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Revitalized college signals new vision in Tanzania
With ambitious goals, church needs trained leaders
NYABANGE, Tanzania — Mennonite Theological College of Eastern Africa has experienced a dramatic turnaround, going from a dying school of just three students to a thriving college in one year.
On Dec. 2, 90 students celebrated their graduation from MTCEA with singing, speeches, recognitions and even a rap that recounted the year's experiences.
The revitalization of MTCEA is a sign of new vision and energy for Tanzania Mennonite Church — in Swahili, Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania, or KMT.
Five new bishops elected early in 2017 initiated "Vision 2034," a set of goals including growth and expansion of the church, renewed emphasis on social programs such as medical clinics and preschools, and stronger networks of cooperation and support. "2034" refers to the year KMT will celebrate its centennial.
Recognizing that the new vision requires trained leaders, KMT general secretary John Wambura focused on re-energizing the college. Through referrals by the bishops and personal contacts, he soon had a list of applicants for a one-year certificate program. Then he recruited teachers, some of them retired pastors willing to volunteer their time. He asked congregations to send food to support the students from their area.
As MTCEA grew throughout 2017, all was accomplished without major donations. There were times when the students fasted because there was no food, and teachers taught without pay, but God provided.
MTCEA was begun by Eastern Mennonite Missions in 1936 as a Bible school to train leaders for the emerging church, two years after EMM missionaries first entered Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
In the 1960s, the Bible school was upgraded to a theological college, which continued until 1981, when it closed due to low enrollment.
The college was reorganized and reopened in 1991. It continued with an average of 20 to 25 students, but in recent years its future was threatened by low enrollment, a shortage of funds and lack of commitment by supporting churches.
By the end of 2016 there were only three students, part-time teachers who volunteered their time, waning commitment by local Mennonite churches and leaders and a loss of financial aid from donors.
The success of MTCEA in 2017, which culminated in the graduation ceremony where 87 students received certificates and three received diplomas, has brought new hope and energy to churches across KMT.
The college was scheduled to open again this month with a one-year certificate program and a two-year diploma program.
Many of the graduates hope to continue and complete the diploma program. There is also a plan to hold seminars and in-service training courses for pastors.
A country of youth
MTCEA prepares youth to serve in churches as pastors, evangelists, missionaries and administrators. Tanzania is a country of youth, with nearly two-thirds of the population under 25 years old. Many are committed to serving in evangelism and church leadership.
Challenges facing the MTCEA board of governors include further developing the curriculum and organizational structure and planning for financial stability. The board wants at least 50 percent of the budget to come from local sources, in addition to funds from donors.
A pressing need is beds and mattresses for the dormitories and desks and chairs for classrooms.
Western churches can support MTCEA by providing faculty, financial contributions and prayer support. Those who wish to contribute in any of these ways can contact John Wambura at firstname.lastname@example.com or P.O. Box 1023, Musoma, Tanzania.
Comments Policy
Mennonite World Review invites readers' comments on articles. To promote constructive dialogue, editors select the comments that appear, just as we do with letters to the editor in print. These decisions are final. Writers must sign their first and last names; anonymous comments are not accepted. Comments do not appear until approved and are posted during business hours. Comments may be reproduced in print, and may be edited if selected for print.


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'Frank Castle is dead....call me the Punisher'
Inspired by the Marvel character 'The Punisher', this fire pit is sure to spark fear in to criminal underworld!
He is finished in a mixture of black ultra high temperature (UHT) paint, with a all over finish with a clear UHT lacquer.
Dimensions approx 44x44x78cm
Worldwide shipping is available on all of our products.
Please note each of our wood burners is handmade to order and the current waiting list for this product is approx. 6-8 weeks.
In stock£499.00

subset: commoncrawl


text: IEC Code For Partnership Firm : Partnership is the like Sole Proprietorship But its require minimum two partners instead one. Its has a unlimited liablity in the business but best for the testing your ideas in the Import Export Business with the Partners. Its require just draft only a Partnership Deed and open a current bank account on the firm name, after that you have to apply for the Import Export Code (IEC Code).


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Phaze Binary Stars Volume 2: Perfect Strangers and Foreign Relations by Jack Greene
Publisher: Phaze Books
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (31 pgs)
Other: BDSM, M/M, Voyeurism, Anal Sex
Rating: 3 cherries
Reviewed by Tiger Lily
In Perfect Stranger, Robert comes to Jordan's rescue in a mall parking lot then ravishes him in a department store changing room. It's lust at first sight.
In Foreign Relations, Jesse gets some extra credit from a hot Swedish grad student. They have their own international incident right in the Laundromat.
A hero in the parking lot comes to the rescue once again in the dressing room. A Nordic God teacher who wants a new lesson. Did I pique your interest? Then you need to read Perfect Strangers and Foreign Relations to find out more.
Jack Greene writes stories with characters I could relate to. Who hasn't been in a jam and had someone they don't know come to the rescue? Okay, so maybe we don't get to meet our personal Superman everyday, but the Good Samaritan idea is a nice one.
In Perfect Strangers I got to meet Robert and Jordan. I liked that Jordan wasn't perfect—he's too skinny and a little self conscious. Robert isn't anything that Jordan expects and that was interesting. I liked seeing the opposites attract. What was my least favorite part was the coupling in the dressing room. It was hot, no doubt, but it was also a bit stereotypical. Yes, it's quick, but I wanted to see more emotion in it - to feel what they felt other than the pleasure.
Foreign Relations is the story of Eric and Jesse. Jesse cracked me up because he was so smitten. I wished I'd been in Eric's POV a bit more to see how he felt as he got to talk to Jesse. There were moments when Jesse came across as sweet and others where he was too blatant. Although it's a short story, this one was hot and more satisfying because I felt like the ending was something real, not just a stopping point.
If you want some super hot man-on-man love, then you need to read Phaze Binary Stars Vol. 2: Perfect Strangers/Foreign Relations>. I give this twosome 3 cherries.


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Domestic Abuse Response Team
The Domestic Abuse Response Team is intended to focus not only on immediate crisis needs of families, but provide early intervention and ongoing support to help individuals and families avoid reaching further crisis.
A partnership between Red Deer Regional Hospital Emergency Department and The Outreach Centre that focuses on the prevention of further victimization, decreases utilization of healthcare services, and encourages survivors of violence to seek supports needed to make positive changes in their lives and the lives of their children.
Referrals to DART are ONLY through the Emergency Department of Red Deer Regional Hospital.
DART staff will:
- provide patient with crisis intervention
- provide patient with domestic violence information
- assess further immediate risk of domestic violence
- develop a 24 hour safety plan (including accommodations)
- discuss patient safety upon discharge from the Emergency Department
- upon consent follow up with patient the following business day
If you would like more information regarding the DART team, domestic violence support and/or be connected to an Outreach Worker please call 403-347-2480.


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Who runs the Centre?
The centre, as a registered charity, is overseen by a team of trustees, all committed Buddhists. But on a day-to-day basis, many others in the Sangha are involved in keeping the centre functioning well. (Information on how the centre is financed)
The teaching team: all Buddhism and meditation courses at the Centre are led by members who have many years' experience of teaching and practising Buddhism and meditation, including:
Kamalavajri (cam-al-a–vaj-ree ) is a teacher of meditation and Buddhism of many years' experience. She was ordained as a member of the Triratna Buddhist order in 1996.
Dayavajri (Di-a-vaj-ri) was ordained in 2005. She is an experienced teacher at the centre, a qualified Breathworks trainer.
Vidusi (Vid-oo-shee) is an experienced teacher of meditation and Buddhism, ordained in 2006.
16 Strawberry Bank
Blackburn BB2 6AA
Website by ajwebwork | © Blackburn Buddhist Centre


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Bryan and Judi live in South Carolina. They planned a wedding there but at the last minute there was a problem with the venue so they decided to elope and get married on Christmas Day at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. Bryan had been here before and just loved it and knew it would be a great getaway. Kelley Anne at The Umstead gave him my name and number and he called me the week before Christmas to arrange it. It was short notice but since I live only about 15 minutes away, I was happy to go there and do the honors for them on Christmas Day. They had gotten their marriage license in SC but alas, it is not good in NC so they needed to get here a few days early to get their license in NC. Wisely they stopped in Charlotte and got it there on the way to Raleigh and were all set.
Pine cones, Frazier fir branches and antlers!
Beautiful Christmas tree! We would have done the ceremony here but it was busy in the lobby.
The vows.....
The rings....Bryan's ring was tight but Judi finally got it all the way on his finger!
I now pronounce you husband and wife!
Sealing the vows with a kiss!
To contact me:
Or leave a comment below!


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An opposite of what a honorable soldier is expected to be
A rogue soldier and a rogue general who cheated his way to be a president of Pakistan, ditched all his friends, lied without a sense of shame.
He acted in a most unsoldierly manner when he plotted the Kargil Fiasco, depriving the gallant dead soldiers of Pakistan right to a decent burial as war heroes.
He cheated the people of Pakistan, dismissed a government elected by the people of Pakistan.He cheated the government of of India and also cheated the US administration.
The US administration was willing to be cheated. Indian Prime Minister was willing to be cheated . No one need weep for them.
But the hundreds of lives lost on the Kargil, Afganistan, and Baluchistan.
He was an avid sympathiser and supported of terrorists. He was also the bosom pal of the CIA.
EXtracts from Indian Express of 30 April 13
'Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was today sent to judicial custody for a fortnight by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.'
'The court in Rawalpindi had said at the last hearing that Musharraf should be produced for today's hearing but he was not presented before the judge for security reasons, said chief prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali of the Federal Investigation Agency.'
'The FIA's joint investigation team had completed its investigation against Musharraf and gathered "solid evidence" that "directly connects the accused with the commission of the offences with which he has been charged", Ali said. "Musharraf has tried to shift liability and responsibility on others but there is solid evidence which proves he is guilty," he said.'
'Musharraf returned to Pakistan on March 24 after a nearly] four-year long self imposed exile abroad to contest the May 11 general elections. However, Pakistani authorities disqualified him from contesting the election, effectively putting an end to his ambitions for a political comeback.'
Filed under: Bad Governance, Personalities, Terrorism, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »


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Providing Test Equipment, Tools and Safety Products for Telecommunications Technicians
***** Featured Items *****
Deviser DS2800
Handheld V-Groove
Optional SOC Accessories
Fusion Splicer Kit
Active V-Groove
Call for List of Accessories
Digital CATV Spectrum Analyzer
All RF & Video Options installed
SLM/QAM/D3.0 Meter
with TECH3 Options -No Home Cert
Standard Accessories
$ 3,595.00
$ 995.00
We are a distributor of NEW and Reconditioned Test Equipment for the CATV, Satellite, Ethernet, Structured Wiring and Wireless markets. We specialize in portable field test equipment for service workers in the Telecommunications industry.
A short list of the type of equipment we carry is as follows:
Cable Lashing Machines, Cable Locators, DOCSIS Meters, Ethernet/Metronet meters, Fiber Optic test, Fiber Cleaning Kits, Fusion Splicers, Fiber Splice Trailers, Generators -Frequency & Noise, Hand Tools, RF Leakage, TDR's, Multimeters & Meggers, OTDR's, Outdoor Safety Products, RF Sweep Equipment, Satellite Test, Signal Level Meters, Software & Computer Products, Spectrum Analyzers, Telco Test, WiFi Testers, Wiring Testers, Ladders, Work Area Protection Equipment, xDSL and more!
We offer products manufactured by:
Acterna, Advantest, AFL, Applied Instruments, Armada Technologies, BVS, Cable Prep, Calan, C.P.A.T., Comsonics, DCD, Deviser, Dynatel, EXFO, Fiber Fox, Fluke, Fujikura, GMP, GN Nettest, Hewlett Packard, Hobbes, Ilsintech, INNO, JDSU, Jonard, Louisville, Megger, MTech, Optical Wavelength Laboratories, O.W.L., Precision Rated Optics, Progressive, Psiber, Ripley, Riser Bond, Rohde & Schwarz, Rycom, Sadelco, Sencore, Sticklers, Sunrise Telecom, Team Spirit, Televes, Tempo, Terahertz Technologies, TTI, Trilithic, Viavi, ViewTeq, Wavetek, W&G, Wilcom, Work Area Protection, XFTP, and more!
We offer repair and calibration services for most types of field test equipment.
We are also a manufacturer/distributor of replacement battery packs, chargers and other accessories provided under our brand MTech.
Reseller Inquiries are Welcome


text: Robert Franzese is a cosplayer and voice actor, and he's combined his two talents into an amazing Peter Griffin impression that really brings the star of Family Guy to life. But Peter is kind of a terrible person, so do we WANT him to come to life? Based on this public reaction to Robert's cosplay, it seems like a yes, people want Peter to walk among us. Check "Peter Griffin" visiting New York Comic-Con down below. It's strangely touching?


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I just discovered a fine website that should appeal to anyone who read Caelum et Terra: The New Agrarian.
I know we don't talk much here about the agrarian ideas we discussed in the magazine; partly the realism that sinks in at a certain age, partly weariness, but we still value rural life and this site looks like a very good resource.
(My wife and I have been looking at houses in the country lately, so…)
—Daniel Nichols


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Matador Processors: Peppers and Prayers
Originally published: May 14, 2015
by Molly M. Fleming, Journal Record Columnist
BLANCHARD, OK – Matador Processors Inc. co-founder Betty Wood was beside herself when talking about her company being purchased.
"I wanted to keep my little company going," she said. "I just took a pepper and started this thing 40 years ago."
Wood and her husband, Clif Wood, founded the company after they had bad chile rellenos at a local restaurant. Matador uses Mexico-grown peppers in its products, which are sold to distributors such as Ben E. Keith Foods and Sysco Corp.
Seven years into their new business, Clif passed away. Running the business became a little too much for Betty, and she had to file bankruptcy in late 2013. She said she received a lot of insults after she filed, but she knew it was what she had to do The company was set to go to auction May 19 and be sold by Chicago-based Loeb Winternitz.
Wood's said her prayers were answered earlier this month when Edmond resident Rick Jackson and his Iowa-based business partner, Chris Allensworth, operating as DLJ Investments, purchased the company. The company will be operated both as Midwest Performance Pack and as Matador Processors Inc.
Matador has 20 employees, though it had 49 at one point, Betty Wood said. She always had less than 50 to avoid government regulations, she said.
"I don't have any children, so my employees are my children," Wood said. "We hit bottom, but we're on our way up."
Jackson said Wood will continue to work as a consultant and spokeswoman.
The name and other personal property were purchased for $350,000. The real property was sold for $400,000 cash. Midwest Performance is leasing the property for six months while all the final details are arranged. It will pay lease payments of $6,000 per month, according to court documents in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
BancFirst had a lien against the real property for $209,157. First Fidelity Bank had a lien for $330,734 against the personal and real property. Sysco Corp. also had a financial claim against the company for $64,312.
But those debts seem to be in the past. Jackson said he and Allensworth plan to invest $2 million in the property and will bring in 20 more product lines. He said they plan to produce products for two other companies, so the job count will expand to 60 by March 2016.
"We will automate the lines," he said. "We will be very competitive because of the low overhead. We think we can be a major player."
Allensworth will serve as the president of engineering and Jackson will be the president of operations. The co-owners have a combined 50 years in the meat industry.
"We're looking forward to the adventure here of getting this thing updated and started," he said. "We have a facility in Nebraska for sale. When we saw this facility for sale, we latched onto it."
He said they plan to expand the company into retail lines as well. Wood said she's excited about what the new owners will do with the company.
"They bought it two weeks ago and they've already got it turned around," she said. "It's so exciting for me because I was so desperate. I can see my dream being fulfilled by someone who has the money to do it."


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The Presidential election is entering into its final week. All hell is breaking loose. The Obama campaign is in a shambles. Mitt Romney is gaining the big MO. The state run media- democrats with a byline never saw this coming.
The Left, the Democrat Socialist Party, and many in the statist class all thought this sucker was in the bag for Obama.
Many will think this election turned on a dime right after the first Presidential debate. Not so fast Daniel son. The seeds of what is happening now were planted in 1890 and the crops began to grown beginning in 1900 thru 1945.
The fruit of these seeds began to come to harvest in 1963. This all began with Lyndon Johnson and the Great Society.
The root cause of all this mayhem and madness began with the stroke of the pen when the Warren Court ruled against voluntary school prayer and voluntary bible readings in the public schools.
This packing and shipping out The God of the Bible, The God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob, and my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ destroyed the very foundation upon which this country was built.
The break down of the morals and values paved the way for chaos and the utter destruction of the family, the religious community, the educational system, and now the final block upon which a society must have to live economics and it is crumbling fast.
The economic system is always the last to fall.
A few of us saw this coming in 2008 when Obama was elected President. We warned you of the utter destruction that was about to be unleashed upon this great country of ours. Yet we were called racist bigots, homophobes, or plain downright loonies from the right.
The God of the Bible was giving us warnings left and right. No one listened. No one paid heed to the Biblical warnings the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was giving us. Only a few did-Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Pastor John Hagee, and myself. The entire Christian Church world never said a word.
The entire religious community didn't see the evil that was unleashed upon us until now. Yet we tried to warn you. You will never know how close are to being destroyed. This is not in the bag for we must get out and vote Obama to the curb as well as the leadership in the Senate and take it back.
Out of the ashes came a man named Mitt Romney. He wasn't my first choice. I was down right mad when all of the other conservatives fell by the wayside. I said screw it. I can't vote for this man. He's not a real conservative. He's a Mormon for crying out loud. Just look at his record and the things he said about immigration, Romney care, and many of his liberal polices.
The Lord God almighty had different ideas. The God of the Bible gave us Mitt Romney. There I said it. God is using Mitt Romney to shed the light of truth on the evil that is taking place in this country. For we are fighting not against flesh and blood but principalities so men like Newt Gingrich, Rick Sanatorium, Rick Perry, and Michelle Bachman would have been a total disaster. To fight against principalities one needs to be a Godly man. A man of prayer and one who is seeking the God of the Bible and this in turn gives one the power to fight the evil that has taken over this country.
Prayer is the most destructive weapon that men and women of God have to stop evil dead in its tracks.
Romney was my last choice. And I was not alone in this assessment. Mark Levin and many conservatives had a cow when Romney was the last man standing. The conservatives went nuts. We all freaked out.
Do you want to make God laugh make plans.
Upon closer inspection Mitt Romney doesn't have skeletons in his closet. He is a decent honorable man who lives his life according to the word of God.
Is Romney fallible?
All men are.
The word of God is the rock upon which this country was built.
You can debate this but in the end all one has to do is read the documents written by our founding fathers.
James Madison expressed these ideas in the Virginia Declaration of Rights written June 12th 1776.
" That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.
That no free Government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue, and by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles
. That Religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity, towards each other.
George Mason, "Final Draft of the Virginia Declaration of Rights," from The Papers of George Mason, 1727-1792, edited by Robert A. Rutland and published in three volumes for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. Copyright © 1970 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.unc.edu
December 11th 1776 Fast Day Proclamation of The Continental Congress.
Whereas, the war in which the United States are engaged with Great Britain, has not only been prolonged, but is likely to be carried to the greatest extremity; and whereas, it becomes all public bodies, as well as private persons, to reverence the Providence of God, and look up to him as the supreme disposer of all events, and the arbiter of the fate of nations; therefore,
Resolved, That it be recommended to all the United States, as soon as possible, to appoint a day of solemn fasting and humiliation; to implore of Almighty God the forgiveness of the many sins prevailing among all ranks, and to beg the countenance and assistance of his Providence in the prosecution of the present just and necessary war.
The Congress do also, in the most earnest manner, recommend to all the members of the United States, and particularly the officers civil and military under them, the exercise of repentance and reformation; and further, require of them the strict observation of the articles of war, and particularly, that part of the said articles, which forbids profane swearing, and all immorality, of which all such officers are desired to take notice.
It is left to each state to issue out proclamations fixing the days that appear most proper within their several bounds….
Fast Day Proclamation of the Continental Congress," December 11, 1776, in Worthington C. Ford, Gaillard Hunt et al., eds., The Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774–1789, Vol. 6 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904-37), 1022.
In the end of the People of God are rising up and voting the Bible. We stand for Liberty not tyranny. You see it is your business not mine how you live your life but when the select few start dictating what one can and can't say in the public square about the Ten Commandments. Our Lord Jesus Christ and how we must live our lives and what we have to believe in then we have a problem.
When the statists and the elites force us to be taught in schools about the Muslim Religion or homosexuality is normal or that pornography is okay or heather has two mommies or daddies is the new norm this spits in the face of my freedom.
Men and women of God will show you the error of your ways but we will not force you to believe like us. For you see God gives you the freedom of choice to live your life anyway you deem fit.
This is the very freedom our founding fathers gave us in the Constitution. These freedoms are our unalienable given to us from our creator The God of the Bible.
Thomas Jefferson wrote this letter to Benjamin Waterhouse June 22 1823.
The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man. 1. That there is only one God, and He all perfect. 2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishment. 3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion. These are the great points on which He endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews. But compare with these the demoralizing dogmas of Calvin. 1. That there are three Gods. 2. That good works, or the love of our neighbor, are nothing. 3. That faith is everything, and the more incomprehensible the proposition, the more merit in its faith. 4. That reason in religion is of unlawful use. 5. That God, from the beginning, elected certain individuals to be saved, and certain others to be damned; and that no crimes of the former can damn them; no virtues of the latter save. Now, which of these is the true and charitable Christian? He who believes and acts on the simple doctrines of Jesus? Or the impious dogmatists, as Athanasius and Calvin? Verily I say these are the false shepherds foretold as to enter not by the door into the sheepfold, but to climb up some other way. They are mere usurpers of the Christian name, teaching a counter-religion made up of the deliria of crazy imaginations, as foreign from Christianity as is that of Mahomet. Their blasphemies have driven thinking men into infidelity, who have too hastily rejected the supposed Author himself, with the horrors so falsely imputed to Him. Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christian. I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die a Unitarian. But much I fear, that when this great truth shall be re-established, its votaries will fall into the fatal error of fabricating formulas of creed and confessions of faith, the engines which so soon destroyed the religion of Jesus, and made of Christendom a mere Aceldama; that they will give up morals for mysteries, Jesus for Plato. How much wiser are the Quakers, who, agreeing in the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, schismatize about no mysteries, and, keeping within the pale of common sense, suffer no speculative differences of opinion, any more than of feature, to impair their love of their brethren. Be this the wisdom of Unitarians, this the holy mantle which shall cover within its charitable circumference all who believe in one God, and who love their neighbor! http://www.worldpolicy.org/sites/default/files/uploaded/image/Jefferson%20on%20Religion.pdf
Thomas G West professor at Hillsdale College sums it up best when he writes, "After 1965, Progressives adopted a new attitude towards religion and private associations, viewing both as threats to effective or positive freedom. The redistributive agenda of early Progressivism required the violation of the natural right to property, but in general the early Progressives supported the traditional family and liberal Christianity. Post-1965 Progressivism (in the interest of sexual liberation) explicitly attacks Christianity and rejects the older morality which supported the traditional family. To implement the new view of freedom from Christianity and moral self-restraint, government involves itself ever more pervasively in the internal affairs of churches and businesses. Since these private associations all have employees, they are thus subject to antidiscrimination provisions that actively promote affirmative action policies geared toward sexual liberation and the redistribution of resources to supposed victim groups. Private associations are not allowed to govern themselves, and businesses are often prohibited from treating religion as a positive good. Religious liberty is increasingly confined to the freedom to worship. The natural right to liberty and the specific application of that right as religious liberty and the freedom of association are denied by the contemporary Progressive view of religious liberty. (Case Study Religious Liberty In the Administrative State. Thomas G. West Study Guide – "Case Study: Religious Liberty in the Administrative State"


text:
A new Big Data @ Work whitepaper explores how technology is disrupting customer interactions and increasing demands. In this digital age of search, social, and mobile, customers are empowered and have zero tolerance for bad experiences. Big data analytics holds the key to fostering a superior customer experience by blending art and science for greater personalization at the moment of impact simultaneously across channels.
The ability to collect and quickly analyze higher volumes of structured and unstructured data from multiple sources provides clearer analysis. For example, Land O'Lakes is connecting transactional data from customers with non-relational data from its marketing database that tracks which farmers have been targeted with offers for specific seed types using Oracle Endeca Information Discovery. The self-service discovery tool combines complex data from multiple sources which salespeople access easily and quickly to match farmers' needs with the right seeds. Land O'Lakes has saved $4 million and increased sales in the company's crop inputs division by 20% and profits by nearly 30%.
Watch Land O'Lakes' Barry Libenson, SVP and CIO, tell the story.
Additionally, using big data for more proactive, predictive insights for personalized interactions such as "next likely purchase" for marketing and sales and "next best action" for service can have a direct impact on conversions for new and existing customers to lift lifetime values. Solutions such as Oracle Real-Time Decisions (RTD) allow business users to segment customers based on historic transaction values, profiles, and preferences to predict a next purchase likelihood score. The predictive customer context is combined with a content library of banner ads, imagery, and product or service messaging based on customers' in-the-moment activities, such as clicks on a website or an email or prompts from a call center agent, to prescribe a more targeted—and more persuasive—experience. The next best offers are dynamically tested and adapted in live experiments to continuously optimize:
Marketers at Dell better understand customers' buying patterns and interests and how they change over time, enabling Dell to stay more relevant in B2C and B2B omni-channel from technical service, online marketing, social and email marketing, call center and chat, events, to direct mail. Using RTD, technical support emails and calls have improved one-call close rates resulting in referrals (Net Promoter Scores) up 40% and dispatch costs down 150%. Targeted promotions have helped drive a 30% increase in email click rates and a 40% gain in revenue per click.
Watch Dell's Mark Sucrese, Director of Marketing Operations, tell the story.
Dunnhumby customer scientists streamline operations to identify new growth opportunities for brand loyalty and retail personalization using in-database Oracle Advanced Analytics. Key deliverable run times have decreased from 40 hours to an hour by consolidating customer data with analytic tools such as R for higher performance using Oracle Exadata Database Machine.
Watch Dunhumby's Chris Wones, Director of Data Solutions tell the story himself.


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Apply to KAUST
Moving to KAUST
Search for Jobs
Faculty Positions
Our Vision
KAUST Discovery
"Let's say you are driving on a highway and want to select a restaurant or hotel along the way. Or you want to know what the area looks like and get a feel for the environment. Well, 3D could help with that," Wonka said.
Today, people often use a combination of Google Maps and Google Street View, a car navigation system or standalone GPS when finding directions. These tools use two-dimensional methods. But researchers in the field are striving to create data-rich, three-dimensional maps. "Constructing 3D objects out of images or laser scans is one of the biggest research problems in computer science right now."
Sometimes, buildings or entire urban environments need to be created from scratch. A perfect example of this is the KAUST campus, which was built from a model on a piece of land. How could someone experience a virtual tour through a city that does not yet exist?
Typically, a computer scientist would work with someone like an architect, urban planner, or even an artist to create a variety of models such as office spaces, buildings, streets and boulevards, or film scenes. "There are multiple design stages in the lifecycle of a given project, so modeling is generally very time-consuming," said Wonka.
Such modeling projects involve many different aspects. A simple building can take many hours to design and a movie or game studio can routinely require a hundred people continually modeling.
An example of these varying facets is resizing a building after all the windows have been placed in the model. An architect may also require that the optimal outdoor views be seen from the meeting rooms and not from the bathrooms. Oftentimes, there isn't a firm spatial concept but all these constraints need to be taken into account when computing the geometric realization.
Currently, his group is working with Boeing on designing three-dimensional objects for the aerospace industry. "It's about having some modeling tools that help the designers to realize their vision quickly," said Wonka.
One KAUST-funded and developed initiative, called FalconViz, helps provide life-saving solutions through the development of high-quality aerial surveying technology. Their rapid response UAV drones can scan a full-scale 3D map of a four kilometer-square area struck by disaster in half an hour. That information can then be communicated to first responders. The data acquisition performed by these tiny helicopters provides a rich pipeline of images, which from a research perspective, are studied to find optimal ways of converting the data into a 3D model.
"It has many stages," said Wonka. "If you think of taking, let's say 50 images of a house, it's not like there's one program, or one algorithm, that allows you to click a button and immediately get a 3D model out." The visualization team tackles mid-size computational design and urban reconstruction projects ranging from six months to a year. As new students or postdocs join the group, the scopes are continuously redefined. "Some people are interested in geometry and focus on three-dimensional shapes modeling rather than images; while others are more into the design aspect or design analysis," Wonka explains.
- by Meres J. Weche, KAUST News


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This is one of those posts that started as a comment. Then, when I realised it was getting a bit out of hand, I decided to make it a post.
So BBB wrote an excellent post defending his ongoing love of WoW against those people who seem to not just be burnt out on WoW, but feel the need to be aggressive about it. Its not enough that they stopped playing. Everyone else must agree with them. I think the reason so many people rage against those who are happily still playing WoW is twofold.
A question of polish
Firstly, no other MMO has quite managed to be the all-things-to-all-players game that WoW is. Others have certainly been strong in different areas – Star Wars blows WoW questing out of the water for me. But people expect more from new MMOs than any has managed to give thus far. If you look at other industries, when someone comes up with a good enough idea, everyone runs with it. But that doesn't seem to happen in MMO design. Something for budding game developers to think about.
I play and enjoy Star Wars but I'm constantly baffled as to why it has failed to learn many of the lessons that WoW learned before it was even conceived of. It takes FOREVER to travel between planets and its not even a 'get on a flight point and go get a coffee' forever. Its a 'run here, click here, run there, click that, choose this, run here, click this, run there, click this' marathon. Who thought that was a good idea? Blizzard didn't, because they changed it already. Remember when it took 15 minutes to fly from Stormwind to Ironforge? I do. At first, Blizzard did that intentionally. They wanted to create a sense of time in the world. But ultimately, they realized that for many players it was just a waste of playing time. Imagine trying to do Love is in the Air back then? Every time Star Wars sends me back to the Imperial Intelligence HQ I want to slap a designer. Not only do I have to go through the run-click marathon, but theres no direct flight point from the Starport to HQ so I have to run through the damn city too. This doesn't 'enhance my sense of being in a world'. I am not IN that world. I am at my desk, wasting time RUNNING that I could be spending doing lots of more exciting things. There are plenty of things Star Wars doesn't show – why can't travel time be implied?
So was there a point? Yes. People don't like to be wrong. Some people have burnt out on WoW, but can't find another game that has that special something. They want the feeling back that they had when they first played WoW. But no game has quite managed to achieve a similar level of polish given the way games have evolved. In part I think this is because when WoW first came out, it was all about the levelling experience. However, for new MMOs, people care about the end game too, because they know thats where they are going to spend most of their time. SWTOR has focused on the levelling with the intention of adding the end game later, but has found that people are judging it on the end game it doesn't yet have. If a player has left WoW for another MMO, they want to feel that was the right choice. But if you read the forums for a game like SWTOR, its just an endless raging whine. And the reviews have been mixed. And players like me, who play the game, also write about our criticisms of the game. So, in the face of that negativity, they respond by making themselves right in their head. If they are right, everyone who stayed with WoW must be wrong. So you get the hate.
It's not me, its you
Secondly, I think people like to blame the game for things they don't want to accept about themselves. WoW has NOT changed dramatically over the years. Its been tweaked a lot. There have been 40 man raids, 25 man raids, 10 player raids, LFR, LFD, heroic modes, hard modes, battlegrounds, rated battlegrounds, quest hubs, daily quest hubs, holiday quest hubs – variations on a few themes. Its great at keeping itself up to date, but it still works on the same basic principles it had in vanilla. The social dynamic has changed, but not as much as people think. What does change, are the players. People change over time. They do different things, have different interests, make different friends, get educated, get jobs, find relationships. Sometimes, people change so much that they lose that connection. They play too much and run out of things to do, they play too little and lose the social connections that make the game fun, they play with the wrong people and end up feeling the whole game is full of jerks.
But, going back to what I said before, they still value that special feeling they got when they first played a game. They still value that connection. If the special feeling has gone it means one of two things – they've changed, or the game has changed. For WoW, it mostly means they've changed. But I don't think most people think of themselves as changing beings. So they blame the game. And if the game has changed so much they don't like it, why do other people still love it? And then we're back to the right/wrong thing I described above. People don't want to be wrong. If the game has changed so much they don't like it any more, and they are right, the people who do still like it are wrong.
I wholeheartedly agree with BBB whey he tells these people to just sod off. I know WoW is not perfect. I don't like the current raid difficulty model as I think it panders too much to the elite few, though I do think LFR is a great solution to some of this. I think LFR loot should be made non-tradeable and non-sellable to wipe out the current horrendous issues with people rolling on loot they already have to trade and sell. If they had to type 'delete' for every piece of ninja'd loot it would soon get boring. RBGs are largely inaccessible to people who might enjoy them, but don't know enough fellow PvPers and are part of PvE guilds.Achievement systems make it hard to change toons even when you want to. Its not a perfect game. No game is perfect for everyone all of the time. But I still like it. And I am right to keep playing a game I enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, thats fine. But your need to feel you are right does not make me wrong! There are whole blogs I've read that now seem to dedicate themselves to insisting that WoW is broken and people who play it are all stupid suckers who are being robbed of their money by the corporate monster that is Blizzard. You are looking to the wrong people to validate your decisions. Look to the new people you are playing with who agree with you and you will find validation there without needed to harass a bear.
And thats why I didn't end up writing this as a comment …


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Without working ourselves into too much of a premature lather let's note: 30 Rock is a few episodes away from its season six finale, which airs May 17, and NBC has yet to renew the Thursday night standby for another season.
And it sure seems possible that the premise of this week's live episode (in which the network decides to stop funding the show-within-the-show TGS as a live program) is creator Tina Fey's way of dropping yet another hint that we're rapidly nearing the end.
Combine that with Alec Baldwin's near constant talk that the show's end is nigh, Fey recently dishing on The View that "the end of the show is on the horizon," and superfans are thisclose to a Jenna Maroney-style meltdown.
If they're to linger without word of renewal for much longer, it's only natural to consider the possibility that soon Liz Lemon, Jack Donaghy, and their gaggle of weirdo coworkers and love interests won't be around anymore. (Syndication and Netflix Instant Watch will not compensate.)
But the good times in studio 6H have been plenty and it seems like a good time to look back. Here are nine favorite 30 Rock moments in no particular order:
9. Muffin Top Whole grain. Low fat. Jenna's hit pop song makes a glittery debut. And you know you want a piece of that.
8. Night Cheese Liz Lemon works her way through a block of cheese while wearing a slanket. Bob Seger would approve.
7. Bon Jovi Post-root canal, a drug addled Liz mistakes a tree for Jon Bon Jovi.
6. Queen of Jordan Tracy's wife Angie becomes a reality TV star in the greatest Bravo parody ever recorded.
5. Top That! Kenneth the page entertains the TGS audience with (what else?) the rap from the terrible/awesome movie Teen Witch. Fun fact: Robyn Lively, who played said witch, makes a cameo in Liz's high school reunion episode.
4. Blue Man Tracy's crazy combo of meds make him hallucinate (unfortunately medicine is not an exact science, according to Dr. Spaceman) and he sees a furry little blue man played by Rachel Dratch. Bonus: Jack Donaghy explains his wardrobe to Lemon. "What am I a farmer?"
3. Jack vs. Condoleeza Jack revisits his old flame, Condi Rice, after his wife, Hot Box reporter Avery Jessup, is taken captive in North Korea.
2. Werewolf Bar Mitzvah This wins for Tracy musical moments, with A Jordan Christmas in a close second.
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1. Cheesy Blasters Liz's love of disgusting, processed food comes with a cartoon cat and a jingle. Razzmatazz.
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To promote music streaming, Norway's #1 mobile telecom service provider, Telia engaged Dimitrios Adamos from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki to perform a scientific music-EEG experiment using the EMOTIV EPOC+ to record EEG from 3 famous Norwegian artists while they are listening to songs of various music genres.
The recorded EEG data were analyzed using an algorithm Dimitrios and his team developed to detect whether someone liked the music they were listening to.
The algorithm is based on a single, discernible electrical pattern that corresponds to a specific human aesthetic experience: our appreciation of music
To the surprise of the artists, there were some results that were more unexpected than others. Many of the songs the artists enjoyed differed from their expected choices, illustrating both the limitations of self-reporting scales and the artists' broader appreciation for music.
To document the experience, a short film was directed by Christian Holm-Glad, with English subtitles included.


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A Conservative minister used an offshore company to buy his second home, allowing him to cut his tax bill, it can be disclosed.
Stephen Hammond used a company based in Gibraltar, before it moved to Delaware, to buy his family's £500,000 villa in Portugal.
By not owning the villa directly, in his own name, he was able to reduce his tax bill in both Britain and Portugal.
A senior tax expert said on Friday night that Mr Hammond, a transport minister, would have been able to avoid a "big hit of capital gains tax".
The disclosure will embarrass senior Conservatives, who have criticised the use of offshore tax shelters. David Cameron described legal tax havens as "morally wrong".
In his Budget speech last year, George Osborne said legal but aggressive tax avoidance was "morally repugnant".
Buying homes through a company to avoid the tax was "unacceptable", he said. He pledged to "come down on that practice like a ton of bricks".
Mr Hammond is understood to have bought a villa in Algarve through a company called Peal Gas Ltd.
On Friday night, Mr Hammond admitted that he was behind the offshore firm that owns the family's second home.
A spokesman for Mr Hammond said in a statement: "Mr Hammond has always paid the correct amount of tax in the UK. Mr Hammond has had no personal tax liability overseas."
Peal Gas was set up in Gibraltar in April 1997. Mr Hammond bought the company, which already owned the property, in 2002.
In 2005, Portugal changed its tax rules so that the annual property tax for homes owned through companies registered in Gibraltar rose to five per cent, in an attempt to reduce the number of holiday homes held offshore in this way.
Had Mr Hammond simply transferred the property into his own name at this point he would have been liable for capital gains tax on the increase on the value of the property since it would technically have been classed as a sale.
Instead, in December 2005, he moved the company to Delaware, a US state not covered by the Portuguese rules.
Experts estimate this decision could have saved him about £20,000 in British tax because such villas rose in value by about £100,000 during this period.
Gary Heynes, a partner at Baker Tilly, the business advisers, said transferring Portuguese property to Delaware companies was common in 2005.
"The history of Delaware companies and Portugal goes back six to eight years," said Mr Heynes.
"Originally, the properties were held in Gibraltar companies to pay lower property taxes.
"Then Portugal tried to close that loophole and blacklisted those companies. People then moved the properties to Delaware or Malta, because they had not been blacklisted.
"If you took the property out of the company, you would have to pay capital gains tax in this country, which is why people took a small hit of setting up a Delaware company rather than the big hit of capital gains tax."
Peal Gas was registered in Gibraltar, until the new company was set up in Delaware. The company's registered agent is the Corporation Trust Company in Wilmington, the legal address of more than 285,000 separate businesses. This is thought to have allowed Mr Hammond to avoid capital gains tax in Britain, which would be levied at 28 per cent.
The Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi said Mr Cameron should look closely at Mr Hammond's tax arrangements.
"Just days ago David Cameron said it was important we get our house in order on tax avoidance," she said. "If there are questions to answer over one of his minister's own tax affairs, maybe the Prime Minister should start looking a little closer to home.
"With each day that goes by it's increasingly obvious that this is a Prime Minister who stands up only for a privileged few."
The villa in Vale do Lobo has a large pool. It is described on property rental sites as "a well presented and tastefully decorated four bedroom detached villa".
"Entrance to the property is through double iron gates on to a cobbled driveway flanked by lawns and trees," one site says.
It costs as much as £2,425 a week to rent in the summer. The villa is next to a popular golf course and close to a beach.
Portugal was hit hard by the economic meltdown and was forced to request an emergency bail-out from the European Union in 2011. Britain contributed to the €78 billion bail-out through the European financial stability mechanism.
Mr Hammond has been the MP for Wimbledon since 2005. He employs his wife, Sally, as his office manager, paying her £45,000 a year from taxpayer funds.
He became a minister in the reshuffle in September last year.
The issue is likely to renew calls for ministers to publish their tax returns.
In 2012, Mr Cameron said he was "very relaxed" about publishing his tax returns and believes the "time is coming" for politicians to be more open about their finances. There has been no change to the rules.
Mr Hammond lists his Peal Gas shareholding in his register of interests as an MP. However, there was no mention of it in the ministerial register of interests.
* Since publication of this article Mr Hammond's lawyers have stated the following:
It was "very normal" for foreign owned Portuguese property to be held in offshore companies and Mr Hammond "understands that owning the property through an offshore company that is registered in Portugal for tax purposes does not result in any tax benefits to him and his wife". Following the blacklisting of Gibraltar companies Mr Hammond was "advised to move the corporate registration" to Delaware, which was "white listed". "He understands that the advice in relation to Delaware was because of the bureaucracy and costs involved of holding property within a Portuguese company. He believes that this is why the corporate registration was moved to Delaware and not for any tax avoidance reasons."
"Our client and his wife/Peal Gas have since 2002 been liable for capital gains tax on any chargeable gain on any disposal of the shares in Peal Gas and/or the property".


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Hey, Sports League Scorekeepers!
We're not keeping score, but it feels like the admins just keep winning! Based on feedback from our wonderful customers (we're still free though!), we have added a new admin role for sports league scorekeepers.
You can now assign a "Score-Admin" role to users to allow them to update and post scores only. This is perfect for folks who want to help with updating the website with results but don't need to have access to financial information or program set-up. Any volunteer in your organization is eligible to have this user permission which is super easy to add.
Especially if you have a larger organization, this is a great way to ensure that the right people have access to the right information without compromising security. If you're looking at Blue Sombrero to possibly become your online sports registration provider, especially if you're a sports league scorekeepers, don't hesitate to reach out to our team and hear more about this new addition.
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What: Brisbane Festival
Where: Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), Treasury Brisbane Arcadia, Theatre Republic, The Tivoli, Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane City Hall & Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
When: 8 September - 29 September
How Much: TBC
More: Brisbane Festival aims to connect artists and audiences in ways that lift the spirit, disrupt the conventional and open our city to the world. Each September, it explodes across the city with a thrilling program of theatre, music, dance, circus, opera and major public events such as Sunsuper Riverfire.
Brisbane Festival attracts an audience of around one million people every year. Brisbane Festival has only been annual since 2009, but in that time it's been embraced by the city and admired by the world. In that time, the Brisbane Festival has established itself as a world-class festival and Brisbane's biggest cultural event.


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$80.00 40 minutes
Feel empowered and discover how through small, steady progress, you can support your child to overcome their food challenges. You will know how to remove the stress around eating and believe that happy, relaxed family mealtimes are achievable.
A 40-minute, web-based video chat for when a face-to-face appointment is not convenient.
During this session, you will receive an expert's evaluation of your child's eating issues (based on the food diary and pre-consultation questionnaire you will have already completed).
You will be emailed a personalised, step-by-step programme based on your child's needs. We will coach you through this programme so that you have a clear understanding of each strategy and the methodology behind it. You will leave feeling confident to use these strategies at home to teach your child to try new foods.
If appropriate, your child can also be introduced to their personalised food chart and how this resource will be used to track and reward their progress. After our chat, they will know the steps they will be taking and understanding that they will set the pace.
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Having information regarding what is consisted of in the luxury bedding sets is a benefit to you. This is due to the fact that you have the ability to conserve your cash when you are purchasing what you know rather than what you do not know. Always put in mind that the service providers of the bed settings presume that you know almost everything.
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Just What Can The Music Business Teach You About Bedding
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Batman Bedding Set Choices That You Should Never Make
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Bedding For Less Money: Ideas From Poor Shoppers
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Methods To Improve Your Bedding
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It can be challenging to get excited about selecting a new duvet when one has so much to consider … tog ratings, fill power, the benefits and drawbacks of goose down, feathers, silk, cotton or wool; then there's the different hypoallergenic fillings such as 'hollowfibre' and 'microfibre'. Are Batman Bedding Set makers trying to puzzle us?
Marital Relationships And Good Quality Bedding Have More In Common Than You Would Think
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Hassle-free Ways The Pros Make Good Use Of Batman Bedding Set
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Amazing Bedding That Can Improve Your Bed Room
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What's to Love: Cannon Trail is a *relatively* new trail in the Forest Park trail system. In my opinion, building this trail was very smart. The building of Cannon Trail helped eliminate the need to use many existing, rogue trails that cut through sensitive areas on a steep hillside. The trailhead is located off Germantown road either at Leif Erickson or the Wildwood trail parking lots. If you're looking for a hike with a bit less traffic, this hike fits the bill.
My wife an I used to trail-run here quite often. We'd start up on the Wildwood and use some of these unsanctioned/unmarked trails to create loops down to Leif Erickson. Then, we'd head back up to the Wildwood parking area without having to use Germantown road. Apparently, enough people were using these unmarked trails to catch the attention of trail builders – who saw a need to create a legitimate trail connecting the Wildwood and Leif Erickson parking area to parking area.
The Cannon Trail is a delightful connector with a very easy grade. Due to this connection, there is a now a legitimate loop hike from either trailhead on Germantown road. Here is a short video clip…
Caveats: Be careful on Germantown road. There are blind curves, and people often pull out into traffic (very suddenly) from trailheads. Parking may be an issue on a beautiful, weekend afternoon. The worst part about this hike is having to walk down Leif Erickson Road, but as you can see in the photo, even that was a pleasant experience.
Website: Forest Park Trails
This is the "Friends of Forest Park" website, which provides an abundance of useful information about Forest Park, hikes, mountain biking, trail access issues, etc.
This isn't the "official site," but it does give a good description of the hike.
Distance from Portland: This is about a 10 mile drive out highway 30 toward Sauvie Island and the St. John's Bridge access ramp.
Recommended Ages: All ages. Under age 2 will probably need a carrier of some kind (see Family Tips), but toddlers will probably enjoy rambling along the trail, especially the Wildwood (mostly flat). Older kids won't mind this hike, because it's short enough to keep the boredom away.
Parental Stress Factor: Low Stress! Your close to your car in case of an accident. You will not see many people compared to other parts of Forest Park.
Physical Difficulty: Low to Medium – this is a pretty easy little hike. There are some steep parts, but they are very short.
Family Fun Factor: Medium to High depending on how much your kids like to hike. This is a great little loop hike in a beautiful part of Forest Park. Even though the trailhead was packed with cars we didn't see anyone on the trails.
Pet Friendly: Yes! Forest Park, in general, is a great place for dogs. Since this is a bit off the beaten path, you'll have plenty of opportunity to let your dog run. (Editorial NOTE 4/16/2012) I originally meant it was a good place to run with your dog. My original statement implies that it's okay to let your dog run around off-leash. According to the rules, dogs need to be on leashes at all times!
Weather Considerations: Year round, but watch for muddy conditions in the winter! While I recommend a jogger, it's not a good idea in wet, muddy conditions. Besides the danger of slipping, the jogger will where ruts in the trail while going through muddy sections.
Insider Info: We parked at the trailhead for the Wildwood trail. If you're driving up Germantown from the St. John's Bridge, it will be the 2nd parking area on your left. The first or lower parking area is for Leif Erickson Road. For a very casual, after-dinner stroll, hike the Wildwood Trail no more than 3/4 miles to "Fire Line" trail, which cuts a switch-back to the left. Take this for 1/4 to 1/3 of a mile to Leif Erickson Road. You'll go around a metal gate, and you'll see the fire extinguisher in the picture here.
Take a left on Leif Erickson and head back 1 mile to the Leif Erickson parking area. Keep left and walk almost all the way to Germantown road, and you'll see the sign for Cannon Trail. Take Cannon Trail 1/2 to 1/3 of a mile back to the Wildwood parking area. A really nice hike for kids. There is just enough up and down to keep them interested.
Family Tips: We used a Bob Jogger on this trip, because our son didn't feel like hiking that afternoon. There are some spots where we had to be very careful (steep!); however, these spots were short-lived, and it worked fine for the most part. Please make sure to securely fasten the safety strap to your wrist when you're heading down any steep hill.
A backpack would probably work better, but we don't like backpacks on short trips, because inevitably our son wants to get down and walk a bit – then, changes his mind – then, changes his mind again. It's so much easier with a jogger! Plus, joggers are great due to the fact you can usually store jackets, snacks and anything else you might need during the hike. If you're lucky, you won't even need to carry a backpack at all on this short hike.
Technorati Tags: cannon trail, forest park, hiking, kids, loop-hikes, Leif Erikson, Wildwood Trail
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3 Comments
" Since this is a bit off the beaten path, you'll have plenty of opportunity to let your dog run…"
Unfortunately, this is a common attitude in Forest Park, beaten path or not. According to the Forest Park Conservancy, this poses a threat to birds, fish, and other wildlife. Please do not use Forest Park as an area to let your dog run. There are off leash areas throughout the city where you can do this, but Forest Park should never be one of them.
Thanks man! Exact info I was looking for to see if it was good to take my kid on


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Food waste is a big problem in Australia. On average, we throw out one in every five bags of groceries! Throwing out that much food is incredibly wasteful, not only in terms of the money spent on purchasing the food, but also the amount of energy and resources used to produce the food. Consider the amount of water, fuel and fertiliser needed to grow, harvest, transport and process all that food! So in an effort to reduce waste and be kinder to our hip pocket and the environment, here are four ideas on how to use leftover roasted vegetables.
Prepare the frittata mixture by whisking together 6 eggs, ½ cup cream and ¾ cup parmesan cheese. Place the leftover roasted vegetables in a greased frying pan and pour in the mixture and top with 1/3 cup torn basil leaves. Cook for 8-10 minutes on low heat until almost set before placing the mixture under a preheated griller on high for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown.
Roasted vegetable salad
Whisk together 1 tablespoon oil, ½ cup lemon juice, 2 cloves garlic (crushed) and 2 teaspoons sugar in a jug and pour over warmed leftover roasted vegetables and 1 can (400 gram) chickpeas. Add 2 tablespoons of parsley and toss gently to combine before serving.
Cous cous salad
Add leftover roasted vegetables to 2 cups cooked cous cous, 1 can (400 gram) lentils (drained and rinsed), 250 grams grape tomatoes (halved), 2 tablespoons currants and a handful (approximately 60 grams) baby spinach. Drizzle over with ½ cup plain yoghurt mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice before serving.
Roasted vegetable pizza
Spread pizza sauce on pita bread , add leftover roasted vegetables and top with mozzarella cheese and herbs before placing in 220oC oven for ten minutes. Top with spinach before serving.
What ideas do you have for using leftovers?
Making dips from scratch is a simple and fun way to add a special homemade touch when entertaining. You will find a selection of easy-to-make dips in The Food Book (pp. 176-181) including recipes suitable for vegans such as the roasted eggplant dip (p. 181), the carrot and cumin dip (p.180), for coeliacs and for people that are allergic to peanuts there is the roasted capsicum dip (p.179).
Chickpeas are an excellent base for dips—they are high in protein and fibre and complement a range of ingredients. A favourite of ours is the beetroot hummus. Here's a recipe so you can try it at home.
Beetroot hummus dip
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 150 grams beetroot, cooked and chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- I teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 2-3 teaspoons water
Place the ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth. To adjust the consistency of the dip, add in more water as desired.
The dip can be made a couple of days in advance and its lovely colour is certain to appeal to your guests. Drizzle with a little olive oil prior to serving with crackers, carrot and celery sticks.
Check out the many tasty dip recipes in The Food Book – there is sure to be one there that will tickle your fancy. With an array of vegetables in season, now is the time to get out your food processor and makes some simple, tasty starters!
The arrival of summer means we are often looking for lighter meals that require minimal cooking and preparation time. There is a chapter full of delicious salad ideas using seasonal salad ingredients in The Food Book (pp.202 – 219).
Salads can be served at any point throughout a meal – but are often served as the main dish of meals during summer. The choice of ingredients that can be used in salads are endless, but a favourite of ours, which is very simple to prepare and suitable for vegetarians, is made by combining some rocket, toasted walnuts, canned lentils (drained) some goats cheese and slices of roasted pumpkin, splashed with balsamic vinegar. It is a perfect meal on a hot summer evening as it is quick and refreshing and contains a range of textures from the crunchy nuts to the smooth creamy cheese. If you do not want to do any cooking at all, you can always substitute the pumpkin with baby beets.
What ideas do you have for simple salads this summer?
With its longer and sunnier days, spring is the perfect time to grow warm-weather loving plants such as tomatoes in your garden.
To get the best crop, plant the seedlings in an area where they will get full sun but be protected from strong winds, it is recommended you fertilise the soil and do not to plant the tomatoes in the same spot two years in a row, in order to prevent the accumulation of disease in the soil. The plants will also benefit from mulching. Tomatoes will also grow well in pots if you use a top-quality potting mix. Water the plants regularly and fertilise only when the plants begin to flower. Tomatoes turn red when they are ripe and ready to be picked.
We think nothing beats the taste of a freshly picked vine-ripened tomato. Simply slice and add to a salad or place on top of a dry biscuit to create a juicy and tasty treat.
What tips do you have for growing tomatoes? What are your favourite recipes for tomatoes?
Spring has certainly sprung, and with it a new season of fruit and vegetables. One such vegetable is the beetroot; with its firm, rich, naturally sweet, maroon-red roots and its lusciously green leaves it is a versatile, healthy and delicious vegetable. Beetroots are a good source of fibre, folate and vitamin C and it can be cooked in a variety of ways such as roasted, grilled, boiled or baked. They can even be served grated raw in salads and that's just the roots! Did you know that the leaves of beetroots are also edible? You can use them in salads or stir-fries. But one of my favourite ways to use a beetroot is as a dip.
Here is a recipe for a delicious beetroot dip, so get in while they're still in season; eating foods in season has lots of benefits in terms of health and nutrition, budget and environment.
Roasted beetroot dip
- 2 large beetroots, washed and trimmed
- 1/3 cup chopped mint
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¾ cup Greek yoghurt
- salt and pepper
- Wrap each beetroot individually in foil and bake in the oven at 200°C for 40–60 minutes, until tender. When beetroots have cooled, peel and chop roughly.
- Place beetroot mint, garlic, lemon juice and spice into food processor and process until smooth.
- Place in a bowl and fold in yoghurt and season to taste.
- Season dip with salt and pepper and serve with dry biscuits and chopped vegetables.
Three of our tips when making this recipe are:
- If running short on time, use drained, canned beetroot (although we do recommend using fresh beetroots)
- Other flavours that go well with beetroot include allspice, bay leaf, cloves, chives, dill, garlic, mustard seed, thyme, and citrus.
- To avoid staining your hands, wear rubber gloves when handling beetroots.
What ways can you include beetroot in your diet this spring?
This year National Healthy Bones Week will run from 4-8 August. This event, run by Dairy Australia, aims to raise awareness of the importance of dairy and other calcium-rich foods in maintaining healthy bones and preventing osteoporosis later in life. A diet rich in calcium, along with weight-bearing activity such as walking, is essential for developing and maintaining strong bones.
Stuck for ideas about ways to consume calcium-rich foods? There are plenty of great recipes in The Food Book that include a variety of dairy products, such as milk and cheese.
For a quick meal, try making a rich, creamy alfredo sauce (The Food Book p. 243) to serve with wide fettuccini or the store cupboard classic, tuna mornay (The Food Book p. 265) – both recipes contain parmesan, which has an intense and sharp flavour.
For those with a bit more time on your hands, try making some hearty and comforting fish pies with milk (pp. 272-273). Or you could make a deliciously smooth cheese sauce (p. 429) to serve over cauliflower or broccoli.
If you are feeling like something sweet, custard sauce made from custard powder and milk (p. 449) makes for a simple yet sumptuous addition to many desserts. You could add it to old-fashioned winter favourites such as stewed apples (p. 324), baked apples (p. 329) or the steamed jam pudding (p. 347). What ideas do you have for 'saying cheese' and consuming foods high in calcium during National Healthy Bones Week?
Pomegranates are an ancient fruit that are a great source of vitamin C, B-group vitamins and antioxidants; they grow on trees that are native to eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, Afghanistan and Iran but pomegranate trees are now also grown in Australia. Pomegranates are round fruits with a leathery red/orange rind; beneath this rind are membranous chambers full of red, juicy, sweet yet tart arils that also contain white, edible seeds. Many people may refer to the arils around the seed as the actual seed.
Pomegranates are in season in May so why not try some in your cooking? Pomegranates can be used in a variety of ways as the arils containing the seeds add an interesting addition to many dishes. Pomegranate arils can be sprinkled in salads or eaten by themselves! The juice of the pomegranate is used in cooking, both as a fresh juice and as a concentrated syrup, especially in Middle Eastern cuisine.
However, removing the aril and seeds from the pomegranate's membrane can be a messy task for many cooks. Here is a suggestion to make this task easier:
- Cut the the crown end of the pomegranate and discard.
- Score the rind of the pomegranate in several places—do not to cut the rind all the way through.
- Place the pomegranate upside down in cold water and soak for ten minutes.
- Break the rind of the pomegranate and remove seeds from the membrane — the arils containing the seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl.
- Use a sieve to remove rind and membranes from bowl.
- Drain the seeds with a sieve or colander.
- Gently pat dry the arils with paper towel.
- Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
If you're looking for a simple, yet delicious recipe that uses pomegranate, try the following that includes limes, which are also in season now.
Quinoa with pomegranate salad
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- 1 pomegranate
- 1 Spanish onion, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons sultanas
- 100 grams feta, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon coriander, roughly chopped
- I tablespoon Italian parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon mint each coriander, roughly chopped
- 3 limes (or lemons), juiced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Cook quinoa in stock until light and fluffy-cooked quinoa will still have a bit of bite. Leave to cool.
- Meanwhile toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until lightly golden.
- Mix lime juice with oil, sugar and herbs to make dressing.
- Combine the quinoa with pine nuts, pomegranate arils, onion and sultanas.
- Drizzle with dressing and toss before serving.
It's Easter time! And you know what that means? Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! It's a glorious time where we can all indulge a little in our favourite cocoa treats. When we think about chocolate and Easter, most people immediately think of chocolate eggs and bunnies, but there are also a plethora of other chocolate treats you can make.
Perhaps consider making a Chocolate and Marshmallow Weetbix™ Slice (recipe below), it's a delicious alternative to traditional homemade chocolates that you can share with family and friends over a cuppa. This slice is a favourite of The Food Book team as it has a crunchy chocolate base topped with deliciously smooth marshmallows. It will be a definite winner with young and old this Easter.
Chocolate and Marshmallow Weetbix™ Slice
- 3 Weetbix™, crushed with hands
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 3 tablespoons cocoa
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 125 g butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1½ cups water
- 1 tablespoon gelatine dissolved in a little water (or equivalent gelatine leaves)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- few drops of pink food colouring (optional)
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- Preheat oven to 180oC and grease a 20cm square tin.
- Crush Weetbix™ with your hands and add to mix together with flour, coconut, cocoa and brown sugar.
- Melt butter and stir through dry ingredients.
- Press mixture in tin and bake for 20 minutes, and allow to cool.
- Make marshmallow by dissolving sugar in the water in saucepan over a low heat.
- Add gelatine (or gelatine leaves) and stir until dissolved.
- Allow to cool before adding vanilla extract (and colouring) and beating with an electric beater until thick and light.
- Pour over biscuit base and allow to set.
- Sprinkle with coconut and cut into squares.
Boy, it has been hot! Summer has definitely arrived, and brought along with it record-breaking temperatures. We, The Food Book Team, have not only been looking for ways to cool down, but also ways to make your summer eating pleasurable. Nobody wants to be slaving over a boiling stove for hours in a 40 degree day, so if you are looking for recipes that will help you stay cool and not heat up the kitchen, think about making some frozen treats like icecream or sorbet. There is a delicious recipe for Easy Icecream on p. 335 of The Food Book – just add some flavouring ingredients at step 3 to add your own personal twist, we've been enjoying some icecream with chopped mango and mashed banana.
What ideas do you have for frozen treats to keep you cool in summer? We'd love to hear it!
However, if you do have to cook, the trick is to cook early in the day when it is cooler, keep the meal in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat and then use the microwave to heat it up. Frittatas are a good idea during the heat, they can be made early and served warm or at room temperature. The Vegetarian Frittata on p. 140 of The Food Book makes a deliciously light meal for a hot evening, especially when served with a fresh garden salad (try the Green Garden Salad recipe on p. 205).
If it is simply too hot to cook, then consider using fresh seasonal produce to make delicious, yet substantial salads (so you do not wilt in the kitchen). The Food Book has lots of easy-to-prepare salads you could try. Tabbouleh (p. 212) is full of fiber and bite – burghul can easily be substituted for quinoa for a bit of variety. The delightfully refreshing Watermelon and Feta Salad (p. 208) is perfect for that hot summer day – the salty creaminess of the feta and the toasted crunch of the walnuts are the perfect match for the sweet, juicy watermelon.
What ideas do you have for quick summer meals?
As the festive season rapidly approaches, some of us (actually, probably most) will still be madly running about trying to get organised. In lieu of braving the hoards of frantic shoppers, perhaps consider a homemade gift? There are plenty of simple treats you can make for the festive season that are easy, personal and impressive.
If you are looking for a quick last minute gift, try making Christmas Rum Balls – modify the recipe on p.376 of The Food Book by adding one finely chopped 50g Cherry Ripe bar and one finely chopped 50g Peppermint Crisp bar at Step 2 and reducing the amount of coconut to ½ cup. These treats make the perfect gift when bundled together and wrapped up nicely.
Another idea is to make the gingerbread people on p.382 of The Food Book, make your gingerbread people festive by "dressing" them up in Christmas attire – green and red icing with small Christmas-coloured lollies are particularly effective. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into a range of Christmas shapes such as stars and stockings and decorate with icing – simple, yet delightful.
What other ideas do you have for edible Christmas gifts?
Did you know that there are even more recipes on The Food Book app? My niece Charlotte discovered the Christmas pudding recipe on the app, and with a little help, made a gorgeous pudding, which is now in the refrigerator, ready to be reheated on Christmas Day.
Check out what extra recipes are on the app now, but don't forget to come back and let us know how you went!
Summer is coming! The days are getting longer, the nights are getting warmer and our appetites are getting bigger – this can only mean one thing – al fresco dining!
Having a barbecue is the perfect way to prepare a delicious and fuss-free dinner outside during the summer. Barbecuing has always been a popular way of cooking food in Australia, because food cooked over a flame lends itself to a delightfully charred and smoky flavour that you simply can't substitute. Traditionally, we have barbecued sausages, hamburgers, steaks and kebabs but these days more and more Australians are getting adventurous with the types of foods they cook on their hallowed grills. Kofta, satay pork and kangaroo are some of the things that are finding their way onto the barbecue, along with scallops, calamari and vegetables such as corn, asparagus, zucchini, eggplant and sweet potato.
Why not try it for yourself? Check out pp 300-321 of The Food Book for great barbecuing recipes and ideas. But here is a delicious barbecued asparagus recipe to help kick-start your barbecue. It's straight-forward to make and only needs items commonly found in the pantry, so you can easily add it to your repertoire of barbecued foods.
Simply barbecued asparagus
- 500 grams asparagus spears, trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Drizzle oil on asparagus and place on hot barbecue plate.
- Cook for 3 minutes and then season with salt and pepper before serving.
Another delicious asparagus recipe with a few extra ingredients is described below. It sure beats the traditional sliced onions and potatoes on the barbie!
Barbecued asparagus with balsamic vinegar
- 500 grams asparagus, trimmed
- 3 tablespoons(60 mL) balsamic vinegar
- 23 tablespoons (40 mL) lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon (20 mL) olive oil
- 1 tablespoon (20 mL) soy sauce
- 1 garlic clove
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Crush garlic and mix with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and soy sauce in glass casserole dish (long enough to place asparagus )
- Add asparagus and cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes
- Drain marinade and place asparagus on hot barbecue plate.
- Cook for 3 minutes and then season with salt and pepper before serving.
How do you like to spend these long summer nights? Do you have a favourite barbecue recipe you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you!
It's Spring Racing Carnival time! Even if you are not a race goer, it's still spring and that means it is time to be outdoors! The weather is perfect for packing a picnic, whether it's to your local park or for a day out at the races. There are lots of delicious and simple-to-prepare dishes that you can make which will only need one hand to consume – leaving the other free to hold a book, a fishing rod or even a glass of bubbly.
One idea is to make the Layered Picnic Loaf on p. 156 of The Food Book. Consisting of a whole loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with layers of tasty ingredients – it is the perfect picnic fare. Another idea is the open sandwich – the topping possibilities are endless – you can have beans and artichoke; smoked salmon and avocado; or even pear and blue cheese. For even more suggestions have a look at pp. 154-155 in The Food Book.
Spring is also time to try some new recipes. Have you tried making capsicum and cheese bites? They are simple to make and can be easily stored.
- 1 red capsicum
- 1 yellow capsicum
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto (try the recipe on p. 431 of The Food Book or a commercial variety)
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons fresh ricotta
- 16 basil leaves
- Combine pesto, cream cheese and ricotta cheese together and set aside.
- Cut both the red and yellow capsicums lengthwise into 2.5 cm strips.
- Cook capsicum strips under a hot grill until skin blisters, and then remove and cover with plastic wrap until they cool. Peel away the skin and discard.
- Place the capsicum strips on a chopping board and position a basil leaf in the centre of each strip.
- Place approximately one teaspoon of pesto mixture end of each capsicum strip and roll up and secure with a toothpick.
- Refrigerate prior to serving.
What simple ideas do you have for foods to pack for the Spring Racing Carnival or to take on a quiet picnic?
With spring in the air, we should take advantage of the bountiful crops of juicy citrus fruits that are now ready to be picked and made into some delicious goodies!
Lemons are a wonderful fruit. We usually associate it with deliciously tangy desserts, but did you know that it can also be used in a variety of savoury dishes? Lemons go very well with ingredients such as avocado, seafood, chilli, mint and salad leaves — have a try at some of these flavour combinations yourself!
A sumptuous lemon curd is also very easy to make — it is simple, yet can make an impressive and delicious gift when poured into a jar and tied with a ribbon. Lemon curd can be used as a topping for pikelets, pavlovas or pancakes; a refreshing spread between cake layers; on English muffins or toast. You can even use it as filling for shortcrust pastry tartlets and top it with raspberries — absolutely delicious! Try out the simple lemon curd recipe on p.444 of The Food Book. You may also substitute lemons for oranges or mandarins for something different.
Lemons can also make a refreshing drink. Try making a Lime and lemonade crush (serves 4)
Juice of 3 limes
1 lemon, washed and finely sliced
1 lime, washed and finely sliced
3 cups water
¾ cup caster sugar
Crushed ice
2 tablespoons mint leaves, finely sliced
- Place juice of limes and lemons, water and caster sugar in saucepan and cook over a low heat for 5-6 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour mixture over sliced lime and lemon in jug.
- Refrigerate for four hours or until chilled.
- To serve, pour over crushed iced and sprinkle with mint leaves.
Two adults, one recipe, and multiple takes: food photography isn't for the faint-hearted! Come behind the scenes of The Food Book with photographer Brent Parker Jones and food stylist Lee Blaylock.