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Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Irvine, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Great trail, can get busy but it's one of my go to trails for a pleasant ride
Dana Point entrance closed until further notice.
Good scenery riding along the PCH Smooth ride and plenty of room.
Nice easy trail whole family can enjoy, a couple of bumpy spots not real bad.
Was surprised to see that electric bikes were prohibited from the bike trail. There were cyclist going at least 30 mph just by pedaling alone. I don't see the harm in a person using pedal assist or even an electric scooter going 10 mph. Other than that it's a beautiful location!
Started at Parque Rió Hondo on the corner of San Gabriel and Rosemead. Went north towards El Monte. Rode with my family for about 4 miles and then turned back. Road trail was well maintained. Very little traffic given it was a Friday afternoon. Relatively scenic. There are several off road trails along the way but they are encumbered by homeless encampments so be aware. Try to moderate your speed in the bushy areas as there were several instances of rabbits crossing the road. You don't want to have an accident in trying to avoid them. Would definitely do this trail again. Enjoy!
It's been great!
I need to get off and on my bike again and again.
We had a great ride on this trail. We decided to start at the Cerritos Regional County Park which was a great place to start our ride! Just head all the way back thru the park to hit the trail. After we rode the Coyote bikeway we had a picnic by the lake. Perfect setting with bathrooms. My boyfriends 5 year old is a beginner rider so the concrete bike trail was perfect. However, know there is little shade and it can get very hot! The other thing to know is the bike trail is right up against the water duct so there is a very steep drop off to the duct with no fence. We rode about 6 miles and came back to the park and rode around the lake a few times! Great ride, great day and the park was perfect!
Family friendly, short and fun. Well kept with a few path ''oasis' stops set up by the local residents. Definitely going back.
Coyote creek is nice enough. Wide, clean, and paved roads. Not the most scenic of routes but it's a great trail to log some miles. Definitely will do again.
I have a bad foot and riding a bike has zero impact on it so I can go and go when trails are flat. I catch it right at the I-15 and Baseline. I'm happy.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!


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More Than 2,500 ICT For Development Stakeholders Convene To Advance SDGs At World Summit On The Information Society Forum 2017
More than 2,500 information and communication technology (ICT) experts and advocates from around the globe are taking part this week in the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2017 (WSIS Forum 2017), where they will exchange knowledge and experiences towards achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
WSIS Forum 2017 is being held in Geneva, 12-16 June, and represents the world's largest annual multi-stakeholder gathering of the ICT for development community, and is co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP, in close collaboration with all UN agencies. The Chair-elect of this year's forum is Mr. Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Minister of Youth and ICT, Government of Rwanda.
This year's forum will focus on sustainable development trends and inclusive ICT initiatives in key SDG priority areas such as health, education, gender empowerment, the environment, infrastructure and innovation. Participants are set to include at least 500 high-level policy-makers from 150+ countries, including government ministers and experts, civil society leaders, academics, business leaders and international organizations.
'The ICT community plays a paramount role in supporting the realization of the SDGs. The rich discussions and knowledge sharing among ICT for development stakeholders set to take place here at WSIS Forum 2017 will make great strides to leverage the power of ICTs for achievement of the SDGs,' said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao.
WSIS Forum has become a real demonstration of how the WSIS and SDGs processes are being aligned at the implementation level, building on the WSIS-SDG Matrix developed by UN WSIS Action Line Facilitators. An interactive mapping tool is available for the WSIS Forum 2017 Agenda to emphasize the linkages between the Action Lines and the SDGs identified by WSIS stakeholders in their respective sessions and workshops.
The WSIS Forum 2017agenda features more than 200 specialized workshops covering a wide array of topics identified through a participatory process with WSIS stakeholders. This includes a Virtual Reality for SDGs special trackbringing together high-level personalities, world class virtual reality experiences, and a focus on education.
WSIS Prizes 2017 winners and champions will be announced 14:30-16:00, Tuesday, 13 June. WSIS Prizes recognize outstanding success in implementing development-oriented strategies around the globe that leverage the power of ICTs in support of the SDGs. This year, a record 1.1 million online votes were cast for 345 nominated projects.
WSIS Forum 2017 will result in several concrete outcomes that will enable stakeholders to strengthen implementation of WSIS Action Lines and the alignment of the WSIS and SDG processes.
WSIS Forum 2017 is made possible through the generous support of its strategic partner, the World's Global Telecom; activity sponsors Japan, Switzerland and IEE; contributing partners the Office of Electronic Communications of the Republic of Poland, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), GeSI, ICANN, the Internet Society (ISOC), and VEON; and supporting partners, including the Philippines, IFIP, CMAI, TEMA India and Swiss Engineering.
For more information, please visit bit.ly/WSIS2017 .
Note to media:
A digital media kit for this event is available at: http://bit.ly/WSIS2017-mediakit
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subset: commoncrawl


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Building service contractors are understanding the value of best practices across their entire service delivery chain. In a competitive market place, this adds up to more dollars and superior service delivery with each contract.
Managing your equipment inventory is an important part of this chain. BSC's who we have worked with implementing equipment management best practices such as: preventive maintenance, periodic inspections, electronic shipping and receiving, have reduced equipment costs 6 -17% annually. If you think about this, the savings makes sense…
- The equipment is always ready when a billable project is scheduled, we know it's working and where it is. Job gets completed when scheduled, cash comes in sooner.
- Equipment costs are reduced as trips to the local big box store are eliminated.
- Shrinkage of lower cost equipment is identified and eliminated.
- Actual repair costs can be analyzed by job location so equipment refresh is more accurate to reduce cost.
- Reduced downtime saves money, machines not running costs money.
- Equipment usage is identified and can be aligned for more usage in other areas to increase production.
BSC's who have implemented an efficient and consistent equipment maintenance program can expect cost savings across a variety of areas. We recently implemented an equipment program for a BSC managing a large college campus. They complained of equipment not being readily available and unpredictable down times. Their customer was unhappy and forced them into improvements.
After spending several weeks tagging the equipment with QR codes, site managers are quickly and efficiently scanning, inspecting, and shipping equipment throughout the campus. Preventive maintenance tickets are being delivered to technicians phones for easy scheduling, providing the management team visibility to costs and performance. The savings are not in yet (we estimate 9% in employee time alone) but the team is so pleased with initial results, they plan to deploy across all their jobs.
Thank you for reading. Please share with your colleagues who might find this of interest. Authored by Accelerator CC, providers of cloud-based commercial cleaning software that helps you profitably manage contracts, bids, operations, sales, and staff while providing advanced on-site inspection and quality assurance to your customers. One of the fastest-growing SaaS platforms on the market, Accelerator CC delivers an advanced level of automation, remote/field connectivity and built-in best practices that specifically target the needs of commercial cleaning organizations and their customers. To see a demo of Accelerator CC, please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call 610.849.5039.


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Another section of smart motorway will open on the M25 in Kent and Surrey next week.
Early next Wednesday (30 April) morning, the M25 between junctions 5 and 6/7 will open with the hard shoulder converted for use as a permanent traffic lane and enhanced on-road technology to manage traffic flow to improve the reliability of journey times, providing a boost for businesses and the wider economy.
This follows the opening of the smart motorway on the M25 between junctions 23 and 25 in Hertfordshire with traffic using the improved section since Monday 14 April.
The improvements on both sections of the M25 are part of a new generation of technology-driven improvements on the strategic road network known as smart motorways with the permanent conversion of the hard shoulder for traffic, providing 24/7 extra capacity. The introduction of smart motorways will reduce congestion, improve journey time reliability for drivers and maintain safety.
John Martin, Highways Agency senior project manager, said: "The improvements on the M25 in Kent and Surrey are part of the £1.7 billion of investment into roads in the south east by 2021. The new smart motorway will provide extra capacity and offer more reliable journeys for the 140,000 drivers that use this stretch of road every day.
"I'm particularly pleased that the southern section of the M25 has opened well ahead of planned completion this winter thanks to rescheduling of the programme. Ahead of the opening next week, I would like to ask drivers to get smart and find out more about how to use it, the types of signs and signals they will see and what to do in the event of a breakdown."
The new infrastructure and technology that has been added between junctions 5 and 7, includes:
Nine gantries that span both carriageways
10 refuge areas
13 emergency telephones
88 overhead signals
33 verge mounted signs
38 CCTV cameras
Construction continues on the smart motorway M25 between junctions 25 and 27 in Essex and completion is expected this winter.


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The simple answer to this question is no. Your age is not just a number. This is because Social Security rules change as you get older. In disability cases, Social Security puts people in categories. Once you turn 50, you enter a category called "Closely Approaching Advanced Age." In this category, depending on your personal education and work background, it may be easier for you to get your disability benefits. For example, if you have a high school education and the only work you have done in the last 15 years is considered heavy, medium, or light work, you may be disabled even if you can do a job where the majority of the day you are sitting down. When you turn 55, you are considered a person of "Advanced Age" and the rules are even more in your favor. Every case is different but the bottom line is that age often matters in a Social Security disability case. Social Security has very specific definitions for your age, the skills you have learned in your past work, and the physical requirements of your past work. This is why it is important to speak with someone who knows what these definitions are and how to use them to your advantage to help you win your benefits.
On behalf of Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. Attorneys at Law posted in Social Security Disability on Sunday, November 28, 2010.


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This 1 litre capacity clip top storage jar is perfect for so many storage uses in the kitchen! Whether it's sugar, tea, pasta, or anything you like, the glass material and rubber seal will keep your food fresh for longer!
Find your local Poundstretcher store using our store finder tool and ring ahead to check stock availability.


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"I dig old books." ™
Est. 1998
Related Quotes Animals Cats Animal Rights Family Home
A dog is so often the answer — when you're lonely and need company, or when you're tired of company and need lonely. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk. ~O.A. Battista
In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog. ~Edward Hoagland
If dogs could talk, perhaps we would find it as hard to get along with them as we do with people. ~Karel Čapek
An old dog, even more than an old spouse, always feels like doing what you feel like doing. ~Robert Brault
Near this spot are deposited the remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man, without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain, a Dog. ~George Gordon, Lord Byron, "Inscription on the Monument of a Newfoundland Dog"
The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic. ~Henry Ward Beecher
The greatest love is a mother's; then a dog's; then a sweetheart's. ~Polish Proverb
A man may smile and bid you hail
Yet wish you to the devil;
But when a good dog wags his tail,
You know he's on the level.
~Author Unknown
Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ~Roger Caras
No philosophers so thoroughly comprehend us as dogs and horses. ~Herman Melville, Redburn. His First Voyage, 1849
Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. ~Franklin P. Jones
Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat. ~Oxford Union Society, London, Rule 46
A cat, after being scolded, goes about its business. A dog slinks off into a corner and pretends to be doing a serious self-reappraisal. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
In the world which we know, among the different and primitive geniuses that preside over the evolution of the several species, there exists not one, excepting that of the dog, that ever gave a thought to the presence of man. ~Maurice Maeterlinck
Happiness is a warm puppy. ~Charles M. Schulz
No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dog does. ~Christopher Morley
If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater... suggest that he wear a tail. ~Fran Lebowitz
Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear. ~Dave Barry
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. ~Ogden Nash
Amount of time it takes for a dog to "do its business" is directly proportional to outside temperature + suitability of owner's outerwear. ~Betsy Cañas Garmon, betsygarmon.com (2009 tweet, @wildthyme)
The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. ~Author Unknown
Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies. ~Gene Hill
I loathe people who keep dogs. They are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves. ~Author Unknown
Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. ~Andy Rooney
My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money. ~Joe Weinstein
I always like a dog so long as he isn't spelled backward. ~G.K. Chesterton
If your dog is fat, you're not getting enough exercise. ~Author Unknown
We have a queen-size bed, and the dog sleeps in the middle. John and I are sort of these little quotation marks on either corner. ~Rachael Ray
The dog wags his tail, not for you, but for your bread. ~Portuguese Proverb
A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. ~Robert Benchley
The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother — and they'll settle for a puppy every time. ~Winston Pendelton
I am not your dog, but if every time you saw me, you gave me a backrub, I would run to greet you, too. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
Life is like a dog sled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes. ~Lewis Grizzard
You ask of my companions. Hills, sir, and the sundown, and a dog as large as myself that my father bought me. They are better than human beings, because they know but do not tell. ~Emily Dickinson
There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog. ~Konrad Lorenz
If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience. ~Woodrow Wilson
Dogs, the foremost snobs in creation, are quick to notice the difference between a well-clad and a disreputable stranger. ~Albert Payson Terhune
You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us. ~Robert Louis Stevenson
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace. ~Milan Kundera
When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem. ~Edward Abbey
A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself. ~Josh Billings
I wonder what goes through his mind when he sees us peeing in his water bowl. ~Penny Ward Moser
A dog can express more with his tail in seconds than his owner can express with his tongue in hours. ~Author Unknown
Ever wonder where you'd end up if you took your dog for a walk and never once pulled back on the leash? ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com
I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons. ~Will Rogers
Children are for people who can't have dogs. ~Author Unknown
I have a three-year-old dog, I named him Stay. He was a lot of fun when he was a puppy because when I called him I'd have to say, "Come here, Stay. Come here, Stay." ~Steven Wright, A Steven Wright Special, 1985, stevenwright.com
When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog along to see the sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten. ~Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat. ~Terri Guillemets
The more one gets to know of men, the more one values dogs. ~Alphonse Toussenel
When a dog wants to hang out the "Do Not Disturb" sign, as all of us do now and then, he is regarded as a traitor to his species. ~Ramona C. Albert
Both humans and dogs love to play well into adulthood, and individuals from both species occasionally display evidence of having a conscience. ~Jon Winokur
The pug is living proof that God has a sense of humor. ~Margo Kaufman
Dachshunds are ideal dogs for small children, as they are already stretched and pulled to such a length that the child cannot do much harm one way or the other. ~Robert Benchley
I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. ~Rita Rudner
Fox-terriers are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs are... ~Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), 1889
Labradors [are] lousy watchdogs. They usually bark when there is a stranger about, but it is an expression of unmitigated joy at the chance to meet somebody new, not a warning. ~Norman Strung
Newfoundland dogs are good to save children from drowning, but you must have a pond of water handy and a child, or else there will be no profit in boarding a Newfoundland. ~Josh Billings
Bulldogs are adorable, with faces like toads that have been sat on. ~Colette
The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go. ~Winston Churchill
I like a bit of mongrel myself, whether it's a man or a dog; they're the best for everyday. ~George Bernard Shaw


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The Bose Soundlink Color II is a high quality Bluetooth speaker that sells for about $140 at this time. Let's take a look at some of it's features. This is a bundled purchase which includes the Bose Soundlink II speaker and the carrying case.
The speaker comes in black, blue, white and red for your color selections. It will bring impressive sound quality wherever you set it up on your life's journey. It's a strong, rugged speaker but soft to the touch, with a water resistant design.
The Bose Soundlink II comes with easy to use voice prompts which allows you to connect quickly to Bluetooth. The lithium ion battery is strong and you can usually get about 7-8 hours of play time with your unit. It comes with a built-in microphone which allows you to take your various calls from friends and family. You can also access Siri and Google Now™.
Bluetooth Jukebox – Crosley CR1206A-ST CD
This unit is 2.25 x 5 x 5.25 inches in size and weighs 1.2 pounds. The power source is AC & Battery. The Bose Soundlink II even allows you to manage Bluetooth your connections. Their Bose Connect app allows you to unlock features and access future updates.
The Bose SoundLink II Color has a good range of about 30 feet. It can connect to two Bluetooth devices at the same time and switch back and forth. It also will remember your 8 most recently used devices so you can reconnect quickly to prior devices.
It does not come with a card slot so you can't play a micro sd card, but it does have an aux input. The power cord is also the charging cord for this unit. Check out all of our Speaker Reviews Here !


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Marketing and Branding for Credentialing Organizations
November 9, 2018 by Carina May
Learn about how we have worked with CAMICB over the last several years to develop a strategic marketing and branding program that delivers consistent messaging and consistent impact across a broad range of platforms.
- Published in Branding, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media
Tips for Successful Email Marketing
August 7, 2017 by Smith & Harroff
Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to both connect and build long-term relationships with existing and prospective customers. That's why building successful email marketing campaigns has never been more important.
- Published in Email Marketing


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Images Courtesy of 3.1 Phillip Lim
Anne Hathaway opts for an elegant yet chic look as she attends the Interstellar Press Conference in West Hollywood.
The actress stepped out in a white sleeveless top with a matching navy skirt from the 3.1 Phillip Lim Pre-Spring 2015 Collection, to add some lightness to the ensemble, both pieces are designed with a wavy pattern. Anne teamed the separates with a pair of black see-through mesh pointed shoes.
The A lister wore her hair parted to the side and styled with gentle waves, while she lined her eyes with dark eyeliner and finished with a red rose lipstick.


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LEGO, Miramax offer BIONICLE Sneak Peek
LEGO Media and Miramax Films unveiled the first production and marketing materials available for the 70-minute, direct-to-home video CG feature BIONICLE: Mask of Light.
Based on the successful LEGO Co. toy line, the film is currently in production at L.A.-based Creative Capers. LEGO Media, the entertainment division of the LEGO Company, is producing with Miramax serving as worldwide home video distributor. A fall 2003 release has been scheduled. The trailer can be viewed at www.maskoflight.com.


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It was brought to my attention recently that the links on the Ninja Training Site were broken. I am pleased to announce that these have been fixed. Not a Ninja? Get started today at http://ninjatraining.faith.edu.ph.
Your Sensei
News >
News >
Ninja Training Site Updatedposted Nov 24, 2013, 10:19 PM by Unknown user [ updated Nov 24, 2013, 10:19 PM ]


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text: AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to RedditRedditShare to 電子郵件Email by Mike Silverman, The Associated Press Posted Feb 4, 2019 5:13 am PDT Tenor on top of the high C's in Donizetti opera NEW YORK — Hitting nine high C's in quick succession is all in a night's work for Javier Camarena, who will be wowing audiences with his skills at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.The Mexican tenor will be playing Tonio in Donizetti's comic "Daughter of the Regiment," a role he says is "very dear" to him because it marked his professional debut 15 years ago.When he first studied the aria that has all those high notes, Camarena said he thought it wasn't that complicated. But he quickly found it was more challenging than he realized.The opera will run for seven performances at the Met beginning Thursday. The final performance, on March 2, will be broadcast live in HD to movie theatres worldwide.Mike Silverman, The Associated Press


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A Novel
This luminous tale filled with honesty and love charts the lives of sisters who find their curse and their salvation on the street where they live. One fateful summer they create their own magical world to escape a tragic encounter that has forever changed their lives. The healing power of imagination and love, the interwoven worlds of fiction and fact, the difference between liars and truth tellers, are at the core of this dangerous fairy-tale world where one mistake can follow you forever.
A charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart's desire, a demon who will not let go, all live within the confines of the sisters' world. Elv, Claire, and Meg are the Story Sisters, and each has a fate she must meet alone. One on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. At once a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing, The Story Sisters sifts through the miraculous and the mundane as the girls become women and their choices haunt them, change them, and finally redeem them.
What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? These are the questions this complex novel asks. This is the spellbinding story Alice Hoffman has to tell.
Click to the right or left of the sample to turn the page.
(If no book jacket appears in a few seconds, then we don't have an excerpt of this book or your browser is unable to display it)
"Hoffman's prose is as lovely as ever ... but Elv's troubles and the Story family's nonstop catastrophes are wearying." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Her alluring characters are soulful, their suffering mythic, and though the sorrows are many and the body count high, this is an entrancing and romantic drama ..." - Booklist
"This is one of Hoffman's darkest novels yet, and some of Hoffman's readers may find it too dark." - Library Journal
"A near-miss from this uneven but always compelling writer." - Kirkus
The information about The Story Sisters shown above was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's online-magazine that keeps our members abreast of notable and high-profile books publishing in the coming weeks. In most cases, the reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel that the reviews shown do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, please send us a message with the mainstream media reviews that you would like to see added.
Alice Hoffman was born in New York City on March 16, 1952 and grew up on Long Island. After graduating from high school in 1969, she attended Adelphi University, from which she received a BA, and then received a Mirrellees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, which she attended in 1973 and '74, receiving an MA in creative writing. She currently lives in Boston.
Hoffman's first novel, Property Of, was written at the age of twenty-one, while she was studying at Stanford, and published shortly thereafter by Farrar Straus and Giroux. She credits her mentor, professor and writer Albert J. Guerard, and his wife, the writer Maclin Bocock Guerard, for helping her to publish her first short story in the magazine Fiction. Editor Ted Solotaroff then contacted her to ...
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This is a difficult post to write, I can't believe what I've done. I went to a food establishment, and, under no duress or external influence, ordered a salad. Some of you may have trouble understanding why this would be an issue but it must be viewed through the prism of my place of birth. I'm a Glasgow boy, Glasgow, the city that looked at the pizza and decided "You know what we could do with this? Cover it in batter and deep fry it", that's the blood that flows through my, admittedly, cholesterol-filled, veins.
As with many of the entries there is a degree of repetition in this one. Firstly the place I am about to recommend is situated a couple of minutes from Pl. Espanya at the junction of Carrer Sepluveda and Entenca. Secondly it is a branch of a place I recommended in an earlier post.
Rekons is a cafe that specialises in the Empanada, a Spanish pastie if you will. They have around 18 different varieties and having sampled at least half of them I can confirm they are uniformly excellent. They also do a fantastic sandwich which I've mentioned before.
What they also do really well, and I cannot believe I am about to type this, is a *gulps* salad… For ten euros they do a "Kilombo" comprising two empanadas or chicken, pork or ham served with salad, a drink and coffee. I should explain the salad isn't a couple of lettuce leaves and a bit of tomato. It has lettuce and tomato but also four different cheeses, roasted peppers, various other stuff and a cracking dressing.
On another regular theme one of the other attractions of this place is that it is open all day, it can be a problem finding somewhere decent to eat between the lunchtime hours (12 to 4) and places reopening for dinner at 8pm. I wholeheartedly recommend this place for a quick bite especially if you are in the area to take in the Magic Fountains of an early evening.
By way of cleansing I should say that this "salad incident" is a one-off. Whilst I enjoy both the sandwiches and the empanadas at Rekons they do not have the imagination of us Glasgow types. The other week I had purchased a nice loaf of bread, and, thanks to a food parcel from my sister I had some Killie Pies faced with these "ingredients" there is only one option…
Ahhhh that feels better, some order restored to the universe.


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Plaza of 550 California Street, at Kearny Street, San Francisco.
I took this photo in downtown San Francisco almost three years ago as an exercise in cityscape photography.
What I did not know at the time was that the most interesting feature was neither the old brick buildings nor the forlorn lot, but rather the alleyway barely visible on the left side of the image. This is Elim Street, the second narrowest street in San Francisco. I explored this tiny alley in detail earlier this month, with both my big camera and iPhone on hand.
On the southwest side (adjacent to the lot), it is wide enough for a vehicle. But beyond that, it narrows down to just 2 meters, or 6.6 feet.
No stopping seems like a good idea. 6.6 feet between two large old buildings feels dark and closed-in as one might expect. I don't quite have the arm span to touch both walls, but someone only a little taller would be able to do so.
Looking upwards, the narrow slit of sky is especially bright.
The eaves of the two buildings come quite close together at the front of the alley on 1st street.
Here is some pipework on the older brick building in the alley.
Apparently Elim Street has existed this way for quite a while. But it is uncertain how long it will last in the heavy redevelopment of downtown San Francisco. It could get squished out of existence. Or new buildings could celebrate this narrow street with their architecture. I hope it is in fact the latter.
In this article, we follow the #OccupySF march in San Francisco yesterday through some Hipstamatic photos, with nods to some of the city's architecture and icons that we passed along the way.
We began at the base of Market Street, the main thoroughfare of the city. It runs diagonally and separates two separate street grids that run at 45-degree angles to one another, some thing confuses not only visitors but many locals as well.
An impressive line of police ran parallel to the march. This was primarily to separate the marchers from traffic, which continued on the other side of Market Street. The interactions my group had with the police were quite cordial. One even helped us with info from the announcements at the front of the march which we could barely hear from our position.
For those who criticize the Occupy movement for not having any sort of focus, it should be noted that yesterday's march and events were squarely focused on the banking industry and the largest banks in particular. It coincided with "Bank Transfer Day" in which large numbers of people moved their accounts from the large banks to either credit unions or community banks. San Francisco remains a large banking center. Wells Fargo still has its headquarters at the corner of Montgomery and California. We had a demonstration in front of the building.
Bank of America used to have its headquarters in San Francisco as well, at 555 California Street. 555 California is the second tallest building in San Francisco, a large imposing structure of brown granite. It is often derided, but I kind of like it as an example of modernism in an architecturally conservative city. It has a large plaza above street level common for commercial buildings from the 1970s. The march stopped here for an extended sit in.
From there we continued up California Street towards Chinatown. Here you can see the marchers passing one of our iconic cable cars.
We then turned north on Grant Avenue, the main street through the center of Chinatown.
Grant Avenue always feels a bit touristy, though it does have some great dive bars hidden away. For good inexpensive Chinese food go one block over to Stockton Street. We did, however, briefly chant in Cantonese, with the majority of us non-speakers responding with the word "Unite!", which translates to 团结 (tuan jie in Mandarin, but I can't find a written pronunciation for Cantonese).
At the informal boundary of Chinatown and North Beach, we turned east onto Broadway. Broadway in North Beach is about as close to a traditional red-light district as we have in San Francisco. As Broadway heads down the hill towards the Embarcadero, the neighborhoods feel a bit more ambiguous and nondescript. I have walked in the area countless times, it's usually quiet with small buildings and lots and the shadows of the financial district and Telegraph Hill to either side.
On reaching the Embarcadero, we headed south along the wide palm-tree lined boulevard.
It is interesting to note that 25 years ago, this location was the underside of a somewhat industrial double-decker freeway, the Embarcadero Freeway, that ran from the Bay Bridge to Broadway. It was torn down after the 1989 earthquake.
And ended up back at the official #OccupySF camp at Justin Herman Plaza. The camp is at the south end of the plaza. The north side is another iconic modernist space that many people in the city love to hate – but I am quite fond of it. It includes the
Some streets take on a status beyond their physical extent. One of those is Wall Street, which is simultaneously an actual street in New York City, a neighborhood name, and shorthand for massive finance and investment industries of the United States.
Wall Street itself is quite short, and runs from South Street along the East River to Broadway. It's terminus on the east side is underneath the South Street Viaduct (why a duck?) that carries the FDR drive to the tip of Manhattan and underneath Battery Park. The Broadway ends at historic Trinity Church. It is not a part of the city that I know particularly well. Most of my adventures don't take me further south than Tribeca or the Brooklyn Bridge. It is interesting to look at the street names and arrangement, narrow streets with names like "Pine" and "Cedar", "Front Street" and "Water Street" that we would associate with numerous coastal American cities and towns but not distinctly with New York (San Francisco has all four street names, as does Santa Cruz where I lived for several years). The streets are evidence of the long history in this part of the city.
The current #occupywallstreet protests are not actually centered on Wall Street, but in a park to the north along Liberty Street (officially named Zuccotti Park), just one big block away from the World Trade Center site and the new 9-11 Memorial. But things have grown since the initial encampment and march and while it was largely ignored by the mainstream media for the first couple of weeks or addressed as little more than a curiosity or object of derision. Now it appears in the news every day, and the protests themselves are growing organically. Here is an image yesterday from protesters occupying Foley Square, several blocks to the north near City Hall and the off-ramps from the Brooklyn Bridge (from the official website).
And a recent report of the massive march via Democracy Now!:
Towards the end of the video, one can see what happens as protesters approached the actual Wall Street.
If you want to support the movement but can't make it to New York or one of the local "occupations" that have spread to other cities, you can send donations, or even order them a New York pizza courtesy of Liberatos Pizza. And we all know that New York pizza is better than what we get here on the west coast. They do recommend ordering vegetarian or vegan options, but the official "Occu-pie" looks suspiciously like pepperoni:
In the publication "Occupied Wall Street Journal", they print a map of the plaza encampment:
I like how they label the sculpture on the plaza as "Weird Red Thing". As reported in Hyperallergic, the "weird red thing" is actually Mark di Suvero's "Joie de Vivre". I quite like the sculpture, with its clean lines and curves, and red color against the grays of the Wall Street buildings.
[Photo by ElvertBarnes on flickr]
I will be visiting New York again in November, and I'm sure I will be downtown quite a bit…


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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a nearly $1 billion initiative that will fund awards and evaluation to build on the Obama administration's work to transform the health care system by delivering better care and lowering costs. This second round of Health Care Innovation Awards will fund applicants that have a high likelihood of driving health care system transformation and delivering better outcomes.
Made possible by the Affordable Care Act, the Health Care Innovation Awards provides another opportunity to improve the quality of health care and bring down costs for taxpayers and patients. The health care law includes many tools to avoid costly mistakes and readmissions, keep patients healthy, reward quality instead of quantity, and create health information technology infrastructure that enables new payment and delivery models to work. The provisions in the Affordable Care Act are already working to reduce costs: Medicare spending per beneficiary increased by just 0.4 percent last year, far below historical averages.
Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded 107 round one Health Care Innovation Awards out of nearly 3,000 applications to organizations that are currently testing innovative solutions to improve outcomes and reduce costs. Projects are located in urban and rural areas, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
This second round of Health Care Innovation Awards differs from the first round in that CMS is specifically seeking innovations in four areas: rapidly reducing costs for patients with Medicare and Medicaid in outpatient hospital and other settings; improving care for populations with specialized needs; testing improved financial and clinical models for specific types of providers, including specialists; and linking clinical care delivery to preventive and population health. Like the first round, these awards will emphasize results and ensure program integrity.
To review a list of past award recipients, including those recipients that conducted home health care-related projects, click here to search awards by state. For more information, including a fact sheet and Funding Opportunity Announcement, please visit the Health Care Innovation Awards initiative website.
Tags: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Innovation Awards, Kathleen Sebelius, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act


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Grilled Coffee
Episode 28 · July 6th, 2018 · 39 mins 19 secs
About this Episode
Would you learn about the microbial world through a Sonic comic? Recognize what the ideal human body looks like? Go to a Disney show with stunt robots? Take a picture in an 'influencer only' zone? Open a mysterious door in the woods? Shop for clothes at the pharmacy? Bro, did you see this?
Sonic the Hedgehog Update
The Evolved Human Body
Disney Imagineering has created autonomous robot stunt doubles
Only 'Influencers' Can Take Photos at This LA Mural and People Are Pissed
When you find a frog hiding behind a door in a tree trunk
The Crew 2's America features some very weird stores


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Ryder Cup Star & 3 Tour Wins Everyone will remember the day that Phillip Price defeated Phil Mickelson in the Ryder cup! Mickelson was World No.2 at the time and "Pricey" was not given a cats chance as they say. Well the rest is definitely history. That day I was an incredibly proud as alongside with Dennis Sheehy we had worked so hard the previous four years to get him to that point of being able to stand up and be able to beat the World's best and my office wall at home is full ...Read More
Pro's Ian's Helped Coach Include:
This is the column that shows on the right hand side of the front page and for the page dedicated to the pro players you have coached.
Peter Baker
Ryder Cup Star & 3 Tour Wins To this day Seve Ballesteros apart, I would have to say Peter Baker was the biggest talent I have ever had the pleasure of working alongside. Great ball striker and not phased with anything, "Bakes is just Bakes" and has never changed. He amassed 9 Professional victories and over €4,000,000 in prize money. Two highlights stand out for me and it was in 1993 a year I was with Denis Sheehy on Tour working with Denis and Peter when he won the the Dunhill B...Read More
Nicole Gergely
French Open Winner 2009 Nicole Gergely came to me in 2011 because her game started to become inconsistent. She turned Pro in 2005 and by 2009 she had become a solid performer on the Ladies European Tour with a spectacular win at the 2009 French Open at Arras cementing her position as Austria's No.1 female golfer. We worked a lot on the backswing and tried to get the club up and down the line more. We also tried to hit a safer "fade" shot as she was long enough in the first place to not ha...Read More
Elisabeth Esterl
2 Wins & Solheim Cup There were not many golfers I worked with that knew more about the swing than Elisabeth. Her knowledge of her own swing was infinite and working with her was good as the feedback you would get from Elisabeth as a coach was excellent and her feels and way of communicating it were superb. She was also a very hard worker and could change things very easily. Although not in her prime when I was with her, Elisabeth was still an extremely long hitter of the ball. ...Read More
Per-Ulrik Johansson
6 Tour Wins & 2 Ryder Cups Per-Ulrik Johansson had the most perfect golf swing I ever saw. It was a privilege to stand behind him and watch him hit ball after ball. The biggest compliment I can pay him is he was the closest thing to a robot I have ever seen. Per-Ulrik went to Arizona College with Phil Mickelson and the two are great mates. Ironically in 1995 at the Ryder Cup the two played against each other. I had the chance to work with Per when he was working closely with Denis She...Read More
Steve Lewton
2014 Taiwan Masters Winner Originally from Woburn and now based in Australia I tell everyone that Steve Lewton is really a fantastic golfer and one that I still feel has unfinished business out on Tour. I was thrilled when he won the 2014 Taiwan Masters and he immediately thanked all the people that had helped him. It was a class act from a class person. Stevie came to me as am amateur already playing off +3 and he had issues with a long arm swing. His father Mike, who sadly passed aw...Read More
Matt Briggs
PGA European Seniors Tour Matthew Briggs came to me a very solid amateur. He was in his mid forties and has harboured a life time dream of playing on the European Seniors Tour. Already at a brilliant level of plus 2 and plus 3 (+2/+3) level you would wonder why you would drastically start to change a swing, however Matt had hip issues and was prone to shaping the ball far too much right to left. We started upon a plan of action which saw us completely overhaul his swing. Not only t...Read More
Simon Hurd
European Tour Professional Simon Hurd is no question the most confident player I have ever coached. Confident in his own game, confident as a person and if you spend time with him you start realise it is definitely not a front. In fact Simon Hurd probably has more self-belief than any other golfer on the planet. I realised very quickly that Simon had talent and ability, however what struck me was a great inner determination to get to the top and nothing would stop him. A good practiser a...Read More
John Hawksworth
PGA European Tour 1986-2000 Along with Stephen Ames, John Hawksworth is the funniest player I have ever worked with. Joke after joke and witty beyond belief, it is little wonder "Hawky" has gone on to be a TV commentator and a great after dinner speaker. He is also the best pool player I have ever played against. Trophy as he is affectionately known (When his hair was short his ears stuck out a bit) was very serious when it came down to hard work on the practice ground and the measure...Read More
Bradley Dredge
PGA European Tour 2 Wins Bradley Dredge is still playing some of his very best golf today and it seems he has been around for a long time now. When I first worked with him he struck me immediately as a top class ball striker and also a very long and straight hitter. He was at the time a little hung up on drawing the ball and I spoke at length to his mind/mental manager Roger Manners about getting him to see the game with more of a safe fade. To Bradley's eye it was not his natural ...Read More
Andrew Beal
PGA European Tour Professional Andy Beal is a fantastic golfer. He has also overcome an incredible obstacle of whilst being on Tour being diagnosed with cancer and he had to have his eye removed. In 1998, his best year on Tour, Andy earned over 100,000 Euro and finished 3rd at the Benson & Hedges Open. The fact that he returned back to the European Tour to compete again is nothing short of miraculous and is really the measure of the man who displays an inner strength and determination...Read More
Jessica Ji
Korean LET Tour Professional If ever there was a nicer girl on Tour than Jessica then I haven't seen her. Jessica was the first real Korean Professional I had ever coached and what made it difficult was the fact that she hardly spoke any English and her mother actually spoke none. Jessica really worked hard with me for a long time and slowly but surely became a lot more confident in her game and in herself. Not a long hitter however very straight and she possessed a great game from 10...Read More
Gareth Paddison
Top NZ Touring Professional I first stated working with Gareth in December last year (2014) and instantly we gelled. He has a very open approach and sounded quite surprised that I would communicate so easily with his Aussie coach the brilliant Dennis Mcdade (Marc Leishmans coach). Gareth has to be amongst the very hardest working Pro I have seen and he eats, gyms and does the whole thing like the great professional he is. I think he is a fantastic role model of how to conduct yourself on ...Read More
Paul Way
Ryder Cup Twice & 4 Wins Paul Way was a fantastic golfer. When he made his debut in the Ryder Cup became the second youngest Ryder Cup player after Nick Faldo. Very strong and a good ball striker with a short game to match Paul for a long time looked the most likely player to take the mantle from Ballesteros and Faldo, he was that good! I worked with Paul for the first time at the 1995 PGA Championships at Wentworth and then again for a period in 2003 and by this time Paul had already...Read More
Seve Ballesteros
8 Ryder Cups & 91 Wins Without doubt not a day goes by when I don't think about Seve Ballesteros. The fact I actually got to coach him was a dream come true and I could write a book, no in fact two about all the things I learned from him. He was an absolute golfing genius, no question. I was fortunate enough to travel to such events like the US Masters at Augusta, The Open, The Dubai Masters, Portuguese Open and many other events in Europe and it was incredible to see the aura that Se...Read More
Paul Broadhurst
Ryder Cup & 6 Tour Wins Paul Broadhurst is a former Ryder Cup player and now on the Senior's Tour. "Broady" is from the Midlands and actually won his first ever Senior event at the first time of asking. It was no surprise to me as Paul is one of the finest ball strikers I have ever seen in golf. I only really came across Paul briefly as he is very good friends of Peter Baker, another Ryder Cup player and I was with him as Dennis Sheehy worked a little with Paul at the time. Someti...Read More


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Visual error amplification showed no benefit for non-naïve subjects in trunk-arm rowing
Motor learning is assumed to be a partly error driven process. Motor learning studies on simple movements have shown that skilled subjects benefit from training with error amplification. Findings of studies with simple movements do not necessarily transfer to complex sport movements. The goal of this work was to determine the benefit of visual error amplification for non-naïve subjects in learning a fast rowing movement.
We conducted a study comparing non-naïve subjects receiving a fading, visual feedback with visual error amplification against a control group receiving the same visual feedback without error amplification. Separate outcome metrics were applied for the domains of spatial and velocity magnitude errors. Besides error metrics, variability metrics were evaluated for both domains, such that they could be interpreted in quantitative relation to each other.
The implemented error amplification did not cause group differences in any variable. Subjects with or without error amplification reached similar absolute levels in error and variability. Possible reasons remain speculative. For implementing error amplification to the training of complex movements design decisions must be made for which an informative basis is missing, e.g. the error amplification gains.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15203/CISS_2018.013
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- in Articles by Mystic Mouse
Dowsing – A Brief Introduction
What is Dowsing?
It is the ability to use the Natural Sensitivity, which we all possess, that enables us to know things, to seek for and locate things which we cannot know or do by using the day to day brain, or by learning, or by experience, or by using the five physical senses which we are born with
Dowsing enables us to work at any distance around the world from the comfort of our own home. Distance, depth, height, date, location seem to make no difference and there are very few (if any) that cannot be found by dowsing and there is much more that can be found.
What can be done by Dowsing?
There is very little in the physical world which cannot be found by dowsing and there is much, in addition, that can be found out once you have developed, by practice and perseverance, your individual dowsing skills.
The following list gives an ides of the many and varied fields to which dowsing can be applied – and this is by no means exhaustive.
- Water: The location of underground streams at any depth, their direction of flow, their depth, the quality of the water and what quantity could be drawn off in say gallons per hour or day etc.. The location of springs or a well in your neighbours garden that has fallen into disuse – and much more.
- Minerals – Precious Stones: The location, demarcation and identification of the area, the line of the mineral lodes, depth and estimating the quantity and the quality.
- Oil – Gas: The location of oil deposits under the land or the sea and the depth below the surface and an estimate of the quantity and the quality, also the porosity of the rock strata in which it lays.
- Archaeology: The location of unknown sites where nothing shows on the surface of the ground. The depth below the surface that a site lies, the outline, the run of defences, the depth of ditches, the run and heights of previous walls and buildings. The location of roads, grave sites and burials. The dates of sites and so on.
- The location of sunken ships and submarines:
- Building Sites: Examination for all purposes, the water runs underneath them, rock state, soil state, rock faults, old wells, cavities, cellars, drains, sewers, cables and pipes and so on – especially if it is intended to build on that site.
- Location of pipes, cables and drains: The line of the run, depth, location of fractured pipes, broken cables, leaks and blockages. It is particularly to farmers for searching for old or lost field drains and tracing water supplies from farm to field and field to field for animal drinking troughs and so on.
- Location of tunnels, caves, lost mine workings: The demarcation, size and depth of them and flooding.
- Lost articles: Valuables, car keys, rings, brooches, purses, wallets to name but a few.
- Missing people: This is one of the most difficult tasks owing to the difficulty of identification and should be undertaken with care and careful preparation – bear in mind that some people deliberately 'disappear' for their own personal reasons and have no wish to be found.
- Tracking lost animals or children or perhaps someone elderly and confused in areas of ,say, woodland:
- Plant and soil treatments: Mainly used in determining how to improve soil quality for the various plants to be grown in it and determining the best location for plants, trees and shrubs etc.
- Medical: A number of qualified doctors and others are increasingly using dowsing techniques to assist in diagnosis and the selection of remedies.
- Animals: Pendulum dowsing can be used to locate health problems in animals and help in the selection of remedies. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accepts this course of action providing the services of a vet are called for if it is considered that the animal needs professional help.
- Healing of houses, shops, factories, offices etc. of the effects of Geopathic Stress:: This has become quite a large part of the work undertaken by dowsers. Geopathic Stress can be particularly harmful and health threatening and prolonged period spent with its influence can and usually does cause a worsening of a condition e.g. arthritis, depression, sleeplessness, heart problems to name but a few.
How Does it Work?
The short answer is that no-one really knows – it just does!. The scientific world, geologists and archaeologists and so on appear to put their heads in the sand because here is something that cannot be Proved nor can it be Disproved scientifically. However it is surprising how many water, mining, oil companies and so on use dowsers in exploration work – it is never admitted because it may take away the credibility of the large concern – increasingly police forces etc. will use the services of a dowser.
All that can be said is that it is an in-built ability within man from the beginning of time, it helped him to find his food and water and his minerals. In addition it helped him to communicate with other members of his tribe at a distance and there are still in this world so-called primitive tribes who have these natural abilities to this day. Gradually over the centuries our so called sophistication and civilisation etc. have stifled these natural abilities, plus, of course, condemnation by the church particularly in the period of about 1610 until the late 1700's and even today when it was and is, by some, considered the work of the devil. I firmly believe that it is some primeval and natural instinct that lies deep within us all, the Mind which has the ability to receive communication from the Universal Mind that knows and controls everything that there has ever been, that there is and ever will be – God. I firmly believe that it is a God given gift – to everyone who is prepared to develop and use it – to be used for the benefit of our fellow man and the world in which we live.
Who can be a Dowser?
Again the short answer is, Everyone. Once you have been shown the basics and have accepted that it is a gift open to everyone and you are prepared to put yourself out a little, especially in the early stages you will be on the right road to be coming a competent dowser. It requires a lot of practice to build up your confidence. Until you have built up that confidence keep away from sceptics because they can undermine you quicker than anything else. At first I was hesitant and embarrassed at the thought of being seen walking along with a pendulum or pair of rods or twig from a tree, I have now developed a thick skin and am oblivious to the scoffers. The best form of defence is to thrust the rods into their hands and tell them to have a go, it is surprising how many scoffers and sceptics get the shock of their lives when they realise that the rods are responding to something for them.
So let us clear up one point straight away. Dowsers are not 'odd' people. They are very ordinary men and women who have developed their sensitivity for practical purposes and use it on practical problems, the outcome of which are demonstrable, thus their work can be seen to be correct (or not).
Be keen, be confident, be true to yourself and your dowsing – do not bite off more than you can chew by overconfidence. One secret is practice – practice – and even more practice. Where possible enrol for dowsing courses through the Workers Education, Adult Education or courses run by experienced dowsers of good reputation. Ladies seem to have an in-built sensitivity and intuition which stand them in very good stead.
What Tools are required?
The first point to get clear is, that there is no magic built into the tools. They are inanimate indicators which are moved subconsciously by the dowser in accordance with that dowser's 'Code Language', which can be different for every one.
Essentially, simplicity is the keyword, some dowsers use all sorts of tools while some, myself included use the simple things in life which, at the end of the day, give you the same results..
The pendulum: This is a simple weight on the end of a piece of cord or light chain. The wooden light pulls are ideal but the pendulum varies from a key on the end of a bit of cord to a ring or a crystal. I use a piece of hazel twig for indoor working and a heavier crystal for out doors, simply because you need something that will be heavy enough not to be blown around by the wind. The pendulum is the most versatile tool for use in 'map dowsing' and straight question and answer type of dowsing. For me, it rotates in a clockwise direction for 'YES' and anti-clockwise for 'NO'. It swings from side to side if the question is not understood and backwards and forwards in the 'Search' position.
Angle rods: The easiest and simplest of all tools to use. They are just lengths of wire bent at right angles and can be made quite easily from old metal coat-hangers, welding rods, thin brass rod, thick wire., for example; take a pair of wire coat hangers and cut them so that the top is about 9 to 12 inches long and from the angle towards the hook for hanging, about 4 to 5 inches long, then, having cut it, bend the angle to 90 degrees. The short length is held in the hand as the handle. However again in windy weather, I have a pair of rods of 6 mm brass rod (almost 1/4 of an inch in diameter).
'V' rods: Again there are various sizes, weights and materials. The traditional being hazel, this was mainly because it is a pliant wood that doesn't dry out too quickly. Quite commonly today, plastic is used at a length of about 16 to 18 inches long.
Double 'VV' rod: This is made as above except that it is in the shape of a 'W'. The advantage of this is that it is very accurate when locating and tracing small pipes etc. However, it is difficult to get used to.
Wands: These are just springy lengths of thin branch about 36 inches long and are ideal for dowsing up a wall, for example following the path of an old chimney – these tend to meander up the walls of old houses. A modern materials are taking over and the usual wand is a 36 inch length of fairly thin plastic.
The body itself and the hands:
Some Basic Rules:
These are some basic rules which are a guide to beginners but still apply at all stages of the dowser's career.
1/ Virtually all Dowsing is Seeking, Looking for Something. This must be appreciated and the mind focused in this direction at all times.
2/ Develop the Dowsing Sensitivity. Before a dowser is any good, it is necessary to develop a dowsing sensitivity. H/she must learn to cut out the brain and the five senses and allow the mind to reach out for the answer. You must practice a lot in your early days and in elementary dowsing work.
3/ Practice and Test. To develop 3 above, it is practice and more practice. For instance practice on know things. Dowse someone's well and check your results against those that are known – that is how far down is the water and how deep is it?
4/ The Questions Asked Must be Clear, Correct and Appropriate to the Job in Hand. Think carefully and make a list of questions before you start.
5/ There Must be a Need to Know. It must be done for a specific task. Dowsing for a client, demonstrating the practice of dowsing – but never to show off with 'What a good and clever boy or girl I am".
6/ Have Confidence That Dowsing Works for You. This is essential, develop it, hang on to it, you will have failures but so what? – So many people say "Oh yes it works for me, but I don't think I'll be any good" The answer to that is "Oh ye of little faith" – get practising.
7/ It is Essential to Know the Background of the Field in Which You Are Working. If you want to do archaeological dowsing, get books from the library and learn the basic principles, this applies to anything, Psychic dowsing, any dowsing work.
8/ Be Bold in Application. Be prepared to take on anything even those which you haven't tried before.
9/ Time. If there is a question of time, this must be taken into account. E.g., I want the height of the roof above floor level in the year 1250. Everything must relate to 1250 and it must be kept firmly in mind.
10/ Identification. If there are many objects similar to that which is being sought there must be some form of identification. Examples are lost children or animals. You are looking for a child, there are millions of children – you should keep in mind – I am looking for a European boy with ginger hair about ten years old etc.
11/ Preconceived Ideas – Wishful Thinking. These are the biggest menaces in dowsing and the reason for most failures especially amongst the novice dowsers. Failure come about when you allow the brain and/or the five senses to intrude.
All dowsers, however skilled have to be cautious not to let this happen.
© Ron Kirby
Ron is an avid dowser and is currently engaged in a number of fascinating projects including archaeological dowsing at a medieval chapel site (524 A.D.-1633 A.D.) and a prehistoric sacred circle (circa 2480 B.C.), psychic dowsing in the haunted bedroom of a castle where 18 presences have been detected spanning a period of 500+ years and also detecting grave sites outside the walls of the castle (ranging from 1232 -1488).


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Originated in Mexico, the Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) is a holiday that is celebrated around the globe. Celebrations take place November 1 - November 2, in connection with All Hallows Eve. Friends and family will gather together to pray and to remember those who have died. Traditions that are often known with this holiday include creating altars with sugar skulls, marigolds, and the deceased's favorite treats!
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If there was ever a wedding that would have me begging for a vow renewal, it would be this piece of pretty captured by Blaine Siesser. A day complete with the sweetest pups, a decadent cake a la Sweet Heather Anne, one stunning floral arch, and a few bottles of bubbly, it's enough to have any and every Bride inspired and/or asking for a reception re-do. See it all for yourself in The Vault!
From Blaine Siesser… Andrea & Brandon celebrated their nuptials at Meadowbrook Mansion. It was a beautiful event designed and styled by Kehoe Designs. Sharing her favorite wedding memory she said: "Walking down the aisle. Seeing my groom looking at me like I was the only person in the world. Seeing our parents beaming, our friends hysterical. We both always felt everyone was always rooting for us, but at that moment we felt it." Surprisingly, getting ready at her home was one of her favorite parts of the day. She said, "Getting ready in our home was very important to me. It felt so special to be close to all the memories that Brandon and I have shared there; to be with my sister, friends, and of course our dogs. It was the most serene wedding morning I could ever have imagined." Her favorite photos where of "…. Us on the bridge in front of the mansion. These three photos exude exactly how we both felt about planning a big wedding. Of course we enjoyed some parts of the planning process, but in our case we actually didn't expect all of the heightened emotions, compromises, and tensions that a big wedding could create. At the end of the day, all that mattered was that we loved each other and that was all that mattered to us. These photographs remind me of that."
Photography: Blaine Siesser Photography | Event Coordination: Party Assurance | Event Design: Kehoe Designs | Floral Design: Kehoe Designs | Wedding Dress: Elie Saab | Wedding Cake: Sweet Heather Anne | Invitations: Lee's Specialty | Rings: Cartier | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Elle Zeitoune | Makeup: MarioMax Salon | Hair: Michael Maxim | DJ: DJ Matt | Band: Your Generation in Concert | Tuxedo: Sam Michael | Officiant: Temple Israel | Wedding Venue: Meadowbrook Hall | Bride's Veil: Elie Saab | Linens: Luxe Linen | Transporation: Rochester Limousine


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Ahuriri Business Association
Since its official launch in 2008, the Ahuriri Business Association (ABA) has been responsible for a wide range of local initiatives, from the re-development of a promotional website and new directional road signage, to the annual publication of a visitor guide and proactive lobbying for safe road crossings.
Run by a voluntary committee of local business people, the ABA's mission is to proactively promote Ahuriri for the benefit of local businesses. With a focus squarely on Ahuriri, strong alignments with other local organisations and a dedicated membership base, significant changes have been achieved in the past eight years.
By joining the ABA you will show your commitment to Ahuriri and benefit your business through member-focused marketing, networking, lobbying and much more. Together we will ensure Ahuriri prospers!
Website listing & advertising opportunities
For an outline on the listing and advertising opportunities available here at ahuriri.co.nz, view our sales brochure.
ABA Full Membership
Voluntary fee of $295 (small businesses), $595 (medium/large businesses) or $795 (national/corporate businesses)
For a complete list of member benefits, please view or download our membership form.
Friends of the ABA
Voluntary fee of $145 (for businesses in their first year of operation or micro businesses that would struggle to make the financial requirements; applications must be approved by the committee)
Associates of the ABA
Voluntary fee of $295 (for businesses outside the Ahuriri area who would like to be associated with the ABA)
For businesses located in the Ahuriri area but are not yet members of the association
Non-members may have a free basic listing on the Ahuriri website (name of company and phone number) and the ability to opt in to other promotional initiatives for a non-member fee.
Please note…
Any paid for work required by the ABA will be sourced from the membership base
The ABA will support non-member initiatives if it is of benefit to the community for no charge; for all other non-member initiatives there will be a cost for promotion
The ABA will not provide database information to any third party however we will pass on relevant information to members, as appropriate
For further information or to send in your membership form, please contact the Ahuriri Business Association at email@example.com


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Computer Science · Fullstack Developer
Someone take Node.js as the blind way to go, other love Ruby on Rails or the new React, where do you stand?
Hi Gabriele,
It seems the path that is being taken is to separate the backend from the frontend completely. Backend as API in the language of your choice (PHP, Java, .Net) and frontend with a React, Node and Redux base.
This helps if one day you want to make an app, you can reuse the API too.
Find a good technical co-founder and go with what he/she is comfortable with.
MVP and 'scale up' are not always to be considered together. In fact, MVP should come way before you even have the final idea for a product, it is about verifying a theory. Then, you might start working on scaling up. Remember you never scale a platform, you scale a website.
With all that said, node.js doesn't fit all types of web development. It will probably be better to look into other dev stacks.
I wouldn't choose Java, because the development is way too expensive. Wouldn't pick PHP, because I don't like the language. Wouldn't pick RoR, because it will kill you when you need to scale up and development is very slow. I personally developed my startup on .NET platform, gets things done fast and relatively inexpensive.
So, not enough information to receive a really meaningful answer. And most of the time it will be a personal preference by your tech co-founder.
depends on technical requirements. My usual fav is Django + React but if streaming is a requirement than Node is a great starting point.


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Get DVD Talk Feeds
The Movie:
Man of Tai Chi, the directorial debut of The Matrix's Keanu Reeves, is a new-fangled chopsocky flick that doesn't skimp on the good stuff. In fact, around half of the running time is devoted to fights featuring Matrix series stuntman-turned-actor Tiger Chen (playing a character named Tiger Chen) and choreographed by fight film legend Yuen Woo Ping. Working with such a strong team, Reeves delivers an assured first effort behind the camera.
Reeves also gives himself a juicy villain role as Donaka Mark, who runs an underground fighting ring fronted by a security company. We first see him murdering one of his own fighters after the man refuses to strike a fatal blow against his opponent. When Donaka sees Tiger Chen, a put-upon courier, handily clobber somebody at a martial arts match, he sees a potential new protege. Tiger is hungry to show that Tai Chi is more than just exercise, and with his master's temple in danger of being foreclosed and bulldozed, he needs money too.
The movie then becomes a tug-of-war between two masters, the master of Ling Kong Tai Chi (Yu Hai), often clad in white and always trying to get Tiger to seek balance in his energy, and Donaka Mark, always dressed in black and trying to get Tiger to unleash his power so he will not just win fights but become a vicious killer. Tiger is seduced by what the underground fighting has to offer him, both in a financial sense and in how it makes him feel more powerful than ever before. The fact that this might lead to murder does not enter his mind.
The movie is very black-and-white in its morality, and so Tiger's fall from innocence is less interesting than it could be. But, fortunately, the movie subscribes to a character-development-through-fighting approach, and therefore is never boring.
Karen Mok appears as a police detective trying to bust Donaka Mark's fighting ring, but who is always one step behind, largely thanks to Mark's constant use of surveillance cameras. Many of those cameras are also frequently trained on Tiger, even when he is not fighting, which at first suggests that Mark is beyond paranoid but turns out to relate to an interesting twist late in the film. Ye Qing plays a crushworthy office worker who tries to help get the Ling Kong temple legal protection from being torn down, but the movie is so focused on Tiger's infatuation with winning fights that their relationship never gets a chance to develop into a typical romantic B-story.
For a genre flick, Man of Tai Chi delivers its fight-film thrills without being too insulting to your intelligence. While a more layered story, with a more fleshed-out protagonist, certainly would have been nice, action fans looking for a good time will get a kick (and a punch and a throw) out of it.
The Blu-ray
The Video:Shot with an Arri Alexa Studio camera, the film has a look that could conceivably be mistaken for film at times, but has the sharpness of digital cinematography. The AVC-encoded 1080p 2.40:1 image looks spot-on, with no noticeable compression issues or banding. The color palette is a little dull and gray, but that was obviously an artistic choice by the filmmakers.
The Audio:The DTS-HD MA 5.1 English & Cantonese & Mandarin audio track is also top-notch for a new release. The atmosphere and score comes through nicely in the rear channels. The punches and kicks all come through clear... and, oh yeah, so does the dialogue. In addition to an English subtitle track for the foreign-language portions of the film, there are English SDH and Spanish subtitles tracks.
Special Features:
Final Thoughts:Well, it's certainly not Oscar material. But being a much better made effort than you'd expect for something that never played a wide theatrical release, Man of Tai Chi is a crowdpleaser for fans of kung fu movies. Recommended.
Justin Remer is a filmmaker, oddball musician, and frequent wearer of beards. His new album, Dream Journal, is now available to stream or download on Bandcamp, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, and wherever else fine music is enjoyed.


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By Stuart Hotchkiss
It is officially springtime; even United Airlines says so via e-mail with a "spring is here sale" announcement and a pretty spring image. While most American eyeballs are focused on NCAA "March Madness," Washingtonians and visitors to the nation's capital are thinking like United Airlines - pink cherry blossoms.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival (NCBF), a 501(c)(3) organization, annually celebrates the original gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo in 1912 and the enduring friendship between the people of the Unites States and Japan.
During the next two weeks, through April 12th, more than 1 million tourists will come to Washington to admire the blossoming cherry trees around the Tidal Basin and attend numerous concerts, competitions, parties and the city's largest parade (April 4th) that herald the beginning of spring in Washington. First Lady Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chair of this year's festival.
Like most festivals, NCBF has evolved into a merchandiser, and the focal point has been its official artwork, created this year by Carol Tomasik of Norton, Ohio. Ms. Tomasik's original colored pencil drawing has been reproduced as a beautiful poster and adapted for t-shirt, sweatshirt, coffee mug and other product designs.
Collectors delight every year when the new NCBF lapel pin is released, and the fact that the year is tastefully etched into the back side of each pin shows that the organization has carefully thought about its "look."
The festival's website has been the primary source of distribution for merchandise and this year's site has a new boutique section, indicative of the NCBF's increasing brand value and the growing demand from its loyal supporters for artisan jewelry and other fine craftwork.
A particularly stunning piece in the boutique is a handscultpted stoneware clay cherry blossom pendant – adorned with fresh water pearls linked together by 14k gold-filled wire – and attached to a freshwater pearl necklace. Earrings and pins handsculpted in the same manner as the pendant are also available.
With the support of the DC Chamber of Commerce, the NCBF has created a new retail venue in the city's Visitor Information Center, located inside the Ronald Regan Building and International Trade Center at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (one block from the White House Visitor Center).
"The city of Washington has always supported our festival needs, and the added cooperation we've received from the Chamber has been a boost to our long-term strategic plans," says NCBF President Diana Mayhew. "We have worked with local artists and suppliers to create an exclusive array of festival merchandise that is both tasteful and we can call our own."
The NCBF merchandise should be a breath of fresh air for souvenir shoppers in Washington; for at least four months, Obama merchandise sourced overseas has been distributed on a non-exclusive basis throughout hundreds of street and store vendors in the city and its environs. Those who are in town to see the cherry blossoms now have good reason to ignore it.
Stuart Hotchkiss is the owner of Capital Ties, a privately owned neckwear design and manufacturing business in Washington, DC. Prior to his life as an entrepreneur, Stuart served as President of Time Inc. Home Entertainment, a $200 million enterprise of mail order, retail and licensing businesses, all brand extensions of the Time Inc. Magazine Group. Stuart also was in charge of Time Inc.'s in-house advertising agency.