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National Extended Certificate in Sport
BTEC level 3
Entry requirements:
Careers related to studying BTEC Sport:
The Extended Certificate is the equivalent to studying one A- Level. The course is for someone who has a real passion for Sport and Fitness. You will study using academic and vocational methods alongside practical methods. Students will also develop the necessary skills required for a range of sport related pathways from sports coaching to gym management or to studying sport at university and many more possible routes. Many of our students progress on to employment or university to study sport related degrees such as teaching; physiotherapy; Sports Coaching; and Sport Science as well as other non-sport related fields.
Course content:
The externally assessed units are:-
-Unit 1: Anatomy and Physiology
Learners explore how the skeletal, muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems function and the fundamentals of the energy systems.
Written examination set and marked by Pearson. (1.5 hours)
-Unit 2: Fitness Training and Programming for Health, Sport and Well-being
Learners explore client screening and lifestyle assessment, fitness training methods and fitness programming to support improvements in a client's health and well-being.
A task set and marked externally and completed under supervised conditions.
The internally assessed units are:-
-Unit 3: Professional Development in the Sports Industry
Learners explore the knowledge and skills required for different career pathways in the sports industry.
-Unit 7: Practical Sport Performance
Learners study the skills, techniques, tactics and rules of selected sports through active participation in individual/team sports.
Methods of study:
Pass, Merit and Distinction are awarded based on the amount of criteria met in each unit. There are five lessons per week which are taught by the PE staff based on their area of specialism within PE and Sport. The course is taught using a mixture of practical and theoretical strategies and this is related to the world of sport and students own sporting experiences wherever possible.
Strategies include group and individual presentations, practical diary logs, practical fitness tests, individual and team game sessions and the opportunity to coach younger children in a range of sports.
Methods of assessment:
The majority of work on this course (67%) is assessed via coursework and assignments set by the teacher, however 33% of the course is assessed externally.
Entry Requirements:
You must have achieved at least a grade B in GCSE Physical Education or a Merit in BTEC Sport Level 2.


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There are over 4,000 electric cars on the road in Britain alone. Though we are a little less than three quarters of the way through 2013, this figure is expected to rise to around 6,000 before next year rolls around.
4,000 electric cars! This is something that most of those living in the United Kingdom probably find hard to believe. Though electric cars are a hot topic in the media, they are not yet a very common sight on the country's many roads.
Part of the reason for this is that electric cars are expensive. The technology is so new and the demand for them isn't yet that great that their manufacturers must price them accordingly – and, unfortunately, accordingly in this case means expensively.
But it is actually possible to find a cheap electric car. While these cars still won't be as cheap as regular petrol burning automobiles, especially brand new ones, they certainly are much cheaper than the majority of people assume.
Below are a few of the best ways to find a cheap electric car in the UK. If you're looking to save money on gas (and who isn't), help the environment, and be on the cutting edge of technology, these tips are for you.
Electric Cars Pay for Themselves
Before starting out on your search for an electric car, it is important to understand that these vehicles tend to pay for themselves. Even the most expensive electric cars end up paying for themselves as far as savings from petrol go. In addition, electric cars have longer lifespans than regular automobiles and require far less costly basic maintenance.
Converted Cars
A good portion of the electric cars seen on the road in the United Kingdom today are converted cars. This means that they were actually converted over to electric from traditional cars.
Most converted electric cars were made by hobbyists or mechanics that specialize in such conversions. They basically obtain the body of a normal car, one that uses petrol, and then take the engine out. They replace the fuel burning engine with an engine that runs on electricity.
This process sounds expensive but it really isn't as expensive as you might suspect. Most cars can be converted to electric for under £10,000. Many people can even have the procedure done for as little as £5,000 or less.
For those that don't want to convert their own car into an electric model, converted electric cars can be found from specialized dealers or online. Many of these cars are in perfect shape, run like champs, and don't cost any more than £20,000. In fact, it's exceedingly rare to find one for more than that.
Used Electric Cars
Another great option for those that want to buy an electric car but don't want to spend a lot is to buy used. Though electric cars are a relatively new phenomenon, there are actually quite a few used ones for sale.
Obviously, online listing sites like Craigslist are a great place to start your search. However, with electric cars it is generally better to find a local dealer or an individual that is looking to sell theirs. This gives you more security when it comes to buying a used vehicle.
Convert With a Used Engine
Unlike the engines of regular cars, electric car engines last for a long time with minimal wear. Because an electric engine is made of one piece, rather than dozens like a fuel burning automobiles, there is far less wear and tear involved.
In fact, electric engines can last for over thirty years with very little maintenance. Some don't even need an ounce of maintenance in this period of time. For this reason, many people convert their fuel burning automobiles into electric automobiles by switching out their engines with used electric car engines. These generally cost far less than newer engines and are almost always in just as good shape.
Only time will tell if the electric car will really catch on in the United Kingdom and across the world. They are, however, already starting to pop up in greater and greater numbers. There is little denying that we'll see at least a few more of them on the road in the next few years.
If you are interested in having one of these cars of your own, then the tips discussed above will help you find one for cheap. Electric cars are generally expensive but with a little know-how you can find cheap electric cars that won't break the bank.
About the author
Laura Ginn knows that electric cars are the way forward in clean, green transportation, but worries about the cost of charging the car at home. She recommends that people who want to find out more about green energy check out uSwitch.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Charter brand new Sunseeker Predator *Raps *
Brand new to the charter market is 26,48 metre Sunseeker Predator Raps. Available from August 28th for one week charters based out of Monaco.
She offers eight guests accommodation across four staterooms (two twin and two doubles). Her interior is warm and homely, decorated in neutral hues while her exterior embodies the sleek, cool look typical of a Sunseeker.
For those who enjoy getting out onto the water she comes with an array of water toys including water skis, a wakeboard and banana tubes.
Charter Raps for €30,000 per week + with KK Superyachts


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Upcoming M3 Rock Festival Events
Discount M3 Rock Festival Tickets for sale! The Ticket Lodge has largest selection of cheap and premium tickets often including VIP M3 Rock Festival tickets and M3 Rock Festival Meet and Greet passes. As a discount supplier of M3 Rock Festival tickets, the Ticket Lodge can often offer the lowest prices around. Also be sure to check our list of M3 Rock Festival Promo Codes to save even more off our already low prices!
We are a resale marketplace, not the venue. Prices are set by sellers and may be above or below face value.
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Fort Gibson United Methodist Church
Monday, August 03, 2020
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore to all nations, baptizing and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded and lo, I am with you always.
"We should realize then that the most important thing is to understand that each Christian and each Church has a mandate from Christ to share the Gospel with the whole word".
"The first things to teach somebody you win to Christ is how to win somebody else to Christ".
"The first thing you leave off when you get away from God is not the Sunday School, it is not Sunday evening service. The first thing is visitation, calling and witnessing. Don't get cold feet, warm the services up by winning souls".
"Get in the habit of asking 'Are you a Christian?" I don't care who you are or where you are; it is never to easy. But if you get in the habit of asking, you will win as many accidentally as you do on purpose, and have the most wonderful experiences".
"If we will just take time to witness. Are we ashamed of Jesus"?
Go Believing. Expect it to work. Isn't that what faith is? Believe that God is going to save somebody through you.
According to a poll conducted by a church directory service, people originally chose their place of worship for various reason:
1. 9 percent chose a particular congregation because of the architectural beauty of the building.
2. 3 percent made their choice because the minister came to visit them.
3. 18 percent chose on the basic of their prior denominational ties.
4. 56 percent were influenced to attend because they knew and respected certain members or were invited by a friend or neighbor.
If you wait until you know everything about the Bible or wait until you can win many souls at one time, you may go through life and never win a single soul. Let's be about our Father's business. Evangelize and enjoy our church.
Evangelism Committee


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I have an iPad that I would like to leave semi-permanently connected to a USB hub (connected to a couple of MIDI controllers and some USB speakers). As it stands, I have to remember to unplug it periodically and plug in the charging cable.
I've been looking for a solution that would let me keep the iPad charged while also keeping it connected. Thinking about it, I realized I don't know if this something supported by the USB standard (let alone by the iPad specifically).
Is it even possible to charge an iPad while it's acting as a USB host?


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Today, I had the pleasure to meet two of my greatest heroes: Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong, founders and writers of Giant Robot magazine. I wish I could explain why I love this magazine so much and the impact that Eric & Martin have had on me and the lens through which I view the world… but words fail me in this instance. Perhaps I'll retouch on this another time.
For over 8 years now I have closely followed the words and cultural samplings of these two guys and their magazine and longed to meet them face to face. Although it wasn't the right setting for a sit down and long chat over drinks about all the burning questions I have for them, this was certainly one of the happiest and most long awaited meetings of my life.
Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me today (I thought I had it my bag and did not!), but I did remember to bring my favorite clothing item: A G.R. hoodie. I got Eric & Martin to sign it, and I provide the pictures for you now (free of charge!).
(click a picture to view larger image)
Thanks Eric & Martin – you've informed and expanded my world, and saturated my life with fascinating culture while keeping it real and teaching me what "real" actually is. Next time (in another 8 years?), maybe we'll be able to do a conversation and photo.


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My column in yesterday's Fin (over the fold) was about the idea, being argued by The Economist that the low interest rates currently prevailing are the product of monetary expansion rather than a real 'savings glut'. Today's Economist puts the point even more bluntly, arguing that capital markets are acting as a barrier to adjustment. It's certainly striking when a voice of orthodoxy like The Economist reaches the conclusion that financial markets aren't doing their supposed job.
Low interest rates are the centrepiece of the Howard government's political and economic strategy. The claim that a Labor government would produce higher interest rates was the core of the government's successful campaign strategy in 2004. Strong consumer demand, driven by low interest rates, has kept the economy growing through periods of weakness in the international economy, and despite stagnation in manufacturing exports.
The government claims credit for low interest rates on the basis that by keeping the budget in surplus, it has increased aggregate national savings. But if interest rates were simply determined the balance between national savings and investment demand, they would have to rise considerably.
In reality, national savings fall far short of our demands for investment capital. The difference is made up by capital inflows from overseas. In the national accounts this is measured by the capital account surplus, which is equal and opposite to the current account deficit of about 7 per cent of GDP.
The crucial factor leading to low levels of national savings is that, at prevailing interest rates, Australian households would rather borrow than save. National household savings have been negative for some years, largely because households have been able to borrow against increasing equity in owner-occupied homes. The rise in house prices has itself been driven by low-interest rates, creating an apparently self-sustaining cycle.
Australia has led the way to negative household saving, but others have followed. The household savings rate in the United States fell to zero for the first time recently, and would be negative if the statistics were calculated on the same basis as in Australia. In the US case, the government has joined the party, running consistent budget deficits, yet interest rates, particularly including the crucial 10-year bond rate, have remained at historically low levels.
The picture is the same in other English-speaking countries, and to a lesser extent in the eurozone. Although European households have not embraced debt to the same extent as their Anglophone counterparts, savings rates have generally declined, and most eurozone governments are in deficit.
If interest rates are too low to induce households in developed countries to save, how can they be sustained. One answer is that savings are coming from elsewhere. This is the 'global savings glut' analysis popularised by Chairman of the US Council of Economic Advisors Ben Bernanke.
Most of the discussion of this analysis has focused on Asian economies and particularly on China. In economic terms, however, this part of the analysis makes no sense at all. China is a rapidly growing economy with strong investment demand. On any standard analysis, Chinese households ought to be borrowing in anticipation of future growth in income, and China ought to be a net importer of investment capital.
A more plausible part of the story relates to the recycling of 'petrodollars' arising from higher oil prices. Oil-producing countries often have limited opportunities for domestic investment, and it is unwise to increase consumption much in response to what may be a temporary increase in income. So the proceeds of higher oil prices tend to be deposited in international banks, who then have to find borrowers.
Even taking account of petrodollar flows, it is hard to explain low interest rates in terms of equilibrium between the demand for investment capital and the supply of savings. An alternative explanation, recently proposed by The Economist magazine is that interest rates have been driven down by an expansion of liquidity, particularly in the United States. This is reflected in high rates of growth in monetary aggregates like M3, as well as in low interest rates.
A standard analysis would suggest that an expansionary policy of this kind cannot be sustained indefinitely without leading to inflation. Yet, although there has been massive inflation in a range of asset markets, particularly housing markets, consumer price inflation has remained low and shows no obvious signs of acceleration. One important reason for low inflation has been the downward price pressure arising from import competition.
So, we seem to have a perfect virtuous circle. Low interest rates are driven by expansionary monetary policy which maintains the supply of credit needed to sustain demand and maintain currency values in the face of massive current account deficits. A strong currency holds inflation down and allows low interest rates to be sustained.
It all sounds a bit too good to be true. But it's worked so far, and we have to hope it keeps on working.
John Quiggin is an ARC Federation Fellow in Economics and Political Science at the University of Queensland.


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Assistant Professor, to be precise, which, of course, all writing should be. Considering that the location of Hofstra University – Long Island! – is a fave of the Big Money Literary Scene in these United States of A, competition for the gig probably will be fierce. But if you've got the cred, this looks like a good one.
Here's the lowdown:
Faculty Position in Television Writing
The Herbert School of Communication Announces an ANTICIPATED OPENING IN THE DEPARTMENT OF RADIO, TELEVISION, FILM for a FULL-TIME TENURE-TRACK POSITION BEGINNING FALL 2017
The Department of Radio, Television, Film anticipates an opening beginning in Fall 2017 for a tenure-track appointment for a full-time assistant professor to teach television writing. The successful candidate must demonstrate the ability to teach introductory and advanced undergraduate courses in television writing in areas such as: short-form and long-form television formats, series writing, and producing for television and new media. The candidate should further demonstrate familiarity with a variety of genres, including comedy, satire and drama. Professional experience in writing for television and emerging media forms (streaming content, web-based interactive/immersive) is considered a plus.
Ph.D., MFA, or MA with significant professional work experience and ongoing creative production over which they have principal control. Tenure candidates are expected to engage in scholarly research and/or creative activity and be available for departmental service, academic advisement, and mentoring co-curricular activities. University level teaching experience is preferred. Salary range is competitive, with excellent fringe benefits.
Please email cover letter, CV, and the names/addresses/phone numbers of three references to Professor Phil Katzman, Chair, Department of Radio, Television, Film, at firstname.lastname@example.com. Please submit all documents in .PDF format only.
Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until position is filled.
Hofstra University is an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering diversity in its faculty, administrative staff, and student body, and encourages applications from the entre spectrum of a diverse student body.
Hofstra University is the largest private, liberal arts institution on Long Island, NY. It is located 25 miles east of Manhattan and includes the following schools: Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Frank G. Zarb School of Business; Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine; Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies; Lawrence Herbert School of Communication; Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; School of Health Professions and Human Services; Maurice A. Deane School of Law; and Hofstra University Honors College. There are approximately 500 full-time faculty members; 6,900 full and part-time undergraduates; 2,900 graduate students; 800 law students; and 350 medical students. For more information about the University please visit www.hofstra.edu
All in all, pretty damn cool beans, yeah?
As usual, we're asking anyone who applies to tell us how the experience goes. Nobody's ever actually done that – tell us how the experience went – but we're writers; we live in hope!


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Fat cats are buying newspapers. Should journalists rejoice? Not yet. The nabobs' widely varying strategies for turning around their papers have not yet been tested.
Warren Buffett, the multibillionaire wizard of Omaha, has his company, Berkshire Hathaway, buying newspapers, which he once said were dinosaurs. Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com founder who is worth $28 billion, bought the Washington Post. Billionaire John Henry bought the Boston Globe.
Billionaire Tom Gores's Platinum Equity bought the Union-Tribune but quickly abandoned ambitious plans to expand a newspaper empire and sold the U-T to multimillionaire Papa Doug Manchester, who then picked up the North County Times to create a monopoly in county daily newspapers. The U-T has just bought eight county weeklies and proclaimed it will concentrate on "hyperlocal" or community-dominant news.
Aaron Kushner, Eric Spitz, and well-heeled silent partners bought the Orange County Register and shocked the industry by doubling its reporting staff. Then the entrepreneurs launched a new paper in Long Beach and recently bought the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
However, these nabobs are buying papers cheap. Buffett told Berkshire shareholders that cash earnings from papers will recede over time but the investments should pay off because of the low prices he paid. He is buying medium- and small-sized papers.
Bezos paid a low price for the Post and admits newspapers are a "challenged business." His strategy for turning around that paper is not yet clear. Henry paid only $70 million for the Globe. The print editions of Manchester's U-T are losing circulation alarmingly, but the real estate mogul expects to make money on electronic platforms. Kushner is betting big that presenting the news intelligently — most importantly, in print editions — will pay off. Skepticism abounds.
As the Pew Research Center's "State of the News Media 2013" points out, there are positives in the industry. Stocks of several media companies have gone up stoutly, and sellers of newspapers are getting better prices than they formerly did. About one-third of newspapers are setting up so-called paywalls — that is, preventing internet users from accessing articles without shelling out money. Thus far, this seems to be working well, says Pew, particularly at nationally distributed papers with special audiences, such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. However, other dailies are now backing away from paywalls.
Unfortunately, according to Pew data, the bad news outweighs the good. Print advertising fell 8.5 percent last year — the sixth straight year of declines. Digital advertising, which is now only 15 percent of total newspaper ad revenue, has grown weakly the past two years "and does not come close to covering print ad losses," says Pew.
Newspapers have snagged readers on mobile devices such as smartphones, but advertising hasn't come through. Papers such as the U-T boast about the many platforms they operate on, but as Pew points out, those platforms require a lot of money and frequent updates.
Nationally, the number of newsroom employees has dropped 30 percent since the year 2000. And Buffett warns, "Skimpy news coverage will almost certainly lead to skimpy readership."
Newspapers' profits are pulled down by high pension obligations. When Henry and Buffett bought papers recently, they did not assume pension obligations. Those obligations remained with the papers' sellers.
There is little doubt that medium- and small-sized papers are doing better financially than the big metro dailies that have more online competition. That's why Buffett, for the most part, wants the smaller papers.
But there is another side to that coin, too. In Fairport, New York, a suburb of Rochester, a company named GateHouse Media specializes in small- and medium-sized newspapers hyperlocal in the extreme. In fact, when the Union-Tribune was run by the Copley family, GateHouse paid more than $380 million for money-losing Copley papers in Illinois and Ohio. It was the smartest move Copley management ever made but only one of many dumb moves GateHouse made.
Backed by a onetime Wall Street darling, Fortress Investment Group, which owns almost 40 percent of its stock, GateHouse went out and gobbled up small- and medium-sized newspapers around the country. It now has 408 publications, mostly weeklies. The company is proud that its losses have dropped from $673 million in 2008 to $29.8 million last year.
It piled up massive debt to buy all those papers. At the end of September, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with three times as many liabilities as assets. The chief executive officer declared that the bankruptcy was "not a reflection of any operational difficulties" at the company. Huh? The stock closed Monday at 4 cents a share.
Some optimists think that the paywall is newspapers' savior. Gannett, the largest newspaper chain, has moved to the paywall. Ditto for newspapers belonging to McClatchy and Lee Enterprises. The New York Times is now getting more revenue from circulation than advertising. Formerly, newspapers counted on getting 80 percent of revenues from ads and 20 percent from circulation. But for the industry, 85 percent of ad revenues come from the print product, which is fading.
Some papers believe they can gain more online ad revenue by knocking down paywalls. In August, the San Francisco Chronicle dropped its paywall strategy after only four months. In October, the Dallas Morning News, one of the first regional papers to erect a paywall, junked it. An executive conceded that selling content had not created a "massive groundswell" of digital revenue.
Wall Street remains unimpressed with the future of the newspaper business. For example, McClatchy Co. has stuck to newspapers, both print and digital. The stock was selling above $50 until it bought Knight Ridder in 2006. McClatchy stock got below 50 cents in 2009 and Monday closed at $2.86.
On the other hand, Gannett keeps diversifying widely into TV. The stock got below $2 in 2009, when the future of newspapers looked the bleakest. After a rush into TV, its stock jumped and closed Monday at $28.04.
"For some of these buyers...there are huge political and egotistical motivations that make controlling local news so attractive."
Hasn't that pretty much ALWAYS been a key motivator for publishers, going back to the first newspapers?
Certainly Bezos, in buying the Post, had to have been quite excited about becoming an instant power player in Washington. He surely didn't do it for the money. I would bet that a study of newspaper history would show that all the big newspapers were built by men (yes, it was men only in those days) with strong political views and even bigger egos. At some point the bean counters began to take over, but now that the papers aren't worth beans, they're being picked up people with an agenda other than profits.
"Balanced reporting" is a bit of a myth and an oxymoron. Newspapers have agendas, editors have agendas, reporters have agendas and all of that plays into what stories are covered and they are covered. I was a newspaper junkie back in the days when you could visit most large cities and buy two or three daily newspapers, I edited and reported for papers, scrutinized their editorial policies as a political flak, and I can't see anything in the current UT that isn't pretty consistent with what I've seen in papers from coast-to-coast.
The difference now is that San Diego has a vocal liberal community now and they have voices such as the Reader, Voice of San Diego and City Beat where they can feign surprise at their realization the daily newspaper has an editorial spin!
Bob: Centuries ago, papers were founded specifically to push a point of view. That's why you still see names like the Podunk Democrat of the Poop County Republican.
Actually, some of the wealthy paper owners MADE their money by starting the papers; Hearst is just one example. They weren't rich people buying papers that were already successful. That's more of a modern-day phenomenon.
I do think the U-T under its current management is far more blatant in pushing its agendas than newspapers in other cities. Best, Don Bauder
Hearst may have made a good profit from his papers and may have ended up richer than when he started out. But his father, George Hearst, was a very rich man himself, and bought a paper or some papers for his son to tun. Wasn't his first paper the San Francisco Examiner?
George Hearst had made millions in western mining; he was part of the initial syndicate that eventually became Anaconda Copper, and he was awash in riches. So, son W R Hearst didn't start from humble beginnings at all.
I would say that the Chandler family in LA did very well in owning the LA Times while using it to promote things that bolstered the value of their real estate holdings. And the Sulzberger family that dominated the NY Times seemed to get along very well.
Visduh: I stand corrected on Hearst. It appears he did start with his daddy's money. The Chandlers and Sulzburgers would be examples of families that made much of their money in the newspaper business. Best, Don Bauder
Don, a great piece that sums up the current newspaper situation in a few thousand words. I've not seen anything in the financial press that brings the industry into focus better, or more concisely. And as an individual investor, I'm not the slightest bit interested in buying the stocks. (Yes, there may be opportunities for short-term profits in some of them, but I don't look for that kind of deals.)
I fully agree with Bob Hudson's remarks above, except that I would not equate the Reader with a liberal community. I'm sure not a liberal, and Don Bauder and I agree far more often than we disagree. "Truth seekers" would be a more apt description.
Visduh: Actually, the owner/editor/publisher of the Reader is not a political liberal, but he is liberal-minded. That is, he is willing to have his writers express their own points of view. Our views don't have to agree with his.
Best, Don Bauder
Don, the decline in printed newspapers and books is something to regret.
The bigger question is whether the newest communications technologies are producing more people who read and think in a world that is producing greater challenges to our future quality of life than ever before.
Anon92107: You have fingered the critical question. As the vehicle shifts from printed newspapers, magazines and books, to the Web, Kindle, etc., will people still read as much as they once did, or will they read less? Or maybe more? Right now, unfortunately, it looks like reading will decline, but it's too early to make a call. Best, Don Bauder
Required reading for Papa Doug, especially the third graph in "The future of newspapers" portion. If only.......
Duhbya: He talks as if owning a newspaper carries a sacred obligation apart from making money -- then he seems to talk to the same way about owning the Red Sox. Best, Don Bauder
I noticed that, too. I do believe that he is sincere in his pledge to sustain and improve upon the Globe's journalistic strong points.
Duhbya: Yes, I believe he is committed to sustaining and improving on the Globe's strong points. If he does the same with the Red Sox, fans from all other Major League cities may be unhappy for many years. Best, Don Bauder
"Then the entrepreneurs launched a new paper in Long Beach and recently bought the Riverside Press-Enterprise." A little ahead of yourself on this one, it seems;
danfogel: I think this Tuesday item is too iffy to change what was written. As of now, it's still a deal, although the terms may change. Best, Don Bauder
Thanks for the news about news. It's a brave new world. Remember that "news" wasn't always brought to us by ad-supported corporations. Truth and profit-driven commerce aren't naturally aligned, so let's not assume our current news industry model is, as the people wearing American flag pins say, "exceptional." San Diegan's got a good dose of professional news (present company excepted) gone bad in the mayoral fiasco.
Furthermore, printing newspapers will soon enough seem like a terrible way to treat the environment, cutting down a tree that took years to grow to make land fill that will never be as lovely as a tree, just to show happened yesterday, probably.
I show my college typography students Newseum's glorious gallery of the day's front pages on-line, an example of times a-changing. They don't read our newspapers but they certainly do "consume media." They seem impressed by Newseum's lively display of small town enterprise. Editorial and reportorial issues aside, among all the other front pages the U-T just isn't a competitive product. Without getting into the rapidly evolving world of graphic design, there are papers that look like they're worth their cellulose, and our U-T is not among them.
News business has always been highly competitive, which promotes evolution. I have no idea what all that news gathering and publishing energy will evolve into, but it won't disappear. People will want to tell their story. Now they don't have to be crazy rich and own a newspaper. They can blog to the world, free. And everybody wants to know what's happening, so quality of information will always be recognized as a value. It will get sorted, billionaires notwithstanding.
rehftmann: Layout and design are lesser problems of the U-T. In its gross slanting of the news, and printing hate-filled and illogical editorials (often appearing on page one), the U-T is appealing to a fading audience. There are more Democrats than Republicans in the City of San Diego and the County is almost evenly split. By propagandizing so overtly, the U-T is driving down its own readership, and statistics show it. Best, Don Bauder
Paywalls really don't work. Newspapers have to let users view at some level (5-10 articles per month) or they won't get many online readers and anyone with a little internet savvy knows how to get past those limitations. It takes me about two minutes to read what I want to on the UT (some days less) and maybe a bit longer on the Wa. Post & NYTimes. Most of the news of the day is freely available on CNN or other sites. NY Times ads on TV boast of their coverage of happenings in NYC but unless you live there who cares? Comparing online revenues to print doesn't really make sense. Online only news does not have the costs associated with printing a daily paper and should be profitable with lower revenues. In a few more years print editions will be the buggy whips of the 21st century.
Dennis: Your view that print editions will be buggy whips is shared by many -- perhaps the majority -- in the newspaper industry. Some say give print editions another generation -- some say it won't be that long.
But newspaper companies still make their money off print. Online profits are hard to come by, and digital ad growth is slowing sharply. It's a real dilemma, and explains why companies stressing print are often worth one-tenth what they once were worth. Best, Don Bauder
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I came across this article today in the Local paper about big cat sightings in southeastern NC.
My rule is not to comment publicly on religion, politics, or extinctions, lest I be thought a heretic, an eccentric, and a nutjob. But, having broken the first two tenets of that rule on occasion, I won't be too hard on myself in this case if I venture an opinion on the continued existence of the Eastern Cougar in these parts.
Because I've seen one.
It crossed the road in front of my Civic one August day in 2003, in the middle of a pretty intense drought, as I was driving through the Big Swamp. (Yes, that's it's official title. It's big, it's a swamp…)
Anyway, aside from formally offering to sell my story to the highest bidder, I wanted to mention this in order to share a much more interesting anecdote about a possible cougar sighting within a few hundred yards of my parents' house in the pine woods.
My cousin Chick built a very nice deer stand in the woods just behind the family blueberry patch a number of years ago, and for many years he would have some of his people from Georgia and South Carolina down to hunt on holidays.
I spent a good deal of time out there myself, during a period of prolonged unemployment a few years back. Once I spent a whole afternoon watching a beautiful dun-colored bobcat watching the corn pile.
Another morning, first light revealed a very large owl sitting on a pine limb about six feet from my perch in the stand, staring intently at the softer, more vulnerable parts of my face.
One day near Thanksgiving, Chick deposited a young relative and novice hunter from Georgia in the stand for the evening.
The story, as it was told to me, is that the young hunter saw a smallish buck wander into the cleared lane that stretches 150 years into the woods from the stand. He took aim, fired, and knocked the little buck down.
Dismounting the stand, he started off down the lane to collect the deer. He was about halfway up the lane when what he thought was another deer, of about the same size as the one he shot, stepped into the lane close to the dead animal. The hunter raised his rifle again, but instead of a deer in his scope, he saw what he would describe as a "bis-ass cat with a long tail."
The cat, according to the story, clamped its jaws down on the deer's neck and drug it out of the lane and into the dense woods.
The hunter did what any thinking outdoorsman would in such a situation. He abandoned his rifle on the spot, turned, and did not stop running until he made it to his vehicle.
Chick came and retrieved the rifle the next morning, and so far as I know his Georgia relative has not been hunting since.


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Holiday Choir Concert
Ella McCook, Staff Writer
December 17, 2018
On December 11th, North Forsyth High School's choir program hosted their annual holiday concert at Cumming First United Methodist Church. The 2018 Holiday Choir Concert will showcase all four NFHS ensembles. From Chamber Choir to Cantamus to Raider Chorale to Acapella Club, the audience had the oppo...
The Women of Rock
Tiffany Lovell, Staff Writer
May 13, 2015
These four female-fronted bands are not only the definition of female rock, but the biggest statement in female independence. They are not afraid to be themselves or sing about the issues they live through. All four lead singers deserve every ounce of respect that they receive and should be held to a...
Discovering Alesso
Cameron Conner, Staff Writer
May 11, 2015
Over the last five years, Swedish producer Alessandro Lindlbad, i.e. Alesso, has amassed over 100 million plays on YouTube., two and a half million Facebook likes, and 900 thousand Twitter followers along with a Grammy nomination and international acclaim – quite a long way from his humble beginnings...
One Hit Wonders That Will Never Die Out
Rhiannon Martin, Staff Writer
April 27, 2015
"One hit wonders" are just about as simple as any form of art can be, but on the other hand they can be complicated too; the stereotypical theory behind a "one hit wonder" is when an artist releases a single that makes it to the top of the charts, and then their career is over. However, this...
Kalin and Myles Provide Listeners with Sense of Dissatisfaction
Rayne Crivelli, Staff Writer
April 14, 2015
2014 was the Year of the Butt, hailed by many as the most prolific year for the gluteus maximus in recent memory. Hits like "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor and "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj helped 2014 prove its place in history as the most "butt obsessed" year. Following "Anaconda"...
Dylan Gardener's Debut Album proves to be Sensational
Kristin Iler, Staff Writer
March 25, 2015
No surprise that the name Dylan Gardner is probably familiar; he is a YouTube sensation. He went viral with a cover of the Beatles "Abbey Road" that he constructed in 15-second increments. Since then, Gardner has hit many musical milestones, getting his singing career off to a great start. In 2013,...
The Band from Down Under: Sheppard
Diana Rodgers, Staff Writer
March 20, 2015
While most people are used to hearing the melodic tunes of Selena Gomez or the unusual styling of Nicki Minaj, a new breed of pop music has found itself topping charts. Sheppard is an Australian indie-pop family band who started less than six years ago in Brisbane, Australia. The Sheppard siblings have...
Three Bands You Probably Don't Know About
Jack Kern, Staff Writer
March 16, 2015
As an individual who listens to a lot (and I mean a LOT) of music, I care about the bands I listen to. My favorite genres of music by far are alternative, punk and rock. Panic! At the Disco, The All-American Rejects, and Fallout Boy are just a few of the more mainstream bands I like, but their music...
Top Songs of 2014
Amanda Lewsader, Staff Writer
February 9, 2015
2014 was a big year in the music industry; multiple artists received great praises on their work, and a large amount of songs were inspirational, moving , catchy and upbeat. The following songs made the Top 10 charts of 2014 in Pop and Country and will definitely make you want to sing along. Pop Problem- A...
Relient K's 10th Anniversary MMHMM Tour
Caroline Duckworth, Design Editor
December 16, 2014
Alternative rock band Relient K went on tour this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album MMHMM, bringing back their energetic, punk-pop songs from the early 2000s. Blondfire and From Indian Lakes joined them as special guests. On November 26th, Relient K came to The Masquerade, a concert venue in Atlanta...
The Second Brit Invasion: Rixton
Cameron Conner, Staff Writer
December 16, 2014
As of late, a proverbial tide of well dressed, accented pop stars has been pouring over to the States from across the pond. Unsuspecting American teenagers have seemingly succumbed to this new breed of Anglophilia, and the appeal of boyish good looks, blatantly jolly lyrical content, and tight pants...
Taylor Swift Comes "Out of the Woods" in her Revealing Fifth Album
Hailey Yarbrough and Caitlin Shelby, Sports Editor and Literature Editor
December 10, 2014
World famous and fresh-faced, Taylor Swift released her newest album on October 27, 2014. 1989 is a perfect blend of modern pop music and alternative. Its energetic songs like "Shake it off" and many more rocked the music society and encouraged excitement in listeners everywhere. This record surprise...


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What the Outdoors Can Teach You About Your Career. Mother Nature is a source of infinite wisdom. Here's how it applies to your career!
21. People who master the job hunt build up the psychological know-how to get through a sometimes soul-crushing process. http://bit.ly/1l7Zygn
22. When it comes to searching for open positions online, big job boards aren't the answer anymore. http://bit.ly/1iZ4BZ4
23. The first step after getting laid off: Mourn the loss and move on. http://bit.ly/Q0MdrR
24. Love the job you have? Good—keep looking at other jobs anyway. http://bit.ly/1s2f5hI
25. Fun fact: Hiring managers couldn't care less where you went to college.http://bit.ly/1jqvbyN
26. A tip for getting a job before graduation: Have a resume or cover letter party with your friends. http://bit.ly/1kHB6lK
27. Mistaking a recruiter as your career confidante can mean the difference between getting a position and hitting a dead end. http://bit.ly/1ipi1BH
28. To see which startups have recently raised money (and, um, will be hiring ASAP), follow @vcdeals. http://bit.ly/1s2g4hT
29. To avoid bias in your job hunt, hold off on reading company reviews until you snag an interview. http://bit.ly/1kIKlxv
30. Sending in your resume on Monday can up your chances of landing the job.http://bit.ly/1jqvGJg


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How to Federate Dynamics CRM
Microsoft CRM Guru Rich Carr has written a great article about how to Federate CRM between systems or tenants. He is my first "guest blogger" and here is his article.
Federated or Multi-tenant Implementations – How to Sync 1 CRM system to another!
There are some large implementations of CRM that are global enough to consider a federated approach to their implementation. There are also some implementations of XRM where 1 or more entities need to be synced between the tenants in the solution. Then there are a few instances where people may want to go from onPremise to online.
Each one of these scenarios can be solved with variations of the code in this blog.
What started me down this path was curiosity about migrating from onPremise to onLine. There were plenty of whitepapers and documents on going from onLine to onPremise, but nothing going the other way. Research led me to the fact that you have to either Scribe, or try to write some custom .NET code instead.
Given that I love to write .NET code, easy choice. But I certainly didn't want to hardcode everything!! I started to look at the helper classes and the dynamicentitypartialtype.cs file became the anchor of the solution. If you haven't tried this helper class out yet, try it – the class is pretty cool. Being a self taught C# coder I spent a little time trying to figure out how it was invoked from the sample code since there was no instantiation of the class. Finally I just ran it and realized that because of how it was constructed that it "just starts" all by itself whenever you instantiate an entity that is a DynamicEntity!
That was cool – but when I tried to add the class to my project with 2 different CrmSdk references, all hell broke loose. The namespace on the class is CrmSdk - since the result of the partial type class was the ability to build a dynamic entity on the fly, and it is a target dynamicentity that I want to create (not source) , I decided to put that class in the same namespace as the target CrmSdk, resulting in:
namespace CrmSdkTarget;
A little more digging to figure out how it really worked and I came across the code where it takes the passed in value and creates an object of the correct type and places the passed in value where it was supposed to go. If you have tried to update or create an entity through the dynamicentity route you have found where an attribute of a certain property has to be set to a value of the correct type. As an example, in order to create a property of type CrmLookupProperty that you have to first create a CrmLookup object and then set the value property of the CrmLookupProperty to this object, like this:
1: Lookup myLU = new Lookup();
2: myLU.name = "John Smith";
3: myLU.Type = "contact";
4: myLU.value = "348145F4-B2F3-DD11-BCF9-00C09F2C80B1";
5: LookupProperty myLUProp = new LookupProperty();
6: myLUProp.Name = "contactid";
7: myLUProp.Value = myLU;
In my solution I had 2 web references – one called CrmSdkTarget which was for my target – and one called CrmSdkSource which was my source. I called 2 different routines to get an instance of each and inside each routine is the authentication required of each. When I first wrote this I was going from a VPC image on my laptop to my own online system so I needed one AD authentication and one Live. Changing this part of the code should be trivial to match your authentication requirements.
When is DynamicEntity NOT equal to a DynamicEntity?
This is really the crux of the problem. You have an account on system A and want to sync it to system B. In one .NET project you can set up web references to both of the systems and authenticate to them easy enough – but you still can't grab an account object as a DynamicEntity from System A and set a DynamicEntity from System B equal to it. What's worse is that when you do anything in your code you have to qualify what you are doing because you now have multiple references to the same object.
In order for this to work I had to add the reference to the Source CrmSdkSource to the dynamicentitypartialtype class – which caused every reference to CrmSdk objects to turn red and ugly because of VS not knowing which one I meant.
So something like:
Public static object GetPropertyValue(Property property)
Public static object GetPropertyValue(CrmSdkTarget.Property property)
Every single reference to a CRM object had to be typed correctly. Since you can download my code, you don't have to do it!
Next I tackled the real meat of the solution – the code in the CreateInstance method. This code is where an object is passed and turned into a CRM DynamicEntity Property. Once again – a CrmSdkTarget.Lookup object does NOT equal a CrmSdkSource.Lookup object! So in order for this to work I had to build a CrmSdkTarget.Lookup object by getting the values out of the CrmSdkSource.Lookup object.
This same concept was applied for each CRM property type. The place where things a little more interesting is the DynamicEntityProperty – the property used by activities for things like email to's and from's. That can actually be several properties in 1 so the code is a lot messier. Also where it gets confusing is that not all properties on an activityparty are ok for create. For instance while processing the to property for emails the source system will pass you a property within the dynamicentityproperty for donotfax. That is not a valid property for create.
Excluding other properties
In the main driver program there were more issues similar to the to for emails – not every property is ok for create. For instance any of the created and modified properties are read only fields. So I added a switch to exclude these fields. I called the metadata service to get a list of which fields are valid for create and created an ArrayList full of them. The driver program looks at each property in the source and if it is in the ArrayList, it passes it on for creation on the target side.
Finally the code that is used to grab all of the accounts or other entities is pretty much straight from the SDK.
A couple more Gotcha's
If you are migrating a fully used system then there is a definite order that is required for your migration. For instance Lead has to be done before Account because Accounts have a field called originatingleadid that will throw an error if the lead doesn't exist yet. There are countless other instances of this. Some of them have to be handled by watching the order – and some a little different.
One that is a little different is the primarycontactid field on account. In my solution I load an account and then save off the primarycontactid field. I then process all of the contacts for the account I just processed and when I find the one that has the same GUID as my saved off primarycontactid, I do an account update.
Another gotch is status and statecode's. After you create the entity in many cases you have to call a SetState message to get the status to be something other than "New". The code here accounts for that for all of the entities that are covered.
Finally – activities are just a strange beast no matter how you slice it. A source system will give you a cc or bcc with nothing in it, and creating that same thing isn't easy. What I decided to do is to check the length of the dynamicentity array and if it is greater than 0 deal with it, otherwise don't even send it to the target system.
Federation and Multi-Tenancy Timing Considerations
In these scenarios while there are a few options I think I can make a case that there is only one real option. The one option using this code that I would not suggest is to use plug-ins. I don't suggest this for two reasons – the first is that a web service dynamic entity is not the same as the ICrmService that you get when you do a plug-in. While this is a minor inconvenience and I'm sure could be overcome – the larger issue is one that is more serious.
My background for CRM is in auditing. When you are doing an audit application you cannot "miss" a transaction. As soon as you do that, your application isn't worth anything. I don't see anything any different with trying to keep information in sync than in auditing. If you "miss" a transaction, then it is gone and you can't ever get it back. The one you "miss" could be the one that updates the most important piece of information that someone else really needed to have. Once users lose confidence in your application, then it is a real bear to get it back. How could you "miss" one with a plug-in? If the target system is down for maintenance, in the middle of an IISReset or something similar then your create or update will fail.
So the solution is to ensure delivery by offloading the process. Step 1 is to create a plug-in that just writes out the transaction to a table in a non CRM database. Grab the transaction type, objectId, ObjectTypeCode, preXml, PostXML and timestamp it. If the database write fails, write it all out to a text file. This should never fail to capture the transaction and save it for later processing.
Step 2 is to create a windows service that has a timer. When the timer goes off – first look for text files and then look to the database. Load the text files into the database to ensure first in first out processing.
Step 3 is to create a DLL that the windows service can call that actually does the work – and pass it the transaction. Let that .dll have the multiple web references and be the workhorse. Sprinkle in some heavy duty logging and notifications to folks should things stop working and you have a solution that you know won't miss any transactions.
The code for this article is posted on MSDN Code Gallery.


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Cease the crease with the line-plumping wonders of Juvéderm Injectable Gel.
Complete your consultation with your provider and determine a plan to meet your goals.
Dermal fillers are injected to the areas to be treated.
Results from dermal fillers are apparent immediately after the treatment. You may have some swelling or bruising for a few days after the injections.
Repeat treatments every 6-12 months to maintain your results.
Procedure Pricing
We have several types of pricing available to our patients. Dermal Filler is sold by the pre-filled syringe. Our filler pricing will depend on the provider you select. Getting Filler from one of our plastic surgeons is more expensive than getting it from our plastic surgery nurse practitioner.
Juvederm ultra: $610/syringe (surgeon injector) / $500 syringe (nurse injector)
Vobella : $475/syringe (surgeon injector) / $400 syringe (nurse injector)
Voluma: $800/syringe (surgeon injector) / $700 syringe (nurse injector)
We have specials going on all the time. We do not advertise these specials online but we do notifiy our email list. Additionally, we participate in Brilliant Distinctions which is a loyalty reward program from the manufacture.
If you are interested in affordable filler pricing and great specials, sign up for our "Secret Specials" newsletter to get access to specials not available outside of the email list. Click here to Sign Up!
How does injectable dermal filler (Juvaderm) work?
Dermal filler is an injectable gel is a nonsurgical, physician-administered treatment. Your healthcare professional eases filler under the skin using a fine needle to augment, or fill, the soft tissue of the dermis-the dense inner layer of skin beneath the epidermis-to add volume and diminish wrinkles and folds. Filler as Injectable Gel is used most effectively for those wrinkles and folds in the lower third of your face, like your "laugh lines," "smile lines" or "parentheses" (nasolabial folds), or "marionette lines" (oral commissures).
What can I expect after the treatment?
With dermal filler, there is minimal recovery or downtime after the procedure. For the first 24 hours following treatment, you should avoid strenuous exercise, excessive sun or heat exposure, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in order to help minimize the risks of temporary redness, swelling, and/or itching at the treatment sites. After the treatment, some temporary injection-related reactions may occur, including redness, pain, firmness, swelling, and bumps. Studies have shown that these are usually mild to moderate in nature and clear up on their own in 7 days or less. If you experience swelling at the injection site, you can apply an ice pack for a brief period. Your healthcare professional will tell you when makeup may be applied after your treatment.
When will I see the results?
You should see an immediate improvement in the treatment areas. Most patients need one treatment to achieve optimal wrinkle smoothing, and the results last up to 6 months or more. However, results may vary and correction is temporary. Supplemental "touch up" treatments may be required to achieve and maintain optimal results.
Want anti-aging solutions to wrinkles and lines that do not require surgery? Want a pillowy pout? Fillers are line plumping wonders that can instantly erase the wrinkles and plump lips. They are made of hyaluronic acid, a natural substance produced in your body. We offer several FDA- approved fillers.
Folds and Wrinkles
Undereye Circles (Lower eyelid hollowing)
Liquid Facelift
Lip Augmentation
Tlhe following guidelines are what our master injectors use to train new injectors on when to use one filler type over another.
Years of Experience
Dr. Jeffrey Weinzweig is a board certified plastic surgeon by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is the founder of JW Plastic Surgery. All Before & After Photos represent actual patients of surgeons and physicians of JW Plastic Surgery. Unless otherwise stated, in all other sections model photos were used on this website. Suitability for services are determined during an in-person consultation. As with all surgery result do vary. Financing and other practice specials and policies are subject to terms and conditions. Specials cannot be combined at any time. All information provided on this site is for educational purposes only. Consult your surgeon directly for individual instructions and advice. *Guaranteed Financing Program: 80% down financing available regardless of credit and you may qualify for more. See terms and conditions.Requirements of financing are you must have a valid checking account in good standing, a social security number, and be a U.S. citizen. You may be approved for a certain percentage of the cost of the surgery or even the entire cost of the surgery. Fees shown may be adjusted due to complications or unforeseen circumstances. Guaranteed financing available regardless of credit for a minimum 20% of the charge for procedures costing $1,000 or more. Additional financing may be available. APR is 0%-17% subject to approval.
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Today I finally made all of the eeveelutions as I have crocheted mini key ring figures
Tag: crochet
Marsden March 2017
On Sunday 19th March, I did a sponsored 5 mile walk for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. My team (Team Eevee) raised over £700. We are called Team Eevee because we all carried an eeveelution crocheted by me.
Eeveelutions 3
Eeveelutions 2
Baby kit
Pikachu Rules!
I have made another pikachu for a customer as a gift for a little boy's birthday. I am very proud of it. It is 30cm tall.


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Japan and Britain after 1859
Creating Cultural Bridges
Prices & shipping based on shipping country
Book Description
In the years following Japan's long period of self-imposed isolation from the world, Japan developed a new relationship with the West, and especially with Britain, where relations grew to be particularly close. The Japanese, embarrassed by their perceived comparative backwardness, looked to the West to learn modern industrial techniques, including the design and engineering skills which underpinned them. At the same time, taking great pride in their own culture, they exhibited and sold high quality products of traditional Japanese craftsmanship in the West, stimulating a thirst for, and appreciation of, Japanese arts and crafts. This book examines the two-way bridge-building cultural exchange which took place between Japan and Britain in the years after 1859 and into the early years of the twentieth century. Topics covered include architecture, industrial design, prints, painting and photographs, together with a consideration of Japanese government policy, the Japan-Britain Exhibition of 1910, and commercial spin-offs. In addition, there are case studies of key individuals who were particularly influential in fostering British-Japanese cultural bridges in this period.
At present Olive is fellow (Overseas) Fukuzawa Memorial Centre, Keio University, Tokyo, jaoan. She is also Associate Editor of teh new Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University press) with responsibility for Nineteenth Century East Asian entries.


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One of the main - if not the principal - things that dominated and shaped our lives in 2014 has been Mark's prostate cancer. The year began with a cloud over our lives: Mark's PSA (the marker for his prostate cancer) had started to go up. In February, Mark met with his new oncologist. It was time for new therapies. I wrote about this period in a post published early in March that can be found here.
Our lives, and our relationship with Mark's cancer, changed during those two months. This is how my therapist described what was happening: "[Your lives] are being lived by a story of cancer. It finishes every sentence. It is in your first breath as you wake in the morning and in your last breath as you fall asleep at night. This is the nature of the landscape of cancer." During this period of time, we decided that we would try to live each day in the moment, not worrying about the cancer. It was and is there.
In late March and early April, Mark went through a series of treatments, the goal of which was to infuse more white cells in his blood to help contain the cancer. These seemed to go well. He was also put on additional oral medication.
Meanwhile, we had our lives to live, not knowing when the therapies would start to fail ... which is eventually going to happen.
We had a wonderful visit from my sister and brother-in-law on MLK weekend in January, then we were able to spend a long weekend up at cabin in the mountains. It was great to be around both family and friends during that period.
|On a walk with the kids in Millcreek Canyon
|Mark and friends head up to go back-country skiing. I stayed in the cabin by the fire.
In February, we were able to do some skiing here locally and also head up to Jackson Hole for a weekend with friends. Meanwhile, we continued to enjoy our time with our children, whom we have every other weekend.
In early March, I headed north for a visit with my daughter and her family in Vancouver, BC. Mark was supposed to go, but couldn't because of the round of treatments he had started.
In early March, I headed north for a visit with my daughter and her family in Vancouver, BC. Mark was supposed to go, but couldn't because of the round of treatments he had started.
|Me and my granddaughter, Hazel
|Hazel, my daughter Hannah and me at Granville Island in Vancouver
|One of Mark's treatments in March
It was also during this period that Mark's mother and sister came for a visit, followed shortly thereafter by a visit from Hannah and Hazel, who had come down to spend a few weeks in Utah. We only saw them for a few days, however, before our departure for our annual spring vacation in Maui.
This visit was different from previous visits in that we rented bikes and went cycling almost every day we were there. We wanted to get a vigorous head start on spring training in advance of our planned cycling tour in August and September in France.
That visit was also very special to us because it was while we were there that we got legally married ... on Little Beach.
We were anxious to see the kids upon our return from Maui. We had some fun up at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon and other places around Salt Lake.
In mid-May, Mark and I journeyed to North Carolina to see my sister and brother-in-law and to attend her graduation ceremony at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a doctorate in French Literature. Our daughter Rachel had journeyed down by rail from Philadelphia where she was then working as a nanny. It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend.
The big news in June was our family trip to Moab and Zion National Park. Oh, and our bikes were stolen, so we had to get new bikes to train on for the rest of the summer in advance of our late summer cycling trip to France.
In early July, Mark made the momentous decision to retire from hospice medicine. He had hit an emotional wall. It was time. As someone who himself has a terminal disease, he found it increasingly difficult to deal with dying patients on a regular basis.
We continued weekend activities with the kids throughout the summer, such as the time we went to Snowbird to hang out for an afternoon.
Later in the month, we headed to Portland, Oregon for a family wedding, stopping for some cycling along the way. After the wedding, we headed to the coast for a few days with our married daughter Hannah and her family.
|Cycling near the Three Sisters outside of Bend, Oregon
|Mark's sisters, brother, uncle and aunt and Mother
August saw us going to San Francisco for a long weekend to participate in the annual Marin County Century bicycle ride. Then, all too soon, it was time to head to France for three weeks of cycling, followed by a week in Rome and a week in the Greek Islands.
|Cycling up to the Col de la Croix de Fer in the French Alps
|On the Shores of Lake Geneva
|Mark overlooking Vaison in Provence
After the conclusion of our bike tour, we flew to Rome for a few days, then on to Athens where we departed on a week-long cruise in the Cyclades Islands before heading home. We were anxious to see our kids.
|This picture says it all. We loved Greece.
|I love this picture
|I took Levi to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in late September.
Mark's PSA had been rising gradually ever since the first of the year, and he was very nervous about his upcoming appointment with his oncologist. But there was good news: the PSA appeared to be leveling off. It actually went down a bit in October, then remained stable through out the rest of the year. Once again, we were and are grateful.
Mark had some outpatient surgery in the first part of the month, and we headed to his brother's house in Colorado for him to recuperate.
|Mark did a lot of painting on the Colorado trip. This is one of this past year's most exciting developments: Mark re-immersing himself in art and painting.
Later in October we celebrated the birthdays of Aaron, Esther, Annie and Levi, who were all born within about 10 days of each other.
Then we headed to the Big Island of Hawaii for the last part of October and early November. Some friends had invited us to stay with them in a condo there. It was a different kind of Hawaii experience for us and confirmed our love of Maui.
|Mark on the beach at sunset
It was once again good to get back home to spend time with the kids and do some work around the house and yard to prepare it for winter and the holidays.
|Our 16-year-old son, Nathan, came to live with us in November.
As we approached Thanksgiving, we had a lot to be grateful for, most especially Mark's health. The Friday before Thanksgiving, we received an early "Thanksgiving gift": for the first time since it started rising almost a year ago, Mark's PSA actually went *down* a half-point over the past month. His oncologist was (pleasantly) somewhat surprised. Now, rather than having the PSA drawn every month, we wouldn't have to come back until January. If the trend continues, every other month will become every three months. Of course, the cancer is still there. It will always be there. But, for now, it is contained, and we are grateful.
Mark expressed some of his thoughts to members of his family in an email:
"Just wanted everyone to know that my PSA (tumor marker) has stabilized and my last visit on Friday showed it decreasing. It means the medication I'm on is working. I was curious as to why after slowly rising for several months my PSA leveled off and is now going down. I believe it's related to several things. Every time we start our physical yoga practice, we are asked to set an intention for class. Mine has been to send my love and consequently the love of the universe to my cancer, never to be adversarial or have any other negative energy regarding the cancer.
"Additionally I believe all the love sent to me by my family is a significant factor. Most importantly I have the love, support, and extremely positive influence of my husband Joseph who keeps me on the hopeful rails and reminds me daily to be here now.
"I generally feel well. I skied everyday last week. My yoga practice is deep and refreshing. The ducks in my life are all in a row and I am content."
Just before we left to spend the Thanksgiving week with our married daughter in Vancouver, Canada, our daughter Rachel, a very talented videographer, presented the following video to Mark. The footage was taken while taking the kids to breakfast at Sharon's Cafe in Holladay.
This past month found us busy, like everyone else, preparing for Christmas ... and choir concerts. I rejoined the Salt Lake Men's Choir in October, and we presented our annual Christmas concert the second weekend in December. Here is a video of our performance of my favorite song in the concert. It brought tears to my eyes:
We have just completed a wonderful, memorable holiday season. We were able to have all ten of our children here over Christmas, something that hasn't happened since 2009. It was a wonderful Christmas and a wonderful year. Truly, we are blessed.
Happy New Year!


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Springfield Armory XDm
Posted by Gunner on January 25, 2010
The XDm with case and included accessories
I recently traded for this Springfield XDm in 9mm. This is a real value considering the quality of the pistol as well as the nice case with the included accessories of a holster, mag pouch, loading tool, extra magazine and extra backstraps. One interesting thing about this setup is that many of the items have a Picatinny rail built in so that accessories can be attached to other accessories. For instance the loader can be attached to the mag pouch to reduce the space taken up on your belt. You just push a button and the loader releases for use. The side of the main case has a rail also so that any other accessory can be carried on the outside of the case.
The pistol itself is a definate upgrade to the standard XD. It's not only about the "M" or Match build but the change in the grip ergonomics as well as the ability to change backstraps to fit your hand. The M also has a 4.5 inch barrel which I look at as a perfect size for this pistol. The 4 inch just seemed to give the pistol a look I wasn't that fond of. The changes made as well as the two tone finish make for a handsome pistol. The longer sight radius is also a plus. The frame cuts allow for good indexing as well for your trigger finger whether shooting left or right handed. Of course it also has what has become standard on most pistols and that's the light/laser rail. The mag release is also ambidextrious. The one problem I saw with the magazine release is that when you have a full 19 rounds in the mag it's almost impossible to release the mag. It's just to tight to push the button and release the mag. You have to load 18 rounds for the mag release to work properly. I don't really look at this as a big problem but it should be noted. I doubt this is an isolated case rather a problem with all of these. I can certainly live with 18 plus one rounds:-) The loader is also a handy item since getting to about round 15 it gets pretty hard to add rounds to the mag. As mentioned the barrel and fitting of the barrel to the slide is match grade. The barrel is marked match and can be seen in the photo above. Believe me it shoots match quality groups! Another issue to mention is with the grip recontoured it's much easier to conceal even though the size accomodates the large magazine. I've not had a chance to measure this grip width againest a standard XD but I believe it's a bit narrower. The slide has also been recountoured so that the base of the slide is the wider portion with the top of the slide narrower.
On to shooting:-) I set a target up and shot from 10, 15 and 25 yards. I used a combination of Remington flat point as well as Winchester white box and PMC "Brass" 9mm. The grip feel is better than the older standard XD. I changed the grip backstrap and found the medium strap to be the best for me. The trigger pul is also refined from the standard XD. Trigger pull is 5.4 pounds with a travel length of what I would compare with a 1911 and is crisp compared to the mushy trigger of many polymer pistols. Groups at 10 yards using a 5 inch Birchwood Casey target made one hole of 1 1/4 inch with all brands of ammo firing one magazine of 18 rounds. Moving back to 15 yards the groups opened up a bit with the Remington ammo achieving the best group at 2 1/8th inches standing unsupported. At 25 yards the Remington ammo again gave the best results with groups of just a hair under 3 inches kneeling resting with my elbow on my leg and taking my time. This pistol certainly shoots better than most and better than any other polymer pistol. I'm sure the match setup contributes to the level of accuracy I experienced. Is it a tuned match 1911 well no but this is a combat pistol not a true match pistol. In this role it excels.
The pistol is a good natural pointer and comes on target fast. The sights are good with enough light on both sides of the front sight to help accuracy and speed. To be honest I've never been a big fan of polymer pistols especially Glocks. Ok don't beat me up that's just my take on them not a universal condemnation. This polymer I like very much because it feels and shoots more like a standard all steel pistol. Another feature I like is the ambi mag release. I prefer to release the mag with my index finger of my shooting hand because I don't have to adjust my grip as much or at all. When all is said and done this is a good buy and a worthy contender for a daily carry pistol as well as local competition.
Any comments or questions? Feel free and I'll get back to you pretty fast usually. Be safe and enjoy our sport!
15 Responses to "Springfield Armory XDm"
January 25, 2010 at 9:04 pm
2 posts in one day and 2 acquisitions. I'm having trouble not coveting!
January 27, 2010 at 7:21 am
Thanks Phil! I have been looking at the XD-Ms for a long time, but didn't like the Glock 23 I had, mainly due to the trigger pull. You addressed my concern with this blog entry. Are you considering competing with it? They are somewhat popular for that now.
February 8, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Hi Phil,
I bought a new 9mm XDm with the 3.8in barrel about three weeks ago. I really love this pistol. I shot it from the 15 and 25 ft distance at the range and had great results. It is light enough for me to carry everyday and the capacity is enough that I rarely carry an extra magazine. I started to buy the sub-compact in 40 s&w but decided on this one and am very satisfied with my choice.It is on the cover of this month's Combat Handgun magazine also. Thanks for the test because I trust your word on pistols.
February 16, 2010 at 9:52 pm
I have the XDSC9 and the XD45C and both of them have the magazine issue you mentioned. I just push up on the floorplate to ease the pressure on the mag catch. It's caused by the ammo being jammed against the ejector. A half-full mag has almost no pressure. But I figure that tactically you're not gonna want to dump a full mag anyway, right? And when the mag is empty the slide locks open to let you know, and then the mag drops free with no problems.
Just another happy XD shooter…,
February 19, 2010 at 1:22 pm
PLEASE order and keep in stock .380 acp ammo targetmasters seems to think ther ammo is made of gold
38 dollars for low grade jhp man how i miss the good ol days..
thank you and keep up the good work
February 28, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Hi I just bought the new springfield xdm 3.8 and I can't change the grip. I know it is possable but i cant get the pin out. I really dont want to beat on my gun. How much force does it take to push it out?
May 17, 2011 at 10:33 am
[…] Springfield Armory XDm В« Gunner's Journal Jan 25, 2010 … Springfield Armory XDm. January 25, 2010. The XDm with case and included accessories … […]
October 1, 2011 at 9:42 am
Thanks Phil, I have owned my XCm 3.8 for almost a year and have shot it often at the range. I am very happy that I made this purchase because it ii the perfect carry pistol and the weight with about 15 bullets in the magazine can be carried all day even with my bad back. I love shooting it . I reload with Hornady's XTP 25 grain JHP and they shoot very well with tight groups. I almost purchased the Beretta PX4 Storm compact but I truly believe the XDm is a better buy. I carry my XD in a Galco King Tuk inside the waistband holster because it is very comfortable.
December 7, 2011 at 9:36 am
Yes i fully agree on the mag release. Im a bit spoiled coming from a SW M&P 9. The mp drops as released to gravity and the xdm sticks. I have big hands and i think a strong grip even. I did put a little hoppes gun lube on the inside mechanism which helped some. I just came to realize that ill have to be conscious of that and practice dry firing w that in mind. Thanks for ur post!


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I was in love. With my laptop. My Asus Zenbook was the most beautiful laptop I'd ever had. I'd had the earlier model for a few years and tragically had it stolen in 2014. Then I replaced it with the newer model, the Asus Zenbook UX303L (Hey Asus, if you're reading this – suberb branding with the name Zenbook, but maybe try harder on the model name next time). It wasn't long before I had fallen in love all over again with my new Asus Zenbook, upgraded and updated. But again, it wasn't meant to last…
Asus Zenbook – The Glory Days
I was always getting compliments on my Asus Zenbook. People loved it, and I loved it too. It was fast, sleek, portable, and gorgeous. The i7 processor and 8GB of RAM took on Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Chrome (usually with 10+ tabs open), Excel, and OneNote all running simultaneously – no problem. It was cool and quiet. Zen, if you will.
My laptop and I had traveled to India together, and London, DC, Philly, Boston, and finally, California. Even in Hawaii I was toting my Asus Zenbook between volcano hikes and reef dives. I didn't travel anywhere without it. I used it everywhere from my couch at home to my Fort Kochi guesthouse in India to my seat in coach at 30,000 feet.
When I dug out the vacuum and unscrewed the bottom cover to give my Zenbook a good clean, I was surprised to find not a single dog hair or bit of foreign matter had found its way inside.
The 256 GB solid state drive let me save large files in a breeze. But more importantly, it gave me peace of mind that my documents were safe – not likely to be erased or corrupted from a run-in with a pock-marked road or an overly-zealous TSA agent. I wouldn't have even considered a laptop for travel unless it had a solid state drive.
But my love affair with my Asus Zenbook was about to take a dark turn.
The Beginning of the End
One day I noticed that the lid on my Zenbook was a little askew, and didn't line up with the body when it was closed.
I did some research and hoped that it was just a loose hinge. I looked up a fix on YouTube, and opened up my laptop for some surgical repair. It seemed like a simple fix – just tighten the screw on the hinge and it would be good as new.
But when I opened it up, the screws on the hinge were fine. I looked further and found that there was a plastic piece inside the hinge connecting the body to the display that had snapped. This was after just 14 months of use, 2 months out of warranty.
Why would Asus make that piece plastic? Plastic breaks with repeated wear. Like the kind of repeated wear you expect with an ultra-portable laptop. The worst part – the plastic piece was fused to the display, so to fix it would mean ordering an entirely new display and hinge. Naturally, I decided to live with it and hope it didn't get worse.
But of course, it got worse.
Asus Zenbook – You're Too Young to Die
The broken plastic piece prevented the left side of the hinge from following the movement of the display, while the other side of the hinge would open normally. Every time I closed the laptop, the left side of the hinge would remain partially open unless I manually pushed it back into place. The torsion from opening and closing the hinge with one side moving and the other stationary exacerbated the problem. Soon, I could see a gaping hole into the hinge every time I opened my Zenbook.
Other components in the hinge started to break and every time I opened the lid I would hear a loud "POP". Eventually the left side of the screen was completely detached.
That was when I knew I had better back up my shit and research my options.
Option 1: Asus Customer Support.
I was out of the 1 year warranty period (by a mere 3 months, at this point). No help from Asus. They said I could send it in for repairs at an estimated $690 not to mention the cost to ship it to their repair center. A repair time of 8-10 business days plus shipping time would mean that I would be without a laptop for a minimum of 3 weeks. I'd get it back right around the time my PhD thesis was due. Wonderful.
Option 2: Tech Help Desk at Work
The University of Minnesota has a help desk in their tech store that will do out-of-warranty repairs for PCs and Macs. I brought in my sad, pre-maturely aging beauty, but was sent packing in less than a minute. One look at the hinge and a glance at my touchscreen display and they said it was out of their hands – that I was better off going through Asus. Ha.
Option 3: Computer Repair Shop
Determined to save my baby, I tried one last place that some work friends recommended. They'd had laptops and phones repaired at a shop for a fair price and quick turn-around time so I was optimistic. But alas, my PC got its final diagnosis. I needed an entire new display (because remember, it is fused to that plastic piece) but none of their suppliers had the parts. Again, I was sent packing.
So there I was, with a powerful, gorgeous, top-of-the-line Asus Zenbook that I paid $1,300 for, brought down by a broken little piece of plastic.
Asus, you beautiful piece of shit.
Do you have an Asus Zenbook? Has yours held up?
The links in this post are here so you can see the laptop and its specs, but in case it wasn't clear already, I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU BUY IT! DON'T BUY THIS LAPTOP. I KNOW IT'S BEAUTIFUL BUT IT WILL BETRAY YOU!
Oh but if you do buy something else after clicking through the link, I'll get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. Thanks for helping fund my replacement. 😉


text:
"Privacy protections against government surveillance are often scoped to communications content and exclude communications metadata. In the United States, the National Security Agency operated a particularly controversial program, collecting bulk telephone metadata nationwide. We investigate the privacy properties of telephone metadata to assess the impact of policies that distinguish between content and metadata. We find that telephone metadata is densely interconnected, can trivially be reidentified, enables automated location and relationship inferences, and can be used to determine highly sensitive traits.
- Evaluating the privacy properties of telephone metadata. Jonathan Mayer, Patrick Mutchler, and John C. Mitchel. Edited by Cynthia Dwork, Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, Mountain View, CA, and approved March 1, 2016 (received for review April 27, 2015. vol. 113 no. 20. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1508081113


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Aquent wins Inavero's 2018 Best of Staffing® Awards
We're excited to announce that Aquent has just won Inavero's Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Diamond Awards!
We're grateful to our clients and talent whose feedback—given via Inavero's independent surveys—has helped us win this honor eight years in a row in the talent category and five consecutive years for the client category.
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Here are just a few of the improvements we made in 2017:
- Gather - An enhanced way to tell our talent about MORE jobs in the way THEY want—by allowing them to provide their preferences and feedback. In addition, we created a simple way in our MyAquent portal for talent to share updates and collect feedback that makes them more marketable.
- Reviews - A way to share data about a talent's performance, both from past Aquent placements as well as from former employers. Available in real time, this information helps our clients get a transparent look at candidates and allows our talent to find more work based upon their performance.
- MyAquent - We've upgraded our client platform to support the full talent cycle. Key features now include access to ready-to-go pools of freelancers to help clients plan ahead, the ability to hire faster with full visibility to milestones of candidate searches, simplified ways to engage freelancers on assignment for online timecards and feedback, and the capability to review spend and use real data to budget and manage costs.
And many more improvements are still to come!
If you were one of the many people who took the time to fill out a customer satisfaction survey on our behalf, thank you! We couldn't have won these awards without you. We promise to continue providing you with the best people and the best tools to keep you successful in 2018.
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Former Arizona quarterback Brandon Dawkins announced on Wednesday he is taking a break from football, citing deteriorating mental health.
To Whom This May Concern:
Football has been a life changer for me. It has introduced me to friends who have become family. It has given me a platform to be in people's life, and I have… https://t.co/Cop8F4Vdfc
— Brandon Dawkins (@BDawks) August 30, 2018
Dawkins started two seasons in Tucson before an injury in 2017 opened the door for sophomore Khalil Tate to permanently take over the starting job. Dawkins' last game at Arizona was the 2017 Territorial Cup after Tate left with an injury.
He transferred to Indiana University shortly after and was expected to compete for the starting job in Bloomington. Sophomore Peyton Ramsey earned the starting job though and the graduate transfer left the program on Monday.
"I am not too proud to admit that I needed help. I am grateful for the sports psychology team at both Arizona and Indiana for helping me at some of the lowest points in my life," Dawkins wrote in an Instagram post. "As my mental health is deteriorating I have decided to take a break from the game. I know now that I need to take care of ME. I need to make myself important. I have not properly taken care of myself."
Dawkins ended the note requesting privacy, but made no mention when — or if — he would return to football.
"Do I know what's next? Of course not, but I do know God has a plan that is way bigger than any plans I could ever imagine for myself," Dawkins wrote.
More from Yahoo Sports:
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• Charles Robinson: Ex-NFL star's remarkable tale of redemption
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• Kevin Iole: Hand-wrapping controversy hangs over Canelo-GGG rematch