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Facebook Patent Hints at Social Search Plans March 21, 2011Posted by David Card in Uncategorized.
Tags: Advertising, airline ticket, navigation, online advertising, online media, online navigation, online session, Social, social network, social networks
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Last week Facebook was awarded a patent that covered essential elements of social search. Patents don't always predict products, but this one was acquired by Facebook when it purchased intellectual property from Friendster, which perhaps indicates new and active intent. Is Facebook is building an alternative to Google? Possibly. Let's examine the state of social search and its potential implications for online media.
There is a "social will replace search" theory that runs something like this: Overwhelming amounts of data, along with SEO gaming, make Google's traditional approach to ranking results less effective than it once was. And driven by social networks, a passive, feed-based user interface is usurping the old "seek and search" style of online navigation.
The big search engines like Google and Bing are already incorporating social signals into their ranking schemes, and into how their results are presented to users. It's likely, in fact, that both social and search will co-exist as navigation modes. Some observers may have over-interpreted back-and-forth traffic among top sites (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook) as an indication that Facebook drives more viewers than Google. A lot of cross-site traffic for them is the natural flow of an online session — check mail, headlines, social network — rather than a search- or feed-directed path. And sometimes a user's friends aren't the best source of relevance. Seeking medical information rather than a preferred dentist, or a convenient airline ticket rather than a fun vacation destination, will remain directed queries based on authority and the breadth of information coverage.
Social Search Competitors
If Facebook's creating a social search alternative, Google is the big target; it has, after all, over $25 billion in search advertising revenue. It both integrates and segregates social technologies. Personalized social search that displays content shared or posted by a user's friends is buried under More Search Tools on Google's results page. It puts real-time search — licensed Twitter results and what public Facebook content it can crawl — a little higher on the page, and sprinkles in a few real-time results on its main results pane. With its existing strength in ad networks, Google is in the best position to build out real-time advertising.
Microsoft's Bing, which isn't really gaining ground on Google yet, has partnered with Facebook to gain more access to Facebook data like friends, status updates and Likes. Bing's results feature Facebook and other social content a little more prominently than Google's do, but Bing also offers a separate social content-only search function.
Other social search players include Topsy, which searches real-time content and keeps a deeper archive of tweets than Twitter does, and blekko, which uses human editors to create authoritative indices of results, partly by blocking what they determine low-quality sites. WOWD was building a social search engine, now concentrates on personalized feed filters. OneRiot ceded its real-time search to Topsy while it attempts to build an ad network.
What Facebook Might Do
The Facebook patent covers ranking and displaying search results by their popularity among a searcher's contacts and those removed by a few degrees of separation. In fact, Facebook nearly does this already. When users start typing in the search field, Facebook auto-suggests content that's been Liked by the user's friends. Carefully adding friends of friends would expand the results index.
Facebook could be thinking of using its patent offensively to gain licensing royalties. But although Google's patent portfolio isn't as big as Microsoft's, it's pretty diverse, and even contains a lot of social technologies. So maybe the patent's just defensive.
Building a full-blown search engine requires attempting to index the entire Web. Even if Facebook relied on its users to do the indexing, the results would be spotty. Facebook search would no doubt do well on entertainment, baby photos and sports trash talking. But that medical content and those travel arrangements would likely remain thin. Chances are, Bing remains Facebook's search engine strategy.


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- Neck Lifts
- Face Lifts
- Botox
- Chemical Peels
- Tummy Tucks
- Liposuction
- Eyelid Surgery
- Male Breast Reduction
Couples Undergoing Cosmetic Procedures Together
Going on dates, vacations, and spending time together are the typical things that come to mind as couples activities. According to recent stories from ABC and the LA Times, more couples are deciding to have cosmetic surgery together. The stories mirror each other, profiling couples who have elected to have cosmetic surgery. One couple with four children had been together for 18 years. They said child-rearing had "taken a toll on our bodies," David Robinson opted to have a chin lift done the same day his wife underwent an abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck. After dating her boyfriend for 16 years, Reita Greene planned to have a procedure for several years. Maybe a chemical peel, Botox, or a facelift –and her boyfriend would follow suit. Couples like these appear to be part of a rising trend, which coincides with the rise of procedures for men. Dr. Richard Chafoo, of La Jolla Plastic Surgery, said, "It's a male ego thing. When a wife comes in and has work done and is delighted with the outcome, the husband or partner feels more confident and secure and more likely to ask questions." While the procedures typically selected between men and women differ, some of them include:

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text: Friday Open Level classes are welcoming to all levels, including beginners. Clear the mind, strengthen the body and deepen your yoga practice with instructive classes focusing on a variety of hatha yoga poses, energizing flows, breath and relaxation techniques. Classes are geared toward the level of the individual students. Holistic and enriching classes lasting 1hr and 15min. Finish up your week feeling renewed and refreshed. Class Packages available at the studio and in our online store. Start anytime.


text: March 15, 2017 by Phoebe Maltz Bovy - Powell's Books Inspiration | Books The Perils of Privilege Privilege—the word, the idea, the j'accuse that cannot be answered with equanimity—is the new rhetorical power play. From social media to academia, public speech to casual conversation, "Check your privilege" or "Your privilege is showing" are utilized to brand people of all kinds with a term once reserved for wealthy, old-money denizens of exclusive communities. Today, "privileged" applies to anyone who enjoys an unearned advantage in life, about which they are likely oblivious. White privilege, male privilege, straight privilege—those conditions make everyday life easier, less stressful, more lucrative, and generally better for those who hold one, two, or all three designations. But what about white female privilege in the context of feminism? Download WordPress Themes FreeDownload Premium WordPress Themes FreeDownload Nulled WordPress ThemesFree Download WordPress Themesfree download udemy coursedownload mobile firmwarePremium WordPress Themes Downloaddownload udemy paid course for free Read more Tweet Share 0 Pinterest 0 LinkedIn 0 Email


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It is possible to calculate a theoretical fair value for a futures contract.
The fair value of a futures contract should approximately equal the current value of the underlying shares or index, plus an amount referred to as the 'cost of carry'.
The cost of carry reflects the cost of holding the underlying shares over the life of the futures contract, less the amount the shareholder would receive in dividends on those shares during that time. Because the buyer of the futures contract pays only a small percentage of the contract value at the time of the transaction, they do not directly incur this funding cost.
For example, assume that:
- The S&P/ASX 200 Index is trading at 5000 points
- There are 120 days until maturity of the June futures contract
- Interest rates are currently at 7% p.a.
- The average dividend yield on stocks in the S&P/ASX200 Index is 4% p.a.
The theoretical fair value of the June ASX Mini 200 Future can be calculated as:
Fair value = current level of S&P/ASX200 + cost of carry
= 5049.5 points
As maturity approaches, the prices of the futures contract and the underlying asset tend to converge. The trader's profit or loss depends on how far the price of the futures contract at maturity is above or below the price at which the contract was initially traded.
The full value of the futures contract is not paid or received when the contract is established – instead both buyer and seller pay a small initial margin. The traded price is the basis on which profit or loss is calculated at maturity or on closing out the position if this takes place before maturity.


text: Why all this? As you state at the end 'undefined' is just an atom. This means that its storage IS efficient in a mnesia table, at least for tables in memory, and the length of the atom is irrelevant. All that is stored is an atom identifier. I suppose we could have called the atom '$undefined$' or some such to make it a little more clear that this value was different. Robert Erik Pearson <erik@REDACTED> writes: >Or this: > >-module(undef). >-record(undef,{x}}. >-export(undef/0). >undef() -> (#undef{})#undef.x. > >Then if you do: > >c("undef"). >is_atom(undef:undef()). >true > >And if you further explore, e.g. > >size(atom_to_binary(undef:undef())). >13 > >you'll find that all that is really returned is the atom 'undefined'. Not >very exciting :( > >However, 'undefined' is used throughout the otp (over 2K occurrences in the >erl source for lib) -- if you grep through the sources it is used >everywhere. There is one entry in the spec for 'undefined', and it is >uneventful. Alas, 'undefined' is just a regular atom, and a long one at >that, so unsuitable for storage in a mnesia table. > >Erik.


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Men's Loophole Cardigan
Some slippery fellows are forever looking for a loophole they can leverage. But here's a business loophole – a whole bunch of them, in fact – that you can feel good about. The Loophole Cardigan gets its name from its French terry fabric, a classy cousin of your favorite sweatshirt fleece. But instead of brushing the inside to lift a fluffy "nap," we've left the loopy interior surface intact. The result is a handsome heathered fabric that looks polished like a sweater, but feels as laid-back as sweats. Topped off with easy-moving Armpit Gussets and man-sized pockets, it'll have you feeling more relaxed than you have a right to.
- Business-built cardigan lets you ditch your commitment to stuffy, restrictive sweaters
- Rich-looking heathered French terry fabric is smooth on the face, looped on the inside for lightweight warmth
- Gentlemanly shawl collar folds up to block shivery gusts
- Faux leather buttons class up your act
- Limb-liberating Armpit Gussets
- 2 big patch pockets for pencils, phone, packs of airline pretzels
- Rib-knit cuffs stay up when you slide 'em up
- Back locker loop
- 60% cotton/40% polyester
- Relaxed FIt
- Imported


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Delicious Thai finger food is turning out to be quite a success in the South West of England especially with the clients of Thai Gourmet who order one of Khun Lek's absolutely delicious " Walk and Talk" menus. From keeping good records over the many Thai finger food events that have been carried out we can now name the 9 favourite Thai finger foods in the South West of England.
Thai Chicken Wings stuffed with minced pork, garlic,pepper,coriander and spring onions
9 Favourite Thai Finger Foods
- Chicken Satay : (Grilled marinated Chicken on a skewer with a peanut sauce dip)
- Spring Rolls: (Vegetable spring rolls wrapped in fried thin pastry with a sweet chilli dip)
- Kanompang Na Moo: ( Fried spicy pork on sliced bread with a cucumber dip)
- Pla Rad Prik: (Crispy fried fish with a rich chilli sauce)
- Thot Man Khao Phot: (Fried corn cakes with garlic and pepper)
- Gung Sarong: (King Prawns wrapped in fried thin pastry with a sweet chilli dip)
- Giew Grorp: (Fried spicy pork wrapped in thin pastry with a sweet chilli dip)
- Thot Man Pla: ( Thai Fish cakes)
- Bik Gai: (Thai Chicken wings stuffed with minced pork, garlic,pepper,coriander and spring onions)
Which is your favourite Thai finger food, please tell us?
A Combination of Thai Finger Food At Dan's Party
Happy Birthday Dan
So with the information ready to hand and a "Walk and Talk" required for a special birthday celebration for Dan Thorn we were delighted to arrange with Dan's wife Claire the very same popular menu listed above. Friends and family of Dan and Claire Thorn thoroughly enjoyed the food at Yeovil in Somerset and we were delighted to receive an email from Claire and Dan a couple of days after the event.
The North East (phak isaan)
- Food from the North East has much more in common with Laotian food than Thai.
- The North East is the home of sticky rice.
- The North East is Thailand's poorest region.
- A favourite dish from the North East is (som tam) Green papaya salad
The North (phak nua)
- Fresh raw vegetables play a prominent role in Northern cuisine.
- Khan Toke food is more of a tourist design and does not really resemble proper Northern cuisine.
- The main staple is sticky rice or (khao niaow)
- A favourite dish is Nam Phrik Ong, spicy meat and tomato dip with sticky rice of course
The South (phak Taay)
- Thicker coconut milk added to many of the dishes.
- Southern cuisine is heavily influenced by Malaysian food as it is only just across the border.
- Home of the famous roti pancakes.
- Home also to the more Indian like Gang Gari and Gang Massaman curries.
Central Region (phak klaang)
- Rice is the main staple food in the central plains
- Kwitiaow rice noodles are a one of the favourite lunchtime snacks
- Favourite curry of the central plains and now known all over the world Gang Khiaw wan, Thai Green Curry
- Bangkok is said to be home to some 11,000 odd restaurants and this does not include stalls and food vendors.
What region of Thailand does your preferred taste come from please tell us?
Thai Gourmet caterers are available throughout the south-west of England for all special occasions including the "walk and talk" finger food parties, buffets and full sit down dining. Please visit www.thaigourmetfoodcaterers.co.uk contact name: Trevor Bide. Just telephone or email us with your special occasion Thai cuisine requirements.


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Important info
- Departures Central Station:
Summer season (March 18 - October 27):
Daily frequent departures from 11.30 - 21.30 h.
Winter season (October 28 - March 17):
Daily frequent departures
- Duration:
± 60 min.
- Check-in:
30 min. before departure at KINboat Central Station East
- Child age and price:
0 - 12 years: € 12.50
- Remark:
This cruise does not sail on April 27 (King's Day)
Max. 25 people per boat
This is a ticket for a specific date and time ('time slotted ticket') and is not refundable without costs. For questions please contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
What's included?
- 2 drinks (beer, wine and soft drinks)
- Several route options
- Commentary by the skipper in English
- In winter: heated, closed boats with outdoor deck
Cruise Like A Local
Discover Amsterdam's historic canals and enjoy the beautiful sights with the spectacular Cruise Like A Local tour! Cruise Like A Local offers you the possibility to design your own program and choose what you want to see as you cruise the canals. Unlike regular cruises, Cruise Like A Local offers an exclusive and more personal arrangement which will allow you to pick and choose your favorite spots. The smaller boat also makes it possible to maneuver through the smallest waterways in the Red Light District, which are normally inaccessible to regular tour boats. This great value offer also includes two free drinks of your choice (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are available) and fun interactive commentary by the skipper in English. Don't miss out on this unique experience and make your reservations for Cruise Like A Local right now!
Your personal local boat tour Amsterdam
Imagine yourself sitting on a beautiful boat, enjoying your favorite drink with a panoramic view of Amsterdam's historic landmarks. Cruise Like A Local makes it possible! This one-of-a-kind local boat tour Amsterdam will let you design your route through the canal district, which is on UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. The experienced skipper will give you fun information about the sights and make recommendations if you wish. Cruise Like A Local also includes two free drinks of your choice, which can be either Dutch beer, excellent wine or several non-alcoholic refreshments. This local boat tour Amsterdam has a duration of approximately 60 minutes, during which you'll be able to see your favorite spots. Cruise Like A Local will give you the real Dutch experience and your own local boat. Tour Amsterdam like never before!
Make your reservations and Cruise Like A Local!
Forget the lines and save time. You can reserve tickets for this activity online on our website. A cruise through the historic canal district is a must-do during your holidays in the Netherlands. We offer you cheap and exclusive deals on canal cruises in Amsterdam. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity and book tickets for one of the cruises now!
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About Tours & Tickets
Tours & Tickets, situated in the very heart of Amsterdam, has over 35 years of experience as a flexible incoming tour operator. We are specialized in offering excursions in The Netherlands and Belgium. And we offer various tickets for museums, attractions and all kinds of canal cruises. We also offer an exclusive range of combination deals.
- Attractions
- Canal Cruises
- Holland Tours
- Museums
- Hop on Hop off
- Small Group Tours
- Belgium Tours
- Amsterdam Walking & Bike Tours
- Amsterdam Red Light District
- Amsterdam Nightlife
- Amsterdam for Kids
- Combi Discount
- Blog
- Covid-19 FAQ
- Your One stop shop for all tours and museums
- The cheapest tickets you can find them with us
- Skip the Line Tickets no more waiting in line
- Multiple languages so we understand each other


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Stay in touch
Sign up now to receive subscriber-only announcements, offers and promotions from Carnevino Italian Steakhouse
Reservations are accepted up to one month in advance to the numerical date (not including group dining). Carnevino accepts reservations for parties of up to 14 guests. For groups larger than 14, please contact our Special Events Manager, Rachel Ocain, at firstname.lastname@example.com.
11.50 Points
Use green seal certified hand soap
Printers use non-toxic ink
Ware washing products use non-caustic chemistry and 95% less packaging
Use non-toxic candles
GE alternative fuel station


text: WP Investments is one of the premiere commercial property owners and brokerages in the Bay Area, and we have been in business for over 25 years. WPI is basxed in Woodside, on the peninsula, just south of San Francisco. We have approx. 1,750,000 square feet of commercial real estate under ownership and management and the properties we own include warehouse to industrial, mixed use and retail buildings. We pride ourselves on our attention to detail, it is our job to make sure the project get completed on budget and on time with minimum disruption to your schedule. The principle partners in WPI will be involved in your project from start to finish, we can acquire the property, develop the land & buildings and manage the facilities as a turnkey project and allow you up to concentrate on your business while we focus on your project. We have over 30 year's experience in commercial real estate in the greater bay area, if you are engaged in a bay area real estate project you need an expert team with unrivaled local knowledge, contact us and we will be more than happy to assist…We are actively pursuing additional acquisitions …TARGET CUSTOMER — WEBSITE FOCUS


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The ultimate goal of humanitarian assistance is to alleviate suffering in situations of disaster or conflict. Haiti has suffered through internal conflicts and natural disasters and has therefore been the recipient of much humanitarian aid. Following the 2010 earthquake, for instance, billions of dollars of aid was spent on disaster relief in Haiti (the New York Times reports that, by December 2012, $7.5 billion had been promised to Haiti for humanitarian aid and general reconstruction purposes).
The delivery of Haitian quake relief aid has been criticized on multiple levels. Most of the arguments center on the theme of inefficient delivery. One argument, however, stands apart: over a thousand Haitians are demanding compensation from the UN for harms that befell them due to problems with the delivery of UN assistance. More specifically, these claimants (convincingly) allege that UN peacekeepers from Nepal triggered a cholera epidemic in post-quake Haiti. The Nepalese troops introduced the disease to the water supply as the result of poor sewage management at their base.
Fundamentally, these Haitians and their lawyers are demanding that the UN be held liable for the humanitarian services it provided. This demand breaks with a long-standing tradition that holds humanitarians above reproach and beyond the reach of the law.
Humanitarianism and humanitarian assistance have existed in one incarnation or anther for at least a century. For most of that period, humanitarian activities were shrouded from criticism by the undeniable nobility of its fundamental goal. Over the last 20 years, however, policy-makers and academics have recognized that humanitarian actions can lead to undesirable and unintended consequences. This has led to calls for accountability: demands for humanitarians to evaluate the actual and potential outcomes, good or bad, of their actions.
To date, however, humanitarian accountability has largely been an academic discussion limited to the pages of journal articles and books. These sources recognize that accountability in the humanitarian sphere is necessary. The most oft-repeated point is that humanitarians must "do no harm" but that is where the advice ends.
In summary, the literature is calling for greater assessment and evaluation in the humanitarian sphere. In contrast, the Haitian litigants are calling for humanitarians to be held legally liable for their actions.
What would being held legally liable mean for humanitarians and humanitarianism? While a strong case can be made that accountability in the humanitarian sphere can improve the delivery of assistance I don't think the same can be said for liability. Providing humanitarian assistance is expensive and dangerous under even the best circumstances. If humanitarians and humanitarian organizations are liable for their actions their costs and risk increase dramatically. That said, I think it's fair to question whether liability and humanitarianism can coexist. Will increased cost and risk force humanitarian actors out of the market? As someone with a great deal of respect for humanitarianism and the principle that no individual or organization should be above the law, I'm troubled by this thought.
Fortunately, at this point, unpacking the effect of liability on humanitarianism is only an academic exercise. Ban Ki-moon announced last Thursday that the UN will not compensate the victims of the cholera epidemic since UN lawyers have deemed the claim "non receivable" due to diplomatic immunity. Yet, despite the lack of a real-world scenario forcing the exploration of the interaction of liability and humanitarianism, I argue that it is still an issue worth examining since the Haitian claim highlights that this interaction will likely not remain a moot point for long.
Stephanie Soiffer
Ph.D. Candidate


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The Easy Bay Economic Development Alliance invites you to their Fall Membership Meeting on Thursday, September 29th, 2016. Join both public and private sector leaders in the East Bay at this special event to hear about what is being done to support and further a vibrant East Bay economy. The East Bay Economic Development Alliance's mission is to establish the East Bay region as a world-recognized location to grow business, attract capital and create quality jobs.
Event Highlights
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance's Fall Membership Meeting will commence at 8:30 am at the Shannon Community Center, 11600 Shannon Avenue, in Dublin with breakfast and networking opportunities. The morning reception will be followed by the main program at 9:30 am which will feature a number of interesting presentations. The first of which will focus on the Nine County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) report from the Association of Bay Area Governments. In addition, participants will hear from BART General Manager, Grace Crunican, on plans for that transit agency and housing legislation from Assemblymember Tony Thurmond.
Event Registration
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance's Fall Membership Meeting is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Pre-registrations can be made at the following location: www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-fall-membership-meeting-free-and-open-to-the-public-tickets-27284648117.
Additional Information
Additional information relating to the event and event participation is available. For details, please refer to the East Bay EDA representative below.
Contact Information
Darien Louie
Executive Director, East Bay Economic Development Alliance
1221 Oak Street, Suite 555 Oakland, California 94612
(510) 272-3874 phone email@example.com e-mail www.eastbayeda.org WWW
Hacienda Owners Association
4305 Hacienda Drive, Suite 330, Pleasanton, California 94588-2738
(925) 734-6500 phone (925) 734-6501 fax firstname.lastname@example.com e-mail www.hacienda.org WWW


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Ayali, A., Zilberstein, Y. and Cohen, N. (2002) The locust frontal ganglion: a central pattern generator network controlling foregut rhythmic motor patterns. Journal of Experimental Biology, 205 (18). pp. 2825-2832. ISSN 1477-9145
The frontal ganglion (FG) is part of the insect stomatogastric nervous system and is found in most insect orders. Previous work has shown that in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, the FG constitutes a major source of innervation to the foregut. In an in vitro preparation, isolated from all descending and sensory inputs, the FG spontaneously generated rhythmic multi-unit bursts of action potentials that could be recorded from all its efferent nerves. The consistent endogenous FG rhythmic pattern indicates the presence of a central pattern generator network. We found the appearance of in vitro rhythmic activity to be strongly correlated with the physiological state of the donor locust. A robust pattern emerged only after a period of saline superfusion, if the locust had a very full foregut and crop, or if the animal was close to ecdysis. Accordingly, haemolymph collected at these stages inhibited an ongoing rhythmic pattern when applied onto the ganglion. We present this novel central pattern generating system as a basis for future work on the neural network characterisation and its role in generating and controlling behaviour.
|Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:
|© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
|desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, central pattern generator, frontal ganglion, neuromodulation
|The University of Leeds
|Academic Units:
|The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering (Leeds) > School of Computing (Leeds)
|Depositing User:
|Miss Jamie Grant
|Date Deposited:
|12 Mar 2009 18:21
|Last Modified:
|26 Oct 2016 11:51
|Published Version:
|The Company of Biologists Ltd


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What We Do
Our feet may be the furthest thing from our head but their health shouldn't be the furthest thing from our mind. Activity, aging and genetics can all lead to foot problems which we will all likely experience, at some point in our lives. Most people know that a podiatrist is a healthcare specialist who treats foot and ankle problems, but did you know that podiatric surgeons also treat patients for these problems as well?
Sports and Biomechanics
When you exercise do you ever have pain in your lower back, knees, legs, ankle or foot? A podiatrist can help evaluate and address any biomechanical anomaly you may have. Whether the patient is a young little leaguer or a professional athlete biomechanical problems should be addressed and corrected or managed to avoid chronic injury and ensure top performance.
Painful, Ingrown, Discoloured or Thickened Nails
Nails can be a window to your overall health. If you notice changes in your nails, it may be from a fungal infection, trauma, poor circulation or dermatological factors. Education and management of nail care are essential in these cases allow nail growth to improve.
Ingrown toe nails can be very difficult and painful to manage by yourself and can chronically keep recurring. Commonly antibiotics are prescribed by a Doctor to help alleviate infection and pain; however the root cause of this condition has to be investigated. For effective treatment Podiatrists can advise an appropriate corrective treatment plan, solving this painful condition permanently.
Skin problems on the soles of your feet
If your feet are red, itchy and the skin is scaly and dry, this can be associated with a fungal infection and may also be a dermatological issue. This should be treated appropriately.
Plantar warts, or 'verrucas,' are very common in especially among children. This is a viral infection which is easily spread in warm, moist conditions where people walk barefoot (swimming pools, home). Plantar warts look similar to a cauliflower head and have minute black dots that look like pepper. You should see a Podiatrist, if you notice a small, new bump on your foot.
Painful corns and callous
The appearance of callous/hard skin are symptoms of excessive pressure on parts of your foot. Podiatrists will not only remove callous and hard skin, but a Podiatrist can also diagnose any underlying biomechanical cause, to allow prevention of callous and corns returning. Corns and callous are formed from excess pressure/friction on a particular area. The key to treatment is not to keep addressing the same issue over and over but the proper diagnoses and correction of actual underlying biomechanical or footwear related causes.
'Flat feet' or a lowering of the arch
Do you have 'flat feet', which you feel fatigue easily when walking or running? You have heel pain; especially first thing in the morning? Your child complains of heel pain and may complain mostly after sports?
'Flat feet' can affect the major joints and muscles in the lower limb. A biomechanical assessment will create a treatment plan for symptomatic low arches and prevent occurrences of trauma or injury. Most people do not have truly 'flat feet' but acquire the appearance of this as their arches collapse, which can be alleviated with the correct diagnosis and podiatric intervention by a Podiatrist.
Diabetes is a prevalent and growing problem throughout the southern United States which is why patient education and prevention of diabetic complications (ulceration and amputations) is crucial. It is very important for diabetics to have a Diabetic Foot Assessment annually. Diabetes can affect the circulation and level of sensation to the lower limb, particularly in the foot and ankle. As the farthest extremity from the heart, even the smallest changes to your overall diabetic condition/management can show up first and be most easily detected in your feet. Podiatrists can assess and monitor the foot and ankle and educate you on how to best care for your feet, and provide feedback to your GP/Diabetologist on even the tiniest changes to your feet, allowing your diabetes management to tweaked if necessary. This prevents more serious complications or any damage to other major organs from occurring. Your feet are an early warning system for managing your Diabetes.


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Book Now
Note that BLUE coloured dates indicate only part of the day is booked. Click on the day you're interested in to see what time slots on these days are still available! Note that boxes with checkmarks indicate a reservation is already in place for those times, but it may only be tentative…call or email to confirm availability!
Please note that a 2 hours minimum is required for all memorial boat charters in order to accommodate a comfortable unhurried service.
To use our booking calendar
1. Click on the date you're interested in.
2. View the table of available time slots (checked boxes indicate unavailable).
3. Check one to six time slots, depending on how long you want to go out on the water.
4. Fill out the contact information, email address and phone number where we can contact you.
You can confirm the booking immediately by paying the deposit with your credit card, via PayPal option.
|1 hour
|$590 tax incl
|2 hours
|$790 tax incl
|3 hours
|$990 tax incl
|4 hours
|$1190 tax incl
|5 hours
|$1390 tax incl
|6 hours
|on demand only
|4 hours (7-11PM)
|$1690 tax incl
To assist in booking a sunset cruise, check out the Sunset-Sunrise calculator.
The rates noted above cover the cost of renting the boat, crewed with skipper and deckhand, and fuel. No additional surcharges are applied.
Feel free to call us at 604-897-7735, or email with any questions, and to make a tentative booking!
Paying with:
PayPal/Credit Card
Paying via PayPal/Credit Card option is the fastest and easiest way to confirm your booking or pay your outstanding balance. When the booking page redirects you to the PayPal payment page simply login to your PayPal account to complete the payment. If you do not have a PayPal account just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Pay with Debit or Credit Card" button.
Outstanding balance invoice is sent 10 days prior to the charter date. We strongly recommend having your outstanding balance invoice paid as early as possible to avoid last minute stress. Please note that we do not process credit card payments on board at this time.
This refers to Interac transfer, which is the instant e-transfer option. Please note that if you are sending via bank transfer option, it may take up to several days for us to receive the payment. When sending Interac transfer please use [email protected] as the destination email address and let us know what the key phrase/password is via email.
You can confirm your booking by paying in person with cash or pay the outstanding balance invoice on board before the charter starts. We are located at 750 Pacific Boulevard, Marina Dock 'A', Vancouver, BC V6Z 2R8.
Upon processing your deposit, we are securing a date and time for your charter. Payment in full is requested about 10 days prior to departure and an invoice will be sent for the outstanding charter cost. Any bookings made with less than 7 days until departure will be invoiced for the total charter cost. Any request to extend the duration of your charter may be made on board by chatting with the skipper. Requests for extending a charter must be received with more than 60 minutes remaining in the cruise to allow for course deviation. Additional hours are billed at $290 tax incl, and must be paid in cash to the skipper.
Cancellation & Refunds
We will refund your full deposit if notice of cancellation is received more than 10 days prior to the scheduled departure date. If cancelling within 10 days of the scheduled departure date, your deposit will be refunded only if another booking can be secured to fill your original booking. If desired, we can work with you to reschedule for a later date. Only under extreme weather conditions, determined by the skipper as being unsafe to take passengers on the water, can we cancel a charter. If we do have to cancel a charter on the advice of the skipper, your money will be refunded in full and we'll work with you to reschedule for another date.
If it expected to be a cloudy or rainy day, the boat still floats, the cabin is warm and dry, and there's still plenty to explore and enjoy on the water. We do Christmas parties and birthday parties in the miserable weather and all still have a great time.
Alcohol Policy
Be aware that due to the recent changes in BC liquor rules, if you wish to bring and consume alcohol onboard you have to get a permit.
You can do it online here.
The ship crew will need to inspect it before the departure. No alcohol will be permitted onboard without a valid license, no exceptions. Thank you for understanding.


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Wed, 11/22/2017 - 11:09 — admin
The Scriptures call for the older women to mentor the younger women regarding the things of God. Though we seven ladies prefer to think of ourselves as "mature," we are indeed older than many of you and have walked with the Lord for a lot of years. We have also spent many years in writing and speaking ministries, and we now feel called by God to offer our accumulated experience and wisdom to you, however and whenever we can. Please explore our website and get to know us, will you? And then give us the opportunity to get to know you as well.
- Log in to post comments


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As you've pointed out, it's 2013. The year, I'm happy to say, has started with a bang - an influx of new newness: projects, insights, colleagues, experiences, and, of course, recipes.
I'm in my pajamas at 2PM, there is a sweet and nutty aroma coming from my oven, I'm somewhat lightheaded and optimistic from Day 1 of my now-monthly 'Juice til Dinner' 5-day cleanse, and I don't have to be anywhere til 9PM, when I will remove said pajamas and go sing 'Gold Dust Woman' at a Fleetwood Mac Tribute Night with these guys:
"Mac Attack" to benefit spring music fest in Louisville KY
(where I'll be blogging again late Feb - early April!)
Or, I guess, would be, were it colder outside. Or even cold. A friend of mine just tweeted that he saw a magnolia tree in full bloom on the Lower East Side. But why quibble? We are facing the End Times. Let us focus on what we love. Let us fiddle while Rome burns. Let us eat cake.
Or this.
Not your mama's banana bread.
Unless your mama is gluten-free, then maybe it is.
I freely admit my skepticism upon first hearing about it. Words like "cardboard" and "glue" came to mind, as did "crumbly" and "sad". But MmeA swore up and down that it was "amazing", and ever inclined towards treats both delicious and digestive-tract-friendly, I could not help but try it out.
I have now made it three times and tested it upon several people (though it occurs to me I don't know what YOU thought yet? but I've already started the post...) and feel confident in recommending. I mean, it's REALLY tasty and NOTHING in it is bad for you. Nutty from almond flour, moist from ripe bananas and a bit of coconut oil, sweetened (though not much) with agave syrup and vanilla, and flecked with semisweet chocolate chips, it is nothing short of a miracle. Eaten for breakfast, it will both delight you and keep you full, something that never happens to me when I eat baked goods.
A caveat: if you can't eat nuts, you can't eat this. Almond flour/meal is made from almonds. But if you can ...
The recipe came to me via Arkadina from this GF blog which looks intriguing. I'm going to post my version here below as I did make some tweaks and liked them. Happy Baking!
The Boo
Mme Arkadina's Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
(based on "The Bomb" Banana Bread recipe at NourishingFlourishing.com)
(makes 1 loaf)
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
2 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp vanilla
2.5 C almond meal (or almond flour, but I found I prefer the meal)
1 scant tbsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 325.
Spray loaf pan with baking spray, or line with parchment.
Squeeze bananas right in their skins over a bowl, mashing them up and then just peeling away the peel. Add all other wet ingredients (eggs, agave, coconut oil, and vanilla) to the bowl and mash/mix up thoroughly. Mix all the dry ingredients (almond meal, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, chips) and add to the wet. Mix thoroughly. Spoon into loaf pan and bake for exactly 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (top will brown). Let cool in pan.


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On the 2nd March, Stormont School celebrated World Book Day with a festival of all things literary.
As well as the creative and fun costumes that you see here, each class spent the day on activities that promote reading and writing – skills that at Stormont we feel are vital to every child.
As you can see from some of the photos, fun was had by all!


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Dr. Rafael Grossmann, a surgeon at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, is about as passionate an advocate for telemedicine as you'll find in Maine. On his personal blog and at various conferences, he extolls the benefits of marrying medicine with technology to improve care and save lives.
Last June, he made high-tech history by bringing the latest innovation from Google into the operating room. Grossmann used Google Glass, a wearable computer, to record a surgery he performed on a patient. He sees great potential for Google Glass in medicine, from allowing doctors to mentor medical students remotely to consulting with each other without being tied to a computer or telephone.
The device isn't likely to become standard operating procedure in hospitals just yet, partly because of concerns about patient privacy.
Today, Grossmann Tweeted a video of his December presentation at TEDx Bermuda, where he shed light on the origins of his zeal for telemedicine. It started when he was just a medical student, learning his craft in the Amazonian jungle, and a young woman in the midst of a life-threatening labor came to him for help. Take a look at the video for the full story.
Grossmann also discussed Google Glass and other healthcare "marvels" a little closer to home, at a TEDxYouth event held in January in Bangor. Check out that video here.


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Wow! Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day was a HUGE success. I had 518 comments left. Who knew cute little goldfish where in such high demand. I still have some in my stash so I might just have to do it again sometime.
The super lucky winner is # 418
The Average Quilter (a machine quilter herself) said:
I know how excited you are - I have a longarm myself and I love quilting other peoples quilts. Good luck on you venture
Thank you so much for answering my question, I have gained a lot of insight and have noticed a few misconceptions. I'll be doing some "mythbusting" posts over on the machine quilting blog to clear up those misconceptions.
Have a great weekend,
~ Norma
Saturday, December 17, 2011
1 comment :
- Gill said...
Thanks for a great giveaway and congratulations to The Average Quilter!
- December 17, 2011 at 11:28 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )


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|Texas toast hamburgers
|Cheeseburger and fries
|Texas toast hamburgers
|Cheeseburger and fries
Dang; That looks darn good. Now, spread with some garlic butter on that Texas toast and you gotta it made. Makes for great garlic bread toast strips to go with lasagna, spaghetti, etc.
Texas toast also great as French Toast topped with homemade syrup and canned apple filling.
my spouse has always said that about his home-grown maters. have a great weekend, men (and cats)!ReplyDelete
1st Man,
They is no comparing fresh grown tomatoes to those in the store.
Fresh grown are number 1 :-)
Looks good, so if a friend came into town today would there be left overs?
Sorry you are not looking at a bumper tomato harvest, but you can always do what I do and buy from a local farmers market or truck farmer. I get all the flavor of the vine ripened just picked tomatoes with no work and no bloomin chipmunks.ReplyDelete
You know that's so true. And we just found out from a sweet reader of the blog that lives nearby that there is a great Farmer's Market not too far away. We're going to check it out soon. We have dreams of those vines that just have more tomatoes than you can keep up with but realistically we may have to go the FRESH farmers market route.Delete
Love garden tomatoes. Hopefully will have some in about 3 to 4 weeks.ReplyDelete
when you can't get local tomatoes, buy store bought and make my oven roasted tomatoes. it concentrates their flavor and they are great on sandwiches. they last for quite a while when you cover them with olive oil and refrigerate them. it's how i get the flavor of homegrown tomatoes year round.ReplyDelete
Everywhere I have lived, Texas toast is sold in the stores. Texas toast is addicting. If I ever buy it, I eat it like dessert! I have been known to toast it and butter it and put spaghetti sauce and Parmesan on top. Eat with a fork. your burger looks delicious.ReplyDelete
Isn't it though? And what a great way to eat it. I like that.
The burgers were good, my coworkers thought it was weird but it sure was good. :-)
You took a hamburger for lunch? When my children were in elementary school, I would grill hamburgers and three more for their lunches. I dressed each one as my children like it before we ate and send it to school the next day for lunch. Other children wanted me to send one for their lunches.Delete
Oh no, the coworkers who visit the blog, ha. Now that's so cool that you did that, love that. Good mom!!!!Delete
That's a beautiful tomato on a beautiful hamburger!ReplyDelete
Please leave us a comment! I have some comment moderation on and of course will approve your comment relatively quickly. We love feedback and hearing what others have to share with us all. Please know that I can't always reply to it right away, but ALL comments are read. I will reply just as soon as I can so be sure to come back and see my reply.
Now, let us hear from you!


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Bios of Current Members
Gunnar Ljunggren, MD, PhD
Senior Consultant,
Medical Advisor
email gunnar.ljunggren(at)interrai.org
Dr. Ljunggren earned his medical degree from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, and is a specialist in internal medicine and geriatric medicine. Between 1990 and 2006 he ran the Centre for Gerontology and Health Economics (CGH), based in Stockholm County, after which he joined the county council as a medical advisor. In addition to this employment he is linked as a researcher to Karolinska Institutet, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society. His dissertation in 1992 included a validation of the RUG system in Swedish nursing homes and the first articles on cross-national comparisons, using interRAI instruments.
In addition to basic and certification training in the various interRAI instruments throughout the years, Dr. Ljunggren has been involved in research and development studies in health economics and health services research for older persons as well as for people in mental health, palliative care, and acute care settings. Dr. Ljunggren is the Swedish interRAI Fellow and has served on the board. He has also been involved in several projects funded by the European Union, including a multinational comparison of home care clients. Earlier collaborative studies included efforts to compare nursing home residents in Sweden, Estonia, and Lithuania. From its start ten years ago, he has been a member of the Instrument and Systems Development (ISD) committee, developing new instruments and scales.
Currently, most of his time is spent evaluating health care using the administrative databases available in Stockholm. This is linked in part to the ED screener application and some local studies on care for older persons.


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Tambungguto Destination Guide
Delve into Tambungguto in Fiji!
Tambungguto in the region of Western is a city in Fiji - some 51 mi (or 82 km) North-West of Suva, the country's capital.
Current time in Tambungguto is now 09:11 PM (Tuesday). The local timezone is named "Pacific / Fiji" with an UTC offset of 13 hours. Depending on your travel modalities, these larger destinations might be interesting for you: Wanosi, Suva, Navala, Natawa, Mbatimaoli or Lautoka. While being here, make sure to check out Thuvu, Tambungguto, Tambalei, Nasivikoso, Nanoko and Mbukuya as well. We encountered some video in the web. Scroll down to see the most favourite one or select the video collection in the navigation.
Weather Conditions Today & Next Days Forecast
MANGO KONG trailer
A gigantic beverage on a mission to quench thirsts, MANGO KONG rampages through the city to help thirsty people beat the summer heat with some ice cold deliciousness! In the Summer of 2010, you can he...
Videos provided by Youtube are under the copyright of their owners.
Interesting facts about this location
Namanda River
Namanda River is a river of Viti Levu, Fiji.
Located at -17.75, 177.78 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 9 mi away.
Manu Island
Manu Island is an island of the Mamanuca Islands.
Located at -17.75, 177.78 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 13 mi away.
Mount Koroyanitu
Mount Koroyanitu, also known as Mount Evans is the fourth highest peak in Fiji and located in the Evans Ranges in the Western Division of the island of Viti Levu. It is 1195 meters or 3920 feet high. Koroyanitu in Fijian means "Village of the Devil"
Located at -17.75, 177.78 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 15 mi away.
Nanuya Lailai
Nanuya Lailai is an island of the Yasawa Group in Fiji. It is located north of Nanuya Levu, which served as a location for the film The Blue Lagoon, separated by a narrow channel. A beach on the west of the island is leased by Blue Lagoon Cruises, nearby is the island's one luxury resort. The small settlement of Enendala is at the base of a hill on the island's eastern beach. Seven families, all related and with family connections to Naisisili Village on Nacula Island, live there.
Located at -17.75, 177.78 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 17 mi away.
Govind Park
Govind Park is a multi-use stadium in Ba, Fiji. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of Ba FC. The stadium holds 13,500 people. It is one of the best stadium in the Fiji Islands. Govind Park has hosted football tournaments such as Fiji Fact, Battle Of The Giants and Inter district championship. Govind Park is named after one of the former mayors of Ba town Mr Kishore Govind.
Located at -17.75, 177.78 (Lat. / Lng.), less than 17 mi away.
Related Locations
Information of geographic nature is based on public data provided by geonames.org, CIA world facts book, Unesco, DBpedia and wikipedia.


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The Transformation - Part 2
Allison could not stop crying, but at least she had enough control to do it quietly, so she could avoid waking up her older sister and self-proclaimed owner. Her buttocks and sides were marked by Mallory's stick – to the point of bleeding in some areas – and her back was intolerably sore from sustaining her rider's weight for the longest time ever. Several times Allison had thought she would collapse out of exhaustion, but the merciless lashes had made her so desperate that her body had somehow found the strength to keep going.
What hurt the most – however – was Allison's heart. She felt betrayed by her sister, the person she had trusted and loved the most in her life. Mallory had first taken advantage of her transformation to start riding her like a beast of burden, and then gradually showed a sadistic attitude and the intention to turn her into nothing more than a slave. This whole situation was so hurtful and hopeless.
Mallory had not even bothered to take any of the tack off her. The harness that sustained the stirrups was uncomfortably tight around her chest, and Allison was tethered to a tree through her bridles, expected to sleep standing like a donkey. Her new legs allowed it, but the turmoil in her heart did not. And those bleeding wounds could have used some fresh water. Allison knew that the river where they had got drinking water was only a few minutes away from the area where they were camping. She looked at Mallory, who seemed deep in her sleep by the fire. This was her chance. It took Allison at least 20 minutes to untie her bridle from the tree, using her teeth as much as the tight bit allowed her. She finally succeeded, and started walking slowly on her four hooves.
"What do you think you're doing?" Mallory's voice made Allison freeze.
"Ehm… I'm just… my wounds hurt, they need water… I was just going to…"
"You are not going anywhere without my permission. You'd better get used to acting like property, or I'll teach you another lesson! Aren't you broken yet, after the way I treated you yesterday?" Mallory took the stick from the ground and sat up, looking like she was about to stand up and hit her.
Scared and hurt, Allison could not think straight. She took a couple of quick steps back, and ended up hitting a tree with her wounded back. "Ouch!" she screamed, getting distracted for a second. That's all Mallory needed to try and grab her, but a last-minute reflex allowed Allison to move her head enough to prevent her from grabbing the reins. At that point, nothing was left in her terrorized mind except one thought: "Run!"
Allison ran and never looked back, trying to ignore Mallory's voice yelling threats at her. She kept galloping for at least an hour, feeling so light! She realized that she had never run without any weight on her back since the transformation. Freedom felt so amazing. But soon she started thinking: "Now what?" She was all alone, looking half-human and half-donkey, wearing nothing except her stirrups, thin saddle, bit and bridle. She could barely drink with the bit in her mouth, let alone eat. Her only hope was to find a wizard or a witch that could turn her back to human form. But she didn't even know where to start!
By sunrise, Allison was so terrified that she seriously considered going back to Mallory and begging for forgiveness. She would have probably done exactly that, if she wasn't completely lost. She kept wandering until she reached a stream. She started drinking and sobbing at the same time, feeling lonely and completely hopeless.
"What's wrong, you poor creature?" a sweet female voice interrupted her thoughts. Allison literally jumped from the surprise, and took a few quick steps away. "Don't be scared. Do you need help?" The voice belonged to a chubby yet pretty woman, who must have been about 6 months pregnant and was washing some clothes in the stream. She looked harmless and she was alone, so Allison timidly approached her, hoping she would be willing to help her. The first thing the woman did was to take Allison's bit off her mouth. That was encouraging.
The two women spent the next hour sharing their respective stories, while Elizabeth – that was the woman's name – washed her clothes and packed them in two large sacks. When they started walking towards her farm – where the woman's husband would hopefully be able to help them find the witch – Allison immediately offered to carry those heavy sacks for her. Yet it soon became apparent that Elizabeth's pace was getting slower and slower. "My belly is getting heavier every day. Who knows, I might be having twins! Thank you so much for carrying my laundry, sweetheart."
Allison gave in and decided to trust her: "Why don't I give you a ride on my back?"
"Oh, thank you. That's so sweet of you. I don't know if I can climb on your back in my current state though…"
"Ok. Let me try something." Allison knelt down on her front legs, like a dressage horse. Her stirrups were now low enough to touch the ground, so Elizabeth could straddle her without having to push herself up. The woman easily found her seat, placed her feet in the stirrups and immediately kicked Allison: "All right, let's go!" Surprised by the sudden order, Allison immediately got back on her hooves and started walking. She immediately realized that Elizabeth was significantly heavier than Mallory, and her weight seemed to sink a little further into her sore back at every step. "You are so comfortable to ride, with your narrow and flexible back. I feel like a Queen. Let's go a little faster now!" Elizabeth ordered, adding two slaps on her mount's butt. That didn't hurt much, but made Allison fear that the woman would gradually get as demanding as her own sister had. She saw little choice but to obey though, even when Elizabeth decided to put the bit back into her mouth to give her more accurate directions towards the farm. Soon enough, Allison was clearly no longer giving a pregnant woman a ride out of compassion: she was being ridden like an animal. Elizabeth was not particularly harsh or cruel, but her matter-of-fact orders – through bridles, kicks and slaps – were exactly what any beast of burden would have received. She also seemed completely indifferent to the strain that her significant weight was clearly causing on Allison's human back. By the time they reached the farm, after a long uphill ride, Allison was completely exhausted and didn't even notice the open-mouthed farmer greeting his own wife, as she finally stopped her mount with a tug of the reins.
"Who… what are you riding, Liz?"
"Seamus, this poor woman was transformed into a donkey, and gave me a delightful ride home. She is looking for help" she told her husband. Then she grabbed a handful of Allison's hair and pushed her head down, saying: "Let me dismount, sweetie…" Allison correctly guessed the meaning of her order, and humbly kneeled down again to allow a comfortable dismount to the pregnant woman, who started leading her through the bridles while walking alongside her husband.
"I think I know where that witch lives" said Seamus, raising Allison's hopes. "It would take two days of travel to reach her with our carriage, but there is a problem: our mule is sick! It might even die if I don't give it a few days of food and rest. And I really need to carry all that wool to the market and sell it."
"Hmm… perhaps we could hitch Allison to the carriage! She is tiny, but stronger than I expected! Between myself and the wet clothes, she probably had almost 200 pounds on her back. What do you think, sweetie? Would you be our donkey for a couple of days? In exchange, we will take you to the witch and try to persuade her to turn you back into a woman."
Allison did not really see a choice, so she nodded her consent. The bit did not allow her to talk.
A few minutes later, Seamus had connected longer bridles to her bit and had found a way to fasten her harness to the shafts of his carriage. Now he was loading it with what looked like a mountain of wool. As soon as he was done, he called her wife: "Let's go Liz, there's no time to waste!" Seamus and Elizabeth took their seats on the carriage, and Allison's senses exploded in pain: "Yah!" he yelled while hitting her with a thin long whip. Allison started desperately pulling the heavy carriage, struggling to get going. "She might be too small for all this weight" Liz suggested, but Seamus didn't seem to listen: "Yah! Yah!" the whip hit Allison's buttocks over and over again, and soon they were moving. Once Allison gained some momentum, the task of pulling such a heavy carriage didn't seem impossible anymore. But it was definitely hard work, and Seamus' vicious whip reminded her at regular intervals that she was supposed to give them her best effort.
Allison started wondering if leaving Mallory had actually improved her situation. Elizabeth had seemed sweet and compassionate, but she had started using her like an animal as soon as she was on her back, and now she was witnessing her husband's cruel handling without any apparent concern.
"Come on, Seamus! Be more careful" she told her husband at one point. But she was only complaining about all the potholes the man was hitting with the carriage's wheels, which made her back hurt. "You know what? I have a better solution" she added. "Stop the carriage." The bit pulled harshly into Allison's cheeks and the donkey-woman stopped, thankful to get a little break. Elizabeth stepped off the carriage and approached Allison. She disconnected the long bridles from Allison's bit, and placed her original shorter ones back in place. Then she hit Allison's side with a short riding crop, which she must have thoughtfully taken with her. "When I do this, it's you command to kneel and let me mount you" she said. How quickly she had gone from chatting with her by the river to teaching her new commands! Allison's increasing concerns didn't stop her from obeying, as she really had little choice but to trust her new masters. They continued their journey with Elizabeth riding comfortably on Allison's flexible back, while the donkey-woman kept pulling the carriage with Seamus and the wool. Elizabeth was not as harsh as her husband with the bridles, and her riding crop didn't hurt as much as the long whip. But her weight seemed to sink a little deeper into Allison's back at every step.
When they reached the market two days later, Allison was beyond exhausted. Her back hurt so much that she couldn't help but sob and cry several times, but the pregnant woman didn't seem to notice and continued her comfortable ride on her back, without dismounting for hours at a time. She also hit her with the riding crop every time she slowed her pace. After some time, she realized that it was more convenient for her to hit Allison on her shoulders and neck, instead of turning back to target her buttocks. However, when they stopped for the night Elizabeth nursed her and then curled up to her to sleep. It was probably a way to use her as a warm pillow, but it was the first human contact Allison received since her transformation, except that of her riders' buttocks and thighs on her back. She felt very grateful.
Seamus successfully sold all of his wool, and bought a new mule with part of the proceedings. This meant that Allison didn't have to pull the carriage anymore! But when she saw that Elizabeth was about to climb on the carriage, next to her husband, she surprised herself by nuzzling the woman and then kneeling down in front of her. "It looks like someone wants you to have the most comfortable ride" Seamus said, laughing. "She seems to love you!"
That's when Allison became Elizabeth's personal mount. The woman rode her every day and kept pushing her limits of strength and endurance, always using the whip with abandon. She kept demanding that Allison kneel down for her to mount and dismount more easily, even after she gave birth to a beautiful daughter. The donkey-woman started spontaneously kissing her owner's feet every time she was made to kneel, to demonstrate her submission and affection. It was clear that she still had human feelings, but she soon stopped talking and increasingly acted like a small farm animal. The topic of finding the witch to have her spell reversed was never raised anymore. Elizabeth's occasional demonstrations of affection were what Allison lived for.
Years later, Seamus and Elizabeth hit some financial difficulties. So when a young woman made a generous offer, they saw no choice but to sell Allison to her. The woman paid the agreed amount and immediately mounted the donkey-woman with a confident attitude, landing heavily on her back. "Oh, yeah. No other animal could be this comfortable…" she said.
"What is your name, young woman?" Elizabeth asked.
"My name is Mallory, and it was great to do business with you. I feel like I was meant to own this little mount!"
"She has served me very well. Please treat her as she deserves."
"That's exactly what I will do. Goodbye!" Mallory said, hitting her step-sister painfully several times with a dressage whip, until she was galloping for her life. Life was good once again.


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Roger has just sent me an update on this list of fleet trophy holders as of the end of the club year on 31st March, 2018. Please let him know if you can spot any omissions. Congratulations to all the winners!
This Sunday competition continues to win the Spring Series trophies and the two races also count towards the Fairweather Series for the Junk Trophy (see previous post).
By the way, I hope you all have the 19th May in your diaries for the Training Day.
I hope to see as many of you as possible out on the water on Sunday. Any questions please let me know.
Mike Clapp
Fleet Captain FF#4027Trophies 2017.2018


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The Guyana Power and Light (GPL) on Saturday announced plans to increase tariffs by a whopping 26.7 percent, but the opposition was yet to say whether it would restore a GUY$5.2 billion budget cut. "GPL regrets that as a result of funding denied to them, it has no other option but to move in the direction to raise revenue to ...Read More »
Daily Archives: June 8, 2013
Man stabs wife to death, slits his throat
A man stabbed his reputed wife dead and attempted suicide, leaving him in a critical condition. The incident occurred around midday Saturday at their home, Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke Highway. The woman has been identified as 23-year old Shamieza Ramdatt. The perpetrator, 40-year old Shameer Ali, was apprehended in a clump of bushes nearby with his throat slit. Hospital sources said ...Read More »


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Hi loves! How are you doing? We are great, just going through pics we have taken of this pretty swimsuit. We are both obsessed with pieces from Made by Dawn ❤ Their designs are so creative, it's reductive yet playfully romantic, and we totally love that! The swimsuits are designed and created in LA and the quality is AMAZING.. We both had sooo much trouble with choosing our favorite piece on the website, since all of them are so incredible pretty.. This blue swimsuit was for sure one of faves. You guys need to check them out HERE! The pastel colored towel is from DRYE, a lovely brand from the UK, which we have showed you many times before, HERE! Now it's time for a brunch, so we are off to Cannes ❤ Haven't been there before, so will be fun! Have a lovely day babes, talk soon!
Swimsuit from Made by Dawn// Towel from DRYE// Sunnies from Bailey Nelson.


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Within the Past few days, there have been major arrests of Several Child Sex Abuse rings, Sex abuse Rings, and busts on any sort of human trafficker that has violated the law whether it be CP laws or illegal trafficking rings.
Since The swearing-in of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and even After Yates was fired, there have been numerous raids on Several Trafficking rings within the United States, and even some efforts overseas.
So far, there have been over 1,000 Persons arrested in Human trafficking raids after Trump took office. That number is expected to grow over the coming months and the worth of these arrests are expected to increase.
Here are some of the Following arrests that have taken place over the past few weeks:
- Detroit: 22 Arrested
- California: 474 Arrested On Feb 1st
- US (Super Bowl): 522 Arrested
- Memphis, Tennessee: 42 Arrested
- Virginia: 11 Arrested
- Illinois: 100+ Arrested
- New Orleans: 11 Rescued
- Norway: 20 Arrested (Clinton Foundation Involved!)
- Toronto: Almost 350 Arrested
- Ghana: 20+ Arrested (Clinton Foundation Involved!)
- Haiti: 12 Arrested (Clinton Foundation Involved!)
- Philly: 5 Arrested
- Japan: 6 Arrested in CP bust.
- Ottowa: 25 arrested
On top of the street level arrests, a number of Deans, Professors and Presidents have been arrested within the past few years, and have increased within the past year.
Also, we have seen major raids against Organizations and certain individuals take place within the last few days. Here are a few we have seen:
FBI Strongsville Raid:
On December 16th, The US State Department debarred the adoption facility for 3 years, which meant that it had to cease all adoption services for 3 years, especially inter-country adoptions.
On February 14th, The FBI raided the facility as part of an FBI criminal investigation. The reason of the criminal investigation has not been publicly revealed or hinted at. The Article from Cleveland.com states the following:
The Cleveland FBI raided an international adoption agency based in Strongsville Tuesday as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The visit by federal agents to European Adoption Consultants came less than two months after the U.S. State Department barred the company from conducting international adoption services for three years.
The State Department's investigation found the company and its providers overseas committed several violations, including soliciting bribes and lying to officials to affect adoption eligibility, according to a report posted on its website. In some instances, the agencies' decisions or actions led to children being harmed, the report says.
FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson only confirmed Tuesday that agents visited the company's Alameda Drive headquarters, as well as a house. She said the investigation is ongoing and court filings are sealed….
….The State Department says it barred the agency because it found "evidence of a pattern of serious, willful, or grossly negligent failure to comply with the standards and of aggravating circumstances." It says "continued accreditation of EAC would not be in the best interests of the children and families concerned."
The investigation found that European Adoption Consultants and its providers used false documents and made false statements to influence the government decisions here and overseas. These decisions affected adoption cases and the accreditation of agencies.
The adoption agency has allowed adoptions from some of the world's worst human Trafficking areas, especially China; Haiti; Honduras; India; Panama; and Uganda.
The Clinton Foundation / Global Initiative have conducted missions on numerous occasions in the countries above over the past few years, Especially Haiti, China, India and Uganda.
To add more misery to the Adoption center:
The report also says the Strongsville company did not properly supervise providers overseas to ensure that the providers followed each country's laws. It says the providers did not act in the best interest of children, especially to prevent the sale, kidnapping, exploitation and kidnapping of children.
The agency also failed to follow various international treaties and laws by soliciting bribes, fraudulently obtaining birth parent consent, and lying to birth parents, the report says. It also failed to seek accurate information about children, and withheld or misrepresented important information about children.
In one instance, the State Department says the agency gave preferential treatment to an agency employee when placing a child, after the adoption of the child failed the first time.
Jeff Sandusky's Arrest
On February 13th, Jeff Sandusky was arrested in Pennsylvania under numerous felony charges pertaining to Child Porn and sex crimes.
Here's an article from NBC stating the situation:
A son of Jerry Sandusky — the former Penn State assistant football coach convicted of molesting a string of boys — was charged Monday with asking minors to send him nude photos and perform a sex act, prosecutors said.
Jeff Sandusky, 41, was suspended from his job at the State Correctional Institution in Rockview, Pennsylvania, and held in lieu of $200,000 bail. His attorney did not immediately return a call for comment….
….He was charged with 12 felonies and two misdemeanors, including solicitation of sex acts and child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a minor. There is no accusation he physically molested either victim.
Jeff's father, Jerry, ran the Second Mile charity, which had been never properly investigated for "Pimping boys to rich donors"
There were allegations of a cover-up in 1999 after Sandusky unexpectedly retired from the football program at Penn State, after an investigation into child molestation at his program the year prior.
According to a Voat Thread from December, there are some connections relating to a Clinton involvement as well.
These allegations include:
- Her Father and Brother attended Penn State and both played football at Penn State.
- Former Clinton Foundation Counselor Lanny Davis was appointed during the Sandusky Scandal and praised the CF from the board of Trustees.
- 400k Kids "Served"
- Unexplained $500K dollar bonus when Sandusky admitted to showering with an underage boy.
And much more is listed under the Voat thread.
Thomas / George Katsiantonis
A Major arrest that shook the New Hampshire State House of Representatives occurred on Tuesday, when Thomas Katsiantonis, a brother of former US Representative George Katsiantonis, was implicated after search warrant was executed at his home and businesses. Katsiantonis has not been arrested, but a major investigation is going on.
The National Herald Reports:
Federal and state investigators searched the home and two businesses of Ward 8 Alderman and representative Thomas Katsiantonis along with another city business Tuesday following a months-long criminal financial investigation, according to New Hampshire Union Leader.
Investigators searched the alderman's home and his businesses, Grand Slam Pizza 2, 331 South Mammoth Road, and Tommy K's Sport Bar & Restaurant, 2323 Brown Ave….
…The fourth location searched by the authorities was Zoey's, 2160 Candia Road. Greek-American Steve Asprogiannis is the president and registered agent of the restaurant, according to the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office.
Thomas Katsiantonis is a Restaurant Manager while his brother, George, does the same after his run in the US House.
Katsiantonis voted in favor of ridding an old police station in Manchester, New Hampshire, in order to allow some companies to move into the area, which were allowed and operated by Entrepreneur Dean Kamen in order to initiate Research efforts into growing human organs and tissue, right where the old Police station used to be.
The operation costed an estimated $300 Million and this is done in Manchester on an "industrial scale."
It has also Been reported that Bill and Hillary have some connections to Greece, according to a Voat thread.
Katsiantonis can be found at least 3 times associating with the Clintons on Greece's issues, as well as US – Greece relations in order to "strengthen" the bond between the two nations economically and diplomatically.
(Source 3 Translated:)
The visit to the US and particularly in the state of New Hampshire, where MP centrists stood at Union v. Larisa attended along with Marios Georgiadis (MP with the Center Union Party A 'Athens), following an official invitation of Raymond Buckley, President of the Democratic Party I.P S.A., at the event on the field hockey verizon Wireless Arena, which saw the start of the election campaign of the candidates of the Democratic Party with the keynotes of candidates US Presidents Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
In the same table attended and Tom Katsiantonis – active MP in New Hampshire and President PADEE representing the Greeks abroad, Jeanne Shaheen – US Senator, Chris Pappas – Director of State Hillary Clinton and responsible economic Democratic Party , Esther Booras – active MP in New Hampshire, D 'Allesandro – Senator of New Hampshire, Chris Spyrou – President Hellenic American Union, former chairman of the Democratic Party of New Hampshire, in which there was an exchange of views and information on developments in Greece.
We will continue to follow the Latest developments on these arrests and implications of possible Pizzagate arrests, as well as potential that Pizzagate may also be used as an organ trafficking front.
Updates Will come In Separate Article Posts. Stay Tuned…
Is the Clinton Foundation also involved in Human Trafficking?


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Get DVD Talk Feeds
In 2017, actor Kyle MacLachlan suddenly became a hot commodity again thanks to the return of Twin Peaks, so it made sense that Warner Bros. would dust off 1987's The Hidden and give it a Blu-ray issuance, even if only as part of their "Archive Collection" line (which are MOD, or "manufactured on demand", meaning they might be hard to track down at your local brick and mortar store, so ordering online is probably the route to go here). This movie takes on a bit of an extra Twin Peaks connection due to the fact that MacLachlan was quoted this year as saying that he based much of his Twin Peaks' "Dougie" character on the character he played in The Hidden.
At first glance, the film is typical 80's sci-fi/horror fare. It starts off with a bank robber (played by Twin Peaks alum Chris Mulkey) racing away from the scene of the crime in a black Ferrari with the police in pursuit. After crashing into half of Los Angeles and pretty much totaling the car, the police finally gun him down. End of story, right? Not so fast! As the robber is recovering in intensive care in the hospital, we see a creepy black parasite exit his body and enter the body of another patient. It turns out that this alien uses humans as its host, and once it has no more use for one body, it moves onto the next - making it not only very dangerous but also very hard for the police to track down (at this point, of course, they don't even have any idea what they're dealing with).
The main cop on the case is Tom Beck (Michael Nouri) who is less than thrilled when he learns that the FBI has been called in, and he'll now have to partner with agent Lloyd Gallagher (Kyle MacLachlan). But Lloyd is also more than meets the eye - he's an alien too, but a good one...out for revenge on the other alien, who killed his family back on his home planet. Of course, as is the case with many movies of this type, convincing Beck of the truth isn't the easiest thing in the world.
The evil parasite goes from body to body - even inhabiting 80's babe Claudia Christian at one point, if for no other purpose than to add a little eye candy for the viewers. The alien's real goal, however, is to get inside the body of a Senator (John McCann) about to launch an run for the White House.
What makes The Hidden stand out - and one of the reasons it's become a cult classic - is largely due to its inventive and moving ending, which I won't reveal here, but which is no doubt why the movie still holds a fond place in many movie fans' hearts 30 years later. This is a fun, fast-paced film that is worth a spot in any sci-fi/horror fan's collection.
The Blu-ray Packaging
The Hidden appears on Blu-ray as part of Warner Bros. Archive Collection line. The 50GB disc is housed inside a standard Elite keepcase, with no inserts. There are no front-loaded trailers on the Blu-ray, whose main menu is a still similar to the box cover design, with menu selections across the bottom of the screen.
The Blu-ray in this release is region-free.
The Video
The Hidden was shot on 35mm film and was originally released in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. That's not the case here, as Warners has gone with "full frame" 1.78:1, meaning we're missing some (albeit not a whole lot) information on the screen. Another interesting tidbit about this release is how green it looks. According to the director (on this release's commentary track), the movie has always skewed toward green, with Kyle MacLachlan's character wearing a green tie and light green shirt, the walls of the police station being painted a light green, etc. However, this new Blu-ray is far greener than any prior home video release of the movie - to the point where it's rather distracting. Does that mean the title is a closer reflection of the theatrical version (which I actually saw, but naturally can't remember exactly how it looked), or is this a bit of overkill. It's hard to say for sure, but I wish they would have dialed it back just a bit.
As for the detail of the image itself, it's pretty good, although grain isn't as evident as I thought it would be - which could be a sign of a little too much DNR use. I don't see much in terms of over-sharpening in the transfer, but facial features don't exactly show a lot of detail to them, so there's some possible smoothing that might be taking place. Black levels here are decent and about what you'd expect for a movie of this age - nothing inky deep, but viewers should have no problem distinguishing things, either. I detected no blatant problems with banding, aliasing, or other frequently seen glitches.
The Audio
There are two audio options for this film. One is a new English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, while the other is an English 2.0 Mono track. The movie was originally released with a mono track, so that option is obviously here to allow viewers to have a home theater experience that closely matches the original theatrical presentation. The lossless 5.1 track, on the other hand, is here to make this movie more appealing to modern audiences, and they do a decent - if not spectacular - job with the mix. While a lot of the 5.1 mix is just spreading the sound across speakers, there's enough gunplay and explosions here to make the upgrade worth it. Dialogue is clear, intelligible, and exclusively front and center.
Subtitles are available in English SDH only.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
A fun little action/science-fiction/horror film from the late 80s, The Hidden stands above similar movies by providing several strong lead characterizations and having a touching ending that is rare for a film in its genre. Recommended.


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Many individuals would like to know, in advance, whether they are eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery. To assist them, the VA has created the "Pre-Need Eligibility Determination Program," specifically aimed at helping individuals with burial planning and making sure their wishes are known.
The VA Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility Program can greatly reduce stress on surviving family members in trying times..
Requesting Burial In A National Cemetery
To apply for pre-need determination veterans should complete and submit a VA Form 40-10007 – Application for Pre-Need Determination of Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery, along with copies of supporting documentation, such as a DD Form 214. The documents should be sent to the VA National Cemetery Scheduling Office at: toll-free fax at 855-840-8299; email to email@example.com; or mail to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office, P.O. Box 510543, St. Louis, MO 63151.
Applicants may indicate a preference for a VA national cemetery on the application form, but a pre-need determination of eligibility does not guarantee burial in a specific VA national cemetery or a specific gravesite. VA assigns gravesites in cemeteries with available space once death has occurred and the burial is scheduled.
What to Expect After Applying
VA will review pre-need burial applications and provide written notice of a determination of eligibility (a decision letter). VA will save the information electronically for future reference and to expedite processing burial claims at the time of need.
You should save a copy of all documents submitted and the decision letter received. It is also a good idea to communicate with one's loved ones or estate planners where the documents are, and about the preference to be buried in a VA national cemetery.
At the time of need, the next-of-kin, funeral home or other representative responsible for making final arrangements should contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 to request burial.
If the veteran didn't complete a "pre-need determination" request prior to death, survivors or funeral directors can request burial in a National Cemetery by faxing eligibility documentation to 866-900-6417 or scanning and emailing the information to email@example.com, survivors or funeral directors can also call the VA at 800-535-1117.


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Register: DEC/08/2019, Submit: DEC/09/2019, Eligibility: Professionals up to 5 years of experience, architects, industrial designers, engineers, landscape architects, artists, students, trainees, firms; individually, (multidisciplinary) teams with any number of members, Fee: Free, Awards: 1st Prize: 5,000 USD + travel stipend to trade fair "Light + Building" in Frankfurt, Germany: 2,000 USD, 2nd Prize: 2,500 USD, 3rd Prize: 1,000 USD
In the modern word, complexity and uncertainty seem ever-present. How do we maintain relative order and a sense of calm? We rely on the power of interconnectivity. When different systems, processes ans people work seamlessly in conjunction with one another, this is when our towns and cities flourish. But what happens when something goes wrong? Conflict, disruptionand environmental changes can leave us vulnerable, but we're never entirely powerless. This forms the challenge of CLUE edition 05: to explore how light can help to prevent challenging situations and crisis or manage emergencies when they occur. In testing circumstances, how can we unlock the extrordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world?
During an incident or emergency, it's understandable that confusion, disorientation and even panic are likely responses. Thats' why, in this edition, we are asking young students and professionals to imagine the ways in which lighting can make a difference – big or small.
We encourage contributors to think of prevention – how illumination can help to anticipate and adress problems before they even start – as well as the way in which it might assist during an incident. How can light help the people affected by a crisis? What role can it play in aiding emergency responders? And how can it help in the aftermath of an incident?
The particular situation you want to tackle is entirely up to you. What can you bring to the table?
Title: LIGHT & DISRUPTION – EDITION 05
Registration Deadline: December 08, 2019
Submission Deadline: December 09, 2019
Website: archcompetition.net


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So a while back, Meghan from Whole Natural Life selected me for a Liebster Blog Award! The Liebster is intended to draw attention to promising small blogs, with less than 200 followers. Bloggers that are given a Liebster do a little happy dance, and then pass along the Liebster to five more deserving blogs! It's kind of like one of those chain email forwards… except that it's exciting and fun, rather than annoying and terrible.
I was honored to be recognized so soon into my blogging career, and I really enjoyed checking out the other blogs that Meghan chose! Good stuff. Then came the task of picking out my own Liebster selections, which took a lot longer than I thought. I had to hunt around a little bit to reach five (turns out I don't read many small blogs). But I struck gold in my treasure hunt, and I'm ready to share the love! (Disclaimer: I'm not poooositive about the exact number of followers on some of these; I usually went with any number that was displayed on their page; so Facebook likes and Google followers, etc. Regardless, I'm pretty sure none of them are huge, and I like 'em!)
Without further ado, the five blogs that I'm passing the Liebster to:
- Off the Grid at -30: I adore the concept of homesteading, so I love reading OG30! Lots of outdoorsy pictures and cute farm animals (goats, most recently. Adorable goats!), as well as Recipe Thursdays and Frugal Tuesdays, which are generally helpful.
- Mummy, I Can Cook: This is one that I've been following for a while. Every single time I check up on Shu Han, I come away wanting to cook something brand new and pretty and exciting! Most of the posts are recipes, and all of them come with gorgeous pics. I've also gotten some good tips on legit Asian cooking from MICC in the past, and my absolute favorite rundown of hard-boiling eggs (I like mine best at 15 minutes, too).
- Moss Grown Stone: This mom of 3 lives on a farm in Maine (though I see they just moved to Vermont), so pretty, outdoorsy pictures abound! Plus, she knits, so MGS fits into both the Real Food and Knitting categories of my Stuff I Like to Read About list! Content is a nice mix of recipes, farmy sorts of updates, knitting projects, and family news.
- Our Nourishing Journey: Linnae blogs about real food and the GAPS diet, which has helped her son Blake with his ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, Tourette's Syndrome and anxiety disorder. Lots of recipes (generally GAPS-legal, obviously), and assorted healthy-living posts.
- Whole Intentions: To paraphrase their mission statement a bit, this blog focuses on intentionally putting effort into whole foods, whole living, and whole faith. If that isn't a comprehensively healthy life motto, I don't know what is! Paula, Travis and their five kids (wow!) are on a Candida diet, and the many recipes on this blog reflect that.
If you've been given a Liebster, then here's how to pay it forward:
- Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.
- Post the award on your blog.
- Link back to the blogs you are awarding so that everyone else can pay them a visit.
- Show your appreciation to the blogger who awarded you by linking back to them.


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England striker Wayne Rooney believes that England can be the surprise package of the World Cup in Brazil should they qualify, as reported by Sky Sports.
The Three Lions need to beat Poland at Wembley on Tuesday night in order to qualify for next summer's Wold Cup despite a convincing thrashing of Montenegro on Friday night.
Rooney set the scoring going with the opener on Friday and the Manchester United striker is adamant that England have the quality and youth to do well in Brazil next summer.
"We have to reach the finals first, but I am sure once we do that the manager will have a few games to prepare for the tournament," Rooney said.
"We have got some very exciting players, young exciting players.
"I think all the talk about 'there's not enough good English players' – well, we have got six, seven or eight young players.
"Andros (Townsend) did great, he's an exciting player with a great future and then you have (Danny) Welbeck, (Daniel) Sturridge, (Phil) Jones, (Chris) Smalling, (Jack) Wilshere, (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain, (Theo) Walcott – the players we have got there, there's some talent.
"So, we are happy with the squad we have got and are looking forward to the future."


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Look at me, I am a pretty princess. She complained that the dress was scratchy so I made her wear a shirt dress underneath it and tights because it was a bit cool outside.
All set to go to the Harvest Festival. Our church organizes this Harvest Festival open to the public every year. Instead of the kids running around the neighborhood going trick or treating, they can gather in one safe place and enjoy free burgers, corn dog, drinks, funnel cake, fries, and lots of games and candy. There were also free rides - pony rides, hay rides, petting zoo, tea cup ride and a merry go round.
There were also raffles, and you don't have to pay to enter any of these raffles. The prizes were some pretty hampers.
Kids and some adults came in their costumes. It was indeed fun to watch them all. No, Doug and I did not put on a costume. :-)


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XC Jarman Park, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4JS
(If using a sat nav please use HP2 4JW)
XC is situated close to the M1 junction 8. Follow the A414 towards Hemel Hempstead town centre, and XC is within the leisure park on your left hand side. Parking is available on Leisure World site.
For those coming from the A41 take the Hemel Hempstead exit. Continue down the hill and go straight over at the lights into Two Waters Road. Turn right onto the 'Magic Roundabout', towards the A414 'St Alban's road' and continue up the hill. Turn right at the top of the hill into Jarman Park Leisure World Site.


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My memory is getting better. Every year I find I can remember another year further back – isn't that amazing? When I was a child, I used to think my Dad was ancient because he could remember and tell us about things that had happened to him 40 or 50 years ago. Now I find I can easily do the same – even though I often have more trouble remembering what I did yesterday (see Breaded Chicken –two blog posts ago). As we are both reaching 60 this year, David and I (to be fair, it's mainly me) seem to reminisce more. Recently we spent an evening talking about things that happened in our childhood and teenage years (we knew each other as far back as primary school – aw!). I still remember the 'proper' way to wind up electrical cable, as demonstrated to us girls in 'Mathetes' music group by the super-knowledgeable blokes (David and Richard). I can also still remember the words of the hymn 'When I survey the wondrous cross' that we learned in Irish when we sang at the Letterkenny Folk Festival in 1975! I have just rediscovered this lovely wee poem on remembering (which I vaguely remember from school days): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44387/i-remember-i-remember
Remembrance is a big issue at this time of year. For many people All Saints Day on 1st November is a time to give thanks for loved ones who are no longer alive. This year there has been a lot of focus on remembering particular events of the First and Second World Wars – the Dunkirk evacuation (with the launch of the Christopher Nolan film), then the Battle of Passchendaele and also the launch of the Irish poppy to remember Irish soldiers who died in WW1. At a personal level, as we approach the end of another year we are bound to look back and remember the changes since last year. Some memories are painful, others are happy… some things are helpful to remember; others would perhaps be better forgotten. Whatever our memories, we will do well to heed St Paul's advice:
'Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.'