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BANGKOK, Thailand — This week marks perhaps Thailand's most joyous spell of the year, a lunar new year celebration known as Songkran.
The work stops. Families reunite. The young bless elders with a ceremonial cleansing ritual: the sprinkling of water across the hands or shoulder.
This is where the Ministry of Culture-approved Songkran ends. Thais also know their signature holiday as the "Seven Days of Danger," a period of excess that can leave more than 500 dead.
From 2000 to 2010, about 5,050 died and 187,300 were injured from accidents during April's Songkran week alone, according to figures compiled for GlobalPost by the government-funded Thai Health Promotion Network.
The culprits? Water guns, moving vehicles and lots of booze.
"When Songkran comes, you stay drunk. Open your eyes, wash your face off and — boop! — start drinking again," said Songsak Samtha, a 43-year-old motorbike taxi driver who works in Bangkok. "If you stop, your friends walk by and say, 'Hey! You drunk yet?'"
A few decades ago, the chaste sprinkling of water upon grandma's fingers mutated into something much more raucous: a no-rules, boozy H2O street war.
During Songkran 2.0, it is socially acceptable to chuck freezing water in a stranger's face — even if that stranger is doing 35 mph on a motorbike.
Adults and kids alike prowl the streets with water cannons. Their preferred attack vehicle is a pick-up truck, gunmen squatting in the bed like a Somali militia. They typically reload from a trashcan full of water.
The goal is to thoroughly soak passersby down to their underwear. Extra points are awarded for direct hits on foreigners or anyone clueless enough to walk outside in work attire. Many locals cower inside until the week is over.
Social guidelines become as slippery as the sidewalks. Young girls, normally bound by strict rules of etiquette, can approach the boy of their liking and smear his face and neck with goopy powder. Men are forgiven for replacing breakfast with a $3 pint of cheap whiskey.
Songkran is as fun, and lawless, as it sounds. The air of recklessness and massive alcohol consumption, paired with driving, leaves the nation bracing for hundreds of fatalities. TV stations run a death toll each night on the evening news.
On the worst year in recent history, 2004, nearly 100 died per day during Songkran week, roughly tripling average daily road deaths.
This has convinced a small-but-politically connected contingent that there is only one solution: banning all alcohol sales during the holiday.
Alcohol is the driver of Songkran deaths, said the director of Thailand's government-affiliated Stop Drink Network. His name name is, ironically, Songkran Pakchokdee.
The network has floated its booze sale prohibition proposal in parliament, Songkran said. It has never passed. The idea remains unthinkable to many Thais.
"Impossible," said Songsak, the motorbike driver, who plans a 10-hour trek to his home province of Srisaket. "No booze means no fun."
But the Stop Drink Network is undeterred. "They say, 'People will just stock up beforehand.' We say, fine, but when they run out at least they can't buy more. Everyone's scared no tourists will come. We say, OK, we can exempt alcohol sales at hotels."
Heavy Songkran deaths began in the 1980s, said Stop Drink Network's manager, Theera Watcharapranee. That decade, and most of the 1990s, were a period of heavy economic growth that afforded many Thais enough income to buy cars and motorbikes. According to World Bank statistics, the number of vehicles in Thailand quadrupled from 1987 to 1997.
"Of course people got drunk during Songkran 50 years ago," Theera said. "They just didn't have vehicles."
The Stop Drink Network's anti-booze crusade is pit against two extremely powerful interests: the tourism and alcohol industries. Foreigners flock to Thailand for Songkran, now heavily promoted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The alcohol industry is even stronger, Theera said.
"They target this week to increase their market share," he said. "You'll see a lot of promotions this week."
Songkran carnage is amplified by the holiday's homecoming tradition. For provincial Thais working in Bangkok, Songkran is a rare opportunity to return home to see family and hometown friends. As the traffic increases, and bottles are tipped, the road deaths mount.
"You have to stay on guard all the time," said Worawut Kaewkongmul, a Bangkok 17-year-old who goes by the nickname "Beer." ("My parents gave it to me," he explained, "because dad likes beer.")
Worawut recalls witnessing a particularly ugly Songkran death years ago, a motorbike-on-car smash-up that left the bike driver splayed bloody on the street. "There are people drunk, flying around without helmets. It's normal," he said. "I just stick to the public bus."
But moments after recounting the accident, Worawut talked excitedly of his Songkran plans: doting on his parents by day and dousing strangers come sundown.
"I love Songkran," he said. "It's part of the Thai identity. No country does it like us."


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I invite you to read this post on Dart Throwing Chimp. It's very interesting. After you have read it, I give you a hint to his inquiry. Ben Ali thought differently from Gaddafi because people are different. It's not that complicated, really. Beliefs, passions and ideas sometimes overshadow reason and Gaddafi is a perfect example of that. The author raises good questions, but at the same time, you can't set a theory which predicts dictators' behavior. That is what his writing is leaning towards.
As much as people are led by self-interest, survival instinct etc., they are also driven by ideas, beliefs, and emotions. I thought at least academics knew this.
Think of this painting below. Something more than money led to its creation. Whether for good (the painting), or bad (Gaddafi's rule and his decision to fight until death), there's usually more to it than meets the eye. Attempting to put all of it in a box is, if I may say, impossible. It would require either our understanding of reality in its entirety, or limiting our definition of reality so that it fits our box. It is quite obvious that there are plenty of things out there which we don't understand in respect to what leads humans to do X and not Y. So the second option is what we would really do if we came up with a theory to explain Gaddafi's behavior vs. Ben Ali's. In a nutshell, you can predict dictator's behavior just as much as someone sitting close to Klimt could predict what he was going to paint, with what colors, and why he thought those colors were important…if you get a glimpse of it.

subset: commoncrawl


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On The Guardian's Voluntary Sector Network 'Charity apps are supporting people and helping to find new volunteers' – the summary says "From helping blind people via video link to alerting first aiders, innovation is making it easier than ever to volunteer."
It leads with the example of the Be My Eyes app (for Apple devices) which connects blind users with sighted volunteers who communicate via video link to provide the help needed. Read at http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2015/mar/11/apps-encouraging-volunteers-charity.
Reminder: the CharityBlog links page now has a section on interesting charity apps. Please do suggest additions.


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Anyone interested in any camera equipment? I'm liquidating my Sony/Minolta A-mount SLR gear. Lenses, including Minolta 85/1.4 G, 70-200/4, Takumar 35/2.3, Pentax 135/2.5, Minolta 50/1.4, Sony A900 body, Crumpler backpack, Sony HVL-F58 flash, 35-70/4, 28-85/3.5-4.5, cable electronic remote release, M42 adapter with chip, and more... let me know.
It'll go to eBay eventually, but If I can move anything without paying listing and selling fees I will...
I don't remember if the rules allow selling or not, I've not been here in a long time... that and my cash-flow needs combine to make this sale a necessary evil :/
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Main | City Homes | Addons |Compatibility | Patch Notes | Credits and Thank Yous
Divine Cities – Premier City Overhaul
Divine Cities was created with the intention of breathing new life into Skyrim. It adds more NPCs, homes, shops, and decorated items to showcase each region where you are at. In order to capture the entirety of Skyrim I spent time with Vader, Doc, Barbarian and Rebel in discussing lore and also wandering around the towns and cities myself. A large part of this mod reduces insignificant clutter and add more logical pieces along with insect spawns. You also get outhouses, traveling merchants, followers, scattered playerhomes that are multi-adoption friendly and more!
Lighting in all cities is logical. It goes off during the day and it's on at night. This is true for all cities listed below.
Please note: Followrs added by Divine Cities and Villages are naked for 1 reason alone: in order to properly attire them. If I give them an outfit inside the CK they won't always switch to the proper gear you give them. This is not a glitch, it is intended.
Divine Cities does not add any type of texture overhaul inside it. It's only 8 MB!! So please please please do not ask "is this compatible with texture overhaul X- because yes. Yes it is.
Whiterun is the trade capitol for Skyrim. Centrally located in the heart of a tundra, there was no real fur or leather trader which was insane to me. There should be a vendor that specialised in Hunting and I didn't think the Drunken Huntsman did a good enough job.
The central market was also missing extra bits of goods that should be showcased. Now, if it wasn't for the war markers, I'd have disabled the stands for day and night but alas the CK won't allow double parenting of items to do that.
And where are all the people?!! Surely there should be trading vendors and visitors and citizens? I realise that reworking a world space isn't something to be done willy nilly and I wasn't about to bring the console to its knees, so rather than ramming extra houses, I chose to show them walk around instead.
Soltiude is the largest city in Skyrim and the seat of the High King of Skyrim – it should reflect that. The Market was a wee bit too small to do much with, but I sure as hell took advantage of extra real estate. Of course it would have a bookstore. Books should be an important and rich economic source for a city such as Solitude. Those cold nights would do well with a fire and book.
I also needed a place for my visitors and travelers to hang out. The Winking Skeever didn't actually have enough room due to other NPCs in the area, so I decided to create another pub. The pub was owned by twins, but one of them died in a freak accident involving ale and matches, so his brother took over.
There's not much to say about Riften except it's located in the largest worldspace and has so many events going it's amazing we can ever make it out of there alive in the first 15 minutes. I focused on lighting and adding a few npcs, while keep decorations to a minimum.
After 80 years it was high time that Winterhold got over itself and rebuilt parts of it. In the last few years a blacksmith opened her shop, and a pair of sibling travelers have a home nearby as well. The town also has walls rebuilt and hopefully the mages don't do anything stupid.
But, well, you know how magic goes.
Morthal was quite the challenge. It's located in a damn marsh and it's depressing and sad and the people are mad. What's a lady to do? I figure at some point Morthal should have something to it other than swampy fungal picks, so a blacksmith shop was opened and if you use Villages, there's a mine nearby to make it more realistic (the mine was going to be part of the original DC but I decided to wait)
Mmm can you smell that? That's the scent of lavender and death. Falkreath is located near the border of both Cyrodill and Hammerfell making it a sort of blend of people. It seems to be a fairly neutral place to live, although they tend to favour the Empire. Falkreath needed to have its graveyard revamped. It wasn't big enough for as many people that were buried there and it sure as hell wasn't spooky enough. So I redesigned the graveyard, added a lot more trees and stumps around it while creating new vegetation and critter spawns
DAWNSTAR SHOULD HAVE BOATS!!! It's a MAJOR PORT.. So where were they?! No one knows. But now there's boats and boats with boats…I put enough boats to say YAY port town! without causing extra stress to the console. I also added a lighthouse cuz mmm lighthouses
Windhelm sucks. There wasn't a lot to do there so I tried to breathe new life by adding more snowberries and dressing up the House of Curiosities. With so many narrow streets and a lot of crap going on behind the scenes, I decided that less was more. You also get an amazing custom home that's adoption friendly at the graveyard and there's a new pub in the Grey Quarter- the Dark Alley
Markarth has been fun! It's located at one of the last above ground Dwemer cities and it's so damn unique that even in the CK I get lost. I wanted to bring more to it, but I was limited…why? A lot of behind the scenes crap going on. I started small, adding better vegetation and lighting, some travelers/visitors. Lack of proper space and a decent navmesh meant not adding buildings…until recently where you can now enjoy the Markarth Bathhouse and see plenty of citizen homes. These homes are always locked.
Riverwood was in desperate need of a makeover. I wanted to add a lot more logs and trees and stumps and such. And the cabbage cart bothered me. Lumberjacks now work at the lumbermill, Alvor has a new workstation setup and a cart with horse so he can easily get materials to his humble forge. A player home is nestled behind the inn and all the fencing has been redone.
Load Order
Divine Cities is an area edit mod- you should already know how to place your mods by the Logical Load Order Document. In order to make sure that Heimskr's house doesn't disappear, you need to load this UNDER Immersive Citizens
Main | City Homes | Addons |Compatibility | Patch Notes | Credits and Thank Yous


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Prior to submitting an application, property owners or developers are required to attend a meeting with Planning staff. This meeting will provide an opportunity for you to meet with staff and outside agencies to better understand the land use standards and expectations.
Construction and renovation work in Sparwood is regulated by local bylaws and guidelines, including:
Building permits and regulations are enforced by the District of Sparwood to ensure safety and livability for you, your neighbours, and future property owners and residents.
To keep Sparwood safe and livable, we:
Trying to avoid getting a permit to save money can end up costing you time and money. If you are unsure whether or not you need a permit, call the Planning Department at 250.425.6271.


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|Unibet promotions in May
This spring Unibetaffiliates will celebrate with a host of exciting promotions. They include one of the best Sportsbook offers on the market, Rake back frenzy in Poker, cash tournament in Casino and new sign-up bonuses in Bingo.
In May Unibet will have the best and most exciting Tennis Live betting offering on the French Open. You will be able to bet on every point in every game in every set in every match! The Live betting offering will cover all 262 Men and Women Singles matches.
The Football season is coming to it??™s climax and Unibet will offer Live betting on all matches in the top European football leagues as well as the special bets on the Champions League final at Wembley.
Don??™t forget The Eurovision song contest is coming up on the 10,12,12 and 14th of May 2011 and Unibet will be the place offering the best action on the competition.
Players can now get up to 50% Rake Back (30% standard + up to 20% extra) AND Unibet Plus until 31st July! But that??™s not all: U...[more]
eurovision song contest   european football leagues   rake back   cash promotion   maximum lines
|Posted on Tuesday 03 May 2011 - 13:08:30


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Mixed Media Fall Tag
Hey Crafty friends
Amy here with a neat tag I made using
Victorine Originals
Bird Cages stamp 74843-K
I recieved some crafty fun mail with new products I was dying to use.
So i had to jump right in and play.
We are always excited when we recieve Happy mail.
I started off by using Gesso on my tag to seal it. I then added modeling paste using a stencil to get a wonderful texture.
I painted and used an opal magic wax to color and bring out the texture.
I stamped only using one of the bird cages from this stamp.
I was trying to be a little different.
These Bird cages are Beautiful.
I distressed the edges of the paper around the bird cage by ripping the paper and then adding Tim Holtz distress Ink.
I used my punches to punch out leaf shapes.
The one leaf you have to attach to a solid paper for the backing. I decided to wrap a peice of wire around it to add a new touch.
I cut the butterfly out of a banner I had.
Added a lil color and gems to make it sparkle. I then added everything to my tag and arranged them. I added flowers to make it pop and be more fall like.
The flowers were a perfect color.
For all the details and a list of products used go to my blog at thetigerhaven
My tag can also be used as more inspiration for our challenge going on right now.
Here is the amazing and fun Mood Board
Isnt it fun?
You can use anything to inspire you from the board.
A picture, a color, an object in a picture or even the theme we added to this one, Harvest.
So much to inspire you
Go over and join in the fun HERE.
Link up your project by Friday
Thanks for stopping by


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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's visit to a small town south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, less than three weeks before a special election, is drawing scrutiny to determine whether the official trip was really an opportunity to throw his support behind the Republican hoping to fill the open congressional seat.
Several politicians were on hand for the February event in East Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, reportedly organized to announce how much funding Pennsylvania will receive in abandoned mine grant funding. The most prominent politician on hand was Rick Saccone, a Republican candidate for Congress who has received strong support from President Donald Trump.
In Tuesday's special election, Saccone is squaring off against Democrat Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district — a district that backed President Donald Trump by 20 points in 2016. They're competing to replace Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), who resigned last October.
Two high-ranking Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee, however, are requesting an investigation into whether Zinke violated the Hatch Act when "he used taxpayer funds to announce funding for coal mine reclamation at a site one mile away from the boundary of the 18th district of Pennsylvania."
Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), the top Democrat on the committee, and Donald McEachin (D-VA), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, requested U.S. special counsel Henry Kerner investigate whether Zinke violated the Hatch Act — a law prohibiting federal officials from campaigning with government funds.
In their March 7 letter, the lawmakers pointed out that Zinke's trip raised red flags for at least five factors that the Office of Special Counsel considers in assessing potential Hatch Act violations: the presence of political candidates at an event; Zinke's motivation for attending the event; the frequency of similar types of events during non-election years and whether Zinke had a history of attending those; the proximity of the event to the date of the election; and the presence of reporters at the event.
Taken together, these "red flags" provide more than ample justification for a full special counsel investigation, the lawmakers said. They added that the special counsel should attempt to determine Zinke's reasons for making the announcement in a relatively small town whose own residents had no idea why the Interior secretary had appeared.
A local editorial by the Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pennsylvania, called Zinke's trip "baffling — to local residents, the media and, likely, those who planned his appearance."
The request comes as Zinke faces ongoing investigations on multiple fronts, including his use of taxpayer money for personal and political travel as well as his potentially retaliatory reassignment of Department of the Interior professional staff and his threats against Alaska's two Republican senators over the fate of the 2017 Republican bill repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Earlier in his tenure as Interior secretary, the Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit government watchdog group, was among the groups that requested the Interior's Office of Inspector General look into whether Zinke violated the Hatch Act and conflict-of-interest laws by making the trip.
Ryan Zinke has already faced scrutiny for mixing politics with official government travel in Alaska and the Virgin Islands. It shouldn't be a surprise that people are now looking closely at a trip to Pennsylvania.https://t.co/SDm8ZKIQYP
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 12, 2018
Another watchdog group, the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted in a tweet on Monday that Zinke is already facing scrutiny for "mixing politics with official government travel in Alaska and the Virgin Islands" and that "it shouldn't be a surprise that people are now looking closely at a trip to Pennsylvania."
Even Zinke's wife, Republican operative Lola Zinke, is entangled in an ethics controversy over her travel habits and possible improper use of taxpayer funds. Government watchdogs are actively questioning whether she is taking advantage of the new platform provided by the Department of the Interior, at taxpayer expense, to gain access to powerful Republicans who can help raise her profile.
One day before the special election in the western Pennsylvania congressional district, Lamb was leading Saccone, 51 percent to 45 percent, according to a new public poll released Monday. Trump traveled to the district last weekend to hold a rally to offer his support to Saccone and to tout his presidency.
At last month's event, Zinke announced how much funding Pennsylvania will receive in abandoned mine land grant funding and presented a check to local officials. The Black Dog Hollow abandoned mine site was about a half-mile from where Zinke spoke.
"From beginning to end, the event had the feel of a hastily arranged news conference/town hall meeting/political opportunity — depending on one's perspective," the Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pennsylvania wrote in an editorial.


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ACE Carbide Tools (Pvt) Ltd. is a Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh based business venture, which was established in the year 2008. We are among the recognized manufacturers, suppliers and exporters of the market engaged in offe ...
ACE Carbide Tools
Plot No. 5-5-35/222, Shaktipuram, Prashant Nagar,
hyderabad, AP 500072
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Sat, 25 February 2012
We've all heard the saying "birds of a feather flock together" -- meaning people of similar tastes hang out with each other. On this week's Cityscape, we catch up with "birds of a feather" groups in New York City, including a ukulele meetup and a juggling club. We'll also talk with a psychiatrist to get a better understanding of what drives the "birds of a feather" mentality.
Direct download: cs02252012.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:30am EDT


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Sept SPX Monthly 2909/2985/2891/2978
Aug SPX Monthly 2980/3013/2822/2926
July SPX Monthly 2980/3027/2914/2932
June SPX Monthly 2751/2964/2728/2941
May SPX Monthly 2952/2954/2750/2752
Apr SPX Monthly 2848/2949/2848/2945
Mar SPX Monthly 2798/2860/2722/2834
Feb SPX Monthly 2706/2813/2681/2784
Jan SPX Monthly 2498/2708/2443/2704
2018 SPX Annual – 2683/2940/2346/2506
studyofcycles Stormm CastawayTrader PM
On the Sq9 – SPX 3060 aligns; 3005 is square; 2951 is opposite. DJIA above 26205 (mo EMA8).
Gold – I have been counting this as a 1,2 1,2 with 3 on deck from a macro view (1,2 from micro). Counts best as a WXY as 2 back (see 321gold). 2015 low at 13 may be locked, 3 year rule. W1 and W2 appear equal time wise, and the pattern strikes the expected retracement (.318). What seemed a drawn out 1,2 pattern may be designed to throw us off. Robert Cote
Bradley Siderograph 2018 turn dates
Traders corner
50/200 SMA cross: Buy when the seven-month seasonal pattern is bullish and the 50-day SMA is above the 200-day SMA. Sell when the seven-month seasonal pattern is bearish and the 50-day SMA is below the 200-day SMA.
3 bar reversal candlestick pattern: "At a trading top, it will look like this: Bar #1 is an up bar. Bar #2 is a down bar, and the high of Bar #2 is higher than the close of Bar #1. Bar #3 is a down bar, and the close of Bar #3 is lower than the open of Bar #1. The inverse occurs at trading bottoms. These can also occur in the middle of a trending move, after a counter trend wave is complete, and when that happens, it's signaling the continuation of the current trend. This pattern occurs on all time frames, but I have found that the hourly gives the best risk/reward setup. At a trading top, the trading strategy is to go short at the close of Bar #3, and place a stop one tick above the high of Bar #2." AAH Michael (note: Coops +1 -2 buy signal, same structure, different resolution)
EMA cross: "Take a position when the 13/34 EMA crosses on the 15, then another on the 1 hour, finally, fully positioned on the 2 hour. When in doubt, I wait for the daily. Create a disciplined system and stick with it, adjusting as needed along the way." B Seagle
Rules based system: "With a rules based system, you don't have to know what the market will do, or any stock will do, know what you will do under any outcome…Consistently following price and technical levels with a disciplined, objective process will generate more profits than prediction ever will…I put it all out there. Some trades work, some don't. Nothing wrong with being wrong, I just don't stay wrong for long…Most Traders/Investors with very strong opinions, biases or convictions, have a very difficult time accepting when a trade runs them over." LMT978
Control the mind and … "I want to begin by saying that a trader has one thing to control just look in the mirror its that simple you can draw all the lines and read all the news you want but in the end if you are not in the Zone you will struggle. When not in the Zone you must decide whether to run and hide or taper down your size and tighten risk in general until you can again feel more confident and start trading your system well gain… My approach initially was to reduce size and tighten risk while a muddled through that time-period. Then one day I woke up and realized that I had inadvertently or unknowingly changed my risk/stop loss methods and had essentially sabotaged my technique resulting in lack luster performance. The day I realized my errors was like an epiphany that resulted in my announcement to some of my trader friends that I was back and I was ready to regain my confidence and experience much better results. You might say it was a swing back to confidence rather than anything else but there was an obvious thing that caused my block which is why I feel a trader must review past trades Weekly if not Daily to see what went well and why or vice versa when trades are not working. Yes the Market's were turbulent but regardless of that they were very tradable and almost better than usual as the moves and Volatility provided wide ranges that could have resulted in excellent profits…I wanted to share this in hope that it would help anyone who has or is in a trading slump. Hindsight is a wonderful teacher use it to your benefit. cthelight
DK rules: 1) review trades 2) create a journal, write down reason 3) analyze winners / losers, how stops would/did work, targets 4) always have a set of basic rules.
Three point kick: big picture set up comes into focus based on the Square of 9 and the breakout over a long declining trendline, then there is a '3 Point Kick' that is the action point: 1) The breakout, 2) The backtest, 3) The follow through. The successful backtest in tandem with upside follow through over the 50 day moving average represents a bullish change in character. Jeff Cooper
Trader Joe X Wave:
TJ Diagonals: If you see a little "Contracting Leading Diagonal" at the beginning of the wave? That tells you "something very powerful is ahead". But if you don't care to learn the five simple patterns, you will never discover the power of the wave following. Diagonals happen because the market is "winding up for the pitch". It has to "gather energy" to pop! And we all know what follows that wave!
Momentum Investing – price above 250 MA, Relative Strength above 90, Slow Stochastic rising from below 20 to above (money wave). Joanne Kline
Power Earnings Gap (PEG): "a stock that gaps up after reporting strong earnings and closes the day by printing a very strong candle (candle that closes at or near the session highs) is best PEG candidate! Volume will be huge since it's coming on news of an earnings report. That is going to add greater conviction to the impulse since institutions are piling into the name! Small fish need to follow the foot steps of the Big Fish (Insiders, movers and shakers). They know stuff we could never dream of knowing but luckily for us, we can see their "foot steps" via stock price action and volume patterns. Following these foot prints can be extremely profitable if you know what to look for! Stocks that gap up on huge volume and close near the day's highs, are doing that for a very good reason: Big Whales want in". Art of the Chart, TraderStewie
Larry Conner's trading model: P> 200 DMA, buy close when RSI(2) <5, sell P> 5 DMA.
Gary Smith 1-2-3-4 set up: new high consolidate for three days, buy day four over day three high.
Coppock Curve – designed by the late E.S. Coppock, to identify major lows. The signal he developed was to wait for the indicator to fall below zero and then turn up; other than that, he concluded that the indicator was of little use. M Pring (note: @joefriday_714 and David Larew use the declining slope as a bearish indicator, first impression: appears valid; so why didn't Coppock do that?)
Price is the tip of the spear – follow price, not indicators. Jeff Cooper
"It is a cardinal principal of stock manipulation to put up a stock in order to sell it." JL
Coiling; lot of resistance to overcome
"The key to speculation is observation to determine how a market reacts to a possible time/price harmonic" Jeff Cooper Sq Time & Price
"See both sides, opportunity is more easily made up than losses" Todd Harrison
Navy Seal 10 Lessons – Admiral William McRaven
All content for education, not trading advice; do your own due diligence. FD – may have positions in securities mentioned. Blog intended as guide for my boys. Greatest joy in life is being alive to watch your children's success, thanks guys!


text: Bureau van Dijk capture and treat private company information for better decision making and increased efficiency. With around 300 million companies we are the resource for company data – we add value to company information. Our data management solutions help standardise and streamline your data projects. By using our unique identifiers and bespoke matching/de-duping and data-enhancing offering you can create links between disparate datasets across your organisation, allowing you to create single views from data silos. Our solutions help with data governance and improve your risk assessment approach: your business can use our company information to find, analyse and compare companies across the globe, for better informed decision-making and increased efficiency.


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Uniquely Canadian
A key difference that distributors of imported hazardous products are struggling with is the treatment of products that require re-labelling with Canadian-compliant labels.
WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015 both require a "supplier" (seller) to ensure that products have compliant labels- i.e. as outlined in the respective "controlled" or "hazardous" products regulations. Manufacturers and Distributors, as suppliers are usually comfortable in complying when they are preparing/consolidating shipments of products initially labelled in compliance with the Canadian regulations for GHS-based required wording, pictograms, etc.
However, when receiving imports other mandatory features such as bilingual English/French text, a Canadian Supplier name/address and "non-GHS" classifications may not always be present.
Do It Here or Do It There?
Ideally the foreign supplier will have the instruction and capability to address Canadian label requirements when fulfilling the order from a Canadian customer- be it the end user or a distributor.
If the foreign supplier is unable to reliably provide WHMIS-compliant labels, the Canadian importer may supply the labels for application before shipment.
Practically this may not always be possible depending on the sophistication of the foreign supplier, the volume ordered or the uniqueness of the product. The Canadian distributor may bring non-compliant product to their facility/agent and re-label the product before delivery to the final customer who will have employees handling and/or using the product.
The above options are possible under both the WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015 regulations.
The Plot Thickens
A third option was available under WHMIS 1988 which most suppliers found most expedient, particularly for skid-load packages, and the only practical option when delivery requirements necessitated direct delivery to the user location- bypassing the distributor/importer's facility.
The section in the WHMIS 1988 version of the Hazardous Product Act (HPA) dealing with labels required them to be applied to each container upon sale or import unless (HPA 14. (2)(a)(ii)) "the person to whom the controlled product is sold undertakes in writing to apply a label to the inner container".
This provision is no longer contained in the equivalent sections (HPA 13.(1)(b) re "sell" & 14.(b) re "import") of the current WHMIS 2015 legislation.
Lack of support for the customer labelling option of WHMIS 1988 is also reinforced in Health Canada's 2016-12 "WHMIS 2015 Supplier Requirements Guide" ("Technical Guidance on the Requirements of the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulations" – e.g. page 204 & 207).
A copy of the Guide may be ordered from Health Canada's website.
It would appear that relying on the customer to label each container could be considered non-compliant. Importers may wish to review the situation with their legal counsel or petition Health Canada.
For re-instatement of the previous HPA 14.2(a)(ii) option before customers encounter issues with Labour Inspectors as the transition period begins at the "employer" (user) level.


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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Quito at Night!
The Virgin of Quito (El Panacillo)
Quito at Night!
Church of St. Dominic
The Cathedral of Quito
Church of St. Francis
Church of St. Blase
2 comments:
- EC Gefroh said...
How beautiful! I was pleasantly surprised to see a church named after St. Blase. Thanks for posting these photos Padre!
- June 12, 2008 at 9:17 AM
- Padre Steve said...
Yes, I was suprised a bit too by St. Blase! It is really a beautiful Church at night!
- June 12, 2008 at 11:45 AM
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If I am correct the polio vaccine was first available when my oldest child was going to enter school. We did not rush to get it for her. And we were glad we did wait.
Many children were said to have contracted polio after taking the vaccine. Later another version was made available and all of our children took that.
I know they all had the early diseases except whooping cough. I remember well my whooping cough illness. And the chicken and smalll poxes.
Many years later, we had cause to try to understand the relationship of all medicines and vaccinations to health. All of us have allergies and some have reactions to medications. What is meant to help often can do harm.
We had teenagers at home when the flu vaccine was considered to be the cause of deaths. Our friends headed the government program for its distribution. We felt bad for them. But we learned a lot about what was put into some of the shots. We have learned to become scientists, pharmacists, researchers as well as bullies.
When a medical person questions our experience and concern for certain medications, it is essential to hold our position. Over the last fifteen years, there are more choices: dye free, preservative free, etc. I would suspect that resulted from the public demanding alternatives.
My most recent struggles to find medicines which did not create new, worse problems was not without some humor. Pills are color coded to indicate the dosage. So white (no dye) may not be the required dosage. It turns out that not all yellows are the same. Some may have red or blue or? Who knows from the color chart. The pills also have pleasing names which have no relation to the dye. And have your doctor or pharmacy check the concerns like "not recommended for African Americans." That at the minimum will give you something to discuss. Sometimes the internet will be a good resource but not always.
When your medication is a shot, how can you tell what is in it? I have depended on a compounding pharmacy to make medicine which does no harm. When necessary I have recommended to my doctor that he use this resource for my surgery etc. Many times, this request has been ignored with predictable bad results. More recently some of my medicines have to be made by Walgreens or Walmart. My preference to use my best resource is no longer possible!
I no longer have the responsibility for young children. Therefore, I try to keep my concerns to myself. More of the vaccines are grouped together. And there is the new one for young girls. I do not know what I would decide, I just know, I will worry.


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Press Kit
Bio | Lyrics | Photos /Poster | Reviews |
Bio:The Short Version
Christopher Mark Jones sees the world through song. He might adopt the point of view of a Salvadoran migrant ("Caravan"), a single mother ("I Work Hard For A Living"), an unemployed Montrealer ("Dans La Ville"), or an auto worker ("Lordstown"). What was a pure tenor is now "slightly rough around the edges" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), but still grabs the listener along with his "fascinating lyrics" (Melody Maker) and the "wide-ranging textures and exquisite instrumentation" (Saturday Light Brigade) of his recordings. Listeners hear echoes of "Greg Brown's pacing and a Lyle Lovett attitude" (Ben Shannon), as well as of John Prine, Bruce Coburn and Darrell Scott.
In 2017 he released Incantations--his fifth album since 1978's No More Range To Roam--and the book Smoke On The Meadow: Selected Lyrics 1977-2017. Between careers as a basketball player and French professor, Jones busked in Paris, toured the UK, Denmark, and Holland, and played New England clubs. He now tours solo from Pittsburgh, PA, and plays regionally in formats varying from solo to full band.
Bio: The
Long Version
The songwriter saga pretty much started in Paris about
1976, when Christopher found that all he wanted to do was sing and play guitar.
He had spent a half-dozen years playing professional basketball (in
Portugal) and studying languages (Portuguese, French, Spanish) and
was enrolled at the National Institute for Oriental Languages and
Civilizations in Paris at the time where he was studying Chinese . He
coasted to a degree in that program , while playing in restaurants
and the Metro, then and headed out for London to do music full-time,
joining a friend of his in a squat in Central London. The folk
revival was going full-speed in the UK, and there were lots of clubs
where you could go do three songs for free and have some chance of
being hired back for a few quid. He also got a regular gig at
Bunjies, a tiny little club in the West End. He met a Welshman named
Mick Linnard, a guitarist who enjoyed playing his tunes, and they
became traveling partners. He played a showcase spot at the Cambridge
Folk Festival, where a singer named Rosie Hardman heard him and
recommended him to Bill Leader, a legendary producer (Bert Jansch,
John Renbourne and Nic Jones among others), who had a deal with
Transatlantic Records to issue records under his imprint.
The album they did together (see Recordings) with contributions from Mick, Christopher's brother Jeff, Gerald Moore, who was a popular club guitarist in London and Pick Withers on drums (Dire Straits) had some success. The album was licensed in five countries in Europe and getting some decent reviews, but it came out at the same time that punk hit in London, and the reception for acoustic songwriters was at an all-time low in the UK.
After moving back to the US in 1979, he put together a band, mostly called the Regulars, which worked consistently for several years with excellent musicians (Andre Locke of Mandrake, Reeves Gabrels who ended up with David Bowie's Tin Machine) and paid starvation wages .
When he and wife Linda and had two sons, Tanner and Max, he turned his language background into a Ph.D in French literature and became a very part-time musician until they left home. He taught at Bentley College in Waltham, then came to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, where he stayed for 25 years, doing research in the French-speaking cultures of the world (especially popular music) and developing technology-enhanced language courses.
In roughly 2002, he started playing regularly with a couple of NYC expats named Jonah Winters (clarinet) and Sally Denmead, (cigar-box uke) who had a fetish for Tin Pan Alley tunes from the 30s and 40s. The tunes had lots of changes, he got some guitar chops back together and eventually moved on to playing more blues and jazz-based material with Jack Bowen on piano and Jim Spears on bass in a group they called the Uptown Combo. That allowed him to spread out on guitar and learn a whole catalogue of new tunes--never a bad thing. When he had assembled the digital toybox needed to do an album for the Uptown Combo, he got the acoustic guitar out and realized that he'd like to do some recording of original material as well. The resulting album-- Heartland Variations--signified a singer-songwriter renaissance. He then re-mastered the Transatlantic (UK) album No More Range to Roam, which is now available on CD. Three additional recordings of new songs have since followed, including Suburban 2-Step, released in April of 2012, 2014's Atlantica and 2017's Incantations. While he travels widely as a solo performer, he plays regionally with other musicians, who have included Jim Spears, Mark Weakland, David Hart, Vince Camut, Eric Kurtzrock and Mark Perna in Western Pennsylvania, and Dave Gillespie and Greg Winters in Michigan.
Download Word version of Bio here.
Songs & LyricsTop
Question of Style (from Heartland Variations - 2010) Christopher Jones -vocals, acoustic & electric guitars & bass, Mark Weakland - drums, Bev Futrell - mandolin, Jeffrey Jones - harmony vocals, Karen Jones - harmony vocals.
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Hard to Imagine (from No More Range To Roam - 1978) Christopher - vocals, piano and cello, Gerald Moore - guitar, Pick Withers- drums, Mick Linnard - bass, Jeffrey Jones - harmony vocals and viola.
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Rock County Line (from Suburban 2-Step) Christopher - vocal and guitar, Bev Futrell - harmonica
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
The Numbers (from Suburban 2-Step) Christopher - vocal and guitar, Bev Futrell - mandolin, David Hart - tres, Dave Gillespie - guitar and vocals, Jim Spears - bass, Mark Weakland - drums, Karen Jones - harmony vocals
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
The Trapper's Wife (from Atlantica) Christopher - vocal and guitar, David Hart - mandolin, Vince Camut - pedal steel, Jim Spears - bass, Mark Weakland - drums, Autumn Ayers - harmony vocals
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Lordstown (from Incantations) Christopher - vocals and guitar, Vince Camut - electric guitar, Mark Perna - bass, Mark Weakland - drums, Skip Sanders - piano and organ, Rachel Whitcomb - vocal harmony
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Incantations (from Incantations) Christopher - vocal and guitar, Vince Camut - pedal steel and electric guitars, Mark Perna - bass, Mark Weakland - drums, Skip Sanders - organ
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Spoken For (from Incantations) Christopher - vocal and guitar, Skip Sanders - piano, Mark Perna - bass, Rachel Whitcomb - harmony vocals
Lyrics html | Lyrics Word (download)|
Photos /PosterClick to enlarge in new window. Right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) to download.
Performance - REH
Performance - MK
Performance - DG
Portrait - LBJ
Poster - MK
Photographs marked REH are © Ruth E Hendricks ; photographs marked LBJ are by Linda Benedict-Jones; photographs marked MK are by Mark Knobil; photographs marked DG are by David Graham.
"With Incantations, Christopher Mark Jones has created an album of songs with captivating lyrics, wide-ranging textures and exquisite instrumentation. The tracks incorporate talented accompanists that, like the mix itself, add layers and depth to the recording while still allowing Christopher's voice, lyrics and intricate guitar-playing to shine through. It's an album that will hold up to repeated plays with listeners likely hearing additional nuances and subtleties with every spin." - Larry Berger, Saturday Light Brigade Radio Productions
"Incantations is filled with the things that make Christopher Mark Jones a Pittsburgh pleasure – comfortable song settings in tight arrangements, brought to life by The Roots Ensemble and several other contributors, all supporting Jones' voice as husky and warm as carded wool. Wrapped in those upbeat and familiar sounds are Chris' musings on commitment, sometimes disappointment, but never regret. Throw in a cooking song rich in sensuality and memory, and a chugging train song, and you have a CD that invites repeated listens and foreshadows great live shows." - Brian Junker, SongSpace (UU) concert series organizer.
[Incantations] "Christopher Mark Jones is a bonafide storyteller in the mold of the classic folk troubadour. With Greg Brown's pacing and a Lyle Lovett attitude Jones revels in catchy choruses and solid song structure. Did I mention guitar hooks that finish sentences? Case in point is "Lordstown," which deftly follows a rustbelt family through several generations ending in job losses, college debt, and economic insecurity. With "Incantations" Jones lays out a west coast funk inspired groove to underscore a pointed, dark, and self deprecating autobiography of his genealogical and spiritual coming of age as a white male folksinger. With lines such as, "My mother kept the christmas cards and the titles to our slaves, wrote pentecostal histories in which we all were saved," Jones both indicts his privilege and bears it like a curse which has him singing "these incantations, revelations to no one," where his "only hope of happiness is to step right off this earth." There is a hopeful romantic streak on this album as well, highlighted by the tender "Field of Dreams." You'd need to have a heart as cold as a January night on Lake Erie to not feel the warmth of these two lovers. Its approaching mastery when a writer can manage in three simple verses to invoke the scope and the starkness of a singular love opening to a world and a life of its own." - Ben Shannon, singer-songwriter (benshannonmusic.com)
[Incantations] "Christopher Mark Jones and I met as young American singer-songwriters doing gigs in folk clubs in the UK. He lived in Europe for a decade and his music has evolved a certain amount of worldly sophistication, but he still retains his midwestern plain folks' values, and this new recording nicely encompasses both musical sides. From the simple country storytelling of "Field of Dreams" to the brooding, bluesy "Fire So Soon," Christopher uses the palette of American roots music to weave his tales of families, lovers, workers, travel and hope." - Robin Greenstein, singer-songwriter. (robingreenstein.com)
[Suburban 2-Step]"[Christopher] who sings in a rich voice that's just slightly rough around the edges, launched his own personal folk-blues revival with 2010's "Heartland Variations" and now a homespun-sounding new album he's called "Suburban 2-Step." The carefully crafted lyrics delve into small-town life ("Home at Last"), mature love ("High"), loneliness ("Mrs. Pennington"), travel ("Montreal Again," "Drivin' "), first-world problems ("Suburban 2-Step") and the larger society ("Numbers"). - Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. read full article...
[Suburban 2-Step]"...the sound is layered and warm, and the best songs are perfectly suitable for radio play on stations aimed at grown-ups. Perhaps my favourites are "Home At Last", a paean to homeownership, which seems almost trite when expressed that simply, but in reality articulates a heartfelt desire to belong somewhere – and for somewhere to belong - and "The Numbers", a folk-pop future classic that has rooted itself in the part of my brain that prompts unsolicited outbreaks of song at completely inopportune moments." Rob F. for Leicester Bangs. read full review...
[Suburban 2-Step] "In the end... the stories are what makes this album memorable. Particularly the overarching one of a midwestern kid who has seen the world as a musician and athlete, but is happy in the knowledge that, "what we have right now is better than old glory." Max Jones mtl2mtl.com
[Heartland Variations] "Your tunes are great. I listened to them over the weekend and took some notes. Very professional sound, great playing, love the vocals, love the simplicity and the song structures, love the chorus of Cincinnati Nights... I could go on and on." Mark Weakland, drummer, multiinstrumentalist, songwriter.
[Heartland Variations]"I've not stopped playing it since I received it. I love all the songs. You've managed to pick up some really great licks over the years - . Lyrics and harmonies are about as good as they get. And it's a clean production - everything crystal clear." Michael Linnard, songwriter, longtime backup musician in the UK (CMJ, David Hughes, John Shirbon) and publisher of Little Red Tree poetry series.
[No More Range To Roam] Review at Altcountry.nl by Wiebren Rijkeboer. November 10, 2010
Actually this record would be at home under the heading Wow & Flutter [vinyl], but the fact is that No More Range to Roam was recently released on CD by the author himself. It was originally released as the debut album of American singer-songwriter Christopher Jones in 1977, on the famous British folk (rock) label Transatlantic Records. Jones was by invited to London to record an album by producer Bill Leader (Bert Jansch, John Renbourne). Task completed. With a nice relaxed band - electric guitar, bass and Dire Straits drummer Pick Withers - Jones guides the listener through a series of elegant, sometimes a little too neat songs. But there are real passionate songs with nice guitar solos (Morning Glory, Steelhead Blues), which put Jones midway between Jackson Browne and the Pousette-Dart Band. Nice that this kind of obscure record can be made available again, in this case by the author himself, in 2010, 33 years after his debut, as he releases his second album [Heartland Variations]. No More Range to Roam is available from CD Baby.
Your best work so far... I've actually listed to the
CD about 10 times... A great bunch of songs...
I just love No More Range to Roam, It's a throw back to a time when songs were actually written about something real. What a powerful message. I'm appreciative that you are a true troubadour.
Can't wait to have you back on the show.
-Anthony Frazier, host of the Acoustic Hour radio show on WCCS 1160 AM
Melody Maker, London, U.K. 1979
Club Cafe, Pittsburgh October 9th, 2010.
"The Club Cafe set was a wonderful event for us in many ways.
Your songs are beautiful, full of thought and heart and craft, you sing them perfectly,
your accompanists were fantastic and clearly love you, the music, the relationships
that are involved." Elizabeth Seamans, filmmaker and friend
House Concerts:
2011 Some prose from Annie Trimble, on the occasion of a 2011 house concert at her place in Mt. Lebanon:
Christopher Jones: Original songs, impeccable guitar styles, great vocals, moving lyrics
Curt and I mett [Pittsburgh] singer-songwriter Chris Jones at the Calliope song-swap a year or so ago, and we were very impressed by his well-crafted songs and impeccable musicianship. We are delighted to be able to present him to the great folk music-loving friends who attend our house concerts. Chris is a veteran songwriter and folk musician, who has recently returned to his love of creating and performing his own music after a hiatus to raise two sons. His musical influences began with the 60s roots folk revival, then Dylan, James Taylor and Paul Simon. He was further inspired by UK influences during his time on that folk circuit in the 70s, including John Martyn, Ralph McTell, Nic Jones. He sees himself in the American troubadour tradition now, a diverse group of singer songwriters that include people like Greg Brown, Guy Clark and David Wilcox. Chris writes his stories in the form he's most familiar with: the acoustic folk song, sung with a voice that's well-travelled. His guitar techniques come from many different genres, but he plays mostly traditional flat- and finger-picking styles.
2013 (NY) - "Christopher Mark Jones is a real pro and quite an interesting down-to-earth guy. Our friends loved the concert, and his way of opening up to the audience created an intimate and meaningful atmosphere for a really great evening. It was easy to arrange everything and he was also a fun and considerate overnight guest. We had a really nice talk and connection, and the music can't be beat!"
2013 (Maryland) - "Christopher Mark Jones has an incredible talent for telling stories through his lyrics. He brings out familiar sensitivities we can relate to. His voice catches your attention and has quite a convincing warm quality. He is very flexible and easy to work out arrangements with. He's personable to the guests as well."
2105 (North Carolina) "Wonderful show with Christopher. Great stories, solid songwriting and kept everyoneinterested throughout the show. He has people asking for his return to my series next year."
2016 (Maryland) "This was Christopher Mark Jones second appearance at my concert series. It was a delight to have him return and listen to some new material and "older" favorites. His rough edged, yet soft spoken vocals are captivating. His lyrics tell wonderful stories that keep the audience engaged. He is easy to communicate with and very easy going."


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$5.25 – $20.00
Sold in 25g increments which yields approx. 240-250 tiles.
Micro Tiles measure 5x5x3mm. A bit larger than our Nano Tiles, and great for all your micro mosaic needs! Micro tiles fit very nicely into our jewelry blanks. They also work very well in the Rajasthani Tapestry style of mosaics.
Single, 4 Pack
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Extreme Alternative Investing: T206 Honus Wagner
When you hear the term investing, you probably first think of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, commodities, ETFs, or even real estate. Beyond hedge funds and derivatives is a world full of alternative investments in collectibles, memorabilia, art, jewelry, cars, coins, stamps, antiques, fine wine and more. If you have ever collected any vintage baseball cards, there is one standout rarity that is considered the Holy Grail of baseball cards: the T206 Honus Wagner tobacco card from 1909. One of the rare Honus Wagner specimens recently came up for auction, was bought for what will seem like an almost crazy sum of $220,000.00, and amazingly went to a second buyer after the first buyer did not pay for the auction win of what was supposed to be $262,900.00 after the buyer's premium.
Perhaps the most odd issue about the card outside of its incredibly poor condition garnering such a high price was that it was being auctioned by a group of Catholic nuns in the Baltimore-based School Sisters of Notre Dame to pay for charitable operations. The School Sisters of Notre Dame apparently inherited the Honus Wagner card from the brother of a deceased nun. Heritage Auction Galleries was the auction house and the original estimates were $150,000 to $200,000. The $220,000.00 sale price is after the auction house commission buyer's premium paid.
The sum paid is almost unbelievable, even to a collector and even to most investors in vintage baseball cards and sports memorabilia. The reason is not just because of the sum itself, but the condition of the card was actually atrocious and is under any sort of grade scale that investors would consider if it were not for the fact that this is the rarest and most sought-after card by collectors and investors. Heritage Auction Galleries even noted in its auction description, "… Condition is admittedly imperfect, though this is the case for all but a few of the tiny supply of surviving examples. The borders were trimmed and the card coated in shellac ages ago. Creases snake across the body of the card and a tack hole hovers over Wagner's head. Scrapbook removal has skinned some paper from the "Sweet Caporal 150 Subjects" advertising on verso."
The grade "A" is not like an A in school; it is for "Authentic." While this card was graded as Authentic, this auction may have inadvertently put an even higher premium on the low-quality samples all the way up to the highest quality samples of the pinnacle of collectibles in baseball cards and memorabilia.
There are only about 60 or so known Honus Wagner cards in circulation from the great T206 series, and the top version of the card called "The Gretzky Honus Wagner" sold in 2007 for a whopping sum of $2.8 million to a collector named Ken Kendrick. That card was named the Gretzky card because it had been previously owned by the great Hockey player Wayne Gretzky. The new owner of the latest Honus Wagner sale is Dr. Nicholas DePace, a Philadelphia cardiologist and sports memorabilia enthusiast of about 30 years.
What is the line between collecting and investing? Collectors hoard. Sometimes investors hoard as well, but investors generally buy with the intent of buying to sell for more money in the future at a higher price. This was no Christmas present. It is said to be going into a private museum collection next year. Oddly enough, it is possible that it might even be considered a donation considering who sold the card.
This is just one example of card auctions fetching extreme high prices, and it pales in comparison to some of the auctions of other collectibles. This is the more fun side of Wall Street, and maybe even Main Street.


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Pete invites James from the research team in for another Friday edition of Mete with Pete.
The guys are looking at gold futures (/GC) and the gold ETF (GLD) in today's episode. They break down the quotation and notional comparison of the two products and then proceed to highlight possible hedges for gold futures in an IRA account.


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"London, Midland & Scottish Railway electric train. At this time several lines in the Manchester and Liverpool area had been electrified. There were also discussions to electrify other lines in this area because they dealt with so much traffic. At this time electric trains were being used in other urban areas such as around Newcastle and in London."
Image Details
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© National Railway Museum / Science & Society Picture Library -- All rights reserved


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ASH GRUNWALD's brand new album 'NOW' fills the belly with fire, the heart with integrity and the limbs with the energy for action. Working with Ian Perez (Wolfmother), Pete Wilkins (formerly Blue King Brown) and Nick Didia (Producer Pearl Jam/Springsteen/Rage Against the Machine), 'NOW' is set to be ASH GRUNWALD's best work yet! The result is an album with immense force; strongly political, rumbling from the depths of internal rage. It is sonic thunder that wears all the suffering and the anger of the blues but does not forget for a beat that if you don't get up sometimes and shake that shit off, if you don't take a moment to look across the dance floor and lose yourself in that boy meets girl moment, your heart'll harden and you'll lose sight of all the beauty you're fighting for. 'NOW' features the singles 'River' and 'Second Guess', as well as other songs such as 'It Don't Belong To You' that are fast becoming fan favourites during ASH GRUNWALD's recent tour. ONE PEOPLE. ONE PLANET. ONE CIRCUMSTANCE. ONE MOB. ONE LOVE. ONE SECOND CHANCE.
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text: Hi, I have gen_fsm M1 and gen_Event M2 module, I am starting the M2 module, where init on M2 will start M1 with start_link, But once I start it I receive the following error =ERROR REPORT==== 4-Feb-2011::23:00:16 === ** State machine dahdi_59 terminating ** Last message in was {'EXIT',<0.34.0>,noproc} ** When State == 'INITIALIZE' ** Data == {state} ** Reason for termination = ** noproc I thought there might be some problem with M1 and tried below in erlang shell gen_fsm:start_link({local,test},M1,[],[]). this works good below without any problem. What is wrong I am doing here? Kindly help. Thanks, Marutha


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Minster FM News
Did You See a Red Subaru in York On Friday Night?
Published by the Minster FM News Team at 10:39am 26th November 2014.
At around 8.10pm a woman aged in her 20s was walking along Windmill Lane towards Tang Hall when the Subaru drove alongside her very closely and then mounted the kerb. On two occasions the driver then got out of the car, went to the rear of the vehicle and then got back into his car.
The man did not speak to the woman and she was not hurt as a result of the car mounting the pavement.
However, police are concerned about the man's behaviour and his well-being, they also want the man to explain his actions in driving so close to the woman. Officers are appealing for information to help identify him and for any witnesses to the incident to come forward.
The man is described as white, aged around 40 and was wearing a baseball cap and a dark coloured hooded top.
The car is described as an old style Subaru in red with black markings on it.
If you are the driver of the car, can help identify him, or witnessed the incident, please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC Andrew Pearson, or email firstname.lastname@example.com


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Steep sloped roof construction and repair
Advanced Building & Design is a market leader in the installation of residential and commercial roofing. We effectively and responsibly provide you with a detailed analysis and quality system to resolve your problems. We can handle all your needs from a small leak to a complete renovation.
Lifetime Warranty-covering both labor & material
Currently, we are one of the very few contractors in eastern Iowa to have earned the designation of GAF factory-certified contractor. This strategic alliance, with the largest roofing products manufacturer, enables us to provide our customers with the best warranty in the business. The Systems Plus warranty provides 50 years of non-prorated coverage for your entire roofing system, including labor. This is ten times the up-front warranty offered by the typical contractor. This is one of the many reasons we are routinely judged to be among the very best roofing companies serving eastern Iowa.


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Eagles Wings is a company created by homeschoolers for homeschoolers.
Science is one of the harder subjects to find a Christian based curriculum in. Well there is an answer.
Considering God's Creation is a natural science curriculum from a Christian perspective.
Considering God's Creation covers these topics
- Universe
- Stars
- Solar System
- Earth
- Light
- Sound
- Wind
- Weather
- Clouds
- Rocks
- Plants
- Insects
- Mammals
- Reptiles
- Birds
- Fish
- Amphibians
- Food Chains
- Reproduction and Genetics
- Human
- Animal Anatomy
- Physiology
I received the Teacher's Manual, the Student Notebook, along with a CD full of biblical science songs.
About the Teacher's Manual:
The lesson plans are so easy to follow. There are some experiments and idea's for further study, if it's a subject your child is really interested in. There are even some evolution stumpers.
The Student Notebook has so many pages, they range from games to worksheets, to art projects. Often the worksheets encourage the children to be detectives and find out more, or even to just look closer and notice details.
Some of my children's favorite activities were Fingerprint detectives (where we noticed the difference in each other's fingerprints), and a pile of bones (where we had to cut out a variety of bones and put them on the animal they belong to, like a puzzle.) The animal tracks game is fun too!
My thoughts:
Considering God's Creation is the whole shebang! I mean in incorporates so many topics over one year. Perfect for "getting your feet wet" and discovering your child's science interests. It gently incorporates Bible. It incorporates music with the science song CD.
This curriculum really make Christian and science go together so seamlessly. It is adaptable for about 2nd Grade to 7th Grade. I used it with my Kindergartner, 4th grader and 6th grader and we all enjoyed it. My Kindergartner was able to do the activities with us, and it was a taste of science for her. I will come back to this curriculum again when she is in 3rd grade or so and then my youngest will be in Kindergarten. The vocabulary was too old for my Kindergartner, but right on for the older two.
Considering Gods Creation with Audio Cd and Teacher's Manual is $29.95 and can be purchased here.
Eagles Wings also sells some other items, such as Alphabet Island, It's a Capital Game, Kinder-math and some Bible and History Curriculum. Check out all those choices here.
Check out their website here. You can also contact them via mail at
Eagles Wings Educational Materials
PO Box 502
Duncan, OK 73534
or Email them at
Others reviewed this as well check out this post to see what they had to say.
I am blessed to review many products for TOS Crew this product was one of those.
{I have not or will not receive any compensation for this review. All opinions expressed herein are my own and your experience may differ.}


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Amaranth flour is derived from the seeds of the amaranth plant. This type of flour is typically seen in health food stores, but some regular food stores carry it as well. It has grown in popularity because it is gluten-free, and many individuals who cannot have gluten cook with this type of flour for its health benefits.
Amaranth plants are ancient plants that originated in the Americas, says the Alternative Field Crops Manual. They also grow in Mexico, Eastern Africa, Central America, India, Nepal and China. The Manual also states that amaranth growth was at its peak during Aztec civilization in Mexico. The United States started growing the grain in the 1970s, according to jeffersoninstitute.org, and it is only grown on several thousand acres in the country. Amaranth is drought-tolerant, which is beneficial and helps with grain production.
Amaranth flour is derived from several types of amaranth plants. There are three species of amaranth grain plants, says jeffersoninstitute.com: Amaranthus hypochondriacus is the most commonly grown species, Amaranthus cruentus is minimally grown, and Amaranthus caudatus is the third type. Other species of amaranth plants do not produce grain, but are weeds and other plants. A common feature of amaranth grain plants is a crimson color.
The most common use of amaranth grain is grinding it into flour, says the Alternative Field Crops Manual. The grain can also be popped in a similar way to popcorn or used as flakes. The flour is commonly used in cereals, pastas, pancakes, crackers, breads, cookies and other baked goods, and can be combined with other types of flours. If used in bread, the flour needs to be combined with another type of flour in order for the bread to rise; for non-rising breads like biscuits, amaranth flour can be used alone.
Amaranth flour is very high in protein, fiber and lysine, an essential amino acid. According to usaemergencysupply.com, only 150 grams of amaranth provides an adult with 150 percent of the daily recommended protein intake. The grain is also high in phytosterols, which help prevent disease, says usaemergencysupply.com. For gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant individuals, amaranth is a good flour with which to cook, since it is gluten-free.
Eating raw amaranth grains or flour can prevent the body from absorbing nutrients, according to versagrain.com. Amaranth should always be cooked before eating. To keep it fresh in storage, recipetips.com recommends keeping the flour in a tightly sealed container in a refrigerator or freezer; it will be usable for approximately six months if kept under these conditions.
- Zoonar/j.wnuk/Zoonar/Getty Images


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Throughout the years, good coaches have laid a lot of emphasis on the quality of a goal keeper that a team possesses.
From saving goals to starting attacks, a goalkeeper is one of the most important parts of a football team. We have seen teams struggle in the past with an average goalkeeper and have also seen teams run away with matches due to the keeper's heroics.
Today we will take a look at a list of goalkeepers with most number of saves and also with the most number of clean sheets
Most Number of Saves:
1. J Butland (Stoke City) – 37
Butland has by far been the most impressive shot stopper this season. He made some great saves in important matches that kept his team in the hunt. He has saved as many as 37 shots at his goal and is at the top of this list.
2. T Krul (Newcastle United) – 34
Newcastle United are yet to win a game this season and are placed at the bottom of the table. Their position would have been more pathetic if it was not for their athletic keeper Tim Krul. Krul has saved 34 shots this season and has to an extent masked the shortcomings of his team on the field.
3. C Pantilimon (Sunderland) – 33
Sunderland are placed 19th in the Premier League table with no wins from 8 games. They have conceded 18 goals, the most by a team this season. But Pantilimon has not been easy to beat. With a weak defense at his disposal, he has been overworked and has produced 33 saves so far this season.
4. P Cech (Arsenal) – 32
Arsenal have at times in games shown a bit of weakness at the back. They have not really been convincing throughout but have Petr Cech to thank for their League position. Cech has denied his opponents 32 times already this season and is proving to be a great buy for Arsene Wenger.
5. B Guzan (Aston Villa) – 29
Aston Villa have not had the brightest starts to the season and look weak at the back. They have so far conceded 13 goals and have won just a game in 8 this season. Guzan, however, has been excellent between the posts with 29 saves in those 8 games.
Most Clean Sheets
1. Joe Hart (Manchester City) – 5
The Citizens started the new season with a bang and have the best defensive record this season. They have conceded just 7 goals so far and Joe Hart their first choice goalkeeper has kept 5 clean sheets in those 8 games.
2. P Cech (Arsenal) – 4
The summer signing by the Gunners, Cech, has already made a huge impact at the Emirates. He has been solid in his box and has let just 7 goals by. He has kept 4 clean sheets this season so far.
2. B Myhill (West Bromwich Albion) – 4
WBA have had a mixed start to the season. They have won 2 games so far and let 11 goals in 8 games this season. However, in four of those games, Myhill their keeper has successfully kept a clean sheet. However with just 8 points from 8 games, they are placed 17th in the table.
4. T Howard (Everton) – 3
The Everton Keeper has been in fine form and has shown great composure in his penalty area most of the times.
4. S Mignolet (Liverpool) – 3
Still has his fans gasping for breath with the ball at his feet but has managed to keep 3 clean sheets this season.
4. H Lloris (Tottenham) – 3
Lloris has always been commanding in his half and has given a much-needed stability at the back for the Spurs.
4. H Gomez (Watford) – 3
Watford have conceded just 7 goals so far this season and have been disciplined at the back right from the start. Their keeper has kept 3 clean sheets already this season.
4. M Stekelenburg (Southampton) – 3
Southampton have made a decent start to their campaign but will want to get over the nerves they have shown at the back at times. Stekelenburg has been solid at the back and has collected 3 clean sheets in the 2015-16 season so far.
4. S Romero (Manchester United) – 3
Romero started the season as the first choice behind de Gea at Manchester United. He kept 3 clean sheets before being replaced by the Spaniard in the first team.
Get the latest news and updates from Indian Premier League, ICC World Cup 2019, Match Prediction & Fantasy cricket. Follow SportzWiki for all cricket news, WWE News & Sports News.


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I think almost every photographer dreams of shooting (with a camera) a herd of wild horses roaming around the wide field. I must admit, that has always been a dream of mine. Especially, I've always dreamt of shooting such scene during the golden hour, when the Sun is low and the horses look even more stunning and in contrast with the golden light.
Not too long ago, I heard of this field (20 minutes away from my town) filled with horses. So, today, my friend Ivana and I went there. It was one of those in the moment decisions which proved to be more than okay. Even though the final part of the route was bit a bumpy for a city car, we managed to get to our destination. When we got there, we witnessed a huge field with lots and lots of horses, separated in herds.
Since it was a quick decision, to actually get there, we didn't stay very long. Actually, we stayed for about 40 minutes. My main goal was to see if the horses were actually there because the field is their source of pasture from spring until autumn. To my pleasant surprise, they were there.
We kinda befriended a curious little foal that happened to follow us for quite some time. But, his mother turned our way and we didn't want to cause any trouble. The horses seem to be domesticated as they are okay with us being there. I don't know what is the story behind these horses. I think they actually belong to a group of people and they let them pasture there during the spring and summer. The photo on the left is taken with my phone camera.
We most definitely decided to come back again with the rest of our friends and organize an afternoon picnic or something. Now that I know such beautiful place is basically at my doorstep, I have no excuses not to come here. Who would want not to come, actually? With the spring and summer still ahead of me, I just gotta return. These horses are precious. I am thankful to Lord for such beautiful places I'm surrounded with. God bless.


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Mentoring Excellence Program (MEP)
The Mentoring Excellence Program (MEP) is a college access program that has served Saint Paul Public Schools students for over 30 years. MEP is focused on supporting African American, American Indian, Asian and Latino males to become college and career ready through small group mentoring.
Once a month, students meet with a mentor during the school day to participate in activities and discussions related to college and career readiness. Topics include:
- Budgeting & financial literacy
- Career exploration
- Decision making
- Goal setting
- Organizational skills
- Practice interviews
- Resume writing
- Time management
MEP encourages and supports students in:
- Taking rigorous college prep courses during high school
- Building relationships with mentors from the community
- Exploring careers
- Applying to college
- Preparing for a successful postsecondary transition
MEP is currently offered at Central High School, Como Park Senior High School, Highland Park High School and Humboldt High School.
Become a Mentor
Are you interested in becoming a mentor? Learn more about how to get involved.
MEP in the news
Video: SPPS College Bound Students Honored at the 2016 MEP Luncheon.


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I've written previously about the lecture-capture system Panopto as a tool for supporting student learning. Anyway, our Teaching Development folks asked me to write a short piece about it for our in-house teaching support publication & very kindly said that I could post it here as well :-)
Panopto's a tool for capturing classroom teaching and making it available on-line for students to access whenever they please. I first became aware of it when the University was gearing up for its i-TunesU presence, and decided that the technology had a lot to offer me and my students as a tool to enhance teaching and learning practices. (I am definitely not a fan of technology for technology's sake – it needs to have a pedagogical benefit.) And I've been using ever since – for lectures, for podcasts, for catching up when I've had to cancel a lecture due to illness.
Panopto isn't perfect. In a lecture theatre it picks up what the lecturer's saying, but misses most or all of the other goings-on – the questions (remember to repeat them) & the discussion around various points. It also loses 'sight' of the speaker if they move too far to the left or right, although that shouldn't stop you moving around, to speak to a group maybe, or to get closer to someone who's speaking very quietly. But students viewing a recording can see the speaker (provided there's a camera in the room; otherwise they'll just get the voice-over), see the powerpoint slides (& any notes or diagrams added to these in class), and watch any videos or animations that were shown in class. They can stop the recording, replay it, view tricky points again and again. To me, this was a key reason for using panopto, because I could see how it gave students the chance to revise and review difficult concepts in their own time and at their own pace.
This was borne out by an informal survey I did with my first-year class last year. The most common reason they gave for using Panopto – and not everyone used it – was as a means of reviewing material that they hadn't understood in class. 'Used it to revise for exams' was also a common response, & indeed, you could tell that anyway by looking at the usage statistics within the Panopto system. But it also turned out to be really useful for students with lecture clashes – and given that we emphasize the 'flexible learning' opportunities available at Waikato, that's got to be a good thing. Students liked knowing that if they were sick they wouldn't be missing out on too much from my classes. And someone said, 'you could use it as an excuse to miss classes – but then you'd be missing out on a lot of the 'extra' stuff that goes on in the lecture room'. In other words, the students were using Panopto as an additional means of supporting and enhancing their learning.
It's also an excellent tool for reflecting on my own teaching practices. I often watch a lecture later, looking to see whether something that seemed to go well at the time, really did. It's actually quite hard to do this to start with, because you're seeing and hearing yourself as the students do, & that may or may not fit with your own image of how you look and sound in the classroom! It can form the basis of discussion with a friend or mentor: 'I did this particular thing because I hoped that it would… – do you think it would have had that effect?' I know TDU have used a recording of mine as the basis of discussion with other lecturers on delivering constructive criticism of a colleague's class – and the feedback I received from that was extremely useful (thanks, guys!).
So, if you're toying with the idea of trying out Panopto in your classroom, I'd say, go for it. It'll seem strange, the first time or two, but after that (as long as you remember to press 'record' & turn on the microphone! been there, done that) you really don't notice it. I was told that the students just wouldn't come to class but I can't say I've noticed that – if they're going to wag, they'll wag, & this is just another excuse. But more seriously – your students will see your use of Panopto as just another sign that you're interested in & keen to support their learning, & both you and they will gain from the experience.


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Bob Odenkirk Talks Jimmy to CBS; Time Hails Season 2
This week, Bob Odenkirk discusses Jimmy with CBS News, while Time hails Season 2. Plus, Peter Gould teases Season 2 to Entertainment Weekly. Read on for more:
• On CBS This Morning, Bob Odenkirk reveals, "Jimmy McGill knows himself and he has a lot more fun in the second season because he kind of has a handle on the fact that he's got to do tricky things."
• Time's review of Season 2 declares that Better Call Saul "proves it's broken the spinoff curse."
• Entertainment Weekly talks to Peter Gould, who teases that Jimmy's relationship with Kim "gets much deeper. It is both personal and professional, and it's really the beating heart of season 2."
• Vince Gilligan tells The New York Times, "The show really does threaten to become a tragedy as we realize with each step, with each episode, with each season, Jimmy McGill comes closer to being this calcified, morally atrophied Saul Goodman character."
• Bob Odenkirk shares his theory regarding Jimmy's transition to Saul to Variety: "My gut tells me he fights like hell to not be Saul, and then he just gives up for some reason that's probably pretty potent and painful."
• USA Today learns from Bob Odenkirk, "If you watch Season 2, you're going to see a lot of faces you didn't think you'd ever see again, except at a Breaking Bad reunion. In a weird way, it's a bigger thrill than you'd expect when it happens, because you forgot."
• TV Guide teases the Season 2 premiere, saying Jimmy turns down a job offer "not because Jimmy wants to turn his back on the straight and narrow. Instead, Jimmy's rationale is very personal — and it's one that could bode well for his love life this season!"
• The Guardian, profiling Bob Odenkirk, declares that Better Call Saul "may not have the epic scale of Breaking Bad, but it makes up for that in warmth and wit, and tragedy."
• Rolling Stone is eagerly anticipating Better Call Saul since it's "intriguing to imagine where the series will go in its sophomore season, and what's going to happen to Jimmy, Mike Ehrmantraut and everyone else as they're set up for the moment that Walter White wanders into their lives."
• Deadline, reviewing the Season 2 premiere, says, "Now that all the players are in place, the moves on the New Mexico-set board are much more enthralling than the eventual outcome. And this comes off a first season that I considered one of the best new shows of 2015."
• Salon weighs in, commenting, "What makes Better Call Saul gripping is the person at the center of the puzzle, enmeshed in what is becoming a greater and greater tragedy."
• HitFix says Better Call Saul has "proven itself excellent enough in its own right that it should go on telling the Jimmy McGill story for as long as it can get away with it."
• The San Antonio Current asserts that Better Call Saul is "well on its way to avoiding the sophomore slump by continuing its engaging and thought-provoking character study, exploring how yet another character breaks bad."
• Nerd Reactor's Season 2 review applauds, "Better Call Saul has clearly begun carving out its own well-defined voice and tone in its sophomore season. Bob Odenkirk continues to shine in a role that almost seems tailor made for him at this point."
• Complex reports that on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Bob Odenkirk made "a truly generous offer: a 60-second catch-up lesson from Slippin' Jimmy himself."
• Digital Spy highlights how "Jimmy McGill has the weight of the world on his shoulders in two new posters for Better Call Saul season two."
• The Telegraph speaks with Bob Odenkirk, who reveals, "I feel very strongly that the second season is more fun, a bit more carefree. And part of that is because now we're like, phew, we know who this guy is. He's got a million demons, a million drives."
• Den of Geek believes that Better Call Saul is "the rare artful and interesting show whose episode titles are equally as artful and interesting."
• Jonathan Banks tells The Guardian, "I love Boardwalk Empire but there were moments where I thought it didn't have the constant through-line that Breaking Bad did and Better Call Saul does."
• Michael Mando shares with The Canadian Press "a few tidbits about what's in store" for Season 2.
• Decider provides a Better Call Saul catch-up guide while commenting that "we didn't expect to be so emotionally invested [in] Saul Goodman's rise to the criminal attorney top."
• Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that Cinnabon is offering a free cup of coffee to guests on Feb. 15, the day Season 2 debuts, "to celebrate the company's cameo in the opening of the second season."
To stay up-to-date with all the latest news, sign up for the Better Call Saul Insiders Club.Read More


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The time of retirement can feel very emotional especially if you served the same organization for a number of years. The sudden change in life routine can feel hard to adapt at first, but one good thing about retirement is that you will finally be free from all sort of work responsibilities and can enjoy your life to the fullest and engage in the things which you always wanted to do but time did not give you the chance. Although, like every part of life that requires planning in order to successfully move forward, the same can be said for a happy retirement living in Brisbane Southside.
Retirement living can easily get boring without adequate planning beforehand, which is why there are a variety of things which you need to plan ahead about. Whether you are moving to a new house, going on a trip or something else, with so many options one can easily get confused. That is why in this article we are going to see three tips you would need to keep in mind in order to ensure that you can live happily after your retirement.
Make a Plan for your Finances
Most of the times when people decide to retire they have a certain amount of savings and provident fund which allows them to live a peaceful life. However, that too requires planning. It is crucial to set a benchmark for your finances and keep a record of everything. Sure, having a good time is a must but it is important that you do not go overboard with your expenses and properly manage your finances. This is one of the most important part of a happy retirement living.
Stay in Shape
People can easily be lost in the fast paced life once they quit their jobs. It is normal for retired people to get out of shape because they have nothing to work for. This results in a number of medical complications, which is why it is better to avoid any medical assistance in the first place and make a plan for yourself to stay in shape for a peaceful retirement living. You certainly do not want to spend the later part of your life resting on the bed all the time, so make sure you remain in shape not only mentally but also physically.
Set Up Challenges
Life after retirement can easily get boring if you do not have anything to chase. Which is why, constantly giving yourself challenges to overcome can not only make life thrilling but also keep you active. So develop hobbies and set up challenges for yourself. Do the things that you always wanted to do so you can have the type of retirement living that you always dreamed about. These were a few tips to ensure that you have a blast and have the best retirement living possible to stay fresh and always feel young.


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I am moving forward by FAITH and not by sight nor by my own might. The challenge is great, but God is greater! I will face my responsibilities of each day with patience AND by FAITH - Foolishly Anticipating It To Happen!
How and Why We Do What We Do.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Our Journey
I decided to share the story of our homeschooling journey - you know, how I got to this point - actually blogging about it. Not because I wanted to bore you with the story of my life, but because I believe that our testimony is not a testimony until we share it with someone else. It is my prayer that, as I open the windows to my family, someone will somehow be encouraged or inspired to either start their journey, resume their journey or continue their journey. That journey doesn't have to be homeschooling; it's whatever God has called you to do or be.
Our homeschooling journey began 5 years ago when my sons were entering the 4th and 2nd grades. I had become frustrated with their public school experience as a whole (even though they had some great teachers and experiences that they will never forget) and the Lord had begun to convict my heart about taking more responsibility for the training of our children.
Slightly intimidated by the call, long story short (this part of the story anyway), I prayed about it and proceeded forth. Three weeks after I made one of the most important decisions of my life, I became extremely overwhelmed! Yes, it had only been three weeks and I hadn't even gotten started! In fact, the kids still had about 9 more weeks before they'd be out of school!
What happened, you say? Well, I found out that I was pregnant (with my now 4 year old daughter)and immediately thought, "Lord, HOW am I going to do THIS?!" Start homeschooling AND have a baby (my son would be 8 by the time the baby was born and I would be 37 - that's 3 years from 40 people!)? I wondered if maybe my "timing" was off, but nevertheless, I took hold of my FAITH, upheld my commitment and proceeded forth. I am so glad I did!
Things always work out for good, when they are purposed for God and I'll tell you why. I'll try to keep it short without baffling you in by briefness. My pregnancy was challenging in the beginning and it was nice to have the flexibility of homeschooling, especially after the baby was born - no need to drag the baby to the drop-off/pick-up line at the school - Now THAT'S a blessing - taking a newborn baby in and out of an elementary school isn't my idea of giving kids a head start.
As if a challenging pregnancy weren't enough, during my pregnancy, my mom (my BFF and poster child for FAITH) began to have some health challenges and when my daughter was only 3 months old, she suddenly (as in had a massive heart attack in our kitchen) went home to be with the Lord. Did I mention that I was homeschooling at the time?
It was homeschooling that enabled us the opportunity to deal with our loss without the added pressure of having to "get it together," because the kids had to go to school. It was homeschooling that allowed my kids to have even more quality time with their Granny during what would be her last year with us (in the flesh, that is). It was homeschooling that allowed my mom to actively participate in their education (she enjoyed the fun stuff we did). It was homeschooling that allowed our family to grieve without guidelines (you know you can only miss so many days of school when you lose a loved one); we were able to take some time and digest it all (I think we're still digesting it all). It was homeschooling that allowed me to see that even in the middle of great sorrow, God's grace really is sufficient.
I'm sure that you can see how God has extended His grace on our family and wrapped us in His loving care. I didn't even bother to mention that my daughter was diagnosed with a (curable, In Jesus' name) heart condition, when she was only 2 months old, which we're still believing God for a healing - all in the midst of homeschooling!
Our journey continued and a year after my mom's passing, we relocated out of state. And again...homeschooling made the transition a whole lot easier! It's so nice to be obedient to God, even when we don't quite understand the call and even when "life" (or death) happens. When we're obedient, we can rest assured that His promises for our lives will be fulfilled.
It has taken me 5 years to TOTALLY embrace the freedom that comes with homeschooling. Freedom from being locked in a box - my Thinking, my Actions, my Spirit and ultimately my Kids! Being in that box was making motherhood (AND marriage) a TASK that at times I didn't think I could handle. Heck, some days I didn't even WANT to tackle the task, because it had become just that, a TASK!
My brain (and spirit) was becoming blocked in a box - limited by past experiences (how I was raised, educated, relationships, etc.); what I've heard (people's opinions and observations); and what I was feeling (overwhelmed, frustrated, discouraged, etc.). I needed to break out of that "box," so that God could build me into the woman that He created me to be, which is an ongoing process.
I had to be reminded that in order for me to successfully walk in purpose, it was going to take Bold, Outrageous FAITH! It has NOTHING to do with what I know (or think I know), how I feel or what I see, but EVERYTHING to do with what I believe.
I now realize (even more) that homeschooling is not just about training and educating our children. It's about preparing and positioning our family (as a unit)for purpose, which ultimately brings honor and glory to God. I like to think of our journey as Family-Schooling. We're all learning; We're all growing. All to the glory of God!
My dear Friend in FAITH, embrace YOUR journey! There may be detours, road blocks and bumpy roads along the way, but stay the course! Stay focused on your destination, knowing that God is with you every step of the way!
3 comments:
Oh Genyne! What a beautiful testimony to the glory of God. He is so faithful.ReplyDelete
I can relate to some of the things in this post. My husband and I decided to homeschool our daughters while they were still attending public school. We decided to wait until their school year ended before we began. So, I'm getting started on my first year of homeschooling with a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, and a 4 year old (son). . .with a baby boy due in a few months! On paper, yeah, it sounds OVERWHELMING, but God's grace covers so much and is so much more than I could ever ask for.
Thank you for sharing this, as it really did bless me today. May God continue to comfort you and your family with the passing of your mom.
Take care and God bless you!
Hey Stacie! It was my prayer when I shared this that someone would be blessed by our journey. I want you to be encouraged in your decision to homeschool, even with a new baby coming! You're so right; God's grace covers us and it really is sufficient! Thank you for your words of comfort about the passing of my Mom. It has been 4 years and it feels like 4 days, BUT, His grace is sufficient!ReplyDelete
And remember what you said in one of your posts (yes, I've been cruising your blog, lol), everyday is not going to be perfect and all lined up. Just stay on the road you're on and continue traveling on this journey. God provides "rest stops" along the way and just like traveling in the natural, they seem to be set-up in just the right spaces, as long as you're paying attention to the signs (your body, your spirit, your mind, your KIDS' signs, etc.) and not miss the exits! There's nothing worse than having to "hold it" 'til you get to the next stop. Allow yourself grace and rest in the freedom that comes with homeschooling.
I love the analogy of traveling with the rest stops. You are so right, there's nothing worse than having to "hold it" 'til the next stop. So funny, but oh, so true!! I receive that and I pray that I do not miss those signs. . .so thankful for your words of wisdom. God bless you.