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When I ask merchants what their total cost is per credit card transaction, in most cases I get either a blank look or the standard I don't know but it's very low as an answer. But, if they knew the correct answer, they might be able to give themselves a raise by finding a cheaper solution.
But it is hard to get that raise. The simple truth is that small business owners are as busy as the proverbial bee, being constantly pulled from one problem to another, having to exercise the wisdom of Solomon in order to keep the ship running on course and all hands happy!
The vast majority of small business owners rarely get the opportunity to open their monthly merchant statement, it ends up in the bookkeeper "pile".
For those of you who have looked at, tried to read or even for that matter tried to understand your merchant statement, exactly what your total cost is for a Visa or MasterCard transaction may not be the easiest thing to grasp.
You will easily see your discount rate, however, you will also see things called Visa & MC ASMTS, Non Qualified Fees, Interchange Differential Fee, Brand Fee, Assessment fee, Settlement Fee, Authorization fee, Item Rate, but what are you paying, bottom line?
Do you wonder if someone is trying to keep something from you?
That as well as many other concerns regarding the Payment Card Industry (PCI) and lack of disclosure and transparency led to a voluntary Code of Conduct.
(Many associations and organizations such as the Retail Council of Canada, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business to name a few of the heavy hitters were instrumental in getting the government to act on the many complaints regarding PCI.
The black and white of the matter is that after gathering information and having the PCI and the way it operates explained to him by leaders of the industry such as Jeff van Duynhoven, TD Merchant Services Senior Vice-President, Minister Flaherty created and released the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.)
This new code is designed to promote fair business practices and ensure that merchants and consumers understand the total costs associated with credit and debit cards.
Under the Code, merchants will be:
· Provided with clear information regarding fees and rates.
· Given advance notice of any new fees and fee increases.
· Able to cancel contracts without penalty should fees rise or new fees be introduced.
· Given new tools to promote competition, and in particular, will have the freedom to accept credit payments from a particular network without the obligation to accept debit payments and vice versa.
(For more information, please see: http://www.fin.gc.ca/n10/10-029-eng.asp)
The third bullet is golden if you're a business owner who is locked into an agreement and you think or are aware that you're rates are too high.
- Under the new code, your acquirer is required to inform you of a rate change.
- If you receive notice from your acquirer regarding an upcoming rate change, you can call your processor and cancel with no penalties.
- This opt out clause lasts 90 days.
Although, this new code though voluntary, it does have teeth.
This was evident earlier this year when Moneris sent out rate change letters to thousands of merchants about upcoming changes to the fees it charges for processing credit cards.
But, the letter was very misleading at beast, talked about a rate decrease and then discussed the Interchange Differential which is for the most part incomprehensible for your average small business owner.
These changes occurred on April 1, 2011.
The CFIB argued that for many businesses, the changes could actually amount to a substantial increase in processing fees and filled a formal complaint with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the voluntary code's enforcer, FCAC.
The FCAC turned the heat up on Moneris and in order to avoid the FCAC's wrath, Moneris agreed to extend the 90 day opt out period by another 90 days or until June 30, 2011.
Moneris's tactic was used again, this time by Global Payments, the CRFA's merchant program provider.
Global circulated a rate change letter towards the end of August, 2011, however, the language used is less jargon filled than Moneris' letter, Global, out of the kindness of their hearts is decreasing rates, however, they do mention something about an Interchange Downgrade Fee Merchant Table.
For anyone who is aware of the Interchange or non qualified fees for the current CRFA program and who decides to compare existing fees to this table, he will discover that the rates for the vast majority of credit card transactions will see the Interchange increase or in other words, the non qualified fees for these transactions are going up.
In typical fashion, they give it to you in one hand and take it away from the other hand!
All this to let you know that you do have options, get in touch with a reputable salesman who represents a reputable organisation and have him explain to you if he can save you any money, who knows, maybe in doing so you'll be able to increase your profit margin and give yourself a raise!
For the 5 Most Fascinating Stories in Franchising, a weekly report, click here & sign up.
This has been a guest post by Scott Irwin. Scott Irwin is a regional sales executive with TD Merchant Services, the only Bank-owned and operated Acquirer in Canada. [email protected]


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January 1 marks the start of a new year, but have you ever thought of where the world rings in the year first? How about the United States—where do Americans celebrate the New Year first?
Before you find out, it's important to know a little about time zones. When you look at a map, you see lines that run north and south, and lines running east and west. These imaginary lines are called latitude and longitude lines. When talking about time, the longitude lines are the important ones. They run top to bottom, meeting at the North and South poles.
These lines are numbered in degrees. The Prime Meridian, which is 0 degrees, goes through Greenwich, England. You may have seen the letters GMT, which is short for Greenwich Mean Time.
The prime meridian is the starting point for the world's 24 time zones. The time difference between zones that are next to each other is, in most cases, exactly one hour, which is 15 degrees longitude.
Another important longitude line is the International Dateline. This line determines where a new calendar day begins. If you stand west of the International Date Line and a friend next to you stands just east of the line, you're one day later than your friend on the other side of the line!
Who sees the New Year first? The world starts welcoming a new year on Christmas Island. Once part of Great Britain's empire, Christmas Island is now part of the country of Kiribati, a chain of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
America first rings in the New Year in Guam, a U.S. territory located in the South Pacific. Guam is 17 hours ahead of Arizona and 15 hours ahead of New York City this time of year.
On the continental United States, kids on the East Coast celebrate the New Year first while kids in Hawaii celebrate it last.

subset: commoncrawl


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Perfect winter weather, a big harness racing crowd and exciting action on Tabcorp Park Menangle's track ensured the success of Sunday's (June 24) Alabar Breeders Challenge day.
First run in 2008, the Breeders Challenge Finals have grown into a vital ingredient for the success of the harness racing industry in New South Wales with participants striving for victory at the highest level on the biggest stage.
The Susan Hunter stable dominated this year's feature races winning two of the four Gr. 1 events. Hunter has now won every division of the series with Captain Joy winning both male divisions in 2008 and 2009 while Louvre completed the set taking out last year's two year old fillies division before returning to destroy her rivals this year.
The daughter of Art Major has won more than $349,000 in her short career and looks set to add significantly to that tally before motherhood beckons.
Hunter's other feature winner was two year old filly Married To The Mob driven expertly by leading reinsman Luke McCarthy. Married To The Mob came from the outside barrier to win and was well supported despite being beaten in the semi finals a fortnight earlier.
Trainer Paul Fitzpatrick won the first race of his career in the stewards' room when No Ah Saint was awarded victory in the two year old colts and geldings Breeders Challenge after first past the post Blissfull Guy was found to have caused interference in the straight to the Gavin Fitzpatrick driven gelding.
No Ah Saint looks set for a bright future and could now head to Melbourne chasing further riches.
The three year old colts and geldings division was dominated by the Emilio Rosati owned Grand Stride with the son of Artiscape taking out his second Gr. 1 win of the season. Driven aggressively Grand Stride sat outside leader Waldenburg before racing away to beat Soho Valencia in what was a reversing of the Bathurst Gold Crown result from last season.
Off track activities ensured the large number of families that attended were kept entertained throughout the afternoon and 40 lucky children went home with a new bicycle as part of the giveaways ensuring big smiles on and off the track with the day declared a massive success for the industry.
Louvre destroying her rivals:
Married To The Mob:
No Ah Saint:
Grand Stride:


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The BEST Episodes of Ulysses 31
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Jul 19, 2020
Network: France 3
This animated sci-fi retelling of the Greek poet Homer's epic poem, "The Odyssey", was a French-Japanese co-production originally produced in 1981, with animation from premier Japanese animation studio TMS (Tokyo Movie Shinsha). The series was originally envisaged as being 52 episodes long, but production difficulties cut back the number of episodes to 26.
#1 - The Hidden Truth
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired Jan 23, 1982
The shapechanger Nereus calls Ulysses for help when Shark Men, servants of the gods, take over his planet.
#2 - Secret of the Sphinx
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 28, 1981
Passing through the domain of the great Sphinx, Ulysses must answer his riddle to leave safely. His treacherous daughter kidnaps the children and plots to make Ulysses her slave.
#3 - Mutiny on Board
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired Nov 21, 1981
A space storm revives the companions as crazed automatons who take over the ship and try to crash it into space glaciers.
#4 - The Eternal Punishment
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired Nov 14, 1981
Ulysses encounters Sisyphus, a king condemned to fill a crater with boulders for all eternity for having dared to want the secret of immortality. Zeus has promised Sisyphus he can leave if he makes Ulysses take his place.
#5 - The Magician In Black
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired Feb 13, 1982
The Odyssey comes under attack by Tridents as Telemachus is piloting a shuttlecraft. Telemachus spots a planet with a giant hole in its side, and Ulysses takes the Odyssey into the planet's hole to protect it from the Tridents. As they enter the hole, they notice that the Tridents are unable to follow them, exploding when they try. Soon, all the damage incurred by the Odyssey repairs itself, and a voice introducing himself as the Magician in Black tells them that he was responsible. Ulysses and the children are transported to his palace, and there they meet the Magician, who tells them that he is more powerful than the gods. To prove it, Ulysses asks him to free his companions. The Magician agrees, for an undisclosed price, and soon they are reunited with their revived friends. Later, the Magician holds a feast for Ulysses and his companions. Numinor notices that his servants are also Zotrians, and the Magician explains to Ulysses that they are his slaves. The Magician then reminds Uly
#6 - Lost in the Labyrinth
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired Jan 30, 1982
Princess Ariadne comes upon the Odyssey, and asks for Ulysses' help in saving her lover Theseus, who has been exiled to her father's labyrinth to be killed by the fearsome Minotaur.
#7 - Phantoms from the Swamp
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired Jan 2, 1982
Coming across a piece of Zotra that could bring Numinor back to life, Ulysses and Yumi pursue it to a swamp planet where they are ambushed by monsters who can copy their forms.
#8 - Calypso
Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired Mar 20, 1982
The Odyssey responds to a distress call from Queen Calypso, who tells him that if he saves her planet she will tell him the way back to earth. Calypso has been ordered by Zeus to betray Ulysses, but she falls in love with him and cannot carry out the gods' orders.
#9 - Trapped Between Fire and Ice
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 12, 1981
Trying to help a stranded astronaut, Ulysses tries to find a hidden base on one of the deadly twin planets Scylla or Charybdis.
#10 - At the Heart of the Universe
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired Feb 6, 1982
Mercurius, the bubble-dwelling "grandson of the gods," enlists Ulysses' help in taking a jewel from the brow of the giant Atlas under the promise that it will give him the power to send Ulysses home.
#11 - The Seat of Forgetfulness
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 19, 1981
Ulysses follows a Trident carrier in hopes of learning more about the way out of Olympus, and finds himself trapped in bizarre worlds. To save the children, he will have to give up his memories.
#12 - The City Of Cortex
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired Feb 27, 1982
The Odyssey is drawn off course by an unknown force, and after Ulysses attempts to fly the ship by manual control, Sherka informs him that machines only obey machines. Ulysses and the children are strapped to their seats by Sherka while she continues to obey the unknown controller. Soon, a voice introduces himself as Cortex, chief of the Planet of Machines, and tells them that he wants to keep the Odyssey. Once on the planet, the robot inhabitants begin stripping the Odyssey of its robotic components, including Nono, who catches the attention of a golden female counterpart of his named Nanette. She wants to take him to Cortex, while Ulysses and the children are also removed from the Odyssey. Nanette tells Nono that her people must keep Cortex running otherwise the consequences will be terrible. She tells Nono to forget his human friends, who are kept as exhibits for the machines to look at. Nono rescues Ulysses and the children, and Nanette tells them that Cortex will punish them. Ulys
#13 - The Kingdom of Hades
Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired Mar 27, 1982
In the final episode, Ulysses and his companions reach the Kingdom of Hades. They meet Orpheus, who seeks Ulysses' help to find his love, Eurydice, who has been taken to the Kingdom of Hades by Charon. Hades, the god of death, tells Ulysses that he must leave his companions behind if he wishes to return to Earth. He rejects the offer, which was a final test, and they all return home.
#14 - Rebellion On Lemnos
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired Feb 20, 1982
Passing a ringed planet that looks just like Saturn, the Odyssey receives distress signals from a disabled ship. Ulysses and the children rescue the pilot, and she tells them her name Hypsipyle is and she wishes to go to the base at Istria. She wants help in freeing the women of Lemnos, after all the men imprisoned them since they rebelled against their male masters. On Lemnos, it is the women who do all the work, and work in the factories producing Tridents for the Sharkmen. As punishment for her disobedience, the Lemnos Council of Four imprisoned Hypsipyle's father, the king of Lemnos. As Ulysses escorts Hypsipyle to Istria, she tells him that her father may know the location of the Kingdom of Hades. At Istria, they find the entire base has been destroyed by Tridents, so they then head off to Lemnos itself. There, they find the factories empty, with all the women still imprisoned. They free the women, but on board the Odyssey Yumi senses that they are in danger, and so she and Telema
#15 - Strange Meeting
Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired Mar 6, 1982
Ulysses and the children are sent back in time and meet the original Ulysses, Telemachus and Penelope of Homer's epic.
#16 - The Lotus Eaters
Season 1 - Episode 24 - Aired Mar 13, 1982
Needing raw materials to repair the Odyssey, Ulysses travels to a world where the inhabitants are addicted to eating seeds which induce amnesia.
#17 - Flowers of Fear
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired Oct 17, 1981
The Odyssey comes across a lifeless city world. On hearing that its people had the technology to bring the dead back to life, Yumi takes Numinor to the planet to revive him. However, she learns why there is no life in the city.
#18 - The Magic Spells Of Circe
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 16, 1982
Near the zone of the Kingdom of Hades, Ulysses and the children are rendered unconscious, and the Odyssey is taken into another dimension. Their companions are taken from their chamber and placed on the Odyssey's bridge. An Earth-like planet is detected, and the now-awakened Ulysses uses a shuttle to investigate. As he does so, his companions are manipulated into piloting the Odyssey to the planet, known as Aim, by Circe the enchantress. She turns the Odyssey's crew into swine so as to be her slaves. Ulysses encounters a space commander named Hermes who tells him that his crew were taken by Circe, who wants to build a giant tower of knowledge. When she has all the knowledge of the universe, she will be able to stand up to the gods. Hermes shows Ulysses how to get to the tower, and once there he and Nono encounter Circe's librarian, also named Hermes. Ulysses finally finds Circe, who refuses to return Ulysses companions to normal. When she finds out who he is, she tells him that he can
#19 - The Lost Planet
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 31, 1981
The ship passes a moon that brings Numinor back to life, since it's from his home planet of Zotra. When they investigate, the children disappear and Numinor suspects they've been kidnapped by a legendary witch.
#20 - Before The Flood
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired Jan 9, 1982
Exploring a planet remarkably similar to the Earth of 200 million years ago, with the continents different from the present, Ulysses and the children quickly come under attack by giant mutant vultures. Forced to land, they seek refuge in a cave and discover an advanced underground city. There, they come across a strange group of large egg-shaped structures, while Sherka warns Ulysses that there are about to be immense seismic disturbances on the planet. Counting nine eggs, one for each planet in Earth's solar system, Ulysses opens the third egg, representing Earth. A winged woman named Sauria emerges and tells Ulysses that they are on Earth and that her people were all put in suspended animation to protect themselves from a huge flood covering the Earth, when the gods lived on Earth and her people were their slaves. The gods left without them, and used the mutants vultures named Keconopters to protect their spaceships before they left. In secret, Sauria's people built the Ark, containi
#21 - Song of Danger
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired Dec 26, 1981
Pirates kidnap the children to force Ulysses and No-No to brave the danger of the Sirens, said to guard a map of the Olympus universe.
#22 - Temple Of The Lestrigones
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired Dec 5, 1981
The Odyssey comes across a planet ruled by the evil Antipodes, who keeps a menagerie of miniaturized pets. Antipodes detects and shrinks down the Odyssey using his powerful prism, and the ship crashes down into the sea, close to his island. Ulysses undertakes a little reconnaissance using one of the shuttles, but ends up being trapped in an oyster and encased in a pearl. Losing track of Ulysses, Telemachus takes another shuttle to his father's last known location and encounters lots of other miniaturized shipwrecks on the seabed. Telemachus' shuttle is scooped up, along with the shipwrecks by fishermen working for Antipodes. The pearl containing Ulysses is taken to Antipodes, and Ulysses manages to get his shuttle free. Discovering how to use the crystal to return themselves to normal size, Ulysses and Telemachus avoid Antipodes and his cat and manage to shrink him down as well as restoring themselves. They take the prism with them and enlarge the Odyssey back to its original size, whi
#23 - Guardian of the Cosmic Winds
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired Nov 7, 1981
Aeolus, King of the winds, kidnaps Ulysses to provide entertainment for his daughter's birthday party. Unable to watch her father's cruel sport, she frees the captives and helps them escape.
#24 - Chronos, Father of Time
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired Oct 24, 1981
Ulysses is saved from a Trident attack by Chronos, the god of time, who wants to use him as leverage to be allowed to reenter the home of the gods.
#25 - The Black Sphere
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired Oct 10, 1981
On an isolated asteroid, the blind Heratos and his Zotrian companion Atena attempt to contact the Odyssey. The gods of Olympus, who took Heratos' sight, offer to return it if he sends Ulysses to the graveyard of wrecks and hulks. After they threaten Atena, he agrees to betray Ulysses. The Odyssey receives their signal and heads towards Atena and Heratos' asteroid. Atena explains how she was found abandoned as a child in a spaceship by Heratos, and Heratos himself tells Ulysses of a black sphere that lay next to Atena in the ship. After touching the sphere, he found it to be a ship's log showing a map of Olympus and the route through the galactic glaciers. To prevent him from knowing too much, the gods took away his sight, and he and Atena ended up stranded on an asteroid. Heratos pretends give Ulysses directions to the galactic glaciers, but they are instead directions to the graveyard of wrecks and hulks. After confessing his crime to Atena, they both travel into space after Ulysses.


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Before iOS 5(s aapl), the only ways to add words to your auto-correct dictionary were either to type the word over and over until your iPhone or iPad learned it, or to add a contact with the word as its name. Neither of these were ideal. Luckily, iOS 5 introduces a much easier way to teach your device new words.
To add a new word to the dictionary, tap Settings, then navigate to General > Keyboard. At the bottom of the screen, you should see a Shortcuts heading. Don't be put off by the name; this is the place to teach iOS new words, but it's called shortcuts because it's primarily used to create typing shortcuts, similar to TextExpander.
Next, tap the Add New Shortcut… button. You'll be taken to a new screen with two text fields, labelled Phrase and Shortcut. The important one is Phrase, at the top. This is where you need to type the word you want to add to your dictionary. The Shortcut field, as it says, is optional. That's where you'd add a shortcut that expands into the phrase you added (more on that in a minute).
After typing in a word or phrase in the first field, tap Save at the top of the screen and your word will be added to the auto-correct dictionary. Now, when you type that word anywhere on your device, auto-correct should leave it alone, and if you spell it slightly wrong, it should suggest that word, too.
If you'd like to enable TextExpander-like functionality, you can fill in the Shortcut field. For example, you could type "eml" as the shortcut, and set the phrase to your email address. After tapping save, whenever you type "eml", auto-correct will suggest your email address. It's very useful for words and phrases you type a lot, and since the feature is baked into iOS, it works in every app, not just those with support for TextExpander Touch, which was the way to get this functionality before iOS 5.
Some useful words to add to the dictionary
I've found it incredibly useful to add some words to my iPhone's and my iPad's dictionaries. For instance, I've added all my email addresses (I have quite a few!) with different shortcuts; my main email address is "eml", my iCloud email address is "ieml", and my Gmail address is "geml".
Other helpful words to add are words you've made up yourself – I have a few of those, too – and nicknames for people. That way, you won't have to battle auto-correct to type words that don't really exist.


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Ahmed Soliman
Student, Sales Development, and Volunteer in Cairo Governorate, Egypt
Greetings, I'm Ahmed. I'm a student living in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. I am a fan of entrepreneurship, technology, and photography. I'm also interested in volunteering and innovation. You can visit my website with a click on the button above.


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We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
This post has been moved to our new travel blog, check out the updated post over here!
I am often asked how to save money on trips and traveling. I don't pretend to know everything, but I have learned a few things trying to travel on a budget. One of the most expensive parts of traveling can be lodging. Lodging can be expensive! There is always the option to stay in a questionable motel, in a questionable area, or both. In my opinion, that isn't the best option. I have found how to save money on a hotel, without the murder risk. Not being murdered is always a bonus.
How to save money on a hotel
This is where Hotwire.com comes in. I've been using Hotwire.com for over 10 years to book hotels, and I've had a very good experience overall. Out of all of the hotels that I have booked through Hotwire (dozens, if I had to guess) I've only had two that I wasn't very happy with.
Hotwire.com now has two options. The original "Hot Rate" option of choosing a hotel by an area and rating, but not knowing what hotel it is until you book. If you frequently book hotels in the same area, you may figure out what the hotel is, even if it doesn't say. For example, we know that we can book the Radisson in Branson, Missouri through Hotwire. We've done it several times! It's the only hotel with it's star rating in the area that we search, so we know we can get it. Of course, this can change at any time if new hotels are added or if ratings change, so you definitely can't count on that working all the time.
In addition to the "Hot Rate" option, you can always look through hotels and book one at a higher price. I don't find it to be any cheaper than Orbitz or any other travel site, but since it's the same price I would probably still use it if I had to have a particular hotel.
You still kind of know what you're getting
Even if we are staying in a new area, we still book through Hotwire. We always choose 2.5 to 3.5 star hotels. The prices will vary largely depending on the location and the time of year. While Hotwire doesn't show you the hotel name, they do show the amenities. If you want to make sure that you have free parking, free internet, free wifi, or a pool, you can find out all of that information before booking. Typically 3.5 star hotels and above don't have the freebies that 2.5 or 3 star hotels have, like free wifi or breakfast. If you're traveling with a family, it may be worth paying a couple dollars more for free breakfast.
How to use Hotwire
If you're unfamiliar with Hotwire.com, I will walk you through how to use it in just a few easy steps!
Hotwire will display the results and will split the area you're searching into selections. If you only want to search certain areas, you can click on those areas and the others will not be displayed in the list on the left.
As you can see, there are a variety of star ratings, areas, and amenities shown. For example, if you needed a hotel to stay in the night before a flight, the second one listed would be a good choice. It's an airport area hotel with a shuttle, and is a good deal at $52/night for a 3 star. It also has free wifi, which is important to me. It is rated a little lower than I'd like. I do pay attention to the guest recommendation level, I try to book hotels that are rated 75% or above.
Once you choose a hotel, you will be able to see even more about it. Hotwire will give you an overview of the hotel details, which rooms are available, and also what hotels it might be. In my experience, many of the 2.5 star hotels are Holiday Inn Express or La Quinta hotels. Of course this will vary by area, so there isn't really any way of knowing without booking.
The Negatives
I've only had two less than positive experiences booking through Hotwire.com, one was several years ago and that hotel has since shut down. We also stayed at the Clarion in Oklahoma City. It was rated a 3.5 but the hotel was pretty run down and not at all what we expected. The star rating on that hotel was pretty far off, in my opinion. Neither of these were major issues, but I did want to mention it because you really don't know what you're getting until you book
One more option
Since the initial writing of this post, I have really gotten into vacation rentals. Vacation rentals can cost less than hotels, and have more amenities! I have been using AirBnb to book my vacation rentals, and I have been very satisfied. Use my link to get $40 off your first Airbnb stay!
How to you save money on a hotel? How do you feel about vacation rentals? If you have any other helpful tips, please share them in the comments!


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Janousek 70kg double. 1990.
Has the usual marks and scuffs that have been filled in over the years.
all parts in good condition.
Think it has pair riggers, but would need steering footplate and rudder.
A great boat that needs to make way for a newer model.
Richard Cox
Sims lightweight double 50-60kg
Wooden insides with white gel coat hull and hard canvases.
Hull could do with a polish and re-tape, sax boards could do with revarnishing.
Boat fully usable though.
Cost- £500
Based in Chester
Richard Cox
Sims single for sale 60kg boat
Has two cracked shoulders through the top bolt hole.
Has some superficial damage to hull gel coat and various cracks as the boat was made with a soft very thin skin, boat is really light, with a bit of work would be a good boat again.
Comes with shoes and footplate and riggers.
Cost £350
Richard Cox
Filippi F14
Reverse Carbon Wing
Made in 2016, barely used since I joined CUBC in 2017.
Comes with boat bag, rigger bag, oar bag, Croker skinny oars.
A few minor cosmetic dinks like any boat, but otherwise this boat is in excellent condition.
Custom paint job.
Boat has won Wallingford, Met, Marlow, raced at HRR and the A-final at final trials. It is a very fast boat suited to an ambitious sculler.
Currently racked at the Cambridge Uni boathouse in Ely. Additional photos available on request.
Hudson Super Predator Single, Reverse Wing
Make: Hudson 2014 Super Predator S1.31 1x
Crew weight: 75-85kg
Construction: Carbon Fibre
Age: 5 years (2014)
Condition: Excellent condition all round.
Number of previous owners: 1
Accessories included: Boat bag, Addidas shoes (size 10/11)
Location of boat: South Bucks
Asking price: £5500
Please contact: Christine Russell 07798 616930, firstname.lastname@example.com
2014 Hudson S1.21
Reverse Ali wing, 66-79kg, size 10 shoes
Padded bag & rigger bag
Immaculate condition, always stored inside
£5500. London
Please email firstname.lastname@example.com
HG 009 is a double rated 90kg. HG are belived to be a Chinese maker whose boats are known to be fast and strong.
This steerable Carbon fibre scull is in good working condition,having spent the last 8 years having light use, housed at York RC and was made around 2007/8.
There is a 4cm thin crack(see picture) just on the front cockpit top raised lip, we assume a boat may have landed on there, it does not appear structural and has not changed since, it should be an easy repair if needed, though it is hardly visable.
The boat comes with a bag and aluminium spare riggers.Based near York, only being sold due to health reasons, £3150.
2008 Filippi F14 (80kg) For Sale £4800.
Immaculate Filippi F14
racked in Nottingham with green stripe for sale, with carbon stern wing
rigger with aluminium backstays. Comes with Nike Omada 2 (Size 11, Red)
shoes with quick release Bat Logic Pro footplate or Adidas (Size 8,
White) shoes.
Complete with Burham Boat Bags rigger bag and new boat bag with Filippi panel.
Also available in addition to boat: NK Stroke Coach, nearly new Tim Crooks car top 1x rack.
Please contact by email (email@example.com) for photos or to arrange a trial.
17.5 ft Atkinson Traveler extra deep Wooden canoe built in 1988 by Rollin Thurlow.Complete restoration following the recommendations supplied from an Illustrated book by Rollin.The condition of the wood is superb. Two coats of Double boiled linseed oil , two coats of shellac, and then four coats of Epifanes clear spar varnish have transformed the interior to a near as new condition.The new 15oz cotton duck canvas has been stretched and held by copper tacks, de- fuzzed and treated with a rot preserver.Finished with Randolph Aircraft Butyrate for durability and weight saving.Six coats of clear and then eight sprayed coats of classic Randolph White.This canoe is very light for it's size, she tracks beautifully and has been joy to restore. Think HRR on the booms...
Julian 07786 392913
£2200 ono
Davies Racing Boats single scull.
Bought new in 1989 and only one careful owner since then.
Midweight boat with Carl Douglas two-stay riggers.
New size 11.5 New-Wave shoes.
Wood veneer on fibreglass construction hull.
In style, very similar to a Carl Douglas.
Strokecoach magnet and wiring fitted.
More photos available by request by email.
Viewings by arrangement, either between 9th-15th April or at weekends.
A lovely Empacher Single scull owned from new.
In excellent condition.
Viewing is likely to be on a Saturday by arrangement.
When enquiring please supply name and mobile number.
Multiple close up pictures available.
Make: Empacher K18 £4500 ono
Crew weight: 70-85kg
Construction of shell: Fibre Glass
Rigger type/ construction: Classic Aluminium
Indoors/ outdoor stored: Indoors
Age: 2007
Previous owners: None bought from new
Damage One spot of flaking Gel coat some minor blemishes but otherwise only minor use. See pictures
Location of boat: High Wycombe
Accessories in/ with boat: Concept 2 oars note some blade scuffs £450 ono
Other details: size 10 shoes wooden seat
Your name: Adam Lilley
Your email address: firstname.lastname@example.com
Fluidesign 1x For Sale
Crew weight: 68-75kg
Colour: Clear carbon with red tint
Age: 3 years old
Rigger: Bow mounted, black aluminium
Seat: Carbon
Cockpit: Moulded carbon
Condition: Mint as hardly used since it was bought new and has always been stored inside.
Included: Wiring and NK Strokecoach
Price: £6,500 ONO
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 07710 114363
Currently racked in London at MAABC near Chiswick Bridge.
For sale £1000 Aylings 65Kg single scull
Resprayed with only ten outings since
Good stable boat that is easy to row for a novice or junior to get started with.
I also have an old set of blades that can be sold with boat if required.
I also have more pictures on request.
Contact Malcolm Hume
E-mail mdothulme@tiscalidotcodotuk
Plated at 105 kg it has been racked inside since new in 2008.
In good condition with wing rigger and new shoes, wheels and slides with speedcoach wiring and impeller.
Racked in Chiswick, London.
Offers IRO : sold
Stampfli. The boat is a 80-90kg boat. It has a rigger bag and a carbon fibre wing. It has a new carbon fibre seat. New runners and new Nike omada shoes. The boat was made in 2004 and was refurbished in 2014. The asking price for this is £sold
Hudson 2016 S1.41 GREAT WHITE Super Predator Single (84-102kg)
Includes Nike Omada, BAT Logic ShoePlate Pro Quick Release, Custom Pack, ErgAdaptor, NK speed wiring, Shark Yellow paint scheme.
Comes complete with boat and rigger bags.
Excellent condition, rarely used mainly for GB trials.
Boat is at Marlow Rowing Club contact Mark at email@example.com for viewings
Make: Sims Evolution 1x
Crew weight: 75-90kg
Construction of shell: carbon fibre
Rigger type/ construction: wing rigger
Indoors/ outdoor stored: stored indoors
Age: 2012
Previous owners: Bought from new
Damage (repaired or otherwise): minor scratches on hull
Location of boat: Oxford
Accessories in/ with boat: Croker small handled blades
Other details:£sold
2009 Stampfli 1x in Navy / White, plate weight is 95kg. 2 owners from new and has always been boathouse stored. Unused for the past 2yrs. Alloy wing riggers with back stays, size 10 Adidas shoes and factory wired for NK Speedcoach with impeller. Stampfli boat bag included.
All in excellent condition.
Boat racked in Worcestershire.
£3750 ono
Contact - email@example.com
Plated at 105 kg it has been racked inside since new in 2008.
In good condition with new wheels and slides with speedcoach wiring and impeller.
Size 14 shoes available for trail but purchaser will need to buy new shoes to fit their size.
Racked in Chiswick, London.
Offers IRO : £5,100
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com
Light Weight International WinTechFor Sale
* Light Weight International WinTech Boat (62kg)
* Ultra Light Weight Blades
* Covers for the boat and quick release riggers (The cover for the boat is padded)
* Also red NK stroke coach
* Size 7 shoes
All really well looked after and has been to many national competitions.
Price: IRO £4000
Please contact Hannah WilliamsMobile: 07792461026 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
For Sale
Hudson Super Predator S1.21 (66kg-79kg)
Bought new September 2014 Excellent condition
White Hull, Red Stripe, Blue Pinstripe.
Reverse Wing Rigger (Stealth Rigger)
Speed Coach Wiring (inc. Impeller)
Concept2 Fat2 Smoothie Blades (Unpainted)
Boat bag and Rigger Bag included
Due to work commitments, quick sale required.
Racked at Maidenhead Rowing club
07770 608908
2005 Lightweight Women's Empacher for sale.
Well looked after, racked indoors, very little use in the last year.
Won worlds in 2005, and women's Henley twice since.
Carbon two stay riggers
Speed Coach Wiring
Speed coach and concept 2 blades also available
Racked at Wallingford rowing club but could deliver
£5000 ono
FILIPPI F7 75kg
Filippi F7 75kg (70-80kg)
Blue filippi stripe.
Carbon wing rigger mounted above shoes, Painted blue and white.
Size 10 shoes.
Speed Coach and impeller ready.
Adjustable footplate for angle of feet. Wide tracks so no calf bite!
2004 model.
Professionally looked after.
Very little use (been on the water 3 times in last 2 years) and stored inside.
Also included is a Filippi boat cover.
Boat Currently resides at Maidenhead.
Please contact for questions or pictures.
Empacher 1x
Carbon two stay riggers
Boat Bag
Speed Coach Wiring
C2 Big Blades
Adidas Shoes
Located in Henley On Thames
2012 Stampfli X1 reverse wing aluminium rigger, quick release
White hull, red stripe
85kg boat, plus/minus 7.5kg
Brand new black green Nike Omadas, new footplates, new rigger.
Purchased direct from Stampfli Sept 15
Currently stored at Marlow
Kept in cover, as new.
Asking Price £4300
Contact Phil 07974 452207
1x Fluidesign 95kg Painted Elite 2010. Purchased from FluidesignUK in November 2013 (original invoice available). No use for 18 months due to permanent injury (hence reason for sale). Some surface cracking underneath bow and on canvas (more pictures available) but thought to be cosmetic. Priced to reflect condition and for quick sale. Zipcover.com included in price £3,500. Located at Beaconsfield, BUCKS. Contact Jeff firstname.lastname@example.com


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About West Rim
West Rim is a small subdivision located on either side of Westlake Drive. Grand estate style homes offer a variety of choices to the discerning buyer. West Rim offers residents the space associated with country estate living while taking advantage of the pulsating energy connected to a metropolitan city such as Austin.
West Rim is a highly desirable established neighborhood located in Westlake. The estate sized homes sit on large lots filled with mature trees. West Rim residents are very social and home owners feel a great sense of community, but at the same time can retreat to the privacy of their beautiful backyard retreats. One of the most alluring amenities of West Rim is the private homeowners park located on the shores of Lake Austin.
West Rim Location
West Rim is located on Westlake Drive off of Loop 360, also known as the Capital of Texas Highway. Ideally located a short 10 minute commute to downtown and minutes from great shopping and dining. West Rim is within the highly sought after Eanes Independent School District, which is proud to have an exemplary rating on all of its 9 schools.
West Rim Amenities
The private gated homeowners park that West Rim residents get to enjoy is home to many amenities. The park has 24 private boat docks that can be rented by homeowners annually, basketball courts, volleyball courts, BBQ pits and a Gazebo for picnics and parties with family and friends, a playscape for the younger residents, tennis and horseshoe pits, and 2 acres of park to enjoy and relax. If you are a golf enthusiast, then West Rim is just minutes from Austin Country Club where golfers enjoy amazing greens and beautiful views of the city and Lake Austin.
West Rim area shopping and dining
West Rim is minutes from the Davenport Village shopping center, which is home to some amazing restaurants. Plenty of shops can be found in the Davenport Village including clothing boutiques, jewelers, cleaners, and specialty shops.


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Local residents rally for Standing Rock
Lakota Sioux "water protectors" inspire the nation
—Dozens of celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Shailene Woodley, Lenny Kravitz, Neil Young, Ben Affleck and Mark Ruffalo have come out on behalf of protestors at Standing Rock. Likewise, dozens of local residents of San Luis Obispo County have traveled to North Dakota to join thousands who are opposed to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline or "black snake" because, they say, it threatens the ecological stability of the region.
The protestors for months have withstood continuous pressure from the Morton County Sheriff's Department under the leadership of Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier, and the National Guard.
"I'm exhausted…This is not about a pipeline or technology, it's about people coming together from all backgrounds for a life we can all be part of," says Atascadero resident Erin Inglish, who has just returned from Standing Rock. "Traveling to Standing Rock was the most inspiring experience of my 30 years on the planet."
Inglish, who is a mechanical engineer and a singer-songwriter, loaded up her RV with donated supplies and drove 1,600 miles with her friend Brittany App to join an estimated 12,000 people now camped out in the pipeline conflict zone. They handed over propane, solar panels, winter clothing, head lamps, batteries, food and warm socks to the Standing Rock campers, all donated by dozens of San Luis Obispo residents who either attended a November fundraiser in Atascadero or were friends, or friends of friends.
"I've worked in resource management, building and designing structures for energy efficiency," Inglish says. "That was the skill set I took with me to Standing Rock, to help with the winterization of the campers' quarters."
Native Americans and their supporters are living in teepees, wigwams, trailers, RVs, barns and tents, Inglish said. "My major focus was to help them prepare for a really harsh winter."
Brittany Anzel App, a local photographer and filmmaker who went to Morro Bay High School, is making a documentary film titled "Where There Once Was Water." Speaking by phone on the road traveling back from Standing Rock, she said, "I really wanted to go and lend my skills to the movement and find out what was happening on the ground with my own eyes. Primarily I had been hearing about Standing Rock on Facebook. There wasn't for the longest time any mention in the corporate news, and when they did it seemed like a one-sided story, on the side of law enforcement. I would like to stand up for clean water. How do we create a future in which there is clean water for all life?"
App says she photographed and interviewed a number of protestors for her documentary. She was also inspired by a man named John Wathen, a photographer and Vietnam veteran from Alabama, who told her, "North Dakota is the most lawless state I have ever seen," comparing the situation to the '60s and saw how Alabama state troopers treated civil rights activists known as the Freedom Riders.
Protestors say if the pipeline leaked oil, it could potentially bleed into the Missouri River, poisoning the water supply for 18 million people. The American Civil Liberties Union is supporting protestors, who, according to the ACLU, "are defending the land and water using little more than the right to assemble and speak freely – a protection afforded by the U.S. Constitution."
The ACLU has reported as many as 76 law enforcement agencies gathered near Standing Rock to stifle the protestors.
The pipeline would carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois, and would cross both government and private land. Protesters say that the construction would disrupt sacred sites.
On Nov. 30, North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven spoke out against the Obama Administration and the protestors, insisting that "the pipeline is already 98-percent complete in North Dakota, and 86-percent finished overall," according to a Huffington Post report. "It's past time to get this issue resolved," Hoeven said.
On Mon., Nov. 28, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple ordered mandatory eviction of the Standing Rock protestors. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had previously announced plans to remove protestors from the pipeline conflict zone by Mon., Dec. 5. While no forcible evictions are expected, on Nov. 30, the Morton County Sheriff's Dept. announced it would impose a $1,000 fine on those bringing food and supplies to Standing Rock.
"What's most prevalent is psychological warfare, intimidations, threats," says Erin Inglish. But what the mainstream media is missing, she reports, is the overwhelming atmosphere of peace and prayer among the protestors. "Every morning there is a prayer. It's so peaceful. Any media that's portraying the violence isn't seeing that. The Morton County sheriffs are standing on the mountains and they have huge football-stadium lights pointed at the camp, they have helicopters and planes flying over the camp day and night. Most of it is just psychological intimidation."
Those interviewed for this story predict that law enforcement won't come in shooting protestors with live ammunition, nor can they arrest 12,000 people. "The Lakota are not going to back down," Ingish says. "They have been victims of persecution and genocide for 500 years and they are not backing down. Don't think that a letter from the Army Corps and 400 pipeline flunkeys are going to stop this."
Another local resident who has just returned from Standing Rock is Roberto Monge, a software engineer and community activist with the alternative school Outside Now in San Luis Obispo. "A lot of Outside Now teachings," he says, "are based on indigenous teachings, especially of the Lakota Sioux, so for me to go to Standing Rock felt like a reciprocity thing. We've learned a lot from them and they were calling for help."
Monge went with his 12-year-old daughter, Liliana. "One of the reasons I went," he says, "was to show her something real…The youth started the whole thing [at Standing Rock]; it began with a group of 10 of them and grew to more than 10,000 this weekend. Whenever there was a decision to be made, the elders said 'let's talk to the youth council.' So youth are highly esteemed in indigenous culture."
Monge said that since October he has been aware of at least six caravans that have left the county headed for Standing Rock.
It is unclear what will happen next in the confrontation between government and corporate forces, and those protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. "The State of North Dakoka and especially the governor is such a wild card," Monge says. "Racism abounds—some people call it the South of the North. The military crackdown is something you don't expect in 2016…This feels like the 1960s."
Inglish, App and Monge seem of a mind that the epic struggle between the "water protectors" and the police and government officials is universal. Monge says it makes sense that San Luis Obispo County locals would relate to Standing Rock. "Look at the leak that just happened in Goleta…We have off-shore drilling, fracking in Price Canyon. Water is sacred and it's at the core of this."
Says Inglish, "This is not about a pipeline. To me, this is about the civil and environmental [rights] movement, it's about indigenous rights and the reconciliation movement. This is the movement of our century."
A video by Digital Smoke Signals, courtesy Myron Dewey:


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*** Currently Running A Fundraiser To Help Get a New Computer ***
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Or if you want access to more NSFW content come check out my OnlyFans page – here
Thinking about signing up to my Patreon/OnlyFans?
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text: Jasmine Garsd 'It's A Career Ender': 2 LGBTQ Former Dell Workers Share Their Stories By Jasmine Garsd • Jul 15, 2019 Helen Harris doesn't wear makeup or feminine jewelry. She mostly dresses in men's tailored suits and men's shoes. She's gender nonconforming and identifies as a woman. And, she says, that's nobody's business. Which is why in late 2015, when she started taking hormones to become more masculine looking, she did it quietly. Harris, 37, is a systems engineer who worked at Dell, selling technology to major companies and helping them set it up. Trump To Invite Social Media Companies To 'Big Meeting' To Discuss Censorship By Jasmine Garsd • Jul 11, 2019 Updated at 5:30 p.m. ET President Trump on Thursday announced he is directing his administration to explore all regulatory and legislation solutions to "protect the free speech of all Americans." Trump, speaking to conservative social media personalities at a White House "summit," said big tech "must not censor the voices of the American people." "We're not going to be silenced," he said. Trump complained that people have been unable to follow him on some social media platforms. "People come up to me and say 'Sir, I can't follow you.' " Instagram Advertising: Do You Know It, When You See It? By Jasmine Garsd • Jun 24, 2019 In the photograph, Gretchen Altman is smiling, leaning back casually, a cup of coffee in hand — Hills Bros. Coffee, to be precise. It looks like a candid shot, but if you hit like, leave a comment, and tag a friend, you can get three different blends of brew, for free. iTunes' Death Is All About How We Listen To Music Today By Andrew Flanagan & Jasmine Garsd • Jun 3, 2019 After 18 years, Apple is killing iTunes — well, sort of. The media management software for most Mac users (and many Windows users) is being broken into separate pieces for separate uses: Music, podcasts and television will soon have their own apps on the new Catalina Mac operating system. Apple announced the move on Monday along with new hardware, including a new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR, and entertainment and lifestyle features. Hispanic Unemployment Has Hit Record Lows. But Does That Mean Progress? By Jasmine Garsd • May 25, 2019 With the economy booming, Ernesto Martinez can barely keep up with all the construction work coming into the small drywall company he owns. He's part of a historic wave of Latino prosperity in America. It wasn't always like this. Martinez remembers when he was 17. He had $120 to his name, and it was all in his pocket. It's how much he got paid for his first job in the U.S., as a mover. He says he stood there, mesmerized, in front of a shop window at the mall. Martinez was looking at a pair of Air Jordans. They cost around $100. Former Inmates Are Getting Jobs As Employers Ignore Stigma In Bright Economy By Jasmine Garsd • May 23, 2019 In 1998, Ichard Oden committed a crime that got him sent away for two decades. He was 19. He got out of prison in February. Today, he's a 40-year-old man with very little job experience. As it turns out, Oden is coming back into society at a time when the economy is booming and attitudes toward people with criminal records are changing. When Technology Can Be Used To Build Weapons, Some Workers Take A Stand By Jasmine Garsd • May 13, 2019 On the night of Jan. 16, Liz O'Sullivan sent a letter she'd been working on for weeks. It was directed at her boss, Matt Zeiler, the founder and CEO of Clarifai, a tech company. "The moment before I hit send and then afterwards, my heart, I could just feel it racing," she says. The letter asked: Is our technology going to be used to build weapons? After Boeing Crashes, More People Want Help Taming Fear Of Flying By Jasmine Garsd • Apr 17, 2019 This summer, musician Katie Sucha will be touring England. And she's scared. "It really is a serious mental challenge to walk through those doors and get on the plane," she explains. Sucha's fear of flying is so bad that when she was a teacher in Mississippi and wanted to visit her family in Michigan, she'd take a 14-hour bus ride rather than spend two hours in the air. In An Increasingly Polarized America, Is It Possible To Be Civil On Social Media? By Jasmine Garsd • Mar 31, 2019 Tyler and Larry have never met. Larry is a conservative living on the East Coast. Tyler is a liberal in Indiana. If for some reason they crossed paths on the street, they wouldn't recognize each other. But for the last few months, they've been getting into constant fights on Twitter. Before I could interview them, I had to agree not to use their real names. The online circle where they spend much of their time can get aggressive. One of them says he's even gotten death threats. Should Sex Work Be Decriminalized? Some Activists Say It's Time By Jasmine Garsd • Mar 22, 2019 Sex work is illegal in much of the United States, but the debate over whether it should be decriminalized is heating up. Former California Attorney General and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris recently came out in favor of decriminalizing it, as long as it's between two consenting adults. Social Media Companies Struggle To Pull Livestreamed Video Of Mass Shootings By Jasmine Garsd • Mar 15, 2019 After the New Zealand massacre was broadcast live on Facebook, it quickly went viral on various social media platforms. Companies including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube scrambled to take it down, but once something goes viral on social media, it's difficult to stop its spread. And that has been raising questions about live broadcasting on social media and who should have access to it. The alleged shooter seems to have first advertised the attack on the online forum 8chan, a message board known for right-wing extremist users. Bay Area's High Cost Of Living Squeezes Restaurant Workers, Chefs And Owners By Jasmine Garsd • Mar 6, 2019 Every morning at around 5 a.m., Armando Ibarra wakes up in the back of his van. He has been living there for the past couple of years. On his dashboard rests a holy candle. A rosary hangs from the rearview mirror. Ibarra walks over to his job at a chain hotel near San Francisco's airport. He says that at least he can wash up there. "I take a shower, drink my coffee, smoke a cigarette and ready to work." In Garlic Capital, Tariffs And Immigration Crackdown Have Mixed Impacts By Jasmine Garsd • Feb 20, 2019 Gilroy, Calif., is known as the garlic capital of the world. And two Trump administration policies — one on trade, the other on immigration — are having a mixed impact on this agricultural community south of San Francisco. It's about 50 degrees outside, but for a moment it looks like it's snowing. But the morning air is pungent and savory, and those flakes falling from the sky are garlic skin pieces, drifting away from the peeling facility. Christopher Ranch in Gilroy is the largest garlic producer in the country. This City Told Amazon And Google: No Incentives For You By Jasmine Garsd • Feb 15, 2019 A mayor from another city that tried to land big tech companies might be starting to look pretty smart after Amazon canceled its plans for a New York City headquarters. Activists and local politicians said New York had given up too much for too little. But it doesn't have to be that way, says San Jose, Calif., Mayor Sam Liccardo, who refused to offer Amazon and another tech giant, Google, any incentives to locate in his city. WhatsApp Tries To Curb Misinformation, And Annoying Aunts And Uncles By Jasmine Garsd • Jan 22, 2019 WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platforms in the world. With about 1.5 billion users, it's a free way to text and place international voice and video calls. With Amazon's Arrival, A New York Community Pushes To Be Included By Jasmine Garsd • Jan 22, 2019 Amazon's announcement, last year, that it is building a new headquarters in Queens, received mixed reactions. Some were excited about the tens of thousands of jobs the tech juggernaut is promising to bring to the New York City borough. Others wonder if they will even get access to those jobs, and if the area's already overburdened infrastructure can handle the influx of population. Alexa Can Help Kids With Homework, But Don't Forget Problem-Solving Skills By Jasmine Garsd • Jan 10, 2019 "Alexa, what's 5 minus 3?" A 6-year-old boy recently asked that question in a video, which went viral on Twitter with more than 8.5 million views. He leaned over his homework as his mother hovered in the doorway. Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated assistant, delivered a quick answer: 2. "Booooy," the mother chastised her son. Google Will Spend $1 Billion To Build New Campus In New York City By Jasmine Garsd • Dec 17, 2018 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Soccer Fans With Heart Conditions Offered Special Game Broadcasts By Jasmine Garsd • Nov 23, 2018 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Uber's Online-Only Restaurants: The Future, Or The End Of Dining Out? By Jasmine Garsd • Oct 23, 2018 It's a chilly autumn afternoon but inside a little Brooklyn bakery, it's hot. School just let out, and the store is filled with kids eyeing baked goodies. Their banter mixes with Caribbean music playing in the background. La Gran Via Bakery is an institution in this neighborhood. It's been around since 1978 — three generations of pastry chefs making cakes, cupcakes and traditional Latin American pastries. The American Dream: One Block Can Make All The Difference By Jasmine Garsd • Oct 4, 2018 Block by block, the place you were born and raised, can determine how far you get ahead in life. A new online tool shows that geography plays an outsized role in a child's destiny. Called the Opportunity Atlas, it was developed by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues. It's a map that uses tax and U.S. Census data to track people's incomes from one generation to the next. Facebook Use Changing Among Young Users By Jasmine Garsd • Sep 6, 2018 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Twitter Suspends Additional Accounts For 'Coordinated Manipulation' By Jasmine Garsd • Aug 27, 2018 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. DAVID GREENE, HOST: Solutions To Facebook's Privacy And Security Concerns Come At A Cost By Jasmine Garsd • Aug 3, 2018 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. AfroPunk Acts To Free Your Mind And Your ... Ears By Jasmine Garsd • Aug 28, 2016 The AfroPunk Festival in Brooklyn has grown since the annual event began in 2005. As it has expanded, so have the choices it offers: you can see everyone from Ice Cube to George Clinton, to Brit Rockers Skunk Anansie. There's a lot to catch, so here are five artists to keep an eye out for, at the festival and beyond. Jasmine's picks: Laura Mvula Drug Dealer's Career Follows Evolution Of Opiate Epidemic In U.S. By Jasmine Garsd • Jul 15, 2016 Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: Latino LGBT Community Found Refuge On The Dancefloor By Jasmine Garsd • Jun 19, 2016 Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Should The U.S. Reconsider Its Stand On Foreign Aid For Abortion Clinics? By Jasmine Garsd • May 2, 2016 The mosquito-borne Zika virus has sparked a debate about abortion in both Latin America and the United States. The virus has been directly linked to a birth defect that results in an abnormally small head and brain damage. In Latin America, where many countries have strict bans on abortion, some citizens and government officials are asking whether such bans should be reconsidered, at least in infected mothers. 'The Lost Neruda' Can Now Be Found In 'Then Come Back' By Jasmine Garsd • Apr 19, 2016 Back in 2014, archivists were combing through Pablo Neruda's files when they came upon some previously unpublished works. Those writings by the Nobel prize-winning Chilean poet will soon be released in English in Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda. Forrest Gander, the Brown University professor who translated the poems into English, likens the discovery to finding a trove of new sketches by Michelangelo. Pop Star Kesha Loses Court Battle Against Producer Dr. Luke By Jasmine Garsd • Apr 7, 2016 Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: In New York, a state Supreme Court justice has thrown out pop star Kesha's claims against her producer Dr. Luke. The singer accused him of sexual abuse that violated the state's hate crime laws. NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports. Pages1 2 3 next › last »


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Grandparent – Best Job Ever!
Being a grandparent is my happily ever after!
Grandparents create memories that the heart holds forever.
Grandparents are special angels God sends to watch over us and be our best friends.
ou know you're a grandparent when you LAUGH when your grandkids do the same things that made you so angry when your kids did them!
A grandparent's love is strong and deep; full of memories to cherish and keep.
Being a grandparent isn't a big thing – it's a million little things!
A garden of love grows in a grandparent's heart.
Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven't thought of yet.
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I have a little guy that is obsessed with trains. I made him a train shirt last year but he got too big, so he requested a new one. I thought it would be fun to use Cricut's new iron on vinyl and the fun colors they have to make a colorful train shirt.
This is how I made it:
In Cricut Craft Room, I got the train all arranged and aligned, exactly how I wanted it. The cartridge I used was my community for the train and CRR basics for the font.
I then separated the train onto different sections of the mat, these are all going to be different colored iron on. I then flipped the image horizontally. You have to do that whenever you have words.
I then placed all of the different colors of the iron on vinyl, with the shiny side down on to the mat and cut the images. I used the blade setting of 3 and pressure of 3.
Using a regular iron, I ironed on the train.
And just like that, my son has a fun train shirt!
I would love it if you followed along.


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Neil Swartz, CPA – Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Swartz combines extensive entrepreneurial and capital recruitment experience to provide clients with uniquely effective funding options. His range of expertise includes a wide array of financing, deal structuring and exit strategy assignment.
Mr. Swartz' firsthand knowledge in a variety of established and effective business strategies provide clients with a unique advisory service. Mr. Swartz's additional business experience includes titles as Managing Director of Sunbelt South East Florida, LLC, a Business Brokerage of Mergers and Acquisitions firm with 350 offices worldwide. Prior to those events, Mr. Swartz was chairman and CEO of a software company, which he took public on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market, and built from 1 product to over 30 with in-house manufacturing capabilities.
Mr. Swartz is a CPA and received a BS degree from Northeastern University in accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Tim Hart, CPA – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Hart has over thirty years of vast accounting and finance experience, including 10 years with KPMG, one the worlds largest international public accounting firms. Most recently,
Mr. Hart expanded his private practice to form R3 Accounting LLC. and has extensive experience dealing with SEC and other regulatory matters, such as initial and secondary public offerings, private placements, formulating responses to various SEC inquiries, compliance with SEC reporting requirements (Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K), dealing with banks, private investors and investment bankers in obtaining debt and/or equity financing, and appearing before the IRS representing clients on IRS audits. He also has widespread experience with mergers and acquisitions, including transactional documentation. back and front office systems implementations for small to medium sized businesses, business consulting with small public and private companies and their executives and various other accounting, finance and tax services.
Mr. Hart holds a Bachelors degree in Accountancy, Economics and Business Administration from Thomas More College, and has been a certified public accountant since 1984. He is also former Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce for Oakland Park/Wilton Manor.
Sharon R. Ford – Chief Operations Officer
Sharon Ford oversees TBG Holdings' corporate operational, marketing, and compliance operations. From 2013 to 2016 Sharon served as VP of Operations for TBG Holdings.
Previously, Sharon Ford held positions as marketing director for public and private companies, and developer of marketing programs for client organizations. From 2005 to 2008 she held a position as Creative Services Director for the Charlottesville, VA NBC affiliate, WVIR, and donated Media Director services for several non-profits before turning her focus to corporate marketing and law studies.
Ms. Ford holds a BSc in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix. She is also a member of The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the International Webmasters Association (IWA).


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Review: Ajax Starter Kit
The term Ajax has been tossed around the Web quite a bit. It's often labeled as a new type of technology but it actually consists of several technologies used together. It's similar to referring to the space shuttle as a technology when it actually consists of many components that work together as one unit.
The acronym Ajax was created by Jesse James Garrett (in the early part of 2005) and refers to Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Ajax is made up of different and varying combinations of (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, the DOM, PHP, XML, XSLT and XMLHttpRequest;.
With all this technology, the next thing is to figure out how to make it work together. There are many books written on the subject, and one of them is the Ajax Starter Kit. It's not really a book; it's actually a kit (as stated in the title), and consists of the following:
Quick Start Guide
The Quick Start Guide is designed to get you up and running with Ajax quickly. The chapters are concise, part of the Teach Yourself in 10 Minutes series by Sams Publishing. The method doesn't imply that you can learn everything in 10 minutes; but that each chapter is designed to take 10 minutes or less to complete. For some of the chapters, that might be pushing it a bit, unless you're looking for a quick overview. The book is geared towards Web developers who have experience with (X)HTML, CSS and some JavaScript. The introductory tutorials are pretty basic. They're fine for understanding the examples in the book or a quick refresher, but not for starting from scratch.
For the most part, the book is easy to understand and presents the material in a concise and orderly manner. It begins with a section titled, "A Refresher on Web Technologies." This section quickly covers the basics of HTML, HTTP, JavaScript, PHP and XML. Each introductory tutorial explains why the reader needs to know the material (in relation to Ajax) and what is and isn't covered in the lesson. The next two sections provide the main tutorials for learning to use Ajax. Using their 10 minute technique, they provide a good basis for learning what's involved and how to use it. Also included is a JavaScript library for use with Ajax. In total, there are 21 short, easy-to-read lessons.
A Bit of a Concern
The examples in the book use an HTML 4.01 transitional DOCTYPE, although the author states he is using 4.0 transitional. The author also uses deprecated HTML elements such as
<font> and
<center>. These were deprecated in HTML 4.0. In addition to being used in code examples, the
<font> tag is also listed as a "useful HTML tag." For a book teaching the use of advanced methods of coding, these errors create issues with the book's credibility. While it's probably a safe bet that the Ajax coding is correct, using the deprecated tags will surely cause problems in code validation.
Ajax Programmer's Toolkit
The toolkit includes XAMPP for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. XAMPP is developed by Apache Friends and is a software bundle consisting of Apache MySQL, PHP and Perl packaged together. It's a quick and easy method of installing all of those software packages and having them work together seamlessly (well, most of the time). This allows you to program and test on yourcomputer without having to upload and download to a Web host. This is an excellent addition to the starter kit.
The toolkit also includes jEdit, a text-based programming editor, created under the GNU/GPL license. It's written in Java so it will run on Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Also included are the Prototype, Rico, and XOAD JavaScript/Ajax libraries, as well as the source code for all the examples in the book.
Tutorial Reference Library
Since Ajax is made up of several technologies, the Ajax Starter Kit also includes a library of books for reference. The library consists of six books in PDF format. Aside from the Quick Start Guide, it also includes the following titles, from the Sams Teach Yourself collection:
While these books won't make you an expert in each of the listed areas, they can give you a nice head start. They cover a fair amount of material, given the format. Considering that each of these books cost when sold separately, having them bundled together is a pretty good deal.
Ajax is here to stay, at least for now. It's the right technology for many applications but it must not be used just for the sake of using it. Often a better solution can be found. For those cases when it's the proper technology, this is a good place to learn how to use it. Aside from the few bits of outdated code in the Quick Start Guide (I didn't read all the books in the Tutorial Reference Library in their entirety), I think this is a good "starter kit" from which to begin a study of Ajax. You will be able to see your strengths and weaknesses, and you'll learn how to write better Ajax code.
|Author: Phil Ballard
Publisher: Sams Publishing
Copyright: 2007


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Monthly Archives: May 2017
Disease Blaming & Shaming; Some thoughts
This post is going to be a bit out of the ordinary for me but I read a little about this concept of disease shaming and found it interesting so I thought I would share with you my thoughts about it.
When I went Vegan, my reason was for my health and as touchy and particular we Vegans can be about our health the reality is that a Vegan diet does not 100% guarantee you a life without sickness or disease. (Although it does raise the odds of living a healthier life by a huge percentage)
I learned this week about this thing called "disease shaming". This was a new concept to me. As I thought about it, I had to admit that I have been guilty of doing this, although never out loud to a person but quietly in my mind thinking this way about a person's health situation.
Disease shaming is the belief that if a person follows a certain Vegan diet that they are guaranteed a life of good health devoid of disease. So if a Vegan gets sick, under the weather, gets cancer or some other disease, a person thinks that it was brought on by a failure of the person to follow the vegan diet 100%, "they must have cheated" or they ate too many processed foods and therefore they are paying the price now.
Blaming and shaming the person only makes matters worse. this shaming does serve a purpose though to the person shaming the other, it's a self-defense mechanism that keeps us from facing the truth that we are not invincible and that our diet is not the fountain of youth, that will make us live forever and that no diet can 100% guarantee good health.
So I am going to start reaching out to others in a positive manner, stop the blaming and shaming even if it's only in my thoughts.
If you are interested in looking deeper, there is a book out called "Even Vegans Die" I have not read this book, but according to the publisher of the book, they address disease shaming and body shaming as well as other health and animal advocacy topics as they relate to Vegans. It's a play off of Dr. Michael Greger M.D.'s book "How Not To Die" which I have read and highly recommend.
Here are comments from the books publisher's page.
"Even Vegans Die empowers vegans and their loved ones to make the best decisions regarding their own health, their advocacy for animals, and their legacy. By addressing issues of disease shaming and body shaming, the authors present a manifesto for building a more compassionate, diverse, and effective vegan community.
Even Vegans Die celebrates the benefits of a plant-based diet while acknowledging that even vegans can get sick. You will learn how to make the healthcare decisions that are right for you, how to ensure your efforts to help animals will not end after you die, and how to provide compassionate care for yourself and for others in the face of serious illness.
This book offers practical, thoughtful, and sensitive advice on creating a will, mourning, and caregiving. Without shying away from the reality of death, Even Vegans Die offers a message that remains uplifting and hopeful for all animal advocates and all those who care about them."
Here is a quote from Michael Greger, MD who wrote the foreword to the book.
"Even people who eat a healthy, plant-based diet, can get seriously ill. That's why this book is needed. Carol, Patti, and Ginny teach us to live wisely while we are still here, not only by eating well but also by caring for ourselves and each other. I want to live well and, if necessary, I want to die well, too. If you do also, then start reading."—From the foreword by Michael Greger, MD
Thanks for listening,
The Vegan Gourmand


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Some lovely spring days of late have been great for anglers heading offshore and all is looking good for a great summer of fishing.
As water temperatures have increased steadily and the usual first signs of our summer species have arrived, 'couta and salmon schools and good patches of krill have attracted blue sharks into the 60m line. Large flathead and healthy gummies to 20kg can be found on the sand and the reefs are all worth a try early morning for some of the best snapper fishing in recent years.
Fish to 6kg have been taken between Torquay and Collendina although persistence and hard work are required. Smaller fish to 1.5kg seem to be spread through all depths at this stage and, as always, fresh baits of squid, 'couta or salmon are ideal.
No sightings of mako sharks have been recorded at the time of writing, but should appear early December. There have been rumours about yellowtail kingfish sightings but we are yet to see any landed, or hooked for that matter, but maybe this is the year for their come back in this area.
Tip: Remember to try to avoid running through or fishing in other anglers' berley trails. If you have to navigate across it, try to keep at least 1km away from the trail.
For the latest fishing information, contact Gone Fishing Charters, (03) 5258 3516 or 0418 510 794, or visit www.gonefishing.com.auReads: 651


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What to Do When the World is Ending
By: Talor Stone February 2nd, 2018
Okay, so you've received some bad news. Like… really bad news. What do you do?
First things first, pick up something nearby (preferably something soft). Hold this thing in your hand… and then throw it (again, preferably not at something breakable). Definitely scream. An ugly cry is also waiting for you.
Good. Now that you've gotten that part out of the way, it's time to let go and get to work.
If you have been following along on my Instagram (if not, then why aren't you following me on Instagram?!) then you already know that I've had a pretty rough holiday season this year. Before I get into this story, I want to pause for a moment to explain something. I know that I made mistakes in the story I am about to tell. Trust me… I am living with the consequences of my choices. So please do not provide advice on what I "should have done." That is not helpful. But, if you have tips for better future data management and can explain them in a way that won't crush my spirit, then I am open to hearing them.
Back to the story. There's bad luck, there's worse luck, and then there's just plain stupid. Now, I don't know which of these categories I fall into, but I'm sure by the end of this story you'll have your own opinion. For years now I, like many other photographers, have been working from external hard drives. My files are very large and when I'm actively shooting there can be thousands of them over a weekend let alone what's generated during my multi-month trips.
Cloud storage has never really been a reasonable option for me because even with decent internet it would take me a month of constant uploading from my laptop to back up my huge files (over 60,000 of them). This would render my laptop nearly useless during the upload (don't forget I'm a student, too) and that's if it isn't somehow fried in the process. So, instead all my images were spread across two external hard drives. I'll admit my file management left something to be desired, so there was an attempt at duplication (where each image was stored in two places at once) but it was far from perfect. Regardless, it worked for me and I've been operating this way for years without so much of a blip in my workflow.
Cue fall of 2018. I finally, with a generous birthday present from my amazing, wonderful, supportive father, purchased the new laptop I so desperately needed. Running photo processing software is a lot more than the average budget laptop can handle and I was simply suffering every time I tried to process images on my old one. If I wanted to be serious about photography, I needed to invest in new technology.
After a month of deliberations (seriously… the salespeople at Best Buy legitimately knew my name because I came in there so often to ask questions), I finally settled on my dream computer – the Dell XPS 15. I read tons of photographer reviews and truly believed that this was the right laptop for me within my budget. (And no, please don't give me the "should have gotten a Mac" speech… seriously). This baby had everything I could ever dream of and a 4k color calibrated screen to boot! I was in image editing heaven and so excited that I completely ignored the fact that the moment I first booted it up I instantly got the blue screen of death and it promptly rebooted. Surely this was just because it was the first time it was started, right? Must be part of the set-up procedure, right?
*insert shrug here*
After that, the computer ran like a dream. I purchased it right in the middle of my PhD semester, so it took me a couple weeks to start working on images. It was such an incredible experience to finally see my photos with the color balance and sharpness they deserved. It was like seeing them all over again for the very first time. But, it wasn't long until I began to have concerns. Periodically my hard drive would make a strange noise or two and I would have trouble finding it in the file browser. Oh yeah… and I forgot to mention that the blue screen of death continued to happen every couple of days with no explanation. I was so enamored with the new laptop that the alarm bells failed to signal, but I did decide it was time to at least try to back up some images in cloud storage "just in case."
What follows is literally the most perfect sequence of things going wrong that I personally have ever experienced.
First things first, I didn't want to have duplicates in my cloud storage because of the amount of time it was going to take to upload things. To fix this, I merged ALL of my images onto one hard drive to eliminate the redundant files. Instead of simply copying them, for some ungodly reason I decided to move them entirely. No worry… I'll have a backup copy as soon as they're on the cloud, right? Wrong. With all my files on a single hard drive, I plugged it back in and hit upload. A handful of files moved and then the unthinkable happened. The hard drive simply stopped working. It no longer existed as far as my laptop was concerned. You could plug it in all day long and the computer would never find it. Trust me… I tried other computers too. In a panic, I took it to Best Buy and I'll tell you those Geek Squad guys tried their hearts out. They spent all afternoon trying to help me, to no avail.
And I forgot to mention… this happened the day before I had to board a flight for my winter travel trip to Death Valley and the Sierra Nevadas. Out of options and running out of time, I mailed off the damaged hard drive to data recovery, purchased a new one, and resolved myself to board the plane. I was devastated. Four years of work disappeared in a flash. I know I made mistakes with my data management, but "shoulda, woulda, coulda." No amount of looking back would change the facts, so I had to let go of my worry and look ahead.
When I boarded that plane I only looked forward. I was determined not to let this ruin my trip and, after all, the data recovery rate is quite high. There was a good chance I would get all the images back even at the expense of quite a lot of money. The following few weeks were amazing. I successfully let go of my concerns and took some phenomenal shots.. All images went from my memory cards onto my new hard drive which stayed in its padded case in the vehicle where no harm could come to it… so I thought.
The day I returned home, I was flipping through my images on Lightroom when I noticed the hard drive make a funny noise and just like that… it was gone. With no warning the exact same thing had happened again! All the emotions I thought I had let go of surged back like a tidal wave. Cue more crying, throwing of a pillow and calling my dad. I ran up to Best Buy again, but my luck was the same. The only possible conclusion was that my new laptop, which had continued to repeatedly give the blue screen of death, was somehow shorting out and frying my hard drives. Both hard drives had shorted out in an identical way in less than 3 weeks of use, and both were new and of different brands. The laptop and it's sketchy performance was the only common factor.
Now, I have heard some negative feedback about Best Buy, but I can honestly only say the most amazing things. The entire Geek Squad crew on both occasions stopped what they were doing to help me as a team for many hours. I was never charged for their time and I was given the most spectacular customer service. They truly went above and beyond in every way and once it was determined the laptop was the cause they gave me a brand-new laptop of a different brand worth $600 more for free. One of them even found a way to download a zipped file of all my Lightroom thumbnails so even though the real files are gone I can still flip through my low-resolution memories! I can't explain how much it means to me to be able to have those, plus I can still use the low-res files for blogs like this one!
Despite these positives, this is a real crisis! I know it's hard to believe, but I actually do make money from my images. This is a business that was just now becoming successful, and I have magically become unemployed. Currently, I have zero images including the thousands that I never had a chance to edit or even see with my own eyes.
Going from bad to worse, today I got the phone call that the data recovery center has deemed the files unrecoverable. So yeah… that stings a little (ahem, a lot). At the moment, the images for sale on my website are the only images available, but even I would have to purchase them from myself to have them! This is completely devastating for my future as a business and, to make matters worse, the morning the second hard drive failed I had ordered nearly $2,000 worth of prints for art shows. So now I have tons of money invested, but the immediate future looks pretty darn bleak.
I may not be able to do much right, but I do know one thing – I know how to let go of the things I can't control. This is a skill I hope no one else ever has to learn the way I did. I figured out how to let go by surviving an abusive marriage, the sudden loss of a parent, and the traumatic ball-of-fire death of said marriage all within the same year. When life goes this bad you either cease to function or you figure out how to let go of the things you can't control. I've chosen to learn to let go. My recipe for this is simple and comes in four easy steps that (at the risk of sounding like an infomercial) you too can use to let go of the things beyond your control:
One: Freak out, but give yourself a time limit.
- I personally won't allow myself to have an emotional breakdown or anger-fest for more than 10 minutes, but usually it's less than 5. Cry, throw something (again, preferably soft), scream loud enough to make the neighbors concerned, and call the right family member or friend who knows how to listen. Just go for it.
Two: Ask yourself, "Can I control this?" Let go of what you can't.
- If you cannot control the problem, then you have to consciously let go of it. Say it out loud. Tell a friend. Whatever you do, make it a conscious act and let go.
Three: Make a plan.
- I like to write lists personally, but do whatever works for you. I make a plan on how to deal with the fall-out when something has gone horribly wrong. Only consider things you can actually control and remember to let go of the rest. In this situation I had to ask myself whether or not I really wanted to pursue photography. I mean… this was the perfect situation in which to quit. I could walk away fair and square. But, if I wanted to continue then I would have to dig in deeper and commit harder than ever before. I chose to dig.
Four: It's time to get to work.
- A plan on paper is nice and all, but it means nothing until you take that first step. For me, that meant charging ahead and submitting art show and gallery applications each and every day until there were none left. It meant investing money and time to build art display panels with the confidence that one day I would have images to fill them again. It meant making at least one step forward every single day so I wouldn't lose momentum.
I hope what happened to me will never happen to you. But, these steps to let go know no genre of tragedy. You can apply this to anything and, if you find a way to let go of the things beyond your control, I promise you will be a happier and healthier person for it. The next time it feels like the world is coming to an end, remember that it's perfectly okay to freak out. By all means become an ugly crier, smear you mascara and hyperventilate a little. But then take a deep breath, let go, make a plan, and get to work! You can't follow your dreams if you're sitting on the sideline!
Here's to letting go, digging deeper and committing harder. It's going to be an uphill battle, but I'm ready.
Help me bid farewell to some of my favorite images below! Their memory lives on in my Prints gallery on my website, and don't worry they're still available for purchase!


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Fall Prevention Exercises
Friday, July 31, 2020, 11:15 am – 12:15 pm
Exercise Room (map & info)
Exercise Room
Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Center
18560 1st Ave. NE #1
Shoreline, WA 98155
(206) 365-1536
Instructor: Toshiko Aramaki
Leave name & phone number at front desk and
instructor will contact you. This class reinforces the exercises learned in 'Keep Your Balance Keep Moving' with concentration on building &
maintaining balance. NO Drop-ins allowed
days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
time: 11:15am – 12:15pm
location: Monday in Bridge Room
Wednesday/Friday in Exercise Room
cost: *SC Members $4.00/class
*SC Non-members $6.00/class


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Effort, Teaching and Persistence
My 6-year old son's piano teacher asked him yesterday what happens when he practices. "I get better," he said without hesitation. I admit I've been a bit of a Tiger Mom with him since he started lessons, but there's no denying the results. "Hot-Crossed Buns" gave way to "Old McDonald" in short order, and he's set his sights on Yuja Wang by 2034. He is quick to point out that she started when she was 6-years old as well.
Harvey Johnson introduced me to Carol Dweck's concept of a growth mindset several years ago. People with growth mindsets understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. Everyone can get better at anything if they work at it.
I sat behind Alex McIlvaine '14 on Tuesday night and listened to him provide color commentary for the livestream of the boys' basketball game. The regular season, out-of-conference game had little consequence, but he charged ahead as if he were working the NBA Finals for TNT. I asked Alex the next day how much better he is covering the games now than at the beginning of the season. "A lot," he said, indicating how obvious and boring my question was.
My office sits directly over what can only be described as the rock and roll practice room in the O'Brien Arts Center. Each afternoon, Nathan Koski-Vacirca '16 serenades me with loud and ruthless rhythms on the drums. He pounds away, day after day. When you see him at Arts Weekend with the Jazz Ensemble, try to remember that he's put in about 300 hours of practice during the year leading up to that 30-minute performance.
Thirty-six swimmers set personal marks during the DISC Championships last weekend en route to both the girls and boys sweeping the team championships for the first time since 2002. Ask any one of them what practices were like this winter.
Our days here are filled with the kind of effort, practice, teaching, and persistence needed to leave each day a little better than we were the day before. Sometimes, progress can be painfully pedestrian (as this amateur writer can attest), but the faith remains and the practice continues.


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CASE46544: Horary consultation concerning Mr Richard Napier [Sandy] [Richard Napier [Senior]] (PERSON5218)
Question asked by the patient on 3 May 1618 at 16:30
RN wheathr It is convenient to intert{e}|a|yne sutch a mā as I purpose for the trayning of my ho{illeg}|r|se. may. 3 ☉ h. 4. 30 p m 1618.
[Astrological Chart]
Transcribed entry from MS Ashmole 201, f. 84r (upper left part of page)


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Early last week we returned from visiting my family in Ohio. It was a pretty normal trip for me, except that I needed to ask something particular of my mother.
Now, my mom and I aren't particularly close, and that's mostly my doing. I've been a challenge from the outset, and I can totally own that. But over the last three months I've been having some really painful, disgusting memories of things that happened to me at the hands of my father during my toddlerhood.
The Not-So-Casual Observer and I have been working from those memories as if they were true because, well, I have all the symptoms a person would exhibit. But I felt like I needed to know the truth for myself. I'd been praying during the week leading up to the trip that if I was supposed to tell my mother what I remembered, Jesus would make a clear opportunity.
He did.
The first night, I told mom that my father had been in contact with me, and that I was really confused because I remembered X, Y, and Z (general types of abuse, the one I really wanted to know about tucked in there). Not only did she not deny it, she quietly nodded and said, "Uh huh." I didn't press, but I did mention the particular kind of abuse a second time, and again, same response.
Sooo, goodbye denial, hello Jesus. And counseling. I hadn't told the NSCO I was considering talking to my mom about it since I'm only seeing her every other week and hadn't really decided by our previous appointment, so when I sat down and told her the day after we got back, she was a little stunned. Wide-eyed and slack-jawed, actually. She didn't actually SAY much about what I'd done, but she was clearly surprised. It was kinda priceless.
Yesterday I had counseling again, trying to work out this Father fathering issue. It's not pretty, this thing. I don't like it one. little. bit. Jesus is trying to get me into the presence of the Father, but I'm totally resistant. Yesterday in my session He said there's something I fear too much to even name and, given the intensity of what I've already dealt with, that doesn't bode well.
This morning He told me something I've seen hints of in isolated moments but haven't wanted to believe, still don't want to believe. There may be another conversation with my mother in my future, because this one might just drive me crazy, and I have another 15 days until processing with NSCO. Arg.


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Perfect for any bridal shower or wedding celebration, the Bride Wine Bottle Jacket is cute and elegant. With an insulated interior this wine jacket will keep the bottle cool during the festivities. Get yours soon before they all say "I do"!
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Payroll Services
The Payroll Services provides a comprehensive service to University of Edinburgh employees, casual staff and pensioners on all payroll related matters.
The University is moving towards delivering your monthly payslip online. This means going forward you will access your payslip electronically.
Information relating to Online Payslips can be found here.
Payroll Procedures
Payroll Services procedures are available here, and in further detail on the Finance Department Wiki.
Pay Dates
In general, pay day for the University is the 28th of each month; unless it falls on a weekend, in which case it is the Friday preceding the 28th.
Tax Matters
The Payroll Services section liaises with HM Revenue & Customs and is responsible for deducting income tax from employees' salaries.
Net Salary Calculator
A spreadsheet is available to download which provides net salary calculations.
Cycle to Work Scheme
The Cycle to Work scheme is a green transport initiative allowing University employees to obtain a bicycle in a tax efficient manner.
Payroll Forms
Payroll Office forms available to download are listed below.