus fled from the country - including many members of the Interahamwe militia which Mobutu used against the Tutsis in Kivu to prop up his failing regime. It is these same ethnic Hutu forces that Nkunda alleges government troops have been supporting in attacks on Tutsis and he claims that his rebellion is in defence of Tutsis, particularly his own native group the Banyamulenge.
Resource rich
The country's rich mineral resources (particularly diamonds, copper, zinc and coltan - which is used in mobile phones and computers) have been fought over in the civil war with various companies backing warlords with arms to facilitate their plundering of the country. A UN report named 85 multinationals that it believed to be "violating ethical guidelines" - such as Anglo-American, Standard Chartered Bank, De Beers etc.
But it isn't just the companies themselves. It is no accident that when an anti-imperialist government under Lumumba was elected in 1960, Belgian imperialism sought to support the break away of resource rich Katanga province in a manner that parallels the moves to autonomy by the Media Luna provinces in Bolivia.
Regional powers are also in on the act. Zimbabwe, one of the backers of the Laurent Kabila regime, was granted concessions in the diamond industry for example, whilst Rwandan forces control some mines in the Kivu region that the country borders that are protected by the RCD it backs.
Socialist answers
Imperialism and capitalism have devastated the DRC and it is ordinary people that are suffering.
However, many journalists, international human right groups and aid agencies are still calling for intervention by foreign troops. For example, Johann Hari in the Independent (30/10/08) suggests that UN peacekeepers will need to be kept in the region to 'stabilise' the country and that a coltan-tax should be created to fund this.
But Monuc, the current UN peacekeeping force, has over 16,000 troops in the country and is blatantly failing to stop the abuses. Indeed UN documents disclosed by Human Rights Watch demonstrate how UN peacekeepers in Congo took part in weapons trading with rebels and smuggling.
These forces are part of the problem because by their very nature they are subordinated not to the needs of ordinary Congolese but to the imperialist powers that dominate the UN security council.
Like in Iraq at present, what is needed to combat the abuses of militias, rebels, government troops and 'peacekeepers' alike are democratic, working class-based defence organisations that can cut across the ethnic divides and build up the mass resistance of workers and peasants to both militia-backed warlords, multinational companies and the major capitalist powers.
Capitalism has failed in the DRC.It is only socialist ideas, such as taking the mineral resources into public ownership to use for the common good of society and not to fatten the pockets of warlords and big business, that can provide a way out of the nightmare for the working class and poor in the DRC.
Donate to the Socialist Party
Coronavirus crisis - Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- Our 'fighting coronavirus workers' charter', outlines a programme to combat the virus and protect workers' living conditions.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.
Inevitably, during the crisis we have not been able to sell the Socialist and raise funds in the ways we normally would.
We therefore urgently appeal to all our viewers to donate to our special coronavirus appeal.
In The Socialist 19 November 2008:
No Job Cuts
'We're not taking these job cuts'
Programme of action to fight unemployment is needed
JCB: Pay cuts haven't saved our jobs!
Post office closures
U-turn over post office card account
Coventry fights post office closure
Lewisham housing: Arguments against privatisation win
Socialist Party workplace news
Drop the witch-hunt in Unison fight to Defend trade union democracy
Scotland: Unison local government: Close vote on pay
Unite/Amicus general secretary election
International socialist news and analysis
World food crisis: A systemic failure of capitalism
Democratic republic of Congo: Civil war erupts once again
G20 conference: Summit for nothing
USA: Challenging the two parties of big business
First ever all-Germany school students' strike
Eyewitness report: Italian students occupy
Socialist Students
Student democracy under attack
Privatisation = FE college students suffer
Social workers say: investment needed
Home | The Socialist 19 November 2008 | Join the Socialist Party


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It must be good to be Herb Alpert these days.
His series of pop instrumental records with the Tijuana Brass, indicative of the buoyant mood and spirit of the 1960s when they were first released, was well received a second time around when they were reissued on CD last year. And the trumpeter, along with his business partner, A&M Records co-founder Jerry Moss, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award at induction ceremonies at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame next Tuesday.
(Shout! Factory)
Once you can pry your gaze away from the comely Ms. Condon, the music contained is basically a dreamy, down-tempo selection of confections that uses the spry and bright original songs for inspiration. Speaking of inspiration, Alpert himself laid down some new trumpet solo tracks on most of "Rewhipped."
Half the album's selections feature the work of veteran studio musician and movie score composer Anthony Marinelli, with two of them collaborations with local favorites, the Los Angeles-based Latin-Mexican collective Ozomatli.
The title track is slowed to a hip-hop, head-bobbin' groove, a nice touch being the Mexican-flavored bridge, complete with "tres" and group vocals. Their contemporary take on "Love Potion No. 9" is the most aggressive rhythmically on the album, with band member Asdru Sierra singing the famous Lieber-and-Stoller lyrics.
The rest of the crop is up to par, with only German DJ Foosh's remix of "Tangerine" coming off rather slack. "A Taste of Honey" (John King of the Dust Brothers) and "Ladyfingers" (Camara Kambon, another movie music composer) both have a sonically gauzy feel, the original recordings only distant memories. Eric Hilton and Rob Garza of the Thievery Corporation swathe "Lemon Tree" in an Indian fantasia.
My two favorites are Mocean Worker's Brazilian-beat workout on "Bittersweet Samba" and "El Garbanzo," from the always astute jazz-funk trio Medeski Martin & Wood. Those guys always do imaginative breakdowns in their own compositions, and this take with Alpert goes from choppy to smooth and back without a hiccup.
(Alpert and Ozomatli will perform "Love Potion No. 9" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno" on Thursday.)


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Every Tuesday evening, I work at a nursing home. My room is just down the hall from the chapel, with a beautiful grand piano. Most of the time, the automatic player function on the piano is on, and I catch snatches of "Sunrise, Sunset" as I walk down the hall.
Around 5pm, though, a woman in her 60s wheels her mother into the chapel, turns off the automatic player, and sits down at the piano. She asks, "What do want to hear, mom?" Her mother responds, "Just play."
For the next hour or so, the woman sits at the piano, playing through hymns and simple classical pieces. She has perfect posture, and she sometimes squints a little at her hands. Her mother sits quietly in the wheelchair, positioned at the side of the piano bench. At some point, the mother nods off a little, while the daughter continues to play.
When I see them, I can almost see their younger selves just underneath, like a palimpsest. There is the little girl, legs not long enough to reach the pedals, struggling through her first scales. There is the young mother, sitting next to her daughter on the piano bench, patiently encouraging and teaching. The young mother has perfect posture, and she sometimes squints a little at her daughter's hands.
I have this habit I picked up from my mother: when I am with a good friend or close family member, I find myself looking at them with focused attention. It can be disconcerting, as it seems like I'm staring. What I'm doing, though, and what I think my mother is doing, is looking for the palimpsest. If I focus enough, I can start to see the layers of younger selves, different lives, years lived. This reminds me that a person carries with them all that they were and all that they are.
As the grown daughter continues to play for her elderly mother, my last client of the night arrives. She moves with a shuffling, Parkinson's gait. Her speech is slow and stilted. She requires help to lie down on the table. But as I look at her, I see the artist she was, the young woman with an unusual independent streak, the compassionate free spirit raising a daughter on music, art and books. She is all these things, and it is a joy to see.


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Welcome back readers! It's been a great but long off season for Michigan football fans. While there are still 81 days left until Michigan Football We at Wolverines East will begin ramping up to the 2012 Season #TEAM133. Over the Next few months ChampionOfTheEast and I(WoodsonBaby) will be posting Position Previews, Big Ten Power Ratings, Season predictions, Breakdown of Alabama, and much much more! So look no further for your summer reading and stay tuned.
Go Blue!
P.S. Tweeted this yesterday but for anyone who missed this, Red Hot Chili Peppers should be your new Favorite band:


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…featuring her pet pig, Antonio
So I almost wrote a novel, with commentary on how it came to this.
This year, I plunged headlong into NaNoWriMo and, by virtue of determination, lack of sleep and madness, cranked out 50,551 words that added up to about 95% of a first draft for a novel that might not suck after a few more rewrites.
Since I passed the 50K mark (on the 28th day), NaNoWriMo says I won, even though the story stops abruptly (see lack of sleep above) in the middle of the final climactic battle. Maybe they ought to change their name to National Write Fifty Thousand Words In 30 Days And If You Get A Complete Story Told, Cool! Month. Or not, because the shortened version of that would still be way too long.
I will certainly finish "The Endless Mother Road", possibly even this weekend. I just can't leave Seyan Sandrel, Dree Brunfelder and the rest hanging. However, once I finish it, the novel will go on the back burner until about early March. I want to get back to blogging and doing 107 more Doclopedia entries so as to bring my total up to 1,000. Then there's getting my Dungeons & Toons game ready for Dundracon, plus getting the stuff ready for the seminar I'm doing…and I want to start another novel, this one to be written at a much less frantic pace.
But enough of that stuff, let's get on with the subject of how I finally got to the point of writing out one of the gazillion stories that have been slow cooking in my brain for the last 5 decades or so. It wasn't until recently that I saw how I've been building up to this for a few years.
2006: I decide to put some roleplaying useful stuff on my blog, so I do daily entries entitled "365 Days, 365 Characters". Later, the title morphs to "365 People, Places & Things". I got up to 121 entries, then missed a day and called it quits.
2010: The "365" idea never really left my head, so on August 18, 2010, I started it up again. On January 30, 2011, I changed the title to "The Doclopedia". I finished with the 365th entry on August 17, 2011. I think this was an important point in my getting in the habit of writing something creative every day. It was now truly a habit, if not an obsession.
2011: In fact, I was so used to posting Doclopedia entries, that on September 5, 2011, I started writing them again, although this time there were interruptions due to Grace having broken her arm and me having torn my left bicep muscle. I attempted to do NaNoWriMo in 2011, but the fucked up shoulder ended it early on.
2012: On my birthday in January, I began "366 Days, 500 Doclopedia Posts" AKA "366 Days Of Blogging Hell", the biggest writing self challenge yet. Despite my mother and our dog Winker dying, shoulder surgery, job woes, health woes and other Real Life shit happening, I finished the challenge with just about 90 days to spare. And then I immediately (as in, NEXT DAY!) started up the NaNoWriMo thing.
Oh, and during the 2010-2012 stretch, I also posted fiction of various sorts, did yearly fake con reports (those started in 2008), posted other stuff on the blog, posted on Facebook and tweeted on Twitter.
So, what have I learned from all of this? I'm not sure. A slightly less cavalier attitude towards punctuation and grammar? The correct number of times to use "motherfucker" in a 300 word piece?
How have I changed after all of this? I've gotten well and fully into the habit of writing pretty much every day. I've also become more confident in my talent as a writer. I've learned to just start writing and see where it goes. I envy those writers who can do a detailed outline and then follow it, but that's not me. Have I become a better writer? That's up to you to decide, Gentle Readers.
Do I feel like getting out there and writing more roleplaying stuff for various companies? Probably not. The RPG stuff I like is a rather narrow slice of the new world of RPGs. In all honesty, most of the RPG products on the market today are nothing I'd spend my money on, even if I had money to spend. That's not a statement about the quality of said products, just that most have either rules systems or basic concepts that I don't care about. The RPG market has become very nichey in recent years and I don't fit into most of those niches.
Will I write RPG stuff to self publish? Maybe, but only if I really feel like going through the hassle.
Will I try dipping my toe into writing fiction? Maybe. I'll have to check out the market a bit. Yes, I know anybody can crank out fiction and sell it on Amazon or whatever, and that may become an option, but I'd kinda like to get a short story or two on an established website or in a real magazine or something first.
So, there it is, my journey so far as a writer. I guess the biggest takeaway from the past few years has been this, which is paraphrased from a famous Frank Zappa quote about his musical philosophy.
"I write what pleases me. If other people like it, that's ok. If they don't like it, that's ok, too."
So, Doc, what's up next?
Well, not in any particular order…
Another 107 Doclopedia posts, so as to bring the total up to 1,000
More fiction for the "After The Change Came" series
Another novel, this one mostly of a humorous slant, about college students earning money as thieves
Yet another (the 6th) CatCon report
My most masochistic Writing Death March yet: 365 Days Of Building & Populating A Fictional Setting. Genre possibly decided by Reader Vote.
A possible paid RPG writing gig. Will know more in January.
The ubiquitous "Other Stuff"
A good chunk of the above will pop up right here on the this blog, but some may only appear on my website and some may just be ransomed at Reasonable Rates before I let anybody see it.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have writing to do.


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"I have found Vincent" proclaims artist Douglas Coupland
Nov 16, 2016, 11:00 ET
After a Worldwide Crowdsourcing Initiative, Canadian Artist Finds Vincent van Gogh's Closest Lookalike for Major 3D Bronze Sculpture
VANCOUVER, Nov. 16, 2016 /CNW/ - Douglas Coupland, a Vancouver-based writer and artist, has located Vincent van Gogh, or rather his closest lookalike. Out of 1,250 entrants from 37 countries, Daniel Baker from Christchurch, England is the doppelganger for the famous Dutch artist. Coupland will use Mr. Baker's image as the source material to create a large 3D bronze sculpture of Van Gogh commissioned by Anthony von Mandl, who will install "Vincent" at his radical new Pinot Noir winery in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. Martin's Lane Winery was designed by an international team of experts led by von Mandl and world renowned contemporary architect Tom Kundig. Mr. Baker's likeness is being unveiled today in an array of imagery at iamvincent.com
Coupland used Van Gogh's original self-portrait paintings, which he refers to as "the selfies of their era", as the guideline to select the Dutch artist's modern-day twin from the range of international entrants that submitted photographs. This campaign attracted international media attention and garnered more than 500,000 votes from every corner of the globe.
Upon meeting the Englishman in Vancouver for the first time, Coupland said, "Meeting Dan was a very strange experience because I'd spent months looking at Vincent lookalikes on a computer screen and then suddenly there was this man — my Vincent van Gogh — hopping out of a taxi looking like he'd just stepped out of the year 1889."
An Unexpected Work of Art in an Unexpected Place:
Mr. Baker was flown to Vancouver where he underwent a 3D-photogrammetry scanning process using hundreds of cameras to generate a wealth of multidimensional facial data that Coupland will use to create a likeness of Van Gogh's head in a large 2 metre by 3 metre bronze sculpture.
This is the first in a series of monumental outdoor works titled "Redheads" commissioned by von Mandl, who is at the forefront of the winemaking revolution taking place in the Okanagan Valley, a region The New York Times heralds as "The Napa of the North". The large bronze sculpture will be installed in the Pinot Noir vineyard at Martin's Lane Winery. The architecturally stunning 6-level, gravity-fed winery is a bold reflection of von Mandl's vision, passion, and innovative approach to winemaking.
"The Okanagan Valley is the most exciting emerging wine region in the world," said von Mandl. "I was awestruck when I first came to this valley more than three decades ago. The pristine natural beauty and optimal climatic conditions inspired me to dedicate my life's work to produce wines that could stand alongside the best in the world."
Von Mandl's audacious dream that the Okanagan Valley could produce the finest Pinot Noir in the world culminated with Martin's Lane winning the trophy for 'World's Best Pinot Noir' at the 2013 Decanter World Wine Awards in London, the most prestigious wine competition in the world.
Redheads & Pinot Noir: The Point of Intersection
Redheadedness is the most recent successful human mutation, and today redheads make up two percent of the world's population. There is no way of telling when the source gene for redheads is going to change, and how the defining characteristics of redheads may change in the future.
Similarly, Pinot Noir represents two percent of the wine grapes grown in the world today. The Pinot Noir grape is very delicate. It is acutely sensitive to such things as geography, geology and, in particular, human interaction. Colloquially known as "the heartbreak grape", its genetics make it highly susceptible to clonal evolution with a flavour profile that is diverse, complex and intriguing. This genetic magic in both redheads and Pinot Noir grapes is a microcosm of the way in which all life on earth evolves with time. With such hypersensitivity to site Pinot Noir only occasionally proclaims brilliance – like famous redheads Socrates, Galileo and indeed Vincent Van Gogh.
This is the first collaboration between Douglas Coupland and Anthony von Mandl, two visionaries who are at the forefront of innovation in their respective professions. A sculpture that depicts Van Gogh listening to the earth may mean different things to the artist and the winemaker, but for both it captures a 'moment in time' in an ever-changing world. Together, they are striving to trigger discussions about new relationships between science, art and globalization.
The final sculpture will be revealed on April 22nd, 2017 at a special pre-conference adventure for attendees of the TED Conference in Vancouver, Canada.
SOURCE VMF Estates
Image with caption: "Artist Douglas Coupland and Van Gogh lookalike Daniel Baker together in the Pinot Noir vineyard at Martin's Lane Winery in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. (CNW Group/VMF Estates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161116_C4757_PHOTO_EN_819842.jpg
Image with caption: "Vincent van Gogh lookalike Daniel Baker in the Pinot Noir vineyard at Martin's Lane Winery in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. (CNW Group/VMF Estates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161116_C4757_PHOTO_EN_819840.jpg
Image with caption: "Vincent van Gogh lookalike Daniel Baker listening to the ground in the Pinot Noir vineyard at Martin's Lane Winery in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. (CNW Group/VMF Estates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161116_C4757_PHOTO_EN_819838.jpg
Image with caption: "Vincent van Gogh lookalike Daniel Baker, from Christchurch, England. (CNW Group/VMF Estates)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161116_C4757_PHOTO_EN_819836.jpg
For further information: Laura Serena, Serena PR, [email protected], Tel: (604) 842-4510


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If you're having a Rock Band session this holiday weekend, Madcatz has some new premium accessories shipping to liven up the party. Have a great Labor Day Weekend all!
• If you've ever failed "Green Grass and High Tides" just because your overdrive wouldn't activate, no matter how hard you shook the controller or cursed, Madcatz has a new accessory that could put an end to your woes. The Stomp Box is modeled after an effects pedal and activates your overdrive when you, as the name would suggest, stomp on it. Coincidentally, it unleashes a wave of "I feel awesome" endorphins at the same time.
It would almost be worth grabbing one of these just so that my friends stop complaining that the guitar is broken. I would miss those moments of frantic terror, though, when someone realizes they're about to fail and starts wildly jumping up and down to save themselves during a solo.
Madcatz claims the unit features "durable, long-lasting construction," but I would have to see how it holds up during the chorus of "More Than a Feeling" before I could back that claim. Works with PS3, 360 and Wii Rock Band guitars. Now shipping for $30. [Product Page via OhGizmo!]
• Let's get the worst part out out of the way first: Madcatz's latest Rock Band Guitar costs $300. That said, let's look at what you get with the package. The guitar is built from the same stock that real Fender Stratocasters are, and includes a high-gloss sunburst finish and real metal Fender tuning pegs.
A part of the $300 dollar asking price apparently goes to licensing Microsoft's proprietary wireless controller technology, because the guitar connects to the Xbox 360 sans dongle. Even with all of these fancy features, though, you have to be a pretty serious Rock Band diehard to justify spending $300 on a controller. Shipping to stores now. [Product Page via OhGizmo!]


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LS3 V8 To Grace 2016 Model Year Holden Commodore SS5
Sponsored Links
Holden's current VF Commodore SS is only offered with the 360 horsepower 6.0-liter V8, which is outclassed by the all-new Ford XR8's 450 horsepower supercharged 5.0-litre V8. With the Commodore's demise imminent beyond the 2016 model year, Holden must act quick to make sure its beloved rear-wheel drive sedan goes out with a bang.
According to Australia's Motoring.au, General Motors plans to ship its 6.2-liter LS3 V8 down under for use in the 2016 model year Commodore SS. Variations of the 6.2-liter LS3 are already installed in Gen-F HSV Clubsport and Chevrolet SS models at Holden's Elizabeth plant, so strapping the engine under the hood of the lesser Commodore models should be an easy task.
When the Commodore SS receives LS3 power, output would likely rise to around 425 horsepower, the same as the Chevrolet SS. However Motoring points out there are two more powerful versions of the naturally-aspirated LS3 in Oz. The SV LS3, available in the HSV R8 Commodore, has a high flow exhaust and other upgrades to produce 455 horsepower, while the previous-gen R8 LS3 available in current HSV ClubSport and Maloo models produces 435 horsepower.
Using the more powerful LS3 engines would put output of the 2016 Commodore SS closer to that of the supercharged XR8, however it would also force HSV to revamp their product lineup to offer more performance than standard V8 Holdens. For that reason, we see Holden opting for the standard Chevrolet-sourced LS3 in this scenario.


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SAMMAMISH, Wash. (May 17, 2017) – Senior Ryan Wallen wrapped up his final round of the NCAA Men's Division I Washington Regional on Wednesday at the Aldarra Golf Club, carding a 77 (+6) to tie for 38th overall.
Wallen started the day four over on his first four holes, leaving himself with a steep hill to climb to earn the individual bid to the NCAA Championship. Back-to-back birdies late in the round brought Wallen into the top half of the field, but a bogey on 17 bumped him back down. Wallen finished with a tournament score of 223 (+10), ahead of all four of the other golfers who earned individual bids to the Washington Regional.
"We knew we needed to shoot under par today, and that probably resulted in him playing too aggressive," UW head coach Joe Jensen said. "It was still an awesome tournament for him, but he just didn't play as well today as he did the last two days. Wanting to finish well probably made him a little tight, but it was still a good showing and I'm proud of him."
The conditions of the course made things tough on Wednesday. Only 13 of the field of 75 student-athletes scored under par on the day. Just 10 players finished the tournament under par. Penn State's Cole Miller claimed the individual title with a score of 206 (-7), three strokes ahead of three players at -4.
Top-seed USC won the regional as the only team to finish under par with a score of 849 (-3). Kent State moved into second on Wednesday with a mark of 855 (+3), followed by Florida State and Penn State tying for third with scores of 862 (+10). Alabama rounded out the top five, scoring an 863 (+11). Chandler Phillips of Texas A&M earned the individual spot finishing at two under with a mark of 211.
Team Standings – Top Five
2. Kent State: 287 – 282 – 286 = 855 (+3)
T3. Florida State: 278 – 288 – 296 = 862 (+10)
T3. Penn State: 290 – 288 – 282 = 862 (+10)
5. Alabama: 283 – 297 – 285 = 863 (+11)


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24 Fabbri amarenas
100 g self-rising flour
70 g 00 flour
110 g butter at room temperature
210 g sugar
2 eggs
110 ml milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
Sugar paste in the color of your choice
Less than 20 minutes
x 12
Mix the milk and vanilla essence in a glass. In a bowl, beat the butter until creamy with an electric whisk, and then gradually stir in the sugar. Add one egg at a time, and then gradually stir in the flour, milk and vanilla, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into cupcake cases and add 2 amarenas to each cupcake. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes and then place the cupcakes on a baking rack and leave them to cool completely. Decorate as you wish with sugar paste.
Recipe by flwr77
P.iva 00281980375 Fabbri Italia via Emilia Ponente, 276 - 40132 Bologna firstname.lastname@example.com Visit Casa Fabbri: en.fabbri1905.com | Read our Privacy Policy


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Defending champions Tamirat Tola and Worknesh Degefa will face a powerful elite field of Olympians and major city Marathon winners with more than 40 international titles between them when the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon is held on Friday (January 26).
Twelve months ago, the Ethiopian pair dominated both the men and women's races in the IAAF Gold Label event with Tola setting a new course record in a time of 2h:04m:11s – currently the tenth fastest marathon time in history.
This year, Tola and Degefa return to defend their titles in the 19th staging of the Middle East's biggest mass participation sporting event, held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council.
"The 2018 race will be the 14th successive year of the Bank being title sponsors of this mega event and we are very excited as its popularity has grown substantially over these years," said Julian Wynter, CEO for Standard Chartered Bank, UAE.
"It's an incredible partnership that we look forward to developing year after year. It is closely aligned to our efforts in promoting healthy living among our staff and the community at large."
Following his win in Dubai last year – a victory that saw him break the course record by 12 seconds – Tola underlined his growing stature by taking silver in the marathon at the World Championships in London in August.
He returns to Dubai as the fastest man in the field and will be aiming to see off the challenge of the likes of 2015 Tokyo Marathon winner Endeshaw Negesse and half-marathon specialist Mosinet Geremew, both also from Ethiopia.
In the women's line-up, 2017 winner Degefa may hold the champion's bragging rights but she is only the fourth fastest in the field with three-time Dubai winner and former London Marathon champion Aselefech Mergia and ex-world champion and Oympic bronze medalist Mare Dibaba just two of the big guns ahead of her in the table of personal bests.
While the elite fields will take to the roads at 6am on Friday, the honour of getting the day's action underway falls to the best international field of wheelchair athletes ever seen at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.
Among those starting a battle royale at 5.55am will be defending champion Rafa Botello of Spain, Britain's former Dubai winner JohnBoy Smith, the Swiss nine-time world champion and double Paralympic gold medallist Marcel Hug, and ten-time Boston Marathon winner Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa
"It's a strong field of elite athletes across the board," said Event Director Peter Connerton. "It's great to see the two champions from 2017 return to defend their titles, while the wheelchair race is shaping up to be the best we have ever seen in the history of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon."
Already this multi-cultural, multi-national occasion has attracted entries from 154 different nationalities with athletes of all ages and abilities set to hit the roads of Dubai in the Marathon, the 10km Road Race and the 4km Fun Run. The mass participation Marathon will start at 7.00am, with the 10km race off at 9.00am and the 4km runners starting at 11.00am.
From the youngest 10km runner – 15 year-old Aranya Gupta of India – to the oldest – Japan's 77 year-old Masako Ono – the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon continues to attract thousands of competitors with India leading the way in numbers and runners from the Philippines and the UK being the next biggest contingents.
"It's a huge occasion for the city and one that relies on the welcome support of the authorities," said UAE Athletics Federation President Ahmed Al Kamali.
"Thanks to the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Primer Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, the event continues to make great strides both as a sporting event and as a showcase for the city."
As well as Standard Chartered as title sponsor, the Dubai Marathon is supported by the Dubai Sports Council, adidas, Dubai Eye 103.8FM, Masafi, Dubai Holding, Dubai Police and the RTA.
Final last-minute entries for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon and the associated 10km and 4km can be made online at www.dubaimarathon.org or in person at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre on Thursday (January 25) between 9am and 5pm only.
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This design example implements a high-performance JPEG decoder using Open Computing Language (OpenCLTM). The solution consists of several OpenCL kernels connected via Intel's channels vendor extension, where each kernel performs one step in the JPEG decoding pipeline (e.g. Huffman decoding, inverse DCT).
This implementation can decode JPEG images at a rate of 2.6 MBps, which enables saturation of a PCI Express® (PCIe®) Gen2x8 link for transferring the decoded image back to the host memory.
- Single work-item kernels
- Kernel chanels
- Overlapping memory transfers and kernel invocations
The design example provides source code for the OpenCL device (.cl) as well as the host application. For compiling the host application, the Linux package includes a Makefile and the Windows package includes a Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 project.
The following downloads are provided for this example:
- v16.1 x64 Linux package (.tgz)
- v16.1 x64 Windows package (.zip)
- JPEG Decoder Overview and Implementation (.pdf)
The use of this design is governed by, and subject to, the terms and conditions of the hardware reference design license agreement.
Software and Hardware Requirements
This design example requires the following tools:
- Intel® FPGA Software v16.1 or later
- Intel® FPGA SDK for OpenCL™ v16.1 or later
- On Linux: GNU Make and gcc
- On Windows: Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
To download the Intel design tools, visit the OpenCL download page. The requirements for the underlying operating system are the same as those of the Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL.
OpenCL and the OpenCL logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. used by permission by Khronos.
* Product is based on a published Khronos Specification, and has passed the Khronos Conformance Testing Process. Current conformance status can be found at www.khronos.org/conformance.
Design Examples Disclaimer
These design examples may only be used within Altera Corporation devices and remain the property of Altera. They are being provided on an "as-is" basis and as an accommodation; therefore, all warranties, representations, or guarantees of any kind (whether express, implied, or statutory) including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, non-infringement, or fitness for a particular purpose, are specifically disclaimed. Altera expressly does not recommend, suggest, or require that these examples be used in combination with any other product not provided by Altera.


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Analysis of ancient DNA extracted from 8,000 year-old skeletons have solved the origins of human occupation of Southeast Asia by debunking both previously believed theories, scientists say.
Southeast Asia is one of the most genetically diverse regions in the world, but for more than a century, scientists have disagreed about which theory of the origins of the area's population was correct.
One theory believed the indigenous Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers who populated Southeast Asia from 44,000 years ago adopted agricultural practices independently, without input from early farmers from East Asia. Another theory, referred to as the 'two-layer model' favours the view that migrating rice farmers from what is now China replaced the indigenous Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers.
However, the new study, published in the journal Science, found that neither theory is completely accurate, and that the the present-day Southeast Asian populations derive ancestry from at least four ancient populations.
"The human occupation history of Southeast Asia remains heavily debated. Our research spanned from the Hoabinhian to the Iron Age and found that present-day Southeast Asian populations derive ancestry from at least four ancient populations. This is a far more complex model than previously thought," said lead author Fernando Racimo, Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen.
In the study, the team analysed DNA from human skeletal remains from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Japan dating back as far as 8,000 years ago.
In total, 26 ancient human genome sequences, including DNA from Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers and a Jomon from Japan, were studied and they compared with modern DNA samples from people living in modern-day Southeast Asia.
"Both Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers and East Asian farmers contributed to current Southeast Asian diversity, with further migrations affecting islands in South East Asia and Vietnam. Our results help resolve one of the long-standing controversies in Southeast Asian prehistory," said co-lead authors Hugh McColl, doctoral student at the varsity.


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Dress up your bathroom with our wonderful range of bathroom rugs. Browse though our unique bathroom rug sets or mix and match bright and lively colours together. Our toilet rugs and bathroom rugs are all made out of soft cotton to add a luxurious touch to your bathroom. The rugs come in different sizes therefore you don't have to worry about it being small or too large. The bathroom rugs also come in different colours including, coral, ivory, pink, cream, blue and many more to liven up your bathroom.


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Fourth year blogiversary
|In the meantime, I've gotten rid of ALL my grass.
I've also attended two garden blogger meet-ups, one in Chicago in 2009, and hosted a meet-up here in Buffalo (with Elizabeth Licata of Garden Rant/Gardening While Intoxicated) with 72 garden bloggers and met some really great people that like to share garden information from 23 different states and Canada. I am anticipating going to this year's garden blogger's meet-up in Asheville, NC.
Some blog stats from four years:
- Number of posts: 530 (including this one)
- Top five posts of all time:
Magic or deception. And what's the difference?
Tulip bed time story
Snowflake Field Guide Part 6 - The Blizzard of '77...
Have I introduced you to my Garden Fairy friend?
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
- For the most popular posts this week, see the sidebar under "Popular Posts"
- Most commented on post: 24 - Villandry Garden of Love (but to be fair, I publish this post every Valentines Day)
- Average visitors per day: 93
- Average number of pages viewed each day: 147
- Top three other websites I consistently get traffic from: Paradise Express, Living without Money, Garden Walk Buffalo. But the vast majority of new visitors arrive through Google.
- Top five keywords used to lead people to my blog: Tomato tree, Art of Gardening, Blizzard of 77, Backyard Solutions magazine, and Great Backyards
- Top five countries with visitors, in order: United States, Romania, Canada, United Kingdom and France.
- Browsers used: 46% Explorer, 29% Firefox, 12% Safari, 8% Chrome, others are 1% or less.
- Computers used by visitors: 79% Window PCs, 15% Macintosh, 1% iPad, 1% iPhone.
- Travel in the last four years included: Long Island; Cape Cod; Boston; Washington; New York City, Pittsburgh; Philadelphia; Chicago; Orlando/Disney; the Caribbean, Paris, Alsace-Lorraine, and the Loire Valley of France; Brussels, Antwerp, and Bruges, Belgium; Rome, Italy; London, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; Amsterdam, Holland; Munich, Frankfort, Berlin and Potsdam in Germany; Salzburg, Austria; Sayulita, Mexico; Athens, Greece; Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and the Dead Sea in Israel. And Canada (if a couple trips to Ikea counts). Travel posts are listed by country in the sidebar to the right in the "Labels" column.


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Two shark attacks in the past few weeks, both in waters off South Australia state, have sparked an emotional debate in Australia over whether the great white, the ocean's fiercest predator, should be culled.
SYDNEY In a life-and-death struggle, Australian surfer Jake Heron punched the great white shark as it bit his arm and thigh, turning the ocean into a bloody caldron.
Miraculously, Heron, 40, lived to tell the tale.
Very few people survive an attack by a great white, which can grow to 20 feet, weigh 2.5 tons, and with enough power in its jaws to lift a car.
Two weeks earlier, marine biologist Jarrod Stehbens, 23, also fought a great white as it pulled him underwater as he tried to climb into a boat. Sadly, Stehbens lost his fight for life.
These two attacks in the past few weeks, both in waters off South Australia state, have sparked an emotional debate in Australia over whether the great white, the ocean's fiercest predator, should be culled.
Displaying his savaged surfboard, bitten in half by the shark, Heron is adamant that Australia should end its protection of the great white and start culling.
"They're top of the food chain and nothing affects it," Heron told reporters after his attack.
"It's time they started controlling the numbers. Controlled culling -- they kill our national emblem, the kangaroo, they kill elephants in Africa," he said.
"The numbers have gone up and there's too many of them," he said, adding that sharks were swimming closer to shore threatening children swimming off beaches.
But the parents of Stehbens, who fought in vain to free his leg from the shark's jaws after being attacked while diving for cuttlefish, reject calls to kill the shark.
"He was a marine biologist; he wouldn't want anything killed," said his father, David Stehbens. "Jarrod was doing exactly what he wanted to do. He loved the sea..."
Australia has a global reputation for sharks, with its cold southern waters the ideal breeding ground for great white pointers. But the chances of an attack are slim, in fact, swimmers are more likely to drown than be bitten by a shark.
By September 2005, there had been 652 shark attacks, 191 of them fatal, in Australian waters in the past 200 years, according to the Australian Shark Attack File at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.
In the past 50 years, 60 people have died after being attacked by a shark, 1.2 fatal attacks a year. This compares with two to three deaths each year from bee stings and hundreds of drownings by beach swimmers and fishermen.
"Shark attacks are very prominent in the media when they occur, but they are rare events," said Barry Bruce, a government marine scientist who has studied great whites since 1987.
Great whites are "hot-spot hunters," which target oceanic biological activity, like big schools of fish, seal colonies and dead whales. The sharks do not intentionally hunt humans.
"We are not seeing a trend of increasing shark attacks against a trend of increasing population," said John West, who runs The Australian Shark Attack File.
The odds of a shark attack are 15-20 million to one, he said.
"Unfortunately, they test to see if you are edible, but they can only use their teeth or nose and in doing so they do a lot of damage to soft, squishy humans," said West.
Humans are not sharks' ideal prey because we are bony and have less flesh than seals or dolphins but unfortunately one exploratory bite by a great white, which has poor eyesight, is enough to kill most humans.
According to reports of attacks, very few great whites return for another bite.
Australia regards the great white as an endangered species and has protected it for the past 10 years. Great whites are also protected by South Africa, Namibia, the Maldives and by the U.S. states of Florida and California.
Scientists say there is no evidence that shark numbers have risen dramatically as a result of protection, as counting is impossible, and sharks have slow reproductive cycles.
Female great whites do not start reproducing until they grow to about 16 feet, which takes about 15 to 20 years, and then only produce five to 10 pups every three years.
"Their reproductive potential is quite low and because of that the time it takes to increase their numbers significantly is a long time, likely to be much more than 10 years," said Bruce.
Scientists say culling would have little impact on attacks and would unbalance the food chain by removing an apex predator.
Those calling for culling also claim that shark tourism and tuna farming has attracted sharks closer to shore and swimmers.
Again, scientists discount such an argument, saying shark tourism occurs well offshore. It involves operators dumping fish bait into the ocean to attract sharks and then lowering tourists in cages into the water.
And there are also only a handful of operators in the ocean off the state of South Australia.
Scientists say that tuna farms, which are found only off southern Australia, are not a big attraction for sharks. The fish are in big enclosures and, unlike seals or swimmers, do not offer sharks an opportunistic feed.
Culling sharks would be very difficult and costly, scientists say, particularly as great whites travel thousands of miles each year along "hunting highways."
Great whites patrol an area that extends from Australia's cold southern waters to its tropical northern waters on both its east and west coasts. Usually they move north during autumn and winter and south in spring and summer.
Sharks tagged by the Australian government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have been recaptured up to 870 miles from the point of tagging.
Scientists say that 24 to 48 hours after an attack the chances are a great white would be hundreds of miles away.
Sharks also have erratic movement patterns, with electronic transmitters showing some swimming near the seabed and close to shore by day and near the surface and offshore at night.
Scientists believe that, if there is any increasing risk of shark attack in Australia, it will be caused by people, not sharks, as more leisure time means more people are entering the ocean.
"The more people in the water, and the more diverse their activities, the more chances somebody will be in the path of a hunting shark," said Bruce.
Source: Reuters


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Did you know diaper rash is actually a chemical burn that can lead to infection? Did you know that it only takes 26 seconds for your skin to absorb chemicals from your personal care products? Did you know that some of the shampoos and creams for babies on the market today contain chemicals like formaldehyde?
WEConnect International certified woman business owner, award-winning entrepreneur, and mother Majda Ficko knows all to well and has created an all-natural diaper cream that works – Baby Butz.
Majda gave birth to her son, Demitri, nearly 18 years ago. He was born prematurely and was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Cornelia de Lange. Against all odds, he is alive today. However, he must use a feeding tube for nourishment and forever be in diapers.
Demitri has been prone to diaper rash his entire life. For several years, Majda tried numerous over-the-counter creams, but none seemed to work. She decided to work with a chemist to create exactly what she needed. She started doing research, approaching doctors, "Tell me what I need." In the end, Majda and the chemist created an all-natural, safe, alcohol-free, and perfume-free product that really works.
"I didn't make the product to sell," says Majda. "I made it for Demitri. I remember how relieved I was, knowing he could sleep through the night, rash and pain free."
In fact Majda had no plans to manufacture and sell her diaper cream, but Demitri's doctors kept encouraging her to share the formulation so it could help other babies and children. Majda was convinced, and Baby Butz was born.
Baby Butz has received the gold standard NPN license from Health Canada as a certified natural product, and it has been well received by customers from Manitoba to Hollywood, from Chicago to China. Majda started small by selling the cream in pharmacies. She would leverage one deal into another. Today, Baby Butz is in large retail stores and online.
Along the way, Majda had joined Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba, who in turn encouraged her to apply for a WEConnect International certification. Eager to get her product into international markets, Majda went for it. Once certified, she was able to attend a trade show in Chicago and grab the attention of Walgreens and WEConnect International Corporate Member Walmart.
"The WEConnect International logo catches the eyes of big players. Buyers want to know if you are a diversity supplier, and they want to see that you are certified."
Majda is excited for the future of her company with plans to expand her product line. Supraderm a barrier and healing cream for adult rashes will be hitting the market soon, and she also recently got licensed her for all-natural sunscreen. Did you know some of the chemicals in sun blocks on store shelves today actually cause sunburns? Keep an eye out for Sunblocz and SunBlocz Baby by Olen Cosmetics.
www.babybutz.com | www.olencosmetics.com
Majda Ficko was named a WEConnect International in Canada WBE of the Year on November 13, 2015!Back to the Success Stories


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Ming Dynasty Astronaut
Season 3 • Episode 11
Buster takes the hot seat in the Mojave Desert in the myth of the 'Ming Dynasty Astronaut.' Will Buster defy the laws of gravity and survive an explosive launch into space? Adam and Jamie play mad scientists in the quest for free energy.
43 min|TV-PG|Premiered 11/25/2004


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New this year! We're adding a .5k run where you can be chased by Zombies! If you're captured, you'll be turned into a Zombie and taken to the Zombification booth to be turned into a gruesome, gory undead. Stay tuned for more information on how to register for this short but frightening race.
Run for Your Life!! Zombiefest 2018 .5K
by Zombie | Jun 23, 2018 | Uncategorized | 0 comments


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Think you know Charlotte Church? Angelic choir prodigy turned pop princess, right? Wrong.
The past 12 months have found the Welsh singer taking a long, hard look in the mirror, accepting new influences and throwing away preconceptions. With the release of 'EP 2' last month, Charlotte Church seemed to find a new element to her voice.
Lead cut 'Glitterbombed' was simple, fun; eloquent without being showy, it managed to match the singer's party tendencies to something darker, more melancholy.
To coincide with the new EP, the singer recruited John Bland of OEM films to work on a new series of clips. Adding visuals to each song on 'EP 2', if you place each video together it becomes a full 19 minute long short film designed to run alongside the music.
Placed online, ClashMusic is delighted to be able to show you the clip for 'Glitterbombed'. In Charlotte's own words: "Basically, I was watching some NASA footage of some neutron stars which when pulled together start spinning around each other faster and faster until they merge and explode creating a black hole and when I was watching it, I was thinking about Glitterbombed and the meaning of the lyrics in this track. It's about the effect two people can have on each other; as you get closer you start to merge and join forces and become something different and stronger together than you were when you were apart."
Watch it now.
- - -
'EP 2' is out now.


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Me and my shadow
often talk to each other
It tells me to walk tall
to climb every high wall
never hesitate to fly
and to hold my head high
to stay calm
and carry on
my shadow tells me
to be firm in my steps
to face the sunshine
so it can fall behind and follow me
I count on this closest friend
no matter what and where
it will be there
throughout the years
it will be there when the need be
the reflection of my shadow is me!
Sharing this post with Inspiration Avenue and APR
where the theme was 'mandala'and 'shadow' respectively.
My heart told me to club the two
and here I am with a shadow at zen
with her colorful mandala ...
what do you think?
The shadows too can have color :)


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Nama Article 31st August 2014
Source: Only way out in Kali Yuga
There are ten key Upanishads and a host of other Upanishads. There is an upanishad that talks about the greatness of the Mahamantra
"Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare"
and this Upanishad is called "Kali Santarana Upanishad".
This name is significant in that, it bears the name of the Yuga, and hence decries that there is no other go for all of us in this Kali Yuga other than the Mahamantra.
Please check these: Excerpts from a discourse by our Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji
The one who calls all the people in this Kali Yuga and gives the 'upadesa', "Utter the Name of the Lord. You can attain God!" Only such a one is a Sadguru.
Any Divine Name is precious. According to Kali Santarana Upanishad, the 'Hare Rama..' Mahamantra is capable of giving deliverance in this Kali Yuga.
Kali Santarana Upanishad comes to our rescue, stating which specific Nama has to be chanted for liberation, in this Age (Kali Yuga).
This particular Maha Mantra is prescribed in the Shastras and has been chanted, followed, preached and lived for by great Mahans like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
It is the essence of all Vedas and scriptures and grants lasting peace by giving deliverance from all sufferings.
Utter the Divine names of Lord Hari. In the age of Kali there is no other way of deliverance.
Lord Brahma replied "I disclose to you the secret remedy that is mentioned in the scriptures to cross the ocean called worldliness in Kaliyuga."
Unlike the other Veda Mantras, the Mahamantra has absolutely no rules and restrictions.
எல்லாரும், எக்காலமும், எங்கே வேண்டுமானாலும் சொல்லக்கூடிய அந்த மந்த்ரம், ஹரே ராம ஹரே ராம ராம ராம ஹரே ஹரே ஹரே க்ருஷ்ண ஹரே க்ருஷ்ண க்ருஷ்ண க்ருஷ்ண ஹரே ஹரே என்பதுதான்.
Chant the Mahamantra Nama kirtan :
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare


text: Duke Alligator Zip Pouch € 8.500 Please select size Select size Size Size Guide The size shown for this item is the size indicated by the designer on the label. Add to Bag Colour: Colour Black Navy Tan Burgundy May we help? Add to Wish List Free shipping & returns Description & details Zoom Description Beautifully engineered zip pouch in black alligator leather with iconic Duke hardware. DU19R3901AL001 Details Logo Composition 100% Alligator skin


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"There is one school of thought which claims that it's best to forget Westminster, given its miserable failures to regulate itself or the City. Political parties are charades operating antediluvian parliamentary systems; the best chance of renewal is in the myriad of community organising across the country. It's become almost de rigueur to genuflect at the potential of the grassroots. The argument runs that this will gather strength and organisational capacity, and eventually feed back a reformed politics to the centre.
It sounds authentic and impeccably democratic, but the communitarianism cited, while admirable and transformational to those involved, offers frail green shoots. Compass, London Citizens or Transition are all inspirational initiatives, but they are tiny. Their growth is hard won and vulnerable to setbacks. Though I would be happy to be proved wrong, they seem to be more a measure of our desperation with mainstream politics than a credible politics of renewal."


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Business Model Introduction
Energy Management Contract
Forest Development
Ecological Agriculture Development
Corporate Business Layout
The Company focuses on low carbon and environmental protection, and forms modern low-carbon forestry industry chain and low-carbon agriculture industry chain.
Low-carbon forestry industry chain: use existing forest resources for forest timber felling, forest transformation and carbon sequestration forest management, use the acquired high-quality raw materials for deep timber processing and reconstruct the low-function forest to enhance the added value of the forest. The residues of processing and reconstruction of low-function forest are used for the production of solid biomass pellet fuels. Carry out the energy management contract business, convert biomass pellet fuels into gas, heat and other biomass energy and sell directly. The business covers the whole recycling industry chain of forest resources development.
Low-carbon agriculture industry chain: obtain the land resources through transfer and lease, use modern agricultural scientific methods to carry out green crop cultivation, livestock breeding and fish farming, and deep processing of agricultural and sideline products; use land and agricultural and sideline resources to develop leisure and eco-tourism agriculture projects; collect straw and agricultural residues to provide raw materials for biomass pellet fuel production and reduce rural pollution emissions caused by burning straw.


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Volume 1: The Two Queen Candidates
The Third Chapter
by Yura Kairi
Translation by Marfisa
Sara- Pastha.
Sara- It's time. Dia-sama is waiting.
Researcher- Sara-sama.
Pastha- Ah, I'll go soon.
Researcher- Is it planet Epsilon-Alpha? How is the condition of the Queen Examination?
Pastha- No one should know of the enactment of the Queen Examination except for the people of
one section. Don't speak so carelessly.
Researcher- Y... yes, I'm sorry.
Sara- You shouldn't get so angry.
Pastha- I am not angry. I was being cautious however.
Sara- Pastha!
Pastha- That was because your brow is creased.
Don't make that face in front of me.
Pastha- ... I'm sorry.
Sara- It certainly seems you were a little irritated.
Is it the cultivation of the new planet?
Pastha- As I have been commanded by Her Majesty, I have watched over the growth
of various planets.
Plainly speaking, I am apprehensive about the Queen Candidates manner of doing things.
Pastha- I am uneasy as to whether girls like that should be entrusted with not only the fate
of the planet but also the fate of the cosmos.
*tight fist*
Sara- Pastha, they won't be perfect people from the beginning.
Pastha- Sara.
Sara- The Queen Candidates are trying their best. I'm sure soon it will become a
magnificent planet.
Sara- It's your bad habit. You think too seriously about things.
Pastha- And you are too optimistic about everything.
Sara- Oh, did you forget?
The words I speak always come true.
A beautiful planet.
Rich green land.
Light reflects off the water's surface.
Birds sing, flowers bloom.
This is my continent.
It's just like paradise.
Ange- I'm sorry, Lumiale-sama. I fell asleep.
Lumiale- The tone of the harp gave you a nice feeling and you unintentionally...
Lumiale- It's alright. Since the song just now was a lullaby from my home.
Ange- Lumiale-sama.
Lumiale- Have you not been getting much sleep?
I heard that the light in your room was on until late last night.
Ange- It's okay. Since I didn't receive special training like Rosalia,
there is a lot I have to study.
Lumiale- ...... You're working hard.
Ange- Oh, but on the continent finally green buds have sprung up and established
a little forest.
Ange- The sea has become calm and there are a lot fewer earthquakes than before.
Little by little it's becoming stable.
Lumiale- That continent is like a newborn infant. If you've already gone to sleep
it cries in a loud voice. I suppose it's full of a life force.
Lumiale- Please be very careful.
Ange- Oh, yes...
Lumiale- Did you go to see its condition yesterday?
Ange- ... No. The truth is I... can't ride that transportation device very well.
Even though only the mind flies to the planet from the Royal Research Institute.
Ange- All of a sudden, I'm thrown out into the sky...
and I think I'm going to fall.
Ange- *No, mommy, I'm gonna die*
Lumiale- ... On that device, even if by any chance you did fall, you certainly wouldn't die.
Ange- But, to my mind it's unstable and dangerous and it makes Pastha-san angry.
Ange- Ever since then I've been kind of scared...
Lumiale- It's important to see the continent you are cultivating with your own eyes.
Ange- Yes...
Lumiale- Today rest at ease and tomorrow pluck up your courage... alright?
Ange- Yes, Lumiale-sama.
Marcel- Oh, Angelique, here you are.
Ange- Marcel-sama.
Marcel- Since I heard the sound of Lumiale's harp, I thought you might be here.
Marcel- You said you wanted flowers in your room, right?
So I thought I'd give this to you.
Ange- Uwaa, thank you, Marcel-sama.
Lumiale- Marcel, what kind of flower will bloom?
Marcel- Ehehe, that's secret. Look forward to it until it blooms.
Marcel- But, since plants are straightforward, if you pay important attention to it,
a beautiful flower will bloom.
Marcel- I always talk to the flowers.
Ange- Wow.
Marcel- Afterwards I do stuff like let them listen to beautiful music.
Lumiale- Then, for the sake of the beautiful flower bud.
Ange- I promised Lumiale-sama, but I'm still depressed.
Ange- *sigh*
Rosa- Oh my, Angelique?
Rosa- It's been a while since you've been here.
Rosa- I just came from seeing the continent, it's certainly doing well.
Ange- How depressing.
Rosa- Incidentally, I also took a glance at your continent, however.
Just a glance.
Rosa- The cultivation is going slower than I thought.
Rosa- Well, as the perfect Queen Candidate, it's only natural that there should
be this much difference between us.
Even shepherd's purse won't grow, I feel sorry for your continent.
Rosa- *hohohoho*
Ange- That's not true. There are a few plants and animals.
Rosa- Oh excuse me, they were so insignificant I failed to notice them.
How annoying!
Rosa- *hohoho*
It's my fault that she talks about my continent that way.
If I just check the researchers' data, I don't know the real condition of the continent.
I don't confirm it with my own eyes!
Lumiale- *gasp*
Lumiale- Angelique, what's the matter?
Ange- Lumiale-sama, please tell me, I... What should I do?
Ange- I have to go to the continent.
But, I can't. No matter what, I'm afraid. I couldn't ride the transportation device
today either...!!
Ange- Rosalia's continent is developing rapidly. Like this, my continent is getting worse.
Lumiale- Angelique.
Ange- Why can't I be the same kind of Queen Candidate as Rosalia...?
Lumiale- Being afraid, you can't move forward.
Lumiale- Angelique, there is nothing you can do about not thinking like Rosalia.
You must build your own continent.
My continent...
Lumiale- For that purpose, you see continent with your own eyes and you request what is necessary.
Lumiale- If you really think that continent is important, then no matter how painful it is
you must overcome it, right?
Ange- Lumiale-sama.
Ange- ... Yes.
Olivie- You've abandoned your usual style of speaking, haven't you? Lumiale.
Lumiale- Olivie.
Olivie- I thought you pamper and comfort.
Lumiale- It was only this, Angelique must overcome things herself.
Lumiale- It is because she is a Queen Candidate.
Olivie- My my, what a grim look...
Olivie- *I got to see something interesting*
Ange- I... wonder what I wanted Lumiale-sama to say to me.
Ange- You're out of water...
Ange- I'm sorry, I forgot to water you this morning.
I have to go to the continent, after all.
I have to pay attention to it!
Ange- It's alright, it's alright.
I loved roller coasters.
Ange- Pa Pastha-san.
Pastha- The golden haired Queen Candidate...
Pastha- What have you been doing these last few days!!
Ange- I I'm sorry!
Pastha- A terrible thing is happening on your continent.
Ange- Huh? What is it?
Pastha- You should go and confirm it with your own eyes.
Something has happened on my continent?
Pastha- Focus your mind and resolve the place you want to go to.
Ange- Yes.
It's alright, I won't fall.
I'll just stand up steady and open my eyes.
My continent...
An erupting volcano... over there...!!
Ange- How awful.
What will I do...
Somebody help me!
Ange- Lumiale-sama!
Lumiale- Angelique.
Ange- Lumiale-sama, help me! You're Guardian of Water, aren't you?
Ange- A volcano... a volcano has erupted and burned the forest!
Like this, the plants that finally grew will die!
Lumiale- Angelique, please calm down.
I can't do anything.
I certainly am the Guardian of Water, but it is not a power that can do things that can be
seen like making it rain and controlling floods.
Lumiale- You understand that, don't you, Angelique?
Ange- .........
Ange- Then what is Sacrea for?
You can't even save the life in front of your eyes now...
Lumiale- That is true, at a time like this, I have no way.
Only to protect the Sanctuary.
Lumiale- Sacrea fills me, I am aware of it's existence, but I can't use it for my own purposes.
I accept Her Majesty's will and for the first time it is a power that affects the world.
Lumiale- I can't use any power for you now. Forgive me, Angelique.
Lumiale-sama, what a sorrowful look.
Ange- I'm sorry, Lumiale-sama. What I said was mean. I'm sorry.
Lumiale- It's fine, Angelique.
Are you alright now?
Ange- ... Yes...
Lumiale- Well, if the volcano is to be controlled, ask Pastha and go look at the condition
of the continent. Then, let's think of what should be done after that together.
Lumiale- If you wish, my Sacrea can heal the wounded continent with the gentleness of water.
Ange- ... I'm sorry.
It was because I didn't have courage.
Ange- I'm sorry...
I only thought about how to cultivate, I never really saw you.
I have to protect this land.
Lumiale- That continent is like a newborn infant.
Marcel- I talk to them.
My continent.
Pastha- A name?
Ange- Yes, I want to name that continent.
Can't I?
Pastha- It's not that you can't but, just what is the name?
Ange- Elysion!
So it will become a beautiful land like a heavenly flower garden.
Rosa- You really are a boring girl. You'll be amazed at the charm of my concept.
Rosa- Let's see, if it were me, Felicia.
I'll name it Felicia. It means a magnificent land full of happiness.
Ange- Don't imitate me, Rosalia.
Rosa- It's not imitation. By all means it is a fitting name.
Rosa- *It's not my fault you regret giving it such a self-conceited name as Elysion.*
Ange- *It's none of your business!*
Pastha- .........
Pastha- I've never heard of a continent under cultivation being named, but...
Pastha- Perhaps Sara's prediction will come true.
Felicia and Elysion.
Clavis- Lumiale, why are you smiling?
Lumiale- No, it's nothing, Clavis-sama.
It is important to wish for yourself.
We will lend you our power according to your wishes.
[Third Chapter/End]
Marfisa's Angelique is © Rahenna & Marfisa (1999-2014) and is part of neo-romance.net.


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"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them– the Lord, who remains faithful forever" (Psalm 146:5-6, NIV).
So, I love reading the Bible! It's fun, exciting; sometimes I find it tedious (like the book of Numbers, for example); but at the end of the day it is still the Word of our heavenly Father! Seriously, think about it: we have access to the Word of God! In it one finds many things, i.e. instructions, advice, commandments, etc. Lately, what I have enjoyed seeing in the Word of God are the attributes/characteristics of God; they show us just a glimpse of who He is!
I have been in the book of Psalm for about two months now and it has been a wonderful experience! One of the passages I read today was Psalm 146. In a nutshell, it's a psalm that praises who God is and what He does. The first time I read it, I didn't really see that. But, after giving it a second read, I believe the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see the actions (always present) that God does for His own. Verses 5-10 are too sweet! The verbs there are in the present tense, meaning that these actions of God are part of who He is; they cannot change or stop.
So, please give me a moment to hail my God:
- He remains (v.6)
- He upholds (v.7)
- He gives food and sight (vs. 7&8)
- He sets free (v. 7)
- He lifts up (v. 8)
- He loves (v. 8)
- He watches (v.9)
- He sustains (v. 9)
- He frustrates the plans of the wicked (v. 9)
- He reigns (v. 10)
So, my dear friends, our God is pretty awesome! My God is pretty awesome. He is ever present, always and forever! Amen!
When in doubt, remind yourself of this. Search the scriptures and remind yourself of who your God is! Trust me, it'll turn you around completely!


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Arming Hangar
Located at the furthest point forward on deck fourteen, this area serves for the loading of munitions onto spacecraft. A pair of hoists are located here, leading down to the cargo bay below, with heavy blast doors and force fields both capable of shutting off access between this room and the magazines. Spaces for fighter craft to park while here are marked with yellow-painted boxes along the deck. Set into the ceiling, a heavily reinforced bulkhead door is capable of quickly closing this space off in the event of an emergency.
Return to the Ready Line
page revision: 1, last edited: 03 Jul 2015 04:03


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Despite Fewer Calories, Low-Carb Drink Provides Better Endurance in Cyclists, Reports Study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Compared to a standard carbohydrate supplement, a low-carbohydrate beverage with added protein leads to longer endurance times in cyclists, reports the October issue of the The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, official research journal of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
Depending on exercise intensity, a low-carb beverage with a moderate amount of added protein can improve aerobic endurance—even though it contains half the carbohydrates and less than one-third the calories of standard sports drinks, according to a study by Lisa Ferguson-Stegall, M.S., and colleagues of The University of Texas at Austin.__Cyclists Go Longer on Low-Carb, Added-Protein Supplement_In the laboratory study, 15 trained endurance cyclists performed two long rides: three hours, followed by an intense ride—up to 85 percent of aerobic capacity (VO2 max)—until exhaustion. On one ride, the athletes were given a standard six percent carbohydrate supplement. On the other ride, they received a three percent carbohydrate supplement (containing a mix of carbohydrates) with 1.2 percent added protein. On each ride, the cyclists were given 275 mL of their assigned beverage every 20 minutes.
Overall, there was no significant difference in endurance times. Average time to exhaustion was 26 minutes with the standard supplement and 31 minutes with the low-carb plus protein supplement.
However, the difference became significant for athletes exercising at or below their ventilatory threshold (VT)—the point at which breathing starts to become increasingly difficult. For the eight cyclists in this group, average time to exhaustion was 45 minutes with the low-carb plus protein beverage, compared to 35 minutes with the standard carbohydrate drink.
Thus endurance improved by about 28 percent in cyclists exercising at or near their VT. For the seven athletes exercising above their VT, there was no significant difference in time to exhaustion—about 15 minutes with both supplements.
Studies have shown that carbohydrate-containing beverages increase endurance exercise performance, compared to water and placebo drinks. Supplements containing protein in addition to carbohydrates bring further performance benefits. "However, many athletes and recreational exercisers desire a lower carbohydrate, lower caloric content alternative when maintaining or reducing body weight...in addition to improving fitness and endurance," Ferguson-Stegall and coauthors write.
The new results suggest that a drink containing a lower amount of carbohydrate, plus a moderate amount of protein, leads to improved endurance performance in trained long-distance cyclists. The low-carb drink increases performance "despite containing 50 percent less total carbohydrate and 30 percent fewer calories relative to a higher carbohydrate beverage," according to the researchers.
The difference is significant only for athletes exercising at or below VT. The ability to exercise for long periods at or near VT is a "critical component of performance in long events such as marathons, longer cycling races, and long-distance triathlon," according to Ferguson-Stegall and colleagues. Thus the low-carb, added-protein supplement may be "more effective in extending endurance and delaying fatigue...around the exercise intensity at which prolonged endurance performance is crucial."


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While summer in Norway is much more popular with midnight sun, fall in Norway is very beautiful and can be better on the budget as well.
Photo of the day for 11/17/15: Fall in Norway
- My thoughts on traveling after terrorism in Paris
- Sanibel Island, the Florida I fell in love with.
One thought on "Photo of the day for 11/17/15: Fall in Norway"
sikis izle
Superb Blog, das pure Leidenschaft strahlt …


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Dear Sidney,
Yesterday you turned 5 months old. I can't believe you're already such a little lady. You're still full of smiles but you've picked up many new skills in the past month. You can sit up (with a little support), reach your toes, hold your own bottle, blow bubbles, roll both ways and jump a ton in your jumperoo.
You've also given us quite the health scare in the past month too. I'd be totally fine if we never had to visit the Hasbro emergency room again! We see the Pediatric ENT doctor tomorrow so (hopefully) we will get to the root of your "happy wheezing" problem. Other than that little issue, you're perfect!
I would guess you're around 14.5/15 pounds and probably somewhere around 25 inches. Most of your clothes are 6, 6-9 months although your torso is too long for many of them. Your hair is lightening up and falling out too. Will you be a blonde like Jackson and me? Your eyes look like they will stay blue like Dad's, but I'm secretly rooting for them to be green like mine.
Dr M. suggested we start solids with you at 4 months, but I'll admit it: I wasn't ready. That is just another sign that you're speeding away from baby status. My plan was to wait until 6 months, but every parent knows that a parenting plan never goes as you'd like. Just the other day, I was carrying a chocolate chip muffin in one hand and you on my hip when you grabbed the muffin and took a bite before I could stop you. A muffin-eating baby ninja. The evidence was all over your face and shirt, smeared with chocolate. I started solids the next day (organic brown rice cereal) and you took to it very well. Much more than Jackson did. Looks like you have my love of eating!
You're still a laid back, smiley girl and you know how to light up a room with your infectious smile. You're sleeping well, although you're usually stuck in the Nap Nanny sleeping elevated while fighting off congestion. You sleep almost the entire night, usually waking up around 4am to eat but you go right back to sleep.
Dad, Jackson & I love you so much. You're so much fun to be around, thanks baby girl!
All my love,