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A Gay Man's Guide to Sex and Recovery by David Fawcett
By David Fawcett,
190 pages
Reviewed by Sean McShee
This book contributes to our understanding of meth addiction and sexual health among gay and bi men. Fawcett identifies internalized shame and isolation as social determinants that predispose some gay men to become meth addicts. A social determinant refers to conditions that a group shares. It pre-disposes members of that group to poor health outcomes.
Fawcett rejects "shaming", "shunning", or "demonizing" meth users. If internalized shame pre-disposes gay and bi men to all sorts of problems, continued shaming will only make matters worse. Shamed people may become more rigid in their behavior. Shame is counter-productive.
Fawcett describes the current social context as a "perfect storm" for the meth epidemic. The "culture wars", lasting for almost 50 years consist largely of arguments about shame and resistance to that shame. Meth, more than any other drug, has a peculiar ability to fuse with sexual desire. This fusion occurs in the midst of epidemics of multiple sexually transmitted diseases. While treatments have made HIV a semi-manageable disease, the "HIV crisis" has now become the "HIV normal". Guys in their 20s have lived their entire lives thinking of HIV as a semi-manageable disease. This "weather" pattern is ominous.
How psychoactive drugs work
Before delving into this book, here is a quick refresher on how all psychoactive drugs, from caffeine to heroin, work.
Brain cells communicate exchanging chemicals called neurotransmitters. This communication produces all of our perceptions, thoughts, feelings, memories, and actions. Some neurotransmitters stimulate; others relax. Some enhance mood. Still others disinhibit. We experience the exchange of neurotransmitters as changes in mood, thought, perception, or muscle movement.
Psychoactive drugs have the greatest effect in the reward system of the brain. We experience exchange of neurotransmitters in this part of the brain as pleasure or pain.
Psychoactive drugs have molecular structures similar enough to neurotransmitters to "fool" a brain cell into reacting as if it had just received an actual signal from another brain cell. That second brain cell then transmits its misidentified message to other brain cells. This misidentification of the psychoactive drug as a neurotransmitter causes the brain to reduce its production of that neurotransmitter. When the psychoactive drug wears off, the brain has less of that neurotransmitter available. This results in the opposite effect of the high. For example, severe lethargy and depression follows an energetic euphoric meth high, as the brain readjusts its chemical balance. Psychoactive drugs change brain chemistry.
Part I The Perfect Storm
This part of this book concerns the effects of methamphetamine and the social determinants of methamphetamine addiction among gay and bi men. People at all stages of meth use and their significant others would find this section valuable, as would people interested in social issues within gay male communities.
Brain cells misidentify meth as dopamine. They then transmit that misidentified message throughout the reward system of the brain. On the physiological level, two brain cells communicate by misidentifying meth as dopamine. On the subjective level, we experience that misidentification as a sense of pleasure and well-being. If a large number of brain cells simultaneously misidentify meth as dopamine, we experience those misidentifications as a sense of euphoria and invincibility. Despite its similar molecular structure, meth differs from dopamine. While dopamine will be active for a short time, meth can last for up to twelve hours. This extended presence of meth throws the entire reward system off balance.
Meth and sex "work" the reward system. Dopamine activates those brain cells that process erotic information, desires, activities, and fantasies. When brain cells communicate, they "lay down a path" between them. If these cells communicate frequently, the path becomes stronger to facilitate that pattern. These strengthened pathways allow us to perform familiar tasks by "going on auto-pilot". Two activities done at the same time will cause brain cells to simultaneously communicate or fire. Meth and sex fuse ("what fires together, wires together"), a double whammy to the reward system. Fawcett argues that meth "hijacks" the reward system of the brain.
Fawcett accepts the concept of "process addictions" whereby rewarding activities in themselves can develop into addictions without the intake of any external psychoactive drugs. In each case, the reward system becomes disturbed. The presence of progression (becoming worse over time) and tolerance (needing a bigger hit over time) justifies labeling the problem as an addiction rather than a compulsion. Process addictions have generated controversy. Some people feel the label "addiction" should be restricted to pharmacological addiction.
Fawcett argues that meth exploits key vulnerabilities among gay men. Some gay men lack confidence, feel worthless, isolated, or feel a sense of shame. Meth allows some guys to temporarily feel the opposite. Whether conscious or not, internalized heterosexist values lead many gay and bi men to unacknowledged, but felt shame. The extent of that shame influences the erotic lives of gay men in ways that remain hidden from consciousness. Meth has great appeal for these men.
According to Fawcett, some gay and bi men reported that meth allowed them to experience feeling defiantly gay for the first time in their lives. For some gay men, their coming out process failed to deal with their internalized shame and isolation. Meth filled this hole in their life.
Exploring the Sexual Universe
The second part concerns how we structure and organize erotic attractions and relationships. This section would have value for many gay and bi men seeking to improve their understanding of erotic patterns. Fawcett asserts, "Our society has an overabundance of sexual images but also a simultaneous lack of deeper sexual understanding."
The first part of the book focuses on the physiology of meth addiction, but we do not just experience meth or sex on a physiological level. We experience meth and sex on emotional, relational, and social levels as well.
Fawcett distinguishes sexual orientation from sexual templates. Sexual orientation refers to the sex of the people that one finds attractive. In slang terms, we have a "type" to which we generally are attracted. In technical terms, we would have a sexual template. This template refers to the physical image and general erotic activities that a person finds attractive. People vary in how rigidly they adhere to their template. Relatively fixed by the time of puberty, this template structures our lifelong patterns of conscious and unconscious arousal. While people can add factors to their template, most people find eliminating factors from it extremely difficult.
Meth interacts with templates in strange ways. It shatters them. Most of us have "stuff" buried beneath consciousness, ranging from internalized heterosexism to leather fantasies and beyond. Meth tends to cause that "stuff" to break out into consciousness but without conscious processing. Bringing this "stuff" out of sub-consciousness leads to better mental health, but only if someone had consciously processed it. This "stuff" has power and danger. If processed consciously, someone can challenge the reasons why it was buried. They can then integrate that "stuff" into consciousness. Without conscious processing, unintegrated "stuff" explodes into behavior in dangerous ways.
Restoring Your Life
The third part of the book concerns recovery. This section would be useful for someone with a significant other undergoing recovery, graduate students studying addiction, or addiction professionals. A recovering addict in early recovery would probably lack the concentration to read this book, however.
As gay male meth users in recovery have fused meth and sex, Fawcett stresses that recovery has to work these two tracks simultaneously. For the severely addicted, this entails abstinence from drugs and sex to allow healing to occur. The recovering addict has to learn new skills and acquire new tools to deal with the underlying feelings that drove the drug use. People can recover, but recovery requires resources.
According to Fawcett, recovery has distinct stages in the recovery process. For the first two weeks without meth, the former user will experience intense cravings, depression, and paranoia. These tend to diminish relatively quickly.
The next 90 days will involve unlearning old cues and establishing new routines. In this period, the former user will have to become very aware of those environmental events that trigger a desire to use. These triggers can be sights, smells, sounds, people, neighborhoods, etc. The recovering addict has to learn how to avoid these triggers. The brain will take 18 months to rewire the neural pathways. Eventually, the recovering addict can re-introduce sex into his life, but he can never re-introduce meth.
While this book focuses on meth addiction, Fawcett discusses ways of thinking about sex and relationships that many would find valuable. Other parts can generate community debate. Below are some areas that could generate fruitful community debates and other areas that could use improvements.
Areas for Debate: Sexual Addiction, Sexual Compulsion, Anhedonia, and Treatment Differences
The concept of "sexual addiction" will generate the most debate. Fawcett acknowledges that this position engenders controversy. I do not find compelling the argument that the label "addiction" best describes a type of compulsive sexual behavior. I would imagine it would generate a good deal of resistance and keep some people away from treatment.
While the pharmacological addict can never again use the addictive substance, sex can be reintroduced to the recovering sex "addict". This difference in treatment indicates a fundamental difference between pharmacological addiction and this process "addiction".
Process" addictions" can be considered a type of compulsive behavior involving the reward system. In a compulsive behavior, not involving the reward system, such as handwashing, the hand can never become clean enough. In a functioning reward system, rewarding activities lead to a sense of well-being and satiation, rather than a need for more. According to Fawcett, a key feature of sex addiction lies in its emphasis on anticipatory pleasure rather than orgasm. Compulsive sexual behavior never is good enough to produce satisfaction.
Anhedonia, another disturbance of the reward system, may be involved. This condition refers to an inability to experience pleasure. Anhedonia frequently contributes to depression and self-medicating depression contributes to stimulant use. Compulsive sexual behavior may result from this pre-existing disturbance in the reward system, rather than a psychoactive drug.
Areas for Debate: Community vs clinical sample
Our knowledge of substance use suffers from a major knowledge deficit. Most of what we know about substance use comes from people in treatment programs, jails, and hospitals. We primarily know about this end-stage drug use. We do not know about drug users at earlier and less problematic stages. We have a knowledge deficit about the varied "careers" of drug users. An unknown number may never progress to addiction or may simply "mature out" of drug use. When people generalize from end-stage drug use to all drug users, they risk overstating the problem. This knowledge deficit should be acknowledged in all public discussions of drug use.
This knowledge would be particularly useful in answering the question: How does addiction differ from people frequently doing what gives them pleasure? This question becomes particularly important for groups of people, such as gay and bi men, with a history of victimization by Puritanist ideology. Sensitivity to this history of victimization forms a key component of cultural competence for health issues for gay and bi men.
Possible Improvements: Resources Needed
Fawcett states that people can recover from meth, but that recovery will take resources. He never mentions the amount of resources it will take. Addiction can leave people impoverished and homeless, but accessing services requires money. Emotional recovery requires time. This deserves a place in a book about addiction and recovery.
Possible Improvements: Lack of a glossary
Fawcett introduces many scientific terms in the course of a book intended for a non-technical audience. As some people will encounter these terms for the first time in this book, it would have benefitted from a glossary.
Good books on public health issues work best when they generate debate. They fail to work when people treat them as if they were sermons. This book should generate a good deal of debate about an important issue.
Full Disclosure: I have known and worked with David Fawcett for over five years in various gay and bi men's health organizations.


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Deepika, Sunny Leone, Ash: Bollywood's ghagra girls
Want to spice up your Navratri wardrobe? Take a leaf out of Bollywood's interesting ghagra cholis!
Deepika Padukone, as the free-spirited Leela in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming love saga, is seen donning ghagra cholis in the most vibrant colours and designs.
Here's looking at the various ways the ethnic costume has been carried off by Bollywood ladies in the movies.
Please click NEXT for more.
Image: Deepika Padukone in Ram Leela
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit's feisty turn in Ayan Mukerji's Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani has her show off her moves in the desi skirt in various colours and designs.
Image: Madhuri Dixit with Ranbir Kapoor in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Sunny Leone
Sunny Leone's barely-there outfit for her hit item song in Shootout At Wadala left little to the imagination.
Image: Sunny Leone in Shootout At Wadala
Katrina Kaif
Tees Maar Khan's struggling actress Anya (Katrina Kaif) takes to the camera like a pro in a sparkly ghagra choli for the dance number.
Image: Katrina Kaif in Tees Maar Khan
Rani Mukerji
Nobody quite gets it right like Rani Mukerji in the fun song Dreamum wakeupum from Aiyya, as she prances around in bright ghagra cholis and tons of makeup.
Image: Rani Mukerji with Prithviraj Sukumaran in Aiyyaa
Kareena Kapoor
In a cheeky turn in Arbaaz Khan's Dabangg 2, Kareena Kapoor's item girl vies for her lover's attention with a song-and-dance routine.
Image: Kareena Kapoor in Dabangg 2
Veena Malik
Veena Malik draws all the attention to her curves in a daring top and for a song sequence in Gali Gali Chor Hai.
Image: Veena Malik in Gali Gali Chor Hai
Malaika Arora Khan
Before the advent of the recent item numbers, Malaika Arora Khan showed us how it's done in her effortlessly cool and entertaining rustic item song Munni badnam in 2010 blockbuster Dabangg.
Image: Malaika Arora Khan in Dabangg
Sonakshi Sinha
Meanwhile leading lady Sonakshi, who played a village belle in the film, flaunted her curves in colourful ghagra cholis.
Image: Sonakshi Sinha in Dabangg
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Much before she married into the family and settled for domestic bliss and motherhood, Aishwarya trailed ablaze in her disarmingly coy number Kajraa re from the Shaad Ali hit, Bunty Aur Babli.
Image: Aishwarya Rai with Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan in Bunty Aur Babli

subset: commoncrawl


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Relais Cappuccina, Loc. La Cappuccina 46A, tel.0577 940381, tucked away amidst the quiet green Tuscan hills, the Relais Cappuccina is the ideal place for a comfortable and relaxing stay. The Art Nouveau style villa comprises the main part of the structure.
It was built in the early 20th century by a local nobleman, on the site of a Capuchin monastery. Following meticulous extension and renovation work, the hotel is now a place where ancient and modern come together in perfect harmony, making it the ideal place for a secluded, quiet and relaxing stay that benefits both your mental and physical health.
Thanks to its excellent location, it is within easy reach of the mediaeval town of San Gimignano and is also an ideal base for discovering the art and history of Tuscany's other major towns and cities
This post is also available in: Italian


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What it's about:
A boy and a robot meet and become friends.
What I love:
I love robots, and the illustrations of Bot are just darn cute! I also love the parallel stories of Boy's and Bot's perspectives. This book makes for a great, simple introduction to point of view for primary grades.
I read, re-read and read aloud Boy+Bot many times before I discovered another reason I love it. My 6 year old read it to me the other night, and I discovered what an awesome book it is for early readers.
Would I like to see the Geisel Award Committee take a look at Boy + Bot?
Enter the Boy+Bot Giveaway
I am giving away a SIGNED copy of Boy + Boy by the wonderful Ame Dyckman.
Submit your email in the form below to enter the giveaway.
Rules for the Giveaway
1. The giveaway will run from June 19 to 5:55 p.m. CST on Thursday, June 21.
2. You must be at least 13 to enter.


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Escape the House
A downloadable game
Game Title: Escape The House
Developed By: EPICROOM STUDIO
Hey Folks, This is our first Game Project, so, if there is some bug or error, please tell us in the comment section.
Synopsis :
A young boy is trapped in some creepy house, now he is trying to escape with all his skill. There is no escape in the house, but.. there is hope for everyone who tried..A horror game take place in a dark house. It is a mix of horror & puzzle genre & filled with many surprise. It is a run and chase event as well as original puzzle solving mechanism that you will never seen or experienced in other games!
Warning : This game may suffers from grammatical or spelling error & some content may not be appropriate for some players.
Game design : - Mahdianto
Music : - Eric Matyas (Soundimage.org)
Script : - TimeKeeper
- Jap dudes
- Dubealex


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I'd say my thrifting was successful even though I didn't find any pretties I did find items for my sewing room. I found a great rolling sewing chair for only $6 and I so needed that. There are several yards 6 plus yards of wool, some sewing machine screwdrivers, purse handles that will be used for a sewing bag, a great little pattern booklet by Blackbird Designs AND that awesome Iron!
Now I want to talk a bit about this iron........
These are the best little irons! I received one as a wedding gift years ago and it lasted me about 25 years and I've not been happy with any iron since, including the Rowenta brand. So for 4.95 I was tickled pink to bring this one home.
But then....................look at what Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet has in her sewing room!
She has like 6 or 8 of these fabulous irons! I'm wondering if they're the same brand only a bit older or a different brand. Maybe I should ask her. Her line up of irons is such an inspiration and while I probably really don't need that many irons I don't see where 2 or 3 (or 5) would hurt.
This photo is from a You Tube interview of Lori that shows her oh so darling vintage sewing room. You've got to see it! It's so bright, cheery and happy, clean and organized and cuter than cute!


text: On Wednesday 01 April 2009 02:36:36 Thomas Dukes wrote: > Hello, > > Just did yum update. There were numerous packages to be updated. I get > this is the newest release of Centos. > > The update bombed stating I need nss-220.127.116.11-2.el5. I did a rpm -q nss > and nss-126.96.36.199-4.el5 is install in Cento 5.2. > > What's up with that? > > TIA > > _______________________________________________ > CentOS mailing list > CentOS at centos.org > http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos Thomas, If you're doing an update from 5.2 to 5.3 you need to have both the base and the updates repo enabled. This is because there are some packages that were released as updates for 5.2 and they are newer than the packages in the 5.3 base such as nss. They have been released as updates to 5.3. Regards, Tony -- Dept. of Comp. Sci. University of Limerick.


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My guest room has really taken a back seat in the progress of our house in the past year. I have so many ideas and good intentions of pulling it together but other things just keep taking priority.
I figured I had to start somewhere, so I recently framed a few fabulous Slim Aaron photographs and put together a gallery wall. We live in paradise (here in South Florida), afterall, so I think it's nice for house guests to be reminded of the beautiful Palm Beach surroundings as well as other exotic locations.


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The delay will give Chinese tourism company Caissa Touristic more time to promote and sell tickets for the flight, said Bob Kerlik, an airport spokesman. The company hasn't started to sell tickets.
The airport announced the flight in March after Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis and other officials traveled to China to meet with airlines and tour operators.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
China to Pittsburgh direct flights delayed until summer 2018.
The direct flights from China to Pittsburgh that were in the works this year will be delayed until summer 2018, according to Pittsburgh International Airport officials on Friday. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Posted by pennsylvasia at 9:00 AM
Labels: China, Pittsburgh


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The Writer's Practice: Erika Swyler
Sit down for four hours every day. Drink coffee.
Erika Swyler's writing practice is summed up in two basic phrases, practical sentences nothing like the lovely prose she spun in her first novel The Book of Speculation and numerous short stories. Her debut bestseller follows two threads stitching together the story of 21st-century Long Island librarian Simon Watson with that of an 18th-century carnival troupe.
Just as that last sentence offers only the palest picture of everything contained in Swyler's rich, genre-defying book, so too "sit down, four hours, coffee" is a weak approximation of what Swyler's creative process entails.
Sometimes Swyler works on a laptop. Some days call for longhand in a notebook, writing with one of her preferred writing implements: a Le Pen in olive green or a Sharpie pen. "I love the felt tip pen and archival ink. They're wonderful," she told Spine. She also loves "little tiny stickies, the really small ones, and the Post-it flag. … Office supplies are writer's crack." Sometimes she composes on one of her vintage typewriters.
"It's different for each book and it's different for each character," Swyler said. "For some characters, if I'm working on a scene, for some reason that voice writes in cursive. If I switch to another character, that voice might be in print." For her current project, a novel centered on father-daughter duo in Florida in the 1980s, "there are a lot of scientific elements. When I'm working on the scientist [the father], I seem to only be able to write him on the laptop. Your body wants to find that character's speed."
Lately, Swyler's body has found its own speed: She's purchased a treadmill desk, which allows her to think and pace while remaining at work. She finds she's less likely to fall into the gaping time-sucking hole that is the Internet when on the treadmill. Writing longhand or on the typewriter also helps her avoid this modern-day trap, and keeps her plowing forward with the narrative instead of hyper-focusing on the minute details of each sentence.
Relying on her multiplicity of methods, Swyler pushes through her first drafts with relative speed, knowing she can return for thorough edits once she has the body of her story on paper. She likes to talk through plot points and character developments with writer friends — " I like to work it out out loud" — but doesn't allow anyone else into her new world until she's pinned down the primary elements where she'd like them.
"I don't like to let too many people see the baby too soon, because then I get opinions before I've formed my own. … It takes me a long time to figure out the heart of what the story actually is and what I'm trying to say. At the beginning, it's about everything. You don't know what you're writing about until you're at the end. Your subconscious knows the heart of the story much better than you do." Once she's satisfied she's found the meat of the thing, she solicits feedback from other writers and her agent.
Swyler's agent discovered her via her short story Transcontinental, published at Anderbo. With the agent's encouragement, Erika turned a draft into a polished story, and then turned her manuscript into art. At the heart of The Book of Speculation sits an old book, kept by a carnival master. To give her book the best shot of becoming a reality, to express the book's insides via a visual, tactile manuscript, Swyler spent months creating "old" books. She rasped, she stained, she guilded, she bound and at the end she had 16 beautiful books, 14 of which she sent off to agents.
Her gorgeous art and lovely words earned her a contract with St. Martin's, and a place at the design table. While she didn't choose the color, she was involved in most everything else. "I got to pick the colors for my endpapers. I got to say yes to having the ragged edge of the pages. There are several different typefaces, I got to choose them. I got to choose the second color for the printing. I got to see all these giant slugs of pantone colors. I really got a lot of input. It was a wonderful experience."
Swyler's book landed on the bestseller list, as well as several "best books" roundups at the end of last year. Swyler is back to the "sit down, four hours, coffee" routine on the next book, the aforementioned father-daughter tale. The project progresses as does all writing, in fits and starts.
"Some days I work for two hours and get 150 words. Other days, it's 2,000 words. The brain does not work quite as well as the body to get the extra mile," she said. "Some days you wake up and you're excited. And sometimes it hits you at the end of the day and you're excited to sit down. Other days, it's the same as getting up and going to the gym. You'll feel better after and you'll know you have moved along.
"For me, writing is a process of loving/hating something. It's the most enjoyable, detestable thing."
Find more Erika at erikaswyler.tumblr.com, at her food and humor blog, ieatbutter.tumblr.com, and on Twitter @ErikaSwyler.
Susanna previously wrote for the online design community Dribbble, helping transform their occasional blog into the online publication Courtside. Her bylines also include AOL News, Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and Publishers Weekly, among other publications.


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EverEdge Classic is the durable, flexible and simple solution to maintaining clean and permanent garden edges.
What is it? - EverEdge Classic is a steel lawn edging manufactured from 1.6mm thick galvanised steel designed to securely anchor into the ground providing a clean and even edge to your paths and flower beds. This will remove the laborious edging task that needs to be done year in year out.
· Length - 1 metre lengths that come in a pack 5 x 1m strips
· Heights - 75mm (3"), 100mm (4") and 125mm (5")
· Thickness - 1.6 mm (Classic) & 2.5 mm (Heavy Duty)
· Finish - Standard Brown the most popular, Slate, Black, Galvanised (non-painted), Cor-Ten (weathering) & Green. The heavy duty option is only available in a brown or galvanised finish.
NOTE - We have a new green finish - click here
· Brown is the advised colour as this blends in with the colour of cut turf NOT green.
· Heavy Duty is for areas where you may have more wear and tear. It is not very flexible and for most domestic garden use Classic is suitable.
· You will get about 95 cm of actual edging due to the overlap.
To see some examples of how other people have used EverEdge Classic, visit out gallery page.
EverEdge overlaps and interlocks. Please remember to add 6% to your actual requirement
(that is 6cm per metre of EverEdge you use).
If your order is more than 156kg (see shopping basket), please contact us for a delivery rate or call us on 01453 731717


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Case study
CSIRO helped Sydney-based business Intec overcome technical challenges and explore a new opportunity to recycle metals from waste.
Recovering metals from industrial waste
Intec is a growing small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) and a world leader in chloride hydrometallurgy. Part of the company's success can be attributed to their innovative process, which uses brine to extract and produce high-grade commodity metals from mineral feedstocks for sale in Australia and overseas.
In recent years, Intec has shifted its metal recovery focus from traditional mineral feedstocks to industrial waste. This new focus led Intec's Corporate Development Manager Dave Sammut to investigate an opportunity to recover rare earths – including neodymium and dysprosium – from waste using their existing process.
"We had determined that we could efficiently use the Intec Process to extract neodymium and dysprosium. However, the resultant leach solution needed further purifying in order to be saleable and it was something that we needed external assistance with," Mr Sammut said. After spending time and money engaging with a consultant who was unable to identify a suitable researcher, Mr Sammut felt like he had ran out of options.
Researchers in the business
"That same week, I coincidentally received a call from Jim Grigoriou at CSIRO's Small and Medium Enterprise Engagement Centre. After I explained our technical problem, Jim investigated our options and came back the next day to say CSIRO had the perfect guy for the project – it all kicked off from there."
Intec engaged a team of CSIRO researchers and after just three months, the team produced high-purity neodymium and dysprosium oxide products.
Producing high quality commodity metals
This project was supported by the Enterprise Connect Researchers in Business program, which was an Australian Government initiative which provided funding to support the placement of researchers directly into businesses to help them develop and implement new commercial ideas.
We offer services and contract-based research to clients in business, industry and government.


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Gracious sakes alive. I've been on autopilot for the last week apparently. It seems like I just did my last Mamavation update yesterday. Imagine my surprise when I realized I actually have to do another one. Today. Like, in the next 18 minutes if I want to publish it on Monday lol Geez.
I had some "off" days over the last week. It's been highly stressful with the kids having their doctor, dentist, and eye appointments before school, finishing up shopping for supplies and clothes with all the kids in tow since Barry left to go back offshore to work last Wednesday and it's all taken a toll on me. Between the lack of sufficient sleep, not getting enough nutrition (I don't even want to admit how many times I've downright FORGOTTEN to eat), missing boot camp Monday AND Wednesday of last week, and the weather changing over the weekend I found myself figuring out just how quickly Fibromyalgia will start to dominate my life again if I don't get back on track taking care of my health.
Saturday I woke up and I was HURTING. I had actually been feeling it creeping up on me over the prior week but I had seriously been in denial. I wanted to believe it was just soreness from working out — that the headaches were just because I was hungry. But when I woke up Saturday and could barely function through a full-on Fibromyalgia flare up, I was freaking out knowing that Tre's scrimmage was that morning but even more than worrying about how I was going to get through his game, I was SO frustrated that after nearly two full months of being virtually pain-free, I was suffering again. I posted this to Facebook:
I'm so tired of having to manage/hide/ignore/push through pain…. too much to do in my life to have to deal with this all the time. After almost 2 months pain-free, I was really hoping my comfort would be permanent as long as I stayed active/ate right, etc… I guess I'm not that lucky. My back has a tight spot right in the middle — today's football game should be fun. :/ #tears
I realized that I have been fooling myself into believing that I was "cured" just because I've made lifestyle changes that cause my symptoms to be few and far between. It's amazing how accustomed to the pain and fatigue that I had been before — and how accustomed I've gotten to the relief from those things now because even though what I experienced Saturday morning was what I had been experiencing for nearly two decades, I was devastated. That makes me even more gung-ho about boot camp, maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle… eating right and sleeping with a regular pattern. These things are important for everyone, of course, but especially to me if I want to continue to fight the possibility of ever becoming a slave to chronic illness again. I know that there will be days that I experience flare-ups, but I'll do everything I can to curb them now that I know how.
I definitely am pushing myself but I think I need to also be just as much aware of my body's limitations as I am aware of how far I want it to go… I'm loving everything about my life which is a far cry from how I felt about life in the Spring of this year. My trainer and our workout group, even as people come and go, have had a major impact on every aspect of my life because I don't do things AWAY from boot camp that are going to counter my progress while I'm AT boot camp. I know that every decision I make regarding my health will be reflected in my performance at assessments every month! lol I have a really competitive nature! Not only do I want to do better than the next person but I want to also do better than *I* did before haha
However, now I've got this fear in the back of my head that if I don't find the proper balance in everything I'm going to be sorry. Fibromyalgia sucks and I don't want to get accustomed to that monster again. I need to stop MAKING myself go the extra mile when I know I haven't had enough sleep… or enough to eat… or enough water. But then on the other hand, I tell myself that I need to make SURE that I'm getting enough sleep… and enough to eat… and enough water so that I CAN push myself to go the extra mile. I'm rambling now. lol I'm going to wrap it up for now and just say that I appreciate the opportunity to improve my quality of life and I count it a blessing that The Body Firm of Atlanta fell into my path when it did. I'm not going to follow that with any "buts" or negate that statement in any way. The last three months have blessed me in so many ways and while I know my body likely won't ever be "normal" I can at least EXPECT it to be close a majority of the time — because it has been for the last 14 weeks.
On the brighter side of things, I've lost a total of 20.8 pounds since I started my weight loss journey and I'm now weighing in just 18.2 pounds over my goal weight!
Leah and the ladies of Mamavation are AMAZING but for me, I need people in my face to really push me to reach my goals. The combination of Mamavation and my boot camp sessions have been a godsend. Hopefully next week's update will have NOTHING about Fibromyalgia. It's been great to not have to mention it for so long ;) I'll catch y'all again in a few days!!


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• Open plan living and dining area extending to a large balcony
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We have obtained all information herein from sources we believe to be reliable; however, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. Prospective tenants are advised to carry out their own investigations.
Apartment For Lease 26/3 Mosman Street Mosman


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Section 404
practical Approach to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Joel C. Quall
order to achieve increased effectiveness and efficiency
from implementing the act's requirements, companies
should begin with a clear understanding of the objectives
and requirements and develop an executable plan. Compliance
deadlines will be met, work processes will flow more smoothly,
and along the way, any hidden value may likely be revealed.
In short, the silver lining of Sarbanes-Oxley may be that
it gives companies the motivation and means to improve themselves.
A company's implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley section
404 should have a dual focus: compliance and internal controls
enhancement. The company will need defined objectives, clear
requirements, proper resources, and an achievable schedule.
404 reads as follows:
Commission shall prescribe rules requiring each annual report
required by Section 13 (a) or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m or 78o(d)) to contain an internal
control report, which shall—
State the responsibility of management for establishing
and maintaining an adequate internal control structure
and procedures for financial reporting; and
2. Contain an assessment, as of the end of the most recent
fiscal year of the issuer, of the effectiveness of the
internal control structure and procedures of the issuer
for financial reporting.
State the responsibility of management for establishing
and maintaining an adequate internal control structure
and procedures for financial reporting; and
2. Contain an assessment, as of the end of the most recent
fiscal year of the issuer, of the effectiveness of the
internal control structure and procedures of the issuer
for financial reporting.
February 2004, the SEC extended the deadline for compliance
with section 404. Accelerated filers (defined as U.S. companies
with a market capitalization exceeding $75 million) must
be in compliance for their first fiscal year ending on or
after November 15, 2004. For nonaccelerated filers, compliance
is required beginning with the company's first fiscal
year ending on or after July 15, 2005.
of Implementing Section 404
section 404 clearly defines requirements for disclosure
of internal controls, the larger issue is how well a company
understands internal controls. Implementing section 404
presents a great opportunity to enhance the efficiency and
value of the company. Potential immediate benefits include
the following:
educating, and development of personnel. Many
employees perform their duties and responsibilities by rote.
Evaluation encourages employees to take a closer look and
discover new ways to improve their efficiency and ultimately
become a more capable workforce. Another benefit from the
evaluation process is the opportunity for cross-training
employees for more than their present duties and responsibilities.
A thoroughly cross-trained workforce that is knowledgeable
about their job functions and how they affect the company
means employees that work smarter, not harder.
the efficiency of the company. Companies that
ask their financial employees why they do certain things
are often surprised to find that a particular procedure
or task has no affect on the financial statements.
documenting procedures, companies will expand awareness,
allowing them to become more efficient in reducing operating
costs, eliminating pointless or redundant processes, and
maintaining correct staffing levels. Human capital makes
the critical difference; assigning the right personnel to
the right task and department enables companies to be most
example, efficiencies allow a company to reduce the number
of days needed to close its books. Documenting and testing
the financial transaction cycles enables a company to develop
or update its policy and procedure manual, and leads to
more-effective accounting and governance practices. A company
with foreign operations or multiple subsidiaries can become
streamlined, with one unified financial accounting reporting
system and one policy and procedure manual.
board of directors and audit committee members.
Many recent corporate accounting failures are traceable
to members of the board of directors or audit committee,
who have been criticized for poor supervision of company
senior executives. Sarbanes-Oxley mandates that audit committees
designate a board member as a "financial expert"
as a way to improve the quality of members of the board
of directors and audit committee.
benefits. Implementation of section 404 may
lead to some surprises, discovery of weaknesses in the internal
control system, or even revelation of past or present fraud.
Companies should prepare by deciding in advance how to manage
such a finding, bearing in mind that for a company to find
its own flaws is preferable to others finding them.
that are considering an initial public offering (IPO) should
have a good grasp of what reporting requirements public
companies face. By complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, companies
take steps toward compliance so they can meet SEC and stock
exchange listing requirements as soon as possible. Building
these requirements into the structure of a company that
is considering an IPO costs less than making changes later.
held companies, although not legally obligated to comply
with Sarbanes-Oxley, may also choose to voluntarily implement
section 404 as part of an overall plan to improve business
practices and to be prepared in case similar legislation
is passed on the state or local level.
of Internal Controls
1992, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) created a model of internal control. COSO
broke down internal control into five interrelated components
in order to simplify a company's organizational plan
of all activities that go into an efficient internal control
defined internal control as "a process, effected by
an entity's board of directors, management, and other
personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the achievement of the objectives" in the following
environment. This component of internal control
sets the tone of a company and is the foundation for all
other components of internal control: discipline, structure,
integrity, ethical values, employee competence, management's
philosophy and operating style, and the leadership provided
by senior management and the board of directors.
assessment. Risk assessment is the establishment
of objectives, and the identification and analysis of risks
to achievement, forming a basis for determining how the
risks should be managed.
activities. These are the policies and procedures
that ensure how management directives are executed. They
include activities such as approvals, authorizations, verifications,
reconciliations, reviews of operating performance, the safeguarding
of assets, and the segregation of duties.
and communication. Information must be identified,
captured, and communicated in a form and timeframe that
enables people to carry out their responsibilities. Personnel
must understand their own role in internal control, as well
as how individual activities relate to others. Employees
must have the means to communicate information upstream,
with customers, suppliers, regulators, and shareholders.
The internal control process must be monitored. This is
accomplished through management's ongoing assessment
of the performance of internal control. Ongoing monitoring
allows the internal control process to react to changing
conditions of the company.
SEC issued a final rule titled "Management's
Reports on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and
Certification of Disclosure in Exchange Act Periodic Reports"
(Release No. 33-8238), which became effective August 14,
2003. The final rule defines "internal control over
financial reporting" as:
process designed by, or under the supervision of, the
registrant's principal executive and principal financial
officers, or persons performing similar functions, and
effected by the registrant's board of directors,
management and other personnel, to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles and includes those policies and procedures
Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable
detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions
and dispositions of the assets of the registrant;
(2) Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the
registrant are being made only in accordance with authorizations
of management and directors of the registrant; and
(3) Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention
or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or
disposition of the registrant's assets that could have
a material effect on the financial statements.
process designed by, or under the supervision of, the
registrant's principal executive and principal financial
officers, or persons performing similar functions, and
effected by the registrant's board of directors,
management and other personnel, to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles and includes those policies and procedures
Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable
detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions
and dispositions of the assets of the registrant;
(2) Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the
registrant are being made only in accordance with authorizations
of management and directors of the registrant; and
(3) Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention
or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or
disposition of the registrant's assets that could have
a material effect on the financial statements.
final rule attempts to link governance controls with control
activities of COSO. Time and again since Sarbanes-Oxley
was passed, COSO has been identified as the preferred internal
control framework. The objectives of the COSO framework
include improving efficiency and profitability, preventing
fraud, and developing accurate financial reporting. Companies
that follow the COSO framework will build an efficient internal
control structure and be in compliance with the final rule
of the SEC.
and Executing the Implementation Plan
a company understands the above internal control model,
it can implement section 404 using a five-step methodology.
1: Form the sponsoring committee, the implementation team,
and the formal written plan. The success of
an internal controls project depends upon the endorsement
and ongoing support of senior management and the board of
directors. Senior management should believe that implementing
section 404 is more than a legal obligation; in the long
run, doing so will increase the value of the company.
ultimate success of all projects derives from a company's
values—its culture of integrity, honesty, and high
ethical standards. This tone is set at the top. In addition
to senior management setting the tone, resources must be
available to the project. The implementation team, as defined
below, must hold the authority to make critical decisions
and allocate resources when and where needed. Two major
resources that senior management must contribute are time
and personnel. Once senior management decides on the requirements
and commits to the project, speed is essential. A small,
focused, motivated team, staffed by the best experts that
the company can afford, is the best means to success.
A carefully
conceived plan is key. A clear statement of requirements
must be followed by a timeline with obtainable milestones
and a realistic estimate of required resources. This becomes
a proper workplan when the form of deliverables is developed
and included. Communication with outside professionals,
such as the audit firm and legal counsel, is important.
They should be in agreement with the process, especially
because the audit firm will ultimately be called upon to
certify the process.
committee. The company should organize a sponsoring
committee that is charged with defining the requirements
for the implementation team. The sponsoring committee will
also supervise the implementation team and be responsible
for seeing that the team's duties and responsibilities
are executed.
approach is geared toward a large company and may be impractical
for a small or medium-sized company. Such companies may
wish to combine the sponsoring committee and the implementation
sponsoring committee will define the requirements for the
project, which are then signed off on by the CEO, the CFO,
the in-house legal counsel, the board of directors, and
the members of the audit committee. This committee must
take responsibility for ensuring that the right questions
are asked at the right time; for seeing that the implementation
team has the proper resources and ongoing executive support;
for signing off on the implementation plan; and for monitoring
progress and reporting back to the board of directors, audit
committee, and outside professionals (i.e., outside legal
counsel and auditors). The implementation team may issue
a weekly or monthly report to all internal parties as well
as to outside legal counsel and auditors. Before any report
is released to outside parties, however, in-house counsel
should review it for potential legal issues.
team. This team is responsible for developing the implementation
plan, submitting it to the sponsoring committee for approval,
and executing it. The team must generate all supporting
documentation, including a new policy-and-procedure manual.
The team must represent the company's disciplines
and should include the following individuals:
implementation team should formally present the plan in
writing to the sponsoring committee. Once approved, the
plan will serve as a roadmap for the implementation team.
internal control weaknesses are noted during the implementation,
the team should address plans to remedy them as soon as
possible. After the initial process, the implementation
team should meet on a monthly basis to monitor the internal
control structure.
2: Document the financial cycles. Virtually
all public companies already have some semblance of an internal
control structure in place, however informally it may be
documented. Documenting financial cycles allows the company
to assess the effectiveness of internal controls at an acceptable
level of errors or omissions. The documentation process
should reflect the internal control objectives and identify
any internal control deficiencies that may exist.
can take different forms. Three common methods of documenting
the understanding of internal control are narratives, flowcharts,
and internal control questionnaires. These can be used separately
or in combination.
preferred documentation methods are narrative workflow and
a flowchart of the financial cycles. The documentation should
be traced back to the policy-and-procedure manual, if one
exists, which should be updated if any deviations are noted.
If the company has systems descriptions, these are a good
starting point.
A narrative
is a written description of a company's internal controls
and financial cycles and should include the following:
A flowchart
is a symbolic representation of a company's flow of
documents and processes. The flowchart can be a better representation
of document workflow and separation of duties as the documents
and processes go through the financial cycle. Flowcharts
have the advantage of being easily updated on a periodic
or as-needed basis.
internal control questionnaire can be obtained from outside
audit firms. These questionnaires are very generic and can
be difficult to customize if the questionnaire is not received
in an electronic format.
companies, such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, and others,
have developed software evaluation tools that help users
automate the documentation of their internal control structure.
Although technology has made the documentation process easy,
a well-trained user of the software must be able to correctly
understand the computer-generated documentation and evaluate
its findings and conclusions.
3: Test transactions. The test of transactions
is a method to verify that identified internal controls
are performing as they were designed to do. The test of
transactions should be performed in two directions, each
tracing transactions through the computer and manual processes
The first direction is a sample made of certain source documents
(e.g., vendor invoice, sales transaction, subsidiary ledger
balance) and is traced through to the financial statement
balance. The test of transactions in this direction addresses
two questions:
The test in this direction traces a sampling of transactions
from the financial statement balance back to the source
document. The test of transactions in this direction addresses
the issue of whether all data contained in a financial account
balance is supported by source documentation.
both directions, the sample of transactions tested should
be selected using a sampling technique. Sampling techniques
can employ either a judgmental or statistical approach.
An example of a judgmental approach is a systematic selection
of days of the fiscal year or every 100th transaction in
a numerical sequence. A statistical approach would take
random samples from among all transactions.
tests of transactions should be designed to test management
assertions as defined in SAS 31, Evidential Matter,
which classifies management assertions into five categories:
4: Evaluate. After the tests of transactions
are performed, the results must be evaluated. The documentation
should describe the procedures used and the results obtained
about operating effectiveness to provide a basis for their
conclusion. If, during the evaluation, internal control
deficiencies are identified, plans to remedy these internal
controls should be documented and implemented as soon as
control deficiencies are classified into two categories:
A company
must take corrective action to remedy an internal control
deficiency as soon it is noted. The corrected internal control
procedure must be in place and in operation for a period
of time prior to the reporting date for management to be
able to evaluate the corrected control and conclude that
the control is operating effectively as of the reporting
A review
of prior years' audit management letters should be
made to determine that all past identified weaknesses are
addressed. A company may decide to upgrade existing computer
systems, purchase a new accounting software system, or improve
the integration of computer processes with the manual processes.
evaluation does not end here. Pursuant to SEC rules, a company
must report on internal control for every reporting period.
The evaluation of internal control is an ongoing process
and must become part of the culture of every company. The
evaluation of internal control should always be extensive,
but the collection of information does not have to be as
extensive as the initial implementation. Companies should
update the internal control process on a quarterly basis,
and fully evaluate it annually. Additionally, when a company
acquires another company, the acquirer must evaluate whether
the acquisition will have a material affect on its internal
control structure.
1 and Exhibit
2 illustrate documentation forms for assessment of internal
5: Report. When the SEC final rule (Release
No. 33-8238) became effective on August 14, 2003, it stated
that the company's annual Form 10-K must report management's
responsibilities to establish and maintain adequate internal
controls over financial reporting.
report of management should contain the following:
sometimes need to reinvent themselves to succeed. Companies
that focus merely on legal compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act will miss the potential benefits of using the act's
provisions as a catalyst for company-wide change. Companies
can leverage the Sarbanes-Oxley provisions to improve employee
efficiency and productivity, streamline operations, and
make better financial decisions through timelier financial
information. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act represents an opportunity
to elevate corporate integrity, restore investor confidence,
and move the economy forward.
2004 Issue
Activity: Church and State
Approach to Section 404
Estate Contributions
Perceptions of Accounting
This Issue | Past
The New York State Society of CPAs. Legal
Visit the new cpajournal.com.


text:
Degree Programs
Associate of Christian Philosophy
Associate of Ministry
Associate of Bible Studies
Associate of Full Gospel Fundamental
Bachelor of Christian Counseling
Bachelor of Theology Studies
Bachelor of Full Gospel Fundamentals
Master of Ministry
Master of Christian Early History
Master of Christian Counseling
Master of Christian Education
Doctorate of Christian Counseling
Doctorate of Ministry
Doctorate of Christian Leadership During Disaster
Doctorate of Evangelism
Statement of Faith
Frequently Asked Questions
Acceptance of ECU Degrees
Staff: Forest Bible Institute
Chatroom 3
Forest Bible Institute
An Online Virtual Bible Institute
Welcome to Forest Bible Institute. FBI is an affordable online Christian Bible institute offering a variety of classes and degree programs; providing students exploring Christian correspondence education, an opportunity to earn a 'religious exempt' degree with sound biblical doctrine, focusing on Christian academic excellence, for fourteen years.
Washington Student Achievement Council
[email protected]
Master of Christian Education
M.C.Ed 304: Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning.
Focus on Fundamentals of Gospel Teaching and Learning. Examine God's spiritual and general order in design. Discover Biblical life management tools. Explore a surveying the Old and New Testaments. Develop relevant Biblical cross-referencing skills. (2 credits)
M.C.Ed 344: Practical Bible Application
Explore the Scriptures for truths in practical Bible application for personal decisions. Explore an in-depth teaching of parables. Discover practical skills for Bible reading management. Analyze the miracles of Jesus during His life on earth; study the Triune nature of God. (3 credits)
M.C.Ed 345: Nature of Theology and Education
Focus on the Formation of Educational Theory. Study the Nature of Theology and Education. Identify categories of Theology. Examine Systemic Theology. Explore three Education Formats. Explore the context and content of the scriptures and the words of the prophets (3 credits)
M.C.Ed 346: Theological worldviews and Social Sciences
Focus on preparing edifying lessons. Examine Education in the Service of the Church. Study the necessity of Theology in Christian Education. Distinguish between Theological worldviews and Social Sciences. (5 credits)
M.C.Ed 355: Biblical Principles for a Theology
Focus on principles of spiritual learning. Examine Biblical Principles for a Theology for Christian Education. Identify Educational Principles from the Scriptures. Explore Practical Implications for Christian Education (5 credits)
M.C.Ed 333: Explore the Council of Nicaea
Survey the Old Testament prophets and their message those in danger of judgment. Explore the Council of Nicaea; its effect on the Church.
Study: General Introduction to Mediaeval Church History. (5 credits)
M.C.Ed 477: Exegetical Fallacies.
Focus on Exegetical Fallacies. Examine The Evidential Fallacy. Study The Superior Knowledge Fallacy. Explore Word Fallacies. Identify the fallacy of reading between the lines. Observe the Hebrew verb fallacy. Study the fallacy of ignoring particles. Explore the Fallacy of Reduction. Study the New Testament Exclusion Fallacy. (5 credits)
All Master degree candidates are required to do a thesis; of at least 150-pages. A third party company will edit the paper (at students cost.) (15 credits)
Finally, students will complete 200 contact hours in a degree-related occupation. (10 credits)
Total credits: 53
Register Online


text:
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text:
Issue: 495
Sent: 18-09-2012 13:55:02
In this issue:
Return to full article list
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Fed policies to spur asset prices
John Robertson
The launch of another round of quantitative easing by the US Federal Reserve will boost asset values but doubts will persist about whether the Fed can engineer a seamless transition between its market interventions and a sustainable recovery in US domestic economic activity.
The US Federal Reserve has concluded that the momentum of US economic activity is fading. The pace of growth is insufficient to reduce unemployment to any material extent.
At the same time, Fed chairman Bernanke is unable to rely on the executive or legislative arms of government to pull their weight. He is simply the only game in town if the pace of economic activity is to pick up.
More than that, the rate of growth could be set to sink lower over the next few months as US politicians first jockey for election and then deal their way out of the imminent tax rises and spending cuts which have been built into the system because they have fluffed their chances to stabilise their fiscal balances in the past.
The US government is at the heart of the employment problem in another way. Government cutbacks in this cycle have retarded the overall expansion of employment.
Since the Second World War, the number of government employees had increased over the three years following the end of each of the 10 recessions in the US with only one exception. The exception was the recession that ended in July 1980 but was followed very quickly by another downturn that began in July 1981 and finished in November 1982. Even so, three years on from the end of this second recession, government employment had risen by over 4%.
In other words, government employment in the USA has typically supported a recovery in economic activity. Not so in this cycle. Three years on from a recession which finished in June 2009, government employment is 2.8% lower. Meanwhile, private sector employment has risen by 2.9%.
This private sector growth outcome is more than three times the pace of growth coming out of the 2001 recession and only slightly lower than the 3.9% gain coming out of the recession that ended in 1991.
Fewer government employees and less government spending on goods and services are another wet blanket on the enthusiasm of the private sector. Not only is the Fed trying to compensate for a range of international financial market circumstances but is also battling decisions among many governments in the USA to pare their budgets.
The Fed cannot act directly against these pressures. Buying financial assets is, if it works, an indirect way in which to help boost employment, at best.
The Fed will be hoping to have two effects. One will be through the housing market. Purchasing mortgage backed securities will help to reduce already low funding costs and, at the margin, might boost demand. There is a backlog of inventory to clear so that higher demand will only translate into construction activity with a lag of currently unknown duration.
This email is general in nature only and does not constitute or convey specific or professional advice. Legislation changes may occur quickly. Formal advice should be sought before acting in any of the areas discussed. Be aware that the information in these articles may become innaccurate with time. Responsibility is disclaimed for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions. Particular investments are neither invited nor recommended and hence this publication is not "financial product advice" as defined in Section 766B of the above legislation. All expressions of opinion by contributors are published on the basis that they are not to be regarded as expressing the official opinion of any other person or entity unless expressly stated. No responsibility for the accuracy of the opinions or information contained in the contributor's articles is accepted by any other person or entity. Copyright: This publication is copyright. If you wish to reproduce this article you require a license, which can be purchased here, to do so.


text: I recently started playing craps and trying to have a consistent strategy. I have settled on playing the pass line with odds and placing 2 come bets with odds. When the come bet hits, place another come bet. If the point hits, place 2 more come bets. Any thoughts on this strategy.


text:
Project Description
Small Wind Turbine System
A small wind turbine system is a wind turbine used for microgeneration, as opposed to large commercial wind turbines, such as those found in wind farms, with greater individual power output.
They are usually approximately 7 to 25 feet (2.1–7.6 m) in diameter and produce electricity at a rate of 300 to 10,000 watts at their tested wind speed. Some units have been designed to be very lightweight in their construction, e.g. 16 kilograms (35 lb), allowing sensitivity to minor wind movements and a rapid response to wind gusts typically found in urban settings and easy mounting much like a television antenna. It is claimed, and a few are certified, as being inaudible even a few feet (about a metre) under the turbine.
The majority of small wind turbines are traditional horizontal axis wind turbines, but vertical axis wind turbines are a growing type of wind turbine in the small-wind market. Makers of vertical axis wind turbines have reported increasing sales over the previous years.
The generators for small wind turbines usually are three-phase alternating current generators and the trend is to use the induction type. They are options for direct current output for battery charging and power inverters to convert the power back to AC but at constant frequency for grid connectivity. Some models utilize single-phase generators.
Dynamic braking regulates the speed by dumping excess energy, so that the turbine continues to produce electricity even in high winds. The dynamic braking resistor may be installed inside the building to provide heat (during high winds when more heat is lost by the building, while more heat is also produced by the braking resistor). The location makes low voltage (around 12 volt) distribution practical.
Small wind turbine system often have direct drive generators, direct current output, lifetime bearings and use a vane to point into the wind. Larger, more costly turbines generally have geared power trains, alternating current output and are actively pointed into the wind. Direct drive generators are also used on some large wind turbines.


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Freehold, New Jersey; 14, September 2015: Brick Paver Pros, one of the top stone pavers nj, announced today that this month the company is celebrating its Tenth-year anniversary. Since the company's launch in 2005, it has earned a reputation throughout the central New Jersey area for its expert brick paving and landscape masonry services.
"We are thrilled to be celebrating ten years in business, and ten years of service to our residential clients throughout central New Jersey," said Tom Lobrow, the company's founder. "Our clients have always been our first priority, and we have them to thank for our success and longevity."
Since 2005, Brick Paver Pros has specialized in a variety of landscape and masonry services, Last year the company launched www.paverpationj.com to provide paving solutions to New Jersey clients. The company services include: driveway paving, stone masonry, brick paving, patio renovation, and masonry service nj. The company, which has served some of the area's most high-end and exclusive communities, adeptly handles projects of all sizes, from concept to completion.
Local residents who have relied on Paver Patio NJ for their projects have raved about the company's courteous, timely, professional and quality service.
"We got rid of our old wooden deck and had a paver patio installed," said Karen Manalapan. "Paver Patio Nj helped me bring my vision into a reality with the paver patio, paver block walls and landscaping. They helped me with the design and delivered on everything that they said they would. I also liked that the owner of the company not only sold us on the job, but was also involved and onsite every step of the way, making sure everything was done right."
In addition to high praise from clients, the company has also been recognized by the Northeast Spa and Pool Association and the Association of Pool and Spa professionals.
"We are deeply honored to be regarded so highly by our clients in the central New Jersey area, and by our industry peers and colleagues," said Lobrow. "We are committed to continuing to provide our clients with high quality paving services, masonry services and patio services. We look forward to the next seven years in business and beyond."
For more information about Patio Pavers Nj or to request a free estimate, visit www.paverpationj.com or call (732) 866-1661. Company news, project photos and other updates are available via the company's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/paversnj.


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In addition to the representatives who contributed maximum points in 11 events, Boston and District AC's senior and under 17 men and women recorded a series of good performances at the third North of England League match.
Stuart Smith achieved a personal best in winning the shot putt (12.00m) and also added further victories in discus (41.35m) and hammer (42.45m).
In javelin, a throw of 34.06m earned third place points and Stuart added value in the 100m, finishing first in the B competition (12.2 secs) and contributed to the BADAC mens' 4 x 100m relay team, which finished second.
Mark Bridges won the triple jump (11.83m), finished second in the long jump (6.06m) and was third in the high jump (1.50m).
Mark contributed second-place points in the B 200m (27.8 secs) and ran a leg in the 4x100m relay.
Under 17 Callum Winchester-Wright performed well, reducing his 100m personal best by three-10ths of a second (11.4 secs) and taking third in the A race and the same position in the 200m A (24.3 secs).
Gaining further experience in long jump, his best leap of 5.41m earned him second in the B contest, before he made a positive contribution to the sprint relay quartet's runners-up place.
James Roark ran in both relay teams after contributing points to the Gold Tops in 400m (fourth, 57.1 secs), 400m hurdles (first in the B race, 74.0 secs), 110m hurdles (first in the B contest, 21.9 secs) and high jump (first in the B event, 1.40m).
Chris Cope contributed a large number of points by winning the 3,000m steeplechase (11 mins 21.8 secs) and the 110m hurdles in a time of 20.1 secs, adding second positions in the 400m hurdles (66.9 secs) and the B 400m (61.0 secs). Chris earned points through fourth places in the 800m (2 mins 24.8 secs) and the B 1,500m (6 mins 33.3 secs) before running a leg in the BADAC 4x400m relay.
Owen Msimango was third in the B 800m (2 mins 38.9 secs), fifth in the 1,500m (6 mins 16.6 secs) and second in the B 3,000m steeplechase (14 mins 14.2 secs).
Veteran Tim Creese won three of the four B throws, achieving firsts in hammer (26.32m), discus (27.78m) and shot putt (8.95m) and added second-place points in the B javelin (1.59m).
In the women's relays, both the 4x100m and 4x400m squads crossed the finish line in second position.
Isabelle Whitehead won the triple jump with a leap measuring 9.91m and secured victories in both the B 400m (68.6 secs), the B 400m hurdles (77.8 secs) and the B 1,500m (6 mins 49.6 secs) and played a prominent role in both relay performances.
Alice Flint won both the 400m (64.0 secs) and the 400m hurdles (70.6 secs) A races and also finished first in the B long jump (4.70m) before contributing to the achievements in both relays.
As well as winning the 100m hurdles (17.7 secs), long jump (5.15m), B triple jump (9.84m) and high jump (1.35m), Frances Nuttell crossed the line third at the end of the 100m.
Charlize Arundell had an excellent hammer debut, throwing a maiden 22.68m to secure first position and then finished second in shot (6.33m) and also finished third in the B 100m (15.8 secs).
Complimenting a clear victory in the 1,500m (5 mins 27.0 secs), Fallon Lafferty was third in the 800m (2 mins 26.9 secs), fourth in the 3,000m (11 mins 51.5 secs) and also finished first in both the B shot (6.16m) and the B high jump (1.15m).
Emma Penson followed an 18.99m-winning B competition hammer throw with further victories in the B 3,000m (15 mins 44.8secs) and a second in the B discus, as well as contributing to the BADAC 4x400m relay effort.
A personal best discus throw of 17.33m earned Rebecca Grice third place and she added value when she claimed the same position in both the B javelin and the B 200m.


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Patent Medicine: Tesla Makes Its Technology Available To Everyone, For Free, In Bold Move For The Planet - Forbes
Keywords:#BMW, #CEO, #Earth, #Elon_Musk, #Forbes, #Forbes.com, #Leaf, #Nissan, #Tesla
Noting that the global auto market is approaching 100 million vehicles annually and that, "It is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis," CEO Elon Musk announced today that the automaker is making all of its patents freely available on a good-faith basis. In a blog post on Tesla's website, the company said it originally feared others would copy its technology, so it was aggressive in protecting intellectual property. But the way things have played out, automakers are making barely any zero-emission vehicles at all, typically less than 1% of their total production. Tesla hopes this move will begin to change that.
Musk held a conference call to discuss the move in more detail, and he clarified the company's intentions: Tesla doesn't believe this will change things overnight. And he's right. Automakers take years to get new vehicles to market and longer still to ramp up production. Nissan's Leaf, the leading EV in the world, which costs a fraction of the Tesla Model S only recently cracked the 100,000 sold mark after more than 3 years. Outside of Tesla, no pure zero-emission vehicle has achieved anywhere near those sales. But in a world with 2 billion vehicles, it's a drop in the bucket.
Still, Musk believes. "In the long term, I hope this improves the rate at which we transition toward sustainable transport," he said. Specifically, he believes Tesla's technology might encourage car manufacturers to consider building batteries with smaller cells, as Tesla does. Because the company uses a standard-sized laptop-battery cell, it has the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour of anyone making electrified vehicles. Perhaps, with Tesla's patents now available to others, car makers can get inspired to follow suit.
He said that Tesla was meeting with BMW as recently as yesterday to discuss various matters, and the idea of opening technology was already on the table. Tesla has mentioned from the beginning that its high-speed Supercharger network would be available to other car companies so long as they built compatible cars and paid a "reasonable cost share, proportionate to usage" of the network. Musk suggested it might even be possible for BMW or another carmaker to construct their own compatible network of chargers and the companies could share them under an agreement. In addition, he suggested BMW build its own giant battery Gigafactory, as Tesla is doing to help push its own costs down.
All this openness raises the question of whether Tesla is giving away the crown jewels without getting anything in return. Musk seemed unconcerned. He basically wants to avoid the EV industry looking like the mobile phone or internet businesses, where constant patent lawsuits threaten the speed of innovation. Musk says Tesla will keep filing for patents to ensure that "patent trolls" don't gain rights to misuse technologies his company invented, but that it will continue to make subsequent patents available freely.
He also said this wasn't some move to get free intellectual property from the industry for Tesla to use: "I don't know of any patent of any company that we're using or that we plan on using." And he made it clear that if Tesla needed a particularly valuable patent license from another carmaker, it didn't expect to get it for nothing just because Tesla was making its technology freely available. What he's looking for is "good faith" dealing here. If two companies are using one another's technology and its of similar value, neither should feel the need to sue or collect licensing fees.
Musk weighed in on the state of patents with some concern. "I do think we need some patent reform," he said. "Far too much energy," is going into "patents that do not foster innovation." He believes firmly by creating freely available intellectual property to foster EV development, Tesla will succeed in "attracting and motivating the world's best technical talent," because those engineers will know their work has the most impact. That will be good for shareholders, Musk believes.
But if Tesla succeeds in pushing more EV development globally, it just be good for Planet Earth too.
---Noting that the global auto market is approaching 100 million vehicles annually and that, "It is impossible for Tesla to build electric cars fast enough to address the carbon crisis," CEO Elon Musk announced today that the automaker is making all of its patents freely available on a good-faith basis. [...]---
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"life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all." -helen keller. i've heard it said that to write well, you must write what you know. so this will be an account of what i know.
when i graduated college a year and a half ago, i graduated with a fire under my butt. i was ready for anything, for everything. i had goals - some huge and some small, but goals all the same. i wanted to start a book club, cook for my neighbors, write music. i planned on growing as a person, on drinking good coffee, writing posts that would change lives, and learning to play the cello. most of all, i planned on landing a job that was more than a job. i was, at last, qualified. qualified, according to the worlds' standards, and i could finally start to spend my time in a place with other people who loved to love others, who wanted to see the world changed. i planned on finding an adventure and jumping in head first. plans plans plans.
as we all know, plans change. we make lists on post-it notes and those post-it notes just gather dust as life moves on around us. many of the things i listed never came to fruition. what happened? what always happens: life.
i quickly moved in with a dear friend into a small house on lemon street where we had more adventures than i could have known to pray for. we both got pay-the-bills jobs and embraced our new flexible schedules without papers or study groups or staff meetings. we found boys who noticed us. we spent our days with them, and our nights bitching about how insensitive or selfish they were. we sent our resumes out on a far-too-regular basis, always hoping for that one interview that would change the rest of our lives. we ached for bigger. looking back, i couldn't have become who i am without that year in the small house on lemon street. i moved in as one person, and moved out a changed one. and this dear friend of mine continually teaches me more about grace and patience and positivity. she embodies resilience and personifies spunk, and i am so grateful to know her and be known by her. but this is my hindsight speaking. i spent that year growing a little more impatient every day. i longed for a new adventure and i watched as all my other friends seemingly found the job they'd always wanted, or the man of their dreams, or the trip of a lifetime. i attended the weddings of several friends and i read the blogs about perfect-fit kind of jobs. i felt left behind, and i didn't know how to deal with it. i watched tv shows online and read book after book. i sat around and watched my phone, waiting for the call that would prove i wasn't as alone and lost as i felt. i waited and waited and threw my hands up in the air, calling it quits.
when i moved home, it was out of surrender. i was waving my white flag, admitting that i needed a chapter-change, conceding that maybe this last year was a mistake, or at least a series of bad decisions. i didn't say these things out loud, of course. and i kept thinking and waiting and watching tv shows online.
then i landed a job to work in residence life at a university in another state. the phone call came bright and early on a friday morning, after months of waiting and months of refusing to look defeat dead in the eyes. i was given the promise of a new adventure, and two weeks later i packed my car and moved 700 miles to a new city, a new group of people, a new life.
there was a pair of books that came out many years ago. both were written by a married couple, but one was written specifically for girls, the other for guys. i read the one for girls and while it did have some words of wisdom, overall i found it incredibly cheesy and over-romanticized. i also read the one for guys, because i love to read and because i do things like that. a majority of the book i clearly did not relate to. but there was one chapter in particular that resonated so deeply within me and has recently re-surfaced in my life. in this chapter, the author described God as a God who loves to be the hero. the God i serve, the God i love, the God i seek to know deeply, is a God who loves to pull through for us. He loves to be the answer, the final exhale of breath, the alleviating embrace. this is His joy; to pull through for us.
i spent a year waiting and praying and searching. a year ago, i wanted so desperately to have this job, this opportunity, this moment. i didn't know that i needed that year of change to help me grow, i didn't know that i needed that friendship to shape me, i didn't know that i needed those experiences to teach me to be faithful in prayer, to be patient in affliction, and joyful in hope. to smile as i waited for something to happen. to enjoy every day as a gift, and to not be distracted by tomorrow. if that phone call had come earlier than that friday morning, i might not have been ready. but as i drove 700 miles to a scary new place, i was sure that i had been equipped over the last year by my God, my hero. this job is, by no means, the end-all answer. it is not my final destination and it is not the only thing i'm meant to do. but what i do know, is that it is an opportunity to serve and to love and to encourage and edify the people around me. it is, for now, my somewhere over the rainbow. i have been here less than a month and i already know that this is my place. this is where i am supposed to be. it is a perfect fit, for now. it is a challenge and an opportunity to exist outside of myself. my prayer is that i remain grateful, remain true to that self which i have recently re-discovered. now that i have learned how to appreciate every day, i hope i can fill them all with moments juicy enough to talk about when i am older.
so, bottoms up to my new adventure. cheers to a life of surprises. and here's to chronicling the moments that change and shape me...and as i grow, i will attribute it to the grace-saturated life i lead. and as i dance around in freedom, may the people around me know that i have found hope.


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Global logistics company Expeditors International of Washington (NASDAQ:EXPD) will get a new CEO next year.
On Thursday, Expeditors announced that it is promoting current Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jeffrey S. Musser to the positions of director, president and chief executive officer effective March 1. On that date, Musser will replace current CEO Peter J. Rose at the head of the company. Rose has been CEO for 25 years; he announced his retirement in October.
Musser is a three-decade veteran of the firm. Explaining the Board's decision to promote him, Expeditors lead independent director Robert R. Wright cited the executive's "mix of tenure and his unique portfolio of experience, having had both field and global corporate leadership responsibilities, combined with his background in the increasingly critical information technology (IT) discipline."
Praising his replacement, Rose said in a statement that "Jeff has distinguished himself at every level of endeavor throughout his 31-year career at Expeditors. Throughout that time, Jeff has never been given an assignment where he hasn't exceeded expectations."


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I would like to present my hand painted oil on canvas painting (recreation) of the artwork stretched Capitol at night Washington. I made this piece with the same amount of soul and emotion just like the first original painting. This piece is created with oil paint on artistic canvas using my unique technique of a palette knife. The artwork has texture, you can feel the strokes by touching the painting. By purchasing on this site, you are buying directly from the artist Leonid Afremov. I guarantee your satisfaction and the best customer experience.
The certificate of authenticity will include the name of the owner who purchased the piece of artwork. The certificate is signed by Leonid Afremov. If you buying this painting as a gift, please provide us the name of the gift recipient for the certificate. We can also ship to the address of the recipient of your gift.
about this painting:
We are surrounded by a lot of wonderful things. In order to etch a moment in your memory and give it an eternal life, people started painting. Our contemporaries prefer using a digital camera and taking a picture. But paintings have always been masterpieces of art that have been created by talented painters both now and always. As one of the biggest passions of Leonid Afremov is traveling, he wanted to share with us his experience of visiting the Washington Capitol at night.
While looking at this art canvas and its absolutely stunning sky in particular, one can see colorful fireworks annually displayed on the 4th of July by the government of the United States to commemorate Independence Day. Millions of beautifully sparkling lights of different colors decorate the night sky behind the dome of the Capitol. What a wonderful performance! Others imagine these lights as being stars. They are evenly spread across the night sky. Shining from far away they give us their light and warmth. Just one thought of outer space and stars make you feel adventurous and you start wondering if there's anyone else in our Galaxy we don't know about?
In the middle of the oil painting but a little bit off to the right, we can see a monument surrounded by trees. It's the Ulysses G. Grant Monument. Seems like he is welcoming us and inviting for an exciting journey through the history of the United Sates. The long corridors and big halls of the Capitol can teach you more than any history textbook. They are full of secrets and legends. The area between the Capitol and the Washington Monument is called the National Mall. It is always full of people during the day.
This wonderful oil painting on canvas will perfectly fit in any interior. You can buy it for yourself or as a present for your friends and relatives.
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The Wellcome Trust is interested in exploring whether there is more that can do to accelerate research in mental health, specifically for the prevention and early detection of anxiety and depression. At this Frontiers meeting the Trust would like to:
Wellcome is keen to hear new voices on the subject of mental health and is inviting early-career researchers and young professionals to apply to become a Frontiers Innovator. Frontiers Innovators are a core part of the Frontiers meetings. The Trust wants you to share your experiences and knowledge, drive conversations and help devise fresh solutions with other innovators and experts in the field. You can come from academia, industry, education or work in any sector relevant to the topic. For example, you could be a psychiatrist, social scientist, policy maker, or work in the education or technology sector.
The Trust will cover the travel and accommodation costs for up to seven Frontiers Innovators to attend the meeting. All other participants are by invitation only.
For academics, Wellcome is looking for researchers who have just completed their PhD, postdocs, newly appointed fellows/lecturers and junior group leaders. Outside academia, it is looking for people in the first ten years of their career. Career breaks will be taken into account.
How to apply
Please submit your CV and a response to the following questions to email@example.com by Monday 1 August 2016:
Your response can be submitted as a:
You can either upload your video to the web and send us the link, or submit it directly using a large data transfer site such as WeTransfer.
Wellcome will be in touch by the end of August to let you know if your application has been successful.
If you have any questions about the application or the meeting, please email email@example.com.
Last modified: Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:55:35 BST


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"Like none of this shit ever happened? It happened! And it doesn't just go away.
You just can't walk away, do you hear me?!
Do you hear me? (holds up necklace made of human ears)"
new trailer and a poster for Dolph's passion project Skin Trade hit the web recently showcasing an awesome cast that includes Tony Jaa, Michael Jai White, Peter Weller and Ron Perlman. So that's He-Man, Ong-Bak, Spawn, Robocop and Hellboy all in the same 90 minutes! Inspired by real life human trafficking, Skin follows Dolph's detective as he interferes with a gangster's business then teams up with a Thai cop to exact bloody, high kicking, explosive and bullet riddled revenge. The trailer looks solid with lots of practical stunts, martial arts and a terrific cast. Magnolia releases the film on VOD in late April followed by a theatrical release Friday, May 8th. Horror flick Shark Lake just finished shooting, World War II men on a mission flick with Luke Goss and Mickey Rourke War Pigs is in post-production and a small role in action thriller 4GOT10 alongside Michael Pare, Johnny Messner and Danny Trejo recently wrapped.
If that still weren't enough, Dolph was interviewed for the upcoming The Art of Masters of the Universe coffee table book from Dark Horse hitting shelves on April 15th that will take a deep look at the phenomenon of cartoons, comic books, toys and the live action movie.


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Instantly access a large collection of reports within LEAP. For simple organisation and accessibility, the reports are grouped into Matters and Clients, Trust, Office and Management. All reports have parameters that can be adjusted, you can filter down further to display up-to-the-minute data.
While you are working hard on your matters, LEAP is linking metrics to produce your reports at a schedule to suit you. All reports can be exported to Excel for further analysis. You can view outstanding invoices, inactive matters, WIP and debtors quickly.
You can quickly gauge and improve the performance of your law firm with LEAP's insightful Firm Overview report. This report shows your firm's performance based on primary indicators - matters, fees, trust funds held and aged debtors, within a particular period.
There is no time wasted running manual reports to keep up to date. Many of LEAP's reports run automatically and are emailed to you. You and your staff can view and manage the most recent status of your WIP, invoices, client details and more at your determined schedule. Daily, weekly, or monthly.
Each law firm is unique. LEAP allows you to customise reports so that you can measure and analyse your data the way you choose. Select your parameters within the reports to reflect your key metrics, including: the date period, fee earner, staff members, matters, status of invoice, and many more. Reports can be printed in PDF, Excel, .csv and Word.


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It's Friday. The penultimate day of the week.
The one where everybody lets their hair down, looks forward to the weekend and hopes for a bit of sunshine along the way.
This fortnight we tied in a touch of immersive theatre, a wander through the V&A Museum of Childhood, #pizzaclub, a trip the the Great North for a weekend with family before traipsing back into London for a fairly full-on week of autumnal sunrises and sunsets plus a touch of a tummy bug.
I love being gathered around a table with people that make me smile (and obligingly humour the Kiwi blogger when she asks them to hand model.)
(Ps. one day left to add your travel linkup posts about the interesting things you've found in hotels/accommodation…)


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BROOKFIELD -- The pilot of a plane that crashed while attempting to take off from Capitol Airport in Brookfield Wednesday, January 4th has died.
Officials say the pilot -- a 41-year-old man from Virginia -- passed away Wednesday evening at Froedtert Hospital. His wife remains hospitalized in critical condition. The couple's six-month-old son was treated at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and is in good condition.
The crash happened around noon at the airport on Gumina Road.
According to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, while attempting take off from the airport, the single-engine plane ran off the runway, and crashed into a parked blue SUV that had a trailer attached to it.
The plane crashed to the east of the paved north-south runway, approximately mid-field.
There was no one in the parked SUV -- but there were three people in the plane.
"A husband and wife, approximately in their 30s, and they also had a small infant in the airplane with them -- approximately six to 12 months old," Brookfield Police Captain Phil Horter said.
Police have not identified the family involved in the crash. Police said the pilot has family living in Waukesha County and had been in town visiting. They were headed back to Virginia after the holidays when this crash happened.
The investigation is now in the hands of the FAA and NTSB.


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Sepp Blatter voiced his fears for the future of English football recently. The FIFA boss believes the controversial 6+5 rule is needed in the Premier League to ensure enough English talent is present in match-day teams. But despite Blatter's doom and gloom there appears to be plenty of young English talent on offer, here is a look at five potential England stars of the future:
Jose Baxter, Everton
Liverpool born striker Baxter is already being tipped to join the long list of home-grown Everton strikers - comparisons with a certain Wayne Rooney have already been mooted. He made his debut against Blackburn on the first day of this season, becoming Everton's youngest player in the process, and has also captained England's under-17 side.
Danny Welbeck, Manchester United
The 18-year-old had a prolific record at junior level and has been compared to Kanu by Alex Ferguson due to his unorthodox style. A regular in the England Under-18 side Welbeck has already made his mark on the United first-team with a couple of spectacular strikes against Stoke and Derby and an appearance at Wembley in the Carling Cup final.
Jack Rodwell, Everton
Seen as a defender in the long term by Everton boss David Moyes Rodwell found himself in midfield at the start of the campaign. After a brief spell out of the limelight Rodwell return to the first-team in the heat of a Merseyside Derby FA Cup tie and won plaudits for his neat passing calm and assured possession. He scored his first goal for the club in the FA Cup fifth round against Aston Villa last month.
Jack Wilshere, Arsenal
Despite Arsene Wenger receiving criticism for the lack of English players in his squad, 16 year-old Wilshire has been the outstanding performer whenever the Arsenal 'kids' have made the step up to the first team. Wilshere also became Arsenal's youngest Premier League player when he came on against Blackburn last September. Tipped as a future England captain he has already scored for the Gunners in the 6-0 rout of Sheffield United.
Freddie Sears, West Ham United
A run of 25 goals in 24 matches for the youths and reserves saw Sears earn a call up to the first team towards the end of last season. It took him just five minutes and 16 seconds to score his first senior goal, the winner against Blackburn in March. Quick and direct, Sears has found himself a regular under Gianfranco Zola this season.