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Police say two men are being treated for their injuries after they were found shot in the parking of a Trenton hospital this afternoon.
Investigators say the men drove to the Capital Health Regional Medical Center located at 750 Brunswick Avenue shortly before 2:45 p.m. One of the men is in stable condition and the other is in guarded condition. Police believe the men were shot in the western part of the city.
The emergency room was put on lockdown for a brief period as a safety precaution.
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
About 226 patients are housed at the facility. There are 422 full-time registered nurses. The hospital just underwent a multi-million dollar renovation.
Stay with NBC10.com for more updates on this developing story.


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Asia, Pakistan, Karakoram, Panmah Muztagh, Point 4400m above the Trango Glacier, First Ascent (Sadu)
Point 4,400m above the Trango Glacier, first ascent (Sadu). A few days after their climb on Eternal Flame, Antoine and Sandrine de Choudens set off on July 20 for what they hoped would prove a pleasant rock climb on one of the small buttresses above the Trango Glacier. Ten minutes walk from base camp placed them at the bottom of a pointed tower. Starting up the left side of the southwest face, they climbed for 350 meters (seven pitches) to a small subsidiary summit at ca 4,400m. Unfortunately, the cracks were not particularly good and the granite rather gravely, leading to some serious runouts. They reached the small top toward the end of the afternoon and rappelled a couloir on the right side of the face. The first three pitches of the route, named Sadu, were 6b, 6a, and 6c respectively, after which the standard eased a little, rising again to 6b on the final pitch. A few days later they had walked out via the Baltoro to Skardu. According to the Swiss climbers mentioned above, Antoine de Choudens did not think this was a recom- mendable route.
From information provided by the late Antoine de Choudens, France

subset: commoncrawl


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Eighteenth Annual Darwin College Lecture Series 2003
Lecture 8 : 7 March 2003
Professor Dorothy Bishop
Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University
Although humans are genetically very similar to other primates, we differ massively in cognitive abilities, with the most remarkable difference being in our capacity for language. This raises the question of whether language requires some entirely new cognitive ability, perhaps arising as the consequence of a specific genetic change - what has been termed the 'hopeful monster' view of human language. Or is language made possible simply by the fact that our larger brains allow us to store more material and perform mental computations more rapidly than other primates? These questions have been put into sharper focus by researchers studying genetic bases of developmental language disorders. As we home in on genes that are related to language competence, we can learn more about how the specific design of the human brain makes it possible for us to communicate.
Dorothy Bishop is a psychologist with a particular interest in language disorders. She studied Experimental Psychology at Oxford University before going on to complete an M.Phil in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry in 1975. She returned to Oxford to do a D.Phil at the Neuropsychology Unit in the Radcliffe Infirmary. There she was diverted from an initial interest in acquired aphasia (language impairment) in adults to the study of developmental language disorders, which has been her principal topic of research ever since. She was for 20 years funded by the Medical Research Council, first in Oxford, and then at the universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Manchester, and at the MRC Applied Psychology Unit in Cambridge. In 1998, she moved to the Department of Experimental Psychology in Oxford as a Wellcome Principal Research Fellow, where she heads a programme of research into the Nature and Causes of Children's Language Impairments, funded by the Wellcome Trust. Professor Bishop has authored over 100 research papers as well as two books: Handedness and Developmental Disorders (1990), and Uncommon Understanding (1997). Current topics of research include behaviour genetics, handedness, studies of brain function in language-impaired children, and the borderlands of autistic disorder.


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Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
View all calendars is the default. Choose Select a calendar to view a specific calendar. Subscribe to calendar notifications by clicking on the Notify Me button and you will automatically be alerted of the latest events in our community.
October 17, 2018, 6:30 PM - October 20, 2018, 8:30 PM @ Johnny's Gone Fishing. 901 W Main St., Carrboro, NC
The Station. 201 E Main St, Carrboro, NC
Flyleaf Books. 752 M.L.K Jr Blvd ., Chapel Hill, NC
Carrboro Century Center, 100 N Greens.
October 17th-20th, 2018 will mark the 13th anniversary of the annual West End Poetry Festival in Carrboro, NC. Four days of poetry featuring more than 50 poets! There will be group discussions, a panel on Intersections, important readings, and amazing local food! All events are free and open to the public. The West End Poetry Festival is sponsored by the Town of Carrboro.
October 20, 2018, All Day @ Please visit www.westendpoetryfestival.org for detailed scheduling information as it becomes available.
Come and be a part of the most unique poetry event in NC! The 13th annual West End Poetry Festival will feature some of the Southeast's most talented poets while celebrating the many exciting and varied poetic styles. The festival provides a setting where poets can engage, share, and encourage the reading, writing, and listening of poetry.
For more information please visit: http://www.WestEndPoetryFestival.com
October 20, 2018, 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM @ McDougle Schools' Cafetorium
The Friends of the Carrboro Libraries will hold their annual book sale in the McDougle Schools' Cafetorium October 20th and 21st. Proceeds from the sale help the Friends support library programming, purchase library materials and work towards the goal of a free-standing public library in southern Orange County. Anyone interested in volunteering at the sale or to help us set up on Friday, October 19th should contact Linda Browner at 919-969-8145.
hardcover $1.50
trade paperback $1.00
small paperbacks $.50
DVDs, CDs are $1.00 or as priced (multiple sets)
Coffee table and specialty books as priced
Sunday bag sale $5 per bag (regular grocery sized bag)
Saturday, October 20th 8:00 am – 3:00 pm
Sunday, October 21st 1:00pm – 4:00pm BAG SALE! Please bring your own regular grocery-sized bag
The McDougle Schools Cafetorium is located at 900 Old Fayetteville Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516. Library phone number
October 20, 2018, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM @ Henry Anderson III Community Park
These youth disc golf clinics gives parents and children (Ages 6-15) the opportunity to learn together about the sport of disc golf including rules, etiquette, the basics of throwing discs, and tips and techniques. All discs provided! Parents and youth must both be present to participate.
Instructor: Matthew Smith
October 20, 2018, 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM @ Meet at Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St.
Nothing can be more beautiful than a full moon rising above a Piedmont lake. There is just something magical about moonbeams and water — and sharing the experience of looking at the moon with someone special, even if that someone special is just you. Participants arrive early enough in the evening to practice paddling, enjoy a beautiful sunset and adjust their eyes to the night sky. As the moonlight gets brighter, we will paddle around the lake to enjoy the night sounds. Eventually, we will "raft-up" and lay back to fully take in our surroundings.
Ages 50+


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The Storm LOCK has been a ball I don't use often, but when I do it's been because I need it — meaning nothing else is giving me enough reaction.
The core and coverstock combination is so strong that I typically can use it only on the heaviest oil, but there have been times when nothing else worked and the LOCK gave me great reaction.
The most memorable occasion was an SSBA (senior) event in Waterloo, Iowa, on a super heavy oil house shot that I could get nothing else to react on strongly enough to strike as much as necessary. That included an ALPHA CRUX and a HAYWIRE.
I pulled out my high-pin LOCK with 1,500 Turbo sandbagger and moved in to swing it from between 10- and 15-board at the arrows and I had great reaction, averaging better than 250 the rest of the way and eventually ending up fourth.
However, the strength of the LOCK with my slow speed and moderate revs means I rarely can use it.
Knowing how good the LOCK motion can be for me, I looked forward to the SNAP LOCK, which put the new R3S Pearl cover that is the pearlized version of the GI-15 Hybrid coverstock from LOCK over the same RAD-X core.
I figured a little cleaner through the front could make it a powerful ball I could use more often.
I also chose to drill mine with the pin under the bridge and about a 60-degree drilling angle — the same as my LOCK, which had the pin over the bridge — giving me strong motion but hopefully earlier and smoother motion than the LOCK.
With my PAP numbers of 4 over and 5/8 up, my SNAP LOCK numbers are 4 inches pin-PAP, 4 1/4 MB-PAP, and 3 7/8 pin buffer.
As is my standard practice, I hit the box shiny cover with a 4,000 Abralon pad and have since taken it as low as 1,000-Abralon with a used pad by hand.
And with some surface, it has proven to be a great ball on fresh Sport-level patterns, as I've used it to register strong opening games at both PBA50 Tour events I've bowled in the past month.
However, I also found that I had to put it away once the lanes began transitioning as it began to either bleed too much energy and hit flat, or when I moved into the oil it read the wet/dry too much as lots of heavy surface was being used, and it got too hard to control.
This did not surprise me as I often encounter this with asymmetric balls with my moderate speed.
I did find a good look using it at the end of a block on the 47-foot PBA Scorpion pattern where nothing else was giving me good back-end motion on the chewed-up pattern. I could get into the oil and the strong core and cover with surface I could get it rolling in the oil and had plenty of return to the right without overreaction.
The bottom line is that the SNAP LOCK is far from a benchmark ball — it just isn't controllable and versatile enough. But when I'm looking for strong motion on even heavy oil, the SNAP LOCK has delivered.
I have tried the SNAP LOCK on a house shot where the dry is very dry and found it to be tough to control with my slow speed. But on heavier house shots, it should be dynamite.
It should be especially good for players who have high speed with medium to high revs, or strokers looking for some extra power.
As is typical of asymmetricals, the SNAP LOCK revs up quick and easily, making some head oil mandatory unless you really have high speed or low revs.
It handles oil better than the CRUX PEARL and also revs up harder and makes a stronger move than that asymmetrical.
Pin carry with the SNAP LOCK was totally dependent on ball reaction, which I think is a good thing because your carry will tell you whether to use it or put it away.
My sense is that the SNAP LOCK is going to be a ball people are either going to love or dislike.
Certainly, if you are a player who likes moderate reaction, the SNAP LOCK is not for you!


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The Internet's Finest Tropical Fruit Discussion Forum!"All discussion content within the forum reflects the views of individual participants only and do not necessarily represent the views held by the Tropical Fruit Forum as an organization."
Wait until it ripens! But unless it has distinct attributes; like edible core or yellow or white meated flesh would be hard to tell.
I would say maybe a Kona Sugarloaf.
It should be ripe alreadySimon


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Read Between the Strokes – Surviving as an Artist in San Francisco
His art is beautiful, powerful and serves a purpose. As a painter, Claudio Talavera-Ballon uses his talent to make a change and has recently turned his focus onto highlighting the Mission district of San Francisco. Busy in his studio, and with multiple shows coming up, Talavera-Ballon brilliantly brings his art of the people to the people.
Born in Arequipa, Peru, Talavera-Ballon has worked professionally as an artist since 1997. He studied painting under his mentor Luis Palao Barastain, and considers himself a traditionalist, working simply with canvas or hardboard, oil paints and three brushes. Having lived in various regions of Peru, from the capital city to fishing villages and the mountains, he found a passion for painting people who make a living off of the land.
"…I've always been captivated by fisherman, the farmers, the handworkers because they know the real meaning of life," Talavera-Ballon says. The stunning works are more than just art, "I want to preserve culture and customs," he explains. Each portrait has been somebody that has had a great impact on him either personally or in a specific moment in time, and now, after living in The Mission for two years, the visually and culturally rich neighborhood has become a muse for the artist.
"I paint immigrants, because I want people to recognize the Latino laborers. Farmers are very important in our lives, and we treat them like nothing." Although he has found similar people in Peru and the US, there's an issue here that he is quick to recognize. "The work is hard plus you add the problem of immigration. You are scared that ICE will come, and you might never see your family again." Such a difficult and daily struggle of a large group of people tends to get overlooked, but Talavera-Ballon makes the people and their lives captivating and vivid, using art to open people's eyes and see around themselves.
As an artist, it's important for Talavera-Ballon to not only create great pieces but to survive. Talavera-Ballon makes it clear that in order to succeed as an artist one has to work hard every day. "You make a lot of sacrifices, and sometimes you work all day," Talavera-Ballon explains. "You have to be very goal oriented." Even a talented artist is nearly doomed if they do not understand the business. Talavera-Ballon has multiple agents both in the US and in Peru, and like many businesses, it's not always what you know, but who you know. "Networking is a huge part," he says. Meeting curators, gallery owners, buyers and other artists grows contacts and make both the artist and the art more visible and esteemed.
Talavera-Ballon also works with Artspan and Global America to help expand his business.
Artspan holds open studios for artists, and offers business classes to help them learn how to promote and sell their work. "I put everything Artspan taught me into practice," he says. The two groups share a common trait of connecting the art and business worlds. With Global America's help, Talavera-Ballon showed his work at Nissan's grand opening on Van Ness. Further possibilities of integrating with tech companies have come up, and he is currently in talks with Google, Facebook and others about holding an art residency program.
Understanding the market is also key to the business. Talavera-Ballon explains that in the US people want to know the reasoning, inspiration and background behind the works; the artist's philosophy is an essential element. For Talavera-Ballon that is an advantage. There's a message in every piece of his art he says, and "The brush strokes are the words, and people can read the message."
While he has worked for decades to highlight the beauty and struggle of laborers, living in the Mission has given Talavera-Ballon a new issue to fight for. "… in this Latino neighborhood, there is a problem of gentrification" he says. The Latino community and poor artists originally brought the life and color to the neighborhood, a brilliant and vivacious aspect that has made it iconic. Now, as a "cool" area, rent is rising so high and so quickly that original tenants are being pushed out of their homes of 20 years or more. It's not just the displacement of the people that bothers Talavera-Ballon, but the changing landscape and scenery. "The Mission is full of murals, but they're changing. Most of the murals now are just colors and don't say anything to the people, before they had a story."
As gentrification chips away at the narrative and history of The Mission, Talavera-Ballon tries to reach people on a larger scale. The public can visit his studio by reservation and view his paintings on his website, and he connects to the community and viewers through Facebook and Twitter. As his collection grows, Talavera-Ballon recognizes the need and advantage that technology has in his business. Having a larger platform for exposure offers a stronger chance for the message and art to enter the public consciousness. Hoping to have an effect on those who view his paintings, Talavera-Ballon also understands the subjective nature of the art. "Sometimes there's more than just one message, and each person has their own perception." Whatever the personal perception, Talavera-Ballon's craft goes beyond its striking beauty and will hopefully push further into the San Francisco business sectors and continue to grow awareness for The Mission and the strength and wisdom of land workers.
Visit Claudio Talavera-Ballon's studio at 3712 25th St., San Francisco, CA 94110
View his website http://www.talavera-ballon.com/
Attend an upcoming show:
-City Art Cooperative Gallery, 828 Valencia St, SF
-Mission Economic Development Agency, SF (through the end of the March)
-ArtSpan's Art Auction @ SOMArts, SF March 28
– Misho Gallery Spring Open Studios, April 11 & 12
– Spring Open Studios, April 18 & 19 (3712 25th St, San Francisco)
-City Art Cooperative Gallery, 828 Valencia St, SF (May, Opening Friday 2nd)
LAM is partnering with Latino Startup Alliance to showcase a series of twelve Latino Entrepreneurs in the next few months. The Latino Entrepreneur Series is presented by Verizon Wireless and written by LAM member and journalist Alice Bauer.


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This roomy zip-around wallet is entirely crafted from soft leather in two different textures, inlaid to recall the iconic Diesel V shape. The gusseted design is fitted with various card slots and a zipped pocket for coins. Personalised with a chunky zipper puller and metal Diesel logo.
75%Cow Leather 25%Ovine Leather
Measurements: Width 19cm/7.5'' Height 10,5cm/4.1'' Depth 2cm/0.8''
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Let's give lunch the makeover it deserves!
Sandwiches & wraps are mid-day staples, but they aren't doing us any favors. No wonder we are so tired in the afternoon…refined bread/wraps, processed deli-meat & just a dusting of vegetables does not a meal of champions make.
Meet your NEW lunch go-to: LUNCH BOWLS! When done right they are energizing, filling & waistline-friendly. Added bonus: You'll look classy eating a lunch bowl w/ a fork versus manhandling a sandwich or wrap.
Our new infographic breaks down the basic anatomy of a healthy bowl & includes 5 ideas to get you started:
- Mediterranean Hummus Bowl
- Asian Edamame Peanut Bowl
- Mexican Black Bean Burrito Bowl
- American BBQ Ranch Bowl
- Italian Parmesan-Marinara Bowl
Best of all, these bowls can be made in advance and travel well.
Let the full Lunch Bowl Infographic inspire you! Click HERE.


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control, decisions, ephesians, faith, future, God's will, relationship with god, success, timing
Dear friends and readers,
Ten days ago, as this Lenten season began, I embarked upon my personal forty day journey with Jesus. As you may recall, rather than giving up something physical in my life, I had proposed to give of myself in every situation, essentially to try to truly be the light of Jesus in the world. I entered the journey with no specific expectations. I knew that following God's will for me would result in new insights and understandings. I am just a child in my life with God, and He is a limitless font of surprises. Obeying His commands never fails to provide profound changes in my perspective of how to live, or even why to live, this life with Him. Experiencing the Lenten season reflectively and deliberately is certainly proving to yield a deeper understanding of my relationship with God.
Lent is the season in which we find some personal way to take the journey of Jesus Christ in the wilderness: the forty days He spent in the Judean desert after His baptism and during which the devil tempted Him. The origins of the Lenten season in the church are murky, and my research has revealed changes in the focus and reasoning for Lent over the centuries as church doctrine has changed. In representation of Jesus' time in the desert, we modern Christians observe the season of Lent for forty days, resting on Sundays, in the time between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday. We can't base our modern observance of Lent strictly upon the origins of the tradition. Lenten observation is not found in the scriptures. It is something we have done as worshippers over time for different reasons. Therefore, I suggest that we take the time as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. As a Christian whose relationship with our Lord is personal, as is yours, I can only report upon my own experience, as can you. From that perspective, I will say that I have found the observation of Lent to be a precious opportunity to spend time focused on Jesus' life and His experiences as a human man.
In my experience, even trying to be as focused as possible upon doing God's will first and foremost in my life, I find it fundamentally challenging to be both a Christian and a human. Material concerns seem tantalizingly under my control, so that I may turn to God for healing for a friend or relative, but insist upon relying on my own power to earn a paycheck, when in reality, God is in control of everything. If we are truly doing God's will first, seeking the kingdom of God first, we must pass all control of all things over to Him. I have found that to be especially difficult recently.
The first ten days of Lent for me this year have been spent in a constant struggle between relying completely on God to chart my course and trying at every turn to wrest that control away from Him.
I am in my final year of my undergraduate studies. I will graduate in December. I am also participating in a prestigious scholarship program that helps prepare Ph.D.-seeking students for graduate school. I feel that God has opened and closed all the doors to my future since I started back to school three and a half years ago. In fact, I fully believe that in my heart and in my mind. Therefore, I should have no problem at all believing that God will continue to faithfully guide me to wherever He needs me to be. And I do. I really do believe that I don't need to fret about what will happen after graduation, that God has that all planned out. All I need to do is keep walking through the doors He opens and, most importantly, not go looking for other doors on my own.
For the past ten days, though, I have been anxious for a least a part of each day. It is not that I have been worrying. I haven't been disbelieving. I haven't lost my faith at any moment. No, my anxiety has come from a desire to KNOW. I have wanted, in the way a four-year-old child wants, complete with stomping feet, to know exactly what to expect from God. I want the details. I want the dates. I want to be able to write them on the calendar: I will graduate on this date, one of the local colleges will offer me a job on this date, this school will accept me on this date, my boyfriend will propose on this date, I will settle into a career doing this on this date.
Really, though, isn't that sort of thinking a lack of faith? Isn't that sort of thinking a hypocrasy of my promise to be the light of Jesus in the world, especially during this Lenten season? Mustn't I be that light to myself as well as to others?
For ten days, I have reached out to others when my natural inclination was to be silent. I have spoken to strangers in awkward situations as if they were old friends, just to make them feel comfortable. I have witnessed to others with my testimony, been open about my faith in casual references to God, and tried to encourage and lift up others in every encounter. The more I try to do these things, it seems, the more people around me are responding positively, but the more anxious I become privately about wanting to know God's plan.
I wonder if I am feeling a small fraction of the temptation Jesus underwent in the desert. I would imagine that the devil, being the adversary, does try daily to trip us up, to instill nagging doubts, even to frustrate us with technical difficulties. I tend to experience difficulties every time I attempt to post this blog, in fact: suddenly slow internet, repeated failure to post upon hitting "submit", distractions. How many of those are random and how many are the adversary's work in the world? If the devil works against us, what is our defense?
We have only one defense against satan: trust in God. God is more powerful than satan. He protects us. He shields us.
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. – Ephesians 6:16
God will continue to chart my path as He wills, regardless of whether I fret and stomp my feet and demand to know the future. More importantly, His gift to me is the peace that will come from my faith in Him. The same is true for you. He doesn't want you to spend your days tied in little knots of anxiety. He wants us all to have complete faith, trust, and confidence in Him, the creator, the almighty. As powerful as God is, and as much as He loves each one of us, having faith in Him should be the easy part. Why is it then so hard to achieve sometimes?
I don't have answers yet to all my questions, but I feel better having shared my anxiety with you, my readers and my friends. It does become easier to have fuller, stronger faith when we fellowship with one another, and share our challenges and joys with each other.
And that sounds like another post for another day…
Blessings to you all, in Christ our King,


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AT&T on Wednesday lashed out against critics that say it is violating Net Neutrality rules by limiting which users can access Apple's FaceTime service over cellular.
"AT&T does not have a similar preloaded video chat app that competes with FaceTime or any other preloaded video chat application," chief privacy officer Bob Quinn said in a blog post. "Nonetheless, in another knee jerk reaction, some groups have rushed to judgment and claimed that AT&T's plans will violate the FCC's net neutrality rules. Those arguments are wrong."
Until the arrival of iOS 6 this fall, Apple's video chat has worked only over a Wi-Fi connection. The new operating system, by contrast, will also work over cellular connections, provided the carrier supports it.
AT&T has said it will allow FaceTime over cellular, but only for those with one of its new shared-data plans.
Public Knowledge is among the interest groups that have come out against AT&T's approach.
"By blocking FaceTime for many of its customers, AT&T is violating the FCC's Open Internet rules," John Bergmayer, senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge, said in a blog post. "These rules state that mobile providers shall not 'block applications that compete with the provider's voice or video telephony services.' Although carriers are permitted to engage in 'reasonable network management,' there is no technical reason why one data plan should be able to access FaceTime, and another not."
Update, 8:05 am PT: In a statement that followed AT&T's blog post, consumer group Free Press took issue with the carrier's defense of its policy.
"AT&T is inventing words that are not in the FCC's rules in a weak attempt to justify its blocking of FaceTime," Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner said in a statement. "The FCC's rules are crystal clear: AT&T is not permitted to block voice or video telephony applications that compete with its own services. There is simply nothing in the rules that distinguishes 'preloaded' applications from 'downloaded' applications."
Turner noted that the plans AT&T is requiring customers to have are ones that include unlimited voice minutes.
"FaceTime allows people to reduce their use of voice services, but AT&T is making you buy unlimited voice in order to use FaceTime over mobile," Turner said. "AT&T is trying to invent a loophole in the rules, but this kind of anti-consumer behavior is the exact thing the FCC's protections are designed to prohibit."
One puzzling part of AT&T's approach is the fact that it is allowing FaceTime on the mobile share plans but not on the stand-alone tiered data plans, which would also charge customers for their FaceTime use. Turner picked up on that as well.
"Furthermore, AT&T's assertion — that FaceTime is allowed on mobile share plans because the app is data-intensive and those plans are designed to make more data available — is ludicrous and contradicted by the facts," Turner said. "If that were true, why should current non-mobile share customers that purchase 3GB of data be blocked from using mobile FaceTime, while customers who purchase the 1GB shared data tier are not blocked?"


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How lovely to be an honorary mention! Ok not quite as lovely as getting to go to the party but that's fine, I've got a bottle of fizz – I can have one anytime.
What this experience has taught me is that as excited as I am about getting published one day, and I feel more and more confident that it will happen eventually, is that I'm a teensy bit more excited about the idea I've had for my next story. Now I'm not going to tell you exactly what that is but I did get the idea when I was whiling away a few weeks in Australia, earlier in November. That's the gadabout I am.
It probably won't be set in Australia but it will involve a house on a corner, a woman who used to be a man (and that's the least interesting thing about her), an imaginary (17th century) friend and a fifteen-year-old runaway. And yay, I'm branching out into YA! Emily Barker also provided inspiration with her music, which I love. YA might not be my thing and I might just fall into an MG voice like I usually do but I'm going to give it a go.
I'll be diving into this new world after Christmas, if I can wait that long. Right now, I'm letting the dust settle on a story about a girl called Bert – first draft completed on Saturday 3rdDecember 2011. It's about daughters, dads, and denial. Here's some blurb:
Her name's Bert Smith not Bertina – if she could only convince her mum that she likes it that way. Bert wants to be her Dad's first mate forever, taking tourists on boat trips around local beauty spot, Stonewave Cove. But Mum's having another baby and the baby's not Dad's.
Bert is forced to live with her Mum's boyfriend, Ronnie, in his super-clean starter home in town, only an hour away on the bus but a million miles from Stonewave and Dad. Bert decides that whatever lies Mum tells about Dad not being able to have kids, Dad is her Dad and he needs her if he's not going to drown in beer and get hurt all over again.
In the end, above a storm-tossed sea on a deserted cliff, Bert must finally accept the identity of her real dad. And she can choose – get rid him forever or save the last man on earth she'd want for a father.
Bert… so far is about denial, a family breaking up, growing and regrouping, and the girl who has the power to destroy it all. Can eleven-year-old Bert deny herself the chance to have the one and only Dad, she's ever wanted?
I would love to write something huge and fantastical but I'm not sure that's me. If I had a theme it would be the extraordinariness of ordinary people. Duggie, who earned his Honorary Mention is very ordinary – kid living with single mum on local authority estate who thinks he needs a magic spell to sort his life out and believes he's found one. It's a story about growing in confidence – Shameless meets Tracey Beaker. Perhaps in some ways it's too ordinary and that's its problem, but I had fun making it up.
So I'm very glad I joined SCBWI, honoured to be mentioned in the excellent Undiscovered Voices 2012 Anthology and wish all the winners many congratulations and publishing deals. With my fellow wonderful mentions I'll press on, wantonly littering the real world with imagined ones if only for my own amusement.
Here we are again (in alphabetical order of course)
I'll also try to keep up this blog.


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Keen angler Jake wished to meet and cook with chef Rick Stein.
Starlight arranged for Jake to meet Rick at his flagship seafood restaurant in Padstow. The two spent a fish filled afternoon together, first selecting what to cook in Stein's Fisheries & Seafood Bar and then descaling and preparing the fish together.
Jake and Rick then worked together to cook up some delicious dishes including grilled anchovies, stuffed Cornish mackerel, Octopus à la feria and baked sea bass with peppers, tomatoes and chillies.


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By Leo Notenboom
My C: and D: drives have many gigabytes of .DAT files under "Documents and
Settings". I'm trying to free up space on the C: drive. Can I delete any of
these files? I really don't know what they are, how they got there, or why they
occupy so much space on my computer!
I don't know.
Honestly, I have no idea either as to what they are, how they got there, or
why they occupy so much space. That's the problem with ".dat" files – there's
no way to know what they are without more information.
But I do have some ideas on how to determine if deleting them is ok, and
ways to do it safely. And those ideas apply to any file type, not just


text:
The basic playbook for the past several years has been to buy any and all dips. As of late, one of those dips is developing.
Using TriggerPoint Research's proprietary algorithm we have identified some of those stocks with the potential to break out higher in the near term. While they have not quite hit that point, these stocks are on our watch-list for a TPR Equity ALERT!
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I am pleased to have southern fiction author and photographer, RC (Ruth) White, as a guest on Southern Creatives today!
Do you consider yourself a "Southern writer" or a writer who lives in the South? What do you think is the difference?
I am without question a Southern writer. The South is in my blood, and I could no more write with accuracy about life in New York City than one of its lifelong citizens could speak with authority about life here on the Gulf Coast.
The difference lies, of course, in our cultural heritage. Even though the last century witnessed a huge urban influx across the South, most of us maintain a connection to our agrarian past and are familiar with that way of life. Even our climate encourages us to be outdoors most of the year.
The roles of family and place also differentiate the Southerner and help us to feel connected. There's a certain satisfaction by identifying someone's family and sharing the fact that we are familiar with those people and their home.
Most people also know that the South is the land of churches on every corner, and I've always thought that the reason goes back to our roots as a people. Extremely poor, we turned to religion not only for hope, but also for consolation and for acknowledgement that we had worth in spite of our poverty. Life was bitterly tough, so we could only hope for a better afterlife.
How does living in the South shape your stories?
Living in the South has shaped every area of my life, from food to values. Although I sometimes cringe when news reporters seek out the less eloquent in speech for interviews, I must admit that these people, too, are part of our Southern landscape and are not to be ignored. After all, without the Bundrens, what would Faulkner's stories be?
Living in the South has also shaped my very life path. For several years, my husband and I considered moving to Arizona, where we had been married years before in a hot air balloon. However, in the end, we had to admit that we belonged here, where we bless peoples' hearts, where football on Saturdays is a religion worthy of war, and where green is the primary color year-round.
While visiting in Arizona once, I encountered an African American woman who had been transplanted to that state from Alabama. When she heard my accent, she initiated a conversation, and before long we were doing what Southerners do best—asking about kin and familiar places. By conversation's end, we were both in tears. She and I spoke the same language, that of the South, and, although she loved her new home, she sorely missed her Gulf Coast.
Who is your favorite author/book and why?
What an interesting question! Zora Neale Hurston touched my soul in a way few others could ever do with Their Eyes Were Watching God. When I first read this book, I closed it and sat dumfounded for a moment. Then I said over and over, "Wow." And soon the tears began to fall. I cried for Janie and her sad, heroic life. I cried for familiar places that are a part of me. And I cried for all the sadness of Janie's life and mine. In other words, Miss Hurston touched my very soul.
Chapter Two of this wonderful book begins thusly:
"Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the branches."
When the Seminoles left Lake Okeechobee in advance of a devastating hurricane, they demonstrated an innate knowledge that so few possess. My father, descended from those same people, retained a similar knowledge and respect for nature that belied explanation. Much of this wisdom remains in the Southerner today.
If one of your novels was made into a movie, what actors would play the parts of your main characters?
This question gives me a chance to explore every writer's dream of seeing my story on the big screen.
Reckless Pursuit was my first novel and probably still my favorite.
The gist of it presents two women who have lost their husbands under suspicious circumstances. They join forces and go after the killers in a wild chase through the American South and into Costa Rica. They risk everything to find answers and bring the guilty to justice.
I envision Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock in the lead and perhaps Lorraine Bracco (the detective's mother on Rizzoli and Isles) as her less daring but determined and caring partner.
Your novel, Ascension at Antioch, is full of beautiful sensory details. You also have short stories that incorporate paintings as part of the plot. Do you use certain images, photographs, or paintings to inspire you? If so, what are they?
For me, art and nature are one and the same. The way in which an artist creates light on a canvas is tantamount to a writer's breathing life into a character. Both are representations of nature and both result from creative genius.
One artist in particular speaks to me like few others. Walter Anderson of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, painted because he had to; I write because I must. This talented man once tied himself to a tree on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico in order to experience a hurricane in all its fury. Lucky for him, there was no thirty-foot wave, but he took away from the experience a greater understanding of the forces of nature. The colors and shapes in his works are those found in nature because he took the time to see them. Of course, many people thought him insane, but haven't we always misunderstood genius? His work echoes nature itself.
What paint is to the artist, words are for the writer. They are our way of touching another human soul.
What's coming up next for you?
Like so many other writers, I continue to wait while my agent submits my work, but in the interim, I've joined forces with some wonderful friends and writers to produce an anthology of novellas about women of the Central Gulf Coast.
In this anthology called Bare Elements, each of us used one of the four elements of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire as a theme for novellas that begin after the Civil War and end in the present. We've planned a book launch at Lemuria Books in Jackson, Mississippi on December 5, and we hope to have these stories by and about women of the Central Gulf Coast used in college courses of women's studies.
Thank you, Melinda for asking me to take part in this project. One thing I've learned through all the years and all the rejection is that knowing writers like you makes it all worthwhile.
Many thanks to RC (Ruth) White for being my guest on Southern Creatives. In addition to her novels, Reckless Pursuit, Devil's Trace, Ascension at Antioch, you can also find her work in several anthologies: Teacakes and Afternoon Tales, Mad Dogs and Moonshine, and Clinton Brick Streets Winners' Circle.
To connect with her on Twitter: @writerdawg
and to read her blog – http://authorruthwhite.wordpress.com


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Let the guitars ring out, the True Believers have reunited! Back in the mid-1980's, the legendary Austin band scorched a blazing trail as they criss-crossed the country with their three guitar attack. A solid debut album was released. A follow-up album was recorded but was lost for years in record company limbo. The frustrations mounted and the band went their separate ways.
Fortunately, all was not lost. The three primary singer-songwriters — Alejandro Escovedo, Javier Escovedo and Jon Dee Graham — have continued to bless us with their musical talents as solo artists.
Fast-forward nearly 30 years to last fall when the band came together in Austin Texas to pay tribute to an old friend. As the saying goes, one thing led to another and the band decided to reunite for some shows and planned studio time. Bring it on, gentlemen, bring it on!
While we wait with baited breath for the second coming of True Believers, here are two performances from last year's reunion set.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.


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Here Are Two More Boosts From Trump For Natural Resources
Policy across the U.S. is changing fast since the election of President Trump. And natural resource companies have already begun to benefit from the shift.
Now two more major measures have just come down — which could open big opportunities for mining and energy in the U.S.
The Department of Interior yesterday unveiled a raft of new policies. One of the biggest being a rollback of Obama-era regulations put in to protect wildlife.
Specifically, the sage grouse. A bird that resides in several prime mining and petroleum jurisdictions — particularly in western U.S. states such as Nevada.
The Obama administration had brought in federal protection for the sage grouse. Including strict rules on land use in areas where the bird resides — which had threatened to withdraw large tracts of land from mineral development and oil and gas drilling.
But the Department of Interior has now directed that several changes be made to that legislation. With officials saying the revised rules will attempt to strike a balance between preservation and economic opportunities.
The biggest change will be allowing state agencies to grant exemptions to the federal legislation. Which could allow local lawmakers to approve extractive activities in places that would have previously been off limits.
And that wasn't the only big change made by Interior. With officials also also reversing another Obama administration policy — one that had reformed royalties paid by coal and petroleum developers on federal lands across the U.S.
The revised rules had closed loopholes that critics say resource firms were using to dodge tax payments. But industry had complained that the new measures were unnecessarily complex, impeding development of new projects.
Those rules will now be rendered void — with the royalty system reverting to the old regime as of early September. Watch for all of these shifts to help spur project activity across America, particularly in the coal sector — which should now see improved profitability.
Here's to the times a-changing,
Dave Forest
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Interior decoration plays a significant role in creating the ambience of a restaurant. A restaurant can improve the business only when they provide comfort, relaxation and good mood to the customer. No one prefers to spend more time in a shabby atmosphere for longer periods. Hence, if you cannot impress the customer with your interiors, you certainly will lose a considerable amount of business.
According to many psychologists, natural environment will reduce stress and make people more comfortable and relaxed. Even many interior experts also agree with this and hold this as a reason for using wood widely in decorating bedrooms, kitchen, executive cabins etc as the presence of wood certainly gives a look of the natural environment.
The beauty of wood engages all the senses, especially, the hues of wood and depths of individual grains will be a visual treat to the eyes. Such pleasant glimpses will certainly influence the mood of the beholder positively.
Many interior decorators are opting for brown colour (if wood is not used) for areas in a home where the family gathers. The basic reason is that the colour Brown, just like Green gives a relaxing touch.
A restaurant is a place where people gather usually to enjoy food and spend a bit of time with fun and joy. In such a situation, the atmosphere of the restaurant should support them and should be able to provide relaxation and should influence their moods positively. This is the reason for most of the upscale restaurants to use a wooden interior.
When you have a wooden interior or a brown color that resembles wood, you should certainly complement the ambience with wood menu covers.These menu covers with wooden pattern printed on them will certainly be in tune with the interior and attract the customers. This helps to make the customers go deep into the menu which will help in securing more business.
Wood menu covers or Woodland menu covers as they are known more commonly are available in the market and most of the well reputed menu cover designers and manufacturers offer these types of menu covers. They are available in both padded and unpadded versions and are available in all standard sizes. They can be made to customized sizes also.
The material with which they are made is non-absorbent and robust enough to withstand the damages caused by rough handling. They will protect the menu from the damages caused by water and other liquids also. Thus, wood menu covers are capable of performing both the functions of a menu cover, protecting the menu and to attract the attention of the customers.


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It's years end coming up soon, so it seems like a good time to look at the most popular posts have been over the past year.
10. How are you dealing with a more diverse nurse population?
This article looked at the results of a nurse population study that had interesting results in relation to the amount of racial, gender and age diversity in the nurse population.
9. Easy ways for nurses to de-stress and avoid burnout
This post discusses an article that lists 22 ways for nurses to de-stress and prevent nurse burnout.
8. Full time nurse labor costs versus travel nurses
In this post we discussed the KPMG study that looked at the overall cost of full-time nurses and discussed their findings.
7. Overtime and hospital staff burnout
This post provides a list of resources to help Nurse Managers spot and respond to nurse staff burnout.
6. Mentoring Programs designed to keep nurses, young and old.
The subject of this post is about the value that putting a mentoring program in place can have on retaining nurses and improving patient care.
5. 14 questions to ask yourself about your nurse recruitment plan
This post lists 14 key questions that hospitals need to ask about their nurse recruitment plan in order to make improvements in their hiring.
4. Phone interview questions to make sure travel nurses will be a cultural fit
The purpose of this post is to list resources that Nurse Managers and Hospital Hiring Managers can use to ensure that the travel nurses they bring in are a good cultural fit at the hospital and in the unit.
3. Evaluating a Healthcare Staffing Company's Cost
Here we explain the best way for hospitals to compare the costs of travel nursing companies they work with.
2. Build your best nursing unit
In this post we discuss things that Nurse Managers can do during tough economic times to get the most out of their units.
1. Improve your nursing staff morale
This post talks about our 7 Steps to Better Nursing Morale ebook, a poplar handbook we made on how Nurse Managers can improve the morale of nurses in their unit to prevent burnout.


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After almost 3 months of rebuilding remnants of Chaos after bans, Crew has officially downed Proteus Base, and we will now be killing Proteus daily. Thanks everyone for all your hard work and this is such an achievement for our clan (Crew) and our server (Nuada). Here's a link to the video of us downing prot;
Crew of Nuada has downed prot!#1
Cuco of Crew, Nuada
215 Ranger
Future Chef Ramsey
215 Ranger
Future Chef Ramsey


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The second Wednesday of the exam timetable is always the same for me. A feeling of excitement and trepidation as if I'm about to enter the exam hall and sit the exam myself. Every year, without fail. I wrote before about the fear - which all teachers experience from time to time - that I failed to prepare my students enough for the exam at the end of the road. I fear that I let them down, and that a tough exam might catch them out and bring a disappointing end to a two year-long drive through the past. It's not the most rational of fears, but it's there all the same.
So it was with a sense of relief that I spoke to my students afterwards and looked at the papers they sat. They were all positive about it, save for one or two complaints which I'll add in to my own review below.
Ordinary Level:
Section 1: Documents-Based Question
Opening the page to find the Nuremberg Rallies will have been a good start for many students, it being the most accessible of the three case studies. The new formatting of the paper gave a different feel to the DBQ. I mentioned in my Junior Cert review how the font change takes away the formal, possibly intimidating look of Times New Roman, but the picture (Document B) is quite large and pops out at you as soon as you open it. Perhaps not the most relevant point to note, but it made an impression on me. The questions were quite decent, I particularly liked 2b (Which document gives the better insight on a Nuremberg Rally?) and 3a (Are the rules in Document A meant to keep people safe or to keep people under control?). Students would have had to engage their critical skills to tackle these questions. Meanwhile Q.4 was a nice easy one which allowed students to tie in to their broader knowledge of propaganda and dictatorship in Nazi Germany.
Section 2: Ireland
I'll avoid mentioning the topics I'm not very familiar with, namely Topics 1 and 4 - I have yet to even see a textbook for the latter.
- Topic 2 had a lot of nice self-contained questions on various of its components, though the only case study-related question was on the successes and failures of the GAA.
- Topic 3 had a range of accessible questions which I was pleased to find covered a range of topics we focused on over the year - Home Rule, Anglo-Irish relations under de Valera, the Treaty negotiations and the Eucharistic Congress foremost among them for my own students. There was an interesting question comparing Countess Markiewicz and Evie Hone, while the Northern Ireland-specific question focused on James Craig. The annual Cosgrave/de Valera question was in Part B rather than Part C this time around.
- Topic 5 was more generous with case study-based questions, a question on the failure of the Sunningdale power-sharing executive rather reminiscent of current goings-on in Stormont. Section B focused primarily on the 80s and 90s, with questions on Thatcher, Gerry Adams, the Downing Street Declaration and cultural responses to the Troubles.
- It's the last time we'll see Topic 6 here for a while, and the questions were a bit more mixed. Three of the main social change topics - health/social welfare, education and the Irish language took up most of Part B. Two questions on the Lemass era, one specifically on the First Programme for Economic Expansion. I had considered it a good possibility that this would appear given TK Whitaker's death in January. For anyone who wanted to write about other figures, there were questions on Jack Lynch and Charles Haughey as well.
Section 3: Europe and the Wider World
- Topics 1 and 2, which my brain always joins together because I did the pre-2006 History course, looked manageable. There were a lot of questions connected with key personalities and case studies, with a definite slant towards the World War I side of things in Topic 2 (in parallel to the World War II slant in Junior Cert).
- Margaret Thatcher pops up again in Topic 4, but only in Part A. Again a range of key personalities should have helped students in this section - five of the eight questions in Parts B and C were related to them.
- Topic 5 gave students a choice between case studies in Part C: straightforward questions on Katanga and race relations in France complimented shorter Part B questions on Sukarno, Ho Chi Minh and aid workers in Africa.
- A lot of familiar questions in Topic 6. I had cautioned my students against relying on Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali seeing as they both appeared last year, but lo and behold they were back again this year (with Betty Friedan). The obligatory Foreign Policy 1945-68 question focused on Johnson and Vietnam, while Truman and Korea were confined to Part A. Nothing out of the ordinary here really.
Section 1: Documents-Based Question
When looking through my copy of the paper earlier on, my sister opened this question and happily exclaimed "JARROW!" (she loved it when she was in school). This satisfaction was matched by my own students earlier in the day, as the DBQ here was very easy for anyone who knows the ins and outs of the Jarrow March. It's to be expected for a topic as specific as this one is, but with the limited number of sources available to supply document excerpts, the whole section came off very much like the Edco sample questions on it. I thought the Q.2 and Q.3 were a bit lackluster compared to the Ordinary Level questions, a lot of repeats from previous years which don't really engage the students with the documents on a deeper level, I find.
Section 2: Ireland
- Topic 2: A good range of questions on Home Rule, unionism via Carson, land reform, the GAA and the suffragettes - I expect students who studied this topic would have been happy with it.
- Topic 3: A change from the tried and tested "physical force nationalism" question as we instead take a more political approach to the 1912-20 period with a question asking about the factors which contributed to partition. Aside from a World War II in the North and South question, the rest of this topic was very similar to the Ordinary Level paper: Anglo-Irish relations under Cosgrave and de Valera, the Eucharistic Congress and cultural identity via education and language.
- Topic 5: Opened with a broad question on social and economic problems facing Northern Ireland from 1949-69, moving on to a more self-contained question on the Civil Rights movement. The fourth question here, asking about the Apprentice Boys of Derry, ecumenism and the cultural response to the Troubles, might have been a challenge to students attempting it if they hadn't already planned for such a question.
- Topic 6: This topic also opened with a broad social and economics question, but students could instead choose the status of women or more specific questions on Jack Lynch/Charles Haughey (same as Ordinary Level, and the last time either of them will appear until 2020), the Irish language, RTÉ and John Charles McQuaid. No mention of Lemass or TK Whitaker (unless you count the broad question), which took my complacent self by surprise. "It was a Lemassive disappointment", joked a student afterwards.
- Topic 1 took a political philosophy approach: questions on cultural nationalism, trade unionism, socialism and mass politics were spread across two choices, alongside Metternich, the unifications of Italy and Germany, and Haussman. Topic 2 had an interesting question focusing entirely on the Russian revolution - the centenary of which is this year. Straightforward questions besides.
- Topic 4 was Margaret Thatcher's third Leaving Cert exam appearance, with a good question on the effectiveness of her leadership. If that wasn't somebody's cup of tea, they could instead cross the red curtain to assess the success of Khrushchev as a leader, the strengths and weaknesses of the Western economies or focus on Vatican II and John Paul II.
- India was conspicuously absent from Topic 5 on the Ordinary Level paper, but it had a question to itself here. A question on the spread of Islam, whether alongside Christianity in Africa or alone in Europe, was brand new, though it takes from different parts of the topic. It's presence seemed to reflect shades of current events with the rise in Islamophobic incidents in the west. It wasn't the only question that seemed influenced by the present though...
- "From Roosevelt to Reagan, would you agree that American presidents have always acted for the good of America". It's too tempting to find a connection between this question being selected in 2017, the year of "making America great again". It's a rare one, only ever appearing once before in 2011, without the "for the good of America" angle. I didn't expect it to appear, though I probably should have. It might have been a challenge for any students who undertook it, the risk is to fall into a narrative description of what each of those presidents did, rather than take the critical approach called for by the question. Another risk would be a reliance on talking about foreign policy - domestic policy would be just as, if not more important for answering this one. Aside from that, we had a Montgomery Bus Boycott question - only the second since this course was introduced to focus specifically on Martin Luther King - an economics question (I'll admit that they're not my favourite) and a slightly different take on the "how did these people contribute" question - students had to compare the counter-cultural effect of Norman Mailer, Betty Friedan and/or Muhammad Ali.
There was a definite "fresh" feeling to this year's papers. Questions were styled differently to before - sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly - even if they were on very familiar topics. There were some moves to encourage more critical thinking - the Ordinary Level DBQs and the Higher Level Topic 6 being good examples of this.
Such small changes don't represent a huge shift by any means, but they're enough to make a difference to a set of exams which have been running the risk of being stale for some time now. It will be interesting to see if next year's papers go along the same vein, but I hope they do. The new sample papers should try tweaking things a bit as well. There's only so much we can do to avoid predictability when the course is finite, but that doesn't mean we can't make things a little bit more interesting!


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A few days ago the New York Times ran a story headlined Gang Memoir, Turning Page, Is Pure Fiction, about Margaret Seltzer, alias Margaret B. Jones, and her memoir that wasn't a memoir at all. She has admitted it was fiction. Today Alternet reports on yet another memoir writer who lied, in Literary Frauds Strike Again … and Again.
So, let's see if I understand this. We're supposed to sell our fiction as memoir now? Is that what I've been doing wrong? Is this what they mean by creative nonfiction? I'm confused.
I guess the little hand slap mainstream media gave James Frey, not to mention his second book contract, weren't very good deterrents to the hot new trend in books — memoir fraud.
Readers expect a memoir to be true, if from a limited perspective of the writer's personal experience and memory of events, which can of course be slightly skewed. We don't all remember events that happened when we were growing up the same way our siblings or parents remember them. Obviously a lot of other nonfiction is opinion, or facts mingled with theories, presented from a single biased viewpoint. But a memoir isn't supposed to be deliberately made up and then presented as the author's own story. That's called fiction.
These so-called memoir authors sold what they wrote as their own life stories, when they knew the stories either weren't true or weren't their experiences. They could've called their stories novels, or fictionalized accounts, but they didn't. They called them memoirs. Some of them (Frey, at least) made a lot of money.
I don't know about you, but when I spend hard-earned money on a book, my expectations are still pretty high. Those expectations are being fulfilled by books less and less often these days. I'm starting to think it's no wonder people are reading fewer books, and I think the problem boils down to simple greed.
We all need to make a living. But most of us try to work hard and put in an honest effort at something for our living. We don't resort to cheating, theft, fraud, and sloppy ethics. So who's to blame here? Are these people just laughing at all us dummies who bother to actually be honest about our work? Laughing all the way to the bank?
The LA Times has published another opinion on why this type of thing happens in Why we fall for the fakes, an editorial that blames not just the writers, but the publishers, and finally the readers who keep purchasing these books.
What do readers think about this? If you pick up a memoir to read, do you want to know the person is at least attempting to be honest and accurate? Do you want to believe the publisher did their part in making sure they weren't helping to perpetrate a fraud, or even instigating it? Do you think the writer is making a promise he or she is responsible to keep? Or when you pick up a memoir do you expect a certain amount of fiction?
What do you consider getting your money's worth from a book? What are your expectations of authors and publishers as far as honesty? Are consumers partly to blame when we keep buying and don't demand quality and integrity from the companies selling us products? Are we the readers to blame for books that fall below standards in either quality or integrity? Are we voting with our dollar for dishonesty? Or is that just an easy excuse for those who knowingly sell us shoddy or misrepresented products? Isn't that blaming the victims, something like the purse snatcher saying, "Well she was just walking along the sidewalk. What was she doing there if she didn't want it stolen?"
Perhaps most important of all, how does this make you feel about telling young people they should read more books?


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The grape harvest is taking forever. Every other year we have begun and ended with only a few days between picking. This year, however, we began by picking grapes for the La Gramiere rosé and waited. A week later we began the grand picking---for three days--- and waited. Four days later saw us picking more Syrah and now we are waiting. Maybe this weekend we will complete the harvest. Just maybe. The grapes are very leisurely ripening and enjoying the warm Provencal sun.
As the foods we buy at the outdoor markets are freshly picked by the producer, they are ready to eat---now. Sitting a pear on a shelf for a few days can result in mush. Not exactly how we buy things from our grocery stores. This made it difficult for me to shop for the lunches. I planned and we ate between the harvest what I had planned, so I began all over.
Twenty-five volunteers, friends, family, dogs, and a camera crew began the harvest at the beginning of last week. The chill of the early morning greeted everyone as we began the careful picking of the organic grapes.
Peta Mathias, (petamathias.com ) New Zealand author,cooking, and travel personality met us with Jane and Jeff, her producer and camera, man to film the harvest of La Gramiere ( lagramiere.com ). Peta was teaching a Provençal cooking class in the area and creating a series of shows for New Zealand TV. Amy was interviewed about her adventures in wine telling the story of how she and Matt got into vines and wines. Traveling through the vineyard, they filmed us hard at work collecting the 2010 pre-wine or grapes!
Ronny who is in communications work on St. Barts discusses Jeff's new HD camera, fascinated by its lightness.
What fun we have in the vineyards! And oh, what a good sleeping pill it is.


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The EWF is honored to partner with Black Hat for the 7th year to support and develop cybersecurity women with the scholarship program and Meet & Greet
Flemington, NJ (PRWEB) June 08, 2017
The Executive Women's Forum on Information Security, Risk Management & Privacy (EWF) and Black Hat USA 2017 are pleased to announce the success and continuation of the Future Female Leaders Scholarship Program. This program awards 50 scholarships to attend Black Hat USA 2017. The EWF is also hosting its 7th Annual Meet & Greet with over 200 executive women in Information Security.
Each Academic Pass allows full access to all Black Hat USA 2017 briefings on Wednesday, July 26 & Thursday, July 27, 2017, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The scholarship program supports the EWF's mission to attract, develop and advance women in the Information Security, IT, Risk Management, and Privacy industries. These Academic Passes will be awarded to female university students who demonstrate a passion for Information Security as well as a proven history of related experience and coursework.
"The EWF is honored to partner with Black Hat for the 7th year to support and develop cybersecurity women with the scholarship program and Meet & Greet," said Lynn Terwoerds, Executive Director of the EWF. "The cybersecurity labor shortage and the fact that women make up only 11% of the cyber workforce speaks to the significance of what we do as an organization and our partnership with Black Hat."
In order to be considered for the Future Female Leaders Scholarship Program, each applicant must meet the following criteria: Must be 18 years old at the time of the event, provide copy of verifiable proof of full-time academic status at an accredited college or university, and provide copy of valid and current college/university ID card. Interested students must apply by June 26, 2017. To apply for the 2017 Black Hat USA Female Leaders Student Scholarship and view full terms, visit: http://www.ewf-usa.com/?page=BlackHatScholarship
The Executive Women's Forum is also hosting its 7th Annual Meet & Greet during Black Hat USA 2017. The EWF invites all women attending the conference to the EWF Meet & Greet on July 27, 2017, from 1:00-2:30 pm in Banyan B at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This free event is an opportunity to engage and connect with the brightest and the most influential women in Information Security. To RSVP for the EWF 7th Annual Meet & Greet, visit: http://www.ewf-usa.com/event/blackhat17
About The Executive Women's Forum on Information Security Risk Management & Privacy:
Founded in 2002 and celebrating its 15th Anniversary, the Executive Women's Forum on Information Security, Risk Management & Privacy (EWF) is the largest member organization serving women leaders as well as the most prominent and influential women in information security, cybersecurity, IT risk management, governance risk and compliance and privacy. The EWF serves emerging leaders as well as the most prominent and influential women in our field by facilitating programs and events throughout the year including a national conference, regional meetings, leadership development and mentorship programs, as well as interaction with global thought leaders through an online community. For more information, please visit http://www.ewf-usa.com.
Mary Wei, Member Engagement Specialist, Executive Women's Forum
Email address: mary(at)ewf-usa(dot)com
Office: 312-525-3346
Melissa Rojas, Digital Marketing Specialist, Executive Women's Forum
Email address: melissa(at)ewf-usa(dot)com
Office: 312-525-3347


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Do you have a tattoo that illustrates science or scientific principles? Would you like your ink to appear in a book? Check this out. 🙂
photo credit: megpiI hope you'll submit my posts to your favorite social media sites. Just don't "submit" them to your own site pretending to be yours. Thanks!


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An economics, investment, trading and policy blog with a focus on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We seek the truth, avoid the mainstream and are virulently anti-neoliberalism.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Fedemperor Has No Clothes .. and Should Not be Parading in Public
6 comments:
- Tom Hickey said...
Roger: "Investor, saver & banking lobbies all coalesce in an urge to protect and insulate themselves from the responsibility of managing public policy in their home countries.
For free-riders, escapism is always a temptation. However it is not a productive strategy for members of any aggregate. Cost-of-coordination is always the highest cost, and return-on-coordination is always the highest return."
I would put it slightly differently. The ruling elite, which alone has the influence to manipulate public policy, including monetary and fiscal, operates in terms of short term gain and does not care much about the blowback, because they realize that as long as they are in power, they can manipulate any situation that arises in their favor. So they are interest in only one thing more than extraction and that is preserving influence and expanding power. This is the underlying social, political and economic situation in late-stage capitalism. It's late stage, since as Marxists point out rent-seeking leads to a falling rate of profit as capital is misallocated, which Austrians call malinvestment, which Schumpeterians see as declining innovation and PKE economists describe as Ponzi finance. Alan Greenspan confessed in effect that he was mistaken about the ruling elite not killing the goose that lays the golden egg for short terms gain.
- June 7, 2012 at 3:07 PM
- Tom Hickey said...
I should make that clearer by saying that I think it is necessary to distinguish between ignorance and perversity. These are really smart people and can do the numbers. They know that they could increase the absolute amount of their wealth by focusing on growing the pie, but they have chosen to focus on increasing relative share of the pie even if it shrinks, at least in part because they realize that changing the system to increase adaptive rate would mean focusing on productive contribution and reducing economic rent. The economic rent is the free ride that their status and influence depends upon. So increasing knowledge is not going to be the decisive factor. Rather, it must be reducing perversity, which involves broad and deep institutional changes.
- June 7, 2012 at 3:24 PM
- paul meli said...
I get a kick out of some of my friends that talk about "escaping" to Panama or some other tropical tax-free paradise .
"You can live there on just Social Security".
What irony. What hypocrisy.
- June 7, 2012 at 3:54 PM
- Unknown said...
I think there is a law going through congress about prohibiting sending Social Security Checks to any address outside the U.S. or banks outside of the U.S.
- June 7, 2012 at 6:08 PM
America's financial and military powers and political enablers are doing their worst to preserve the dollar's reserve currency statis. So fx is totally manipulated to serve that end, among others. Power trumps common interest. And the manipulations are only "perverse" if you don't agree with the plutocratic ends. From the perspective of TPTB the actions are rational and appropriate because the ends are served by the means.
- June 7, 2012 at 6:40 PM
- Tom Hickey said...
@ Derryl Hermanutz
True, and there are institutional changes that could mitigate this, such as filters for deselecting sociopaths, as well as changing perverse incentives that encourage perverse behaviors.
- June 7, 2012 at 7:05 PM


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Finally found responsive and quality supplier of needed handles though reply to separate inquiries were ignored. Received handles that fit and hopefully will last remaining life of hatchets, rakes, and treasured tools used for repair of. I have lightly sanded and applied personal colors though. If needed in future I now have permanent supplier a comfort for person who treasures original tool purchases. Thanks immensely Guy's.
Walt Arnsdorff


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It's like hanging with your friends... friends you don't want other people to know about.
Dec 15, 2017
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World of Warcraft: Finding love with an online avatar
1 July 2014 Last updated at 16:09 BST
The stereotype of a computer gamer is of a single man playing alone in his bedroom or basement.
But the reality is that women also play - and get obsessed with - massive multi-player online role-playing games. And thanks to technology it no longer has to be an isolating experience.
Molly and Pete lived hundreds of miles apart in the US and would probably have never met were it not for their shared obsession with World of Warcraft. Now they're married.
They spoke to the BBC about the stigma of finding real-life love in an imaginary universe.
Produced for the BBC by Ian Connors of 8 Rivers Films
Living Online is a series of video features published every Tuesday on the BBC News website which look at how technology converges with culture and all aspects of our daily lives.


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BTNL2 gene
butyrophilin like 2
The information on this page was automatically extracted from online scientific databases.
From NCBI Gene:
This gene encodes a major histocompatibility complex, class II associated, type I transmembrane protein which belongs to the butyrophilin-like B7 family of immunoregulators. It is thought to be involved in immune surveillance, serving as a negative T-cell regulator by decreasing T-cell proliferation and cytokine release. The encoded protein contains an N-terminal signal peptide, two pairs of immunoglobulin-like domains, separated by a heptad peptide sequence, and a C-terminal transmembrane domain. Naturally occurring mutations in this gene are associated with sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, myositis, type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus, acute coronary syndrome, and prostate cancer. [provided by RefSeq, May 2017]
From UniProt:
Negative regulator of T-cell proliferation.
Covered on Genetics Home Reference:
From NCBI Gene:
- Sarcoidosis 2
From UniProt:
Sarcoidosis 2 (SS2): An idiopathic, systemic, inflammatory disease characterized by the formation of immune granulomas in involved organs. Granulomas predominantly invade the lungs and the lymphatic system, but also skin, liver, spleen, eyes and other organs may be involved. [MIM:612387]
Cytogenetic Location: 6p21.32, which is the short (p) arm of chromosome 6 at position 21.32
Molecular Location: base pairs 32,393,339 to 32,408,879 on chromosome 6 (Homo sapiens Updated Annotation Release 109.20200522, GRCh38.p13) (NCBI)


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Tagged: pointless
To dust before you realise
People baked mud into bricks and built
Towering edifices to impress their gods.
They made discoveries unravelling the mysteries of the universe.
People fought against injustice,
They took a stand for what they believed was right,
They banded together to help the weak.
They watched the walls fall.
They stood defiant in front of tanks and refused to move.
People worked on unimaginably complex problems and solved them.
They crossed the void between earth and the moon
To land on that distant world and return.
People felt joy at each other's achievements,
They felt the warmth of love in their hearts
And they felt the sting of betrayal,
The heat of jealousy and the bile of rage.
People meant something once.
People accomplished so much
But none of it mattered.
None of it mattered.
None of it.
Thousand yard stare.
Karl. Karl. Karl. KARL! KARL!
For fuck's sake. KAAARRRRRLLLL! Oh sorry,
I was miles away.
Two hour snot-shot
So I just went to the cinema to see "300: Rise of an empire". I rather enjoyed the first film, even though it was directed by Zack "miss the point" Snyder (although I suspect it might have been Frank Miller's input which made it work), and so I was marginally interested in this new offering.
I don't really know how to describe it other than in terms of internet pornography (stay with me on this). You see, the first film had a defined story, and defined protagonists and antagonists. It gradually built up, until the final epic clash. If it was a porn film it would be a traditional style; starting with a kiss, gradually following the lead actors' explorations of each other until the first penetration sends them gasping and calling for more. And so they try new positions, skilfully manoeuvring themselves in ways you never thought possible, until the final momentous climax leaves it mark etched on their faces (quite literally, sometimes).
Now, "Rise of an Empire" is more akin to the new wave of internet pornography. It's nothing but a string of cum-shots lashed together, each one as unmemorable as the previous one, never building, peaking too soon. A string of pointless ejaculations landing on countless faces, none of which you will remember, until eventually, it just peters out and the credits roll.
Ironically, there was an ad for premature ejaculation treatment prior to the movie. Perhaps Hollywood could use some.
Meaningless Data
Two hundred people
Are now following this blog.
But really, who cares?
Apathy towards superfluity
If I had to write a list of things which my town could do with having, I reckon I could come up with a reasonable selection. I am pretty certain however that "another Costa coffee shop" would not be anywhere on the list. This town is little more than pubs, coffee shops and charity stores these days (almost all chain stores, I hasten to add).
Where are the independent retailers? Where are the family run diners? They're nowhere. However, there's no need to panic, because we have a new Costa coffee shop! and it's LESS THAN A HUNDRED METRES FROM THE EXISTING ONE. This in itself wouldn't bother me, but the fact that nobody seems to care has raised my hackles somewhat.
But it's not just my town centre in which this apathy towards superfluity exists. Oh no. You see, I went to the cinema last night. And I watched Man of Steel. And I can draw parallels.
Man of Steel is yet another Superman reboot. Directed by Zack Snyder, the man who took all the credit for Frank Miller's work on 300, and completely missed the point of Watchmen, Man of Steel is essentially a remake of Superman II. You can dress it up all you like, but that's what it is. Except once again, Zack MISSES THE POINT.
Now, a quick bit of background for those unfamiliar with the general silliness of the comics. On Krypton – Superman's home planet – the people are pretty technologically advanced, but they're not "super" like Superman. What makes Superman Super is the proximity to our yellow sun. That's it. The Sun makes Superman Super, gives him super strength, x-ray vision and the power of flight and all that. I don't care how preposterous that sounds, I'm willing to go along with it, because generally, comics don't need to make sense. They DO, however, need to remain consistent in their silliness.
So Supes has been on Earth for thirty odd years, and has learned to adapt to his super powers. Took him a long time, but he did it, and now he's pretty much in full control. Because of the Sun, remember? The Sun. Not the atmosphere. The Sun. Not the air or oxygen or nitrogen or any other gases Superman breathes, but the Sun. We're clear on that point, aren't we? The Sun. Remember that. I'll come back to it shortly.
Now, in Man of Steel, as in Superman II, Supes must do battle with General Zod and his cronies who were banished to The Phantom Zone for crimes against Krypton, etc. etc. They somehow escape The Phantom Zone and make their way to earth, where they generally want to cause mayhem and do bad things to us humans. Of course, Zod and pals are Kryptonian, and so are also enhanced by their proximity to our Sun, giving them super powers. However, Superman has had thirty years to master his power. Zod's crew have had thirty minutes. So in theory, Superman should be more than a match for all of them.
In Superman II, Superman is much more than a match for Zod's forces, but he has a problem – he used some weird crystal ice chamber thing to make himself human (again, don't argue with the silliness, just roll with it). This was a crucial point – if he was super he could deal with these pests easily, but he would remain an outsider on Earth. if he was human, he'd be one with the population, but would be powerless to stop them. The focus of the movie was about that difficult choice; does Superman sacrifice his humanity to SAVE humanity? Tough call, right? In Man of Steel, all we get is a massive Superfight, in which Supes shows such a callous disregard for people's lives and property that you sometimes wonder if the world would be better off without him anyway.
So that's at least one point Mr. Snyder missed.
"But," I hear you cry, "When Superman's defeating the World Engine he does get a bit weaker!" Yes, he does. But he's still super. Thanks for mentioning that though, as it leads me onto my next point. Cast your mind back a few paragraphs and see if you can remember what it is that makes Superman super. Remember? That's right! Earth's yellow Sun. So why, oh why oh why, does superman lose his powers when he's exposed to "a different atmosphere" aboard Zod's spaceship and around the World Engine? What has the atmosphere got to do with his powers? If Superman loses his powers when he's in a non-earth-like atmosphere, why doesn't he lose them when he flies out into space? Would it REALLY have been so hard to just introduce Kryptonite into the equation? At least that would have maintained some semblance of consistency, no matter how clunky its inclusion.
The final point is about Zod managing to master his control over his newly discovered powers in a matter of seconds, while Supes took years. It's just lazy storytelling. There is, however, a way it could have been avoided. Ditch the origin story. Superman has been well known for over half a century. We know who he is, we know where he come from, it's been told time and again in TV shows, Movies, comic books. WE KNOW. What is wrong with making a superman movie that starts with the assumption that Superman is there and always has been?
It's a bugbear of mine with most superhero movies. We don't need to know how these people originated in order to follow a decent story. How many other genres does this happen in? In A Fistful of Dollars, do we find out WHY The Man with No Name is drifting into town? No. The fact that we never find out just adds to the intrigue. We don't need to know people's life history to enjoy the story their telling at any given point in their lives. Just stop it.
So here's a non-exhaustive list of things we do not need now or ever:
- More chain coffee stores in Rugby Town centre
- More Superman reboots
- More comic book adaptations directed by Zack Snyder
- More movies which contain pointless origin stories
Feel free to add to the list in the comments.
There are a few minor quibbles with the film, such as Clark Kent's secret identity being pretty much blown from the get-go, or the actress playing Lois Lane not really looking or behaving anything like Lois Lane (although she is pretty cute), but really they're too minor to expound upon. So I'll just say "Man of Steel kinda sucked," and leave it at that.
Much like the coffee shop though, I fully expect nobody to care.


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Have some questions about MOPS?
Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about MOPS that you may find useful if you decide to join us (we hope you will!).
I'm a stay-at-home mom/working mom/single mom/new to the area/ home schooling mom… am I welcome?
YES! MOPS International exists to meet the needs of every mom – urban, suburban and rural moms, stay-at-home and working moms, teen, single and married moms – moms with different lifestyles who all share a similar desire to be the very best moms they can be!
Do I have to attend Beverly Covenant Church – or any church – to be able to come?
You do not need to be a churchgoer or from a specific denomination to join MOPS. We want all moms to "come as you are." Christian prayers and themes will come up, but please know that all moms are welcome.
May I come when I'm pregnant, or do I have to wait until my baby is born?
MOPS is for moms who are pregnant right up through moms who have school age children.
May I come once just to try it? May I bring a friend?
Yes! Bring a friend!
When does MOPS meet?
Our MOPS group meets every Tuesday from 9:15am- 11:15am
May I bring my kids?
Yes! MOPPETS is our program for the kids on Tuesday mornings. Children are assigned to a classroom based on their age. They have time to play, do a craft, hear a story and have a snack. We ask for a $5 donation per family per meeting as you are able (don't let that stop you from coming to MOPS).
I heard that it costs money to come to each meeting. What does the money go toward?
Because we are chartered through MOPS International, each member is required to pay MOPS' registration fee of $32.00. This fee gets you a monthly magazine & encouraging e-mail, and other great benefits that change from year to year. Part of our charter agreement states that we will register all moms with MOPS International. Our local MOPS group gets none of this fee.
Our local MOPS chapter dues are $18.00 this year. This money covers things that we use to run our chapter and put on each meeting, such as: the purchase of coffee, tea, and other basic refreshments; buying supplies for the creative activities; buying supplies for Spa Day; paying for the kick-off invitation mailing; expenses to cover our MOPS Special Events; and much more.
If any of these fees present a financial hardship to you, please talk with the Coordinator to discuss a MOPS Scholarship. Don't let the fees stand in your way of coming to MOPS!
What are the meetings like?
When you arrive for a MOPS meeting, you check yourself in at the registration desk and check your kids into MOPPETS, if need be. After that you head to the Main Meeting Room (1st Floor), which is where we have our meetings. Once you find a seat, you can help yourself to some hot coffee or tea, some breakfast or light appetizers, do a creative activity and socialize.
Once everyone has arrived, the Meeting Coordinator will begin the meeting. She may share some MOPS-related announcements, tell a funny story from her week, or show a brief video related to that day's topic. . Next, the topic is introduced and shares his/her talk for the next 20-40 minutes and we sometimes break into small groups to discuss the topic further. At the end of our meeting, one of our Mentor Moms will share an encouraging story or reading or prayer.
What's my responsibility as a MOPS mom?
Each MOPS mom will be asked to provide a snacks for moms and kids at least once a year. We do understand that unexpected events come up that complicate life, so if this presents a hardship to you at the time you are asked to help, please let a leader on the Steering Committee know.
Beyond this, it's up to you if and how much you want to volunteer. There are tons of opportunities to serve as part of a team, which many moms find is a great way to get to get to know other moms and deepen friendships. To find out more about our teams, talk with your Coordinator.
How can I get more information throughout the year?
For up-to-date information on current events happening in MOPS, you can visit this website or join our Facebook page. You will also hear announcements at the beginning of each meeting from the Meeting Coordinator or other MOPS moms. In addition, you can always talk with a Steering Committee member or Mentor Mom to find out more about MOPS, or even if you just need some encouragement or someone to talk to.


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Informations sur l'événement
Date et heure
À propos de cet événement
Our event is created for multicultural professionals to meet, to connect and to learn from each other.
Join us to meet competent professionals nearby for an exchange at ease.
Join us to meet native speakers from peer-to-peer online.
To give participants truly beneficial experience, places for each session are limited. Please book your ticket and signup below:


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Monday, 03-Aug-2020, 11:46 PM
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Time travel might be impossible (for now!), but Marina Amaral gets pretty close with Photoshop.
The Brazilian artist digitally colorizes black-and-white photographs from the past with obsessive accuracy and stunning near-perfect hues. Poker-faced historical figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Lewis Payne suddenly look less stodgy, becoming the kind of warm-blooded people you could imagine laughing or eating or yawning. Events like D-Day and Hiroshima feel somehow more real, as if they just happened. All because of a little ROYGBIV.
Colorizing photos isn't a new thing. Swiss printmaker John Baptist Isenring painted daguerreotypes by hand in the 1830s. Today, it's a surprisingly popular hobby. There are hundreds of online tutorials, a subreddit with more than 100,000 subscribers, and even an algorithm that does a pretty decent job at transforming black and white to color. But for Amaral, colorizing photos isn't just a hobby. It's an obsession.
Amaral's tinkered with Photoshop since she was about ten. In April 2015, she was poking around an online history forum when she stumbled on colorized photographs of World War I. Inspired, she began experimenting with her own. Over the past year-and-change, Amaral has colorized more than 200 photos.
The process can take more than a month for each image. Amaral usually begins scouring online archives like the Library of Congress, the US National Archives or the British Library. She peruses them for source material, careful to select photographs she knows she'll be OK staring at for the next few weeks. "I'm going to spend hours working on it," she says.
Then comes the research. Amaral contacts historians and other experts who help her identify the right colors for objects, whether an ancient pot or a military uniform. She also references present-day photographs of the locations, ideally shot at the same time of day. And she studies people's faces in real life to understand how light interacts with skin. "I try to be as accurate as possible with the colors, because I'm aware that this is history," she says. "It's not my job to modify it and make it look the way I want it to look."
Next, Amaral maps out the details in Photoshop, adding colors slowly through multiple layers. She uses the brush tool to meticulously fill in pebbles, clothing, and sky. Her images aren't exactly a ride in Doc Brown's time machine, but they break down the distance between past and present, satisfying that odd desire many have to experience history firsthand.


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"A purely instinctual creature, all desire and joy and rage."
Jean Grey is probably my favorite of the X-Men, especially her Phoenix storyline (NOT from the movie, despite the above quote). As a result I've been kicking around an idea for a Phoenix-inspired picture, and played around with Photoshop a bit to get some nice effects. I wanted her to be in the White Hot Room, so I didn't go too crazy on the background. Pretty pleased with how this turned out nonetheless!
Note: The flames were a gift to me from the lovely ColeMarie Soleil of Cole's Corner, who does truly spectacular and beautiful particle effects. She sent them to me at a point when I was struggling for inspiration, so this picture is dedicated to her in appreciation. Thanks, Cole. ♥
skin. DEETALEZ // Judith – Nordic
eyes. SUICIDAL UNBORN // Nova Eyes v.2
hair. TABLEAU VIVANT // Hairplay – Front Blow – Redheads
eyeliner. FETCHxVEECHI // Essential Matte Shadow [NEW @ The Epiphany]
flames. COLE'S CORNER // Eternal Flame – Flaming Palms Orange RARE
pose. POSEIDON POSES [modified]


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or Tel: 07383 007 429 or
Tickets are also available on the door or from members of the choir.
Rehearsals are held at Banner Cross Methodist Church on Tuesday evenings 7:30-9:30 usually during term times only. We are very grateful for the support of South Yorkshire's Community Foundation for help towards the costs of rehearsal premises during 2016-17.
Refreshments are available during the break.
Sight reading ability is not required and practice tapes or CDs are sometimes available.
There are various opportunities for choir members to sing solos or perform as part of a smaller group or semi-chorus. Practice for this is during normal rehearsal time.
We are a friendly group of singers and some members call in at local hostelries for a drink and a chat after rehearsals; new members are welcome to join them.


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Mom: "I missed the one in 1965. I was at college in Ohio. You obviously missed it because you weren't born yet."
Dad: "I remember it!"
Me: "Yes, you were coming up the stairs at Jacob's Shoes. Mr. Jacobs opened the door at the top of the stairs and told you to go stand by the door to make sure the customers didn't walk out with any merchandise."
Dad: "Did he? I don't remember that part."


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Adjuster is made from heat treated H-13 tool steel that has been triple tempered and salt bath nitrided for a smooth yet very durable finish. The threads are rolled and the ball has a shape design that is compatible with a pushrod cup depth that exceeds its own radius.
Please specify 5/16", 3/8" or 13/32" ball as well as no oil, oiling hole thru the center, or pressure feed oiling from the drop down menu. Rocker arm adjusters are sold each.
RBS also carries the twelve point rocker arm adjusting nuts if the racer needs, 450-0014TP, 2610-0053J or 450-0017TP.