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Darrell Edward Issa (/ˈaɪsə/; born November 1, 1953) was the Republican U.S. Representative for California's 49th congressional district, serving in Congress from 2001 to 2019. His district presently covers the northern coastal areas of San Diego County, including cities such as Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, and Encinitas, as well as a small portion of southern Orange County. From January 2011 to January 2015, he served as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa served as CEO of Directed Electronics, which he co-founded in 1982. It is currently one of the largest makers of automobile aftermarket security and convenience products in the United States. Sporting a net worth of approx. 250 million dollars, Issa is the wealthiest currently serving member of Congress
Issa announced on January 10, 2018, that he would not seek reelection for his current seat in 2018. Following the November 6, 2018 election, Democrat Mike Levin became the district's representative.
On September 19, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Issa as Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency.
Early life, education, and military service
Issa, the second of six children, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Martha (née Bielfelt) and William Issa, who sold trucks and ground valves.His father was a Lebanese American of the Maronite Catholic faith[citation neededand his mother is of German and Bohemian (Czech) descent and a Latter-day Saint. In 2006, he was one of four Arab-American members of Congress.
The family moved to the predominantly Jewish suburb of Cleveland Heights in the later years of his childhood. Many of his friends were Jewish, and Issa reportedly worked for a rabbi at one point. He became very familiar with Jewish culture.
In 1970, on his 17th birthday, Issa dropped out of high school and enlisted for three years in the Army.He became an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician assigned to the 145th Ordnance Detachment but that Issa's unit did perform security sweeps during the series. After the series, Issa was transferred to a supply depot, a result of receiving poor ratings.
Issa received a hardship discharge from the Army in 1972 after his father suffered a heart attack, and earned a General Educational Development (GED) certificate.
wice that year, he was arrested. In the first incident, he was indicted by a grand jury for an alleged theft of a Maserati, but prosecutors dropped the charge.
In the second incident, he was stopped for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and a police officer noticed a firearm in his glove compartment; Issa was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. He pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of an unregistered firearm and was sentenced to six months' probation and a small fine. Issa has said he believes the record has since been expunged.
Issa attended Siena Heights University, a small Roman Catholic college in Adrian, Michigan, followed by Kent State University at Stark, where he enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served in the Army Reserve from 1976 to 1980 and was promoted to the rank of captain.
From September 9–26, 1980, Issa served on active duty while training with the 1/77th Armor Battalion as an Assistant S-1. His evaluation report, by then-Lt. Col. Wesley Clark, stated "This officer's performance far exceeded that of any other reserve officer who has worked in the battalion" and "Promote ahead of contemporaries. Unlimited potential.
Shortly before his discharge from the Army in 1980, Issa was again indicted for grand theft auto. The prosecution dropped the case in August 1980. In 1981, Issa was in a car crash. The other motorist sued Issa for $20,000; they eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[17]
Business career
Quantum/Steal Stopper After leaving the military, Issa and his second wife, Kathy Stanton, moved back to the Cleveland area. According to Issa, he and his wife pooled their savings, sold their cars (a 1976 Mercedes and a 1967 VW Beetle) as well as a BMW motorcycle, and borrowed $50,000 from family members to invest in Quantum Enterprises, an electronics manufacturer run by a friend from Cleveland Heights that assembled bug zappers, CB radio parts, and other consumer products for other companies.
One of those clients, car alarm manufacturer Steal Stopper, would become the path to Issa's fortune. It was struggling badly, and he took control of it by foreclosing a $60,000 loan he had made to it when its founder, Joey Adkins, missed a payment. Adkins remained as an employee.
Issa soon turned Steal Stopper around, to the point that it was supplying Ford with thousands of car alarms and negotiating a similar deal with Toyota. But early in the morning of September 7, 1982, the offices and factory of Quantum and Steal Stopper in the Cleveland suburb of Maple Heights caught fire. The fire took three hours to put out. The buildings and almost all the inventory within were destroyed. An investigation of the cause of the fire noted "suspicious burn patterns" with fires starting in two places aided by an accelerant such as gasoline.
Adkins said Issa appeared to prepare for a fire by increasing the fire insurance policy by 462% three weeks previously, and by removing computer equipment holding accounting and customer information. St. Paul Insurance, suspicious of arson and insurance fraud, initially paid only $25,000, according to Issa.
Main article: Directed Electronics - Steal Stopper soon regained its previous prosperity. As car theft rose in the United States during the 1980s, so did the demand for security devices. Rolls Royce, BMW, and General Motors joined Ford and Toyota as customers. In 1985, Issa sold the company to a California-based maker of home alarms, and moved to the San Diego suburb of Vista, where he has lived ever since, to work for the company. Shortly afterward he left to start Directed Electronics, Inc.
Issa was able to use his knowledge of the weaknesses in automotive security that car thieves preyed on to develop effective theft deterrents. Using sensors that, when armed, would detect motion and pressure on the body of the car, his device would create loud noise to draw attention to a would-be car thief, such as the car's horn honking or a speaker playing a recording with Issa's voice saying: "Protected by Viper. Stand back" and "Please step away from the car", warnings for DEI's signature product, the Viper car alarm. Sales grew from a million dollars in the company's first year to $14 million by 1989.
Early political career - Activism - With his involvement in consumer-electronics trade organizations, Issa became politically active. He went to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress and became one of California's largest individual campaign contributors to Republican candidates. In 1996 he was chairman of the successful campaign to pass California Proposition 209, a ballot initiative which prohibited public institutions in California from considering race, sex, or ethnicity in the areas of public employment, public contracting, or public education. He was instrumental in persuading the national Republican Party to hold its 1996 convention in San Diego.
ELECTION Issa's first campaign for elected office was in 1998, when he sought the Republican nomination for United States Senate to run against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. He spent $10 million of his own money in his campaign, running against California State Treasurer Matt Fong, Congressman Frank Riggs, and three others. Fong's campaign raised $3 million from contributions and complained that Issa's wealth made for an uneven playing field (Issa had only $400,000 in contributions from others). An Issa spokesman countered that the money was needed to compensate for Fong's statewide name recognition. Issa lost the primary election to Fong, 45% to 40%; Riggs got 10% of the vote. A San Francisco exit poll suggested large numbers of Asian-Americans, who typically vote in the Democratic Party primary, had crossed party lines to strategically vote for Fong.
Issa sent out a campaign mailer which featured a photograph of President Barack Obama signing a law. The mailer stated that Issa was "very pleased" that Obama signed the Sexual Assault Survivors' Rights Act which Issa had co-sponsored. Obama responded to the mailer by saying that Issa's "primary contribution to the US Congress has been to obstruct and to waste taxpayer dollars on trumped up investigations that have led nowhere." Obama said that, because of fading support for Donald Trump, Issa was now promoting his cooperation with the president despite Issa's previous stance that Obama was corrupt.
Issa responded by saying, "I've worked with the administration on good legislation where it was possible, called out wrongdoing wherever I saw it and will continue to do so. Given the close margin of victory over Applegate in 2016, the election has been expected to be highly competitive On January 10, 2018, Issa announced that he would not run for re-election.
Thank Goodness, HE CONTRIBUTED NOTHING GOOD.
Oversight committee - After the 2008 elections, Issa was appointed ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ahead of some more senior colleagues.
Chairman Edolphus Towns clashed with Issa when Issa sought to investigate Countrywide Financial, which had granted Democratic U.S. Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad loans with especially favorable terms. Republicans had filmed Democrats leaving the room after a canceled hearing on Countrywide; Towns then changed the locks to bar Republicans from the room.
Following the 2010 elections, Issa became chairman. He became a vocal advocate for investigations into the Obama administration, including the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, corruption in Afghanistan, WikiLeaks, and the Food and Drug Administration, among other issues. In 2010 he told the press that he wanted the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to hold investigative hearings "seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks."
In February 2011, the Watchdog Institute, a nonprofit investigative reporting center based at San Diego State University, published an investigation alleging that as leader of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he built a team which included staff members with close connections to industries that could benefit from his investigations.
On February 16, 2012, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services's regulation requiring insurance plans to cover birth control, which Issa believes is a violation of the religious freedom of people who oppose the use of birth control. Sandra Fluke was submitted as a witness by Democratic members, but Issa did not permit her to testify, saying her name was submitted too late,a claim which was challenged by Democrats.
In 2013 Issa introduced the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2013 (H.R. 2061; 113th Congress). H.R. 2061 aimed to make information on federal expenditures more easily available, accessible, and transparent. The bill was signed into law by Obama on May 9, 2014.[60]
Issa introduced the FOIA Oversight and Implementation Act of 2014 (H.R. 1211; 113th Congress) on March 15, 2013. It was a proposed bill that would have amended the Freedom of Information Act in order to make it easier and faster to request and receive information.
The bill would have required the Office of Management and Budget to create a single FOIA website for people to use to make FOIA requests and check on the status of their request. The bill would also have created a Chief FOIA Officers Council charged with reviewing compliance and recommending improvements. It would also have required the federal agency to release the information it disclosed to the person who requested it publicly afterwards.
Issa introduced the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (H.R. 1232; 113th Congress) on March 18, 2013. It is a proposed bill that would make changes and reforms to the current framework that manages how the federal government buys new technology. One of the requirements would be that the government develop a streamlined plan for its acquisitions.The bill would increase the power of existing Chief Information Officers (CIO) within federal agencies so that they could be more effective.
Each agency would also be reduced to having only one CIO in the agency, who is then responsible for the success and failure of all IT projects in that agency. The bill would also require the federal government to make use of private sector best practices. The bill was intended to reduce IT procurement related waste. It passed the House in a voice vote on February 25, 2014. In December 2014 it was passed as a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. Issa also introduced and co-sponsored The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (Pub.L. 113-283, S. 2521; commonly referred to as FISMA Reform) and was signed into federal law by President Barack Obama on December 18, 2014.
On May 7, 2014, Issa introduced a simple resolution in the House that passed without objection Recommending that the House of Representatives find Lois G. Lerner, former Director, Exempt Organizations, Internal Revenue Service, in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The resolution holds Lois Lerner, one of the central Internal Revenue Service officials involved in the 2013 IRS scandal, in contempt of Congress for her refusal to testify about the scandal before Issa's committee in response to a subpoena.
Bombing plot
In 2001, Issa's district office in San Clemente was targeted in an aborted bombing plot. Jewish Defense League leader Irving Rubin was arrested along with Earl Krugel in connection with the plot, which reportedly had focused on other targets before shifting to Issa's office. Issa speculated that the cause of the incident may have been a column written by political commentator Debbie Schlussel in which she charged that Issa sympathized with Hezbollah despite its being listed by the US government as a terrorist organization, charges he denied.
Ethics complaint and award
In September 2011, a liberal advocacy and lobbying group, American Family Voices, filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Issa, alleging he had repeatedly used his position of authority on the Oversight Committee to improperly intervene in dealings with Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and DEI Holdings, all of which Issa is associated with in some way. Issa's office rejected the allegations.
The year before that the Project on Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, awarded Issa with its Good Government Award for his contributions to government oversight and transparency. These included publicizing documents produced by the New York Federal Reserve Bank in response to a congressional subpoena, publicly exposing the NYFR's secret "back-door bailout" of AIG's counterparties, and cofounding a Transparency Caucus dedicated to "promoting a more open and accountable government through education, legislation, and oversight."
As of 1 March 2017, Issa has voted with his party in 98.1% of votes so far in the current session of Congress and voted in line with President Trump's position in 100% of the votes. Issa voted with the majority of House Republicans 95% of the time during the 111th Congress. ( He was referred to as a party rubber stamp scumbag)
9/11 first responders - In April 2008, the Daily News reported that Issa questioned federal expenditures pertaining to disability-compensation claims from 9/11 first responders. He was criticized for making comments that the federal government "'just threw' buckets of cash at New York for an attack 'that had no dirty bomb in it, it had no chemical munitions in it'" and asking "why the firefighters who went there and everybody in the city of New York needs to come to the federal government for the dollars versus this being primarily a state consideration.
Abortion - Issa opposes abortion
Bribes - In February 2017, he voted in favor of repealing a rule that required energy companies to disclose payments to foreign governments.
Cannabis - Issa has a "D" rating from NORML based on his cannabis-related voting record
Donald Trump - Issa attracted attention for his close relationship with and strong support for Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Issa endorsed Trump in March 2016 and did not rescind his endorsement after the Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording surfaced.
Russia ties - In early February 2017, Issa expressed his support for a special prosecutor to look into President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. On 27 February, he walked back his previous comments. Issa supported Trump's dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, saying "Comey had lost my confidence long ago."
T-RUMP ties - As of May 2017, Issa had voted in line with Trump's positions 100 percent of the time; by October 2018, that number had fallen to 93.3%.
Education - He has been critical of No Child Left Behind, supporting a modification that would, in his words, "give states the freedom to adopt best practices for their students by returning flexibility and control to the educators and parents who are the real experts on education".
Environment - Issa rejects the scientific consensus on climate change and has stated there is no scientific consensus on climate and that scientists have falsified data. Before the 2010 election, Issa pledged that, if elected, he would probe "Climate-gate", which refers to the hacked Climatic Research Unit e-mails that climate change denialists falsely asserted showed scientific misconduct and fraud by climate scientists. Issa called President Obama's unwillingness to investigate Climategate "unconscionable" and an abdication of responsibility.
In 2009, he voted against the American Clean Energy and Security Act. He opposes federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. In February 2017, he voted to repeal a rule that required coal companies to restore streams and mined areas to their pre-development conditions.
The League of Conservation Voters has condemned Issa's actions related to the environment, stating, "As chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Congressman Issa is not only denying climate change, but also actively impeding federal action, pledging to hold hearings on the 'Politicization of Science,' and calling for greater oversight of the EPA's regulations of greenhouse gases."
Foreign and defense policy - In 2001, Issa voted for the authorization of the PATRIOT Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act in 2005 after successfully amending it to require judicial notification, reporting requirements and facts justifying the use of roving surveillance at new facilities or places.
Healthcare - He favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and voted in support of the budget resolution to repeal Obamacare in January 2017. On May 4, 2017, Issa voted in favor of repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and passing the American Health Care Act. Issa made the tie-breaking vote to pass the AHCA.
Healthcare vote reactions - The organization San Diego Indivisible protests outside Issa's office weekly. After Darrell Issa voted to pass the AHCA, about 800 people from the organization protested, decrying that a significant portion of Issa's voters use the ACA. The group was also unhappy about a picture taken where Issa stood "front and center" for a photo op held in tribute to the success of the Republicans in passing the AHCA.
Instead of coming back to California to meet the protesters, Issa flew to an event in Florida to raise money, though he says he will meet with them at a later date. The following Friday, over 100 people protested his desire to defund Planned Parenthood. ( Typical coward fricking scumbag)
An organization called Save My Care spent $500,000 to release a series of attack ads against 24 House members who voted for the AHCA, including one about Issa.
LGBT issues - Issa opposes same-sex marriage.[98] He voted against an amendment, which ultimately failed narrowly, that stated that religious corporations, associations and institutions that receive federal contracts can't be discriminated against on the basis of religion. Democrats warn that such a provision could potentially allow discrimination against the LGBT community in the name of religious freedom.
Immigration - He has opposed attempts to ease restrictions on illegal immigration such as the "Blue Card" system, arguing that it provides amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Online piracy - Issa opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act based on the amount of discretion the Department of Justice would have under the legislation as it is currently drafted.[129] He subsequently went on to cosponsor the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.
Russian hacking of 2016 election - Issa has stated that he believes Russia meddled with the 2016 election, but that he supports Trump's firing of FBI Director Comey (who was leading the investigation into the 2016 election meddling), and he believes the US should be focusing on other issues.
Science - Issa supports embryonic stem cell research and has voted to allow it. He co-sponsored both the 2008 and 2009 versions of the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act and sponsored the Research Works Act (H.R. 3699) introduced in 2011, all of which aim at a reversal of the NIH's Public Access Policy, which mandates open access to NIH-funded research.[134]
Issa has periodically tried to de-fund grants offered by the National Institutes of Health. He alleged that the NIH was spending $5 million "on foreign alcoholics and prostitutes."The grants in question were on research on HIV/AIDS prevention.
Tax reform - Issa voted no on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He was one of two California Republicans to vote against the bill, alongside Dana Rohrabacher.Issa expressed concern that "many" of his constituents would face increased taxes under the proposal and that "Californians have entrusted me to fight for them. I will not make the incredible tax burden they already endure even worse."
Vaccine controversy - Issa has chaired House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearings on vaccines and their unsubstantiated relationship with autism.
Whistleblowers - Issa supported the All Circuit Review Extension Act (H.R. 4197; 113th Congress), a bill that would extend for three years the authority for federal employees who appeal a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to file their appeal at any federal court, instead of only the U.S. Court of Appeals. Issa argued that "whistleblowers are a critical asset for congressional oversight" and that extending the pilot program would give Congress "more time to gauge the impact of an 'all circuit' review."


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Open Scheduled Courses are travelling your way in 2019
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Please watch this space for further details.

subset: commoncrawl


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Model is wearing a Size 32. He usually takes a standard AUS size 32, is 5'9 (182cm) tall and has a 80cm waist.


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The tastefully designed, subtly scented candles of Maison Louis Marie continue to draw distinguished noses to the doorsteps of fashionable outposts like Fred Segal in Los Angeles and Assembly in New York, and all the Steven Alan stores across the country in between. And today, the Belgian behind the brand, Marie du Petit Thouars, introduces her first collection of personal fragrance oils, four of which borrow the delicate bouquet of some of her most coveted candles, and one of which is being introduced for the first time. "Each scent from my collection represents a person, place or memory of my family and childhood that is created through blends of notes that utilize vast arrays of the botanical world," she says. Another of her dearest childhood memories inspired her to create the oils, four of which are unisex, in the first place. "I remember when I was a child, I went on a fishing trip in the Mauritius Islands with a master perfumer from the Guerlain family," she says. "He had created a perfume inspired by a woman with whom he had fallen in love with and wanted to reveal her sensuality through a perfume. I was absolutely charmed by this — what a beautiful gift to be able to give someone."
Here, the actress Grace Gummer stars in a video, directed by Jacqueline DiMilia, that captures the dreamlike effect of one of the scents, Bois de Balincourt.
$57 each, maisonlouismarie.com.


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Shawn had a acccess visit at home on Saturday....it was really great to see his kids again. Boy have they grown....espesially Skye.
Great news for them, they will all be heading back to Hannah's fulltime this year, DCP lost the appeal to take the kids into their care for another 2 years. Hannah has been told Kaleb will join her & Skye in June, Shayden a few months later and Jaydene the last one will be home by November. Here's hoping so...and that Hannah can keep the kids happy & healthy. And more importantly the house clean, as her very dirty unsanitary habits were the main reason the kids were taken!!
Shawns 2 year avo is drawing to an end too...hopefully that will mean that with the kids coming out of DCP care that he will be able to see them more frequently by arranging visits with Hannah.
Shawn is happy....DCP have told him if he stays on the path he is on, that should Hannah not be able to cope and kids and need to taken out of her care again...he has a very good chance of having them instead of foster care. Lets hope for the kids sake that doesn't happen...they don't need anymore trauma's in their lives.
Shawn is still working, has even been made permanent. He is a lot calmer, happy with Shaz, he still has a low self - esteem, but he is working on that! Struggling with $'s due to all the court and centerlink fines which worries him greatly....but he is getting there.


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Irvine, Calif.—The Toshiba IK-WB80A is a highly ruggedized IP video surveillance camera built to withstand extreme heat and cold, snow, sleet and rain, even vandalism—all without the purchase of an enclosure. The camera's metallic housing meets the demanding IP66 international standard, meaning it can be deployed with confidence outside in any type of weather. Plus, the imposing Toshiba housing conveys the presence of the highest level of video security available to would-be thieves or vandals, helping to deter crime.
Toshiba engineered the IK-WB80A with high-quality video surveillance in mind. This is why the camera features a two-megapixel CMOS imaging sensor and a Vari-focal lens with 3x optical/4x digital zoom. The resulting 1600 x 1200 resolution captures large outdoor spaces, such as a parking lot or office entrance way, to give users a single large image rather than juggle multiple video streams from several lower resolution IP cameras.
For superior night-time viewing the camera features IR illuminators effective up to 75 feet in complete darkness, along with a true day/night IR cut filter.
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• Dual MPEG4/MJPEG video streaming for simultaneous viewing and recording
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For more information about Toshiba or other video surveillance products, click here to go to Utility Products' Buyers Guide.


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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Letter to GM by Troy Clarke
If you really want to know what is wrong with the economy in simple, easy to understand terms, read this letter to GM by the president of "Knox Machinery. This guy nails it! If you read only one article today, please read this. (Hat tip: Don B.)
Posted by Dennis at 12:59
Labels: Economic crisis, Unions
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Tony Abbott today said 'multi-national forces', including forces from Australia, should be sent to Ukraine.
I hate to say I told you so, but I did. I'm not even stretching the truth. Don't believe me?
The video evidence is here, flick to 6:00 and watch for yourself.
This whole thing is playing out in a way that stinks of political opportunism. Tony seizing the opportunity to beat the war drum. Maybe he hopes stoking 'nationalism' will help him recover from embarrassingly low polls. Or maybe he's just an idiot.
The last thing global politics needs right now is more western interventions or foreign troops on Ukrainian soil. Or unwelcome foreign troops on anyone's soil actually, which such forces would definitely be, in the Donetsk Republic. Continue reading Abbott wants Australian forces in Ukraine. #100daysofblogging #Day50


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Some basic information about Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana…
Consoles game is available for: Playstation 2
Genre: Turn-Based RPG
Developer/Publisher: GUST/Nippon Ichi
US Release Date: June 2005
Never heard of the developer GUST? You're not alone. This small group hasn't been able to produce any of their games outside of Japan… well, that is until Nippon Ichi and their new found glory in America picked up their newest PS2 game, Atelier Iris, and brought the game overseas. However, was it a wise move to bring the next installment of the long-running Atelier to the US shores, or should the series just stayed in Japan?
In Atelier Iris, you play the role of Klein Kiesling, a young alchemist. Klein, apparently like most alchemists of his time, seeks to open the gates to the ruins of Avenberry, an ancient alchemical city that has long fallen from its grace. Of course, you shouldn't expect that the gates will just OPEN without any work, so you end up in the nearby town of Kavoc, where you find employment (by finding I mean you were half-forced into the job) as a Galgazit. For simplicity's sake, let's just say that a Galgazit is basically a kind of mercenary helping out the townpeople, though it's more deeply involved than that.
Anyway, from there on out the story plays like the typical RPG fare with some twists: You meet a variety of pretty cliched party members and the story quickly evolves into a "save the world" plot, though some plot twists along the way do make the story a little more unique and interesting. Really, though, the story has a bit of a "been there done that" feeling, but depending on an individual's taste that may not be a bad thing.
The battle system in Atelier Iris is your typical turn-based RPG affair, with turns depending on the speed of your party and whatnot. If you played any battle system like it before, you know what you are going to get from this game. One not of worth, though, is that you can switch party members in and out of battle at any time, and it won't even cost your turn, which is nice.
The overall difficulty of Atelier Iris is pretty easy, thought there might be a few boss battles that can be difficult. So, if you're looking for a challenging RPG, don't look here.
One of the game's biggest draws is the item creation system. Using items and materials you find lying around, you can go to various shops and make new items. It really is deeper than it sounds; you can go to different shops to make different items, use different stuff to make new items, and do quests for the shopkeepers to get new recipes. What's also interesting is that every new item created sparks a cutscene about the item between your party and the shop owner, and for the most part they are quite humorous. However, there are many points where the system can get tedious, as some ingredients are really rare, or you have to make other items first, requiring you to run around the different towns getting the items. Overall though, it's a nice addition to the game, and almost always is rewarding.
In addition to the normal items you create, you can also obtain Mana items. Unlike regular items, only Klein can create these items, and he does so not by using ingredients, but by using elements you can collect on the field. By using these elements and the corresponding Mana, you can make these items, ranging from healing items to high powered attack items. Usually these items are much more effective than the majority of regular items you get in battle, but since only Klein can make and use them, it makes it difficult to use them properly, especially since it's hard to make a revival item that is NOT a Mana item, placing an extremely high priority on keeping him alive at all costs.
The graphics of Atelier Iris are nice, though don't expect to push your PS2 to the limits. The characters are sprite based on a typical background, and it's all well-drawn. The in-battle sprites are especially nice, with vividly moving characters and high quality (though I wouldn't say remarkable) spell effects.
The music to Atelier Iris is a bit of a hit-or-miss. While a lot of the tracks were stunning, some of the tracks were just average, though none of them managed to grate on the nerves. For the most part, the music fit the atmosphere for the game, though the track for the volcano area was kind of… out of place… How do you fit metal into an RPG like this? Oh well…
So, is Atelier Iris worth picking up? If you're a big RPG fan like myself, then yes, but if RPGs aren't your life's blood, then it's a maybe. The story and characters can be a bit cliche, but he item creation and other sidequests can keep you busy and make up for some of the game's shortcomings. It all depends on your personal tastes… Take what you see here and decide for yourself!


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When it comes down to it, BRASA Rotisserie is all about the chicken! We're a brand new restaurant with a flavorful menu full of new and crazy ideas. Taking what we knew from our Peruvian roots and spicing it up with bold and exciting flavors.
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The Top Ten Attractions for Families in New York
Oct 07,2016
New York is a renowned destination for tourists who want to shop until they drop, couples looking for a romantic break or groups of friends looking for a fun vacation, but it is also great for families. If you are thinking of booking a trip to the city that never sleeps, we take a look at the top ten attractions in New York for families, to give you a little inspiration.
Wherever you decide to visit on your New York vacation, Millennium Broadway New York Times Square is the ideal destination if you want to travel around the city easily.
1. Central Park
Central Park had to be the top of our list as there is no better family activity than taking a walk in the park together on a great day. Whether you crunch trough the leaves during fall, ice-skate during winter or splash in the water fountains during summer, the whole family will have heaps of fun exploring this city landmark.
2. The Statue of Liberty
Take a tour of the Hudson on Lady Liberty and see your children's eyes light up as they get their photograph taken with this iconic New York attraction.
Open 8.30-17.15 daily with prices starting from $12 for adults and $5 for children with under 4's free
3. The Empire State Building
It may be a long way up but the views from the top of this 102 story skyscraper are nothing short of spectacular. If you are brave enough to reach the viewing platform, your kids will feel like they are on top of the world and you can even enjoy a game of ISPY at the top!
Open 8-14 daily with prices starting from $17 for adults and $12 for children
4. The Bronx Zoo
With over 600 species of animals from around the globe, The Bronx Zoo is the largest urban zoo in the world and the whole family will love it. You can step inside the Congo Gorilla Forest or Tiger Mountain and immerse yourself in a world that is a far cry away from the city that surrounds this wonderful outdoor space.
Open 10-17.00 daily with prices from $33.95 for adults and $23.95 for children
5. New York Hall of Science
For a hands-on museum experience for budding scientists, the New York Hall of Science provides hours of fun. Adults are encouraged to take part in activities and experiments alongside their children and parents do not have to worry about getting told off for allowing their children to touch everything in sight.
Open 9.30-17.00 Mon-Fri, 10-18.00 Sat and Sun with prices starting from $15 for adults and $12 for children
6. Bryant Park
Bryant Park is an idyllic place to visit as you take time out in this oasis of calm among NYC's largest skyscrapers that surround the park. In summer you can enjoy the pétanque court where you can learn the classic French boules game. There is also a carousel, a putting green, chess and lots of entertainers, singers, and jugglers to keep the children occupied while you set a picnic and soak up the atmosphere.
7. The American Museum of Natural History
With 27 adjoining buildings and 45 exhibition halls, you will never run out of things to do at The American Museum of Natural History. In our opinion, you can never see enough dinosaur skeletons and mummies from Ancient Egypt and we all know how much kids love learning hands-on rather than from a school textbook.
Open 10-17.45 daily with prices starting at $19.00 for adults and $15 for children.
8. New York Aquarium
Coney Island is a fun day trip from the centre of Manhattan that features both in and outdoor exhibitions, including a fun sea lion entertainment show. This is the largest aquarium in New York and is situated on the main boardwalk on Coney Island, where there are lots of other fun attractions for children and families.
Open 10-16.30 with tickets priced at £11.95 for adults and children with under 2's going free
9. Catch a Baseball Game
The kid will not forgive you if you do not take a trip to the Yankee stadium on your NYC vacation. Yes, you will have to buy all of the memorabilia from the gift shop, but what an awesome experience for young baseball fans. If the weather is nice when you visit the city, you can even join in with a game with the locals in one of the many courts dotted around the New York
10. Watch a Show on Broadway
The last of our top 10 attractions for families in New York is Broadway. You may think of Broadway as a place for friends to catch a musical or theatre fans to catch the latest Shakespeare production, but it is never too early to introduce your kids to the joys of the stage. There are plenty of family-friendly Broadway shows, including The Lion King, Shrek, and The Wizard of Oz, so grab your popcorn and enjoy a bit of New York Culture together.
Don't be put off visiting New York because you have kids, you need to go to New York because you have kids!
If you are tired after your whirlwind tour of the city, you can kick back and relax with the kids in the heart of Times Square at Millennium Broadway New York Times Square. The 626 room hotel is a place where families can enjoy the luxury that they deserve.


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As fall temps cool down and we start to feel the chill of winter approaching (at least up north!), it's inevitable that we start missing the sun, the warmth... and that "summer" feeling. Not to fear! All-Inclusive season is here!
If you've never tried out an All-Inclusive, it really is a fantastic experience. Not long ago, I posted about my time at Secrets Akumal. This year, I've also visited Hard Rock Resorts, Club Med Resorts, and many other great locations. If you have never been to an All-Inclusive, you may be wondering, "what's the big deal?". Let me show you...
You all know that I am a HUGE theme park fan. I tend to be a very active individual, and I love being an active vacationer. That being said, there are times when it's nice to just have a beach. And some sun. And fabulous service. This is where an all-inclusive comes in.
When you purchase an all-inclusive package, it's just that... inclusive of everything. Food, drinks (yes, alcoholic ones too), entertainment... it's all there. Now as you might imagine, there are different types of all-inclusive resorts, and not all are created equal. That being said, there is a great option for everyone. Whether you want adults-only or family-friendly, we can find a perfect resort for you.
Secrets Resorts are high on my list of loves. I visited two locations in Riviera Maya, and WOW. Top-notch, personalized service, 24-hour room service, adults-only, beautiful amenities... oh yeah, and palm trees. Here are some pictures from Secrets Akumal and Secrets Maroma Beach. Oh - did I mention that Maroma has been consistently ranked among the top 10 beaches? Both are great; Akumal has a great vibe for couples or just friends hanging out -- Maroma definitely caters more to the romantics.
Related to Secrets is Dreams. This would be the family-friendly version... but the great news is, there is absolutely no sacrifice in quality. Check out these pics of Dreams Tulum! Sure, it was cloudy that day, but it was warm, and the spa looked even more inviting as a result!
Looking for a little more lively entertainment? Hard Rock Resorts will give you an amazing experience! The best part is, you can go to "Heaven" (adults only) or the "Hacienda" (family).
One more mention in Mexico- because I was SO impressed by it! The Valentin Imperial Maya is a family-owned, gorgeous adults-only resort.
Another popular location is Punta Cana. Although it's a newer resort area as compared to Riviera Maya, there are some fabulous places! A popular family place here is the Nickelodeon Resort by Karisma. Top quality + family fun = a great vacation!
Let's head to Jamaica and to a resort name I know you know -- Sandals! There are a lot of beautiful Sandals locations -- this one in Negril has such a beautiful beach! Oh, and by staying Butler Level, you'll get the ULTIMATE pampering experience.
Sandals is a couples' resort, but not to fear - Beaches is the family-friendly answer. And guess what? There is a Beaches Negril!
Ready to hit the beach? Contact us, and we will help you plan the All-Inclusive vacation you've been dreaming of.


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I am so happy spring is here! It is time to get those porches and patios ready for entertaining! I have rounded up 10 galvanized goodies to give you a head start! You might recognize #10...the large planters! I have these and love them, they looked great mixed in with other metal planters! All items are linked below, just click on the description to be taken to the online retailer!
Direct Product Affiliate Links:
Link 1. Set of 6 Aged Metal Planters
Link 2. Metal Watering Can
Link 3. Metal and Iron Garden Table
Link 4. Metal and Glass Terrarium
Link 5. French Themed Planters-Set of 3
Link 6. 3 Tiered Serving Tray
Link 7. Set of 4 Metal Wall Pocket Planters
Link 8. Metal Plant Stand/Cart
Link 9. Oversized Grid Planters-Set of 3
Link 10. Metal Beverage Tub with Stand
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Tuesday Ten: {Galvanized Garden}
Posted by Lindsay @ whimsy.girl at 8:48 AM
Labels: beverage stand, farmhouse, fixer upper, French, galvanized, galvanized console table, garden, garden cart, patio, planters, porch, spring, terrarium, The Tuesday Ten, tiered tray, watering can
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stumble on
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Legal.
Related to stumble on: stumble through
stumble on (something)
1. Literally, to trip on something with one's foot. I wasn't watching where I was going and stumbled on the root of a tree. The child stumbled on the steps of the house.
2. To find, discover, or happen upon something casually or by chance. I stumbled on this fantastic little café the other day. Let me know if you stumble on my keys—I haven't been able to find them. While researching ways of boosting the immune system, the team ended up stumbling on a remarkable new method of treating cancer.
stumble on someone or something
1. Go to stumble across someone or something.
2. to trip over someone or something. There were three of us sleeping in the small tent. Each of us would stumble on the others whenever we went out or came in. I stumbled on the curb and twisted my ankle.
stumble onor stumble upon
1. To trip and almost fall on account of hitting the foot or stepping on something: He stumbled on the curb and fell. She stumbled upon a tree root.
2. To come upon something accidentally or unexpectedly: I happened to stumble on my jacket when I wasn't even looking for it. The detective stumbled upon the truth while thinking about something else.


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Gynecomastia is the presence of larger than "normal" breasts in men. For the majority of patients with gynecomastia, no cause can be identified. However, this phenomenon may be associated with hereditary factors, obesity, hormone imbalances, testicular tumors, liver disease and the use of some medications or drugs, including alcohol and steroids. Careful medical evaluation is required in all patients with this condition.
If you feel self-conscious about your appearance, male breast reduction surgery can help. The procedure results in a chest that is flatter, firmer, with more masculine contours. The surgical treatment, although simple, is carefully individualized for each patient.
Gynecomastia may be treated by removal of breast tissue, liposuction, and in some cases by removal of extra skin. The majority of patients have some degree of breast tissue immediately behind the nipple, which is usually removed through an incision hidden along the lower border of the nipple. Some patients also have excess fatty breast tissue extending over the chest, which can be effectively reduced by liposuction.
All of our gynecomastia procedures are performed as an outpatient under IV sedation and tumescent anesthesia. We feel that it is important to keep you comfortable, yet avoid the unnecessary risks of general anesthesia.
Most gynecomastia breast surgery patients take one to three days off from work, depending on the extent of their surgery. Patients with minimal gynecomastia are allowed to return to vigorous physical activity about two weeks postoperatively, while patients undergoing more extensive procedures are required to wait up to four weeks.
Although scars may take several months to fade and flatten, they are usually hidden within the natural creases of the breasts. You will be able to enjoy the outcome of their surgical procedure immediately. Most men will experience a renewed outlook on life, and a newfound sense of confidence with their body.
Male Breast Reduction Before and After Gallery


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Roses Yachts propose de vous notre sélection de bateau qui saura satisfaire tous vos besoins
No results match the current filters. Broaden your criteria to increase the chances of getting some.
Or get in touch with us through our contact form or by telephone if you have specific needs not matched in this listing.


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November 17th, 2018
Doors 6:45 PM | Show 7:30 PM
St. John's Anglican Church, Lunenburg
$12.50 – ages 25 and under
$25.00 – ages 26 and over
Nova Scotian sisters Cassie and Maggie have been lighting up the world with their unique blend of traditional and contemporary Celtic instrumentals and vocals. Appearing on stages across North America, the UK, and Europe the sisters have enchanted audiences far and wide with lively fiddle, piano and guitar arrangements, stunning sibling vocal harmonies in both English and Gaelic, all complemented by their intricate and percussive stepdancing style.
"2016 Live Ireland Radio's "
"Be it their foot percussion accompanying


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To accept and sell donated items to the public CT Furniture must comply with UK safety standards. To do this, we ensure that all donated upholstered furniture items have the relevant fire safety labels attached.
Fire safety labels can be found on external surfaces of items including underneath or on removable cushions. The images below will give you an idea of what a fire safety label looks like.
If you have items to donate, please check that a fire safety label is attached to upholstered furniture items so that we can take them of your hands.
We also ask that items are in good condition so that they can be sold in store.
To donate items visit www.ctfurniture.org/donate


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People in business
Sandy Guymon, RN, nurse manager of the Emergency Department of Memorial Hospital in Belleville, was honored recently with a Patriot Award from the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve. She was nominated by Jennifer Stoner, RN, of O'Fallon, a first lieutenant in the Air National Guard and a nurse in Memorial's Emergency Department.
Joe Chappell, an Edward Jones financial adviser, recently received the A.F. McKenzie Achievement Award for his outstanding sales and service efforts over the past year.
Also, Chappell and Cyndy Robb recently received the firm's Client Service Excellence award.
They both work out of the Shiloh office.
Todd Peek, of Shiloh, an engineer in the Environmental Department of Thouvenot, Wade & Moerchen Inc., which has offices in Swansea, Waterloo, Edwardsville, Carbondale and St. Charles, Mo., recently passed the Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam and is licensed as a professional engineer in Illinois. He works out of the Swansea office.
Stephanie Muentnich, project manager at Oates Associates, which has offices in St. Louis and Collinsville, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award from the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers.
Southwestern Illinois Visiting Nurse Association has announced that two registered nurses have joined: Krista Rose and Bob Baur. Rose has 10 years' experience, and Baur has 14 years of experience.
Janet Lynn Klein, CFE, CPA manager at the CPA firm of Ganim, Meder, Childer & Hoering P.C., which has offices in Belleville and St. Louis, has earned her CFE designation.
Kelly Simpson, P.E., LEED AP, recently became an accredited professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, by passing the LEED AP exam. She is the director of Water Services with Kaskaskia Engineering Group LLC.
Kim Widel has joined the Breast Health Center at Memorial Hospital in Belleville as center coordinator.
The center provides bone density testing, breast ultrasound services, minimally invasive breast diagnostic procedures and breast MRIs.
Dr. Andrea Foley has opened Foley Dental Group in Maryville. The new facility includes five exam rooms with state-of-the-art equipment and a new dental lab and sterilization center.
Dr. Ellen Helmers has joined Hawthorne Animal Hospital in Glen Carbon. She worked at Hawthorne for five years as a veterinary technician before continuing her education. She rejoined Hawthorne with her DVM degree in June.
Kristina Scherrer has joined Ranken Jordan, a pediatric specialty hospital in St. Louis, as a certified pediatric nurse practitioner.
She will be responsible for direct clinical management of medically complex children in transition from hospital to home. She will act as a liaison between the Ranken Jordan multi-disciplinary team and the specialists, consultants and primary-care providers.
Rene Bassett Butler, an attorney with Bassett Law Office, P.C. in Wood River, attended the Illinois Institute of Continuing Education seminar on Eminent Domain and Land Acquisition in Springfield.
Todd Stonewater, of O'Fallon, a financial adviser with Edward Jones, recently received the Jack Phelan Award.
The Flood Prevention Districts for Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties announced the official formation of the Southwestern Illinois Flood Prevention Districts' Council and the appointment of three council members to serve as officers of the board. They are Jim Pennekamp, special assistant to SIUE's chancellor for regional economic development and executive director of University Park, will serve as president. Dan Maher, director of administration for St. Clair County, and chairman of the county's Flood Prevention District, will serve as vice president. John Conrad, editor and publisher of the Monroe County Independent and chairman of the Monroe County Flood prevention District, will serve as secretary/treasurer.
New physician Richard Gray, D.O., who served his internship at Scott Air Force Base, has received the 2009 Student Doctor of the Year Award from the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association. The award is presented to a fourth-year osteopathic medical student in recognition of outstanding accomplishments in the areas of academic achievement, leadership and service to the community and the osteopathic profession.


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We here are Geek.com are big fans of time-lapse videos. They're a ton of fun to watch and are very easy to get sucked into. However, we rarely stop to think what kind of physical effort it took the photographer to capture such amazing shots. Take photographer Sheldon Neill for example. His latest time-lapse video was shot over a five-day camping trip where he climbed Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous U.S.
Climbing to the summit of Mount Whitney, which has an elevation of 14,505 feet, is bad enough, but climbing with an 85-pound backpack sounds… well, let's just say it isn't exactly our ideal vacation. Neill said the trip was one of the toughest challenges of his life, but, from looking at the footage, we would say it was well worth it.
The video shows Neill and his two companions making their way from Cotton Wood Lakes to the summit of the mountain, which is located between California's Inyo and Tulare counties. Neill said the weather was actually "too perfect," and there weren't very many clouds in the sky. Normally a camper would prefer clear skies to rainy ones, but without clouds, it's often difficult to portray time passing in a time-lapse video.
The lack of clouds may have a silver-lining though, since it makes us watch other parts of the video to notice movement. For example, the first few shots at the Cotton Wood Lakes show very few clouds in the sky, but you can notice the ripple of the water moving feverishly. There's also a lovely scene showing water flowing down a stream in a whimsical fashion around the 39-second mark.
Unlike most nature-centric time-lapse videos, Neill added a quick scene of him and his friends sitting by the camp fire, which gives the video a true sense of adventure and wilderness exploration. And, like many good time-lapse videos, there are a few shots of the night sky and what we think to be the Milky Way Galaxy around the 1-minute mark.
Neill used a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 24mm f/1.4 L USM II lens. He had to carry six Canon LP-E6 batteries and 18 AA Energizer batteries to power his camera and Dynamic Perception Stage Zero Dolly. Neill said he received the dolly the day before his trip so didn't have time to practice with it. If this is the kind of footage that results from zero practice, we're looking forward to seeing what kind of videos he produces once he plays around with it a bit more.
As we've seen demonstrated in other time-lapse videos, the Stage Zero Dolly can provide great fluidity for the footage. However, it's a little unwieldy to be carrying while camping as it's made up of a six-foot-long aluminum track. Neill said he got a ton of curious looks and people stopping to ask him what he had strapped onto the side of his pack. Perhaps Dynamic Perception will create a more travel-friendly version sometime soon.


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Monday, May 31, 2010
Warm and Fuzzy
Friday, May 28, 2010
Father's Day 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
QKR DAY!!!! N is for Night time...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Black, Grey, and Yellow
While blog hopping today I saw a LO page with these colors, and wanted to try the same color combo. I remembered I had this PP left from a card a made a while back, and thought it would be perfect. The daisy image is a digi stamp from Sweet 'n Sassy. I colored just the center with yellow marker, and used a grey marker for the stems and leaves. I added some glitter to part of the petals. I trimmed it down, and layered onto black CS. I layered the PP onto a black CS base, and layered the image into that. I was going to put it straight on, but thought the tilted CS looked a little different. Last I added the yellow ribbon and bow.
Well, that is all for now. I hope to spend some of my holiday weekend (Memorial Day in the USA) doing some crafting to share with you too. I also finished my DH's father's day gift and will try to get that posted today or tomorrow. I have to find a time to sneak it upstairs to photograph it...I can't have him see it yet...lol. Have a great day!
Creative Belli Day! #92
I stamped the fishes on white CS and cut them out. They are from an old SU set that I have had for a couple years now and honestly say I don't know the last time I used it if ever at all...lol. I colored the fish with colored pencil...notice the bottom right one is green and all the others are orange. I hand wrote the sentiments "Dare to be Different". I thought this would be a good encouragement type card, or just a general thinking of you type card. I also thought of sentiments like "Go against the flow", "Different is good", and "There is always one in the group that has to stick out." Last thing I did was add some stickles to the felt waves as well as the fish's fins. Now...it is YOUR turn! Head on over to the Creative Belli Challenge and see what flat embellishments the other DT ladies found. Then create your own using the sketch and flat embellishments and link them up to the Belli Challenge #92. Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Morgan's May Card
Morgan used a bird on a branch stamp from SU. She colored it with markers, and cut it out. She picked a blue piece of Coordinations CS for the base, and picked the flower embossing boarder. I then taught her the cool trick to using Coordinations CS...sanding to bring out the base color. She really liked playing with that, and even did some sanding to the edges too. She layered that onto a brown pre-cut scalloped card I got from SU a couple years back. We found some brown with blue dots ribbon in my stash to add to it. Then she learned how to set eyelets with the crop-a-dile, and added a little blue flower brad. Last I showed her how cool white gel pen looks on dark CS. She added some little dots, and traced the scallops onto the bottom layer/inside of the card too. I thought she did a pretty good job, and actually love her brown and blue color scheme too.
If your kids want to play along, they have until the end of the month to play along with the NATURE theme. There will be a new theme for June...Thanks Little Hands Do Crafts for such a great challenge blog!
Another Kid's Challenge Blog
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Bubbling Over....QKR Stampede
Monday, May 17, 2010
A chance to win
Hope to be back to my blog later this week.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
It's A Boy Thing...QKR Stampede Blog Hop
Alright that is all I have for you...don't FROGGET to leave a comment on each blog...you may have a chance to get this adorable Little Boy stamp for yourself, and some of the other awesome QKR Stampede stamps.
Now hop along on over to see what Laralee has in store for you.
Don't FROGGET if you get lost along the way, just head on back to the QKR Stampede Blog for a complete list of our fablous DT blogs.
A Little Sunshine
On the inside I used this My Sunshine sentiment from QKR Stampede. I added a little color to the flowers too.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Creative Belli Challenge #91
As you can see I punched holes and added some eyelets I have had laying around. I used this great digi image from our sponsor Sew Many Cards called Olliver the Owl Celebrates. I colored him with colored pencils and added some crystal effects to his balloon. (A little hard to see from the photo, but I wanted a shiny balloon.) The sentiment is from the same digi set. I added a little blue eyelet (hole) to the "i" in birthday too. This is a very CAS card, but I thought it was perfect for a man...which is who I had in mind when making this. My FIL's birthday is this month, and I thought a nice simple card was perfect for him.
We would love to see your "holey" cards too, so be sure to play along with this week's Belli Challenge and link your creations so we can see your take on hole punches.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Crop Challenge
I really wanted to use my create a critter cricut cartridge, and I thought the monkey was perfect for these colors. I thought it came out pretty cute, and was so excited that I was able to complete the challenge. I even got a prize for completing it! I won a free crop night...which I hope to be able to use soon.
I was thrilled to come home from such a great day with some accomplishments. I was able to finish all of January and February in my 2010 Year in Review album. I also got some of the stuff ready to put together the teacher's gifts for end of the school year. They turned out ADORABLE too...I will post them when I get them all done...only 6 more to go! Well thanks for stopping by, and I hope all you moms, grandmas, and aunts out there had a wonderful mother's day.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mother's Day Gifts
Well that is them! Hope they like/liked them as much as I like the way they turned out. Happy Mother's Day to all of my blog readers too!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Chocolate covered....
Mother's Day Gifts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Birthday Mouse
I used this cute birthday hat image from Sweet 'n Sassy Digi stamps. I colored it in with colored pencils. I layered him and another square onto some PP from SU...which is really old, so I couldn't tell you the collection it was from if I tried...lol. I stamped the sentiment on the 2nd square and added some little cupcakes (which I colored and added red stickles to the cherries). I rounded the corners of the squares and added some diamond stickles to the birthday hat.
Well be sure to stop by the Simon Says Challenge blog to see all the great DT samples as well as enter your own card.
Ash's Card for May
So she said she wanted purple butterflies. She then "colored" them with colored pencils. She picked some garden printed paper to layer it onto. Last she cut out her butterflies with some scalloped scissors. Not to bad for a 3 year old...ha ha.
Thanks for looking, I know it means a lot to my girls to share their creations like mom does.
QKR Thursday
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Whimsie Doodles
I colored Sow Leah with colored pencils, and layered onto some light purple CS. I added some floral PP from TAC, and last some gromlets. I have never used gromlets before, but had some on hand so I thought I would try them out. Interesting little gadgets...ha ha. Well that is all for now and be sure to stop by the Whimsie Doodles Blog to check out their DT ladies blog hop too.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Turtle Thank you
This was my first time using flower soft. I really like the way it turned out on here. Last thing I did was add the sentiment, which is from TAC.
Well that is all for now. Now I need to get this in the mail....lol...I am so bad at mailing out cards.
A digi Mojo
I found this chalkboard paint at my LCS, and added it to these little wooden heart plaques. We will be adding some sentiment to the top banner part, just haven't gotten that far yet...lol.


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Photography Classes in Caney OK
Interested in learning about photography in Caney OK? No matter if you are a professional, beginner, or hobbyist, the best approach to improving your photography abilities is through hands-on training with skilled instructors.
There are many accredited photography schools in Oklahoma. Subjects taught in photography classes include portrait capture, exposure and composition, lighting, posing and unposing, and other photography fundamentals. Growing into an experienced photographer can lead to a successful professional career or lifelong hobby.
There are numerous Photography Classes in Caney OK:
- Photography 101 in Caney
- Digital Photography Classes in Caney
- Nature Photography Classes in Caney
- Editorial Photography Classes in Caney
- Studio Photography Classes in Caney
- Portrait Photography Classes in Caney
Caney OK Photography Classes
Southern Oklahoma Technology Center
2610 Sam Noble Pky
Ardmore, Oklahoma 73401
Phone: (580) 223-2070
50.73 miles away
Texas A & M University-Commerce
2600 South Neal
Commerce, Texas 75429-3011
Phone: (903) 886-5081
69.08 miles away
South University-The Art Institute of Dallas
8080 Park Lane #100
Dallas, Texas 75231-5993
Phone: (214) 692-8080
98.01 miles away
Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology-Okmulgee
1801 E 4th St
Okmulgee, Oklahoma 74447-3901
Phone: (918) 293-4678
98.89 miles away
Oklahoma School of Photography
2306 N Moore Ave
Moore, Oklahoma 73160
Phone: (405) 799-1411
108.54 miles away
Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center
4601 N Choctaw Rd
Choctaw, Oklahoma 73020-9017
Phone: (405) 390-9591
108.77 miles away
Oklahoma City University
2501 N Blackwelder
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73106-1402
Phone: (405) 208-5000
116.94 miles away
Texas Christian University
2800 S University Dr
Fort Worth, Texas 76129
Phone: (817) 257-7000
123.24 miles away
University of Central Oklahoma
100 N University Dr
Edmond, Oklahoma 73034
Phone: (405) 974-2000
123.43 miles away
South University-The Art Institute of Fort Worth
7000 Calmont Avenue Suite 150
Fort Worth, Texas 76116-4183
Phone: (817) 210-0808
124.45 miles away


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Battle of the Network Stars returns to ABC with Rousey as a team captain
May 30, 2017
Vulture.com reports that Ronda Rousey will be one of the permanent captains for the revival of the Battle of the Network stars. Retired NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware will serve as the other captain.
The original show aired on ABC from 1976-1988 and pitted stars from each of the three big networks at the time: ABC, NBC and CBS performing in athletic competitions which included a dunk tank, obstacle course and tug of war. Legendary announcer, Howard Cosell, served as the show's original commentator. Mike Greenberg and Joe Tessitore will serve as co-hosts for this reboot.
There will be two significant changes to this Battle than the one from yesteryear. First, this will be a ten-episode series running weekly with its debut starting June 29th. The original aired once or twice per year. Secondly, the networks will not be segregated. Instead, as the Vulture article points out, the teams will be based on the actor's characters (e.g, cops vs. TV sitcoms, TV moms and dads vs. TV kids).
Payout Perspective:
I was a big fan of the original show and while it will be billed as an athletic competition, it always had comedic elements to it. The remake will be interesting to see how it plays for this generation. Rousey as captain will help draw appeal from a broad range of demos and this likely helps her propel a career outside of fighting.
2 Responses to "Battle of the Network Stars returns to ABC with Rousey as a team captain"
d on
May 30th, 2017 9:01 PM
Goes to show how much of a crossover star she is and how popular mma has become.
TopsE on
May 31st, 2017 11:04 AM
Hahahaha.no big fights …4 B down…fighters disgruntled
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Gourmet and Specialty Food Shops
Categories: The Wimbledon Guide
Supermarkets are fine for the essentials in life but when it comes to the tasty things that make life worth living then Wimbledon has everything you could possibly want. We will direct you to freshly baked French and Italian bread, free range and organic meat that has been properly hung and aged, fresh fish direct from the port, home-made middle-eastern and Mediterranean delicatessen foods and a local Farmers' Market where you can stock up on fruit and veg as well as organic lamb from Suffolk. If ... Read More


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Baptism of the Lord Year B – Lectio divina on Mk 1,7-11
With the utmost brevity the evangelist recounts the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. John the Baptist's preaching and the Father's public intervention identify him as the Giver of the Spirit and the beloved Son of God. The narrative serves to reveal Jesus' true identity. He is far more than might be expected from someone coming from Nazareth. He can baptize with the Spirit of God, something not even the Baptist could do. God himself breaks his silence, and the heavens open, to declare publicly that he is Son of God. It would be hard to think of a better way to begin the story of the life of Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God. Mark lets his readers understand that he is not speaking about an ordinary man of God, and that his message is more than just good news. Jesus gives his Spirit and so he makes God present in himself and in his preaching.
In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, 'Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.'
It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.'
I. Read: understand what the text is saying and focus on how it says it.
Mark begins the Good News about Jesus Christ, Son of God (Mk 1, 1) with a prologue (Mk 1,2-13). Before introducing the main character, he gives the word first to the Baptist, the precursor (Mk 1, 2-8), and then immediately God introduces himself as the Father who loves the Son. Before Jesus is recognised from what he says and does, God identifies him as his beloved Son.
The narrator says very little about his main character. He comes from Nazareth, a place with no great reputation (cf. Jn 1, 46). He allows himself to be baptized by John as a sign of his desire for conversion. It is not a very promising beginning, but it is followed by the testimony of God himself. This is the third and definitive testimony to Jesus (Mk 1,1. 7-8. 11) and it the most important part of the whole episode: God reveals who Jesus is for him! This far surpasses the statement of John the Baptist or his expectations (Mk 1,7-8). Before others say it (Mk 1, 24; 5,6), God himself states that he is Jesus' Father and identifies Jesus as his Son. God is identifying himself – it is Jesus who defines him as Father. There could be no better introduction: God identifies himself with this man who is baptized in the Jordan. Anyone who believes in God has no choice but to accept Jesus as God. The believer's task is to see Jesus with the eyes and heart of God.
This brief episode is the story of a man called by God to be the Son of God. In effect, it describes the vocation of Jesus to be the Son of God and to act as such (cf. Ps. 2, 7). Although he is unknown, the appearance of Jesus on the banks of the river Jordan offers God the opportunity to communicate with his people. He gives his Spirit to his anointed one through the water of baptism. Wherever Jesus is, even if his presence is hardly noticed, the heavens open without any obstacle, the Spirit descends and God speaks. The time of waiting is over. Who is there to wait for, if the Son has come? Where God does not speak, and where He is unknown, Jesus is absent. When he is present, even if it is in the desert, God breaks his silence and the heavens are opened.
It is God who says that he is the Father of Jesus. When God speaks, he creates. (cf Gen 1, 3. 18.104.22.168-14.20-24). God's word is a creative word. Whoever he calls son, becomes son. It is the Father who acknowledges the Son by publicly accepting him as his own. God reveals his Fatherhood at the very moment when Jesus appears on the scene. Even before Jesus says or does anything to show that he is the Son, he is introduced by God as his Son, and God introduces himself as his Father. Being the Son results from the will of the Father. Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father. This paternal love precedes and will accompany his ministry – this man of Nazareth is the Son of God. The account which begins now is not about the activities of a mere man, however great he might be. It is the story of the things done by the Son of God. God is at the origin of the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever is said about him is the good news about God.
II. Meditate: apply what the text says to life
We have celebrated the birth of Jesus. Now we return to contemplate him as he walked among people, preaching about God and his kingdom. As we do so, we have an opportunity to relive the circumstances of his journey among people. This will help us to live among them, in the hope that one day we will find God-with-us, who is Jesus of Nazareth.
Today's gospel presents us with Jesus, already adult, going to the Jordan to be baptized by John. This must have been a fundamental decision for Jesus. It was one of the milestones of his life. We know very little about his life up to this point, but we can say that he led a normal life like that of any man in Galilee. From now on, he will live on the roads, without a roof over his head and without a family of his own, proclaiming the kingdom of God and drawing near to those who were willing to listen to him. Almost all of what we know about him – the miracles he worked and the parables he spoke, the constant disputes with his enemies, the difficult relationship with his disciples, his wandering life and his tragic death –belongs to the period that follows his meeting with John the Baptist, and is the logical consequence of that meeting. Baptism brought about a radical transformation in Jesus. If that is what baptism meant for him, then what should it mean for us?
For the Jews baptism was a penitential exercise. Receiving baptism meant acknowledging one's sins and the desire to return to God. Jesus joined the crowd going down into the Jordan in search of forgiveness and desirous of conversion, but for him, baptism was not an act of repentance. God had taken it upon himself to dispel any shadow of doubt by publicly declaring Jesus his beloved Son. The people who went to John the Baptist with the desire of turning back to God, found among their company the God they had lost. The God that they thought far away from their worries and their sin, and whom they had often ignored, was standing there among them in the Jordan. The Son of God, identified as such by the Father in the presence of John and the crowd, has nothing else to do than preach conversion and the coming of the Kingdom to those who needed it most. Because he belonged totally to God and the family of God, Jesus put himself at the service of all who wanted to belong to God and were not yet fully his.
Jesus discovered his personal mission when he was recognised openly. Having been publicly proclaimed the Son of God, he could not but give himself totally to the things of God. He could no longer hide among men who were seeking God, because God has identified him as his Son. The more he knew he was close to God, the more he felt the need to draw men nearer to God. At the Jordan, God could not remain silent about what Jesus meant to him, and from then on Jesus could not stay silent about God and his Kingdom. When his relationship with God was not known, Jesus could remain anonymous and be regarded as just another Galilean. When God broke his silence and the heavens opened, and God proclaimed him his beloved Son, he had no other mission on earth than to proclaim the will of the Father in heaven. Knowing that he was the Son of God made him a missionary. Being called the beloved of God led him to proclaim the God who loved him. Feeling loved by God, he became God's envoy. At the baptism of Jesus, God felt obliged to give testimony in his favour. With God's declaration and the descent of the Spirit, Jesus became an apostle of the Father. Now that everyone knew who he was, he had to make God known to all.
We should not forget that we are baptised like Jesus, and baptised in his name. We may have forgotten the day of our baptism, but that does not free us from its consequences. True, the heavens did not open on the day of our baptism, and the people present did not hear God's voice, but this does not mean that we are not children of God. Today, our contemplation of Jesus, called Son by God himself, and called to preach the Kingdom of God, should help us to recover our lost dignity as sons and daughters, and our mission as witnesses, an honour and a task that we received on the day of our baptism.
If at times we do not feel loved by God, or if often we do not see the Father in the God we invoke, could it be because, unlike Jesus, we have forgotten our mission as sons and daughters, the mission that God entrusts to all whom he recognises as his children on the day of their adoption? If the Kingdom of God does not occupy our hearts and our hands, and if we are not concerned about our Father's business, we will not feel that we are part of God's family, though indeed we are. The God of Jesus ceases to be family to those who do not know and do his will. If we are not interested in proclaiming to others what we already are, and if God and his Kingdom do not become present in us, what right have we to complain that God does not treat us as a father should? Anyone who knows he is a son, acts like a son. Only those who love, feel loved. We will know God's concern for us, and his loving attention, if we make God's concerns our own. God will not enter fully into our hearts if his Kingdom does not fill our days and our hands are not busy working for his Kingdom. People who are not interested in God will find it difficult to feel that God is interested in them.
We Christians lose a lot of time, maybe even the whole of our lives, if we are interested only in God's graces and not in his will, in his gifts and not in his Kingdom. If all we want is for God to show us his goodness, and we want it more from day to day, we will not feel his love. The Son has no doubt about the Father's care for him, and he is concerned about the family business without expecting a salary in return. If we paid a bit more attention to what we ought to do to make the Father better known, loved, respected and praised, we would be transformed into his beloved children. This is what Jesus did and this is what we are contemplating today. We, on the other hand, lose interest in God and the things of God, and yet we expect him to care for us. Jesus was not satisfied with just being the Son of God. He did not go on living in anonymity nor did he cling to his dignity. He acknowledged God as his Father and made him known, as he proclaimed God's Kingdom to his listeners.
Let us contemplate Jesus. He is our heaven opened and the voice of our God, his beloved Son. We see in him what we are called to be – children of God and missionaries sent by the Father. We will be his children if we become his witnesses. God does not expect us to work miracles or prodigies but only to have the courage to proclaim him as our Father. If we make our own the mission of Jesus, God will recognise us as his children. If we tell the world that we have God as our Father, we will become his beloved children. Could we hope for anything better, with so little effort on our part?


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Shadows of the past…
disjointed dancing always seen askance,
a presence in another room
there's no key to.
Whispered sorrows,
out of date and rescued too late,
that's where the mind can turn
when depression is left unguarded.
Trying to understand why pitch black memories linger longest…
Dwelling on the thought
is what gives life to lingering strife,
dwell instead
on gratitude waiting to be seen.
©May 2017, Christina Anne Hawthorne


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"Am I creating worship consumers?" A songwriter and worship leader asks some honest and tough questions.
In the wake of the new Desperation Band "Banner" album release, Jon Egan addresses the need for a banner.
Have we trained a generation of worshippers to believe that we will worship for them? Have we encouraged them to become spectators? Have we taught them to become connoisseurs of worship's fragrance, rather than its creators?


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I find when I try to make "cinematic" videos of experiences it stops me from actually experiencing whatever it is I'm doing. Trying a new approach that lets me live a bit more in the moment but still capture memories. It's funny how we all have cameras on us but we don't really document home movies like we used to.
Took a couple photos as well.


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Keith Mattar ( Sonic Beating / Fractaltribe / MA )
Keith is a resident DJ with Sonic Beating, the group responsible for organizing the long running psytrance event "Psyforia" in Boston. In love with electronic music since he was a child, Keith appreciates all forms of electronic music as long as it is interesting, complex, or unique. Lately he has been captivating audiences with high intensity psychedelic trance, or deep, groovy techno, tech house, and progressive. Regardless, his set will for sure suck you in, and leave you grinning.


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Sarah: Mommy, you look just like Mrs. Jennwa
Me: A lot of people say that.
Sarah: Well, you look just like her except you have way more wrinkles than she does.
In my defense, I am 4 years older than her. That counts for a few of the wrinkles, right? I mean she's still in her 30's for Pete's sake!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Well, I am older than she is!
5 comments:
- Corey~living and loving said...
kids....sure know what to say sometimes. tee hee
- January 26, 2012 at 4:17 PM
- Dwija {House Unseen} said...
Stopping over from Cari's blog to say 'hi'. Love meeting fellow adult converts on these here interwebz!
- January 26, 2012 at 7:15 PM
- Mari said...
Gotta love those kids!
- January 26, 2012 at 7:34 PM
- Grandma T said...
Chuckle, Chuckle!!
- January 27, 2012 at 7:17 AM
- jennwa said...
I love Sarah !!!!!
- January 28, 2012 at 6:59 AM
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Social Sciences
University Centre St Helens provides rich and extensive provision in the discipline of social science. You will be immersed in the study of society and you will be provided with the intellectual environment in which to discuss the influences that shape and mould macro and micro societies. You will also gain a thorough understanding of the long enforced laws of your country and discover how new policies are put in place.
Located at the heart of the town centre, within the long standing headquarters of international pharmaceutical company, The Beecham Group, University Centre St Helens provides a traditional setting for gaining the academic knowledge needed to pursue a career within a number of specialised and competitive fields.
Boasting excellent academic success, University Centre St Helens will focus on developing your existing skills and knowledge further, through its flexible and rich curriculum. Our experienced and professional lecturers each have a contemporary and thorough understanding of their discipline area, offering excellent support and guidance to you throughout your degree.


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This morning, the local community in Herne Hill stopped bailiffs from evicting a 69-year-old private tenant from her home of seven years.
Her landlord, Manaquel, served her with a no-fault eviction notice which gave her no option but to move out or sit and wait to be forced out by the bailiffs.
After a notice to quit, a possession order, and a warrant from the court, the bailiffs arrived today at 9:30 to be met by 20 neighbours and local campaigners who sent them on their way.
It's a small victory against a mammoth property company with millions of pounds behind them. The community will keep fighting but the odds are stacked against the tenant – the landlord goes back to the courts for another warrant, unless they suddenly decide that they want to keep good tenants.
Her home is loved and cared for – by her. All the effort she has put into making repairs and improving the floors has been rendered worthless by the Section 21 notice.
Why should tenants improve their home if their landlord will take one look at it and decide they could get a higher rent from someone else?
Our director, Betsy Dillner is giving evidence this afternoon to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, and will tell its members that eviction law has to change.
We're calling for conditions on the use of Section 21. If a landlord really, really wants to take their property back from a blameless tenant – and we accept that there are circumstances where they might – they need to compensate the tenant for the cost of moving. They should also be prevented from raising the rent by more than, say, inflation.
The thing is, most landlords want long term tenants anyway. This change to the law won't be difficult for landlords to abide with, but it would mean that those tenants who suddenly find themselves with only two months to find a new home would have much less to worry about. And because it will deter opportunistic landlords from chucking tenants out, fewer will find themselves in that position.
Please join our call for fairer tenancies – sign our petition here:
Showing 1 reaction
Christine Thomas commented 2015-12-24 16:34:31 +0000"Why should tenants improve their home if their landlord will take one look at it and decide they could get a higher rent from someone else?"
In our experience, tenants' improvements are very subjective and only in the eyes of those tenants who made them. It costs time and money to get the property back into a suitable condition for marketing and ready for the next tenant. We prefer tenants simply occupied the homes in a "tenant like manner".


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Need to connect an application to your PS4? Here's the ticket.
Interconnectivity is the name of the diversion at this advanced age. The majority of our gadgets ought to beep and tweeting and murmuring along in lovely automated synchronicity. Of course, this is the way our future robot overlords will impact the plans for their looming uprising yet until the point but until then we get the opportunity to appreciate gadgets that cooperate in Harmony.
Your PlayStation 4 has the usefulness to associate different applications to your PlayStation for a horde of reasons. From applications that work as auxiliary controllers for games to those which enable you to control your PS4 as though your telephone were remote, you will need to connect your application to your PlayStation. Luckily associating an application to your PS4 is generally simple. Here are the means by which you would approach doing it.
Utilizing the PlayStation SecondScreen application for instance here is the thing that you will do to associate it with your PlayStation.
- Above all else, guarantee that your telephone or tablet is associated with a similar WiFi network as your PS4. In the event that it's not associated with a similar system, you won't have the capacity to combine it with your support.
- You will go to the Settings segment on the primary menu of your PS4
- From the Settings menu, look down until the point that you discover PlayStation App Connection Settings.
- Select Add Device from the PlayStation App Connection Settings menu.
- On the accompanying screen, you will be given arrangement of numbers which you will go into the application on your telephone.
There are a few varieties concerning how you will associate different applications. Some applications, similar to those utilized for particular games like Hidden Agenda, will have an extremely basic association process wherein you will just choose Join Game from the application and as long as you are on a similar system you will be associated.
In a few occurrences, having a telephone or tablet associated with your PlayStation can give extra profundity and usefulness to your support understanding. Obviously, we should figure out how to protect ourselves once our gadgets wind up conscious and our brilliant fridges begin assaulting. Until the point that then I am will keep on enjoying the personal satisfaction enhancements that interconnectivity can give.


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When you study literature, you quickly hear about the term 'poetic license':
Definition: license or liberty taken by a poet, prose writer, or other artist in deviating from rule, conventional form, logic, or fact, in order to produce a desired effect
This is fine for the world of fiction, for where would great stories come from if authors did not have this form of artistic freedom? We readers would be a lot poorer for it, so bring on writers' free license and liberty.
But the world of work is another matter. Consider the following title I just found when browsing my LinkedIn feed:
First I read: Member's Name
And then right underneath it:
Transforming Mediocrity into Greatness via Reinventing Categories & Creating New-to-the-World experiences
Seriously? What does this even mean? Whose mediocrity? Whose greatness? What kind of categories? New-to-the- world: Does that just mean new? How does all of this business-speak silliness even add up to being a person's job title?
It's no wonder some of the people I've had in my LI classes are sceptical of joining this website, as they tell me that they've also run across, well, what should we call them? Linkers who are overdoing it when trying to 'dress for success' in their written profile but going over the top in their need to display their creativity? Scares potential new members off, and no wonder. They ask me, do I have to do this in order to make my profile stand out?
I tell them don't worry, this is the exception and not the rule. Most LI members have the following 'conventional form' in mind when composing their titles:
Keep it short, keep it simple…which doesn't mean you have to keep it boring. If you just want to write your job title plain and simple (for example, 'Account Manager' or 'Senior Executive Officer'), then do it. Save your creative enthusiasm for your Summary and tell the reader your story there if you'd rather. Just do it using words we understand, and we'll all be the wiser and happier for it.


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The Philadelphia Phillies are doing their best to put together a solid pitching staff in 2014. They have gone out and signed a few free agents, most recently Roberto Hernandez, but the hope is that newcomer Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez will be able to step in right away. The Cuban righthander is expected to make the Opening Day roster, and that means he could provide value in fantasy baseball 2014 right away.
When the Phillies signed the 27-year old to a three-year, $12 million deal, many thought they obtained a gem. There are concerns about his throwing elbow right now, so that is why they received a discount on the talented pitcher. He is not in need of any type of surgery at the time, so that is good news for a franchise trying to get back into the playoffs as soon as next season.
Ideally, Philadelphia would love for Gonzalez to slide in the #3 spot after Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. He certainly won't be able to replace a peak Roy Halladay, but having a healthy Gonzalez could certainly be very beneficial.
From a fantasy baseball 2014 perspective, most people see him as a late round pickup with some nice potential value. He could pitch above expectations early on since few hitters will be familiar with him. He has four solid pitches, including a fastball in the mid-90s that can help him post some nice strikeout numbers. With both Hamels and Lee being more about control at this stage of their career, a hard-throwing righthander could complement them well.
Look for him to go in the 60-70 range among starting pitchers in fantasy baseball 2014. That is the range where people begin to take chances on some younger prospects, or veterans bouncing back from injuries or disappointing seasons. If Gonzalez can stay healthy all season that is.