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This is an index to photos of Nahausen Families, and scenery
and views of Nahausen and the surrounding area.
Fellwock home, Nahausen
Click for larger picture and comments
Koenigsberg Photos,
1940 and later, submitted by Erika
Photos from Mona's 2002 trip
Chojna - Koenigsberg
Oder villages:Alt Cüstrinchin, Alt Rüdnitz, and Zäckerick
J. Fred Fellwock and Louise Schukar Schwan Fellwock
Fellwock, Martin family
Martin and Louise, 50th annivsary
Martin and Louise's adult children
John and Marie (Traeger)
Metke-Fellwock Reunion, 1959
Fellwock, Fr. William & Wilhelmine Grewing Family
Augusta, Florentine and Emilie
Fellwock, Fr. William & Ernestine Oertwig Family
Marie, Louise, Anna, Friedrich and Johanna
Jagow, William & Louise Fellwock Family Adult Children
Friedrich William and Emma Oertwig Fellwock Family
William C. and Franzisca Zweig Fellwock marriage
Anna and Julius Seifert, marriage and family photos
Malchow, J. Friedrich and Wilhelmine
Oertwig C. Fred & Johanna Wollenschlager Oertwig Family
Wollenschlager parents
Wollenschlager siblings
Frank and Ida Stefanski
Robert and Nora Oertwig
Sasse, Michael & Henrietta Oertwig
Adult Family
Sasse, Fred & Ernestine Fellwock
Sasse, August & Emma Albrecht
Olivia and Arthur
Schukar, Fred & Maria Sasse
Maria and adult children
Seifert, Julius & Anna Jagow
Adult Family
Steinbach, Gustav & Ernestine Fellwock
See also:
Churches of our Ancestors
Early Mayville Photos
Back to Nahausen Main Page Layout & HTML coding © MJH


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Visit the beautiful UNESCO-protected Ohrid Lake and Town, the star of Macedonia's tourism on your Ohrid City Break!
This magnificent lake is so large you'll have a feeling as if you're bathing in a sea. Ohrid Old Town with the narrow streets and countless cafés and restaurants is a perfect place to spend the warm summer nights.
This historic city has been inhabited since the prehistoric times, and the lake is one of the oldest in the world.
Ohrid is famous for the great nightlife and crystal-clear waters offering refreshment during hot summer days.
Ohrid Summer Festival attracts people from all over the region and the world every year. The artists perform in the Roman theatre and other beautiful lakeside venues.
Note: the stated price is based on a minimum of 2 people travelling together.
Please note the proposed itinerary can be changed according to your wishes

subset: commoncrawl


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Chattahoochee River whitewater course to open Memorial Day weekend
After more than a decade of planning, construction, headaches and governmental red tape, you can now circle the day that the Chattahoochee River whitewater course flowing into downtown Columbus and Phenix City will open.
Saturday, May 25, 10 a.m.
The announcement was made Thursday morning on the newly renovated 14th Street pedestrian bridge with business, civic and political leaders from both sides of the river looking on. The opening is a week ahead of the June 1 target date.
W.C. Bradley Co. executive John Turner, the vision and push behind the 12-year project, sounded more like a preacher than anything else. And he was preaching to the choir.
"Isn't this one of the coolest places in the world?" Turner asked as he stood with his back to the course's signature spot a couple of blocks down river. "Can I get an amen?"
He did.
Uptown Columbus, Inc. President Richard Bishop said the ongoing course construction in the river would be complete by the opening day, but there will still be work on roads and other points along the river's edge.
The course was created by breaching two downtown dams at Eagle & Phenix just below 12th Street and at City Mills just north of the TSYS campus. The Eagle & Phenix Dam is gone, while work to take out the City Mills Dam continues.
The grand opening will come during a Memorial Day weekend celebration that will include a concert in the Phenix City Amphitheater and fireworks over the river.
Both of the outfitters that will be operating whitewater raft runs on the Chattahoochee will open their businesses at noon May 25. Dan Gilbert, owner of Atlanta-based Whitewater Express, was at the announcement and said plans for the opening were moving forward.
"It is going to be here in nothing flat," Gilbert said as he stood a couple of hundred yards from his storefront in Phenix Plaza.
David Quinney, chairman of the Phenix City Downtown Redevelopment Authority, called the whitewater opening "a wonderful opportunity for our communities."
"This is bringing our two communities together in a way that will benefit everyone," Quinney said. "This is going to draw people to the river. There are going to be great tourism opportunities, and we have to be ready to take advantage of them. And this is just the start."
Lost in the crowd Thursday was John Anderson, a whitewater architect and course designer who has been involved in this project for 12 years. Anderson, with McLaughlin Water Engineers, Ltd. out of Denver, remembers when the original discussion was to construct a course alongside the river.
"I remember when John Turner gave us permission to think about dam removal," Anderson said as he looked out over the course's southernmost rapids. "We surveyed the river, took depth measurements and did modelling. We felt comfortable there was a good set of rapids that had not been seen in a 100 years or more. We did a lot of study."
The signature rapid, Cutbait, which was crafted on the Alabama side just below the breached Eagle & Phenix Dam, has exceeded all expectations, Anderson said.
"I had pretty low expectations for it," said Anderson, an architect of the 1996 Olympic whitewater course on the Ocoee. "Now, I rank it a 9 out of 10. And the Georgia channel rapid has the potential to be a 10 out of 10. There is nothing like it in the world."


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According to developers, 60% of the demand is for 2BHK followed by 25% for 3BHK, 5% for 1BHK and 10% for 3 or more BHK and bungalows in residential space. "People want hassle free and timely possession besides preference for location," said Harshad Patel, CEO sales, Parshwanath Corporation.
Patel further said that people prefer buying home which is near their native place. "For example, those who have their native in Viramgam look to settle in Bopal," added Patel.
Jiten Shah who came with his family to the expo said, "My priority is open space. I have two young daughters and they ample space for playing and other activities."
Another consumer Jatin Shah said, "Earlier people shifted from Pols to Flats to live openly. Now the flats have also become compact. I want to buy house where there is enough space even if I have to compromise on other amenities."
"People now want to go for community living. From living in 50-100 flats scheme people want to live in schemes of more than 500 flats where they can have better social interaction," said a director of a real estate company.
Many developers who have put up their stalls at the expo are launching their projects during Navratri.
GIHED officials expect footfall of more than 1.2 lakh in the 3-day expo this year, an increase of 20% in comparison to last year.


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Each one of us has spent at least sometimes a lot of time trying to figure what to wear for the day. It can be for work, or for a date or even for a coronation. What is important, though, is that we spent this time, to pick the right clothes. This can also be used in gaming.
- Fashion can help to establish cultures. A culture in which women are covered from head to toe will be looked upon differently than a culture in which women can wear whatever they like. Cultures in which every Sunday all are wearing green; cultures in which everyone goes to work wearing everyday clothes (and not ties and tuxedos, for example) will be looked as much more strict and formal. This is a cheap way to establish a culture.
- In addition to the first thing, if the characters went to a mission and returned to find the people of the place wearing entirely different clothes, the time that has passed will be felt, and a smell of change will be smelled.
- Clothes can help to differentiate between characters (PCs and NPCs alike). Will they meet the knight who wears green, or the one that always goes with pink armor today? Isn't it more colourful than the knight who wears silvery armor?
- Clothes can help to show feelings or hidden truths. A character that wears black will be seen as a vile or depressed character, while the one that goes with white clothes will be seen as formal or naive. Think about the character that goes with the ripped off clothes in contrast to the one that goes with the colours of the enemy state...
- Clothes can help to create and express the character's personality: "Remember that wizard fellow who used to wear brown shoes every day? Today I've understood why: An oracle told him that he'll meet the love of his life wearing brown shoes..."
So, how about you? Do you pay attention to what your NPCs or PCs are wearing? How do you use it? What purpose does it fill in your game?


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Sad Day (Jour sans joie) (2010)
- Studio: Independent
- Release: June 24, 2010
- Director: Nicolas Roy
- Writer: Nicolas Roy
- Cast: Martin Dubreuil, Evelyne Rompré
Video archive for the film Sad Day (Jour sans joie), which has a domestic theatrical release in the year of 2010. There is currently one video available for the film, of which one and only one is a trailer, as listed below. Happy viewing!
Featured Movie Terminator: Dark Fate


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Miami Dolphins
Reasons the Dolphins D has earned an F the past three games
Earlier this NFL season the Miami Dolphins defense was getting credit for having addressed its issues of a year ago, and new defensive coordinator Matt Burke was being profiled as an upgrade form Vance Joseph. It was a great time because some folks were expecting the early success to continue and this defense to carry the team into the NFL playoffs.
Except, any season ebbs and flows, and sometimes units improve and sometimes they get exposed.
And lately the Miami defense is looking more like the latter.
The Dolphins D has actually earned a big, fat F the past three games after allowing a total of 81 points in that span. The New York Jets scored 28 points on them. The Baltimore Ravens scored 26 points on them (another 14 was scored on the offense). And the Oakland Raiders scored 27 points on them Sunday night.
No bueno.
Know what that means? No, not the Spanish, knuckleheads, but rather the meaning of the combined 81 points of the past three games?
It means only three other NFL teams have given up more points on defense than the Dolphins in that time.
The New York Giants have given up 85 points.
The San Francisco 49ers have given up 86 points.
The Denver Broncos, Joseph's team, have given up 101 points.
And then comes the Dolphins' defense, tied with Oakland, at 81 points allowed in that span.
So by the most important statistics that one can measure a defense — points allowed — the Dolphins have been the fourth-worst unit in the NFL the past three games.
That's not the only troubling issue the defense is having, although I have to say that's a whopper. The next big issue is that as the season has progressed, the Miami defense has not been improving. Again, teams that don't improve as the season progresses rarely get into the playoffs.
(Peanut gallery: Mando, how can you possibly say that? You don't know that, you negative Nelly. You can't say whether young players are carrying out their assignments better. You don't know if communication has improved. Maybe they have indeed improved and you're just an ignoramus.)
Thanks, gallery, always enjoy your endless optimism that borders on lunacy.
It is true, I can't tell you whether the Dolphins young cornerback tandem of Xavien Howard and Cordrea Tankersley are backpedaling better or displaying looser hips now than earlier in the year.
I do know that neither had an interception early in the year. And neither has an interception now. They are not getting hands on the football enough. I know that. But that's not the greater point.
The point is if you look at the overall defensive production on the field, the picture is not getting prettier. Consider:
The Dolphins gave up 20 first downs against Oakland. That was the third-most this season and the most in the last five games. Arrow pointing down.
The Raiders converted 53 percent of their third down plays against Miami. That's the second-worst third down efficiency for the Miami defense this year and the worst in three weeks. Arrow down.
The Raiders gained 379 net yards against the Dolphins. That's the most allowed this season by Miami. Arrow down.
The Raiders gained 295 net passing yards. That's the second-most allowed this season by Miami and most since the season opener in September. Arrow down.
Arrow down doesn't suggest improvement, folks. It doesn't suggest playoff berth.
So why is this trending in the wrong direction? That's a question coach Adam Gase will be asked Thursday when he meets with the media for the first time since Monday. That's a question Burke will be asked Friday.
Let me give you an answer you'll never hear from either coach: I think the Dolphins defense is built weird.
This defense is built around the defensive line. It has the team's highest paid player in Ndamukong Suh and, indeed, is home to four of the team's top seven salary cap charges for 2017. It is also home to the team's first-round draft pick this year. And the second-round pick from 2015. And the team's fifth-round pick this year. And the team's sixth-round pick this year.
And, don't get me wrong, the group's production is solid.
But the production is not extraordinary. It's not great.
The Dolphins have 16 sacks this year. That's tied for 23rd in the NFL.
Yes, the run defense has been very good. It's No. 7 in the NFL.
But when you pay premium money and use premium picks and make trades and re-sign free agents all for one unit on the team, that unit must be dominant all-around or the resources spent are not paying any dividends.
And the Miami defensive line being solid but not dominant is not a dividend payment.
This defense is built to play from in front. It is built for when a desperate offense must pass. Then the line can attack and the big corners and the fleet linebackers can cover for the couple of seconds until the linemen get to the quarterback.
Sounds good in theory but in practice it hasn't worked because the Dolphins rarely enjoy leads late enough for that to be a factor.
More weirdness: The line's best pass rusher is two months from his 36th birthday, so he's playing between 50 and 55 percent of the downs during any given game.
The big ticket defensive tackle is playing his best ball since he arrived in Miami, but this remains a frustrating truth: Two schlubs making minimum can double team Suh up front and often erase him from a play.
My point is there's stuff that doesn't quite seem right up there.
The linebacker corps is also interesting. Lawrence Timmons is playing every down. He's doing solid work, but he misses a lot of tackles. The Pittsburgh Steelers, by the way, know a thing or two about linebackers and they let him walk for a reason.
Kiko Alonso plays with energy and passion and is always around the football. But he's struggled with coverage in recent weeks.
And those two guys play every down.
Then the corners: Bobby McCain has been the playmaker of the group. The guys outside are just … OK. Not amazing yet. Not lockdown guys yet.
Yes, they are young. But they are not as good as Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain were at the same stage in their careers. (I covered those guys so I know). Madison was excellent immediately and Surtain didn't play a lot as a rookie because Terrell Buckley was still on the team, but he became a playmaker his second year.
The back end of the defense is going to get a big boost (everybody says) when T.J. McDonald joins the fray as early as the Carolina game Monday night. He's been serving an NFL suspension but can and will begin practicing Thursday.
McDonald is not just supposed to be a guy filling a spot and not making mistakes, like Nate Allen was. McDonald is supposed to be a playmaker. A difference maker.
We'll see on that.
The Dolphins could certainly use the help because right now this defense is trending in the wrong direction. And arrow down is not a good thing to be in November.
Follow Armando Salguero on Twitter: @ArmandoSalguero


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With Purchase of Both Skis and Bindings (Price Adjusted in Cart)
Sorry! This item Is out of stock. ( G3 - Fever Ski )
The perfect choice for an all-mountain, all-conditions ski, the Fever is a confident and powerful performer throughout. Inspired by the success of the Tonic, the Fever combines G3's mild early tip rise 1, and our proven semi-cap construction, while featuring our new Titanal tuned reinforcement for the ultimate stability and confidence on the descent. With a waist of 100mm, the Fever is your everyday addiction.
- Tip/Waist/Tail Width: 132/ 100/ 123 mm
- Available Lengths: 177/ 185/ 192
- Weight: 3.7kg / 8.1lbs (177cm)
- Skiing Style: Technical, Freeride
- Ski Type: Fat
- Ability: Intermediate, Advanced, Expert
- Terrain: Piste, Freeride


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Paragliding with the Northern Lights
This is one of the those have to share videos. The images are gorgeous, and I'm as green as the northern lights with envy. Horacio Llorens, one of the world's best acro-paragliders, had the opportunity to fly during one of planet earth's great spectacles, and I can only imagine what an amazing experience it must have been. If you haven't had an opportunity to see the Northern Lights in person, please, please, put it on your list. No video can ever do it justice.
Mission Positive Films
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Cruise from Hull
A cruise from Hull is the perfect choice for anyone wanting to explore northern Europe, but you can also choose to tour the UK coastline from this easily accessible port.
About Cruises from Hull
How to get to Hull
By Rail: Take the train to Hull Paragon Railway Station, which is well connected to most UK cities. From there, a regular bus service is available to take you to the dock.
By Car: Drive through the city centre and follow the clearly marked sign posts for King George Dock & Ferries to reach your cruise from Hull.


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Pakistani singers leave behind a message of love in NainitalOctober 24th, 2008 - 9:31 pm ICT by ANI
By Vipul Goel
Nainital, Oct.24 (ANI): A visiting group of Pakistani singers enthralled music lovers in Nainital with the melody of their soulful songs during the annual autumn festival.
The Pakistani singers won hundreds of hearts with their renditions, which strengthened the general belief that music was a universal language and it transcends geographical boundaries.
The singers demonstrated that music could lay a firm foundation of Indo-Pak friendship.
"It''s very beautiful. The love and the affection that we have got and the enthusiasm that we have noticed in the people here, makes us feel that there is no difference whether we are in Pakistan or India. The message is that there is no difference between India and Pakistan. There is brotherly feeling in the people of both the countries for one another," said Nayla Jahan, a Pakistani singer.
Habib Ali, a popular singer from Pakistan, said during the festival that the music is the voice of soul. It spreads the message of love.
"Music is loveIf a person is tensed and he listens to music, he feels happy. So music is a medium, which spreads feelings of love everywhereI want that we will continue coming to India to perform and good artistes from India will come to perform in Pakistan. We wish that Allahtallah would retain the feeling of love in the people of both the countries. There will be no tussle between both " said Habib Ali, the Pakistani singer.
Farha, another Pakistani artiste, opined that both India and Pakistan were not short of artistes. And, both countries have tradition of music, be it vocal or instrumental, or performing arts.
"Both Pakistan and India are rich in musical heritage. Both the countries have a number of artistes and singers. We are not two countries; India and Pakistan are one. There is a feeling of brotherhood in the people of both the countries. The people in both the countries have feelings of love for each other. When Indians come to Pakistan, we give them love and honour. In the same way, when we come here to India we receive lot of love from the people here," said Farha Lal, another Pakistani singer.
The singers, visiting Nainital for the first time, said that the place is one of God''s most beautiful creations. They expressed a desire to return here again and again.
Deriving its name from the Naini Lake around which the town is located, Nainital is a major tourist destination in the Kumaon Himalayan region of Uttarakhand State.
The five-day autumn festival started concluded on Wednesday (October 22). (ANI)
Tags: affection, autumn festival, brotherhood, coming to india, feelings of love, firm foundation, geographical boundaries, goel, habib ali, india and pakistan, music lovers, musical heritage, nainital, opined, pakistani singer, pakistani singers, renditions, soulful songs, tussle, universal language


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Hi all! It's been so long! Between working in three projects at the same time now, traveling and conferences, and keeping up with the busy social life here in Cambridge, not much time left. But the desire has not stopped and I know blogging does me a ton of good, so I've felt compelled to write again. Sooner than later a lot of new posts about my life here will appear, but I've been the most active on Instagram, so visit there in the meanwhile.
If you are into makeup, or follow The STEM Squad community over social media, you might have come across last week the infamous Benefit ad campaign and the outrage that followed in social media. So, here's the campaign:
It was the awesome Samantha Yammine (aka Science Sam, whom I had the pleasure to meet in person here in Boston at a conferece) who called Benefit out on this and the community followed. Just check #skipbenefitnotclass on Twitter for an example of some of the reactions (including mine). Anyway, let's talk about this campaign. It's so poorly conceived. My sister, who had some training in advertising and marketing during her Media Arts degree, said the ad looks like "skip class to wear concealer at home? If you skip class, why do you need concealer anyway?". Also, the whole point that girls who want to miss class will prefer makeup any day, in stark comparison with girls that want to follow their education and well, it seems, not wear makeup at all. Those things are not mutually exclusive for sure!
I have always had dark circles all my life since I'm a child, leading to the point that people think I'm either too tired or nourishing myself badly. It's likely from my face shape. So, if I choose to, concealer is a necessity and one of the makeup products I use the most (I even spent €26 on a concealer hoping that would work, and I never thought I'd spend that amount of cash on makeup). And, of course, my dark circles were the heaviest while I studied hard for my Biomedical Engineering degree and when I was in the lab for my MSc Thesis that took so much life out of me. For the PhD my life has been better balanced but lack of sleep (especially with these very early sunrises in Cambridge) kicks in. Turns out I could still wear makeup (in particular, nail polish), feel beautiful (with or without it), and be a good professional. However, sometimes I thought, throughout my research career, that I would be more respected as a scientist if I slacked on my looks, so that my intelligence and personality would shine more than my looks. I fell into the victim trap that society, for long, leads us to think that women that spend too much time and effort into their outer looks are lacking intelligence and personality on the inside. Even my parents told me I was being dumb for doing this, so my family doesn't go by the stereotypes fortunately.
I am fortunate to see, around me, a supportive environment that doesn't judge women on their looks or for wearing makeup. All of my fellow PhD colleagues at both groups I'm at are really pretty and take care of themselves either by using makeup or not. Their personal and professional worth doesn't depend on that at all. Also, it goes both ways. While the point of this post is to criticize the stereotypes involving wearing makeup and being still smart and wanting to pursue an education and a career, I also think it's wrong that people that have a more casual style and don't care so much for their looks are demonized for this. In my personal experience, I felt more critique when I was more relaxed with looks than when I wear makeup (well, apart from staining my coffee cup with lipstick and everyone knowing in the office that that is my cup haha), but in most cases, from what I gathered from the community, it's the opposite. To each their own.
Grad school can be a beast sometimes. So why not tackling it while trying to do something good for ourselves? Beauty (and clothes) are also a form of self expression in any way you choose. I have my own personal rituals before a conference of a meeting. I make sure I always wear one of my beloved red lipsticks and have my nails polished and with some nice color (I wrote this post while my mint green polish was drying haha). Because it just helps me to feel more confident and, for one, I believe the meeting will go better. But, more important than that, I exercise to feel less stressed. I try to sleep well and eat well. I always read a lot before any meeting to come well prepared and with questions for the people I collaborate with. Before any conference presentation, I spend a lot of time preparing either my oral or poster presentations (which I hopefully will write some tips about in the future) and checking the agenda to maximize my experience. Therefore, infusing a little more beauty, if you choose to, could help to tackle this beast full force. However, that's not the only thing.
I have also been learning from an incredible community of fellow female PhD student who have blogs and social media accounts that are empowering in fighting this dicotomy between enjoying makeup and having an education. Here are a few examples of inspiring women out there with whom I have also learned a lot by reading their posts or sharing experiences. I will keep the list very short and choose 5 among my favorites to showcase here, but the list could go on and on (here are their Instagram handles, since it has been the social media I've been using the most lately)!
Samantha is a powerhouse in #scicomm, especially in brains and stem cells, which is her field of research. It was wonderful to meet her in person in Boston when, at ISSCR2017, we both organized a Tweetup with other scientists present at the conference, which was a success! It is not the first time that she mentions the issue of makeup and sterotypes in science and she deserves a shoutout for bringing this issue with the Benefit campaign. I love following her IG Stories, full of scoops about lab work.
I'm on a roll with stem cells! If you are a regular reader of both our blogs, you might have noticed me and Sophie have collaborated already in the past with guest posts and interviews. You can read her interview on my blog here and my interview for her blog here. Also make sure to read her take on the Benefit campaign. Sophie's PhD is about embryonic stem cells and how glucose influences pluripotency (the ability of these cells to differentiate into all the cell types of an organism). On IG, I also love her lab work stories and the "A day in the life of a PhD student" series!
Andrea is a recently graduate in Biochemistry and is very outspoken about fashion and fitness while being a PhD student, with some conference fashion tips! She also recently spoke about 10 lessons she wished she learned before starting grad school, which was super valuable advice for me as well.
Now off to the Portuguese bloggers and instagrammers! Catarina is from Porto and I met her through IG. I realized she is also a Biomedical Engineer and is making her thesis in tissue engineering, an area I already worked with in the past. Through her blog, A Girl in Mint Green, she writes about a variety of topics, including some science based skincare reviews.
It seems that for my choice of Portuguese fellow bloggers I am falling into fellow Biomedical Engineers! Andreia is also a Biomedical Engineer from Lisbon (albeit from a different faculty than mine) and is doing her PhD in London in the area of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) applied to speech disabilities. Her blog and IG account are full of beautiful photos promoting a healthy lifestyle and I love her choice of recipes. I even already did homemade cereal bars inspired by one of her recipes.
That's it for today! So, let's make the PhD more beautiful by being who we are, makeup or not. At least that's what I strive to do. And making the world more beautiful by avoiding falling into stereotypes and promoting girls and women that are both beautiful, educated and responsible. I hope for one that other makeup campaigns promote women wearing makeup in geekier roles to fight stereotypes.
What did you think of the Benefit campaign? What are your views and experience on beauty and gender stereotypes in academia? Let me know! In the meantime, don't forget to follow my journey around my PhD in the US in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to keep up to date!


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'Always Sunny' creator brings new series to Apple TV+
More of Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day please!
More of Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day please!
It's not always sunny in Westeros.
"Charlie, milk steak is not a food!"
More episodes, please.
Please oh please let there be some kind of 'Night Man' reference in the 'Minecraft' movie.
Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks. Since we know you're all twitching and itching from Comic-Con withdrawal, here's a little nugget from the nerd fest to keep you going until the next one:...
Sardonic misanthropes rejoice: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns to TV tomorrow for its sixth season, and with it comes a multi-platform social media campaign designed to rally fans around the popular show. Sunny Tweets is an app that lives o...


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[Editor's Note: I'm holding a live training event on Monday, December 14th at 9pm, EST about what's going to happen to markets on Wednesday after the Fed raises rates. Click here now to reserve your spot.]
They are going to layer their post-meeting statement with a steaming pile of if, ands & buts. It will exude an abundance of caution and a dearth of clarity.
Having judged that a 25 bps pinprick is warranted, the FOMC will then plant itself firmly in front of the great flickering dashboard in the Eccles Building. There it will repose to a regimen of "watchful waiting", scouring the entrails of the "incoming data" to divine its next move.
Perhaps the waiting won't be so watchful as all that, however. What is actually coming down the pike is something that may put the reader, at least those who have already been invited to join AARP, more in mind of that once a year hour-long special broadcast by Saturday morning TV back in the days of yesteryear; it explained how the Lone Ranger got his mask.
Memory fails, but either 12 or 19 Texas Rangers rode high in the saddle into a box canyon, confident they knew what was around the bend. Soon there was a lot of gunfire and then there was just one, and that was only because Tonto's pony needed to stop for a drink.
Yellen and her posse better pray for a monetary Tonto because they are riding headlong into an ambush in the canyons of Wall Street. To wit, they cannot possibly raise money market interest rates----even by 75 bps----without massively draining liquidity from the casino.
Don't they know what happened to the $3.5 trillion of central bank credit they have digitally printed since September 2008? Do they really think that fully $2.6 trillion of it just recycled right back to the New York Fed as excess bank reserves?
That is, no harm, no foul and no inflation? The monetary equivalent of a tree falling in an empty forest?
To the contrary, how about recognizing the letter "f" for fungibility. What all that "excess" is about is collateral, not idle money.
The $2.6 trillion needed an accounting domicile---so "excess reserves" was as good as any. But from a financial point of view it amounted to a Big Fat Bid for existing inventories of stocks and bonds.
Stated more directly, Wall Street margined the Fed's gift of collateral, and did so over and over in an endless chain of rehypothecation.
So that's why December 16th will be the beginning of the end of the bubble. If the Fed were to actually raise money market rates the honest way, and in the manner employed by central banks for a century or two, it would have to drain cash from the system; and it would have to do so in the trillions in order to levitate the vast sea of money it has pinned to the zero bound.
Yet actually raising money market rates the honest way would amount to the opposite of what has gone before. That is, it would become the Big Fat Offer, triggering a selling stampede in the casino.
The front-running smart money of the bubble's inflation phase would become a bow-wave of retreat; and the hypothecated chains of collateral would morph into a monetary black hole of margin calls and liquidations.
So the Keynesian monetary plumbers of the Eccles Building will try something truly stupid. That is, they will try to levitate the entire sea of money-like liabilities they have conjured over the last two decades, but especially since September 2008, mainly by paying higher rates of interest to banks on those $2.6 trillion of so-called excess reserves.
Well now. Will higher IOER (interest on excess reserves) cause money market funds to pay more to their long-suffering investors; or cause the repo rate on trillions of government and other fixed income securities to rise in sympathy; or lift the rate on short-term CP and the multiple other forms of wholesale money?
No it won't. The Fed is fixing to call a rate rise but its preferred tool is powerless to make it happen. The so-called IOER scheme has always been a pointless crony capitalist sop to the Fed's banking system constituency, anyway.
After all, we do not (yet) pay prisoners to stay in jail, but paying banks on idle reserves amounts to the same thing. Just where were they going?
The truth is, IOER payments were designed to compensate the banks for the regulatory cost of capital required to be set-aside against these assets under the new rules. So the banks got their capital costs subsidized and Wall Street got more fungible collateral in the bargain.
Yet wait until the cowboys on Capitol Hill figure this out. In not too many months down the road, the $100 billion per year of so-called "profit" which the Fed remits to the US Treasury will largely disappear, leaving one of many gapping holes in the Federal deficit that are lurking just around the corner.
That's because even 100 basis points of IOER would cost upwards of $30 billion a year. On top of that there is also the mega-risk that prices of the $4.4 trillion of Treasury and GSE debt owned by the Fed will keep heading south, requiring it to carve out "reserves" from its earnings to offset the balance sheet losses.
The whole maneuver is a world class scam anyway, and indicative of the lunacy which passes for national policy. The Fed's $98.7 billion of "profits" last year was generated by the $116 billion of interest paid to it by the US treasury and the GSE's------less a goodly rake-off for system expenses and salaries and for funding contract research by say 85% of the monetary economists in the US who don't already work for Wall Street.
Click to enlarge. (Source: The Federal Reserve.)
In any event, Congress will surely blow its top if the Fed uses up this $100 billion "deficit reducer" by paying IOER or other forms of bribes aimed at make pretend interest rate raising.
For instance, another so-called tool to effectuate rate normalization is the TDF or term deposit facility. Under that particular gem, banks may offer cash to the Fed for seven days in return for an interest rate that would presumably be above the money market rate or say 30 bps after Wednesday.
Now isn't that brilliant! The regulated banks are drowning in excess liquidity----so sopping up cash seven days at a time will not constrain their ability to lend in the slightest.
Nor would it elevate the money market rate of interest unless the Fed issues a humungous open-ended tender to the banking system to take any and all deposits offered. Exactly thereupon, however, the number of histrionics-filled hearings on Capitol Hill would be limited only be the number of TV crews available to cover them.
It would be perceived as, and in fact would be, a massive subsidy to the banking system. That is, a reward for not lending to main street America.
At the end of the day, the Fed will not be able to bribe the money market higher in a manner that is politically feasible. So it will be forced to repair to the old fashioned recipe-------draining cash from the Wall Street dealer markets.
Even on this matter, however, these Keynesian fools can't manage to be honest about what they will be doing. They will offer up another tool called RRP or reverse repo; it will be described as an instrument to manage market liquidity in a manner consistent with its measured journey toward normalization.
Folks, RRP is nothing more than selling bonds with your fingers crossed.
Once they get started down this path in earnest, they will either keep rolling the RRPs, which is the same thing as selling down their $4.5 trillion inventory of treasury bonds and GSEs, or they will relent and admit the whole interest rate raising gambit had been a blithering failure.
When the US economy joins the worldwide slide into deflationary recession some time next year, this will all be academic anyway. But in the interim you haven't seen nothing yet in terms of Fedspeak gibberish and cacophony.
Within no time the hapless 19 Federal Reserve Rangers will be debating about whether they have actually tightened in the first place; and whether any actual liquidity that they drain from Wall Street via TDF or RRP is meant to be permanent or just a short-term market "smoothing" maneuver.
This much can't be gainsaid. The combination of encroaching recession and even moderate liquidity draining moves will be enough to trigger Wall Street fainting spells, like those of this past week, and with increasing amplitude and frequency.
The fact, that the junk bond market is already falling apart and CCC yields have soared back to 17% is not just due to an isolated bust in the shale patch; its a warning that the hunt for yield that massive central bank financial repression triggered in the financial markets is about ready to become a stampede for the exists.
So get ready for the monetary gong show which starts next week.
Today's Commerce Department report on total business sales and inventories further confirmed that the inventory to sales ratio is now decidedly in the recession red zone. This means that the Fed's liquidity draining moves will join hands with rising risks of recession.
Can the third great bubble of this century survive a Fed that finally wants to get off the zero bound after its way too late, but can't do it anyway without a massive crash inducing cash drain from Wall Street? And in the teeth of the next recession to boot?
Yes, the end of the bubble does begin on December 16th.


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PetPace releases revolutionary BioResponse™ system
BURLINGTON, Mass. – PetPace, the world leader in wearable technology for pets, on Wednesday announced the release of PetPace Bio-Response™, an innovative solution that allows pet owners, for the first-time, to examine how pet biometric data changes in relation to specific treatments or events. This groundbreaking approach to health monitoring is enabled by PetPace's proven, world-leading smart wearable technology.
Available to Pet Plus and Pet Platinum clients.
PetPace Bio-Response™ collects and analyzes physiological and behavioral data in response to user defined events and interventions.
Pets wearing a PetPace collar continuously accumulate large amounts of data about their body functions and response to events. These events can be simple everyday occurrences like taking a walk, eating or sleeping; medical episodes like a seizure, lameness, or itching; and specific interventions, like giving medications or treatments, and more.
Applying advanced mathematical models to the relevant data surrounding these events, PetPace Bio-Response™ can determine data patterns that are typical for the event in question. These patterns can be applied to identify and predict similar events in the future. Pet caregivers can then receive customized alerts and notifications regarding potentially impending events.
PetPace Bio-Response™ can improve patient care for almost any kind of condition, from Congestive Heart Failure to separation anxiety. For example, PetPace Bio-Response™ could allow the owner of an epileptic dog to mark when the pet had a seizure. By analyzing relevant data surrounding the seizure – such as changes in pulse, respiration, temperature, activity, positions, HRV and more – PetPace Bio-Response™ can helps the pet owner understand what a seizure looks like in the data, and possibly detect future events.
"Combining pet parent inputs with measurable biometric data, PetPace Bio-Response™ is an exciting new tool for the assessment of pet conditions and their response to treatments," noted Dr. Asaf Dagan, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Canine and Feline practice), and PetPace's Chief Veterinarian. "Unprecedented amounts of reliable data, together with powerful analytics, form the basis for significant improvement in our ability to manage pet diseases," he concluded.
About PetPace
PetPace was founded in 2012 to bring peace of mind to pet owners and prevent unnecessary pain and suffering for dogs and cats through improved pet health and quality of life. PetPace specializes in the remote monitoring of pet vital signs by utilizing advanced analytical methods and alerting models. The company's low power, wireless collar is fitted with an array of sensors that report abnormal vital signs within established physiological and behavioral parameters. Once an abnormal sign or behavior is detected, a sophisticated cloud-based analytical engine evaluates the signs and if needed, sends an immediate alert regarding any suspected condition. This allows the owner or the vet to take preemptive action to protect the pet's health. For more information about PetPace real-time pet health monitoring, visit https://petpace.com .


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I don't eat a lot of pork, but we happened to have some pork tenderloin. I like it best slow cooked so it is nice and tender. I have done it on the stove top, but you can't really beat doing it in the slow cooker.
One or two pork tenderloins
2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
1 – 2 tbsp dried spices (basil, cilantro, sage, parley, garlic – whatever you like)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup water
Romaine or Butter lettuce leaves
- Mix all spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl
- Place tenderloin(s) on plate
- Rub olive oil over the tenderloin
- Spread spices evenly over the tenderloin
- Pour one cup of water into the slow cooker
- Place meat in slow cooker
- Cook on high for two hours, then reduce to low and cook another 2 – 4 hours
- Allow meat to rest a few minutes before serving
- Break meat apart and place in lettuce leaves
- Wrap and eat
Sherry Lipp
Sherry is a writer/blogger specializing in entertainment and food writing. She has been following a gluten, grain, and sugar-free diet for over 15 years and is the author of Don't Skip Dessert: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free & Sugar-Free Sweet Treats. She also enjoys writing about movies and television. You can find her entertainment articles at cinemalowdown.com.
Latest posts by Sherry Lipp (see all)
- SCD Recipe: Pumpkin Cheesecake - November 3, 2019
- SCD Recipe: 8 Veggie Black Bean Burgers - October 23, 2019
- SCD Recipe: Basic Vanilla Donuts - August 31, 2019


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For those of you who don't know, GlamBox is a beauty bag filled with about 4-5 full sized beauty samples/ latest products delivered to your doorstep. It's the best way to try something before you go purchase a product. I've had issues with foundation color which looks perfect under store lighting and different at home.
The way GlamBox works is you subscribe either monthly/annually, you then receive the package every month with samples based on your skin profile. There's an element of surprise as you don't know which brands are going to be delivered to you- but you get a hint based on the sponsors/brands that are on board. Monthly subscriptions are charged at AED50. Check out the brands and subscription plans on the website.
Registrations are now open, so go ahead and fill out your details. I'll post up a review of what I think about my first box!


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Change This Afternoon w/out StressNovember 11, 2008 at 3:37 pm | Posted in dads, Families, moms, Mothers, parents, Self Esteem | Leave a comment
Tags: frustrated parent, parent coach, parenting, procrastination, reduce stress, stressed parent
Today I spent a great deal of the day picking up the mess. As you know I have been incredibly busy the past few weeks. So there was plenty of mess today.
But rather than looking at this as an over whelming task, as a thing that was some sort of growing monster I had no control over, I simply put everything I wanted in one pile in the floor. Threw away the rest. Then I sorted and put away. Finally I vacuumed. And I was done.
It was a task. It had to be done. And it would have been easy to have felt it was just too much to get through. Procrastination would have been simple. So why did I do this?
What happened that allowed me to get through this without stress, overwhelm and anxiety?
I did it. I did not think about it. I did not analyze it. And I did not let all the other "fun" things get in the way.
And now I get to look at my nice clean house, and it only took me a couple of hours.
So this afternoon find a moment to stop procrastinating. It might be in your decluttering, it might be in your making phone calls, doing research, or changing your parenting.
What ever it is make a change. Don't think. Throw your anxieties in the trash. Put your overwhelm down the garbage disposal.
Let others know what you change you made today. Leave your comments
And no matter what parent with passion, purpose, and integrity.
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Egypt's Bumpy Road to Democracy
By Henry "Chip" Carey
One year after the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian military that has organized the transitional government, accepted a limited role for the new parliament, and moved up presidential elections to July. However, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) is implicated in the murders of 300 protesters and the violent repression of female demonstrators. Also, SCAF demands that significant authoritarian prerogatives be preserved, such as a general amnesty for repression and corruption. It seems as though "Mubarakism without Mubarak" will haunt the nation into the future.
The process of demilitarization will most likely be slow and uneven, regardless of whether the Army seeks to control a transition to democracy as occurred in Indonesia and Brazil or attempts to immediately switch to a genuine democracy. The U.S. could encourage an immediate transition by providing incentives that spur genuine democratic reforms as the E.U. did with Turkey after it wanted to become a member of Europe's economic and political union. Thus, as its chief provider of foreign aid in the past 40 years, the U.S. could attach conditions to the billions of dollars of annual aid it provides to Egypt, including $1.3 billion to the armed forces alone. And pursuing a goal of reducing military repression could then act as a driving force in the Egyptian democratization process.
Such reforms certainly risk that Palestinian rights will be advocated more forcefully by the newly heard majority of Egyptians who favor a greater role for Islam in government and society. This is virtually inevitable, and the rest of the world must deal with the increasing roles for Islamist parties. Islamist majorities may yet prove more pragmatic and moderate than ideological and intolerant if they are elected democratically and are held through aid stipulations to respecting the rules of democracy and the rule of law. However, adeptly using the aid-conditionality card would still be America's best hope to muzzle extremists on all sides (military, religious, and secular) and speed up the transition to a peaceful and tolerant democracy in Egypt.
The successful revolt in Egypt a year ago symbolized much more than the removal of an autocratic president. Neither can anyone ever claim again that Egyptians are afraid of rising up to the army and of taking non-violent action, nor that women of certain ideologies and religious orientations are apolitical and passive. It can also no longer be said that that being an Islamist in Middle Eastern national security states like Egypt, Libya, Iraq, and Syria is taboo, or that all authoritarian oppositions inevitably result in totalitarian Islamist parties taking over power. Likewise, the notion that opposition should only come through state-controlled channels, as opposed to emerging from civil society has been completely discredited, as has the belief that divisions within the opposition would prevent it from ever working effectively against a regime.
Yet, the overthrow of Mubarak can hardly be said yet to have successfully launched democracy in Egypt. The military took power as an interim government, claiming to uphold the revolution and provide security and stability during the transition to full liberal democracy. But as the democratically earned power of Islamist parties loom ever larger, the military has become more and more fearful and repressive, and it is trying to entrench its heavy influence in any forthcoming constitutional government. The Muslim Brotherhood has also pointed out some of the SCAF's repressive measures. It thus remains to be seen whether the largest, non-fundamentalist Egyptian religious party is trying to work out an arrangement with the military.
Most states throughout the region instituted harsh crackdowns of protests to maintain their hold on power. The early success Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, had in overcoming the institutional legacy of decades of repression is crucial since it could set an example for the Middle East. So far, only Tunisia seems to have completed a democratic transition. Libya may be liberated of Gaddafi but is in virtual anarchy; Syria's dictatorship stubbornly clings to power through daily massacres of protestors in those cities in revolt; and Yemen and Bahrain have massively repressed large-scale revolts with the tacit support of the U.S. military. In the run-up to the three stages of legislative elections in Egypt that were held late last year and in January 2012, the then-ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood was just another terrorist group like Hamas. To be fair, Hamas actually was a 1980s Palestinian spin-off of the Muslim Brotherhood, which itself had been established in 1928. However, in the recent elections, the NDP legacy was repudiated, as the Muslim Brotherhood won a large plurality of votes. Egyptian voters granted 75 percent of the legislative seats to Islamist parties, of which 45 percent went to the reformist Muslim Brotherhood and 25 percent to the more fundamentalist Salifi Al-Nour. Still, the ruling SCAF, headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, has repressed protesters and warned the new parliament not to attempt to constrain the military's autonomy or its budget authority. Most importantly, it demanded impunity for the members of the military and the former Mubarak regime, only excluding Mubarak himself.
Whether and how the newly elected parliament, and eventually an elected president, can demilitarize Egyptian politics will depend to a large extent on the complicated, tense, and evolving relationship between the military hierarchy and the 90-year old Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and best organized party and enjoys nearly a majority of legislative seats.
Since the January "revolution," of last year, the Muslim Brotherhood has already made a pact with the SCAF to postpone the hand-over of power until June of this year. However, a instead of areal demilitarization , there has only been continued repression and provocations to divide and rule the opposition along ethno-religious, class, and ideological lines. This has resulted in numerous unacknowledged atrocities likely to have been committed by the military in an attempt to provoke e sectarian communal strife, such as the massacres of dozens of minority Coptic Christian protestors on several occasions during the past year.
Nevertheless, the historically antagonistic military and the Muslim Brotherhood, have only been collaborating to some extent because they share an adversary, namely, the Salifi fundamentalist party that represents nearly a quarter of the seats. They also find common ground in supporting the Camp David accords with Israel, as well as economic liberalization in cooperation with the IMF and World Bank.
The Muslim Brotherhood has established itself as a democratic, non-violent party, seeking to reform Egyptian politics along the lines of its mentor, Turkey's moderate Islamic AK Party. It also follows the AK Party's line in seeking justice against the military. Therefore, both the U.S. and Israel, who have strong working relationships with the Egyptian military, are very cautious about embracing such a reformist party. Many elements in both countries prefer that the SCAF not cede government power this summer. Considering that no one assumes responsibility for the assassination of a UN worker on February 12th as well as the army's ambiguous if not pernicious role in the trampling 74 soccer fans to death in Port Said on February 2nd, many are suspicious that the military, thanks to the backing of Israel and the U.S., is not going to cede power. The military certainly wants to continue to exert power, similar to the army's role in Turkey and Pakistan, and to prevent democratically elected legislatures from effectively reviewing the national budget for defense spending.
Egypt's "people power" does have a fighting chance, because unlike Afghanistan or Iraq, where democracy was forcefully imposed by external powers, Egyptians have an organic democracy movement that has emerged independently and that seeks a civil state under the rule of law. Meanwhile, the U.S., which plays a crucial role in funding the Egyptian military, tries balance its geopolitical interests with the Egyptian desire for democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood, as the most powerful party in the legislature, must not respond like the Hamas. The latter uses force to seize power in Gaza after its electoral victory and rules coercively and undemocratically. Rather, the Brotherhood can and should integrate the moderate secular demands of the population for reform, which in fact was expressed by both the party and civil society in the electoral campaign late last year.
Nevertheless, the Muslim Brotherhood has minority currents and factions that are extremist and would renounce the group's historic roots in favor of a civil state. These radical elements would expand and be mobilized by further repression by the army. SCAF, in turn, has always claimed that it was the Brotherhood that was violent and radical. The failure of the SCAF to yield power could end up a self-fulfilling prophesy, facilitating the radical Brotherhood elements to mobilize, polarize, and radicalize, while advocating an Islamic state and violent resistance.
After decades of nearly total repression by the armed forces, the ruling military, the leading opposition party, and the Muslim Brotherhood relate to each other with mutual wariness. In the past, the Brotherhood renounced terrorism, despite the assassination of their founder and the imprisonment of many of its leaders. It is largely the older generation of incarcerated Brotherhood activists that represents the more radical factions, including some who have left Egypt, such as al-Qaida's current leader Aymin al-Zawahiri current leader of,and various members of Hamas in Gaza who advocate Shar'ia law and theocracy. The army may try to provoke and fuel the aggression of these radicals, just as it has murdered dozens of Coptic Christians to inflame ethno-religious tension, and to justify delaying presidential elections that are currently scheduled for June 30, 2012.
The SCAF has also repressed NGOs advocated democracy. Victims of this crackdown include both Egyptian and U.S. donor-created NGOs, such as the U.S. Republican and Democratic Institutes, and Egyptian NGO monitors that have documented many of the instances of Egyptian electoral frauds of the past decade. Interestingly, the only time that credible elections were held was under Mubarak. This credible vote count during the 2005 legislative vote, when the candidates running independently but affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood won 80 seats was facilitated by a court order that requested the presence of a judge in every polling station But in 2007, Mubarak's ruling party instituted a constitutional change that banned judges in polling stations, and the Muslim Brotherhood-linked candidates were thus hindered from winning a seat in the November 2010 election. With NGOs now effectively out of the picture, the military could do much more to manipulate the electoral process to its favor since it can act away from public scrutiny.
It remains to be seen whether Egyptian politics will moderate religious or extremist attitudes (as in the experiences of French and Italian communist parties) or entrench existing and simmering radicalism (as in the case of Hamas in Gaza). Yet, conditioning aid to restrain the Egyptian military from repression and abuses of power will steal the thunder of the radicals' calls for violence and at the very least establish the foundation for a democratic system. The release of 16 U.S. citizens, who were arrested for promoting democracy in Egypt, is one of several important human rights and rule-of-law requirements for continuing the billions in U.S. aid that should be used as leverage to promote democratic reforms.
Henry "Chip" Carey is an associate professor of Political Science at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He is the author of: Privatizing the Democratic Peace: Policy Dilemmas of NGO Peacebuilding and Reaping What You Sow: A Comparative Examination of Torture Reform in the United States, Israel, France and Argentina.
(Photo courtesy of Zakodite)


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Bandslam Synopsis
When gifted singer-songwriter Charlotte Banksasks new kid in town Will Burton to manage her fledgling rock band, she appears to have just one goal in mind: go head-to-head against her egotistical musician ex-boyfriend at the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands. Against all odds, their band develops a sound all its own with a real shot at success in the contest. When disaster strikes, it's time for the band to make a choice: Do they admit defeat, or face the music and stand up for what they believe in?


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Earbuds, while compact and usually cheaper than other headphones, have some major drawbacks. Go for a run on a hot day, and not a mile in you'll be shoving those slippery buggers back into your ear holes. There's also the problem of wind and other external noise, which always manages to slip past the buds and into your brain.
If you've ever longed for a pair of the good old fashioned headband style headphones, have we got a pair for you. The Re:Plattan headphones from Urbanears are not only stylish and high quality, they also help conserve one of Earth's most valuable and quickly shrinking ecosystems: the rainforest.
The Re:Plattan is the fourth style of headphone release under the Swedish Urbanears Editions line. The full-sized design and modern technology allows for a rich, secluded sound. Plattan also comes with a ZoundPlug on the earcap, allowing your companion to plug in and enjoy your music without having to give up one of the earphones. When traveling the Plattan can be folded down to the size of your fist for maximum mobility.
You might be wondering about the decision to make each major element of the Plattans a different color. This was no attempt to bring back Punky Brewster's style. The Re:Plattan is upcycled from unused parts leftover from previous headphone collections. These leftover parts come together to form one colorful patchwork pair of headphones.
But the coolest thing about the Re:Plattan is what it does for the planet. A portion of the proceeds from each pair of headphones sold is used to preserve 5 square meters of the Costa Rican rainforest. Each pair of headphones comes with the GPS coordinates of five square meters of rainforest in Costa Rica protected by the purchase. According to the company, buying just one pair stops approximately half a ton of carbon dioxide from reaching the atmosphere, contributing to a more stable climate.
Available at select Urbanears retailers worldwide and online at Urbanears.com for $80.


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In order to prepare for my upcoming tea cocktail session at the World Tea Expo, I've been whipping up libations like crazy!
Here is one of my newest, with a markedly English disposition – appropriately dubbed The Colonialist Cocktail. Cheers!
The Colonialist Cocktail
1½ oz. Gin (recommended: Bluecoat)
2½ oz. Earl Grey Reserve, chilled
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. Cointreau
2 dashes orange bitters (recommended: Fee Bros)
orange wheel (optional garnish)
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into chilled martini glass, add orange wheel.


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Debate flares on role of civilian in Vegas shooting spree
Man who confronted killers called a hero by gun advocates, a needless death by concealed-carry foes
WASHINGTON - Joseph Wilcox, a Nevada concealed-carry permit holder, had taken his gun on a shopping trip to return a modem to a Las Vegas Wal-Mart on Sunday.
Once there, he drew his weapon to confront what he thought was a lone shooter, anti-government fanatic Jerad Miller, only to be shot and killed himself by Miller's wife and accomplice, Amanda Miller.
Hero or victim? Or perhaps both?
The local sheriff and his chief deputy described him as a hero, a view echoed by concealed-carry advocates who say that although Wilcox died tragically, his actions delayed the deadly rampage of the Millers. But others in law enforcement and gun-control advocacy say the deadly confrontation illustrates the ultimate fallacy of the concealed-carry mantra that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," as National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre put it a week after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
When the Millers encountered Wilcox, the couple had already shot and killed two police officers eating lunch inside a nearby pizza restaurant. Police were arriving at the scene at the time Jerad Miller came face to face with Wilcox. It is uncertain how long Wilcox delayed the two or whether it had any bearing on the ultimate outcome.
"Joseph died attempting to protect others," said Sheriff Douglas Gillespie. "His death is completely senseless."
Las Vegas law enforcement officials initially said the two died in a suicide pact shortly after Amanda Miller shot Wilcox. But on Wednesday, they said police bullets had killed Jerad Miller and Amanda Miller shot and killed herself. But whatever the timing, the death of Wilcox already has become the latest installment in an ongoing debate over the wisdom of concealed carry.
"It is tragic that Wilcox had to give his life to stop these two murderers, but there's no doubt that his actions saved countless lives," said Nick Leghorn, a self-described San Antonio "gun nerd" who writes for the pro-gun blog thetruthaboutguns.com.
But many in law enforcement have misgivings over concealed carry, worrying that would-be heroes may do more harm than good in tense situations where split-second judgments are a necessity.
"It's very hard to speak ill of someone who died doing what he thought was right," said Kevin Quinn, a police officer in Chandler, Ariz., and president of the National Association of School Resource Officers, which represents police assigned to schools. "But was (drawing a gun at Miller) the best option? In hindsight, obviously it was not."
Gun control advocates said the death of Wilcox was a black eye for the NRA and its promotion of gun ownership and carrying as a solution to a rising tide of mass shootings.
"From its magazines to Wayne LaPierre's statements after Newtown, the NRA routinely argues that concealed carry is a simple solution to complex situations including mass shootings," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center. "In his own way, Joseph Wilcox was as much a victim of the NRA's language and marketing as the two law enforcement officers who were killed."
Concealed carry in Texas went into effect in 1996 largely as a response to the 1991 mass shooting at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen.
Some Texas political figures have lamented the absence of concealed-carry weapon holders in mass shooting situations. All 50 states allow concealed carry in some form. Four states do not require any permit for concealed carry.
Forty-six states, including Texas, require authorities to issue such permits if applicants pass a handgun proficiency training course and meet minimum criteria, such as being 21, not a convicted felon and not being "chemically dependent."


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Microchondria II: Short Short Stories Collected by Harvard Book Store
Life Lesson #43
Purchase a copy here.
Tampa Review (Danahy Prize Winner)
If the Meek Inherit the Earth, They'll Have Sons-of-Bitches for Lawyers
Purchase a copy of the story here.
"Risking death to see the Matisse paper cutouts seemed like a good idea at the time."
I ended up at law school, when I couldn't figure out what else to do with my life. So far, I had found growing up to be a process of flip-flopping between bad and worse. I thought , as a lawyer, at least I wouldn't have to wear a uniform ever again, not realizing when I was twenty-five, that a moisture-absorbent wool suit is just another kind of uniform.
"Eleanor's father pulls over, switching off the cassette player's inspirational talk but leaves the engine idling. They're paused on any old crumbling, coastal road sprinkled with roadkill, sand, panoramic views of crushingly turquoise sky."
"...that country boy caroused, seduced by revolutionary politics, prying up cobblestones, burning cars, and screwing dozens of girls, as he told my 12th grade government class later, fearing not "ze AID" but "only ze crab"."
One summer night, a 12-year-old boy told me he loved me. I was a grown woman, a stranger being offered candy by a kid.
"More than even gifts, Abby Crosby loved wrapped-up boxes. Loved the anticipation. It was the same with Christmas Day."
"Not that it was ever quiet in New York, but there are moments when the children's voices fade away down the hall and I'm alone on stage, when I shut my eyes and breathe in the dusty air of the high school theater I can almost taste in that sweaty air fecund with hormones and hope what it was like to be so ambitious and full of dreams again..."
"She'd calculated her motions to conserve energy: one forward to flick free a scorecard, one to pluck a miniature yellow pencil kids were always pocketing ouf of the perforated silver jar, and a left side swipe to retrieve a brightly colored golf ball in whatever shade the kid shrieked out."


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Nano aquariums are constantly growing in popularity because they're making it easier and easier for you to own a beautiful reef or freshwater aquarium with limited space.
However, not all are made equally–choose wrong and you'll waste your money.
And if you're new to the hobby, it can be tricky understanding what exactly makes a nano aquarium great.
Luckily for you, in this guide you're going to learn exactly what you need to know to ensure sure you pick the best nano aquarium.
You'll discover what most newbies don't think about when picking their nano tank–giving you the best chance of maintaining a beautiful and healthy aquarium.
At the end, I'll provide some detailed product reviews so you can find what you need.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What Makes an Aquarium Nano?
It's a compact fish tank designed so you can nurture a small ecosystem in a smaller space.
Now, the term "Nano tank" isn't well-defined in the hobby, however, the name is generally given to aquariums holding 30 gallons or less.
They provide an alternative if you don't have enough space to own a large, expansive aquarium.
Why You Should Buy a Nano Aquarium
There are a number of reasons (or benefits) to get yourself a nano fish tank, and if you're reading this guide, you're no doubt aware of some of them.
Benefits include:
Let's break these down one-by-one.
Cheaper to Run
Look, it's possible you will find bigger tanks for a cheaper price. However, that's not always the case.
And, most nano aquariums come as a complete kit. Including filters, lights, pumps etc. Making your upfront equipment costs more manageable.
As well as this, you'll find:
Space is Not an Issue
Their, well, nano. They don't take up much room at all.
This makes it easier for you to find space in your apartment, condo, dorm, bedroom, or office to own the aquarium you've always wanted.
Less Time-Consuming
I know, I always go on about water changes.
For new aquarists, the idea of doing regular water changes is sometimes enough to put them off the hobby all together.
However, with a nano aquarium, let's say 20 gallons, a weekly 20-25% water changes is much faster than a large 125 gallon tank because you're only changing 4 gallons of water.
Weight is Not an Issue
Something a lot of people don't often consider.
You see, when filled with water, aquarium can get very heavy.
When you start mentioning 125 gallon systems, most cabinets or tables may not be able to handle all that wait.
You may even have to shell out again for a special aquarium stand.
With nano tanks, this rarely and issue as they don't weigh anywhere near the same.
And hey, if you get bored or don't like where you tank is located, it's much easier to move a 20 gallon setup.
Why You Shouldn't Buy a Nano Aquarium
Let's be real, there are some reasons as to why you might want to get a larger tank over a nano.
If you want to own a highly diverse ecosystem with lots of fish, plants, or corals etc. It's unlikely a nano tank is going to provide the space you need to run a healthy tank.
If you're a beginner, you should know it is harder to run a successful aquarium in a small nano tank.
Because you have less room for error: harmful toxins will build up faster, and any changes to the water chemistry or temperature is going to have a bigger effect.
However, I am talking about small nano aquariums approximately 10 gallons or less.
Remember, nano tanks can go up to 30 gallons.
And personally, I recommend new hobbyists to always go with 20 gallon+ tanks.
They provide you with enough room to make mistakes and not worry about serious consequences, whilst being small enough to fit in most spaces.
If you're a pro, and want to challenge yourself, maybe going with a smaller aquarium will test your abilities.
How to Choose The Best Nano Aquarium
When it comes to find the best nano aquarium of yourself, the first thing you need to think about is your own ability has a fish keeper.
Are you a confident, experienced aquatist?
Then the size of your tank shouldn't be a problem.
However, if you're new to the hobby, I strongly recommend go don't go any lower than 20 gallons.
For the reasons I touched on earlier, you're going to increase your chances of running a successful, vibrant aquarium.
Once you've decided how confident you are in your ability to maintain a healthy aquarium, the next thing to look at is what the aquarium is made from.
Glass vs. Acrylic Nano Aquariums
When it comes to deciding whether you want a glass or acrylic nano aquarium, it's not a case of one-size-fits-all.
What you need to do is look at the pros and cons and decide for yourself which fits your needs better.
Here are the pros and cons for both glass and acrylic nano aquariums:
Pros of Glass Nano Aquariums
Cons of Glass Nano Aquariums
Pros of Acrylic Nano Aquariums
Cons of Acrylic Nano Aquariums
Both acrylic and glass are both good and bad in different ways.
What you need to decide is which pros are more suited to what you want to achieve and your personal situation.
Don't get too worked up over glass or acrylic, both are proven to work. Simply look at the pros and decide which hold more weight with you.
The next step in this buyers guide is to look at the shape of the aquarium.
What's The Best Shape For a Nano Aquarium?
The shape and dimensions of your nano tank can play a big role in the performance of overall success of your aquarium.
You need to consider the length, width, and height.
When it comes to the importance of each measurement, it may vary depending on which type of fish you want to keep.
For example, Angelfish do better in tall tanks because of their swimming patterns. Where as Cichlids need a larger footprint (length and depth) to establish their territories.
However, when it comes to general fishkeeping–length is the most important.
Here's why:
Your fish need oxygen to survive, and most of the oxygen is going to come from the surface. So by choosing a longer nano aquarium with a larger surface area, more oxygen is going to enter the water.
That's why, in my opinion, rectangle nano aquariums are the best for beginners and general fish-keeping.
Look, I'm not saying you can't go with other styles. Many aquarists have had major success with all kinds of shapes.
Rectangle tanks are your best bet for success.
What Kit Does it Come With?
This isn't essential, as you can easily pick up any extra equipment you need at your local fish store, on Amazon, or other online stores.
However, combo systems can prove to be well worth the money as they tend to come with filters, lights, and heaters to get you started right away.
This can be important if you want to get an unusual shape or a smaller nano aquarium, because you know everything is going to fit perfectly with your setup.
The only downside is, sometimes they come with items you may not need, or they're not the best quality. Which is something I will address in the individual product reviews.
Best Reef & Freshwater Nano Aquariums Reviewed
Now you have a better understanding on what to look for when buying a nano aquarium, you can use the following individual product reviews to make an informed decision on which is best for you.
1. Coralife Fish Tank LED BioCube Aquarium Starter Kit
One to consider if you want to start a nano reef tank, it comes with an integrated 24-hour timer and customizable built-in filtration system.
Says the size is 32, but it actually holds approximately 25-gallons.
The LED lighting and sleek hood is excellent for bringing the ambiance of a small coral reef environment into your home, office, or school.
It's built to mimic the natural daily light cycle, including programmable functions like sunset/sunrise and moonrise/moonset.
Made from glass, the front panel is curved, providing viewing angles on the front and sides with minimal distortion.
The tank looks very cool, however you are sacrificing some surface area. An issue many users have face is the noise from the fan, but you can easily replace this if it bothers you.
And the chamber to keep your equipment can become cramped once you've added your protein skimmer etc.
If you're looking for a high-quality aquarium kit with integrated programmable LED lighting, you should consider the Coralife BioCube.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
2. Tetra 20 Gallon Aquarium Kit
Packed with extras, If you want to create a traditional freshwater aquarium with natural scenery, the Tetra 20 gallon aquarium kit is one you need to look at.
It's 20 gallons, so it's right on the money when it comes to getting a great beginner size tank. Its rectangular shape provides plenty of surface area and makes it easy to clean.
Like the BioCube, the LED hood is sleek and looks great.
The LEDs provide sufficient natural daytime and nighttime lighting for freshwater aquariums, but not if you want to keep corals.
The heater and filter are both adequate, but not the best quality overall.
Personally, I would replace both of these as the filter is not 3-stages and you cannot adjust the heater, meaning it stays around 80 degrees fahrenheit.
Now, this is only going to be a problem if the fish you want to keep require different a different water temperature.
Overall, based on the build quality and price of the actually tank, if you're a beginner this is an excellent nano aquarium kit to get you started.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
3. Red Sea Max Nano Aquarium
If you want a high-end show nano reef tank, with the very latest tech and best build quality, I suggest you take a look at this one.
Including a complete filtration system hidden away to keep everything clean and looking great, it's topped by a rotatable screen for easy access.
The protein skimmer and circulation pump are excellent and will not need replacing.
What's cool, is the design of the rear sump with the automatic top-off reservoir makes this aquarium self-sufficient for approximately 3 days!
You get 55 watt, full-spectrum Prime HD LED lighting. The seven-color channels can be fully controlled via WiFi, and is attached to the nano tank using.
Red Sea's custom lighting mount, which you can rotate to give yourself full access to the aquarium for reefscaping and maintenance.
This is truly an outstanding option for a nano reef tank, all you'd need to buy is a heater and you've got all the tech you need to start.
However, with a high-end product comes a high-end price tag (which is justified by the overall quality).
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
4. SeaClear 29 Gallon Show Acrylic Aquarium
Lacking in equipment, but don't let that put you off because it makes up for it with its polished high-gloss look and overall build quality.
It's a great choice if you already have equipment or prefer buying it separately.
It does include fluorescent lighting, however, it's not the best. I recommend if you go for this nano tank, you upgrade the lighting.
Made from crystal clear acrylic, consider this one if you're worried about cracking or damage, and want a safer set up because you have kids or other pets.
One of my favorite features is the virtually invisible seams, as they make for excellent viewing.
The tank is pre-made with hole for you to fit your own filter and heater etc. So you don't need to worry about drilling your own holes. A plus if you're not the most DIY savvy person.
Apart from the lighting not being good enough, the lid is the only other downside. It doesn't come off, so it can be tricky moving things in your tank or cleaning it.
Overall, this is an excellent, durable nano aquarium if you want to customize with your own features.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
5. Marina LED Aquarium Kit
If you're brand new to the wonderful world of fish-keeping, this is a tank you should think about getting.
This kit includes everything you need to get started: filter, LED lights, water conditioner, fish food, etc. etc. Too many to list without boring you to death.
It even includes a great guide on setting up your first freshwater aquarium.
The included filter is good enough to start with, quiet, and doesn't take up much space.
However, it doesn't have a 3 stage system, so you may want to look at replacing this.
LED lighting is energy-efficient and provides excellent daytime lighting. If you like moonlighting, you would need to replace the current light fixture.
Even if you wanted to replace the filter, lighting etc. that's included, the overall build quality of the nano tank and its beginner friendliness makes this a very good option for its price.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
6. Perfecto 20 Gallon Long Aquarium
This tank is a classic glass 20 gallon long with a black metal frame around the top and bottom.
It's a good option for anyone who wants to buy just the tank and pick out their equipment separately, instead of going with a kit.
A 20 gallon long maximizes the footprint and surface area. So it's great for bottom or top dwellers. But this shape isn't always the best for midwater fish since it's more shallow.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
My Pick For The Best Nano Aquarium
Here's what I recommend:
If you want a tank, and you're not interested in the extras that come with it, go for the SeaClear 29 gallon nano aquarium.
The overall build quality makes it ideal for starting a nano reef or freshwater aquarium.
Alternately, if you would rather get quality equipment with your nano tank, I recommend the Red Sea Nano Aquarium for reef setups.
Yes it's expensive, however it provides you with the very best equipment you need to maintain a healthy ecosystem.
Then there's freshwater setups.
I recommend the Tetra 20 gallon nano aquarium.
The tank has an excellent build-quality, looks great, and comes with a lifetime warranty on all the equipment included.
Happy fish-keeping! As always, freely free to ask any questions in the comments or get in touch via the 'contact us' page.
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Last update on 2019-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Christopher Adams
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