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Welcome!Hey there! I'm Holly. A 40+ year old insurance-nerd wife, mom, beauty lover, and about a million other things in between. This is the place where I share about our lives, what I'm currently loving, books I'm reading, plus-size style, beauty recommendations, health + fitness endeavors and anything else I'm finding interesting at the moment. Thanks for stopping by!
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Daily Archives: April 14, 2011
To Run or Not To Run: That Is The Question
So I am second guessing my decision to run a half marathon, but maybe not for the reasons you might think – hear me out and then I would love it if you weigh in. I have no perspective in these types of situations. INTERNET, I need your advice. Eep!
:::opens up can of worms:::
I signed up to run the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon a few months back after a night of imbibing and ego-fluffing, clearly. Liquid courage and a few months of CrossFitting will make you feel like you can do crazy things. I was excited at the thought of a new challenge and I am nothing, if not someone who loves to get wrapped up in a new challenge. I thrive off a good To Do List. You know this. This is the personality trait that Garrett will probably mentally order under 'worse' when it comes to contemplating that whole "For Better or For Worse" thing. While it is also a strength of mine, it is absolutely my Achilles heel.
When I signed up, my thought process was A) This will be a new challenge and it will feel exciting to accomplish as well as B) It will support my overarching goals to lose 50 more lbs this year. I still feel the same about option A. I am no longer doubting my ability to finish the race anymore and I totally think it will feel awesome to complete! But it is B that is beginning to feel a bit like a gray area.
I began running regularly in February and coincidentally that is also when my weight loss completely stalled. It wasn't a total shock and it didn't concern me too much at first (oh, who am I kidding? I had concerns in the beginning when I was only losing 6 lbs per month.) But overallI had lost 70 lbs and this wasn't my first rodeo — I knew I would plateau at some point, so I started to tweak some things with my approach. I quit drinking alcohol completely. No change. I reduced my fruit consumption. No change. I really reigned in my carbohydrates and started tracking my food. No change. I tried Intermittent Fasting. No change. After 2 months, I hadn't lost a single pound and it sure wasn't for lack of effort. I was starting to get REALLY frustrated.
I continued to train for the half marathon, actually even kicking that up a notch, and I tried to remain patient because my body composition was still changing. My pants continued to get looser. If it wasn't for my friend Sarah and the lovely AndreAnna (who sent me a box full of 12 POUNDS OF CLOTHES, God love her!) I would have absolutely nothing to wear! Things were changing, but the truth was with a goal of 50+ more pounds, something had to give because I was not comfortable staying at this weight and just saying "Oh, this is my body's set point." Because it is not. There was something rotten in the state of Denmark, and I was determined to figure out what it was.
Frustrated (and kind of exhausted, frankly) I had decided to take a little running hiatus. Three days per week I had been running 3-4 miles before I started work at 7am and you know what, I WAS TIRED. Especially considering that at least 2 days per week I would work until 4:30, CrossFit at 5pm and then go home to make dinner, handle things on the homefront, and try to squeeze in some active relaxing before I would crap out on the couch just to get up and do it all over again. It was becoming a bit of a grind, and I just didn't want it to be like that.
I have a tendency to get a little obsessive with goals so trying to employ some things I have learned about balance over the last 8 months, I took this opportunity to try and intervene before I got to the point of quitting out of exhaustion. I weighed my options (no pun intended) about what could give a little, and I chose to take the break from running because even though I enjoy, it can't hold a candle to how much I love CrossFit. I couldn't imagine a week without CrossFit, and I thought I could ease off the running without much consequence since I had plenty of time to get back on the wagon before the Half Marathon in June.
My last run was March 24th. Since that run I have yet to get back outside to run or hopped on the treadmill. I have continued CrossFitting 3-4 times per week but I ditched my food tracking and just went back to eating an unweighed, unmeasured Paleo diet because I wanted to get back to being intuitive about my eating. You know with my obsessive personality there is nothing that drives me to insanity quicker than tracking my food. I started having a glass of wine again with dinner on the weekends because DAMMIT! I really enjoy that and don't like feeling deprived. I bought a giant box of mangoes from Costco and I have been shameless eating them for dessert nightly and that one act alone has brought more joy to my life that you can even imagine. Fresh Mangoes! I could write a love poem about them, but I will spare you.
Also, I lost 7 lbs.
And the only difference was that I was exercising less and enjoying what I eat more. This weight loss journey is just abolutely messes with your mind sometimes, doesn't it?
I was doing some hop scotching around Mark's Daily Apple (a great resource for Primal/Paleo info!) and I read The Case Against Cardio. I think he does a succinct job at explaining why rigorous aerobic activity isn't always a great way to burn fat, but talk about an idea that goes against everything you've ever been taught about losing weight. But hey, so does going Paleo, and that seems to be working out pretty swimmingly for me in the big scheme of things! So I kept an open mind. Then I re-read this article about chronic cardio and a little light bulb in my head went off. It was actually this passage that got me thinking:
This kind of training…raises cortisol levels, increases oxidative damage, systemic inflammation, depresses the immune system and decreases fat metabolism. About the only good thing it does in improve cardiac muscle strength – and even then you get to the point of diminishing returns fairly quickly.
Was I doing myself a disservice with all the running without even meaning to?
Needless to say I haven't been super excited to get back on the treadmill. Sure I have missed it a little bit, but when I go to bed each night and think, "Should I set my alarm for 4am tomorrow and get back on the treadmill?" I never feel the pull of the Siren's song like I do when I skip CrossFit. I don't want to stop running forever, don't worry out there my favorite running buddies! But part of me feels like at this point in my journey, running might need to take a back seat. I am trying to see the forest through the trees here, and my major goal this year is to lose the weight. That is Numero Uno. I don't want to do anything to hinder that. But I also don't think I will be able to show up in June and perform well in this Half Marathon if I don't get back on the training bandwagon — when I stopped running I was only doing about 5-6 miles comfortably. That would obviously need to improve and I am thinking my abilities may have even decreased with the time I've taken off, who knows?
The last little nagging thing is that we are already registered to the tune of a few hundred dollars that is non-refundable if we opt out of the race. This point is moot whether we run or not, that money is spent. But if we do choose to run it, we will also have to fork over at least an additional $600-800 for plane fare/hotel/food/etc at a minimum.
I'm starting to wonder whether it is worth the cost. Physically. Mentally. Financially. But damn if the idea of giving up on a goal doesn't chap my stubborn hide!
I'm struggling. Any words of wisdom, internet?


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subset: commoncrawl


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Marvel's release of Shane Black's Iron Man 3 is not only hotly anticipated here in the States, but all around the world. If you live in China, you'll also be treated to a Chinese version of the film at a future undetermined date that features a special appearance by Fan Bingbing in addition to bonus features specifically tailored to Chinese audiences. Both versions of the film will star renowned Chinese actor Wang Xueqi as well as footage filmed in Beijing last December. If you don't happen to live in China, not to worry; the bonus scenes will likely appear on the Blu-ray and DVD release of Iron Man 3 in the future, though this particular report doesn't address that quite yet.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 opens May 3. Hit the jump for the full press release.
Here's the press release for Marvel's Chinese version of Iron Man 3:
Marvel Studios and DMG announced that a Chinese version of IRON MAN 3 will be released in China on a date to be announced in the near future. DMG, a Chinese media and entertainment company, collaborated with Marvel Studios on the Chinese elements in the film, and is marketing and distributing the film in China. While Marvel and DMG have decided not to apply for co-production status in China, the film includes significant Chinese elements. Renowned Chinese actor Wang Xueqi will appear in both the studio's Chinese version of the film and in its international and domestic US version. Both versions of the film include Iron Man 3 footage filmed in Beijing in December. The Chinese version of the film will also feature a special appearance of China's top actress, Fan Bingbing, and will offer specially prepared bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience. Marvel Studios' experience working on this film with Fan Bingbing and Wang Xueqi and in shooting in China has been very positive and has created a springboard for future collaboration with China's talented stars and its growing film and television industry. The IRON MAN cast and filmmakers look forward to bringing IRON MAN back to China.
Here's the official synopsis for Iron Man 3:
Marvel's Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
Click here for all our Iron Man 3 coverage or browse recent coverage below:
- New IRON MAN 3 Armor Images Provide First Look at Sub Orbital "Gemini" and Disaster Rescue "Red Snapper" Suits
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Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE) is a Stunning Cosplay lady from Mexico
Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE) is a Stunning Cosplay lady from Mexico
Michel Le Bon and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE) is a stunning cosplayer from Mexico and her astonishing looks means that this talented lady can play various classy characters with ultimate ease. Not only this, but Veronica clearly loves Japanese cosplay and international cosplay and this can be seen by her diverse and exquisite images.
Veronica is from Mexico City and this elegant young lady will turn 26 years old on September 19. However, despite her young age it is apparent that cosplay runs through her veins because Veronica first started doing cosplay eleven years ago.
This charming lady is extremely busy and she is also a cosmaker and does cosplay commission when time permits. Veronica prefers to wear cosplay in a natural environment rather than enter contests. This is a blessing in disguise for cosplayers who enter contests because Veronica with her elegance and style would certainly be challenging for number one spot.
Veronica is extremely articulate and her Alice in Wonderland image shows her stunning beauty and this is matched by a beautiful pose which melts the heart.
Mexican magazines have highlighted Veronica and this enabled many people to see a glimpse of her world and clearly her lovely features hit a chord. Veronica who is also a cosmaker is a perfect example of cosplay and how this art form is gracing the world.
Victoria Centeno (Cosplay Girl) was recently highlighted on Modern Tokyo Times and both Victoria and Veronica are a cut above. This applies to elegance, style, panache and both ladies ooze sophistication and open-up a world where cosplay, modeling, art and class come together.
Veronica is also invited to important cosplay conventions and for more than 5 years this graceful and stunning lady travelled all over Mexico and participated as a guest and luckily for the cosplay world she will continue to bless conventions in the future.
Cosplay appeals to Veronica because she can play and enter the world of her favourite characters. Also, Veronica loves cosplay because it increases self-confidence and natural skills like sewing, crafts, and learning about other cultures, is part of the cosplay world.
Veronica also gets great satisfaction when people recognize her cosplay and appreciate all the hard work put into the costume, make up, visual image, intricate designs and entering the world of the character on show. This, to Veronica, is much more rewarding than trying to win competitions.
This fact, and the emphasis by Veronica on meeting new friends with similar interests, and being a cosmaker, is ample evidence that this lady is a true cosplayer.
Veronica hopes one day to visit Japan in order to experience the "culture, history, traditions, architecture, beliefs, and legends." Also, with Veronica's stunning looks and images which focus on "cuteness" then kawaii culture and fashion in Harajuku would surely interest this elegant lady.
Modelling and photography also appeals to Veronica and clearly both suit this talented lady. Veronica also describes her style as "cute" because nearly all of her cosplay is based on characters which are cute.
The readership of Modern Tokyo Times will certainly support Veronica when she says her style is "cute" but add a little more by stating "amazingly cute and elegant."
Hopefully one day this charming lady will grace Tokyo and Japan because "cosplay is in her heart" and her love of knowledge means that Veronica is a special lady.
http://puchyslove.blogspot.com/ – Please visit Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE)
http://puchys.deviantart.com/ Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE)
https://www.facebook.com/PuchysLOVECosplay Veronica Jullian (PuchysLOVE)


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Date: 29 Mar 2011
Time: 7.30 p.m.
Venue: Altona RSL Function Room
Who are present:
- Andrew Lezala, Metro CEO
- Brad Voss, Metro
- Norman Gray, Deputy Director of Public Transport
- Hugh Millichip, Senior Transport Planner from Department of Transport
- Colleen Hartland (Greens), MLC for Western Metropolitan Region
- Jill Hennessy (Labour), State MP for Altona
- Wade Noonan (Labour), State MP for Williamstown
- Cr Tony Briffa (Independent), Deputy Mayor of Hobsons Bay City Council
- Cr Bill Tehan (Labour), Councillor for Spotswood Ward
- Cr Luba Grigorovitch (Labour), Councillor for Altona Meadows Ward
- Reporters from the mass media
- The Altona Community
- Bernie Finn (Liberal), MLC for Western Metropolitan Region
- Cr Michael Raffoul (Labour), Mayor of Hobsons Bay City Council
Send queries and suggestions to:
- Sandra Wilson: 0432 161 777 (Mobile), email@example.com (Email)
- Jill Bilston, Manager of Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre
Next Meeting
- Date: Thursday 7 Apr 2011
- Time: 7.30 p.m.
- Venue: Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre
Due to overwhelming turnout for the first meeting at the Louis Joel Arts & Community Centre, the second meeting was held at the much larger function room at Altona RSL. But this was still packed to the full capacity, with people continuously streaming into the venue.
Like the first meeting, the Transport Minister Terry Mulder and the two Liberal MPs Bernie Finn and Andrew Elsbury did not attend, with the Transport Minister citing a prior engagement (Ref 1). The Community Meeting is however honoured to have the presence of Metro CEO, Andrew Lezala and the Deputy Director of Public Transport, Norman Gray as the pivotal guests.
As this Meeting is organized by the Greens, Deputy Mayor Tony Briffa said that the Hobsons Bay City Council had invited the Transport Minister to its own, non-partisan meeting but has so far not received any reply from the Minister. Tony Briffa emphasized that Hobsons Bay City Council had opposed the change, contrary to what the Minister had told Hobsons Bay Weekly: "I understand that both Metro and the Department of Transport have been out and spoken with all the councils in the western suburbs and councils are very happy with the level of service that they're going to be provided under the new timetable." (Ref 2)
The Meeting started with Andrew Lezala presenting data to illustrate the size and complexity of the Melbourne train network, explaining the need to change the timetables and untangle the network by removing crisscrossing of trains. The Altona Loop was made the sacrificial lamb because it makes up only 1% of the passenger volume in Melbourne's metropolitan network. These so-called Greenfield timetables will be implemented in 4 stages:
- Cross-city services affecting Werribee, Williamstown, Frankston lines (May 2011)
- Northern group of lines with Sunbury electrification (End of 2011)
- Clifton Hill and Burnley groups with extension to South Morang (2012 ??)
- Cross-city services, affecting?? (Date ??)
He was interrupted several times by commotions from the audience. The moderator Janet Rice had to step in to ask the audience to allow him to complete his presentation.
The next part of the Meeting is to allow the audience to ask questions seeking clarifications on the changes. I could not follow the train of thoughts as there were simply too many questions being raised. There was a person taking the minutes so you will be able to read the details from Colleen Hartland's webpage.
These are the few information that I can recollect:
- Morning peak hours are from 7.30-8.30 am, with shoulder peak hours up to 9 am.
- Peak hour trains run from Laverton through Altona Loop, stopping all stations to Flinders Street. There are no more Express trains for Altona passengers. Andrew Lezala called this an improved service as the train starts from Laverton instead of Werribee so there will be more seats on the train for Altona passengers. But I will rather reach my destination earlier.
- 7 minutes to wait for connecting Werribee Train at Newport during non-peak hours.
- A man who had studied the new timetable pointed out that passengers travelling from Werribee will have to wait 20 minutes at Laverton to connect the Altona Loop Shuttle, in order to get to Altona during peak hours.
- The single track sections in Hurstbridge Line and from Cranbourne to Dandenong will be duplicated in priority. Then hopefully, the Altona Loop will be considered for duplication.
You can download a copy of Metro's new timetable here. You should study how the new timetable would affect you, email Sandra Wilson your concerns and suggestions who will then consolidate all the concerns from the Community and use these as the basis for taking further actions.
What I feel is that the Metro CEO's replies barely satisfy the audience. When pressed on how the new timetable would benefit Altona, he could only keep reiterating that the new timetable would bring about improved service reliability and punctuality, that it is limited to the off-peak hours and that it will benefit the Melbourne's train network as a whole. The audience will like the discussion to be focused on Altona train services rather than other parts of Melbourne. An old lady in the first front row aptly summed up the sentiment by saying that Altona residents have been neglected for 50 years and when the service is just starting to show improvements, the community is once again punished for the betterment of other parts of Melbourne. Another lady struck a chord with the audience by recounting how she was told by the Metro customer officer to travel to and forth between Newport and Laverton without getting anywhere near to home, when all trains decided to run express and skip the Altona Loop to make up for lost time. This inequity needs to be redressed.
Here is a video showing the proceedings of the meeting.
The last part of the meeting is to inform the audience of what the Committee and various MPs had been doing (such as petitions) as well as to get suggestions from the audience of how to proceed. At this stage, the Metro CEO and the Deputy Director of Public Transport left the venue.
The following suggestions were raised (I cannot recall all):
1. Andrew Lezala said that Metro had conducted a survey that finds out 82.9% of Werribee passenger prefers direct service to Flinders Street and not through the City Loop. This forms the basis of taking the Werribee Services completely out of the City Loop during peak and non-peak hours. The audience was skeptical of this finding. Andrew also said that Williamstown had more passengers compared to the Altona Loop, which justifies the decision to transfer the shuttle train service from Williamstown to the Altona Loop. Again, the audience was not convinced. Someone suggested conducting an independent analysis to ascertain these two justifications.
2. People who normally travel just outside the peak hours e.g. after 9 am will be forced to schedule their travel in peak hours. This will result in crowding during peak hours, with prams and handicapped persons taking more time to board trains, thereby contributing to decreased train reliability and delays during peak hours. This will impact on Metro's performance and Andrew Lezala's promise that Altona passengers will enjoy improved train reliability and punctuality.
3. If the train is late or you miss the connecting trains due to delay, make complaints to Metro and the Transport Ombudsman. If every Altona passenger makes it a point to lodge a complaint for every single delay, then Metro will have to come up with even more manpower and financial resources to handle these complaints.
4. Request documents from Metro and the Transport Department on why Altona is singled out. Challenge the research done by Metro – ask for details and sample size.
5. Post-mortem after one month of implementing the timetable to validate the improved reliability and punctuality, as promised by the Metro CEO.
6. Examine the new timetable for irregularities and loopholes to see why gaps are not filled up with more train services. Propose an alternative, improved timetable.
7. Engage other organizations within the community. Look at discrimination against certain groups, such as the disabled.
8. Segregate the petitions into groups, such as the handicapped, students, local traders, working people, senior citizens, people and tourists from other suburbs, etc.
9. Explore legal action. Look into the franchise agreement/contract between the Victorian Government and Metro.
10. Involve the Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is an Altona resident. Frankly speaking, I think this will not work as she will be seen as interfering with state affairs. The most she can do is to put her signature on a petition letter, in the capacity as an Altona resident.
11. Everyone wearing the same coloured clothes, taking a train excursion to the City, changing trains at Newport and North Melbourne and having a picnics (demonstration) in front of Parliament House.
12. Altona, Seaholme and Westona passengers all go to Flinders Street Station without paying – hurt the pockets of Metro. I think Metro and the mass media should be given prior notice that this is a form of protest, otherwise Altona commuters will end up paying fines without achieving any objective and limelight.
13. Grab the media attention. When Bairnsdale Station was to be closed, the locals sat on the tracks for days, finally winning over.
I will add to this post if I recall more.


text: The F word #WTF!?#engagement#identity Updated Oct 12 2015 (Posted Apr 4 2011) Megan Finley Horowitz meggyfin Photo by docksidepress, used by CC license. I'm putting this out there because I believe I can't be the ONLY ONE to have felt this way. Okay, here's the deal: I hate the word "fiance." My partner Aaron and I were engaged for a year and we never got used to saying it. It just felt funny on my tongue and weird coming out of my mouth. Another one of those "this feels too fancy for me" things. (I swear, I must have some sort of insane anti-"fancy shit" complex. Is there a name for that? Okay, I'm getting off topic, rein it in Megs.) It got to the point where I started to dread when I would have to introduce Aaron to someone new. There was always that moment where I thought that I'd be okay saying "my fiance" — I'd just grin and bear it, no big deal, people do it all the time, what the fuck was wrong with me — but when it came to that moment I'd just freeze. Then this kind of thing would happen all the time… John: Hey Megs, have you met Wendy? Me: No, I haven't. Hi Wendy, it's nice to meet you. Wendy: Hi Megan, nice to meet you too. Me: Wendy, this is my… (pause for inner conflict) …boyfriend, Aaron. John: Wow, you're still fighting that word, aren't you? Me: Yup. I just couldn't bring myself to use the "F word." And it caused some confusion too, like, there were whisperings about whether or not we were still planning on getting married because Aaron and I just flat out refused to switch from saying boyfriend and girlfriend to saying fiance. Aaron was the same way. From the moment we were engaged we talked about not wanting to use the word "fiance," but what are we to do!? There's no other term for it that didn't give us the wiggens; betrothed, intended, future spouse? Nope. Uh-uh. Too formal. But the fact remains that he's more than a "boyfriend" but he's not a "husband" yet. To anyone who is freely and happily using that term — good on ya mate for that! I think people should be happy to, both, be and have a fiance. For the longest time I couldn't wait to be affianced. But once I was, I just couldn't bring myself to ACTUALLY use the word. I'm telling ya, sometimes I hate myself. 😉 Related Post My Nigerian engagement ceremony bridentity crisis I'm generally of the belief that your wedding is not always about you, but it should reflect you: your beliefs, your values, and your community.... Read more So, here are some of the terms we finally came up with to use instead of "fiance." Feel free to use them as your own… "Marrying girlfriend" or "marrying boyfriend." "My future partner in crime," sometimes shorted to just "partner." "The one I caught" "The guy/girl who's making an honest girl/guy out of me" "The one who would have me, despite all the glaring flaws." "That guy/girl that I'm gonna marry." "Matrimonial candidate" "Spousal Unit" as suggested by a reader Or, my favorite, introduce your partner in a french accent as in "Zees ees mah fee-yon-say." Does anyone else feel the same way about the "F word?" If so, what terms do you use instead? Megan Finley Horowitz When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine! @meggyfin @thedashanddine @meggyfin PREVIOUS Brilliant blues and some red details, too NEXT Save the Date bookmarks do more than just help you save the date! Show/Hide comments [ 437 ] I was the total opposite. I like the word fiance (is this perhaps a Canadian thing? We use a lot more French words up here normally anyways) but I hate the word boyfriends. It reminds me of being in junior high and dating someone for 2 weeks. However, I didn't like the reaction it got from some people, but I think they were mainly people who didn't like the word fiance haha. Reply Neat. When we first got Officially Engaged [after planning to spend our lives together anyways], we were partial to Betrothed. Still are, a bit, and I like to talk about our "betrothal-versary", heh. ;D Partly because of the "OMG French is so fancy/snooty" stereotype, partly just to be different and embrace the old English…our heritage has a fair amount of British Isles. We've become more comfortable with 'the F word' over time, and had used it before for talking to Official people, eg airline reps so that my mom could give miles to upgrade us. ;D I brought up "permanent bf/gf" the other day after reading this and he liked it. I say "sweetie" a lot to describe him, before and after the State of Liminal Being… and Partner, as well. Heh. ;D Reply I don't mind the word fiancee but I always shy away and say partner because automatically people ask me what 'he' does or what 'his' name is and then I have to either go along with it (which I hate myself for) or explain awkwardly that she is a she.. I feel like a fraud because we can't legally marry, but after our wedding I want to say she's my wife because that's what she is to me no matter what our government says. Anyone else been in or know someone who has been in this position. Maybe I should call her my Offbeat Fiancee!! Reply I like to go all Southern Belle and say, "This is mah intended." Reply I'm so glad to find that I'm not the only one! Everyone I know has given me the hardest time over the "F" word. I hate it. I was the single one for most of my life when my friends were all getting married, and I *twitched* every time someone would use the word, it just seemed so pretentious and snobby that when I got engaged I refused to use it! I've started to introduce him as "The guy silly enough to put a ring on it" Its funny enough to get me out of the conversation and its just enough that they never bother me about it again! Reply We're kind of the same way. I'll use the F-word if I have to (like if I'm introducing him to my boss or something) but most of the time he's "Husband… of the future!!" and I'm "Future Wife!" We like to say it in such a way that the exclamation marks are apparent. Reply Actually, my fiance and I had an issue with using the boyfriend/girlfriend term. We're not kids anymore and from the very beginning it was clear we were committed; to the point were everyone we knew was asking when we would get married. And yet we had not proposed to each other or set a date or anything. We weren't boy/girlfriend, but we weren't fiance either. Awkward. Reply I still call him my boyfriend a lot though I have been calling him my P.I.C. (partner in crime) for a few years now. 🙂 I just don't like "fiance" I don't even like when people refer to their spouses as husband or wife either. Blahhhh Reply I would like a new significant other term. I don't like saying "this is my boyfriend", he's so much more than that. I'd say fiance, except we're not engaged. I've tried saying significant other and was laughed at, but I figured not liking the word boyfriend is not a good enough reason to get married. Reply In Portuguese, the word for "fiancé" and "groom" is the same ("noivo"), however I'm not used to it: he's been my boyfriend for almost 15 years! Referring to him as fiancé when not on wedding planning business always makes me laugh… Reply I don't really have a problem with it. You could say lover or soulmate instead… Reply I call my fiance my Beyonce. It's always good for a laugh. Reply Catching an old post, but still glad to know that I'm not the only one. On a family camping trip, he picked up the nickname "Pwince Wiwwie". I usually call him that, so his sisters have begun referring to me as his future "Pwincess". At least it makes us giggle! Reply I love this. We have the same problem. My "boyfriend who I'm marrying in September" (my way of solving the F-word issue) just calls me his wife already to everyone who doesn't know better which I think is funny. Reply I have this same problem and I feel bad because my future hubby absolutely loves telling people I am his "fiancee"! He is so quick to introduce me as his fiancee that I generally just let him say it so I can avoid the awkwardness of searching for a title to give him. As awkward as I feel using the word, I have to say that I love hearing it escape his lips in reference to me! Reply I also feel like it's too fancy and showy-offy. I've always been cool with the option of us never getting married, so I've never been rabid about any of this stuff. We've been "officially" engaged for 4 years (apparently it doesn't count unless there's a ring) and just set a date out of nowhere, but I've always said "boyfriend" and he says "girlfriend". I'll drop the f-bomb at, say, job interviews and other situations in which I need to appear more Grown-Up and Serious (I'm 25 but look like I'm in high school). Right now I'm possibly confusing various vendors and venue-organizer people by saying "boyfriend" out of habit while making arrangements. Reply Sometimes I just say "husband-to-be" with a huge smile on my face. Reply My best friend just tied the knot but for the past year she had been calling her boyfriend "fiancesaurus" (fee-yon-seh-sore-us) I thought it was so funny! I'm stealing it when I get engaged 🙂 Reply What I have found fascinating is that my five-year "boyfriend" and I get absolutely no flack for referring to each other as husband/wife- but no one would let us us the f-word because there is no ring? We are, what we refer to as, "unofficially engaged" but… The only thing "unofficial" is that there's no ring involved and we haven't set a date. Somehow those two things are what makes a commitment legitimate? Puh-lease. I think since we're already using husband/wife and boyfriend/girlfriend interchangeably that there's NO WAY we're going to comfortably introduce "fiance" into the mix. FH is my go-to right now but I'm happy to have so many creative options to use once people deem us "official"! Or. You know. Now? 🙂 Reply UPDATE: new replacement word via my FH *drum roll* Delorean. If you're like me, right now you're thinking: "The car?" To which his answer is "Yes. Because you're my past, present, and FUTURE!" *laughs uncontrollably* Reply Hi meg, as spanish speaker, i`ll give you a hint,in spanish you use the word NOVIO for either boyfriend or fiance.. no fuzz. just go with the flow and love your guy <3 Reply I'm a Pre-Wife for 18 more days! Reply I used the term "ex-boyfriend" after we got engaged, cause technically he was. He was also known to answer to "pre-hub" Reply My fiance is Iraqi, and still had issues with English. For example, arabic doesn't have a 'p' sound so he regularly mixes his p's and b's. When he says fiance it usually comes out as 'finance." Which is adorable and makes me laugh Reply It IS a weird word. It gets weird too because I think a lot of live-together couples use it even though they aren't engaged. So when someone says, "This is my fiance so-and-so…" and you ask, "Oh! When's the wedding?" Insert-awkward, we're-not-really-getting-married response here. I used boyfriend up til the I-do date. Except when talking to CERTAIN people, if you know what I mean, the judgmental kind who had just learned we lived in the same house. So I can totally see why non-engaged couples use it, but it just doesn't SOUND right. It's not cute and love-y like boyfriend and girlfriend, and it's not committed like wife or husband. Maybe it's because the word sounds snobbinsh. Kind of like, "haha, I'm getting married. Aren't you jelly?" Reply We say 'gonna be wife' and 'gonna be husband'….We hate the F word as well 🙂 Reply We use the term "forever friend" 😀 I like it because it describes EXACTLY what we are. Reply Fiance was way too fancy for us also. I hated using it. I NEVER called him my fiance, he was always my ALMOST HUSBAND and I was his GIRL HE'S GONNA MARRY. Reply I like "significant other." It provides no indication of any official relationship status aside from exclusivity, and it pointedly makes it clear that that is the intent. Reply I read this when it was first posted, i thought it was mostly really funny…then I got engaged, and had the 'inner conflict pause'. After some thought and coming back to this wonderful post I decided on HTB or Hubby to be. it's just perfect for us! Reply I can't stand "hubby", "dearie" or any other such moniker. Reply I don't know. I don't feel like its a big deal. When someone is pregnant, they are not a mother and yet…not just like everyone else. So they say "I'm pregnant." To me its the same thing and its useful. Its like being in a plane also. You are not where you were or where you are going. You are in between. I think its actually helpful, psychologically, to have silly little differences during this time. Its not that its high and mighty. Its a very real thing, being about to say yes to lifetime commitment with someone. Its good to have a special word so you are on your toes emotionally and…feeling the event's approach. And more importantly, the approach not of wedding, but of being married. You don't have to be haughty to others to just enjoy the awesome love you are binding! Reply This has made my day, you have no idea! Each time I go to use the "f-word" I feel wrong and pretentious(even more than when I use the word pretentious). I've been going with "betrothed" and "my intended" Reply I called my now husband my matrimonial candidate as well! We got engaged right after I graduated college, and at first I loved the novelty of saying fiancee, but as I got farther along in the process it started to feel weird to say (especially after we moved in together!) I avoided it, or joked that he was my matrimonial candidate, until someone pointed out this implies I was still accepting candidates for the role of husband. I told her I was, but I was highly favoring one candidate. Reply The Bob and I were together for 8 years before we decided to tie the knot. We had an engagement of less than a year. Up until the proposal, he was my boyfriend and continues to be my boyfriend until we get married in October. It made absolutely NO SENSE to switch to something for just 11 months when he had been boyfriend to me (and good at that) for the past 8 years. It will probably take me another 8 years to make the switch to "husband". I think I will stick with "the Bob". Reply My man calls me his fancy girlfriend or girlfriend with bling 🙂 and I call him fiance-pants(like fancy pants) Reply I always hated that word until we got engaged in June and decided to get married TWO MONTHS LATER (i.e. this weekend). For the first month, I resisted. Then I thought, "Wait! I only have one more month of this! Uncle! Uncle! I mean, "Fiance! Fiance!" Reply Well, you could take a line from "Young Frankenstein" and introduce him/her as your financier… Reply The only reason I never say fiance, other than how fancy it is as said above, is because I'm only 18 and I hate getting the shocked looks on older folks faces and getting the "your too young!" Speech. I know I am young, but age doesn't coount for overall intelligence and maturity lol. Idk maybe I'm petty but it does hurt my feelings and I do feel bad for stripping my husband to be of his title as my fiance. But shit happens I guess haha Reply I work in a craft store, which turned out to be a world where the phrases "my fiancee" and "the wedding" are put on such a high pedistal, it almost makes the word "boyfriend" feel cheap and dirty. Which has made me switch to "partner" while I'm at work. It sounds a little more comitted than "boyfriend" and even though the word "partner" isn't really accurate for our relationship (we're D/s), it gives people the idea that we totally dig eachother. Reply I call him my 'handsome man-friend', and he calls me his 'sweet lady-friend' Reply I agree, My "soon to be husband" have been together for 6 1/2 years and engaged for 2 1/2. We lived together for three years before we got engaged, so the word partner just stuck. Reply I call my fiance my fiance, because that's what he is. He's the man I'm engaged to marry. When we were dating, he was my boyfriend, when we are married, he will be my husband. I don't have a problem with any of it. Reply Whenever I say boyfriend at work, my co-workers correct me by saying fiance. It sounds so pretentious! Most of my friends and co-workers know him so I don't have to say it much. We refer too each other as my bride/groom. Reply I'm comforted to hear I wasn't the only one who didn't like this word… I had to try on a few different terms, for a few weeks I called him my "fancy French word", and we went with "partner" for a while, but the one that stuck was "engagement buddy". It's dorky, but it fits us. I might just keep it after we're married. Reply I say "beloved" or "lover". Reply I have no problem saying fiance. I couldn't imagine calling him my boyfriend. We're not in highschool. I also think hubby-to-be is pretty darn cute. Reply Amen!! I'm so glad I'm not the only one who flinches at using the F word 🙂 I kind of feel like I'm trying to name drop or slip into an often very banal conversation 'I'M GETTING MARRIED BY THE WAY'. I tend to use his name, or partner, or revert to the safe 'boyfriend' but people always pick me up on it… Thanks for the suggestions 🙂 Reply I'm more of a Lite OBB. But when it comes to the introducing the fiance, I align with the Partner in Crime tribe and call him "My Wheel Man, Orlando" Reply I don't like it either. Funnily with my first husband I did use it and was quite proud to but this time when we've been living together for years, have 3 children together it just feels weird. He's my partner (even when emailing wedding companies!) I prefer partner because it feels more about being equal. Reply I also have this problem. We were on and off for so long that I've only just gotten used to calling him "boyfriend". I stumble over the word all the time. If I say "my boyfriend" my friends correct me "Don't you mean fiance?" Just because I don't use the term doesn't mean we're not still engaged. I generally use the term "the boy" since that was what he was when we were long-distance. I'm getting used to "fiance" but really I'd rather just skip to "husband" to get used to that by the time we're actually married. Reply Read more comments ‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 › Join the conversation Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Sign me up for your offbeat awesomeness newsletter! No-drama comment policy Part of what makes the Offbeat Empire different is our commitment to civil, constructive commenting. Make sure you're familiar with our no-drama comment policy. Biz owners & wedding bloggers Please just use your real name in your comment, not your business name or blog title. Our comments are not the place to pimp your website. 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Search results begining with "A"
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Filter results
Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) poisoning
Antifreeze (ethylene glycol) is a very common poison in dogs and cats. It's a very toxic substance so even a small amount can do a lot of damage to several vital organs.
Food allergy in cats
Just like people, cats can develop allergies to certain ingredients in their food. This often causes skin and tummy problems.
Infectious Hepatitis (Adenovirus) in dogs
Infectious hepatitis is a serious disease also known as 'canine adenovirus' or 'Rubarth's Disease'. It affects the liver and other major organs causing a range of symptoms. Your dog can catch infectious hepatitis from contact with an infected dog, or somewhere an infected dog has been.
Road traffic accidents (RTA)
If your pet had been involved in a road traffic accident, take them to a vet straight away. Read our advice on the best way to care for them.


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1. Hometown
Sandy, Utah
2. Do you have any kids/pets?
No kids yet! But I am trying out my caretaking skills on my dog, Bear. He is an adorable Airdale mix that I adopted several years ago. He loves playing with my mom's Miniature Dachsund—they are definitely the odd couple!
3. What do you like most about working for Steal Network?
I love the exciting, fast-paced environment at Steal Network! It is great to be around fun, innovative people whose animated personalities always keep work interesting.
4. What do you like to do with your free time?
As boring as this may sound to some, I love to organize — it is very therapeutic for me! I do also like to exercise, read, and create (clothing and crafty things). I am always looking to learn and I like to stay productive.


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TEF Messages
TEF Message Research: Key Takeaways and Core Recommendations
Research validates NEA TEF initiative. There is strong support for public education as a critical part of a civilized society. Voters and opinion leaders alike recognize that a strong public education system is: critical to the success of the individual vital for an informed citizenry, essential to a strong economy, and the best investment we can make in the long term. Voters and opinion leaders alike agree that public education does not have sufficient resources to execute on its promise and mission AND something should be done about it. Closing corporate loopholes and increasing taxes on the wealthy test favorably. NEA's Midwest, Pacific and SE regions show an uptick in support for closing corporate loopholes and increasing taxes on the wealthy. Coalitions with African American, Latino, Female, Democrats and lower education level populations would be fruitful as support trends stronger in these communities across the nation. To achieve victories in the short term and increase funding for public education, NEA must take ownership of the narrative on two key points: equitable funding across school districts and states advocacy for everyone paying their fair share.
Basic Message Framework
A good education is the key to every child's future and to our economic strength as a nation. Our system for funding it is broken and not every child gets the same quality of education or the same opportunities for achievement. In a recent survey voters and NEA members alike strongly support restructuring the way public education is funded and increasing funding to improve student achievement.
So What?
We are living in a time of global knowledge and in an increasingly competitive world economy focused on information. To keep up with rapid changes in technology and in our global economy, schools must be able to help students adapt in every aspect of their lives and to be productive citizens. If we want our children to compete in the 21st Century we must give them the quality education they need to be competitive in a global community. When we invest in public education, we grow our economy–creating more jobs, higher incomes and greater opportunity for all everyone.
Now What?
We must adequately fund our education system to ensure that all young people have equal access to a quality public education. This means we must restructure our broken tax systemso we can invest in education and ensure student learning.
Creating a tax structure where everyone (including the wealthiest individuals and corporations) pays their fair share is the best way to ensure the future of our children and the future of our country's economy for the long term.
Specific tangible options that tested well:
The first step is to restructure funding for education by:
-closing loopholes
–increasing taxes on the wealthiest individuals by 1%
Basic Message Strategy
What should we call it?•Strong Schools, Strong Communities, Strong Economy
How should we talk about it?•Equity is a core value that surfaces around both the need for change and around solutions.–Creating a system where all children have access to a sound basic education is critical
•Ask people and businesses to pay their FAIR SHARE– it's a bell ringer!–Restructuring is more favorable than changing and requires explanation–In terms of the solution,eliminating loopholesresonates over eliminating incentives.
•In discussion forums and interviews, incentives are viewed positively as designed to create an outcome (primarily job creation). Loopholes are viewed as unintended benefits that smart people use to work the system.
•Raising taxes on the wealthy by 1% receives strong support in polls, but is less favored in discussion groups.–Don't create villains,business and elected officials reject this approach.
Who should say it?•Teachers (first choice across research methodologies and most trusted)•Parents (second choice)•NEA (members only, second place to other teachers)
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These concise, informative, one-pagers will help you follow the money and understand why states that invest money in public education have the fastest growing, most sustainable economies.
See for yourself how unfair tax structures can hamper education and our nation's economy.
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Learn how to talk about TEF.
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The International Criminal Court has been dependent on a vast support network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from the get-go. Long before the United Nations 1998 Rome conference which established the ICC, the UN's army of NGO activists provided boots on the ground for aggressive lobbying of national governments to support creation of the tribunal.
At the Rome conference, the UN brought the raucus NGO rent-a-mob inside the convention site to turn up the pressure on the official national delegates. This correspondent sat in strategy meetings in Rome during which UN officials and NGO leaders coordinated their pressure cooker plans and conspired to neutralize opposition. The NGOs have been absolutely essential to the ICC — every step of the way. It is not an exaggeration to say that without the controlled NGO lobby there would not be an ICC. And the radical "human rights" NGOs are playing an indispensible role in the current campaign to boost the ICC to the next power level.
The ICC's multitudinous, multinational, multilingual NGO choir is composed of a global network of hundreds of organizations designed to give the impression of popular planetary consensus. However, the old adage, "He who pays the piper calls the tunes," applies here. And the paymasters who are calling the tunes are a familiar lot. They are the same big tax-exempt foundations aligned with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that have been funding the movement for world government (although they now prefer to call it "global governance") for much of the past century: Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie. To these have been added more recent massive largesse from George Soros's Open Society foundations, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Communitas Foundation, and the Sigrid Rausing Trust, as well as direct taxpayer funding through the U.S. State Department, the European Union, and the foreign ministries of Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and many other European nations.
The Soros network of foundations has been an especially significant source of pro-ICC funding, providing much of the financial support, for instance, for the 2009 documentary The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court.
A brief look at some of the principal organizations comprising the leadership of the NGO choir is sufficient to confirm that they are indeed singing for the same globalist paymasters. The top tier of the ICC's NGO lobby includes the Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC), the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
The Coalition for an International Criminal Court claims an impressive membership of "more than 2,500 civil society organizations in 150 countries." Nevertheless, it is merely a world federalist front group and shares the same staff, advisors, and donors as the WFM-IGP. In fact its physical mailing address is: "c/o WFM, 708 3rd Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10017, USA." That location is but a short walk from UN headquarters.
The CICC's web site tells us:
The Coalition is deeply appreciative of the generous support provided … by the European Union, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Sigrid Rausing Trust … as well as by the governments of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland ….
Sitting on the CICC's advisory board is Jonathan F. Fanton (CFR), former president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Likewise, the WFM-IGP web site informs us:
WFM-IGP is deeply appreciative of the generous support provided by … the European Union, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Oak Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Sigrid Rausing Trust … as well as by the governments of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland ….
The web site of the World Federalist Movement (formerly known as the World Federalist Association) also proclaims:
World federalism now faces the challenge of showing that it is capable of taking the lead in transitioning toward world government.
For this ambitious task, the CICC and WFM-IGP folks know they can count fellow world federalist Hillary Clinton as one of their strongest supporters. In 1999, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton appeared, via closed-circuit television, at the World Federalist Association's annual banquet to congratulate legendary CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite, who was receiving the WFA's Norman Cousins Global Governance Award. WFA President John B. Anderson (CFR) praised Cronkite for his "lifelong" commitment to world government. In his acceptance speech, Cronkite stated:
It seems to many of us that if we are to avoid the eventual catastrophic world conflict we must strengthen the United Nations as a first step toward a world government with a legislature, executive and judiciary, and police to enforce its international laws and keep the peace. [Emphasis added.]
Mr. Cronkite went on to outline the steps he saw as essential to attaining that desideratum, to wit:
Most important, we should sign and ratify the Treaty for a permanent International Criminal Court.
Walter Cronkite's speech can be viewed below. (Note also, Hillary Rodham Clinton's teleconferenced congratulatory message to Cronkite toward the end of the video):
Human Rights Watch, the big dog on the NGO block, was launched from a gathering at the Rockefellers' Bellagio Villa at Lake Como, Italy, in 1982. The conference was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Robert L. Berstein (CFR) was named founding chairman and remains on the group's Emeritus Board, along with CFR members Alice Henkin, Jonathan Fanton, Vartan Gregorian, Lisa Anderson, and Stephen L. Kass. The CFR members on the HRW current board of directors include: James F. Hoge, chairman; John J. Studzinski, vice-chair; Joel Motley, vice-chair; Bruce Rabb, and Michael Gellert. Its executive director is Kenneth Roth (CFR).
On its "Partners" web page, HRW says:
Human Rights Watch is grateful to these and other foundations for their partnership and support: Open Society Institute & Soros Foundations Network, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Oak Foundation ….
The Rome-based No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ) lists among its main donors: the Coalition for the ICC (CICC), Open Society Institute, the Carter Center, and the Sigrid Rausing Trust, as well as The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and The World Bank.
The NPWJ's founder and patron is ECFR Board member Emma Bonino, also a leader of the Transnational Radical Party and Vice president of the Italian Senate. Ms. Bonino was one of the principal ringleaders of the NGO circus at the ICC's founding conference in Rome.
The New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was launched by the Ford Foundation in 2000, and continues to be supported by Ford, along with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Open Society Institute, UN Democracy Fund, UN Development Program, UNIFEM, and the governments of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway.
ICTJ's officers, directors, and board members include CFR veterans Joan Edelman Spero, Ken Miller, Vincent A. Mai, Thomas Buergenthal, and Donald F. McHenry.
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) lists among its "major donors" and "funders": George Soros's Open Society Foundations, Communitas Foundation, Unicredit, and the government ministries of Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Spain — to name but a few.
The pattern is the same with literally hundreds of other "human rights" groups which are lobbying for the ICC: CFR leadership and funding from the usual world-government-promoting foundations and government agencies. In other words, there is no such thing as a "grassroots civil society movement" for the ICC; it's all elitist-backed astro-turf. And this kept "movement" is working assiduously to concentrate enormous new judicial, prosecutorial, and police powers in the ICC designed by, and for, the CFR's globalist elites.
Related articles:
Big Push for UN's International Criminal Court
The ICC: International Court of Criminals
The Shadows of Power: The Council on Foreign Relations and the American Decline


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text: Kartik Hosanagar is a Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Kartik's research work focuses on the digital economy, in particular Internet media, Internet marketing and e-commerce. Kartik has been recognized as one of the world's top 40 business professors under 40. He has received several teaching awards including the MBA and Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching awards at the Wharton School. His research has received several awards including the best paper award at the Consortium on Technology Policy and Management. Kartik is a cofounder of Yodle Inc, a venture-backed firm that has been listed among the top 50 fastest growing private firms in the US. He has served on the advisory board of Milo Inc (acq by eBay) and is involved with other startups as either an investor or board member. His past consulting and executive education clients include Google, Nokia, American Express, Citi and others. Kartik graduated at the top of his class with a Bachelors degree in Electronics and a Masters in Information Systems from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS, Pilani), India, and he has an MPhil in Management Science and a PhD in Management Science and Information Systems from Carnegie Mellon University.


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Photo provided by Pokerstars.com
Academic career
It was during his time at high school that Greg first became interested in science. He was a very gifted student who went on to study chemistry at the University of Missouri. After finishing his bachelor degree he went to Minnesota where he earned his master's degree in biochemistry and studied law at the Minnesota Law School.
Greg first tried his hand at poker as a student in Minnesota. He was a member of the internationally known Kappa Sigma fraternity and often played nickel-dime poker with his frat buddies. At that time, Greg still did not know much about poker, nor did he feel any urge to concentrate on the game more intensively. He showed talent counting cards and made a little money on the side playing Black Jack at the local Indian Casinos.
In 1992, Greg graduated from law school and worked as a patent lawyer in Chicago. He spent three years with the firm, although he disliked the field he was in. Eventually he accepted a job as a biotechnology patent preparation and prosecution attorney in San Diego.
Bitten by the poker bug
While in Chicago, Greg took to the casino tables in search of a good Black Jack game. When none of the games met his expectations, he sat down at a poker table where he found himself enjoying the game to such an extent he soon became a regular at most $ 3/$ 6 Texas Hold'em games.
At first, Greg stuck to the lower stakes games. After moving to California, he began to build up his confidence by reading a few poker guides, and soon graduated to higher stakes games. Greg was under enormous stress due to his packed schedule as an attorney and he soon decided it was time for another change of scenery. So once more, Greg packed up and headed to Connecticut where he found a job at the major pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
Greg invested all his new-found spare time in poker. He quickly advanced to the next level and became a regular at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, where he played $ 150 - $ 300 games. In the year 2000, Greg took part in a famous tournament for the first time – the World Poker Finals. Not only did he make it to the money ranks, he even placed third at no-limit Hold'em and won around $ 50,000. That same year he also participated in the US Poker Championship and finished 13th.
In 2001, he came first at the limit Seven-Card Stud tournament at the 2001 New England Poker Classic where he cashed $ 25,560. That same year he made it to the money ranks at the prestigious World Series of Poker (WSOP) and finished 12th in limit Omaha Hi Lo. In 2002, Greg placed third and ninth at the World Poker Finals at the WPT Season 1 (no-limit Hold'em) and was able to try his luck at the WSOP Main Event for the first time, without ending up in the cashes, though.
A celebrity over night
In 2003, Greg came first at the FARGO No-Limit Hold'em tournament at the Foxwoods Casino and in 2004, he won his entry to the 2004 WSOP Main Event through an online satellite at PokerStars where he won his first Gold Bracelet – a dream come true for any poker player.
He beat poker celebrities such as Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Doyle Brunson and, in possession of a significant chip advantage, Greg eventually found himself heads up with David Williams. Greg was holding two pocket eights. When the board brought 5-4-2-2-2, he went all in. Williams called and Greg won.
The prize pool for the world champion amounted to an unbelievable five million dollars! Greg only saw roughly a third of these record-breaking winnings, though: after taxes and after paying back the money he had received from his backers he was left with about $ 1.7 million. Greg's success shows that, thanks to online poker, every player has the chance to make it to the top in poker.
Greg practically became a celebrity overnight. His quirky image – he dons reptile hologram sunglasses during games and uses fossils as card protectors – did not diminish his celebrity status either: if anything, it even boosted it. It is these oddities that have earned him the nickname Fossilman. As he was a newcomer and regarded as an amateur by most professionals, many considered Greg's WSOP victory to be just a one-time thing, but Raymer proved them all wrong.
Shortly after his win at the WSOP, Greg quit his job at Pfizer and earned his income solely by playing tournaments and online poker. In 2005 he made it to the top ten at the WSOP and the EPT/Pokerstars Season 2 "The World Masters" and won considerable amounts of money at other tournaments.
In 2005, Greg placed fifth at the WSOP (Deuce to Seven Lowball) and won $ 93,124. In 2007, Greg finished sixth, fourth, and fourteenth (Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi Lo and HORSE respectively) whereby, interestingly, he won significantly more prize money for the 14th place finish (approximately $ 100,000) than for the higher ranked winnings.
In comparison to many other poker stars, Greg plays relatively few tournaments. He does not think it is important to participate in every single tournament of an event. Instead, he prefers to concentrate on the main events and – while everybody else is playing in the preliminary tournaments – he goes sight-seeing and enjoys his stay in the city that hosts the tournament:
"I travel on the road for 2/3rds of the year and that is tiring. But I'm not like the other pros. I don't play anywhere near as much as a lot of the other guys. They get to an event and play all the lead-ups and then the Main Event. Then they are looking for the next festival. They play cards nearly every day of the year and have a quick break at Christmas and New Years because they pretty much have to. I am different though. I will get to a festival and take my time and look around the city. I normally focus on playing the Main Events and take a break during the preliminary tournaments."
Nevertheless, Greg still plays at more than 40 tournaments a year and plays online cash games at PokerStars an average of 15 hours a week. Greg even attests that being a professional poker player takes up less time than his previous job as a lawyer, "It's funny because I actually used to play more when I was a lawyer. I used to play every Tuesday at Foxwoods. So I don't think that burnout is a problem at all. If anything I could play more to stay sharp."
Famous for his eccentric appearance
Greg is not only "different" though when it comes to his modest tournament schedule; his eccentric appearance and his fondness of fossils make him a unique addition to the poker world. When sitting across from Greg Raymer, the question on every reporter's tongue, though, is about the origins of these peculiarities. The answer can easily be found in the FAQ section on Greg's homepage:
The "Fossilman" hardly ever loses his temper
Greg is best-known for his good-natured and easygoing manner and it takes a lot for him to get upset. For one, he has a very good sense of humor which is why it is very difficult to make him angry. To achieve this, you would have to try to hurt him below the belt.
Despite being an all around nice guy, there are still certain people that Greg does not get along well with. One of these is poker pro Daniel Negreanu. Their disagreement even made Bluff Magazine's top ten feuds in poker. Raymer and Negreanu made it onto this top ten list as a result of an argument they had had about the World Poker Tour lawsuit in an online chat room at Pokerstars.
In 2006, Greg Raymer and other poker celebrities including Howard Lederer, Phil Gordon and Chris Ferguson had sued the WPT because players were forced to sign a contract that would allow the WPT to use any pictures and video recordings for marketing purposes. The players basically had to give up their intellectual property rights. Seven players refused to take part in any further WPT events until the case was settled.
Daniel Negreanu, on the other hand, simply considered this lawsuit ridiculous – any player who did not like the rules did not have to participate in the WPT. After all, he says, there are enough other tournaments and nobody is forced to play at the WPT.
Greg was very surprised by the media's reaction to the controversy and denies being at odds with Negreanu.
"We exchange views, but to say we are feuding isn't correct. He and I are simply two people who speak our minds publicly and happen to disagree on some issues."
To put an end to the whole debate, both of them apologized for their comments about one another.
Although the dispute with Daniel has ended, Greg is still not on good terms with big-mouth Mike "The Mouth" Matusow: after Mike publicly berated Greg at a 2004 WSOP table there still is some disparity between them. This is what Greg has to say about Mike: "Basically, I don't like Mike, and don't yet have any evidence that my opinion is likely to change in the future."
Those incidents put aside, Greg likes to keep a low profile.
Away from the poker tables
When he is not playing poker, he enjoys spending time with his wife Cheryl, his daughter Sophie and friends at home in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"I would like to think that the effect on me has been minimal in terms of who I am inside, and how I behave. It hasn't been difficult to adjust, maybe because I'm used to change. I have moved around a lot in my life, and changed career plans several times, so change is something I am used to dealing with."
Greg Raymer, whose success story is similar to Chris Moneymakers', is in part personally responsible for the global poker boom. Greg's and Chris' success makes ordinary people believe they too have a chance of winning the WSOP Main Event. Both Raymer and Moneymaker were unknown in the poker circuit before their big wins, they both spent a lot of their time playing online, and both of them won a seat at the WSOP by way of an online satellite tournament.
In the summer of 2006, more than 8,000 players took part at the WSOP Main Event. Some feel that in order to decrease the number of participants, the buy in amount ($ 10,000) should be increased. Greg Raymer does not agree with this suggestion because he feels that everyone should have a chance to prove their poker skills.
Greg's tip for anyone who wants to be a successful poker player:
"The most important thing is to play within your bankroll. Poker is a wonderful game, but people losing money they can't afford to is the one negative of the game. If you can manage your bankroll and play solid poker you will get something out of the game."
Greg Raymer for President!
Greg Raymer is not only an excellent poker player with a degree in chemistry and law, but he is also interested in politics. He is a firm believer in Libertarianism, a political philosophy whose fundamental value is individual freedom: Every single person should be able to do anything they wish, as long as it does not directly harm another person. He also thinks governments should not be obliged to help their subjects.
"That does not mean that I am against all government programs that help people, but such programs should not be undertaken merely because they help people, but only if they are economically beneficial to the majority."
Greg is even playing with the idea of running as the US Libertarian Party 's vice presidential candidate. This is what he has to say about him becoming a politician:
"In many ways, I would not make a good politician, at least not the way the business of politics works in our country. I am not very good at compromising. If you convince me you are right, I will agree with you, but until you do, I will do what I think is the smartest thing to do."
In the above-mentioned interview, the reporter appears to be surprised that not more poker players are Libertarians, seeing as personal freedom is the major benefit of being a professional poker player. In his answer, Greg does not say much about his colleagues' political preferences, but he does state that almost all poker players differed from the rest of society because of their individualism and their desire for freedom:
"Every successful poker player is intelligent enough to succeed in almost any career, but many of them are too independent in their attitude to do well in modern corporate America. In a team environment, it is sometimes more important to get along than it is to be right, but most of us poker players just want to be right. Having said that, my experience with large corporations makes me believe that getting along and being inclusive and such ideas are taking over to the point that there is not enough focus on getting the job done right. To work as a team, you need to not be selfish, but you shouldn't take it so far that you favor the mediocrity of the group over getting the job done as intelligently and perfectly as possible. Basically, in most modern American bureaucracies (and probably most of the rest of the world, though I wouldn't know first- hand) the balance is out of whack, and there is too much focus on the team, and not enough focus on the results."
Analytical playing style and knowledge of human nature
When asked what books or individuals have had the most influence on his development and game, Greg names David Sklansky's book "The Theory of Poker". This book taught Greg all the most important basic concepts and he even calls it "the most important single poker book anybody can read if they want to improve their game."
When it comes to his colleagues, he respects all players who display good manners at the poker table and who do their best to win within the rules. There are many players he respects for their talents, in fact too many to name them all.
Greg himself has been working on a book for several years now. The book will be a tournament strategy guide but it will also include tips for online poker players.
Without a doubt, Greg "Fossilman" Raymer is one of the most remarkable and versatile poker players of the professional poker scene. His experiences as a lawyer and scientist have definitely had a positive influence on his game. Just like a lawyer, a poker player has to be able to assess someone's character and "read" a person in only a very short space of time. His work as a scientist taught him to think analytically and logically, skills he still uses on a day-to-day basis playing poker. His life experience has taught him to be flexible, to make decisions and adapt to changes quickly.
The perfect combination of all of these qualities, along with his mathematical memory, his great sportsmanship, as well as his eccentric appearance, makes Greg Raymer a genuine poker star.
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Species In-Depth
At the Aquarium
This species is not currently on exhibit at the Aquarium.
Geographic Distribution
Circum-global distribution in tropical and temperate waters
Although occasionally found in pelagic (ocean) waters, the sandbar sharks tend to prefer relatively shallow coastal waters of the continental shelf, islands, bays, harbors, and estuaries where there are sandy and muddy bottoms. They avoid fresh water. Although they frequent shallow waters, they are rarely seen at the surface, apparently preferring to stay in the lower part of the water column.
Physical Characteristics
The sandbar shark is a medium sized, classically shaped, full-bodied shark with large dorsal and pectoral fins and sturdy tail that give the impression that this is an all business animal. Its snout is bluntly rounded and is shorter than its mouth is wide.
Upper body surfaces may vary in shade from a dark gray to bronze or brown color with lighter shading on the sides that lightens to white on the underside. Aside from rather dark shading of the tips on the dorsal and caudal fins there are no distinctive markings or color patterns.
Adult animals vary in length from 2 m (6.5 ft) to 2.4 m (8 ft). Weight ranges from 45 kg (100 lb) to 90 kg (200 lb).
The sandbar shark is an opportunistic feeder that takes food around the clock, but is more active at night than during the day. Its food preferences cover a broad range of prey including a variety of small bony and cartilaginous fishes, octopus and squid, some hard-shelled mollusks, and shrimp and crabs. Feeding studies indicate that these sharks are very successful with their hunting and feeding techniques and may on average receive a more consistently generous diet than many of their near relatives.
Males of this species reach sexual maturity at lengths of 130 to 180 cm (4-5.5 ft), females from 145 to 180 cm (4.5-5.5). Breeding takes place in the northern hemisphere in the early summer, but not until late fall to early winter in the southern hemisphere.
Apparently a mature male will select a female for mating and will follow her, sometimes nipping or biting her between the dorsal fins or in the region of the gill slits or the pectoral fins until she rolls over and permits the breeding to take place. The biting wounds may be serious enough to form permanent scars.
These animals are viviparous. There is a placental connection between the embryo and its mother and the young are live born. Gestation varies some with geographical location but is most commonly from eight to twelve months. The number of pups varies from six to thirteen and litter size is dependent on the size of the mother. The larger the mother, the more pups she will deliver. Typically the mother will select a near shore, shallow water area where she will give birth and where the pups are likely to stay in a nursery setting until they gain the confidence required to seek deeper waters. The ratio of males and females is almost always 1:1. The mother leaves the nursery area shortly after she gives birth and doesn't offer any assistance or care to her new offspring.
Juvenile sandbar sharks stay in their nursery grounds until the late fall months when they congregate in schools and move into deeper waters where they stay until the following summer when they return to shallow waters. This seasonal movement between shallow and deep waters may continue for up to about five years. This behavior is an important reason why programs establishing essential habitat for this species need to designate several different habitats for protection so as to maintain the connectivity of the the shark's life cycle.
Adults also have migratory patterns. They are classified as highly migratory species. Their movements appear to be stimulated by water temperature changes, but some long distance migrations are attributed to the influence of ocean currents. Males tend to school during their migratory travels whereas females more commonly travel alone. It is believed that migration occurs in deeper water than these fish normally occupy.
These sharks tend to spend most of their time near the bottom of the water column on an almost continuous search for food.
As is true with most sharks, this species is well adapted to its way of life. Excellent eyesight, even in relatively dark waters, extremely sensitive olfactory abilities, sensitivity to vibrations, and ability to detect micro electrical fields generated by other animals make these animals superb predators.
These sharks are believed to live more than 30 years.
Although sandbar sharks are listed by the IUCN Red List as only Lower Risk/near threatened, they are severely overfished in the western North Atlantic. Since 2008 NOAA's Fisheries Service Highly Migratory Species Division has required that any sandbar shark caught in state or federal waters must be immediately released with minimum injury and without removing it from the water (gaffs cannot be used). This control appears to be easing some pressure on populations in US waters.
These sharks are caught with longlines, hook-and-line, and set bottom nets and also fished with rod and reel by sports anglers as a game fish because of its gritty fighting abilities.They are utilized fresh, fresh-frozen, smoked, and dried salted for human consumption; the hides are prized for leather and other products; the fins are prepared as the base for shark-fin soup; and the liver is extracted for vitamin-rich oil.
Newly born and juvenile sandbar sharks are subject to predation by larger fish, including other sharks, especially the bull shark. Although there have been reports of tiger sharks preying on adult sandbars, it appears that adults have few problems with predators other than humans.
Special Notes
Sandbar sharks are found in warm waters around the world, but the Hawaiian island of Oahu is one of the few places in the world where there is an operation that takes visitors out to snorkel with sandbar sharks from the safety of a cage. An ecotourism business in Bonchuk Bay in Gökova,Turkey gives tourists opportunities to safely watch sandbar sharks during the breeding season.


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Installed in 2005 and enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors annually, the statues commemorate two important meetings that took place on board De Grasse's flagship the Ville de Paris to plan the 1781 Yorktown campaign and to explore plans for further operations.
The problem? It was supposed to be a quartet of sculptures. There are two important figures missing! Also present for at least one of these meetings were General Rochambeau, who led the French troops, and General Lafayette, who had kept Cornwallis trapped at Yorktown until the combined American and French troops had arrived. (He also served as an interpreter at the meeting with Washington, Rochambeau, and De Grasse.)
The reason that Lafayette and Rochambeau are not represented here? There was not enough funding to create all four statues at the same time.
Now the national organization dedicated to honoring the young Frenchman who did so much to help us gain our independence, the American Friends of Lafayette, is teaming up with the Celebrate Yorktown Committee of the Yorktown Foundation, and other interested organizations and people, in order to commission a statue of Lafayette. The new statue will accurately portray this important historical event and provide an opportunity for visitors of all ages to discover and recognize the role Lafayette played in shaping America's history.
The goal is to get the statue finished in time to be dedicated on in October, 2017, at the annual celebration of the American victory at Yorktown.
To date, over $20,000 of the necessary $35,000 has been pledged.
Please consider contributing to this exciting endeavor and help construct history!
To help make the Lafayette Statue a reality, either click here to donate via PayPal or mail a check (made out to American Friends of Lafayette) to:
American Friends of Lafayette
c/o Chuck Schwam
302 Hart Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
The AFL is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and contributions are eligible to be tax-deductible.
P.S. Finally, you might want to become a member of the American Friends of Lafayette.
The cost to join is minimal, and it is great fun to get together every year to learn more about General Lafayette and other figures and events of the American Revolution. There is also a great publication, the "AFL Gazette", with information about Lafayette, sent out to all members several times a year.