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"Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me." Revelations 3:20
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare to prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going." John 14:2-4
"Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough-because there was no room for them at the lodging place." Luke 2:7
Mary and Joseph knew the wound of not being invited in. Our Savior as a babe was turned away before He was even out of the womb of His mother. They were turned away because there was no room in the inn. No room for the King of kings. Mary would not give birth in the warmth of an inn. Did the inn keeper know who he was turning away? Was it possible to make room for this expecting mother? All we know is that the inn was full. If there was room would the inn keeper have invited them in?
Do we always invite others into our home? Do we make room for others? During this season this question is one for us to ponder. I mean really open our hearts to the question of making room for others in our life. Too often we exclude people. We only invite in certain people, never really giving thought to those we wound by leaving them out.
We just want to be invited in, right? We want to be accepted by others. Not for who we are or what we do, but simply because of love. Have you felt this wound? Me too. We have a Savior who knows this wound. So, friends, we are not alone. Jesus is always waiting in hope to be accepted in the hearts of man, but is always a Gentleman, never pushing Himself into a heart that isn't willing.
Being excluded, not included, not invited, not accepted, not wanted, however one would like to put, it cuts deep. We can find many reasons as to why we don't invite others in, but wouldn't it be nice if we really thought about those reasons and applied the same grace, mercy, and love we have received from the Savior? If only we could extend the love of Jesus.
We see often others gathering when we have not been invited to join. This makes us feel unloved and unwanted. We begin to ask ourselves, "What's wrong with me? What did I do that makes me so unworthy to be included?" Families don't always get along. Brothers and sisters bicker. Mothers and daughters don't always see eye to eye. Fathers and sons can hold anger. But are these reasons to exclude loved ones? I don't know. I just think during this season of Christmas it seems we could make room for love, make room for forgiveness, and hope.
This is a season where often hearts are burdened with this wound. Oh, we try to hide it, make excuses, but in the end when we see photos of others gathered while we are at home in front of the television it makes us feel so lonely. We find ourselves longing for family. No family is perfect. We are all pretty much a mess, right? But when we make the choice to come together in love there is always room for hope and restoration.
So, when we exclude people it says more about us than it does about the one we are excluding. It says, "I'm more important than you. I'm more valuable than you. My feelings matter more than your feelings. As long as I'm in charge, there's no room for you."
Just think. Our Savior feels this pain daily as people push Him out. Our entire Christmas is because of Him and Him alone. Without Him there would be no Christmas. His very name in in Christmas. It is a celebration of His birth. But look at our world, the world created by our God, the God who sent us His Son to give us life. This world excludes Jesus from His very celebration. We gather to celebrate with gifts and desserts, only to never give Him thought.
So, see. He knows our pain of being left out and not wanted. But what do we do about that wound? We begin by inviting in our Savior. We make room for the King of kings. We pray in asking Him to fill us with all of Him and to empty us of all this world's wounds. We forgive even when we don't find forgiveness in others. We reach out even when no one is reaching back. Oh, it hurts. There's nothing easy about it, but when we focus on Jesus and do everything in love it changes everything.
We first seek Jesus. See, the more of Him we seek, the less of this world we need to fill an emptiness within us. In My Savior I know that I am cherished. I am accepted. I am wanted. He becomes our joy and our hope. It is in Him we find purpose and pleasure. When we focus on Him it takes our focus off of others. He can remove the anger and bitterness. He is the Jesus who has the power to change the heart of man. Let us serve others this season. Be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Too often we determine our worth by how many family and friends surround us. Let us turn that around and surround ourselves with the Savior, seeking Him as never before. Not because we want to feel good, but because we know there is more than the wound we have become.
Sadly in our world people knock on doors and no one answers. Many times people are knocking and are told they are not invited in because of this reason or that. Too often people place restrictions and conditions on whether or not we can be included. It isn't fair is it? It cuts deep as we see that others gather without us. Friends, know that Jesus will never exclude you. He will never leave you out and will never make you feel unwanted, unloved, and not good enough. His love is unconditional!
"Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God's love was revealed to us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we mighty live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us." 1 John 4:7-12


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When I opened my March "Freedom of Speech" I was struck by the lovely colour combo & set about making a page focusing on the red & navy.
45 & ... The title was inspired by the ampasands in this kit & gave me a chance to document things about me right now.
I used the speech bubble stickers plus their outline to custom make the background. I drew around 2 of the stickers to make masks so I could ink speech bubble shapes on the background too.
The fabric was cut into a rough circle & using a running stitch turned into a yo yo or suffolk puff - I think they are called!
The whole page was finished with hybrid elements, the bespoke card, Maya Rd kraft girls & my typed journalling.
We look forward to seeing your creations with this March kit.

subset: commoncrawl


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About this product
The Flamingo is an Italian vegetable leather shoulder bag with adjustable strap. It can also be worn as a cross body, as a clutch and as a handbag. It has two outer flaps with magnetic closure, which allow for two separate compartments. The Flamingo exists in both vegetable leather and suede and has one interior zip compartment and one interior open pocket.
Handmade in Italy
Italian vegetable leather
Adjustable strap
Measurements: 6 1/8" H / 9 3/4" W / 3 3/8" D


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2009 Winter Tour
I am on the road these days, Krav Maga seminar tour of the USA and Canada. I had been doing my writing on my recently purchased tiny "note book" lap top computer thing. And then, just as I thought I was part of the lap top cool computer generation, I ran into a snag; my word document stoped working, just like that, suddenly and without so much as a warning.
Not being a computer expert, and not having my computer experts around me, I begin to try and figure this out on my own, but without much success. I began networking and asking people, and finally I started a series of phone calls, to the store where I purchased the computer, to the computer manufacturer, back to the store and around again. Finally I understood the problem, and the solution (proof being that I am writing this blog on said computer). As it turns out the entire issue was quite simple and could be explained in less than 10 seconds quite easily.
Here is the issue: I am not a computer expert and I do not intend to spend years training to become one, yet I do need to use a computer and understand the basics. When a knowledgeable computer person explains the issues to me, simply and concisely, I get it right away and I am able to use this information. Without this explanation however, I am stuck wasting much valuable time and energy trying to figure it out on my own or searching "in all the wrong places".
Suddenly it hit me; the problem here is that the computer people were not using the Krav Maga approach to their business.
How so?
I have a friend who trained in Okinawa in traditional karate. He learned several katas, (Pre arranged forms) yet did not really understand the moves he was doing. After ten years of training he asked his instructor about a certain move, "Is this a block or a strike?" the teacher answered with a knowing smile, "ah, in time the answer shall come to you, maintain your daily practice."
In Krav Maga we do not use this approach. I have trained in many styles and have gained knowledge from some of the finest instructors of this generation. When I teach I present the best, most practical, easy to learn techniques that I have distilled from over two decades of hard training. I have done the work, I have done the traveling, the searching, the fighting and the bruising. What I want to give you is the benefit of my experience, the easy to digest product that has emerged. I do not want to send you on a wild goose chase and I do not want to leave you to have to reinvent the wheel and start from scratch. Of course in time you may do your own research and add your own insights but at this point, as your expert and guide, I will give you the easiest way to learn. I will save you time and effort. The Krav Maga approach to this computer situation would have been as follows; When I purchased the product the salesman should have said, "You will not be able to use word documents unless you purchase the extra program at $150. Otherwise your word documents will shut down after a few weeks without warning. However if you click on a certain icon you can begin writing, right away, for free, no fuss, no mess."
Had someone explained this to me at the start I could have saved a great deal of time, effort and aggravation.
This is the Krav Maga approach, get to the essential point quickly, respect people's time. You are the expert, make it easy for them to learn, make the information usable to them.
About the author
Like the blogs? Own the books, all blogs now available in "Footsteps from Judea", the collected blogs by Moshe Katz.
Visit our other site
Israeli Krav International.com


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Though "Sister Act" may never rank among the all-time greats, the rollicking gang of nuns onstage at the Boston Opera House is a delight to behold. With a '70s-inspired disco score that features "Take Me to Heaven" and "Sunday Morning Fever," it's hard not to tap right along as they gleefully romp their way through to the big dance mix finish.
Set in 1979 Philadelphia, the flimsy plot (which remains largely true to the film) is rife with kitschy humor and cultural references. The production captures the essence of the disco era with its costumes and hair, while the ensemble nails the mannerisms and dance moves of the time.
While the audience roars at a range of religious jokes, the humor is decidedly Catholic. It's easy to spot those who weren't raised Catholic: They're not laughing at the inside humor and malapropisms like prostitute instead of postulant. They are, however, still able to enjoy this fun though somewhat forgettable musical.
As much as you'll laugh at the nuns getting funky, shake your groove thing from your seat and applaud enthusiastically at curtain call, "Sister Act" isn't something you'll be talking about for long. Yes, it's a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, but it's also wholesome fluff where the wisecracks and the wise guys lack cynicism and substance.
Ta'Rea Campbell leads a vocally strong ensemble as lounge-singer-turned-nun Deloris Van Cartier while Lael Van Keuren shines as awkward, young Sister Mary Robert. If you're old enough to remember Rerun, you'll certainly enjoy Charles Barksdale's delightful turn as TJ.
'Sister Act'
Tonight through Feb. 3
Boston Opera House
539 Washington St., Boston
$43-$143, 800-982-2787


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Among the many wonders of the beautiful Sicily must be counted the Etna that, with its 3350 m, is the highest active volcano in Europe, almost mandatory stage for every visitor. The tour of Tita provides a spectacular route that has as a starting point the city of Giarre and that continues through the villages of Santa Venerina and Zafferana Etnea, landscapes full of living nature: vineyards, orchids, woods and rivers of lava turned off, prepare the traveler to the close vision of the extraordinary Etna. Once you reach the Sapienza Rejection, you will visit the extinct craters, the so-called Silvestri craters, at an altitude of about 1,900 m, formed by the eruption of 1892; in these places, surrounded by a unique landscape it would be a real shame not to immortalize the moment with some photographs. For those wishing to reach the most extreme point of the volcano it is possible to reach up to 2,700 / 2,900 m, thanks to the help of Alpine Guides and the cable car, which is about an hour and a half away. A real explosive tour!
Etna-Nature itinerary-Tasting
This tour on Etna is suitable for the whole family, an experience that no one should miss, on holiday in Sicily. The visit, guided by an always enthusiastic Tita, includes trekking routes of easy difficulty and a food and wine tour for those who want to discover the culinary goodness of our territory. Your expert guide will not let you miss the real big show, observe closely the Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, between: nature and flavors, the extinguished craters and the new flows, the different lava fronts, and the amazing evolution of the landscape. Enjoying the tasty brunch, with local products, will be the most beautiful conclusion you could wish for a day, not tiring, but full of emotion and movement. Tita Giliberto, your guide in eastern Sicily, strongly recommends comfortable clothing, especially in the choice of footwear, to allow you to fully enjoy a wonderful day full of spectacular emotions.


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In these times, it's hard to keep one's outrage in check when there's something new to be apoplectic and despondent about with each passing hour. As such, it becomes easy to lose track of our current commander-in-chief's myriad sins, which run the gamut from economic and racial to comedic and sartorial. In times where it feels tough to pinpoint the source of your dread, simply allow this site to remind you.
Described as "an endless time capsule of the unnerving present," DoonaldJTrump.com punctuates a stream of our president's interviews, speeches, and soundbites from throughout his life and career with the horrifying moments of disharmony that have spawned in their wake. Creator Zach Scott used randomization techniques so every visit to the site provides a unique experience. Every time you arrive, you'll see the footage in a different order. His goal is to create new and different juxtapositions that help create a broader portrait of Trump's life and legacy.
Scott's also behind the site's unnerving music, which makes the whole thing feel like the despairing final montage of some future tragedy, albeit one that we're all currently hurtling towards.


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Randy's Donuts Franchising With or Without Giant Donut
If you have good eyes, you can spot Randy's Donuts' massive 32-foot donut as you descend into Los Angeles. For everyone else, the iconic donut dots the tapestry of pop culture from "Futurama" to "Iron Man" and a handful of really bad '80s movies.
Now, after 66 years, the concept is ready to franchise with a new owner at the helm. Mark Kelegian, owner and president of Randy's Donuts, said it was a serendipitous acquisition.
"It's kind of a funny story, back in October of 2014, I happened to just be on the internet and I was looking at a website called BuyBizSell," said Kelegian. "But I was looking for a business potentially for my daughters because my other business are in casinos."
He said he saw a listing for a "nearly 60-year-old well known restaurant," which he thought might have been one of the classic delis in town, but turned out to be Randy's Donuts, much to the chagrin of other investors in the area.
"I knew there would be quite the clamor for it. So as soon as I learned what it was, I asked what the price was and I paid it and that was that. I closed the deal before anyone else could get their hands on it," said Kelegian. "For the next few months, I was inundated with phone calls on are regular basis from people wanting to buy it."
Kelegian said he asked his neighbor, who just happened to be legendary restaurateur Bill Allen behind Fleming's Steakhouse and the former CEO of Outback Steakhouse, how to keep it going right.
"I asked him what really was the seminal question: How does any restaurant that's been around for over 50 years and has a reputation—how does it fail," said Kelegian. "He said it just wasn't the same anymore. You peel that back and just about in every case a new person came in or a new generation and they thought they were smarter than everybody else. They thought they were smarter than the guys running it successfully for 50 years. I took that very much to heart. We bent over backwards not to change a thing."
Aside a fresh coat of paint, he said everything from the expensive flour to the donut bakers making donuts by hand in back remained. The biggest change was a line of premium-topped donuts and some more service windows at the original location to keep up with the equally iconic lines.
He said he spent two years in the business learning every aspect of the concept and spent another year getting the franchise foundation together.
At the three new locations, he said he's seeing strong volumes, projecting average unit volume between $1 million and $1.2 million for inline locations and $2 million for drive thru locations. Investments come in between $370,000 and $500,000 for inline locations when including the $35,000 franchise fee.
He said it's not a deal breaker if a location can't support a massive donut.
The one thing that everyone asks is, 'Do we need the giant donut?'" said Kelegian. "We'll fight hard as hell with you to get that but if you can't do it, we can do a smaller donut or a donut on the ground. It's all about making the customer get back to that experience of the iconic store."
He said there are six to eight new locations in the pipeline, with strong franchise interest in major markets and overseas so far. That includes two replicas of the original store in Manila and Browning, California.


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Just a quick note to say that I've moved this blog from a shared server at Quickhost to my own VPS at Cyso. So if you run into things that don't seem right please let me know! I'm also playing with the idea of migrating this blog from PivotX to WordPress. Not that I'm a big fan of WordPress, on the contrary, but it seems PivotX is becoming a bit of a cul-de-sac.
Living in a shell
Since I started working for my new employer the amount of time I'm spending inside a terminal window is rapidly increasing. And I like it. I'm learning more in a few months than I did in the past 5 years. I'm discovering superhandy commands and utilities that I had never used or even heard of before. Utilities like w, last and the various *stat utilities. And I'm becoming better and better in using utilities that I already know but that always remained hard to grasp simply because I didn't use them extensively. Think of Vim, screen and sed. Or on a lower level, the Bash shell itself.
I'm particularly starting to develop a fondness for Vim. I've worked myself through a complete Vim book and when I finished it I was like, Vim is not arcane at all, it's actually quite simple. It's all about terseness, doing things in the fastest, most efficient way, memorizing the most important commands and forcing myself to use it for things I would normally do in say, gedit. So now I find myself easily copying whole blocks of text, commenting and uncommenting multiple lines with just a few keystrokes, using markers and buffers and browsing faster through files than possible with a mouse.
Currently I'm reading a book on Bash and it already provided me with a lot of new insights and ideas that I could use in my daily work. My scripting skills are a bit feeble so hopefully this book will help me to improve these. Luckily I have great colleagues that are very knowledgeable when it come to things like Bash and Vim so I'm coming along just fine. But I want to be able to purge a Sendmail mail queue filled with spam like I saw one of my colleagues do recently. What he did on top of his head was just amazing:
for i in `ls | grep qfr`; do w=`grep example.org $i | wc -l`; if [ "$w" != "0" ];
then echo $i | sed -e 's/^qfr//'; fi; done | sed -e 's/^/*/' | xargs -n 50000;
This allowed him to create a list of all spam messages which he simply ran through rm. It's no rocket science but I'd really like to be that proficient too. Another colleague of mine is just awesome with regular expressions and Vi. For example, I recently asked him how I could delete all text between parentheses including the parentheses, for example a list of packages I copied from /var/log/apt/history.log, and he immediately replied %s/([^)]*)//g. Yes, I'm blessed that I can work in such an inspiring environment.
Got a new job! The 16th of September I'm starting at Cyso, a top-notch hosting provider. Located in Alkmaar, very close to the place I've worked for the last two years. It all went very fast, less than 3 weeks. Didn't expect to find a new job that suits me so quickly. This will be a huge step forward for me and I'm very happy and grateful the people at Cyso offered me this opportunity.


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5 Simple Techniques For batu ferringhi hotels
Batu Ferringhi is unashamedly a Seaside resort town, Which's mainly because this stretch of coastline over the north of Penang is house towards the islands most picturesque bays. The white sand and azure sea mingle flawlessly with inexperienced palms swaying being a backdrop. It's no surprise that a lot of resort hotels have set up near the shoreline in this article, providing friends with immediate beach accessibility and five star amenities.
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President Obama and Information Literacy Practice
President Obama and Information Literacy Practice
On October 1, 2009, President Barack Obama advocated for information literacy practice by declaring October as National Information Literacy Awareness Month.
President Obama advocated for information literacy practice by calling for Americans to ".. be adept in the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age. Though we may know how to find the information we need, we must also know how to evaluate it."
77 FR 51445 – Presidential Proclamation 8429, National Information Literacy Awareness Month – October 7, 2009
An information literate individual is able to:
- Identify and access the information needed to address a given problem or issue
- Find the needed information, evaluate it and its associated resources
- Organize and use the information effectively to address the problem or issue at hand.
- Understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the ethical and legal use of information
And who are the very best practitioners of information literacy?
Your campus reference librarian, of course!
Most campus libraries sponsor information literacy workshops, courses, and individual training sessions.
College Students…
With 4 Simple Steps, You Can Master the Information Universe!
Ready to master the information universe and expose fake news? Learn in four easy steps. Enhance your skill sets and achieve competitive advantage not only at school, but in the workplace as well! Information Literacy Practice in Four Easy Steps Practice the steps listed below on a regular basis. Test these strategies out in school and on the job. You'll soon realize the advantages as well as the personal and professional benefits of becoming information literate.
1. Always define the problem or task at hand first?
ASK YOURSELF: What do I know; what am I looking for; what do I need to know?
2. Find information resources?
ASK YOURSELF: Where can I find the needed information sources – go online, or better yet, speak to a reference librarian, or perhaps, do both; use keyword association strategies; figure out what types of information sources you need such as interviews, government reports, corporate reports, surveys etc.?
3. Analyze and evaluate information resources?
ASK YOURSELF: Does the information I find give me the answers that I need; if not, return to step 2; do I need to search for additional information? How do I extract the most important pieces of information (rules/steps to assess important information) from my information pool?
4. Communicate your findings?
ASK YOURSELF: What is the best way to communicate my findings; how do I incorporate the information into a final product such as a report or presentation; who will be my audience (s); what are the ramifications of presenting my findings; in what ways do I need to follow up?


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One of my biggest hobbies and passions, other than blogging, is creating graphics.
I've always loved designing and creating engaging and eye-catching designs for both for my blog and for other people.
One of the questions I get asked the most on twitter is; how do I create the images for my blog. It's actually a lot easier than you think and it doesn't even have to cost you any money.
So do you want to know how to make the best blog graphics?
I mentioned on my post 'How To Make A Media Kit' my love for Canva and Picmonkey. They're both online sites where you can play around with different frames and templates and create your own designs with absolute ease.
My absolute favourite is Canva, as it gives you so many professional template options and all you need to do is alter them to suit your style.
The only problem is that I could easily spend hours/days/weeks perfecting designs because it's as much my hobby as my work.
Like many others of you, I used to blog solely on an iPad (I know a few bloggers who still solely use their tablets now) and although I could create great graphics on Pages and online, on the websites mentioned above, I've found it a lot easier and a lot quicker to create graphics since I've had my laptop.
If you don't have a laptop, then getting a good laptop doesn't necessarily mean breaking the bank. Check out these laptop deals for example!
If you do have a laptop, then I also couldn't recommend Illustrator and Photoshop enough. Although a little overwhelming at first, after a couple of hours playing around you'll be creating eye-catching and engaging graphics in no time. There are some really good, easy to understand Youtube tutorials that I found really helpful when I was starting out.
Finally, if you need to insert professional looking images into your designs, but don't have time to take any yourself, then there are several free image websites that you can use.
My absolute favourites are Pexels, Pixabay and Kaboom Pics!
Each of these are free to sign up to and have thousands of stock free images for you to download and use at your will.
For me, making blog graphics is fun and I could easily spend hours creating new graphics and posters. If it's something you still can't get your head around or you'd like some designs made for your blog, get in touch for our current rates; email@example.com.
So there you have it, the secrets of how to create blog graphics that look professional and for free!
Do you love making your own graphics? Has this helped in anyway? Let me know in the comments below!
*This is a collaboration with Dell, but all thoughts are my own.


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A good foundation is the guarantor of a good future; this is not just true for hum character but also for man made objects. Anything that is based on goodness reflects goodness in the long run, e.g. just like a child who has received proper guidance, mental strength and education in the starting of his life can be sure of a successful life ahead a building which has been constructed on a sound base will also be able to stand through a number of future weathering and calamities. Hence, the importance of a good foundation is applicable in all situations.
Importance of a sound foundation – As mentioned above, a solid foundation of a building guarantees a durable future of the structure. But why is it necessary to ensure its structural integrity and durability? The need for a building's foundation and consequently the entire structure is necessitated by the amount of property and life associated with it. Most of the massive structures are either used as corporate houses or residential buildings or even schools, any unprecedented and sudden damage to these would land a serious blow to life and property. We have all heard of untimely collapse of buildings which not only destroyed the homes of many, but also took the lives of a number of people. Thus, even before a massive structure is set up, steps should be taken to gauge the strength of the ground it is going to be set up on. Depending on the findings of such steps, foundation strengthening measures should be taken. These measures are known as piling.
What is piling? – Piling is a technique utilized to artificially strengthen the base or foundations of buildings, especially those with massive vertical loads like multi-storeyed buildings. The ground on which a structure is to be set up, its strength is assessed by competent authorities. Depending on the strength of the base along with the scope and capacity of the project at hand, a decision is taken on how to best fortify the foundation. Piling is mostly used on unstable bases like marshy lands or sedimentary basins; here its function is to consolidate the loosely bonded structure of the soil or grains.
The entire function is carried out by the combined supervision and assistance of structural engineers, architects and building contractors. The most popularly used materials for piling are wood, steel or concrete, sometimes they are paired together like in the case of certain hammered piling -after a hollow steel pipe is hammered below the surface of the ground, it is filled with mesh and concrete . The piles used are either cast on site like in the case of certain bored piles or are precast sets, which are merely set into place. Thus, there are various methods of piling each different on the basis of technique and material used as well as the purpose they serve.
Usually the methods are divided into two groups
- Driven piling - Here a precast pile is hammered into the ground causing soil displacement and unwanted noise pollution. But it has a more durable effect than any.
- Drilling or bored piling – Here the pile is casted on site and often using hydraulic pressure or other sources which eliminates the imposing loud noise created by the above type of piling.
There are various reputable companies offering piling and underpinning services, among them DGS UK Ltd is one of the most efficient companies in UK.
Author's Bio – James Pattrick writes on construction related topics. He also writes reviews for companies like DGS UK Ltd, Exeter piling services etc.
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I am trying to develop a series of unit tests for a production system that are dependent on a person's social security number. While I am more than comfortable hard coding a clearly bad social security number to test for failure, I'm uneasy about including one that is good for proper (and passing) results. The following is a simplified test that I'm using:
public void API_Hours_Get()
var controller = new HoursController();
var employee = new EmployeeController();
var badResult = controller.Get(123124569);
var goodResult = controller.Get(employee.GetEmployeeByUserId("Username").First().SSNumber);
This test passes just fine and gives me the results I want. But, from my understanding, it is an integration test. From a best practices perspective, is this substitute okay for my test suite and just ignore the fact that I don't have a 'pure' unit test for the SSN-dependent modules or is there a better approach for situations like this?


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No Knowledge is useless : even forgery ! [ enna dhairiyathula nee title elllaam vaikara !! ]
The counterfeiters [ 2007 – Drama / German ]
Directed by : Stefan Ruzowitzky.
It's a fictional flick based on 'Operation Bernhard'**. The film opens with a Jewish counterfeiter [ SME named Salomon – Sal] spending n enjoying life in Monte Carlo. He builds relation with a new girl and she finds a tattoo [ prisoner of Auschwitz ] in his body which unveils the flashback. [ a good technique : always needed to grab the viewer into the film ]. Back in 1936 : Sal is arrested in Berlin for forging currencies and passports [ he runs a workshop ] and moved to a local concentration camp. He uses his talent for his survival – he draw portraits of the jailers. They treat him better. After 5 years, Sal is moved then to 'Sachsenhausen' concentration camp where they run a forgery workshop.He gets assignments for forging pounds and US dollars. He gets a friend who ideally opposes to help Nazis for this operation.
The film questions more about the personal morale about survival and loyalty. How Sal completed the work ? How he manages his loyalty to his friends ? How he survived ? What choice(s) did he make ? The story ends back in Monte Carlo beach. the ending dialog was a good one.
History :
** Operation Bernhard : It's a secret German plan to shake the economy of the other countries especially British and US. The largest counterfeiting operation ever happened in history. This 130 million pounds, cash swindling operation happened during the world war II.
View :
The hero is not a Rambo kind of person rather he is short and thin. This war movie is interesting instead of getting into emotions. The picture handles the mentality in camp about survival, choices etc., The guards spit on him and abuse him. He withstands all of them without giving up his skills. His friends urge him to give up forgery as they indirectly help Nazis to get empowered.
The way the film starts and end is too good for a darker flashback. Unlike the other concentration camp movies, this shows a luxurious set of prisoners who get proper food and care. The arguments between Sal and his friends are interesting as both of their stands have justifications. The police inspector who arrests Sal first, is the commandant in the Sachsenhausen camp. His character was also used properly.
Very interesting movie in the holocaust series and also, it won the academy award for the best foreign lang picture in 2007.
Other Holocaust movies I watched [ Let me be little humble here – because till now, there are 343 movies made, based on Holocaust !! ]. I had been to Holocaust museum in Washington DC, once [ seen the original wooden wagon used for transportation ].
1. Schindler's list [ I watched it in Sathyam 🙂 – Class ]
2. The Pianist – Good one
3. Life is beautiful – Excellent one.
4. Downfall [ German – Good one ].
Happy watching. Small n first step in writing my reviews !


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Watch the mountains light up as you enjoy panoramic views illuminated by fireworks. Countdown to a new year with a glass of champagne in hand and merriment all around. Spending New Year in the Alps is one of the most decadent, exciting times to stay in one of our ski resorts. With Bramble Ski, you will experience this exuberant time of year to the full.
Ring in the new year with an unforgettable luxury holiday in one of our carefully selected resorts across Switzerland, Austria, and France.
We offer New Year ski holidays in Verbier, Zermatt, St. Anton, Lech, and Méribel, so you're sure to find a luxury chalet or apartment to suit whatever you are looking for this festive season. Browse our exquisite selection of ski properties, or contact our friendly, professional team to discuss your options.
In our catered properties, your personal, five-star chef will tailor meals to suit the needs, tastes and requirements of your party. Exquisite festive feasts will be created with finesse and you can enjoy your festive meal to the dreamy back drop of a winter wonderland. Savour the atmosphere, the fine food and make it a New Year to remember.
All of our resorts offer a range of evening entertainment on New Year's Eve. Speak to your dedicated pre-arrival team for the lowdown on all the best parties and nightlife. Let us take care of after dinner entertainment. We can help plan a party or recommend and book you into ultimate bars and exclusive clubs. Expert knowledge makes our hosts able to recommend the most exciting events of the festive season and our chauffeurs will always be on hand to drive you to them to ensure you do not miss out.
At midnight there will be a countdown together before the church bells chime in the brand new year. Afterwards, dancing and revelry continue long into the early hours. The following morning, our professional chefs will create the ultra-deluxe New Years day breakfast.
In our self-catered properties, we will book you all the finest restaurants in town. Please let the pre-arrivals team know if you would like fresh bread and croissants deliverd to your chalet or apartment each day. We can tailor the service exactly to your needs.
Increase your skills and indulge your sense of adventure, safe in the hands of your expert, exclusive, Bramble Ski Pro guide.Take advantage of the unique opportunity to ski, toboggan or snow hike on Christmas day.
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To book a luxury chalet or apartment, or to find out more information about our NYE availability, please do not hesitate to contact us today.
We set up our sister company Haute Montagne to cater to the exacting demands of our clients looking for the ultimate chalet holiday experience, expecting the finest luxury properties accompanied by the very best of service levels.
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Haute Montagne chalets are among the finest properties available to rent in the ski industry. They are the best properties in resort and are all stand-alone mega-chalets with beautiful furnishings and decadent spa facilities.
You will be looked after by a team of highly trained professionals, each selected for excellence in their field, attention to detail, and discretion.


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Mobile Meeting Guide
Scientific Sessions 2017
Scientific Sessions: November 11–15
Resuscitation Science Symposium: November 11–13
Cardiovascular Nursing Clinical Symposium: November 13–14
Anaheim, California
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The 2016 Mobile Meeting Guide is sponsored by:


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Book Description:
Published: July 14, 2015
Format: Audio/OverDrive
When a tornado tears through Painters Mill and unearths human remains, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder finds herself tasked with the responsibility of identifying the bones–and notifying the family. Evidence quickly emerges that the death was no accident and Kate finds herself plunged into a thirty year old case that takes her deep into the Amish community to which she once belonged.
Meanwhile, turmoil of an emotional and personal nature strikes at the very heart of Kate's budding relationship with state agent John Tomasetti. A reality that strains their fragile new love to the breaking point and threatens the refuge they've built for themselves–and their future.
Under siege from an unknown assailant–and her own personal demons–Kate digs deep into the case only to discover proof of an unimaginable atrocity, a plethora of family secrets and the lengths to which people will go to protect their own.
Review –
This was, by far, the best of the Kate Burkholder novels to date.
Besides hunting for the identity of the bones found in the crawl space of an old barn, Kate discovers that she's pregnant. She's on the pill but sometimes is lax about routinely taking them so she feels guilty. Add to this that Tomasetti isn't thrilled about it and admits that he doesn't even think he wants kids again. Of course, later, when heads are clearer he comes to want the child and even buys Kate an Amish made cradle.
The tension between Kate and John was so strong you could feel it. Linda Castillo is a great creator of angst.
I had my fingers crossed that the author would let it work out but because of all the falls and rough blows she took subduing the murderer, Kate loses the baby. I cried and cried and cried. I guess it just wasn't the right time for them but I have my fingers crossed that soon their happily ever after will happen.
Five stars !!!!!


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Russian Agricultural Bank
Russian Agricultural Bank
Official website:rshb.ru/en
Russian Agricultural Bank, JSC is one of the largest banks in Russia, incorporated in 2000 to contribute to further development of the national credit and financial system of agricultural industry and rural areas. Today the Bank provides full range of banking services and remains the key player in financing of Russian agribusiness. The bank is 100% state-owned.
Russian Agricultural Bank is among the leading financial institutions by capital and assets and in the top group of the most reliable banks. The Bank's regional branch network is the second largest in Russia with 71 branches operating in all regions of the country. The Bank has representative offices in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and China.


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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the advantages that Iran gleaned from a 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement are "irreversible" and no one can roll back the positive results of the accord.
President Rouhani made the remarks in a ceremony marking the beginning of the new educational year for universities at the Tehran University on Saturday.
In the nuclear negotiations and the [resultant] JCPOA agreement, we gained things and advantages that are irreversible. No one can reverse them, neither Mr. Trump nor anyone else," President Rouhani said, referring to the deal by its official abbreviation. "If 10 other Trumps emerged in the world [and attempted to undo the deal's benefits], the benefits would be irreversible."
During the nuclear talks, the Iranian president said, Iran demonstrated its "political might" to the world and showed that its diplomats were "adequately adept" to negotiate with world powers.
"In negotiating [with world powers], we showed that we are not just strong at war — we're also strong at peace… Can that political power [just] go away?" he asked, rhetorically.
The JCPOA, short for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries — namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016. Under the deal, Iran undertook to apply certain limits to its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.
However, the administration of US President Donald Trump, which took over in January 2017, one year after the JCPOA came into force, has been opposed to the accord. Trump himself has verbally attacked the deal numerous times and is reportedly planning to refuse to certify Iran's compliance with the deal at a mid-October deadline under an American law.
'Victory irreversible'
Should Trump refuse to certify, the US Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to restore the sanctions against Iran that the US has agreed to waive under the deal. The re-imposition of nuclear-related sanctions would be a major non-performance of the deal by the US.
Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian president suggested that the US was claiming it has been shortchanged in the deal, "which is of course wrong, because the deal has been based on a win-win framework."
President Rouhani said Iran established its right to peaceful nuclear energy during the talks and with the JCPOA. "This victory is not reversible," he said.


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I've been reading up on the topic of Christian initiation. At the moment I am thoroughly enjoying Christian Initiation: Baptism in the Medieval West by J.D.C. Fisher (SPCK, 1965). What's great about this book is that he focuses on the liturgical evidence in order to determine what was really going on. He is mostly successful in letting the data speak for itself, without importing a predetermined viewpoint. Senn, in his compendium on Liturgy, tends to mix his Protestant bias (or is it a Kavanagh bias?) into the data. I have found little of that in Fisher's work (which Senn relies on in his own book).
It is amazing how the initiation rite that we identify today as Baptism-Confirmation-Eucharist continued in Rome unbroken well into the middle ages. I would also include the historic catechumenate before Baptism, too, since Rome maintained its basic form even after the majority of catechumens transitioned from adults to infants. I was taught in seminary that this disappeared much earlier - that what was medieval was bad, corrupt, and askew. The evidence shows a great deal of consistency in Rome for the first 1000 years regarding the basic structure of initiation.
In Milan, Gaul and Germany, though, something seemed to happen that is hard to account. There is a gap in the data between the patristic age and the medieval age in Milan. At the time of Ambrose there was in Milan a definite baptism-confirmation-eucharist form to the initiation rite (using our modern distinctions for these). This included an anointing after Baptism that was associated with Baptism itself, and a separate anointing associated with the seven-fold grace of the Holy Spirit. 300+ years later in Milan and the surrounding area, from when the next data set is available, the confirmation portion seemed either a) to disappear or b) now to be associated with the unction that immediately followed the actual Baptism or c) both. This practice is also found in various areas of Gaul and Germany about the same time. When Charlemagne tried to have the provinces adopt the practices of Rome, in some of those locations lacking what we might call the Confirmation rite by the bishop, some tacked it on the end - after the newly baptized were communed -- actually an entire week after. Those locales where the "Confirmation rite" was identified now with the anointing after the Baptism by the presbyter seemed not to think anything was missing from their rite. However, at least as regards the data surrounding Milan, it is clear to us something did disappear. This may have happened due to political upheaval, war, bishops becoming corrupt and/or inaccessible, etc. Whatever the reason, enough time elapsed where some locales did not practice a "Confirmation rite" with Baptism distinct from the post-Baptismal anointing.
So of course, when these places are asked to adopt the liturgical practices of Rome, and a greater awareness of the liturgical differences among provinces makes its way around, debate ensues. And of course someone has to play the Thief on the Cross card:
Amalarius admits that he has heard the question asked "whether without the laying on of the bishop's hand a baptized person can possess the kingdom of heaven. The thief who on the cross confessed the Lord, and heard him say, To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise, did not receive the imposition of the hand, although we believe him to have been baptized on the cross in his own blood" (Fisher, p.69)
Why is it that anytime someone wants to escape an established practice the Thief on the Cross is the great proof that fill in the blank is unnecessary for salvation? Good grief this has been going on a long time. Then it was, "Well, the thief didn't receive the imposition of hands (or even anointing with Chrism, for that matter) by a bishop. It must be dispensible." Today it's, "Well, the thief didn't do any good works, but Christ accepted him" (even though he defended Christ against the malefaction of the other thief). Or, "Well, the thief on the cross wasn't baptized" (but we forget today what it means to be baptized in blood). Or, "The thief didn't have to confess his sins, didn't have to receive communion, didn't this, didn't that, etc."It's amazing how long this sort of faulty logic has been going on.
It is established that the Thief on the Cross had faith, because he showed his faith by his prayer and defense of Christ. It is established that Christ accepted him. These are wonderful, positive, incontrovertible facts. But that does not mean Christ did not give us a Baptism of water and the Spirit. That doesn't mean that Christ didn't give us the remembrance of His Pascha in the Eucharist. That doesn't mean that what the Apostles established on Christ's authority (which authority is that of the Father, for the Father sent the Son, and the Son sent the Apostles as the Father sent Him) isn't given to us to keep and treasure and receive for our salvation. All it means is that Christ alone is the judge in exceptional situations, and that He accepts repentance. But that does not mean He sanctions negligence. The thief's situation applies to us only when we become like the thief: crucified with Christ, confessing Him before the Church (symbolized by the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Apostle) and the world (symbolized by the other thief, the Pharisees, and the Romans).
If you notice - the thief was not interested in how little he could get by with from Christ. He did not hold back. Though before him hung a dying man seemingly without power or hope, the thief saw the Savior and the coming Kingdom of God and asked to be a part of it. And Christ gave it to him.
What does Christ give us when we ask this of Him? When we do not hold back but become fools in the world and believe and come to Christ, what does Christ give us? He catches us up to the thief, first. He says, take your cross and follow Me. He gives us the cross in Baptism. He gives us death so that we, too, can become citizens of Paradise through rebirth by water and the Holy Spirit. He makes us kings and priests unto our God in His Kingdom. This is what He gave to the thief: Baptism.
But unlike the thief, we are still in the world (though not of the world). The thief's body was buried, his soul passed to rest in Paradise. But you and I have not experienced this yet. We have not suddenly encountered Christ at the eleventh hour and been invited into the vineyard for our denarius. We are called at other times in our life: the ninth, sixth, maybe third or first. And in this, though, Christ does not withhold Paradise from us, but rather seeks to communicate it to us in the Church - the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1). We who are in the world are given the Holy Spirit in the Church, that the Paradise in which the thief was granted to rest at the close of his eleventh hour may rest in our hearts and souls, and transform us into the likeness of our homeland and our King, so that whether we live or die, we are Christ's. Today is the day of salvation, as it was for the thief.
So let us not ask if this or that is really necessary for our salvation. Let's not minimize. Let's not enter this mentality into our discussions about what should or should not be done. Rather rejoice! For in every mystery of the Church we find Christ. Rejoice! Christ is all in all, the Church is His fullness, and we are made one flesh and one blood with Him. All things are new, including us. The thief points us to the fullness that only comes from Christ, and that means for us the thief points us to the Church, and the Church is fullness.
Obviously, in the context of liturgical rites, we wish to be careful not to lose anything that should not be lost. I would assume those in Milan, Gaul, and Germany in the eighth and ninth centuries didn't think they had lost anything. But the answer then and now should not be, "Is it really necessary?" Rather it should be, "Where does this come from? Why haven't we had this before? Does this change transmute the rite into something different? Is this really something different or not? Is Christ magnified? Is love impinged? Are the weak scandalized? And so forth. But let's not ask, "Is this necessary for salvation?" Because this question is Pandora's Box. You cannot just take a peek. Once asked it replicates like a virus. In asking we presume to make relative the active and present eschatological kingdom of Christ in our midst, manipulating and painting it whatever color we wish, whittling it down, deforming it into something else. But really it is not the active and present Kingdom of Christ that we are reducing, reforming, ruining, but it is ourselves.


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It looks like there might be a few tweaks coming to the in-network notifications for Google Cast to make it more clear what the notification is. We've received a report that the notification has been changed to include additional details, likely in an attempt to prevent accidental dismissal by others on the network. It's more than debatable whether or not the extra explanation attached to an ongoing notification will have any effect in preventing accidental interactions by guests. But, at a minimum we can publicly shame their reading comprehension skills when they kill your sweet Roller-Blade Runner playlist mid-party.
The issue of casting notifications on guests' devices has been a long-standing problem for Google Cast users, and a source of humor for everyone else. For those who haven't had the individual joy, all supported Android devices on a network receive an ongoing notification when a cast is taking place. As a result, anyone on the network including guests can be capable of controlling the cast via that notification. Season that with a pinch of average technical skill and you can see how you might run into problems.
The new notifications are mostly the same, but feature a new "A device on your Wi-Fi is casting" bit of text presumed to educate the cast-ignorant before they cut your tunes. Below you can see the old and new compared. They also shuffled some of the buttons a bit and moved the location for the name of the service doing the casting.
They don't actually do anything to stop people from messing with things, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm not able to see the recent changes on any of my devices, but it's possible the feature is still in testing or undergoing a progressive roll-out, so keep an eye out and you might see it on other devices in-network.
Our own Artem can confirm that the change is part of the update to Google Play Services 11. If you want to check it out but don't have that update, feel free to pull it down over at APKMirror.
- Thanks:
- Tom


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How does S3 Media Maestro secure and protect my media?
S3 Media Maestro works hand-in-hand with Amazon S3 to encrypt the URL which also includes link expiration. Typically, when you share media for the web from Amazon S3, you typically set the permissions to "public" which means anyone can right click on the webpage to view the HTML code, find the media URL, and share the link.
We take advantage of the Amazon S3 API and utilize the access key and secret key to ensure that only your website can access content on Amazon S3. This means you don't have to make your media "public" which means no one can directly access your videos.
S3 Media Maestro can be configured to set an expiration time on the URL. For instance, I can post a video and give an expiration of 1 minute. When someone loads the page with the video, the video URL is generated on the fly. The URL is encrypted and has an expiration time of 1 minute. If someone were to view the HTML code for that webpage, find the video URL, and share it, the URL would only work for 1 minute from the time the page loaded. So by the time someone posts the URL to a forum or sends it via email, there is little to no time for someone to access the video.
The countdown starts at page load so a 1 minute expiration doesn't give internet thieves any time to steal your content. This also means that if you refresh the page a new URL is generated and the expiration time begins to count down again.


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As a disclaimer, Digitally Downloaded is a Play-Asia affiliate, and we do gain some income from any games you purchase by clicking on the link below. It's win-win for you and us, as you get games cheap, and we get to eat (we tend to get cranky and write bad reviews when we're starving), so we thank you for your support. The affiliate arrangement in no way affects our editorial coverage.
So what's on for this week?
Atelier Rorona - If you've been reading Digitally Downloaded for a while then you will know that I love the Atelier series with a passion that rivals the fires of hell. It's rare that these somewhat rare JRPGs go on special, and this is the first of the PS3 trilogy, so it's a good place to start.
Dead or Alive Dimensions - One of the finest (and first) fighting games on the 3DS, Dead or Alive Dimensions does indeed bring the jiggle into the third dimension.
Lollipop Chainsaw - The game that won two awards of our reader's vote games of 2012, Lollipop Chainsaw is another much-loved game around these parts.
Thank you again for your support, and enjoy the games!


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I have been in contact with dozens of prisoners since I began working to share the voices of our incarcerated brothers and sisters through zines and through the blog you are reading. One thing I have found is that there are countless concerning issues within our prison system, which leads me to question what these issues say about our country and state. Do we see these issues and simply not feel enough sympathy to try to address them? To say that would suggest we are detached from the relationship of those people to ourselves and our society. Or, do we simply prefer to be blind to the injustices which are in our prisons and also leaking over into our communities as prisoners return home and as the families of the incarcerated struggle due to the the emotional, social and financial burdens imposed on them? Is it possible that many of us are in denial of the serious nature of human rights violations occurring, and consciously or unconsciously unwilling to do the uncomfortable work of addressing these issues? Nelson Mandela, who spent a great deal of time behind bars before his release and rise to power in South Africa, once stated:
"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."
It is with that concept in mind that I bring you all information on the ongoing situation at the Eastham Unit, a men's prison in Lovelady, Texas. This unit is not exceptional in any way, and the following information is surely not unlike events at other units. I know without a doubt that Polunsky Unit, where Death Row inmates are held, faces similar issues frequently. Although, while there are many human rights groups discussing Death Row conditions, men at Eastham seem disconnected from the majority of advocates who they could report their situation to. In March of this year I was contacted about ongoing issues which were making life unbearable for inmates, and more recently I was informed that these issues had since led to protests, and now retaliation and brutality by the guards and administration. I know that there was a petition to have the unit closed that was circulated in April, but the administration has since tried to downplay the issues, and replaced the warden at the prison. First, let me describe the initial issues reported through excerpts of letters detailing the conditions and effects of solitary confinement from a prisoner at unit.
The men in Ad-Seg, or isolation, are in small cells with no a/c and "very little ventilation", which makes them very hot during the majority of the year in Texas. He wrote, "We are allowed recreation only 2 hours, 3 times a week, if we are lucky. The rest of the time we are kept in these cells by ourselves with only a clock-radio for those lucky enough to have money to buy one." The heat and isolation men and women in Texas prisons and Ad-Seg experience have both been argued to be inhumane by human rights organizations such as the Texas ACLU, but there has not been any changes made to either issue at this time.
This prisoner also wrote to me about his need to write about his experiences and feelings just because he "has so much to say and no one to say it to,". He has been placed far away from his family, and has not seen his daughter in 10 years, which he says "saddens his heart the most,". He elaborated that:
"My mother, my sister, and nieces and nephew have come to visit me two times since I got here(over 8 years), and it's hard for them to see me in this condition. Though they try to be strong, I see their eyes reflect sadness… I understand it's my fault I'm in here and only hope that some day I may be able to go out there and be a better son, brother, father, and uncle for them…My mom is already up in age and it's hard for her to come up here, and my family is scraping a living so it's not easy for them to come up with money..plus my sister can't get time off from work..I wish I could be closer to Laredo so it would be easier for my family to visit…".
It is clear to me that his isolation is wearing at him emotionally and mentally, but isolation is only one small part of the issues he is reporting on. After detailing to me the issues with heat back in March, he addressed the problem that the water at the unit was frequently turned off for days or weeks due to claimed "plumbing issues", and that during this time they were unable to flush the toilets in their (approximately) 5 x 9 isolation cells, which of course would not only cause issues due to the smell in a confined space, but would also be a health issue after some time has passed. He wrote on 3/24 that, "We don't have running water since (yesterday) 3/23 around noon, and they've told us we will be without water for at least two weeks." He went on to say that they were only being given "two small cups of water every day," which was not enough for any of them to stay hydrated. He ended that correspondence by stating, "It's very hard to do time in these conditions. It's not only depressing, but inhumane the way they have us here."
It has been made clear now that at some point the men decided to go on hunger strike as these conditions became intolerable, some changes were made in the administration, and some of the guards may have been reprimanded for failing to properly care for the inmates. This is the information I received on the ongoing problems with retaliation as of 10/7/15:
The current situation is being described as increasingly brutal as a Major and Lieutenant are retaliating against prisoners for resisting the bad situation several months ago and the new Warden has allowed this to continue.
"Unfortunately things here are getting worse since now we have a new warden, and Major Sahani(sp?) and Lt. Torres have started to harass us in retaliation for the hunger strike we had staged a while back to get necessities, hot meals, and recreation, which got them in trouble with the other warden. So, now that he's gone they feel that they can do whatever they want since the new warden isn't paying attention or may not care."
Examples of retaliation and brutality
"This officer working the line, who is always causing problems…refused to feed an inmate two cells down from where I stay and when asked to call Rank she refused. Another officer came and talked to the inmate and told him they would bring him a tray, but when this other officer came(officer Keller), she said she wasn't gonna give them a tray and to do whatever he wanted and started bad mouthing him until the inmate threw water on her and told her to get away from his cell. (Throwing liquids is often one of the only possible forms of expressing anger for people in long term isolation, so this may seem odd or petty but it is actually a common protest in their situation as they feel very powerless). She called Rank and they (pepper) sprayed him and beat him up after he was already handcuffed and on the ground, Lt. Torres being one of the officers doing this."
The inmate claims Lt. Torres has consistently been brutal and retaliatory towards the inmates. He stated "this is not the first time Lt. Torres has done this," and that the Lieutenant "has told his officers that he expects them to write us cases even if they have to make up a reason. I was told this by several officers that felt it was wrong to do so." The inmates' attempts to protest this through filing grievances and bring it to the attention of the administration have been ignored and so far nothing has changed.
The inmates have asked their family members to contact Huntsville about these abuses, but many people would claim that often this route has little effect or results in retaliation or threats on the men whose families complain. For this reason, I have posted this publicly so that the situation can be understood by many people and cannot be silenced by targeting a specific prisoner whose loved one calls or writes. These men deserve better than the treatment they are being given. I think many people would not tolerate their loved ones being subject to the conditions described above. At this time I ask you all to circulate this information and to declare that you do not tolerate human rights abuses! Not in our state, and not in our prisons.
If you would like to write or call about these issues, there are multiple options:
You may call Eastham Unit, to request to speak to the Warden:
According to the TDCJ website, the "Senior Warden" is Mr. Kevin Wheat
Unit phone number: (936) 636-7321
To contact the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, who oversees prisons in the state:
Texas Board of Criminal Justice
P.O. Box 13084
Austin, Texas 78711
Or to contact Brad Livingston, Executive Director of TDCJ:
(512) 463-9988
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 13084-Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711-3084
Or the Ombudsman Program, who act as a "liaison" between the public and TDCJ:
They are supposed to address "General Issues concerning the agency's operation and policy and procedures, issues from the public relating to secure facilities (prison units, state jails, and substance abuse felony punishment facilities), and any specific concerns regarding offenders confined in these types of facilities."
P.O. Box 99, Huntsville, TX 77342-0099
(936) 437-4927
Fax (936) 437-4930


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EARN in Kansas
Kansas Action for ChildrenTopeka, Kansas ·
Kansas Action for Children is a non-profit, non-partisan organization committed to improving the lives of Kansas children and families by providing comprehensive data, advocating for sound public policy and collaborating with lawmakers.Read More
Kansas Center for Economic GrowthTopeka, Kansas ·
The Kansas Center for Economic Growth is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts research and analysis to promote balanced state policies that help ensure all Kansans prosper. The Kansas Center for Economic Growth's mission is to advance responsible policies by informing public discussion through credible, fact-based materials. We serve policymakers, the media and all Kansans […]Read More
Kansas Network publications
Race in the Heartland: Equity, Opportunity, and Public Policy in the Midwest
- October 10, 2019
- Iowa Policy Project
- Colin Gordon
A half-century removed from the high-tide of the civil rights movement, progress on racial equity has slowed or stalled on many fronts. Nowhere is this more starkly evident than in the twelve states of the Midwest region, where racial disparities in economic opportunity and economic outcomes are wider than they are in other regions, and policy […]
Kansas' Health and Prosperity Index: 2016
- November 1, 2016
- Kansas Center for Economic Growth
- Staff Report
A healthy Kansas economy starts with healthy Kansans. Our state enjoys many advantages when it comes to health – open space, clean air and water, and a good sense of community. Despite these amenities, however, Kansas finds itself in the middle of the pack when examining the health, economic, and social foundation of the state […]
Kansas Public Education: The Foundation for Economic Growth
- April 1, 2016
- Kansas Center for Economic Growth
- Staff Report
Kansans have long recognized that education is key to economic growth. In 1874, the Territorial Legislature took the first steps to increase school attendance by passing a compulsory school attendance law. The rationale: "education was key to the state's growth and development, since a literate and skilled citizenry could help build business and industry." Over […]
High Road WIOA: Building Higher Job Quality into Workforce Development
- December 17, 2015
- Keystone Research Center
- Stephen Herzenberg
In response to the federal Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA), most states are now in the latter stages of developing federally required plans and policies for operating their systems of workforce development under WIOA. This process creates an unprecedented opportunity to build into each state's plan concrete ideas for using state and local workforce […]
Who Pays? The Cost of Kansas' Tax Cuts for Local Communities
- December 1, 2013
- Kansas Center for Economic Growth
- Staff Report
Kansas has sharply reduced state support for schools, libraries and other community services in recent years, forcing towns and cities to cut programs that Kansans depend upon or raise more money locally to sustain them. While the cuts by the state were initially prompted by the Great Recession, the substantial income tax cuts Kansas lawmakers […]
A "Lost Decade": Revisiting Kansas' past, so we can redirect its future
- February 1, 2013
- Kansas Center for Economic Growth
- Staff Report
Claims that Kansas' failed tax-cut experiment was justified as a response to a "lost decade" for the state's economy aren't borne out by what actually happened at that time. If anything, there is strong evidence that Kansas' economic situation is worsening since the tax cuts began to weaken the state's ability to make public investments […]
The Cost of Admission: Higher Education in Kansas
After years of declining state investment in higher education due to failed tax policy, Kansas college students incur higher debt and reduced economic prospects. In the past, college was the ticket to a bright future. Each year of education after high school increases earning potential and opens the door to more stable, rewarding careers. Furthermore, education […]


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This brain booster is a mixture of all healthy and clinically tested ingredients. The list of its ingredients can be found on its official website. There is no need to worry about the efficiency and safety of this supplement as all of them are natural and effective. They contain 100% plant and herb extracts, which are the main cause of enhanced brain performance and successful life. These ingredients are mentioned below:
- Acetyl-L-Carnitine
- Ginkgo Biloba
- Phosphatidylserine
- Glutamine
- John's Wort
- Vinpocetine
- Bacopin
There are also two additives and gelatin present in this advanced formula, which is utilized for the shell of capsules. These ingredients do not create unwanted reactions in the body.


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Sign up for Meridian's Free Newsletter, please CLICK HERE
Are you looking for just the right gift for someone in your family or circle? Do you want to find a gift that will keep giving and be a constant reminder of love in that person's life? When you read the story about this photograph I think you will agree it may be just what you are looking for.
I call this image: Gethsemane Impression.
I've always struggled to photograph the Garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. No photo can do it justice. How can I capture even a small part, in an image, of what happened here?
I decided to try only to capture my own impression of Gethsemane, the place of the olive press, the place where Jesus suffered so much for you and for me.
I shot looking up towards the sky. I shot looking down towards the ground. I shot through the ancient, gnarled olive trees. I tried different angles and focal lengths through the branches. Nothing was working.
How can you do justice to the One who drank the bitter cup?
I then got down at kneeling level, and did a very tight focus with a low depth of field on the edge of one of the ancient trees. Perhaps the type of view He might have had. It just felt right and I love the result.
You can look at sizes and frame options for this fine art photograph here.
To see more than 40 different fine art photographs offered by Scot Facer Proctor, please CLICK HERE.


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Orson - VIC
Hello, my name is Orson and I'm seven years old. I arrived at SPR in November last year suffering from an extremely under active thyroid, a very itchy skin condition and that bane of a Pei's life – entropion!!!!
Well, of course Amanda went into full gear and in no time I was de-sexed, on thyroxine (which I will need to take for the rest of my life – but two tablets a day– no drama), on a proper diet and had entropion surgery.
At the moment I am staying with my foster mum and a Pei foster sister, who I have a lot of fun with, especially playing tug of war with a rope toy. I am really ready for a forever home, though.
My foster mum says –
Orson is a beautiful, affectionate, cheeky, playful boy with a quirky personality and big soulful eyes, who just wants to be loved. He sits waiting for his food (and indeed anytime the fridge door opens) smacking his lips like he can already taste it.
He would be great with a female dog or on his own, a family with teenage children, or would make a perfect companion for someone living by themself as he follows me everywhere, even out into the dark when I put the rubbish out. He doesn't ask for much – a warm bed inside (he's used to a dog door), good quality food, some play time and of course lots of TLC. I n short Orson is just AWESOME!!!!!!
Orson has recently been diagnosed as diabetic. This does not effect his life span or his quality of life while ever he takes his daily medication, which is 2 x injections of insulin per day which are easy to administer. That brings the total cost of Orsons daily meds (thyroxine and insulin) to about $3 per day.
With this new medication requirement, we would like to offer some financial assistance to anyone interested in adopting Orson. We want to see him settled in his very own loving forever home. Please be advised that Orson's adoption fee is now by donation to SPR.
Microchip # 982009106043917
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ViewRanger ambassador Hetty Key is a hillwalker, cyclist, runner and climber based in the English Peak District. Hetty's outdoor adventures have taken her from the Highlands of Scotland to the summit of the highest mountain in western Europe, so we caught up with her to discover her three favourite outdoor adventures, which you can download for free below.
Hetty says: "When ViewRanger asked me to pick my three favourite routes, I thought it would be a fairly easy job. But looking back through where I've been just this year, so many contenders jump out. There have been stunning hikes, muddy rides, sunset runs and some adventures that were simply epic. It's been tough to choose but here are my 3 favourite routes - one running, one biking and one hiking…"
Route 1 – Mont Blanc, Alps (Mountaineering)
Hetty says: "Reaching the summit of Mont Blanc was one of the best (and hardest) things I've ever done. Not for the fainthearted, there are many ways of tackling this challenge. I climbed from Mont Lachat to Tête Rousse on day one, camped overnight on the glacier, then went from there to the summit via the south side of the ridge up to the Aiguille du Goȗter and back in a day. Although you can stay in the hut I loved the experience of camping. Stepping out of the tent into the quiet night to see a trail of tiny head torches already starting to climb up toward the Goȗter Refuge was magical. I was blown away with the whole environment. For me the highlight had to be watching the sun rise over the tops of the mountains, bathing the snow in an array of pastel colours. It is by no means your average hike, but if you get the opportunity to do this I full-heartedly recommend going for it!"
Route 2 – Kentmere, Lake District (Mountain biking)
Hetty says: "This was probably the hardest one to pick! Back in November 2015 I attempted a two-day cycle from Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands to the Loch Chiarain Bothy and back. I think this would have made it to number one, but sadly Hurricane Barney meant I had to abandon the adventure only a few miles off the bothy (a story for another day). However, this route around Kentmere in the Lake District is equally good. Pack your snacks and be prepared for a great day out! I love this ride because it has a bit of everything. After a climb out of Kentmere you are treated to enjoyable wide switchbacks down Gatescarth Pass towards Haweswater Reservoir. Next is a hike-a-bike up Nam Bield Pass (be prepared to sweat!) followed by a challenging technical descent into some beautiful flowing single track, before taking on the third and final pass of the day – Garburn Pass, a rocky but scenic end to the ride"
Route 3 – Hope Valley, Peak District (Running)
Hetty says: "Of course this top three wouldn't be complete without a route from my local playground, the Peak District! This is without a doubt one of my favourite runs. From green valleys to snowy gritstone, one of the things I like most about this area is how much it changes with the seasons. It is beautiful. Be warned though – there are a fair few hills! The most painful of these (I'm really selling this!) is the climb up Whitemoor Clough – just near the end of the run, it's a real thigh burner. But trust me, all the effort is worth it. By the end of the run you will have scrambled up Grindsbrook, scampered down Jacob's Ladder, conquered Mam Tor and be ready for a well-deserved pint or piece of cake in Castleton."
Check out Hetty's blog here!


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All affiliated members of Softball WA are afforded insurance under Softball Australia's National Insurance Program. Insurance is provided on annual basis in-line with the Annual Membership Period (1 October to 30 September each year), upon registering and making payment of the individual registration fee with an affiliated club or association.
For those who play all year round, the individual registration fee will be required to be paid in the first formal competition season (October to March), however will not be required to be paid in the second formal competition season (April to September). Those registering for the first time in the second formal competition season (for example; April 2018 to September 2018) and then choose to play in the first formal competition season in the following Annual Membership Period (ie. October 2018 to March 2019), will be required to pay the registration fee upon registering the first time (competition season April 2018 to September 2018) and will also be required to pay the individual registration fee for the October 2018 to March 2019 competition season (given the commencement of a new annual membership period). However, should they play in the April 2019 to September 2019 season, they will not be required to pay the individual registration fee for that season.
Should an individual be registering in the same formal competition season with two separate affiliated clubs or associations, the individual registration fee will be charged to the 'Parent' club or association and a permit will be required to participate with the second association or club.
All individual members who are either a player, official (scorer or coach), off-diamond (volunteer, staff and/or on the Board/Committee of Management) will be covered as long as they are registered with Softball WA through the SportsTG online Registration System or through an alternative method that has been approved by Softball WA.
For more information about the National Insurance Program, including levels of cover, policy documents, the certificate of currency or making a claim, please visit the V-Insurance website.
Should you have any queries about the Annual Membership Period or Permits, please contact the Softball WA Office on 6181 3900 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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I've seen fellow Catholics dramatically tremble when they hear that St Apollonia had her teeth crushed and torn out. Such is the fear of having one's teeth ripped out that friends of mine say they think they would "much prefer" the other torments visited upon the martyrs.
St Apollonia is hailed as the patron saint of dentistry. In 249 AD everyone in the Roman Empire was ordered to perform a sacrifice to the gods. You couldn't fudge and say you had carried out the sacrifice behind closed doors – there was an edict put in force and you had to perform the sacrifice in front of a Roman magistrate. Christians faced defying the authorities or death.
When she refused to offer the sacrifice to the gods, Apollonia was seized by the mob who shattered her teeth. Then before her eyes they built a tall pyre. They said they would fling her on the flames if she did not deny Christ and worship idols. Knowing she would not lower herself before their fake gods, she leaped into the raging flames.
I'd like to encourage people who are terrified of the dentist to meditate on the passion of St Apollonia. In our times no one can say that their trip to the dentist will be as bad as St Apollonia's torture – unless their dentist is a raving psychopath. If any saint understands tooth-ache it is Apollonia.
St Apollonia may also intercede for the dental treatment to go well and for you to keep your teeth against all odds. She did for Caroline Farrow, the columnist for The Catholic Universe and speaker for Catholic Voice. Caroline had five pregnancies in five years and as a result needed to spend a lot of time in the dentist's chair because pregnancy hormones cause gums to soften and teeth to loosen. As Caroline says, "the old wives tale about have a child, lose a tooth can be apt".
Also, when the gums are softer, bacteria can slip in more easily which was a cause in Caroline developing a nasty abscess. The abscess had been brewing for two years and just last winter, Caroline was preparing for her dentist to tackle it. She feared she would lose the tooth and could get no firm assurance that she would keep it, "they said they would do their best but the tooth could be past saving. It was also extremely painful."
A week before her appointment with the dentist, Caroline prayed to St Apollonia and everything went well at the dentist. The abscess was removed and she kept her tooth! "There were no painful complications," Caroline says, "It cleared up beautifully! Definitely think St Apollonia was on the case!'
Now Caroline prays every night to St Apollonia, "I always cringe when I think about her having her teeth smashed out and give thanks to her for her witness and courage."
There is a long history of seeking Apollonia's intercession. According to TL Olsen's Social History of Medicine, doctors in medieval times gave patients with toothache a popular prayer to St Apollonia and advised them to pray it.
I, however, take issue with the way St Apollonia is depicted in classical art and on prayer cards. She is portrayed holding tongs or pliers that clutch a large molar which is wholly appropriate (see above!). But my difficulty with such art is that Apollonia has a vacant, wan and almost insipid facial expression. I don't think this captures her feisty spirit: she was a deaconess in a time of great persecution and a defiant rebel.
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Bladder Augmentation—Open Surgery
(Augmentation, Bladder—Open Surgery; Augmentation Cystoplasty—Open Surgery; Cystoplasty, Augmentation—Open Surgery)
by Rebecca J. Stahl, MA
Bladder augmentation makes the bladder bigger.
Reasons for Procedure
Bladder augmentation makes the bladder large enough to collect urine. When the bladder is too small, it can cause urine to leak out of the body or back up into the kidneys. This can cause an infection in the urinary tract, causing harm to the kidneys. It's also used when other care methods fail.
Problems, such as long term blockage or birth defects, can cause the bladder to be too small.
Other reasons:
Possible Complications
Problems from the procedure are rare, but all have some risk. Your doctor will review potential problems such as:
Before your procedure, talk to your doctor about ways to manage factors that may increase your risk of complications such as:
What to Expect
Prior to Procedure
You may have:
Talk to your doctor about the medicines you take. You may need to stop them up to 1 week prior to the procedure.
Before surgery, your doctor may advise you:
General anesthesia —will block pain and keep you asleep
Description of the Procedure
An incision will be made in the belly. An incision will also be made on the top part of the bladder. A part of the intestine or stomach will be removed and placed over the opening in the bladder. This new part will work like a patch. The doctor will sew it into place.
A stoma may also be created. This is a small opening through the belly wall to an opening at the top of the bladder. This will make it easier for you to insert the catheter into the bladder.
Immediately After Procedure
A catheter will be left in place to drain urine from the bladder.
You may be given fluids, pain medicines, and antibiotics. This may be done through an IV. A tube will be placed through your nose to your stomach. This tube will keep your stomach drained. This will stay in place until your stomach and intestines begin working normally again.
How Long Will It Take?
4-8 hours
How Much Will It Hurt?
Anesthesia will prevent pain during surgery. Pain and discomfort after the procedure can be managed with medicines.
Average Hospital Stay
The usual stay is 6-10 days. If you have any problems, you will need to stay longer.
Post-procedure Care
At the Hospital
The healthcare staff will:
During your stay, the healthcare staff will take steps to lower your chance of infection such as:
There are also steps you can take to lower your chance of infection such as:
At Home
To help you get healthier faster:
Call Your Doctor
Call your doctor if any of these occur:
If you think you have an emergency, call for emergency medical services right away.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Urology Care Foundation
Health Canada
The Kidney Foundation of Canada
Bladder augmentation. Boston Children's Hospital website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed June 13, 2018.
Bladder augmentation (enlargement). Urology Care Foundation website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed June 13, 2018.
Bladder augmentation surgery FAQ. UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital website. Available at: https://www.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/education/bladder_augmentation_surgery/index.html. Accessed June 13, 2018.
6/2/2011 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance http://www.dynamed... : Mills E, Eyawo O, Lockhart I, Kelly S, Wu P, Ebbert JO. Smoking cessation reduces postoperative complications: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Med. 2011;124(2):144-154.
Last reviewed May 2018 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Adrienne Carmack, MD
Last Updated: 6/13/2018
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"And now I come to the araucaria. I must tell you that on the first floor of this house the stairs pass by a little vestibule at the entrance to a flat which, I am convinced, is even more spotlessly swept and garnished than the others; for this little vestibule shines with a superhuman housewifery. It is a little temple of order. On the parquet floor, where it seems desecration to tread, are two elegant stands and on each a large pot. In the one grows an azalea. In the other a stately araucaria, a thriving, straight-grown baby tree, a perfect specimen, which to the last needle of the topmost twig reflects the pride of frequent ablutions.
Sometimes, when I know that I am unobserved, I use this place as a temple. I take my seat on a step of the stairs above the araucaria and, resting awhile with folded hands, I contemplate this little garden of order and let the touching air it has and its somewhat ridiculous loneliness move me to the depths of my soul. I imagine behind this vestibule, in the sacred shadow, one may say, of the araucaria, a home full of shining mahogany, and a life full of sound respectability – early rising, attention to duty, restrained but cheerful family gatherings, Sunday churchgoing, early to bed."
Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf is the story of Harry Haller, an author and intellectual in post-World War I Germany, torn between two selves: a man who desires the respectability and comforts of bourgeois existence, and a wolf who scoffs that these vain, absurd desires. The perpetual antagonism of Harry's two halves prevent him from finding happiness or meaning in life. Hesse's novel is about selfhood.
Is Harry man or wolf? He has lived with that conflict all his life until, one rainy night, a stranger hands him a small tract outside a Magic Theatre that he cannot enter.
"…So that's it, thought I. They've disfigured this good old wall with an electric sign. Meanwhile I deciphered one or two of the letters as they appeared again for an instant; but they were hard to read even by guess work, for they came with very irregular spaces between them and very faintly, and then abruptly vanished. Whoever hoped for any result from a display like that was not very smart. He was a Steppenwolf, poor fellow. Why have his letters playing on this old wall in the darkest alley of the Old Town on a wet night with not a soul passing by, and why were they so fleeting, so fitful and illegible? But wait, at last I succeeded in catching several words on end. They were:
I tried to open the door, but the heavy old latch would not stir. The display too was over. It had suddenly ceased, sadly convinced of its uselessness. I took a few steps back, landing deep into the mud, but no more letters came. The display was over. For a long time I stood waiting in the mud, but in vain.
Then, when I had given up and gone back to the alley, a few colored letters were dropped here and there, reflected on the asphalt in front of me. I read:
The booklet is A Treatise on the Steppenwolf – an analysis of Harry Haller that is Nietzchean, Jungian and Buddhist at the same time.
Bourgeois life demands that one lead a balanced life at the cost of intensity. Before meeting Hermine there is no intensity in Haller's sad life; he is preoccupied with his books and his pains, although his wolf-half occasionally expresses its derision for this path, leaving him to flee social situations in disgrace. Haller is chained to the bourgeois life by childhood experiences. He is fascinated with the washed leaves of the araucaria, by meticulous neatness, by devotion shown in little things. He is disgusted when his wolf-half laughs at the bourgeois life, until he meets a young woman, Hermine, who tells him to do precisely that.
This bond to the bourgeoisie can only be broken through humour, and looking deeply into the chaos of his own soul. In a dream sequence, the Magic Theatre mirror reflects all the thousands of facets of his soul. Behind one of the doors in the Magic Theatre, Haller learns that his numerous selves can be reconfigured like chess pieces.
"I knew that all the hundred thousand pieces of life's game were in my pocket. A glimpse of its meaning had stirred my reason and I was determined to begin the game afresh. I would sample its tortures once more and shudder again at its senselessness. I would traverse not once more, but often, the hell of my inner being.
One day I would be a better hand at the game. One day I would learn how to laugh…"
Image: Jaroslav Bradac, from A Treatise on the Steppenwolf.


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- Full-color interiors
- Each biography is over 100 pages
- Series features both historical and contemporary figures
- Perfect for doing reports or additional reading
Curriculum Standards: Grades 5-8 Social Studies Standards
Time, Continuity, and Change: II
- Identify and use key concepts, such as chronology, conflict, and change, to explain, analyze, and show connections among patterns of historical change and continuity.
Individual Development & Identity: IV
- Relates personal change to social, cultural, and historical contexts.
- Describes personal connections to place--as associated with community and nation.
Individuals, Groups, & Institutions: V
- Demonstrate an understanding of concepts such as status and social class in the interactions of individuals and social groups.
Power, Authority, & Governance: VI
- Identify representative leaders from various levels and branches of the U.S. government.