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Our Q'ero Elders, master weavers of the high jungle, and the present generation of wisdom holders of the Quechua lineage are committed to support you in your growth so you may have the tools to take that next step in your life as a clear and connected keeper of the Earth. This is why Reviveolution and MoonMountain are inviting you to join us for this experiential Earth Wisdom immersion in Peru to re-inspire your aspirations and re-kindle your life mission with clear and precise ancestral practices sculpted for modern application.
Whether you are a facilitator, healer, seeker,entrepreneur, a creative, or simply wanting a reboot this 10 day retreat in the wild nature of the Andes mountains is designed to connect you directly with holders of ancestral lineage to equip you with tools of Peruvian Tradition, Ancestral Arts, and Earth Honoring Practices that will impact your life and empower the change you wish to inspire in the world.
Day 1: Welcome to your gorgeous center in the Sacred Valley! Get settled and enjoy lunch followed by a coca integration circle where we will get to know one another, meet our Q'ero meistro and learn to sit with Mama Coca.
Day 2: After a morning coca circle we will wash away heavy and stagnant energies with a river cleanse using cleansing herbs. Today we will also learn about the traditional Q'ero fire offerings to unite our circle with a despacho ceremony and set our intentions for our journey.
Day 3: We will start today early by drinking San Pedro and walking to a sacred site to sit in ceremony and connect with nature. Meistro Juan Gabriel will share with us the teachings of personal offerings and prayer. In the afternoon we will celebrate with a feast and an intimate integration circle.
Day 4: Today is a day of reflection, integration, and creativity! We're going to have fun, dive deep, explore, and connect in a meaningful way to truly integrate ancestral practices into your particular lifestyle.
Day 5: Today we will meet the Sonqo family, master weavers from the high jungle. They will introduce us to the practice of spinning to make our own baby alpaca wool & dying them with incredible colors of wild plants and insects. Weaving is for all genders in Peru-the whole family participates. Here we will introduce the concept of utilizing creativity as the seed of inspiration for approaching life and work.
Day 6: Today we will get some hands on time weaving on a back-strap loom. Beyond a craft weaving teaches us how actively working with our hands is a practice of mindfulness. While we are creating our hat bands, Daniel Sonqo will share a presentation about the symbology represented in Andean culture.
Day 7: We will continue to master the art of mindfulness by giving loving attention to our weavings. Allowing each thread to show us the quality of our mind and working out turbulent thoughts and feelings by smoothing out the threads of our creative expression. This is accompanied by diving deeper into stimulating teachings of mindfulness and creativity that form the root of these ancestral practices.
Day 8: Today we will be facilitating an inter-cultural dialogue about cultural appropriation and the ways we can respectfully carry forward indigenous traditions in our personal lives. We will bring together individuals of many diverse backgrounds; including indigenous wisdom-keepers, native weavers, young Quechua activists, and all of you beautiful individuals from around the world; to bring unique perspectives to this very important subject. We will finish off the evening with some creative practices to integrate what we have learned.
Day 9: Today marks the Solstice! We will sit in joyous celebration and intentional prayer at the Qapaq Raymi event at Communidad Amalai. This will be a day of powerful ceremony that is sure to leave a lasting imprint in your life. By taking the time to sit, connect, and feed the life force of the Earth on this potent day we are feeding the life force of our own personal dreams and breathing strength into our highest aspirations.
Day 10: Today we again attend the Qapaq Raymi event and join together with more celebration, prayer, medicine, and song. Celebration is a huge aspect of Andean Culture. We enjoy the beauty of life together, celebrate the bounty of the Earth and, in return, bring the prosperity into every aspect of our own lives.
Day 11: Today we say our Goodbye-for-now hugs and wish each other well on our journey with full hearts and a deeper since of wisdom for walking as a steward of this planet.
Your Contribution: $1,490
A $500 dollar non-refundable deposit is due upon registration (through NuMundo). The rest of your contribution is due in cash on the first day of the course in Peru. If needed, inquire about payment plan options or creative funding through our Watana Weaving Collective
*Ay becas parciales por personas de Sur y Central America*
Price includes all activities, double occupancy accommodation, and all organic meals. Flights and transport to the center are not included.
Living Conditions.
- shared rooms
Vegetarian Food
- over 80% locally sourced
- slow: emails only
Register or login to contact this facilitator.
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As a small state agency, the Treasurer's Office normally operates with a staffing level of about 65 employees. We're proud that when people join our staff, they typically end up working a long and fulfilling career with the office. Although our staff turnover and job openings can be minimal at times, we do have the need to recruit and fill positions. We look for and anticipate that new employees will enrich our current workforce through their knowledge, skills, competencies, diversity and work experience.
As new employees find a career with the OST, we experience that they find the small agency atmosphere and culture rewarding and pleasant. This leads them to stay a while! Over the years we have had several employees end with a total of 40-plus years of state service, with most of their tenure worked at the Treasurer's Office. We also strive to provide career development and growth, and look for opportunities to provide promotions to our current internal staff where skills and competencies are a match.
Current Openings:
Fiscal Analyst 2-Revenue Distribution
Please visit careers.wa.gov for information regarding other employment opportunities with the State of Washington.
Openings Filled In The Past Year
Over the past year we have filled positions in the following job classifications: Debt Program Analyst, Program Specialist, Information Technology Specialist, Fiscal Analyst and Local Government Investment Pool Administrator – to name a few. Please check back to this web site here in the future to see if we have a job opening that fits your ambitions and skill set.
Some of the benefits offered by the State of Washington are:
- Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- Choice of retirement plans
- 11 Paid Holidays
- Paid Vacation and Sick Leave
- Deferred Compensation
- Flexible work schedule
Equal Opportunity
OST is committed to the practice of equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination. Persons of disability needing assistance in the application process, or those needing this announcement in an alternative format, please contact OST Human Resource Office at (360) 902-8919 or fax (360) 704-5149, or via email to email@example.com
Additional Resources
For information on openings with other Washington state agencies visit: careers.wa.gov
Articles on our work and partners, and how we intersect with education, infrastructure, and finance.
Videos and podcasts featuring State Treasurer Duane Davidson.

subset: commoncrawl


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Home > Professional > Actuarial Post Digital Magazine
Actuarial Post Digital Magazine
Actuarial Post Magazine is the only digital magazine for the actuarial community and for those who work in the spaces of pensions, life, non-life and investment. It is delivered monthly straight to your inbox, and features the latest inductry insight from leading actuaries and professionals.
Want more details like subscriber count, publishing frequency and advertising rates? Find them at EzineVIP.com!


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Finding A Reputable Locksmith – Some Tips For Success
Most of your neighbors or friends probably don't know the most qualified locksmith in your area. A lot of people don't have anyone in mind for these emergencies! Don't be left in the cold. Read this article and you'll figure out what to do when you need a locksmith to help you out.
If you're locked out, it's not always necessary to replace the lock. A locksmith that knows what they are doing will not need to change the lock. It is more expensive to have a new one installed.
When you paint your house, make sure you cover any locks prior to painting the doors. You will have to get a locksmith out if the hole is sealed because you won't get your key to fit in. While this does require an extra investment of time, it is certainly worth it.
Research a locksmith prior to hiring them. You need to be sure that you're not going to hire someone that doesn't have your best interest in mind. You can end up with an unprofessional or even unethical locksmith. They could end up with the keys to your home.
Be wary of locksmiths who increase the quote once they arrive at your location. Many locksmiths may try to scam you out of money. Never work with someone who tries to pull this trick.
Make sure you check with the Better Business Bureau to ensure that you are working with a reputable locksmith. This will let you know if the locksmith is reputable.
Find out if your locksmith is an active member of the locksmith community. While you don't absolutely have to, knowing the locksmith is knowledgeable about current technology can be reassuring. It can also help you avoid poor locksmiths that take you for all you've got!
Before you allow someone like a locksmith to enter your home, you should get references and a professional recommendation. Call the locksmiths after getting information. You surely want the best possible services from someone you know to be trustworthy.
If you have a chance, do a quick search online for any locksmith you are thinking about using. You can find lots of good review websites online. Make sure the site you check for reviews is not however tied to any locksmith service or sponsor. Also, don't hire a locksmith until you have checked him out with the BBB.
Prior to allowing a locksmith to enter your home, make sure his credentials are legitimate. This will prevent you from getting ripped off. The Internet has made it quite simple to check if someone is reliable and trustworthy, so make sure you check them out!
Let the locksmith know you expect to see ID when he arrives. While you're on the phone with them, let them know that they will need to show you proper identification before they can enter your home. Ideally, the locksmith has a uniform and credentials but, the identification is the most important.
Many people wouldn't know who to call in the event of a lockout. The main thing that's not good about this is that the services may cost you a lot and won't be the best. Avoid unknowns and be prepared to use this advice. It is worth the effort to prepare in advance.…


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Kite Spirit
Digital version – browse, print or download
Can't see the preview?
Click here!
How to print the digital edition of Books for Keeps: click on this PDF file link - click on the printer icon in the top right of the screen to print.
BfK Newsletter
Receive the latest news & reviews direct to your inbox!
This issue's cover illustration is from The Knowhow Book of Spycraft by Falcon Travis and Judy Hindley, illustrated by Colin King. Thanks to Usborne Children's Books for their help with this July cover and to Walker Books for their support of the Authorgraph interview with Petr Horacek.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 201 July 2013 .
Kite Spirit
Kite's best friend Dawn takes her own life on the morning of their GCSE Geography paper. Not because she was anxious about the exam – she was an A* student. Things are more complicated than that. Kite and Dawn had been best friends since they met in the playground of their London nursery school. Kite is the daughter of singer-songwriter Seth from Sheffield and flamboyant choreographer Ruby, whose family still lives in St Kitts. Her parents let Kite 'choose her own name' when, as a baby, she had 'kicked my legs cos I saw a kite flying'. She has lived up to her name ever since, as a runner, a gymnast training with Circus Space, a flyer in every way. Dawn's parents are more conventional and she had been more tentative, less self-assured; she found her way of flying through playing her oboe – and here she had seemed to have a brilliant future.
Kite's journey from that morning of Dawn's suicide is both spiritual and psychological, made possible through a literal journey she takes with Seth to the Lake District. He's there to write music, but also to search for his own roots, since his mother was adopted in that area after the war and never knew her parents. As Seth discovers strands of his identity, Kite sees more clearly the security and open warmth of her own extended Caribbean family. Kite meets several people in the Lakes; each one in some way helps her understand the emotional numbness into which she has fallen. Finally Garth, a boy of her own age, enables her to release the dam which has prevented her grieving, to find a way of letting Dawn go without losing her. His care for her is intuitive and gentle – through actions rather than words.
There are other, more mystical strands, anticipated in lines from The Prelude which precede the narrative. Owls intervene in the story almost as messengers, their presence releasing moments of insight. The landscape and even one luxurious modern cantilevered house (planning permission, in a National Park?) also work upon Kite's mind which, as the weeks pass, becomes in Wordsworth's words, 'nourished and invisibly repaired'.
The final page of Kite Spirit lists the contact details for Mind, The Samaritans, Childline and Young Minds; that's consistent with the author's caring, compassionate impulse evident in the plot but also the manner of its telling. Very little is left unexplained. A reader's response will depend upon what s/he is ready for. Brahmachari leaves no end untied, and for many of her readers (the book's cover suggests a reading age of 11+, though Kite is several years older) this will be a satisfying read, opening new and serious understandings. An older reader might wonder whether such tragedies are so completely resolved. As though acknowledging this, the author begins her book with a letter to the Reader which concludes, 'Things can't always stay the same or have 'happily ever after' endings, but no matter how hard the fall there is always someone who can help…if…you have the courage to speak.'


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After Years of Impeachment Talk, John Conyers Balks
Rep. John Conyers Jr., center, and other Democrats held a mock impeachment hearing as a protest against the war in Iraq in the capital basement. (June 2005)
…But, today he backs off from his years of mock impeachment hearings.
I now see why Daily Kos readers are angry…
Their democratic politicians keep playing with them.
Where's the love?
For years, since the War in Iraq began in March 2003, democrats have been fighting the US, the allies, the brave Iraqis, the military, the Administration and President Bush. As the country has been fighting in Iraq the Democrats have been fighting back here at home. This isn't anything new. So why are they now trying to hide it?
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John Conyers today writes in the Washington Post:
No Rush to Impeachment
TRENDING: Knife Wielding Man Dangling From Trump Tower Says He is 'Member of Black Lives Matter' on Facebook Live, Demands to Speak to Trump (VIDEO)
I will not do that (rush to impeach Bush). I readily admit that I have been quite vigorous, if not relentless, in questioning the administration. The allegations I have raised are grave, serious, well known, and based on reliable media reports and the accounts of former administration officials.
The administration's stonewalling, and the lack of oversight by Congress, have left us to guess whether we are dealing with isolated wrongdoing, or mistakes, or something worse. In my view, the American people deserve answers, not guesses. I have proposed that we obtain these answers in a responsible and bipartisan manner.
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So, rather than seeking impeachment, I have chosen to propose comprehensive oversight of these alleged abuses…
One-party rule has dug our nation into a deep hole over the past six years. The Judiciary Committee needs to fully implement the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, strengthen laws against wartime fraud, ban trade with state sponsors of terrorism, increase funding for community policing and protect government whistle-blowers. Most important, before we have another presidential election, I believe we need to pass laws protecting the integrity of our electoral system — the very foundation of our democracy.
What a strange article from the backtracking democrat Conyers?
Did Conyers himself forget that he met with lawyers on Tuesday March 11, 2003 to start work on impeaching Bush… before the war in Iraq even started!
Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, which would have jurisdiction over any Bill of Impeachment, convened an emergency meeting of forty or more of his top advisors, most of whom were lawyers, to discuss and debate immediately putting into the House of Representatives Bills of Impeachment against President Bush Jr., Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Ashcroft in order to head off the impending war…
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After two hours of most vigorous debate, the meeting adjourned with a second revised draft Bill of Impeachment sitting on the table.
On June 16, 2005 Conyers played the impeachment dressup game with mock hearings in the capital basement:
They pretended a small conference room was the Judiciary Committee hearing room, draping white linens over folding tables to make them look like witness tables and bringing in cardboard name tags and extra flags to make the whole thing look official.
Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) banged a large wooden gavel and got the other lawmakers to call him "Mr. Chairman." He liked that so much that he started calling himself "the chairman" and spouted other chairmanly phrases, such as "unanimous consent" and "without objection so ordered." The dress-up game looked realistic enough on C-SPAN, so two dozen more Democrats came downstairs to play along.
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The session was a mock impeachment inquiry over the Iraq war. As luck would have it, all four of the witnesses agreed that President Bush lied to the nation and was guilty of high crimes — and that a British memo on "fixed" intelligence that surfaced last month was the smoking gun equivalent to the Watergate tapes. Conyers was having so much fun that he ignored aides' entreaties to end the session.
Witnesses at the moonbattarama included Ray McGovern and Joseph Wilson. Hah! In July 2005 Conyers and Representative Frank also met for another round impeachment fantasy:
The BRAD BLOG has learned that Congressmen John Conyers (D-MI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) have inquired with officials at the Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service this afternoon into whether impeachment proceedings would be appropriate for Senior White House Officials.
The release of a letter by the two congressmen was accompanied by a press release from the office of the ranking minority House Judiciary Committee member, John Conyers. In the letter, the two seek clarification from "a neutral authority" of whether the U.S. Constitution's Article II, regarding impeachment of a sitting President and Vice-President and "all civil officers", would apply to Deputy Chief of Staff, Karl Rove who is currently embroiled in the on-going criminal investigation into who leaked classified information concerning the outing of covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame.
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On December 20, the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff, at Conyers' request, filed its 273-page report, The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War. The report included copies of house resolutions to establish a bi-partisan Select Committee in the House – H.Res. 635; to censure the President – H.Res.636; and to censure the Vice President – H.Res. 637.
Representative Conyers' work was used at the Bush Crimes Commission which resulted in mock indictments against the president of the United States.
The indictments were later hand delivered (through a gate to a security guard) by Ray McGovern to the White House.
But, today John Conyers is backing down from his life's work!
I'm with the Kos-kids on this one…
Man Up, John Conyers! Man Up!
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Sister Toldjah will not be fooled.


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OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Who would guess that one of the hottest properties on the Bay Area real estate market would be an actual fire house, and an historic one at that.
The City of Oakland is offering two parcels for sale in Montclair, including the historic Montclair fire station. The architecture is reminiscent of a small gingerbread house, and it's been vacant for some time, as a short tour of the inside would indicate.
Still, it's a unique prospect for potential buyers like April Howell Young and her husband Douglas, who was raised in the area and grew up to be a firefighter.
"This is one of the first fire houses I remember coming to as a kid, about five years old. And I remember I was looking at the fire house and the big fire engines and looking at the guys dressed really nice and very professional. And one of the old firefighters, and old African-American gentlemen put his hat and his helmet on me and put me on the truck as a five year old, and I thought it was the coolest thing," Young remembers.
But like other potential buyers, the Youngs would be looking at a $500,000 opening bid, with no idea what it could eventually cost to restore the historic building.
Written and produced by Tim Didion.
Oakland puts historic Montclair fire house up for sale
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Talking Tax: New conditions for SEIS, EIS & VCT advance assurance applications
Andrew Holloway
Director, Entrepreneurial Taxes
13 December 2018
HMRC have recently made some amendments to the way they handle both SEIS/EIS/VCT advance assurance claims, as well as the follow-up certification process that is required to be worked through post investment. Our Entrepreneurial Taxes team have a number of years' experience dealing with the HMRC's Enterprise Centre on such matters, and below we share our thoughts on these recent changes, and our experience of working with clients to ensure these new conditions are met.
HMRC will now only provide advance assurance where the company making the application names their proposed investors in their advance assurance application:
" We have certainly seen a significant increase in the speed of turnaround of advance assurance claims as a result of this change, as it has allowed HMRC to promptly consider and approve applications where the fundraising process is at an advanced stage, as opposed to spending time reviewing and responding to applications which may never come to anything.
" For our clients who are in the midst of fundraising processes, which can be all-consuming at times, having that prompt clarification can be a real shot in the arm, and can give investors that comfort that their position should be protected.
" On the flipside, we have seen a few instances where there is a classic chicken & egg situation, i.e. investors won't move forward to diligence/discussions until the company can provide assurance that SEIS/EIS status is available, but the company cannot make the application either because of the fact they don't have the ability to provide the names, or added to that, the Articles/Investment agreement have not yet been updated to reflect the proposed terms. As such, the clearance my not provide full worth. We have worked with clients and potential investors to understand this position, and come to an appropriate conclusion"
Andrew Holloway, Director and Head of Entrepreneurial Taxes
The Risk to Capital condition seeks to ensure that relief under SEIS/EIS/VCT regimes is better targeted at growth investments by excluding investments that have 'capital preservation arrangements':
" We welcomed this change from HMRC and would note that it has had little or no fundamental impact on the entrepreneurial companies who we seek to support through the SEIS/EIS advance assurance process. We are recommending that clients are cognisant of this relatively new condition, and that the reasons why the condition is met are appropriately covered off in either advance assurance applications, or where a company is submitting an SEIS/EIS1 to HMRC.
Suzanne Brownie, Senior Manager, Entrepreneurial Tax Team
HMRC have also introduced the requirement that any money raised from SEIS/EIS/VCT investments must be used for the company's organic growth & development:
" We would not expect that SEIS/EIS/VCT funds would be used to plug working capital gaps or be used to acquire a business, so we again welcomed the introduction of this condition and our clients have seen little or no negative impact. The significant majority of the companies we talk to are looking to grow their staff count, win new work, increase their customer base and all with the intention of increasing revenues, so the growth & development condition has simply led us to further document this in any applications made to HMRC."
" We were also delighted to hear that HMRC have moved the SEIS and EIS compliance process online, making this process significantly easier to work through and complete for companies and investors alike. Between a reduced paper trail and email submissions being accepted with no requirement for a 'wet signature', this will significantly improve the efficiency of the process, with unique references being provided to investors for inclusion on their tax returns replacing the paper certificate system. Excellent news all round!"
Emma Middler, Tax Manager, Entrepreneurial Tax Team


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Foreign polices of Capitalist nations are primarily driven by Economic interests, i.e. profit maximisation, which translates to accessing new markets for its capital (Foreign investment), goods and services. International trade necessitates the lowering (or removal) of trade barriers and most importantly the willingness of the nations to trade, which would results in some form of negotiation leading to bilateral or multilateral treaties. If one of the parties decide to close its borders things can get nasty. As the British and the Dutch, East India companies demonstrated with the power of their navy in India, China and Indo-China, brutally colonising and plundering these lands for centuries in the name of "free trade". Britain even took the role of a Mafia Drug dealer in China, by forcing opium on the native Chinese, a nation that was reluctant to trade with Britain. US followed the same policies as its former! colonial masters, by imposing its version of "free" trade by force on Korea, Central and South America (Declaration by the Monroe Doctrine, Spanish-American War), Pacific and elsewhere. "Free" trade has often meant imposing the trade by the barrel of the gun. Unlike the more cunning and deceitful former European colonisers the American culture is relatively more frank and hence the former US president Woodrow Wilson said:
"Since trade ignores national boundaries and the manufacturer insists on having the world as a market, the flag of his nation must follow him, and the doors of the nations which are closed against him must be battered down. Concessions obtained by financiers must be safeguarded by ministers of state, even if the sovereignty of unwilling nations be outraged in the process."
As did William Howard Taft, secretary of war under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, who explained that foreign policy "may well be made to include active intervention to secure for our merchandise and our capitalists opportunity for profitable investment."
Successive Presidents and Secretaries of the State have echoed this. Conflicts were not confined between the Colonialist and its colonies, often the Colonialists went to war with each other competing for market shares, the scramble for Africa in the 19th Centaury by European countries led to many successive wars, as did the struggle over India, South America and Indo-China. All these skirmishes eventually climaxed with First World War. Cost of the war led many of the nations to consider negotiating their differences rather then use the military option, this contributed towards the growth of various international political and economical institutions. Which was solidified after the Second World War. At the same time many of the academics argued for the advantages of free trade in generating wealth (theories of trade specialisation) for the trading nations and the harmful affects of closing the border! s, the economic depression of the 1930s are often highlighted as an example of the consequence of raising the trade barriers.
So nations seeking trade liberalisation under the frenzy of Globalisation went to the recent WTO meeting held in the Mexican resort of Cancun, seeking to establish a consensus, which could have potentially lead to a multilateral agreement between its 146 members. The agenda was initiated at the previous meeting at Doha. However, few considered the main stumbling block — the basic human nature of greed — rich and the powerful wants to get richer, even it means making the rest of the world poorer. A natural human trait that is not regulated but rather completely let loose within the Capitalist paradigm, it forms one the basic pillar of the "free market" fundamentalism (Capitalism). Hence, the debase desires to covet the wealth of other nations, after securing the wealth from within by depriving the majority of its own masses of a decent living standards, are enforced by the deployment and careful marketing of fanciful terms like "free" market. Hence we witness the belligerence of the "freedom" fanatic fundamentalists. Do we not hear all the time from Bush and his cohorts mentioning "free" this and "free" that, how the terrorist hate "freedom". Even a cursory glance will tell you that it is "freedom" for the US and in particular its multinationals, and financiers not the freedom that is universally applicable to all human beings and nations. Never the less the member states hoped that everyone would see the mutual benefit and some form of compromise would be reached on that basis.
The summit was however a failure as nations walked out, unable to reach any agreement. However many viewed it as a turning point, as for the first time the poorer nations put up collective resistance against the three economic giants, US, Europe and Japan, this resistance led some to declare it as a form of victory for the poorer nations. The opposition was primarily provided by the G22 group of countries, which was led by the axis of India, Brazil and China, other less influential groups like the Least-Developed countries with its 49 members led by Bangladesh, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) etc were also there to negotiate their own respective interests. Most contentious issue was that of Agricultural subsides provided by the wealthy US and Europe to their farmers, creating a glut in the market, lowering prices, excess being dumped on the third world market eventually. Such practices are costing t! he poor countries in terms of millions in the losses of export revenue and may even ruin their own domestic market if subjected to dumping policies of the powerful nations. Another area of contention was that of cotton, even the US admits it is by far the biggest offender in subsidising the industry. India, Pakistan (produces 22% of the world cotton production) along with other African states again its primary victim. To compound the problem all these poor nations have huge debt servicing burdens to the IMF and World Bank. Far from conceding to the reduction of export subsidies to create a more equitable environment for the poorest countries, allowing them a chance to develop and grow, they (US, EU, and Japan) went on the offensive asking for the adoption of "Singapore issues" (Originally proposed in Singapore back in 1996). Which would facilitate greater market penetration by the Multinationals and big Corporations. No surprise as they are the real beneficiary behind the scene.! Singapore issue has four main components — how countries deal with foreign investment — standards of anti-monopoly and cartel laws (competition) — government procurement — and trade facilitation (WTO jargon for easing red tape, customs and eliminating corruption). Naturally reservation from all the developing and least developed countries, people often forget, free does not necessarily mean fair. Countries with greater expertise, resources are easily able out manoeuvre the poorer countries. Foreign investment can undermine a nations fiscal policy (sovereignty) as India and Malaysia voiced their opposition. The latter learnt how the currency traders were about to destabilise the entire economy during the Southeast Asian market crash not too long ago. In essence such a formula would prepare the local Industries to be controlled by the multinationals and thereby the colonising the countries effectively. "Free trade" is not so free after all. Like Iraq's de! mocracy, eventually, elect whomever you like as long as it serves US interests.
It was also an ideal opportunity for the US to convince the world of its current claim of being an ideal benevolent nation, it would have been far more convincing then the recent assertion of its intended benevolence ("liberation") whilst it was bombing Iraq after applying a decade of barbaric economic sanctions. Simply, unilaterally reducing its tariffs and subsidies to a reasonable level, which would have had an enormous positive impact on the poor countries. As one Bangladeshi economist remarked in the past that "third world needs trade not aid". The initial loss of US businesses would have been more then compensated by the over all economic growth and an increase in confidence for investors and consumers. At the stroke of pen, US and Europe could have liberated millions out of poverty and desperation. Such conditions have been created through the policies of their financial institutions in the first place.! This perhaps also really proves the point that Capitalist nations are not benevolent nations but rather only self-serving. When they tell you they want to liberate they are simply lying, current and historical evidences are overwhelming, if there has been the odd liberation (e.g. France, Western Europe and the Pacific nations during second World war) it is only an unintended by-product of a struggle with rival competitor nations (e.g. Germany and Japan) for securing (or defending) its own interests.
Solution or Suggestion
As for the poorer nations, they must have the will power to act in a collective manner in opposing the US/EU led domination, who are only interested in getting richer at all costs and learn from its Colonial history. They must resist the seduction of short-term gains through forming bilateral treaties. The market shares of world trade for the poorer countries are continuously decreasing and the gap between the rich and the poor nations are ever increasing; the current model is not viable for securing their own interests. Hence the poor nations should collectively look to create an alternative, and perhaps attempt to entice the oil rich Arab countries who are at present suffering under US led brutality, with long term visions rather then short term pragmatism. Dumping the dollar for the Euro, and in particular withdrawing the "petro-dollar" from the US banks and then converting it to the Euro, diverting thos! e funds would be an excellent start; it would seriously dent the greedy US Capitalists, and the shady evil Neo-Con fascists in their ability to wage war for profit. Boycotting of US based goods and services in favour of the less belligerent members of EU and other developing nations would also be another positive step. The US should also be classified as a greedy rouge state that needs to be reformed, preferably a regime change from the current regime of "freedom" fundamentalists, only then it should be considered for membership of the real international community which has the majority of the worlds population.


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I was doing my yearly backup review and decided to take a look at Backblaze. Backblaze is popular among Mac users although they also have a Windows client. I took a look at the Mac version.
Backblaze – The Basics
Backblaze is cloud backup. They offer "unlimited" backup but there are restrictions if not limitations. Pricing is $5 per month but is discounted for 1 year ($50) and 2 years ($95) prepaid commitments. Pricing is per computer.
Only locally attached disks can be backed up. This obviously includes internal drives and also includes firewire, USB and Thunderbolt attached drives. Network attached drives are not backed up.
There is a long list of folders on my Mac that cannot be backed up, even if I wanted to. The important ones in this list are "Applications" and "Library" (the system-wide library folder). So Backblaze cannot be used as a full system backup. On the positive side, everything that would be specific to a user can be backed up.
There's also a long list of file types that are not backed by default although these exclusions can be removed:
wab~, vmc, vhd, vo1, vo2, vsv, vud, iso, dmg, sparseimage, sys, cab, exe, msi, dll, dl_, wim, ost, o, qtch, log, ithmb, vmdk, vmem, vmsd, vmsn, vmx, vmxf, menudata, appicon, appinfo, pva, pvs, pvi, pvm, fdd, hds, drk, mem, nvram, hdd
On the Mac you may want to be sure sparseimage files are backed up depending on how you use them. I kept virtual machine images excluded because I didn't want to use the bandwidth to backup constantly changing files. I did remove the ISO exclusion since any ISOs I have don't change once they're backed up.
Backblaze will delete files from cloud storage 30 days after they're deleted from the computer. If a external drive is disconnected from the computer (or turned off) the files will be deleted from the backup after 30 days. I wasn't able to test this during the trial period but it appears there's now a warning message a couple weeks before the files from the external drive are deleted.
In a true "trust no one" philosophy I can set my own encryption key. (I do have to trust that the Backblaze software is not secretly sending them my encryption key.) If I lose this key I lose all ability to restore the files and Backblaze can't get them back. Despite this risk I require this for all my cloud storage that contains my financial and confidential records and keep the key in multiple locations.
Backblaze Trial
I took advantage of their two week trial to take a look at the Backblaze software and service. The registration, download and installation was straightforward so I won't repeat it here. Once installed it began backing up using the default settings.
Backblaze installs itself as a preference pane. The options are (click any image for full size)…
The Main Panel
The main panel gives you an overview of where you stand with backups. By default Backblaze will continuously backup changed files. Clicking the settings button will display six configuration screens.
The computers online name is automatically generated and is based on the Mac's name. I have only one drive so it's the temporary data drive. I changed the warning from the default 7 days to 1 day. If it's failing I want to know right away.
Any attached hard drives are listed. Check the ones you want included, uncheck the ones that you don't.
Performance lets you throttle the bandwidth used during the backup. I found the Automatic setting worked well. The estimates varied widely during my first backup so the estimate seems to be based on a narrow slice of time. I had no problem streaming Amazon or Netflix while the backup was uploading. This isn't too surprising since the data is going in opposite directions. The uploads did slow down during the streaming.
Nothing much here. I used "Continuously."
The folders can't be removed from the exclusion list but you can add other folders to exclude. I left the folders as is but I did remove DMG, ISO and SparseImage files from the file type exclusions.
This panel is primarily informational but it's also where I entered my private encryption key.
There's three report panels that are informational.
The restore panel is informational and shows the three restore options.
Web Restore Test
Naturally, a backup is no good if you can't restore the files. So I went through the process of a web restore. It's a straight-forward process, although a web restore may not be well suited to restoring gigabytes of data. I only picked a couple files for the restore and they were ready in a matter of minutes.
You do have to enter your encryption key on the restore web page. So you have to again trust that Backblaze won't remember your encryption key. You also need to trust that there's no coding errors that will compromise the key. This is probably an acceptable risk for most people. It also seems that the files are decrypted on the server side before they are put into the zip file. It's also seems that if you request that the files be sent to you on disk that they'll be sent already unencrypted on the disk which seems like a bigger risk.
The web restore process is shows in the following screenshots.
Wrapping Up
Backblaze is a nice easy to use Backup service. It shares similar limitations to other "all you can eat for one price" backup services. I can see why it's so popular but I'd prefer a backup service that can be used for long term storage without having to worry about whether or not the drive is still connected. So this became a non-starter for me.
The service is designed to backup data. I didn't try restoring any complete OS X package files. For example, a Bento database. In the case of iPhoto and Aperture libraries (which are also library files) Backblaze will look into the library and backup the photos. But it won't backup thumbnails. While not backing up thumbnails isn't a problem, this less than everything approach does concern me. I'm more comfortable when I know exactly what's happening with my backups.
The low price of Backblaze backup and ease of use will appeal to most people and for good reason.
- Low Cost
- Easy to Use
- Fast backup (no throttling noticed – limitation seemed to be my connection)
- Web restore cumbersome for large restores
- Large restores (beyond web capabilities) costly and delayed by shipping.
- Private encryption key has some potential holes (required before restore so files are shipped unencrypted or stored unencrypted on the Backblaze server)
Pro/Con (depends on your point of view)
- Like all cloud backups, potentially limited by your internet connection for both speeds and data caps.
- Not a full disk backup, still need a second backup solution for a full system.
- Deletes backed up files 30 days after the local files vanish.


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Frequent Links
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2013)
A śrāmaṇera (Sanskrit; Pali: sāmaṇera; Template:CJKV. Tibetan: དགེ་ཚུལ་ getsül; Burmese: ရှင်သာမဏေ shin thamanei, Thai: สามเณร samanen, Khmer: សាមណេរ "samaner") is a novice male monastic in a Buddhist context. A female novitiate is a śrāmaṇerī or śrāmaṇerikā (Pali: sāmaṇerī).
The literal meaning of śrāmaṇera is "small renunciate", and in Buddhism refers to someone who has taken the initial pravrajya vows but not the upasampada or full ordination. The prātimokṣa rules do not apply to them and they do not take part in the recital of the rules on uposatha days.
HistoryThe account is that when Gautama Buddha's son Rāhula was seven years old, he followed the Buddha, saying "Give me my inheritance." The Buddha called Sariputta and asked him to ordain Rāhula, who became the first sāmaṇera.
The King (Suddhodana), discovering that now his grandson and a number of young men in the royal family had requested ordination, asked the Buddha only to ordain a minor with the consent of his parents or guardian. The Buddha assented. This rule was expanded to include the spouses of those intending to join the Order of monks and nuns".[1]
In the Vinaya or monastic discipline, a man under the age of 20 cannot ordain as a bhikṣu but can ordain as a śrāmaṇera. Śrāmaṇeras (and śrāmaṇerīs) keep the Ten Precepts as their code of behaviour and devote themselves to the religious life during breaks from secular schooling, or in conjunction with it if devoted to formal ordination.
The Ten Precepts upheld by śrāmaṇeras are:
- Refrain from killing living things.
- Refrain from stealing.
- Refrain from unchastity (sensuality, sexuality, lust).
- Refrain from lying.
- Refrain from taking intoxicants.
- Refrain from taking food at inappropriate times (after noon).
- Refrain from singing, dancing, playing music or attending entertainment programs (performances).
- Refrain from wearing perfume, cosmetics and garland (decorative accessories).
- Refrain from sitting on high chairs and sleeping on luxurious, soft beds.
- Refrain from accepting money.
Ordination differs between śrāmaṇeras and śrāmaṇerīs.
Transition to full ordination
After a year or at the age of 20, a śrāmaṇera will be considered for the higher bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī ordination. Some monasteries will require people who want to ordain as a monk to be a novice for a set period of time, as a period of preparation and familiarization. Adults would normally wear the white robes of a Brahmin, as do mae ji, who do not seek ordination.
See also
- ^ "Wall paintings ·· coming home, see section Buddha's son". buddhamind.info. Retrieved 2013-11-06.


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- Calm irritated skin topically without the dangerous side effects of steroids
- Made for sensitive skin
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Dealing with each of these in turn: Electrical charge build up This can occur for many reasons. In the extreme it can be caused by a lightning strike, but more common causes are things such as a fault on a piece of electrical equipment, or electrostatic charging due to the flow of a non-conducting fluid past a non-conducting surface, or the rubbing together of two non-conducting surfaces. Creation of a spark If two items with different electrical charges are brought into proximity of each other there is a tendency for the charges to try to balance out. If the items are conductors and they are in contact with each other then a current will flow from one to the other to balance the charge. However, if they are simply near to each other, if the charge difference is sufficiently great, this will result in a spark jumping between the two. The larger the charge difference, the greater the gap that can be jumped, and the larger the spark that can be created. Alternatively, with a fixed level of charge, as two items approach each other, eventually they will be sufficiently close together for a spark to be created. Triggering of an explosion or fire If the atmosphere in the vicinity of a spark contains the correct proportions of materials, and the spark is of sufficient energy, this can trigger a fire or an explosion. There are many combinations of gases and dusts that can cause an atmosphere to be flammable or explosive, but suffice to say that over the years, there have been many documented cases of explosions and fires ignited by electrical sparks in such atmospheres. CRP Spikies In order to address the issue of earthing rotating flanged components CRP has developed its range of Spikies®. Spikies® are simply slipped into place between the loose flange and stub end on a pipe spool or fitting, and the joint made using star washers and studs as on a fixed flange joint. Once in place the centring lugs ensure that the raised points on the Spikies® are positioned to bite into the front of the flange face and the back of the stub end, thus providing earth continuity from rotating flange to fitting / spool. Development The extensive design, development and testing programme for Spikies® has ensured that the optimum spring steel substrate and nickel corrosion protection coating materials have been used, along with a design that makes Spikies® a truly durable fit and forget solution to process plant pipework earth continuity issues. Cost and Reliability The spikie provides a robust and cost effective solution to achieving earth continuity between the pipe body and a rotating flange. It can be supplied factory fitted or can easily be retro-fit in the field. For further information on ATEX requirements please click here
Corrosion Resistant Products Ltd
Todmorden Road
Phone: +44(0)1706 756400
Fax: +44(0)1706 379567


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Oklahoma Emigration and Immigration
United States Emmigration and Immigration >Oklahoma, United States Genealogy
Indian Residents[edit | edit source]
The Caddo, Pawnee, and Wichita tribes were living in the area of Oklahoma in the 1700s. About the time the United States acquired the area through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, other tribes such as the Quapaw, Oto, and Osage migrated to eastern Oklahoma. By 1837, the Civilized Tribes (see Oklahoma Native Races) had settled most of their members in Oklahoma.
After the Civil War, many other tribes from throughout the United States were forcefully or by treaty moved off their lands and settled in Oklahoma.
There were about 80,000 Indians in Oklahoma in 1860, when the entire area was known as the Indian Territory. In 1924 all Indians in the Indian Territory were declared citizens of the United States. Most Indians now live in the eastern part of the state, and make up four percent of the total population.
For information about the records of American Indians in Oklahoma, see Oklahoma Native Races.
White Settlers[edit | edit source]
Only a few thousand non-Indians lived in the Territory before 1889. After the Civil War, a few people from the South moved into the Indian Territory. Anyone wishing to live in this area needed permission from the Indians, but some white settlers tried to move into the Territory without permission.
A mining boom in the 1870s brought Europeans into the Choctaw Nation (present-day southeastern Oklahoma). Descendants of Italian, Slavic, Greek, Welsh, Polish, and Russian miners still live in that area. Between 1878 and 1885, "Boomers" (other white settlers) tried unsuccessfully to take over Indian lands.
In 1889 the "Unassigned Lands" (land not assigned to Indian tribes) in central Indian Territory were opened for settlement by non-Indians. This created the first of the famous Oklahoma land runs (see Oklahoma Land and Property). Approximately 50,000 settlers came the first year. Another run in 1893 brought 100,000 settlers, mostly to the "Cherokee Outlet" (northwestern Oklahoma).
The land runs brought homesteaders from China, Japan, Mexico, England, France, and Canada, as well as from nearly every state. People from the southern states settled mostly in eastern and southern counties, while people from northern states favored the northern and western sections. Wheat farming attracted German Mennonites and Czechs to the northwestern counties.
When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, there were 1,400,000 residents.
Between 1907 and 1920, the discovery of oil brought many people from other oil-producing areas and from the Midwest. The population of the state reached about 2,400,000 by 1930. The drought and the Great Depression of the 1930s caused thousands of farmers to move to urban areas or migrate west to California.
References[edit | edit source]
Oklahoma, United States Genealogy Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1998, 2001.
- NOTE: All of the information from the original research outline has been imported into this Wiki site and is being updated as time permits.


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Posts Tagged 'proper motion'
The Basic of Star's Spectroscopy
Posted January 10, 2009on:
Spectroscopy is a branch study in astronomy that focus on astronomical objects' spectrum. From the spectrum, we can get informations, such as its temperatures, chemical compositions, movement speed, etc. That's why spectroscopy can be considered as one of the fundamental field in astronomy. The spectrum of a star (or any other astronomical object) is acquired by using an instrument called spectrograph.
One of the fundamental law in spectroscopy is Kirchoff Law (1859) which stated that:
- If a liquid or high pressure gas is ignited, they will emit energy in all wavelength which will produce a continuous spectrum.
- If a low temperature gas is ignited, it will only emit energy in certain range wavelength and produce spectrum which have a dark background and some bright lines. That kind of spectrum is called the emission spectrum. The wavelength of each bright lines are the precise indicator of what gas that produce them. So, the same gas will produce bright lines in certain exact wavelength.
- If a white light (which is a equal mixture of all colors) is passed through a cool low temperature gas, the gas will absorb energy at certain wavelength. The result spectrum will be continuous spectrum as the background with some dark lines in certain exact wavelength. The dark lines called absorption lines and that kind of spectrum is called the absorption spectrum. The wavelength of each dark lines are the precise indicator of what gas that produce them. So, the same gas will produce dark lines in certain exact wavelength.
Balmer Series
Switzerland scientist, Balmer, state a series equation to predict the wavelength of the absorption lines of hydrogen gas. The equation is widely known as Balmer series equation.
with : λ: the wavelength of the absorption lines [cm]
RH : Rydberg constant (= 109678 )
Planck's Quantum Law
Planck postulates that light is radiated in the form of small discrete package called quantum. This theory is the foundation of the birth of a new field in physics called quantum physics.
Planck state that energy of each photon
h : Planck's constant (h = 6,63 x 10^-34 J.s)
f : frequency of the photon [Hz]
c = speed of light (= 3.10^5 km/s)
λ = photon's wavelength
Star's spectrum
Star's spectrum pattern is wide in variety. In 1863, an astronomer called Angelo Secchi classified star's spectrum in 4 groups based on the similarities of its' absorption lines.
Miss A. Maury from Harvard Observatory establish another way to classify star's spectrum and it was revised by Miss Annie J. Cannon. Miss Cannon's classification is the most widely adopted today.
Table 1 : Resume of the classification of star's spectrum (to remember it use the donkey bridge : Oh Be A Fine Girl (or Guy), Kiss Me). (you can click the figure to get bigger and clearer version of the table above; .
Sub-classification of star's spectrum
Star's spectrum classification O, B, A, F, G, K, M is divided again to several sub-classes :
Bigger number represent lower temperature! The use of this sub-class is to narrow the specification's range and become more precise.
(for further information, check this site.)
M-K Classification (Star's Luminosity Class)
Stars with same certain spectrum's class is found to have different luminosities. In 1913, Adam dan Kohlscutter from Mount Wilson Observatory showed that the width of spectrum's lines can be used to estimate star's luminosity.
Based on these facts. in 1943 Morgan and Keenan from Yerkes Observatory divided stars to several luminosity class as shown in the table below.
Very bright super giant star
Class 1b
|Less bright super giant star
Class II
Bright giant star
Class III
Giant star
Class IV
Sub-giant star
Class V
Main sequence star
Morgan Keenan's Luminosity Class (M-K class) is sketched in a Hertzprung-Russell diagram (H-R diagram) below.
Now, star's classifications use the combination of spectrum class and luminosity class. For example : A G2 V star is a main sequence star that belongs to spectrum class G2
Star's motion
Contrary to widely beliefs that star isn't moving in space, star DO move in space. However, the movement of stars is hard to track. Beause of its immense distance, the movement of star only produce extremely small apparent movement in sky. We have to wait several years (or decades!) to track star's movement in sky. Warning : the star's movement that is discussed above is not the apparent daily motion of the star !
The star's angular motion of a star is called proper motion (μ). Proper motion is usually measured in arc-second per year. Star with biggest proper motion is Barnard Star with μ = 10",25 per year (In 180 years, this star will (only) move in extent as full Moon's disk).
Relationship between tangential velocity (Vt) and the proper motion (μ):
Vt = 4,74 μ d
with :
Vt = tangential speed of the star [km/s]
μ = proper motion of the star ["/ year]
d = star's distance [parsec]
the above equation also can be stated as :
with p is the parallax of the star (in arc second).
The proper motion is measured by two quantities: the position angle and the proper motion itself. The first quantity indicates the direction of the proper motion on the celestial sphere (with 0 degrees meaning the motion due north, 90 degrees due east, and so on), and the second quantity gives the motion's magnitude, in seconds of arc per year.
The equations used to find the quantity of star's proper motion are :
μδ = μ cos θ
with :
μα = proper motion in right ascension
μδ = proper motion in declination
μα and μδ is measurable –> μ and θ can be determined.
Beside proper motion, information about star's motion can be obtained from its radial motion, which is the component of star's motion that lies parallel to our line of sight.
Radial velocity (Vr) can be measured by its spectrum lines that shift (Doppler shift). For star which radial velocity (Vr) is significant compared to the speed of light:
For Vr being much smaller compared to the speed of light (c), the equation can be simplified to:
with :
Δλ = the difference between static wavelength (λo) and observed wavelength (λ). [Å or nm]
λo = static wavelength. [Å or nm]
Vr = radial velocity [km/s]
c = speed of light (300.000 km/s )
Now, we are able to calculate Vt and Vr as discussed above and we will be able to calculate star's true motion (linear motion):
- "Astrofisika I" lecture notes, by Dr. Djoni N. Dawanas
- Wikipedia
- Google images
For other pages that discuss this material, you are advised to visit these sites:
1. Spectroscopy
2. Astronomynotes.com


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Jackson Healthcare & Junior Achievement help young leaders thrive
We all know how challenging the real world can be. It can be especially challenging for high school students starting to plan their future.
But though our partnership with Junior Achievement, we are helping them to see a world where they can achieve their goals. This is their story.


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Legal Secretary Schools
Statistics From SurveysStatistics From Surveys
Stats here are for those who have completed the program. Of those starting the program, 12 out of 16 (75%) of people surveyed successfully completed it.
|Survey Question
|Program Completion Time
|20 month(s)
|Attended School Mostly Full-Time
|Program Difficulty (1-100)
|Satisfied With the School
|Well-Prepared for Career
|Would Choose Program Again
|Career is Directly Related to Program
|Easy to Find Job
|How Long to Find First Job
|3 month(s)
|Working Mostly Full-Time
|Salary (Not Necessarily Full-Time)
|Salary Met Expectations
|Trouble Making Loan Payments
|Satisfied With the Career
Schools Offering This Program, by StateSchools Offering This Program, by State Why did people choose this program of study?Why did people choose this program of study?
"I am interested in pursuing a further career in the legal field. I also feel that this will let me get a feel for whether I feel this area is good for me without spending a large amount of time or money in school."
"I know that the legal department pays well. High-level of jobs available"
"I believed that I had the skills and personality to be a legal secretary. It also seemed higher paying than other jobs that appealed to me and were within my reach."
"I picked this career program over others because I had a job as a legal secretary and I felt that I needed more education about the job. I saw myself having this as a career and wanted to be able to have a pay raise because of my background, and a certificate would help this."
"My father is an attorney and I wanted to be a legal secretary. I thought that maybe it would translate into future career as a paralegal someday."
"I chose this particular program because I had always been interested in the legal field. I could not afford to attend a four-year university, so I felt that this certificate program to be the next best thing."
"I work in the legal field. I wanted to improve my job performance."
"i think i would enjoy working in this field. I like doing this type of work."
"I have always admired the legal profession, and wanted to be a part of a legal team. I also aspired to have experience in a field where my skills would be appreciated and very specific to the legal profession."
"i wanted to work in this field because i found it to be interesting and there was some growth opportunities. Also it was it profitable field."
"I was working as a law firm receptionist and wanted to move up into a legal secretary position. This course allowed me to make a smooth transition."
"My advisor said it would be the best option due to my current pregnancy. I chose to take his opinion as knowledge."
What surprised people about this program of study?What surprised people about this program of study?
"I wasn't surprised about anything with this field of study. If anything, I was surprised that many people get this same job without any training whatsoever. The time I spent in class was wasted."
"I was surprised how involved the position was in the field and how much information to the field I had to learn. I would definitely recommend this course of action for those interested in law."
"I was surprised at the amount of short-hand was expected as I never use it"
"I was surprised at the amount of work required to train to be a legal secretary. It involved more study and rigorous memorization than I would have thought."
"That I do more work than the attorneys, ha! I found it very interesting that I would eventually be meeting with the clients, gathering information, and honestly learning more about people than I ever thought I would. The job is very personal and you form many relationships with clients! I never thought that."
"I very much enjoy being a legal secretary. I find myself learning more and more about the law and I even prepare some legal materials myself. I feel that I have room to grow in this field and even move on to law school if I can save up enough money."
"I was surprised how helpful my instructors were as well as my fellow classmates. Before taking the classes I thought I knew a lot about law but once I started taking classes I realized how little I actually did."
"I was surprised at how prepared you are to do your job."
"I was surprised by the specific and exact procedures required to do legal work. I expected it to be more secretarial with a few tweaks, but learning all the legal aspects (page formatting, protocols, report processing for court filings, etc.) was a lot to learn and very challenging. However, it was the challenge that made this field satisfying."
"i was a little surprised how much legal terminology i needed to know. There was a lot of particulars about the data work that i needed to learn really fast."
"It is surprising the amount of legal drafting that is done by legal secretaries. This career also demands a lot of communication with Courts."
"I was surprised at how easy the program was. Had I realized this initially, I would have perhaps chosen a more challenging program. Many of my family members were surprised I went with this field."


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Nov 9, 2018
Minnesota RollerGirls Bout 2: Feel the Win in your Hair | Coming to Roy Wilkins Auditorium on Nov.17
SAINT PAUL, MINN. - The Minnesota RollerGirls (MNRG) will begin the battle for the Golden Skate on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m .in the Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium. In this double header event, the Rockits take on the Atomic Bombshells while the Dagger Dolls go to battle with the Garda Belts. Give thanks by contributing to this month's charities, Team RWB, the Wildlife Rehab Center, and longtime partner, the Ann Bancroft Foundation!
In honor of MNRG's 15th anniversary, a new award will be rolled out this season, titled "The Season 15 Crystal Skater". This award will be presented to a roller derby athlete whose hard work on and off the track is representative of the MNRG commitment to the sport and community.
This year's season-long charitable beneficiary is the Ann Bancroft Foundation's Let Me Play Grant, which funds athletic and dance equipment or participation fees for girls ages 5 through high school graduation. The November door charity is Team RWB and the bout charity is the Wildlife Rehab Center. Team RWB works to enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. Please bring canned food, winter gloves, mittens, and hats to support Team RWB. The Wildlife Rehab Center provides quality medical care and rehabilitation for injured and orphaned wildlife. Please bring pillowcases and large bath/beach towels without holes or fringed edges, canned air, 3-4" wide masking tape or gift cards to Fleet Farm or Joe's Sporting Goods to support the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota!
Doors open at 6:00 pm. The first 200 fans to arrive will receive a limited edition t-shirt. Get there early for a pre-show bout featuring Legacy Gymnastics: a fun tumbling display featuring local gymnasts. Half-time live performances will feature Tubby Esquire. After the bout, join the Minnesota RollerGirls for the official after party at Camp Bar in St. Paul.
General Admission tickets to the event are $15 in advance/$17 at the door. Tickets are available at local outlets and Ticketmaster.com or the Roy Wilkins box office. Children nine and under have free admission. Visit www.mnrollergirls.com for more details.


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Villa Diana Hotel Split
Hotel Villa Diana is a small family hotel situated in the center of Split, vis a vis 'Koteks skyscraper' towards Split's 'Riva' and ferry port. Only 5 minutes walking distance from the hotel you can reach downtown Split, both bus and train station. Hotel building was owned by old Split's family Kuzmaniæ and it is a part of Splits' cultural heritage. To Your disposal there are 6 rooms which present the top quality accomodation Dalmatia has to offer. All our rooms are equipped with air conditioning, bathroom with shower, SA TV, mini bar, telephone, internet...
Kuzmanica 3 21 000 Split Croatia
Hotel Villa Diana is located five minutes walking from the bus station, the harbour and the train station. You can find the hotel walking near the road from bus and train station or harbour ( they are all in the same place ), on the first crossroads going in the opposite side of the old town (walking about 3 minutes) and on the left side is hotel Villa Diana. From the airport it needs about 30-40 minutes with a car. When You come on the simplex road with 2 lines that guide to the center (named Zvonimirova ulica), you will see the big brown building on the left side and in the opposite side (right side) is hotel Villa Diana. The price of the taxi from airport to the hotel is about 35 EUR.
Hotel is located in the city center so we don't have our own parking places, but around it in 100 m there are many parking places and parkings so that our guests never had problems with it.
Children up to 2 years of age - free. Children from 2 - 12 years of age - 50 % discount.
Comparez les plus grands sites de voyage
Un large choix d'hôtels! Comparez les plus grands sites de voyage en une seule recherche et trouvez l'offre idéale en toute simplicité.


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DeafTEC received a 2013 Telly Award for its video Deaf Professionals in IT: Moble App Programmer. The video, created by Pellet Productions, features Matt Martella explaining the work he does as a Mobile Applications Programmer at Highmark in Pittsburgh, PA.
In its 35th year, the Telly Award honors the very best film & video productions, groundbreaking online video content, and outstanding local, regional, & cable TV commercials and programs. It is truly an honor to be recognized by this prestigious award.


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About the Board
As the official policymaking body of the Suffern Central School District, the Board of Education ensures that the district fulfills its mission to educate for personal excellence. In its primary role as a prudent steward of the public's investment in education, the Board is dedicated to the following strategic goals:
- Ensuring the district's fiscal health by balancing fairness to the taxpayer and the best interests of students
- Developing policies that support the administration in implementing data-driven best practices to advance student achievement and manage district resources
- Assuring the district is able to meet the educational needs of all students and challenge each child to achieve to his or her fullest potential
View Board policies, meeting agendas and minutes in BoardDocs.
View SCSD & BOE Advocacy on Proposed Utility Legislation.
Meet the Board
The Board is comprised of seven members; each member is elected to serve an unpaid, three-year term.
Questions? Contact the District Clerk at email@example.com
Please contact Board of Education members by using the email address: firstname.lastname@example.com.
A certified New York State public librarian and trained archivist, Mr. Kern is currently a supply chain director for Menasha Packaging. He holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the father of a preschooler and two Montebello Elementary School students. Mr. Kern was elected to the Board of Education in May 2016.
Mr. Shapiro was elected to the Board in May. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he earned his master's degree from the College of New Rochelle and an advanced certificate in administration/supervision from SUNY New Paltz. Mr. Shapiro is a retired school teacher and building administrator, and has held previous positions in the District including interim principal at Montebello Elementary School, and acting Assistant Principal at Suffern High School.
Donald Cairns
Mr. Cairns was elected to the Board in May 2018. A graduate of Rider College, Cairns earned his Master's Degree at the University of Maryland and was a social studies teacher in the East Ramapo School District for over 30 years. Most recently he has served as the Executive Director for the Rockland Community College Foundation and has received numerous awards and honors for his volunteer efforts throughout the County.
Mr. Donnelly was elected to the Board in May. A graduate of Suffern High School, Mr. Donnelly earned his bachelor's degree from Mercy College and worked as a police officer for the Town of Ramapo before recently retiring. Mr. Donnelly has been a familiar face within the district, as he served as the Suffern High School resource officer for the past 17 years.
Angus MacKenzie
Mr. MacKenzie is a retired New York City police detective. Born and raised in Suffern, he received a Bachelor's Degree from St. John's University and a Master's Degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Mr. MacKenzie has three children in the District and volunteers his time as a football coach for the Suffern Middle School football team, Suffern Midget Mounties, and the Ramapo PAL Flag Football league. In 2018, he was inducted into the Suffern Rotary. Mr. MacKenzie was elected to the Board in May 2018.
Chris Nicpon
Mr. Nicpon was elected to the Board in May 2019. For the past 19 years, he and his wife have lived in Suffern with their three children, the youngest still attending Suffern High School. Mr. Nicpon is a pediatrician in private practice at Valley Pediatric Associates and attended Siena College and Albany Medical School before completing his pediatric residency at the University of Connecticut. Mr. Nicpon is active in his church's youth mission program and has chaperoned trips to New Orleans and Nicaragua.
Melissa Reimer
A graduate of San Diego State University, Ms. Reimer is a Certified Public Accountant. She has been living in the Suffern Central School District for more than 21 years and is the mother of two high school students. Ms. Reimer was elected to the Board of Education in May 2018.


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Nietzsche's Ignorance of Buddhist Fundamentals
Nietzsche: The Ultimate Hypocrite
In Nietzsche's 'The Genealogy Of Morals', he briefly attributes nihilistic and dehumanizing principles to the Buddhist way of life, dubbing it a 'desire for nothingness' and portraying it as a belief set that makes existence worthless. While some of Nietzsche's references to Buddhism are true, albeit hyperbolized, others are taken entirely out of context, and all are unsophisticated and callow. However, many Buddhist and Nietzschean principles are homogenous and the well-informed Nietzsche deliberately ignored the philosophical value of Buddhism so as to bolster his own ideals and disassociate himself from organized religion and Gautama Buddha.
Taking values from the film 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring' and for the purpose of comparison to Nietzsche's ideals, Buddhism can be best described as philosophy rather than religion. Buddhism promotes a peace-based lifestyle to be wholly free from 'suffering', thereby attaining accountability and the such. Nietzsche's ends (as well as means, but more on that later) and those of Buddhism seem parallel: conscious understanding of human nature and subsequent conclusion to inherent human suffering.
In a sense, Buddhist philosophy commences at a more advanced level than Nietzschean. It is accepted that suffering accompanies life, and this acceptance can be considered the essence of Buddha's teachings. Known as 'The Four Noble Truths', they declare that "existence is suffering, which is caused by the nature of desire for impermanent things of the universe, that the suffering can be defeated nevertheless, and that it is the noble eightfold path which provides the means by which that victory can be achieved[1]." Reaching this state of victory (Nirvana) is achieved by following Buddha's path, and the noble truths provide the foundation for Buddhism and ascension to Nirvana.
However, Nietzsche states "...the desire of the Buddhist [is] for nothingness, Nirvana -- and no more!" (Pg. 120) This is in direct contrast to 'The Four Noble Truths', and is a fallacious exemplification of Nirvana and Buddhist desire. Yet, the Four Noble Truths seem to echo Nietzsche's idea of 'life-affirmation'. Nietzsche addresses the importance of coming to terms with one's conscience, of developing consciousness of conscience (pg. 149), and of man's intense humanity and the process of attaining it (pg. 151). This, he says, allows man to avoid blindly adopting ignorant man-made traditions and religions as a means of avoiding or ignoring that human state, ignoring the need for acceptance of the inevitable (suffering, or craving). Most important of all, much of his argument revolves around the notion that suppressed animalistic will of man only leads to "essentially dangerous forms of human existence... and that only [there] did the human soul in a higher sense acquire depth and become evil". (Pg. 120)
Buddhism embraces this, and is within itself an answer to Nietzsche's ideological struggle. As seen in the film, Buddhists accept all living creatures as equal to themselves, signified by the elder monk's tying of the stone to the young boy. The Buddhists do not seek to enjoy 'modern conveniences', preferring to live in relatively modest conditions amidst nature. The daily lives of the monk and boy were very cyclic and repetitive, much like that of an animal: attaining food, interacting with others, sleeping, building shelter, etc. The monk and boy found contentment in their meager surroundings. In the context of Nietzsche, they endeavored to avoid unnecessary depth, thereby avoiding evil.
This does not indicate a "desire for 'nothingness". Quite to the contrary, this is a desire for 'something-ness', while excluding all of the 'unnecessary'. Nietzsche himself supports this, elucidated in his blind 'hope' for psychologists, saying "I hope... [they] may be fundamentally brave, proud, and magnanimous animals, who know how to keep their hearts as well as their sufferings in bounds, and have trained themselves to sacrifice all desirability to truth, every truth, even plain, harsh, ugly, repellent, unchristian, immoral truth. -- For such truths do exist." (pg. 112) Nietzsche simultaneously acknowledges the existence of these truths and their uselessness; not every truth needs to be disinterred. He does find certain truths to be of importance, but this does not imply that he seeks "emotional nothingness" and neither do the Buddhists.
Moreover, they did not avoid life. For Buddhists, life is constantly 'affirmed', or rather, Buddhism alleviates the need for affirmation. Buddhism seeks to directly instill the final product or result (as aforementioned, commencement at a more advanced level) of Nietzsche's life-affirmation. According to Nietzsche, life-affirmation is sought after by all, but only truly achieved after persistent and thorough questioning. Through the process of questioning and coping and wrestling with the stinging realities of life and their humanity, an individual eventually develops a certain resilience and ability to see the true value of life and draw their own opinions on the world around them. Only then, can this person achieve a true and honest happiness and sense of fulfillment. It is because of man's nature, according to Nietzsche, that he must make this battle.
This critical parallel in human analysis serves to align Nietzsche and Buddhism, particularly the near identical references to deluded clinging to a sense of existence in the noble truths; Nietzsche himself would characterize that delusion with Christianity, and find it completely counterproductive, just as Buddhism does. This readily invalidates Nietzsche's reference to a Buddhist desire for nothingness, unless of course, Nietzsche too desires for nothingness (he does not). Both philosophies seek overcoming and understanding, called 'Nirvana' in Buddhism. Nirvana can be reached while alive, as it is merely a state of understanding. Then, can't Nietzsche's end point of life-affirmation also be considered Nirvana?
It was European society's Christian moral and social foundation that had an influence upon Nietzsche and his understanding of human nature, thus allowing him to challenge established faith and theorize. He felt that Christianity serves an excuse for the weak, and a way of controlling the masses. Christianity allows for the redirection of questions on humanity, thusly Nietzsche promotes questioning and stresses the importance of the answers, but Buddhism's principle beliefs are such that the questions become irrelevant: the answers are inculcated as unchangeable reality, and Buddhism answers the question of 'where do we go from here'? Buddhism teaches that the questioning of the genealogy of morals and existence is 'unnecessary' depth, and that the mind should be applied elsewhere.
Having aligned the two religions alongside Nietzsche, we return back to the original thesis; it is clear how Buddhism aligns with Nietzschean principles, but why would Nietzsche seek to hide the connection? This has to do with Nietzsche's preservation of the notion of life-affirmation (among others) and ability to analyze humans as unique and ground-breaking. This does not imply that Nietzsche was not a great thinker and brilliant philosopher; in so much of his work Nietzsche demonstrates a tremendous gift for psychoanalysis and astute questioning. Nietzsche also had a relatively sound understanding of Buddhism, therefore it is nearly assured that he recognized his close connection to, in terms of brilliance, cognizance, and ideas, to a far older great thinker: Buddha.
Having died over two millennia before Nietzsche's birth, the two lived very different lives and left vastly different legacies. However, Buddha comes to the same conclusions as Nietzsche, the only difference being the existence of a story to describe the coming of those conclusions. Buddha, the disillusioned son of an overprotective King, takes a vow of asceticism only to discover its failure in bringing mental awakening and clarity. This also rings true with Nietzsche, himself proving the failure of self-denial with the example of priests and the 'blond beast' (Pg. 129). Buddha then spent over a month meditating and would not end the meditation until he had a completely encompassing comprehension of, and revelation into, the cause of suffering and the necessary steps to eliminate it. Once again, Nietzsche and Buddha himself align. They both recognize inherent suffering as well as its causes, and seek elimination throughout a type of enlightenment: Buddha called it Nirvana, Nietzsche called it self-affirmation.
So where lies the crucial difference? Why is Buddhism a philosophy for millions and Nietzsche's only for educated thinkers? Simply put, accessibility and marketing. Nietzsche implores readers of 'The Genealogy of Morals' to question, and attempts to start the quest of life-affirmation, but Nietzsche's readers (ones that perhaps could have been converted, were it a religion of some sort) are doomed from that very start. Once they learn of life-affirmation, it cannot be actively pursued; once they are finished with the read and left with a completely discredited moral system and view of society as wholly dysfunctional, they have absolutely no recourse and nothing to believe in: they live in a screwed society and since Nietzsche explained life-affirmation, they cannot attain it until they forget. Nietzsche's very realistic, categorical analysis can only serve as a psychological and social commentary, despite his well-founded and well fleshed-out ideas, rooted in the same principles of Buddhism.
The story of Buddha is filled with the supernatural, and that gives fodder for Nietzsche to discredit Buddhism. However, the supernatural is precisely why we know of Buddha today. Buddha's teachings revolve around Nietzsche's same conclusions (vice versa, actually), but Buddhism presents acceptance of the inevitable as a basis -- it does not question the inevitable. Nietzsche could envision life-affirmation (envision being used because it is doubtful he achieved his own idea) because he was a genius. Nietzsche could handle multiple layers of analysis, and could maintain a constant state of multi-layered consciousness and questioning attainable only by the rarest of men. What Nietzsche failed to recognize is that his writings are useless to the common man. In marketing terms, 'if you want to sell your product, you have got to to have pretty packaging'. Nietzsche's product (in theory) delivered the same results as Buddha's, but Nietzsche's was hard to handle, difficult to equip, and required rare ability. Buddhism presented a simpler, easier, and granted, less realistic and fairly contrived product, but this product had the same effects, with far less of the requirements.
These differences can be derived from their differences in life. Buddha attained his understanding and clarity empirically. He lived his life and through those experiences as well as long bouts of meditation, came to the point of knowing, from which point he began to teach. On the other hand, Nietzsche is an abstractionist. His writings are not based on experiences. They are theories based on what he has heard or read, thus his disdain towards Jews. This contrast between abstractionism and empiricism (not in the Locke/Hume definition) is the diverging splinter.
In 'The Genealogy of Morals', Nietzsche had no choice in downplaying his parallels to and ignoring the influence of Buddhism on his own work; this he does deliberately. He rails against religion and religious leaders throughout, thus creating a necessity to distance himself from any comparison. Regardless of his attempt, Nietzsche and Buddhism are largely similar, whether he likes it or not.
[1] Walsh, John. "Buddha." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. Encyclopedia of World History: The Ancient World, Prehistoric Eras to 600 CE, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc.


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Legal advice in Switzerland
Law Firm
The Firm is situated in the most prestigious location of Geneva, on the quay Gustave Ador along the Geneva lake, in a magnificent old building facing the most famous landmark of the city: the Jet d'Eau (the fountain).
The firm was founded by Serguei Lakoutine, a graduate of the University of Geneva, who practices law since 2005.
Serguei Lakoutine is a former associate of Bonnant Warluzel & Partners, a well known and respected law firm in Geneva. He is a member of Geneva Bar Association, Swiss Bar Association and Geneva Association of Business Law.
Serguei Lakoutine is fluent in French, English and Russian. He regularly publishes articles in a Swiss magazine for the Russian-speaking community, "Russkaya Shveicariya", which is read monthly by more than 15'000 people. In these articles, Serguei Lakoutine offers legal advice on various issues.
The Firm represents its clients in front of Geneva and Swiss courts, as well as advises and counsels individuals and companies.
The Firm works in collaboration with other attorneys in Switzerland and abroad, as well as with banks, wealth management and trust companies, in order to provide a complete service to the clients, by bringing a solution tailored to their needs.
The Firm has a Representative Office in Moscow.
Practice Areas
The Firm is working in various legal areas, offering its clients a complete and personalized service, quick and efficient. We know that the priority for the client is the result.


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The new MacBook Air: The pros and cons
And like nearly every Apple product, it's definitely got features that some college students are sure to find attractive. Obviously, it shares some features with Mac computers -- a built-in camera, microphone, Wi-Fi capabilities and the same operating system (for now -- Apple also announced Lion, the next Mac OS). But is this one better than other the Apple notebooks? Let's take a look at some pros and cons.
No disc drive
As with the previous MacBook Air, there's no disc drive. Steve Jobs and company are confident that CDs and DVDs are going the way of the dinosaur. With movies, TV shows and music available via iTunes (not to mention the countless streaming music and video outlets online), it's decent logic. But for people who use their computer as a DVD player or who own loads of CDs that they'd like to load on their iPod, perhaps the MacBook Air isn't the best choice.
That said, it's not impossible to load CDs or DVDs onto a MacBook Air. Apple sells a SuperDrive for $79 specifically for the MacBook Air. Also, the Air features the ability to wirelessly "borrow" the disc drive from a nearby Mac or PC.
Obviously, one of the key selling points for the Air is its extremely small size. At its thickest, it's 0.68 inches, and it thins down to 0.11 inches. The thing weighs 2.3 pounds, making it extraordinarily easy to carry. It's built from a single piece of aluminum, which, as the Apple website says, makes it "durable enough to handle the rigors of everyday use." However, the standard MacBook isn't a monster to carry around -- it weighs in at 4.7 pounds, while the largest MacBook Pro (17 inches) weighs 6.6 pounds.
One of the biggest draws to buying a new Air is its brand new iLife '11 package. The new iLife updates the functionality of iPhoto (with Facebook enhancements and new slideshows), iMovie (with professional trailers and easier audio editing), and GarageBand (with music lessons and automatic "groove correction").
The package works with just about any recent Apple computer, but it comes at a price unless you're buying an Air (which is pre-equipped with iLife '11). The package costs $49. However, if you've purchased a computer since the beginning of October, you qualify for a free copy of the software (just $6.99 for shipping, plus tax).
Battery life
The battery life of the Air still doesn't match that of the other models. The 11-inch computer keeps up to five hours of charge, while the 13-inch maintains seven hours of charge. Meanwhile, the MacBook has up to 10 hours of charge, and the MacBook Pro models range from 8-10 hours. However, the Air does implement the "standby" mode of the iPad. The Air can remain on standby for up to 30 days without shutting down. Fairly impressive, but that's still five fewer hours of charge for the 11-inch model.
The new Air uses Flash Storage, which gives each model plenty of space. But it comes at a price. The 11-inch model offers 64GB for $999 or 128GB for $1,199; while the 13-inch model offers 128GB for $1,299 or 256GB for $1,599. The low end of the price range matches the low end for the regular MacBook, which has 250GB for $999. That's 186 more gigabytes for the same price. The high end is $100 more expensive than a 13-inch MacBook Pro, which offers a 320GB hard drive. That's 64GB for $100 less. Which brings us to the last point:
To determine if the price is right, lets compare the 64GB 11-inch Air ($999) with the 250GB regular MacBook ($999).
- Storage: The MacBook wins out with an additional 186GB.
- Battery: The MacBook offers an additional five hours of battery life.
- Size and portability: The Air's definitely got the advantage here.
- Software: The Air and MacBook both have the latest OS, but the Air barely beats this one out with the latest iLife.
- Disc drive: The SuperDrive for the Air is going to cost an extra $79, whereas the MacBook has one built in. Advantage MacBook.
- Multitouch trackpad: Both devices include a multitouch trackpad.
- Camera: The Air camera is built to support FaceTime, giving it the advantage in terms of its compatibility with new software.
- Environment: Both computers are eco-friendly -- no mercury, Energy Star requirements met, each have recyclable enclosures.
- Display: The MacBook wins out with size (13 inches vs. 11 inches), but both use the same graphics processor and have the same output capabilities for HDMI.
With all of those things in mind, the MacBook seems to have the advantage: primarily in battery, storage, and the inclusion of a disc drive. But the Air is a machine that is strikingly similar and hugely functional despite its shorter battery life (five hours is still a pretty long time) and smaller amount of space (64GB ain't bad). Plus, it's remarkably small.
At the end of the day, it depends on the student's priorities. If size and having the latest software are important, the Air is the way to go. Our recommendation? Go to the Apple Store and take one for a spin.


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Have you ever in a time in your life acknowledged that there was a God and that His ways are not your ways? I mean was there ever something that you really wanted to do, people that you really wanted to be friends with , a boy or girl you really wanted to date and you would do just about anything to do it. Ignoring that little voice in your head. Saying don't do it, not this way, wait your time will come.
Well I have. Never more than when I was in high school and college. I wanted to fit in I needed to fit in. You see, I had grown up in Florida and the summer before my junior year in high school we moved! Talk about being insecure. I needed to find my place there, not that I had really found my place in Florida, but here I needed to find it, it was a fresh start, time to come out of my shy little shell. So I went out with boys I shouldn't have, just to not be alone. I hung out with friends that maybe I shouldn't have. I drank, gave myself away physically all to be accepted by those around me.
I was hoping God understood what I was doing. I felt God calling me but I kept telling him not now, right now I'm going to live my life MY WAY. You can use me later, when I'm older, just not now. I didn't want to be rejected by the people around me, who does? No one wants to be considered a goodie two shoes at that age. I didn't want to look back on my life and have regrets of not living life to the fullest when I was young. I wanted to party it up and have a bunch of fun stories to tell later in life. (side note: I use the term "party" loosely, I was pretty mild compared to others)
But man, did I have it wrong. I know now that if I would have listened to that voice telling me "don't go down this road," "this isn't right," "It will only bring you heartache," "Trust me". I wouldn't have so many regrets now.While I was overall considered a nice, good girl, I didn't feel that way. I didn't trust God's best for me because I though His ways would mean that I would be alone. Besides everyone else was doing it, right?
Fastforward 10 years after graduating from college, getting married and two kids, I see that God can use those times for His good. After having my daughter, I recommited my life to Christ. She is stronger-willed than me so I pray she never buys into the lies like I did. I want more for her. So one day I said ok God, I'm tired of doing things my way and I'm going to start doing things your WAY.
I've come a long way from the person I used to be and I know God's not done yet :), he still has a lot more work to do. But I try make sure that I tell my kids everyday about God's best for them and encourage them to have their own relationship with Him. I hope that they know they don't ever sell out to this world to try and be accepted and loved, bc the God of the universe accepts them and loves them more than anyone in this world, including me, ever could. I just wish I could've figured that out sooner.
My prayer for them is that they won't ever find themselves saying "Not yet God". But embrace and always walk with Him!


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Nobu Hospitality Expands into London with New Hotel
- By
- May 19, 2014
Nobu Hospitality, inspired by world-renowned Japanese Chef Nobu Matsuhisa and championed by Academy award-winning actor Robert De Niro and Hollywood producer Meir Teper, has announced an aggressive expansion plan over the course of the past months
New hotel properties in development have been announced in various global markets, from the West Loop of Chicago, as reported by Commercial Property Executive, to Eden Roc Miami, City of Dreams Manila or Riyadh.
The luxury hospitality brand will be developing its first European hotel – the Nobu Hotel Shoreditch London – which is currently under construction, slated to open in the first quarter of 2016, and Nobu Hospitality has entered into a long-term management agreement with the Willow Corp Sarl, the owner of the hotel.
"The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch in London is our first European hotel joining our growing portfolio collection of hotels covering select locations in the Americas, Middle East and Asia," said Trevor Horwell, CEO of Nobu Hospitality. "Our proven business algorithm for hotel owners is our tactical and competitive advantage, focusing our effort on maximizing return per square foot. We are as such continuing to expand our global hotel footprint with a robust development pipeline working with the best strategic partners."
Located at 10-50 Willow Stt, in the Shoreditch area of London, the hotel is being developed by London-based Meir Abutbul and the overall interior design will be a collaboration between Ben Adams Architects and Studio PCH. The 156-room hotel will feature banqueting and meeting rooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center and modern amenities. The food and beverage menus will be developed by Chef Nobu specifically and uniquely for the hotel.
From an architectural point of view the design of the five-story hotel draws on the vibrant cultural and industrial context. The stories are fractured into angular, concrete balconies with cantilevered steel beams that form a seemingly frayed edge to the northern façade. At the site's eastern edge is located an intimate landscaped garden that articulates into terraces.
"The Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is a critical and valuable chapter in the ongoing evolutionary tale of London. For an area conceived through, and shaped by, contemporary culture and creativity, our architectural design is the obvious gesture," said Meir Abutbul. "The demonstration of beauty, drama and instinctive elegance has found a perfect home with the Nobu Hotel Shoreditch."