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'Spring' and 'Birth of Venus' by Botticelli - with a complete intro to Renaissance art Leonardo's 'Annunciation'. MIchelangelo's 'Tondo Doni' . Titian's 'Venus of Urbino 'Madonna with the Long Neck' by Parmigianino. Raphael's portrait of Pope Leo X Medici. Caravaggio's 'Medusa'. With a survey on Renaissance painting,
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Highlights of this tour:
- 'Spring' and 'Birth of Venus' by Botticelli
- Leonardo's 'Annunciation'
- MIchelangelo's 'Tondo Doni'
- Titian's 'Venus of Urbino'
- 'Madonna with the Long Neck' by Parmigianino
- Raphael's portrait of Pope Leo X Medici
- Caravaggio's 'Medusa'
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the oldest public museums in the western world (28 years previous to the Louvre, just to mention), as it opened to the public in 1765.
It had formerly been a private collection, belonging, easy to guess, to the Medici.
The name itself, 'Uffizi', means simply 'offices', as the original destination, at the times of Cosimo I , was to gather together all main Florence offices and magistracies.
The architect, Giorgio Vasari, designed a peculiar U shape, using a severe grey stone called 'pietra serena'.
The idea of using the Uffizi as an art gallery as well started to develop in 1574, when Francesco I, Cosimo's son (Bianca Cappello's husband) transformed the second floor into a place where one could 'walk surrounded by paintings, statues and other valuable things'.
Architect Buontalenti was to build an octagonal 'Tribune' for outstanding art objects, beautifully encrusted in mother-of-pearl and vibrant with red and gold.
Archival documents prove that laboratories of art and alchemy were placed side by side by the Grand Dukes Francesco I and Ferdinando I de' Medici (1587–1609) to facilitate collaboration between artists and scientists.
Goldsmiths, jewelers, cabinetmakers, sculptors, painters, and cutters of semi-precious stones exchanged theoretical and technical skills with the alchemists who worked in the Uffizi.
As the art collected or commissioned by the Medici grew, more and more rooms of the Uffizi were involved.
Vasari, who was not only the architect but also the author of Lives of the Artists ( 1550 and 1568), states that Leonardo and Michelangelo used to gather here "for beauty, for work and for recreation."
Anna Maria Luisa, the last of the Medici, an illuminated woman, bequeathed the collection to the Lorraine in 1737, signing the famous 'patto di famiglia', obtaining that none of the artifacts could be taken out of Florence.
The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, and, as we have already mentioned, it was officially opened to the public in 1765, under Duke Peter Leopold of Lorraine.
While today the collection consists essentially of paintings and the gallery of statues, in the original conception art collections coexisted with naturalist specimens, scientific instruments and an armoury.
Peter Leopold transferred the scientific collections to other museums.
» More about this tour
At the heart of the Gallery is the Buontalenti's Tribune: reminiscent of the Tower of the Winds in Athens, it symbolizes cosmic order.
There's a famous and much enjoyable painting by the German-British artist Johann Zoffany (1772-1778) depicting his own personal version of the Tribune stuffed with paintings and statues (many of which were never part of the collection!) and literally 'invaded' by more than twenty British 'grand tourists' absorbed in admiration of the overwhelming (if disorderly) amount of absolute masterpieces.
Now, you are the 21st century visitor of the Uffizi! There are, of course, pros and cons…you have certainly lesser time that the travelers of the Grand Tour, and, above all, you are much more numerous!
On the other hand, the Gallery is now much better illuminated, more orderly, allowing you a chronological approach that will help a better understanding and appreciation.
At home then, before and/or after you visit, you can enjoy a virtual tour of the museum on your laptop or tablet !
Visiting the Uffizi with an experienced local guide will first of all help to make the most of your time, following the fundamental steps in the evolution of that magic period in human history called the Renaissance.
Your guide will concentrate on some of those masterpieces that have a specific importance either because there are by now part of our collective imagination ( such as 'The Birth of Venus' and 'The Spring' by Sandro Botticelli, and their symbolical meanings) or because they play a special role in the development of art history ( such as the works by Giotto and Cimabue, precursors of the Renaissance more than one century in advance, or those by Masaccio and Piero Della Francesca who invented focused perspective).
Other paintings will be selected as they help to envision the world as it was in those days, giving huge insight on details, such as fashion or weapons or landscapes (I am thinking about Paolo Uccello's 'Battle of San Romano, or the delightful 'Adoration of the Magi' by Gentile da Fabriano).
Not to say about the portraits in the collection! Such as Andrea del Castagno's portrait of Dante Alighieri, the portraits of the Duke and the Duchess of Urbino py PIero della Francesca, Raffaello's portraits of the two Popes Julius II and Leo X, Bronzino's portrait of Eleonora di Toledo and of the other Medici family members.
These portraits will be the occasion for talking about Florentine history as well.
Dulcis in fundo, a superb collection of non-Florentine art, starring absolute master works such as Titian's 'Flora' and the 'Venus of Urbino', or Rembrandt's self portrait, Caravaggio's 'Bacchus'.
If you're interested in visiting the Accademia Galleries in Venice you can book this art tour with us!
» Read less
Cost of this tour
This tour lasts three hours and costs 240 euros up to six people (not per person), only private parties.
For larger parties send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com
Admission fee: 24 euro (we'll prebook for you)
Dress Code
No dress code required


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by May Tan
April 11th, 2016
According to market research firm IDC, the Internet of Things (IoT) market in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) will have 8.6 billion connected 'things'. This could potentially be worth up to USD $583 billion by 2020. To put that into perspective, if the IoT was a country, it would be worth more than the nominal GDP of most countries in this region.
Singapore at the forefront
Earlier this year, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, announced that the country's Smart Nation vision has entered its "build" phase. As part of the nation's Infocomm Media Masterplan, the private and public sector will cooperate on converging areas in the infocomm and media sectors to bring about smart technologies that focus on Singapore's infrastructure and services.
So what can we expect and how will these developments benefit the sector? Here are some insights:
- Technologies that tap into the IoT can provide real-time actionable visibility and improve decision-making capabilities for organisations. It can be used for resource utilisation so that the appropriate transportation and manpower can be deployed.
- Video analytics can enable audiovisual data to be used for public safety purposes like tracking unusual crowd activity. This increased situational awareness will also allow traffic conditions to be better monitored, leading to less congestion.
- The OneService mobile app will bring together seven government agencies on one common platform, making it more convenient for the public to send their feedback on municipal issues in Singapore.
- A new Software and Development Centre of Excellence will be a testing lab for user research, user experience and consultancy services to government agencies. This will ensure better designed online services that will cater to people's needs.
- The HetNet (heterogeneous network), which is currently on trial in the Jurong Lake District, will enable the use of communication technologies to function optimally and create strong connectivity for smart services.
- Currently being tested at the National University Hospital, a remote healthcare set-up will use smart devices to provide healthcare at patients' homes. This helps patients to enjoy their independence, prevent complications, and minimise personal costs.
- The government agency is also testing autonomous self-driving cars at One-North, with the aim of enabling people with disabilities to commute easier.
The concept of the Internet of Things has been around for more than a decade, but technology has only just started to catch up with the promise that it holds – ubiquitous interconnected computing.
The government of Singapore seems ready for the IoT revolution, but are we? Time will tell of course, but it's definitely interesting to keep track of developments till its arrival.

subset: commoncrawl


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29th Mar 2009, 11:04
I do have to admire the original reviewer's attention to detail. However, I can see why he would think this car was so expensive to maintain if he routinely pursued that degree of perfection.
I tend to agree more with the second comment, that these old cars can be a very financially sound choice for someone who has the patience and mechanical ability to fix things on their own. And also to know "when to say when". In other words, when you buy that $500 '73 Plymouth Scamp (or whatever), regard it as a daily driver that is cheap transportation. That means, get it running well, and so it stops in a straight line. Don't put yourself into a tizzy measuring panel mating gaps, weather stripping widths, inconsistencies in instrument panel light bulb voltage output, or whether the door panels are a different shade of color than the kick panels. That stuff is irrelevant.
I bought a '64 Dodge for $125, drove it for a year and did nothing to it except change the oil and transmission fluid, and then the engine blew after that year. No complaints, it was still a money saver.
I also bought a '67 Newport for $150. That was a beater that required me to spend $25 to have the radiator filler neck brazed on, $50 for a tune-up, $30 to rebuild the carburetor, and another $20 to change the transmission fluid and oil. So, for $275 I had a drivable car that got me to work and back for a year, at the end of which time I sold it for $200. There is no comparison that that was a far more financially astute option than making even a single car payment. It wouldn't work for everyone, though, because somebody like the original reviewer would have spent a fortune on fixing things that really had no bearing on the car's ability to be daily, dependable transportation.
22nd Jul 2009, 13:33
I like the title to your review. Sounds just like my ex-wife! Seriously though, great review, very thorough.
10th Nov 2009, 17:12
I bought a 68 Valiant in 1993 with a 273 cu inch V-8 for $500. I put an intake 4bbl carb headers and duel exhaust. Replaced the battery once. the distributor the starter and painted it. All told it cost me about $1600 in parts. I used it as my daily driver till 2000. I figure in wages the car actually made me $80000 because I didn't have to make car payments.
On leaded gas (you could still get leaded gas till 95) it avg 25 mpg. After 95 I had to use supreme plus lead and octane booster or else it would diesel at shut off. And only get 17mpg.
1st Jan 2012, 17:46
I've had those cheap econoboxes. It's all great until one stupid sensor goes out, and then you find out it's a frigging 250 dollar part (thank you Subaru). Or your car leaves you on the side of the road because the computer took a dump. And my favorite, the bad fuel pump that cost $350 dollars and is a pain in the backside to fix, versus 20 bucks for an old carbed car and 20 minutes worth of work.
An old car can be made to run if something breaks, badly maybe, but still enough to limp home. If the reviewer really wanted to be cheap, he'd buy a 500 dollar car and just run it right into the ground and never fix anything besides maybe brake pads. I've done that many times. As soon as something dumb happens (and it will with those fuel injected piles), off to the scrap yard it goes.
I drove a 350 dollar 77 F100 for 8 years. I spent a grand total of $300 dollars in repairs. One dang sensor on a souless Japmobile is more than that. The only thing that stopped it was being t-boned by a semi truck.
The reviewer complains about the handling, no doubt the car is still on bias ply tires, which are awful when new, and only get worse with age. Put some radial tires on it, and the thing will seem like a new car.
24th Aug 2012, 13:34
I agree with you! I have one vehicle that is 23 years old, and another that is 16 years old. Keeping a close eye on fluids is very important in keeping your vehicle running. Also listening for unusual noises helps also. Once a month, take a look under the vehicle. Check the brakes every so often. I do a lot of my own maintenance and repairs... and it costs me about $400 each year for each vehicle.


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Robert Hughes' 1980 series tracing the development of modern art from 1880 to the present. Robert Hughes's classic series about art in the twentieth century continues in episode five by looking at the avant-garde and modernism in the century of change. Hughes gets innocent and irrational as he examines the surrealists and their attempts to make art without restrictions. Features artists such as Di Chirico, Ernst, Miro and Dali. In episdoe six Robert Hughes examines the work of the expressionists, looking at artists such as Van Gogh, Munch, Bacon and Rothko, who exposed humanity's deepest anxieties and darkest emotions in their art. In episdoe seven he looks at the way in which artists have reacted to television, advertising, photography and film. We see what artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg have to say about types of art that fed off culture itself. Once accepted as the dominant culture, the art of modernism found itself without an avant-garde and without the ability to shock or provoke - other than as objects that cost absurd amounts of money. Robert Hughes examines how artists have coped with this commercialisation in the eighth and final episdoe of the series
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This is most of the 1/4 mile from top to bottom.
One of the best little creek runs in WA runs right off Snoqualmie pass down the I-90. The window is short but when the snow melts off (Fall in the Wall) they call it, becomes like a training gym for local boaters. The whole run is 1/4 mile long before dumping over 70' Franklin Falls. It's short but stacked with big fun bedrock slide drops in a small walled in gorge i.e Fall in the Wall. Our group This year did 8 runs in a row hiking the shuttle each time with a total time record on one lap set at 4 minutes top to bottom. Best whitewater gym I can think of being an hour from seattle.......
This is most of the 1/4 mile from top to bottom.
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Group class instruction
Monday, Wednesday, Saturday – 7 to 8 pm
Smooth and Latin dances
We teach wedding dance choreography and Milonga Classes
We offer private lessons 6 days a week in all dances. Private lessons are by appointment only. If you would like to make an appointment, please call us at (305) 893-3010 or fill out orcontact form by clicking here.


text: When you have fine hair, you probably have two main concerns: lack of volume and flyaways. In some respects fine hair is one of the hardest hair textures to find a suitable style for. A clever style will add the volume you want and control flyaways. Although many haircuts for long hair look all alike, the choice of the right cut for lengthy locks is no less responsible than the choice of a short or medium crop. Well, then you need some layering that can vary, depending on your hair thickness, length and texture. All over medium and long layers are good when you prefer to remove extreme bulk and give your locks a new life. With fine long cut you may want to go only for layering at front, leaving the remaining locks one length or lightly layered. In this article, we have compiled 15+ Latest Textured Hairstyles. Take a glance and get inspired!


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(Filed Under Wholesale Swimwear News). New York-based swimwear company Breaking Waves International has purchased swimwear brand It Figures.
It Figures, produced by Patricia Byrnes and Ronnie Strausser with Canada-based manufacturing partner Phantom Industries, was established in May 1996 and became available to Breaking Waves after Byrnes and Strausser decided to part ways.
"The name was sold to Breaking Waves," Alex Strausser of Phantom Industries stated. "Phantom Industries will stop producing It Figures for retailers like QVC and close the division in Canada at the end of this July 2011. Phantom Industries will continue to produce our own label of swimwear called Dolfin based in Pennsylvania."
Breaking Waves International, LLC is located at 1411 Broadway in New York City's fashion district.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in comments published on bodymagazine.us are those of the comment writers alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of Bodymagazine or its staff.
NOTE: Your Email will not be displayed.


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Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey PC has been our "go to" advisory law firm for nearly two decades. They have actively helped us learn to practice our business in a defensive legal mode...read more
Richard Bludworth, CEO of Bludworth Marine, LLC
I'd like to thank Clayton Hearn and the entire Labor & Employment Team for their great work on the recent case my company had there in Texas. I appreciate how thoroughly they worked, how frank and clear they were in their communications...read more


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A few months ago, in an attempt to reduce the Stash and use up terribly out-dated fabric, I pulled together a selection of purples with a larger piece of contrasting aqua. As I was not overly concerned with size, anything from wallhanging to queen-size was fair game, I waited for the fabric speak to me, tell me what era or style to go with. Eventually an idea took shape to do a Gee's Bend inspired quilt by combining wonky squares and stripes until I simply ran out of fabric. To that end, I pieced together this...
Inspiration struck one night at 3am. My eyelids popped open as my mind traveled down a completely new path. The following morning I pulled a few more fabrics from the Stash and was on my way!
Next, I quilted large free-motion spirals over the center of the quilt, and long curving lines on the aqua tree to indicate bark. The quilt measures roughly 60" square (I'm calling it a topper) and wasn't too much to shove under my Singer. I am proud to say that the spirals are made up of literally one continuous line, with a stop and starting point, which never crosses over itself. I love free-motion!
After the quilting was finished, I appliqued down the other design elements. The arrows are a lime green Moda fusion fabric, cut out by hand and top-stitched down. I didn't fuss with fusible or Heat 'n Bond either. The edges of each applique are simply turned under a quarter inch. I didn't feel the need to get too fancy with hand-stitching.
The smile and tail were then added. Also, I opted to skip traditional binding on the edges of the quilt. Both the top and bottom layer are turned under a quarter inch in sewed together.
A close-up of the tail gives you an idea of how old some of these fabrics are. Many were from my mother's Stash which she is slowly unloading on me, one 1980s calico at a time. She has a habit of pinning the sales receipt to each yard of fabric (after she washes and irons it) to keep record of when, where and how much she paid for it. This way she gets a little extra high at the end of a project when she can, with confidence, tell you that this twin bed quilt cost exactly $35.47. So today I can, with confidence, tell you that all the fabrics in this quilt were purchased between 1992 and 2001. I did not, however, calculate the cost as I still have some of this purple left over. What am I supposed to do with it now?!
I feel strongly that when inspiration strikes, you should run with it, even if it takes you in a questionable direction. I wouldn't say that "Alice in Wonderland" is really a favorite movie of ours, but something about these purple fabrics just said "Cheshire" to me. I pieced together fabric where I needed to, used what I had on hand and just had fun with it. This topper isn't meant to be heirloom quality sewing. I didn't fuss over corners or points or perfect quilting. Sometimes you need to break the rules, flex your imagination and save the fussing for those Christening dresses.


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Deb-Frugal Little Bungalow
She explained all the different ways to fast.
For some it might be as simple as
skipping one meal that day-
or giving up snacks you would usually have.
You can read the wonderful post
she wrote about fasting here.
Because I get up very early
I am going to eat an early breakfast
and drink clear fluids all day-
Clear fluids for me are water,
with or without lemon or lime,
and clear chicken broth.
or you have a medical condition or-
you take food with medications...
I will put up a reminder on Sunday sometime.


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Without apology, this paper speaks directly regarding sexuality and specifically homosexuality as it relates to the scriptures.
People are desperately searching for answers regarding sexuality as it faces the world in general, but specifically its place in the Christian church. Here is an attempt to provide some of those answers.
A scripture search won't return any results when searching for popular words/phrases like "sex," "Gay," "homosexual," or "promiscuity", although these are words frequently entered in the word search. It points out a real need to have these questions answered.
Before starting your word search, one important point needs to be established: sexual relations are created by God for His beautiful purposes as He intended. It is a wonderful gift from Him to enjoy sexuality within the boundaries he has designed.
The problem is, sexuality practiced by humans is seemingly more often misused than used correctly. While scripture discusses the beautiful parallels between a human marriage and God's covenant with the church, more often than not, scriptures regarding sexuality often deal with the 'mis-use' of sexual desire from humans.
We are not unique in our day. It has happened throughout the ages.
When searching for answers in scripture regarding sexuality, it helps to know the words that were actually used to discuss sexuality in Biblical days. While all books of scripture (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants) contain guidance on sexuality, more often the Old Testament had direct verses dealing with the subject.
Here are some words to search for regarding sexuality and homosexuality from the Bible. Click on the links to directly search these terms:
"Adultery", and any derivative of the word (Adulterer, adulteress, search the partial word 'adult' for many related results). All scripture forbids. Originally dealt with physical acts of sex outside of marriage, but Jesus clarified that it is more over a sin of the heart--whoso looks upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery in his heart. God in Old Testament times called the backsliding church "an adulteress."
"Fornication" and derivative of the word (Fornicate, fornicator, etc. Search the partial word 'forni" for many related results)
"lie with" (Sometimes related to 'dying' such as in " I go to lie with my fathers' but more often referring to sexual acts in bed). Men were forbidden to "lie with" men, women with women, etc.
"lie, beast" this search returns the scriptures describing forbidden acts of human/animal sexuality.
"lie with me" phrase used by lustful people (like Potiphar's wife to Joseph) enticing someone to engage in sex.
"mankind lie with" Forbidding for men to "lie down" (sexually) as they do with women. Mosaic Law forbade with punishment of death, parallel to spiritual death.
"It is confusion"..."confusion" how aptly named to describe unsanctioned sexual relations.
"leaving the natural use of the woman", "men, burned", "men with men" "lust burned" All these references by Paul occur in one chapter describing the obvious, men leaving women, lusting for other men, being called "unseemly."
"that we may know him" "that we may know them" Genesis and Judges use this expression which came from people desiring sexual relations with someone. Their desire to know was referred to as wickedness and folly because the term "to Know" had sexual implications. In scripture, the term "to know" also expressed desire for greater spiritual closeness, like "God, I want to Know You better." But in biblical times, would also imply sexual closeness.
"uncover nakedness" a state of being revealed completely. Only a married man and woman could share their nakedness completely. For all others, viewing another's nakedness was sin. What is our culture trying to teach us about nakedness? That viewing another naked is OK perhaps? The biblical pattern teaches that It is not. What does this teach about what the culture is trying to do through media? Perhaps to believe you can break the commandments and think it is OK because it makes one feel good.
"seed" besides the horticultural reference to seeds (for planting) a man's "seed" were his children or descendents that were born from him
"seed of copulation" a man's semen.
"her fountain" a woman's reproductive area, also menstrual flow from
"lust" carnal, sensual desire based from fleshly motives.
"Effeminate" Only used once in the New Testament, but Strong's translates to mean:
1) soft, soft to the touch
2) metaph. in a bad sensea) effeminate
1) of a catamite
2) of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man
3) of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness
4) of a male prostitute
"Effeminate" is associated with adulterers and 'abusers of those with Mankind." Here, effeminate people are abusing themselves with mankind. Mankind was a specific reference to the male gender.
"Knew his wife" Adam 'knew his wife,' and she bare unto him sons and daughters...referring to sexually knowing someone. The men of Sodom wanted 'To Know' the city's new male visitors....any wonder why?
"Whore, whoredom" a woman who had sex outside of marriage, with no moral regard for others or herself. The church, when at its worse, was sometimes compared to a whore.
"Sodomite" From the Old Testament, Strong's translation of the Hebrew was a "male temple prostitute." Do you think male prostitutes arrived on the temple scene immediately in the Old Testament? No. It happened overtime by a continual eroding of the church's values.
"Concubine" a female prostitute, unmarried.
"Chastity and Virtue" Book of Mormon describes a scene where Nephite girls women are sexually assaulted before being tortured and killed.
"God Delights in Chastity of women" Another Book of Mormon clarification regarding God's desire for women to be sexually pure and morally chaste.
Fornication and Adultery
So what is Fornication anyhow?
Fornication--translated from the Greek means 'sexual immorality.'
It comes from the Greek word 'pornea'-- you may recognize the root. Today's word 'Pornography' literally comes from this word, and by understanding the root, one sees a deeper concern by definition--it is not just viewing nakedness or viewing sexual acts, it is the viewing of sexual immorality.
Our culture has slipped in its understanding of fornication: Some modern Christians were led to believe that fornication meant 'intercourse' between unmarried people while adultery meant 'intercourse outside of marriage' with someone else.
From God's word, Fornication means sexual immorality between or by anyone, irregardless of marriage. It is a greater condemnation than just single sexual act, while including sexual acts, it includes thoughts, words, intents of the heart.
Adultery is not confined to a physical act, although that is the final expression of it. Jesus defined adultery as sexual lust for another from within ones heart, without a physical act occurring.
In other words, a lot of Christian teens in our generation were and are led to believe that if they don't 'go all the way' they are not committing fornication. God wants us to live to a higher standard, one that saves us from the despair of sin caused by misuse of sexual expression.
We need our children to understand that any relationship between an unmarried man and woman that involves touching of any sexual area, sexual stimulation physically or mentally, or discussion of sexual pleasure, is part of the immorality of fornication--i.e. sexual immorality--and displeases God, violating His laws for us. His laws are designed to provide us ultimate happiness through obedience, disregard for them brings misery and despair.
Our culture would imply Paul was condemning only those who had pre-marital physical sexual intercourse and call that fornication. Likewise, they would label physical sex outside of marriage for a husband and wife adultery.
But the real definitions imply a broader condemnation: fornication was sexual immorality of any kind. Adultery starts with covenant-breaking lusts from the heart, not just a physical act. Our people today need to know where the moral boundaries start and end.
They start with our thoughts, prior to our actions. Our thoughts will condemn us at the last day, said Alma and King Benjamin.
A Pattern in All Things
Some people incorrectly support statements like: "that is why we need homosexual marriage in the world and in the church--so that homosexuals can then perform their acts within the sanctity of marriage!" Oh really?
What then is the pattern for marriage? Read on.
The Doctrine and Covenants correctly teaches that God gives a PATTERN IN ALL THINGS. And for what reason? "SO THAT YOU WOULD NOT BE DECEIVED." Clear wording, isn't it? And why, because Satan is abroad seeking to deceive us.
So what is the pattern God gave? He brought a woman to a man, born out of the man's own flesh, and they were united in covenant to be fruitful and multiply.
God has always taught by the physical, what he wanted us to learn about the spiritual. That was the whole idea behind unblemished lambs sacrificed to atone for Israel's sins--a sacrifice done in the flesh, to teach the church about a sacrifice in the spirit: Jesus, without sin, would die for all humanity's sin. (this is the biggest single metaphor in scripture, but there are countless others). Could a blemished lamb have physically served to atone for Israel's sin? No. Could a sinful Jesus have spiritually paid the price for humanity's sin? No. We see how important the details of the metaphor are.
Likewise, what was the spiritual lesson and pattern behind bringing a man and woman together?
The answer is plain and simple: It signifies the bringing together of God (represented by the man) and the church (represented by the woman, who was born out of God's own will). Their sexual relation physically brings forth a child, to teach the spiritual parallel between the Kingdom (i.e. Zion) to be born one day. (And for that to happen, the church has to be extremely intimate with God......something the church hasn't been 'in the mood for' for a long, long time).
The Kingdom happens only after the church becomes extremely intimate with God again, but that is another lesson.
So what about homosexuality? Shouldn't two men who love each other be able to marry each other? How about for two women? Isn't sex between them OK, as long as they are committed to each other?
First off, don't accept the premise of the argument.
The problem is: homosexuality doesn't fit the pattern.
Again: The act of Homosexuality doesn't fit the pattern God gave to teach about the covenant relation between God and the Church--that intimate relationship ultimately produces the Kingdom. The Kingdom was the 'child' born out of the 'marriage' between God (i.e. 'the man') and the Church (i.e. 'the woman'). How do you get a kingdom born between two men or two women?
It is a foolish, shallow argument that doesn't take much to deconstruct.
What Satan Loves...
But understand: Satan loves the metaphor of a man sexually with a man or woman with a woman. Nothing pleases Satan more than to spite God--hoping people engage in acts that imply God communing with himself (and not the church) or the church with herself, having no God--all to spite the Creator's plan. Satan laughs at and delights in our ignornace.
The notion that homosexual people were drawn to each other because 'God made them that way' is ludicrous--how do homosexual acts occur without fornication being involved? Would God use an act that he forbids, (fornication/sexual immorality), to bring people together?
The argument for homosexual relations being 'blessed' by God becomes spiritual nonsense. Few would disagree that heterosexual people are to partake in sexual immorality and should not use sexuality in any way prior to marriage. So how can homosexual people be permitted that according to God's laws?
The spiritual answer is plain and simple--they can't. The cultural answer is slippery. Remember, beware the re-definition.
The Real Pattern God Created
Sex between a married man and woman is a pattern (choose your word: "Type & shadow", "analogy", "metaphor," "simile") that God designed to teach the special unique relation between God and the covenant people of His church.
When was the church ever portrayed as a man in scripture? When was God ever portrayed as a woman (only once actually in Isaiah, but it was the peoples' error, not God's). When did God ever act as God and the church at the same time? He didn't, a woman always symbolized the church. When did the church (i.e. the woman) symbolize God? Never.
The church was the woman in the Book of Revelation, the awaiting Bride with her foolish virgins in Matthew, the reason why God said 'I am married to you' in Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion;
If one doesn't understand that marriage is to teach us here on earth about God and His relationship to the church, and that we are to act out our lives in understanding of this relationship, when one's life ends and the point wasn't understood......well, too bad, now is your chance to understand this great metaphor, because marriage isn't eternal.
Now is your chance to understand the point of the lesson. Why one husband and one wife? Because there is only one God and he has one church. Not two. Those of His church are marked the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Re-Defining Definitions
The only tool those who seek to overthrow God's ways generally use is to seek to redefine definitions of truth.
By re-defining definitions, for instance, our nation was able to justify slavery long ago. and for the same reason still has abortion.
Consider this: African people were redefined (by those who desired slavery) from 'humans' to 'property.' Perhaps calling an African person 'property' appeased a slave holder's conscience.
Likewise today, unborn babies are redefined (by those who want to have sex without consequence) from a human to a "fetus". They want us to believe it's not a baby whose life was surgically stopped, it was just a "blob of tissue." (Of course, that is the answer! Just change the meaning of the situation with new definitions, and everything becomes OK, right?)
The strongest tool of Satan is to 'Re-Define' and get God's people to question God's definitions.
The first recorded temptation on earth involved Satan convincing Eve to question that God didn't really mean what he said. (serpent: "hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened). What did Satan do? He caused her to doubt what she already new to be true. He uses the same method with us.
If he can get the church to re-define the truth God gave His children, and substitute culturally derived definitions for spiritually definitions, Satan can defeat God's people. He challenges the very word of God to cause the human soul to doubt.
Once the human doubts Gods word to them, they willfully disregard greater and greater instruction until they are left without light and truth. They become robots of the culture rather than agents of change for it.
Satan understands humans too well, he understands that:
First you abhor..., then you tolerate..., then you embrace.
He will slowly erode your values with re-definitions until you will believe anything.
Consider how the culture is trying to redefine "marriage' into 'partnership' or 'civil union.' You see, marriage was defined for man and woman alone, parnterships can be for anyone, a man and man, woman and woman, man and boy. Notice also that terms of scripture absolutes, such as 'effeminate, sodomite, sodomy, mankind lying with mankind' are all rendered as 'Oh, that is not really what Moses intended' or, 'Paul, wasn't trying to say natural use of the woman implied anything sexual'....Or how about, the saying 'I was born that way, God made me that way' when there is no genetic link to homosexuality. The left will take words and tell you they don't mean what they clearly mean, to get you to accept their definition. If you accept their definition, you lose.
If a person desires 'change,' then change by conformity to God's truth. That's what 'repentance' ultimately means: un-conforming to Satan's falsehoods and conforming to God's truths.
So how can two homosexual men symbolize God and the church in a 'marriage?' The simple answer: they can't. How can two homosexual women? Same answer. How can this be pleasing to God, who gave us the pattern to teach us about Him and the church? Once again, it can not.
It doesn't fit the pattern He gave because it doesn't teach the spiritual purposes He was trying to teach.
What it is and What it Isn't
So what about the people involved in homosexuality? Are they condemned? The answer would be that they are no more condemned than the rest of the world's sinners, but adultery and fornication are serious crimes. Serious because the participant engages in a hard sin to overcome. Hard because when the flesh and the 'will of the flesh' is involved, the will of the spirit is weakened. But it would help to understand what homosexuality is and isn't.
Old Testament Types and Shadows
It becomes important to understand that the Old Testament laws were given to teach about higher spirituality. They were real laws, given to a hard-hearted people, lived out in the flesh, but as a type for spiritual understanding. We can learn from those spiritual lessons.
The requirement to live by those laws and punishments given to Moses (i.e. the Mosaic Law) ended when Jesus died on the cross. But the principles taught by them had eternal values. Their laws were to teach spiritual lessons, certainly. Often, the breaking of Old Testament laws also had physical consequences, sometimes death. This was to teach a higher lesson that breaking certain spiritual laws results in spiritual death--i.e., separation from God for eternity..
In the Old Testament the penalty for a man 'lying with another man' (implying sexual acts between two men) was physical death. This paper in no way implies a sentence or capital punishment should be applied to people today for homosexuality. God's word in no wise implies that today.
In the Old Testament, physical death was the type for spiritual death. The lesson from the Old Testament merely implies that the spiritual issues associated with misuse of sexuality can lead to spiritual death.
What Does the Media Want Us to Believe?
Media and Hollywood pundits want you to believe that any speaking against homosexuality is likened to a Hate crime such as Hitler's Nazism towards Jews or ethnic minorities. It isn't an argument against a group of people. It is an argument against a false spiritual and immoral principle.
The majority of people involved in homosexuality suffer from what is called a 'Gender Identity Crisis.' The topic won't be elaborated here, but there are many good resources to learn, also many people who have overcome this crisis and have the testimonies of God's power in their lives (See resource list below).
It must be understood that sexual expression was God's plan for us to teach us about something very important, through physical and emotional means, about him and the church. Instead, the world wants to take his Gift and turn it into something of their own making. They want you to believe that if two people say 'they love each other' therefore they are justified in expressing it any way of their own choosing. That is not what God intended. 'Love' can't be used to justify 'spiritual confusion,' as Moses put it.
We aren't to take sexual expression and turn it into anything that pleases the creation, but the world would have you believe otherwise.
Homosexuality in Men
While this lesson isn't intended to explain the depths of the homosexual issue, a few breif statements are included to help define it.
Homosexuality most often occurs in men when a young boy feels emotionally rejected or abandoned by the one who was to be his father or 'Father Figure' in his life. Also, sometimes by an overbearing woman in authority can do equal harm.
In the first case, the homosexual male tends to identify more with a female role model than the male who rejected him, the one he was to pattern his life after; in the second case, he associates feelings of fear or dominance from relations with women, and fears intimacy with them, as if they would 'take something from him.'
This is why homosexual men often say "I have felt like this ever since I can remember." Rejection by a male often happens in early childhood.
In either case, the homosexual male often goes through the rest of his life seeking in other men what he wishes he had in himself. The inward issue for homosexuals is an inward emotional disconnect with their gender, resulting in outward acts of homosexual feelings, relationships and sexuality.
Homosexuality in Women
Homosexuality in women has similar results, but stems from subtly different origins. Most often, a girl will experience rejection by a father, or experience a violent act directed toward her or perhaps a woman she respects (i.e. mother or mother figure) by a male role model. Her scarred soul then transfers that pain to relations with men in general, assuming intimacy with males with bring them harm, violence, pain. She seeks in a woman shelter and comfort from the fear that men might bring.
There are other, statistically less significant reasons for homosexuality, but these are the major influences. Can you see a common thread in the origins of male and female homosexuality?
The Difference Between the Terms 'Homosexual' and 'Gay'
By the way, you will not find the term 'gay' anywhere in these writings. 'Gay' refers to a militant attitude among some homosexuals in our society who intent to permeate the church, culture, and media with a militant homosexual agenda.
'Homosexuality' describesh the conditions and causes among people. All 'Gays' are homosexuals, but all homosexuals are not Gay. All homosexuals should not be labeled 'gay.' Some Homosexuals may choose a 'Gay proclivity,' but many do not.
There are some homosexuals who struggle with unwanted homosexual attractions. The term 'Gay' is not appropriate for this discussion, although you should know the difference.
How can the church help with the 'Real' Problem.
What is on the rise in our society? Is it really homosexuality? No, that is just the symptom. What is on the rise is more homes where children are raised without a loving father. That is a huge source of the problem.
The problem can't be solved with federal funding or changing of church laws. The problem's root is in following laws of sexuality and faithfulness in marriage covenants, promises to be loyal, willingness to sacrifice so a family and its children can grow up in love.
This is why the role of the father is so important in a home and the church. We have the hope from Malachi, that one day the children's' hearts will turn to their fathers again, and the father's to the children. This is part of the cure that God will bring one day.
Paul Said: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25) Notice the teaching on two levels: first husbands loving to the level Jesus did for the church--sacrificially giving YOUR ALL to your wife and family, that is your reasonable service. Second, notice the parallel, husbands loving wives is compared to Jesus loving the church. He is the groom, we are the bride.
What can you do? As a parent, start by making a promise that you will never threaten divorce during an argument with your spouse again. Defeat Satan by promising to your children that no matter if you as parents disagree, you will always remain married. Why? because God says I would never leave you or forsake you. Live your covenant the same way.
The Real Cure
If the church really wants to do its job in addressing issues with homosexuality, it would work toward curing the problem at the root: we need strengthening families by the Word of God, to return the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers; not laws sanctioning homosexuality and fawning over those who participate in it.
The church is suffering, as it has through the ages, from a drifting from the Word of God. The Spiritual decay that (always) happens is the result. We need a return to the word of God, not an abandonment of it.
Homosexuality can not be of God when it by nature mocks the plan God created for mankind. Homosexuals are loved by God as are all sinners--but the act of homosexual love is not created by or condoned by God. God didn't make homosexuals that way, but people may have.
The need is for spiritual healing, not redefinition of the laws of the church, or re-shape the circumstances of scripture.
The Word of God clearly promotes marriage between a man and woman only, and sexual relations are reserved for them alone. It is the only true pattern God gave to teach creation about His desire to be reunited in the Kingdom with them someday.
Recomended Reading for understanding the origins of Homosexuality
Homosexuality 101: What Every Therapist, Parent, And Homosexual Should Know
If you or someone you know is struggling with unwanted homosexuality, there are many caring organizations that can help:
click here for specific topics on homosexuality at family.org
Attend a "Love Won Out" conference to learn more about the issues of Homosexuality, hear success stories from those who have overcome, and understand the pro-Gay agenda targeted at the Christian church in general.
Despite God's manifold blessings, history, reveals many times where God's people fell away from Him.
What was their story? How did it happen? Could it ever happen again? Is there a pattern? Does God forsake these people? Does He ever promise to bring them back to Him?
Searching for scriptures regarding sexuality and homosexuality? It is a popular search topic, and with good reason: people want to know what God's word says about it.
While our culture has produced new words in our day describing issues of sexuality, the spiritual and moral issues regarding sexuality are are age-old, and are dealt with directly in scripture. Click Here To Find The Words Used in Scripture Regarding Sexuality
The topic of Sexuality and Homosexuality has faced the Christian Church in New ways. What does the world teach? What does the Word of God teach? Is there a way to know the difference?
Read About Homosexuality and Scripture and the Pattern In All Things
|Watch your Thoughts,
|They become Words...
|Watch your Words,
|They become Habits...
|Watch your Habits,
|They become Character...
|Watch your Character,
|It becomes your Destiny.


text:
April 16, 1866
On this day, a group of prominent Montgomery women gathered at the Court Street Methodist Church. Their discussion centered on the desperate need to improve conditions at cemeteries following the Civil War and to handle reburials of soldiers laid in hastily dug, shallow graves that had washed out and, in some cases, were plundered by vandals. The group formed the Ladies Society for the Burial of Deceased Alabama Soldiers but soon changed its name to the Ladies Memorial Association. Ten days later, the association held its first memorial ceremony at Oakwood Cemetery, decorating graves of both Southern and Northern soldiers. By May 1, the group had raised $1,000 to support 200 burials. Over several decades, the association continued its work. It also advocated for Confederate Memorial Day and helped raise funds for the Alabama Confederate Monument adjacent to the state Capitol. Similar associations were active across the South following the Civil War.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama's Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.


text:
Duggal at Global Shop 2016 – Meet Our Artist – Luigi Rodriguez
Duggal at Global Shop 2016 – Meet Our Artist – Luigi Rodriguez
Luigi Rodriguez, from Caracas, Venezuela, describes himself as a pop artist, because he uses the historic figures of our popular experience to make his sensational collage portraits.
He transforms each iconic image, like Marilyn Monroe or Salvador Dali, by cutting and pasting used stamps from his father's collection into their silhouette. Looking at his work gives one the experience of rediscovering the past made fresh by the looking at it through the lens of identity and movement. Who could imagine that looking at these people and symbols we thought we already knew quite well could turn into a consideration of the passage of time? Who could have guessed that collages could convey so much feeling?
To create his, startling and touching collages, Luigi looks to use Duggal's High Definition printing tools.
To schedule a tour of our GlobalShop booth in Las Vegas to see the artists' work in person, sign up here.
CONTACT US VIA EMAIL: firstname.lastname@example.com


text: The NHA exam is scheduled for April 24th. Please register at www.nhanow.com. If you have any questions, please see Andy Thomas. Congratulations to the following graduates for their new job or externship: Tamara W. externship at Sabasticook Valley Hospital (CMA) Brianna W. externship at Brewer Medical (CMA) Terry M. externship at Penobscot Valley Hospital (Medical


text:
Ammco-Coats APX80E Tire Changer
Brand: Ammco-Coats
Model: APX80E - 85000474
Type: Rim Clamp Tire Changer (Electric Drive - 110V)
If you want a workhorse tire changer but still need to handle the larger tires that come in the door, the Coats APX80E is the ideal tire machine. Plus, if your big tire business continues to grow, you can easily upgrade with power helper options to expand your capabilities even further.
The Coats APX80E (Electric) tire changer is a premium unit designed to give you steady day-to-day performance with the flexibility to go back and forth between standard and bigger tires with ease. Built-in power helpers allow you to change even difficult run flats and low-profiles with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. So whether you're dealing with standard steel wheels or expensive custom alloys, you can tackle them both with confidence.
Click to view our entire inventory of New and Used Coats Tire Changers/Machines and Tire Changer Parts and accessories.
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- Large Clamping Capacity - Externally clamps wheels up to 30" or as small as 9" to maximize service flexibility.
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text:
Skim Debris and Clean out Baskets
Skimming the floating debris on top of your pool can be the quickest and easiest way to keep your pool nice and clean. Once the debris sinks it will be harder to remove. Use your net to remove any unwanted leaves and bugs among other things.


text:
Sadie: Mom, when I adopt my kids when I'm a grown up, if they don't already have names, I'm going to name them ZaKiya, Nina and Amber.
Me: Those are very nice names. So you want to adopt 3 little girls?
Sadie: Yes. One will be from China, one from Congo, and the other one from the United States.
Me: I think that sounds like a wonderful plan.
Sadie: And I want to stay at home and take care of my kids like you do.
Me: Well, I think that you will be a very good mommy one day.
Sadie: But I am NOT getting married. I'm just going to have someone that I keep around to help me with money. (Oh dear God. My baby wants a sugar daddy.)
Me: Hmmm... well, maybe if you don't want to get married, and you have three children, maybe you should think about getting a job so that you can make your own money.
Sadie: Oh. Okay. I guess I'll get a job writing a blog. (Oh, baby. That does NOT pay the mortgage!) I'm just NOT getting married. NO WAY!
Me: You don't have to get married if you don't want to! But why don't you want to get married one day?
Sadie: Because then I would have to look at my husband's wiener. (Oh snap. Shoot me now. At least all she thinks you have to do with it is look at it.)
Noah: (dies in a fit of laughter) Sadie said wiener! Who do you think has the biggest wiener?
Me: Noah! (do boys ever stop thinking about this?)
Noah: I mean wiener dog! Who do you think has the biggest wiener dog?!?!
Sadie: See mom? That's why I don't want to get married!
Noah: Mom? Dad says that we can't say butt hole.
Me: He did?
Noah: Yeah. I said, 'fill the butthole' and dad said we couldn't say that. (Oh Lord, will we ever get home? What does he think you are supposed to fill it with? Where do they come up with this stuff. Do not laugh. Do not laugh. Do not laugh.)
Me: Dad is right. That is very rude to say to someone.
Noah: What about gas hole. Can I say gas hole?
Me: It's kind of the same thing. Maybe we shouldn't say that one either, okay?
Noah: What about gasolinie.
Me: I guess gasolinie is okay.
Sadie: (laughing) Fill the gasolinie. Fill the gasolinie!
Noah: Fill the gasolinie. Fill the gasolinie!
And we all erupt in hysterical laughter. And this, dear friends, is how a conversation about adoption can snowball right out of control...
The Peanut Gallery
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text:
The Prince of
Venice Beach
Blake Nelson
Venice Beach
Blake Nelson
Genre: Contemporary
Hardback: 240 Pages
Publication: June 3, 2014
by Little Brown BFYR
Hardback: 240 Pages
Publication: June 3, 2014
by Little Brown BFYR
Robert "'Cali" Callahan is a teen runaway, living on the streets of Venice Beach, California. He's got a pretty sweet life: a treehouse to sleep in, a gang of surf bros, a regular basketball game...even a girl who's maybe-sorta interested in him.
What he doesn't have is a plan.
All that changes when a local cop recommends Cali to a private investigator who is looking for a missing teenager. After all, Cali knows everyone in Venice. But the streets are filled with people who don't want to be found, and when he's hired to find the beautiful Reese Abernathy, who would do anything to stay hidden, Cali must decide where his loyalties truly lie.
◆ A copy was provided by Little Brown for review ◆
At the age of fourteen, Cali ran away from the foster care system in Nebraska and, since then, has been making a life for himself off the grid. Now seventeen, lives in a treehouse in the backyard of Hope Stillwell, a Venice Beach resident and spends his time alternating between odd jobs and hanging out with his fellow homeless teen friends. Then Cali's policeman friend Detective Mitchell refers him to a private investigator who needs help locating a wealthy young San Francisco runaway and is willing to pay for his assistance. Cali not only finds the boy, he learns that he really enjoys finding people and wants to be a private detective himself. Thus begins his journey of change.
I like how Cali grows throughout the book. He is smart, perceptive, and filled with a strong desire to help others. He only needs a little help in realizing that he can do something with his life. With each new case Cali takes on, he grows from his new life experiences and comes to realize the need to further his education and broaden his social connections. The secondary characters are also well drawn. They have their unique quirks, and I love the relationships they share with Cali.
They story is also well done. It is about a homeless teen's journey to setting himself up as a private detective on Venice Beach. The story provides remarkable insight into the world of homelessness, particularly that of homeless teens, and has the potential to spark discussion about the teenage homeless dilemma for educators, parents and teens. This is an excellent teen read that reluctant readers may be encouraged to pick up.
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text:
ISRN Optics
Volume 2012, Article ID 856748, 7 pages
Propagation of Electric Dipole Radiation through a Medium
1Department of Physics, Millersville University, P.O. Box 1002, Millersville, PA 17551, USA
2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Mississippi State University, P.O. Drawer 5167, Mississippi, MS 39762-5167, USA
Received 23 September 2012; Accepted 11 October 2012
Academic Editors: O. Frazão and V. Matejec
Copyright © 2012 Xin Li and Henk F. Arnoldus. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
When electromagnetic energy propagates through a material medium, the paths of energy flow may be altered, as compared to propagation in free space. We consider radiation emitted by an electric dipole, embedded in a medium with permittivity and permeability . For a linear dipole in free space, the field lines of energy flow are straight, but when the imaginary part of is finite, the field lines in the material become curves in the near field of the dipole. Therefore, the energy flow is redistributed due to the damping in the material. For a circular dipole in free space, the field lines of energy flow wind around the axis perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the dipole moment. When has an imaginary part, this flow pattern is altered drastically. Furthermore, when the real part of is negative, the direction of rotation of the flow lines reverses. In that case, the energy in the field rotates opposite to the direction of rotation of the dipole moment. It is indicated that in metamaterials with a negative index of refraction this may lead to an observable effect in the far field.
1. Introduction
When optical radiation from a localized source is observed at a large distance, it appears as if the light travels along straight lines. Similarly, light scattered or reflected by an object seems to travel from the object to an observer along straight lines, known as optical rays. These lines are the flow lines of the energy in the radiation field. In close vicinity of the source, however, these flow lines are in general curves, and intricate field line patterns may appear. Such structures can be found when the flow of radiation is resolved on a scale smaller than a wavelength. Particularly interesting is the possible presence of singularities and optical vortices. The first prediction of the existence of an optical vortex was made by Braunbek and Laukien in 1952 [1]. They considered the diffraction of a plane wave around the edge of a conducting half plane, and they found that a vortex should appear at the illuminated side of the plane, and close to the edge. Another mechanism that may lead to singularities and vortices in the energy flow is interference. We have shown recently [2, 3] that when a point source is located near a reflecting surface, numerous vortices are present in the energy-flow pattern when the source is about a wavelength away from the surface. A different type of vortex in the energy-flow pattern results from a rotation inside the source. We shall show in the next section that radiation emitted by an electric dipole may have such a vortex structure [4], and such vortices appear in multipole radiation of any order [5].
A much more subtle effect is the redirection of energy flow when the radiation passes through a material medium. A material will in general absorb radiation along its path of propagation, but we shall show that the presence of material will in general also lead to a redistribution of the power flow. It will be shown that in media the field lines curve due to the presence of the media, and that vortices which are present due to a rotation in the source are altered dramatically by the embedding medium.
2. Electric Dipole Radiation in Free Space
The most important source of electromagnetic radiation is arguably the oscillating electric dipole. When the current density in a localized source oscillates harmonically with angular frequency , it has an electric dipole moment of the form where is the complex amplitude. When the dimension of the source is small compared to the wavelength of the light, then electric dipole radiation gives the dominant contribution to the emitted radiation (compared to higher order multipoles). For example, when a small particle, like an atom, a molecule or a nanoparticle, is irradiated by a laser of angular frequency , then the emitted, or scattered, radiation will be electric dipole radiation, at least to a very good approximation. The setup is illustrated in Figure 1.
The emitted electric field will have the form with the complex amplitude, and the magnetic field can be represented in a similar form. The Poynting vector is defined as This is the time-averaged Poynting vector, in which terms that oscillate at twice the optical frequency have been dropped, since these average to zero on a time scale of an optical cycle. The complex amplitudes of the electric and magnetic fields of an oscillating dipole are well known [6], and this Poynting vector can readily be constructed.
The field lines of energy flow are the field lines of the vector field . When we indicate by a point on a field line, then the curve can be parametrized as , where is a dummy variable. At any point along the field line, the vector must be on the tangent line, and therefore the field lines are solutions of the autonomous differential equation Here, can be any positive function of since a field line pattern only depends on the directions of the vectors of the vector field, and not on their magnitude. A common choice for the function is , so that the right-hand side of (4) becomes a unit vector, and the parameter is equal to the arc length measured along a field line. Each numerical step size is then a step along the field line, and this more or less guarantees an equal spacing of numerical data along each field line. Through each point in space we have a field line, and (4) can be integrated numerically, given this starting point .
Let us first consider a linear dipole moment for which with . Then the dipole moment oscillates harmonically along the axis, and the Poynting vector is found to be with the spherical coordinates with respect to the axis. The constant is defined as with , and this equals the total power emitted by the dipole. We see from (5) that is proportional to the radial unit vector for all field points, and therefore the field lines of are straight lines, emanating from the location of the dipole. The field line pattern is shown in Figure 2.
A linear dipole moment is induced when a particle is illuminated by a linearly polarized laser, as in the setup in Figure 1, and the oscillation direction is along the direction of the polarization of the beam. When this laser is left-circular polarized then the electric field vector of the beam rotates counterclockwise when looking into the oncoming beam. If we take the propagation direction as the axis, then this electric field rotates counterclockwise in the plane when viewed down the positive axis. Then the complex amplitude of the induced dipole moment is and the dipole moment itself is This dipole moment rotates counterclockwise in the plane, so it has the same direction of rotation as the incident beam. The Poynting vector is found to be where we have set for the dimensionless distance between the dipole and the field point . In units of , a distance of corresponds to one optical wavelength. Interestingly, (4) for the field lines can be solved in closed form for this simple system [4, 7]. The term proportional to in (9) corresponds to power flowing into the radially outward direction, but now a term proportional to appears. This contribution gives rise to a rotation of the field lines around the axis. A typical field line is shown in Figure 3. The variables on the axes are , and so forth. It can be shown that each field line lies on a cone around the axis, and a field line spirals around the axis while staying on this cone. We see from the figure that the spatial extent of the vortex structure is well below a wavelength. At a large distance from the source, as compared to a wavelength, the term containing vanishes, and each field line approaches a straight line. Figure 4 shows several field lines on the same cone, and the figure clearly gives the impression of energy swirling around the axis in the near field.
Figure 5 shows a field line for the radiation emitted by a rotating dipole, as seen from far away. The field line approaches asymptotically the straight line , and we see that it appears as if the line came from a point in the plane, indicated by vector , which is displaced with respect to the location of the dipole. Therefore, when viewed from the far field, it seems that the position of the dipole is shifted as a result of the rotation of the field lines in the near field [8]. The actual image of the source is a result of the observation of a bundle of field lines, rather than a single line, and a more detailed analysis shows that the rotation of the field lines indeed results in a shift of the image [9–11]. This shift has been observed experimentally [12].
3. Electric Dipole Radiation in a Medium
The electromagnetic properties of a material are represented by the relative permittivity and the relative permeability . Both are complex, in general, with a nonnegative imaginary part, and they depend on the angular frequency . The index of refraction of the material is a solution of and we take the solution with For an oscillating electric dipole embedded in this medium, the complex amplitudes of the emitted electric and magnetic fields are The first term on the right-hand side of (12) is the self field, which only exists inside the point source. The remaining terms are proportional to , and these terms represent outgoing spherical waves.
The Poynting vector in a medium is defined as First we define the vector field by The overall factor which is split off is positive, and therefore the field lines of are the same as the field lines of . The field is dimensionless and it only depends on the dimensionless representation of the field point where is evaluated. The factor gives an exponential decay of the magnitude of the Poynting vector along a field line when , and this corresponds to absorption in the material. The direction of the Poynting vector is unaffected by this absorption, since it is an overall positive factor. We introduce the complex unit vector by From (12) and (13), we obtain
In the far field, where is much larger than an optical wavelength, we have , and (17) simplifies to The Poynting vector is approximately proportional to , which is radially outward. Therefore, in the far field the field lines of energy flow asymptotically approach a straight line, as in Figure 5. Consequently, any curving of the field lines can only occur in the near field, for example, within a few wavelengths of the dipole. Further inspection of the right-hand side of (17) shows that all terms are proportional to , except the term containing . Therefore, any curving of field lines is due to this factor.
4. Linear Dipole in a Medium
We now consider a linear dipole, oscillating along the axis, so we have . Equation (17) simplifies to For a linear dipole in free space, , , and equal unity, and (19) becomes , as in (5). Vector is proportional to at all field points, and therefore the field lines are straight and run radially outward, as illustrated in Figure 2. The only term not proportional to in (19) is the term containing . This term is proportional to , and results in a bending of the field lines into the direction. Figure 6 depicts the resulting field line pattern. A more detailed analysis [13] shows that near the axis, the field lines approach the axis under 90°, and stop there. Therefore the axis is a singular line of the flow pattern. In free space, near the axis the field lines run parallel to the axis whereas in a medium they are perpendicular to the axis. Field lines that start at the dipole and stop at the axis represent nonradiative energy flow in the sense that energy transported along these curves does not end up in the far field.
The term responsible for the bending of the field lines is proportional to , so this phenomenon only appears when . Since leads to dissipation of energy upon propagation, we conclude that the curving of the flow lines is a result of damping in the material. Interestingly, an imaginary part of does not have this effect.
5. Rotating Dipole in a Medium
In this section we consider the rotating dipole, with given by (7). Working out the right-hand side of (17) yields It can be shown that for any and , so the first term on the right-hand side corresponds to radial power flow, and this is the only term that survives in the far field. The last term is proportional to , and this gives rise to rotation of field lines around the axis. If the imaginary part of would be zero, the remaining terms would vanish, and the field lines would wind around the axis and lie on a cone, as in Figures 3 and 4. The term containing is proportional to . For ordinary dielectrics, this is positive, but for other materials this may be negative. In that case, the field lines rotate around the axis opposite to the rotation direction of the dipole moment.
When the imaginary part of is positive, a term with appears, and consequently the field lines do not lie on a cone anymore. Figure 7 shows two typical field lines, and Figure 8 shows the corresponding field lines in free space. We notice that due to the damping, the cone has become a funnel, and the field lines are not as densely wound around the axis. Even though the imaginary part of is very small for the illustration in Figure 7, the effect is dramatic. The rotation of the field lines near the source leads to a displacement of the dipole image in the far field, as in Figure 5 [14]. Just as for the dipole in free space, this provides a possible method for experimental observation of this phenomenon. As for the linear dipole, we find here also that the imaginary part of leads to a redistribution of the energy flow in the near field.
6. Dipole in a Negative Index of Refraction Material
For most natural materials, the value of is very close to unity. For dielectrics, the real part of is positive, and the imaginary part of is usually very small. For metals, the real part of can be positive (in the UV) or negative (visible and below), and the imaginary part of is relatively small. If the real part of is positive and the imaginary part is small, then the index of refraction is approximately positive, and the material is transparent. When , is approximately positive imaginary, and light cannot propagate through the medium. Most waves are evanescent and do not reach the far field.
There is, however, no physical reason for any limitations on the values of and , except that their imaginary parts cannot be negative (for causality reasons). If we could have a material for which both and would be almost negative, at a certain frequency, then it follows from (10) and (11) that the index of refraction is negative. Such a medium would be transparent, even though it would have the appearance of a metal. However, it appears that such materials do not occur in nature. Metamaterials are artificially structured composites, consisting of arrays of subwavelength structures. Their electromagnetic response is not only determined by the material from which they are constructed, but also by the geometry of the design. Since the dimension of the structures is well below a wavelength, the material can be represented as a continuum, and the electromagnetic properties can be accounted for by and . Of particular interest are materials for which the real parts of both and are negative, and for which the imaginary parts of both and are small. These materials have a negative index of refraction. It was shown by Veselago [15] that such materials would have very peculiar properties. In particular, upon refraction through an interface with such a material, an optical ray is transmitted at the opposite side of the normal to the surface, as compared to refraction by a dielectric medium. This is a result of the fact that in such a material the Poynting vector is opposite to the direction of the phase velocity.
Let us assume that and are both positive or both negative. Then has the same sign as and , and (17) simplifies to [16] For a linear dipole embedded in this medium, vector is real, and the second term on the right-hand side vanishes. Therefore, is proportional to , and the field lines are straight as in Figure 2. For a circular dipole, the second term contributes, and this gives the rotations in the field lines. The only difference between a material with and is the sign of in this term. For a dielectric, this sign is positive, and the field lines rotate counterclockwise in the plane, when viewed down the axis, just as in free space. For a negative index of refraction material, the sign of is negative, and therefore this reverses the direction of rotation as compared to free space or a dielectric. Figure 8 shows two field lines for a circular dipole in free space, and Figure 9 for a circular dipole in a negative index of refraction material. We see from Figure 9 that the field lines rotate around the axis opposite to the rotation direction of the dipole. It was shown in the previous section that the direction of rotation is determined by the sign of . In the derivation of (22) from (17) we have used the fact that and have the same sign. So the reversal of rotation direction is a result of for the case of a metamaterial with negative index of refraction.
7. Conclusions
The flow lines of electromagnetic energy are the field lines of the Poynting vector. Far away from a localized source, an interface or any obstacles, these field lines approach asymptotically straight lines. Near a source or any structure in the field, these field lines are usually curves, and intricate flow patterns of energy may appear. This can be a result of diffraction, interference, or a rotation in the source itself. A much less obvious mechanism for the curving of field lines is the presence of an embedding medium for the source. We have considered the field lines of energy flow for an electric dipole, and we have compared the flow patterns in free space to the flow patterns in an embedding medium. For a linear dipole, the field lines in free space are straight lines, as shown in Figure 2, but in an embedding medium these field lines curve as in Figure 6. The curving appears due to the imaginary part of the dielectric constant , and hence is a result of damping in the material. It was shown that already a very small imaginary part has dramatic effects in the optical near field, as can be seen from Figure 6. Near the dipole axis (the axis in the figure), the field lines approach this line under 90°, whereas in free space the field lines run parallel to this axis. The semiloops in the figure represent energy flow from the dipole to the axis, and this energy does not propagate to the far field. Therefore, as a result of the damping, some energy stays in the near field, where it is absorbed by the medium. It can also be seen from the figure that the field lines come out of the dipole in a direction perpendicular to the axis, whereas in free space the energy leaves the dipole under any angle. The imaginary part of does not only result in absorption upon propagation, but it leads to a redistribution of the energy flow as well.
For a rotating dipole moment in free space, the field lines of energy flow swirl around the axis (which is perpendicular to the plane of rotation of the dipole moment) numerous times, before asymptotically approaching a straight line, as shown in Figures 3–5. Each field line lies on a cone around the axis. When this dipole is embedded in a medium, this field line pattern changes, and some typical field lines are shown in Figure 7. It can be shown that each field line leaves the dipole along the axis, whereas in free space the field lines come out of the dipole in any direction (the angle of the cone). The cone changes to a funnel shape, and the density of the winding pattern of each field line diminishes considerably. This change is again due to the imaginary part of . Interestingly, the imaginary part of the permeability , which also accounts for absorption, appears to have no effect.
A metamaterial is an artificial medium, which can have a combination of values of and that do not occur in nature. Of particular interest are materials for which the real parts of and are both negative. Such materials have a negative index of refraction, if the absorption is relatively small, and these materials are transparent. The ultimate goal is to artificially construct a material with for a given frequency. When a linear dipole is located in such a medium, the flow lines of energy are identical to the flow lines in free space. However, for a rotating dipole moment, the direction of rotation of the field lines around the axis reverses, as compared to the direction of rotation in free space. It was shown that this effect occurs for any material for which the real part of is negative, so this is not really a unique property of negative index of refraction materials. However, natural materials with usually have , and therefore the index of refraction is imaginary. Such materials do not support propagating modes, and even though the field lines reverse direction, this effect only appears in the near field inside the material, and is most likely not observable. For a negative index of refraction material, the energy flowing along the reversed field lines travels to the far field, and is amenable to direct experimental observation. The image of the dipole will shift, as indicated in Figure 5, but this shift is in the opposite direction as for emission in free space.
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text: So blouses have officially made a comeback! This blouse is perfectly light and airy. It is completely versatile and comes in the perfect shade of peach. I personally love wearing blouses tucked into high waisted trouser shorts.I have paired this blouse with my current go to short for summer. I love the contrast between the black and peach. You can find this blouse and a few others at my site wemovevintage.com. Also be sure to check out my blog www.wemovevintageblog.com. xx


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CLEVELAND (AP) The Detroit Tigers have placed left-hander Daniel Norris on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique.
Norris left Monday's game against Cleveland in the third inning with the injury. Norris, who is 1-0 with a 4.85 ERA, was making his fourth appearance of the season with the Tigers.
Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday because of a right neck strain. He's 9-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 15 starts and leads the team in wins.
Zimmermann was scheduled to start Tuesday but was replaced by right-hander Anibal Sanchez.
Right-hander Buck Farmer has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take Norris' roster spot. He has a 2.70 ERA in nine relief appearances for Detroit this season.


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"With Fuse The Witches I am attempting to keep the sound of Super Basement while creating a more varied listening experience; I've sampled from a wider array of sources such as records from my father's collection as well as numerous film soundtracks. Despite this, I think I've managed to retain a strong jazzy sound while perhaps creating a more cohesive release overall."
An interesting observation is that the EP apparently is mastered by long time favourite Moonstarr who put out crazy hype electronic remixes about ten years ago. Alice Dufay is still responsible for the beautifully original cover art. We just love when an artist put in that extra effort.
And better yet, just as the Superbasement EP it's available as a free download. Give it a listen then get it below!
Download: Jesse Futerman - Fuse the witches EP


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What's the Service Like? Our service runs about seventy five minutes and is meant to be refreshing and uplifting, with music, prayer and an encouraging message straight from the Bible with practical application for your life, all in a relaxed atmosphere.
What's the Dress Code? There is no dress code here. Come as you are in anything from shorts and flip flops to a three piece suit. We focus on the inside, not the outside.
Will I be Pressured to Give? No! While we are funded by donations, we want them to come from the heart and not from feelings of guilt or pressure; so we never pass a plate. If you really feel led to give, there is an offering box at the back of the sanctuary. While any donation you make is greatly appreciated and fully tax deductible, you will never be pressured to give.
What's the Music Like? We feature a praise team with piano accompaniment that seeks to create an atmosphere of genuine worship which reflects both our enthusiasm and gratitude for what God has done and who He is. We have a blend of musical styles that includes praise songs and traditional hymns. Our emphasis is on providing an atmosphere conducive to worshiping God regardless of style. You can sit, stand, sing, clap or be silent… just come as you are and feel free to be yourself!
Childcare We offer childcare in our Nursery for children up to age 3. Your older children, up to third grade, are welcome to attend our Children's Church which begins immediately following the music portion of our service. For more information about our Nursery, contact Jan at 455-9224. For more information about our preschool class, contact Betsy at 520-909-8133. For more information about our First, Second, and Third grade class, contact Gloria at 520-603-8540.
What if I'm Not Religious? "Religion is all about earning your way to heaven by doing good things." That's NOT what the Bible teaches… we don't need more rules, rituals and regulations, what we need is a relationship with Jesus! Our vision is to be a church that "un-churched" people love to attend, withan atmosphere of authentic love and acceptance. If you've never been to church before or have been let down by religion, then we think Sonoita Hills may be just whatyou've been looking for.


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Rivulets of sweat poured down the dancer's expressive aquiline face while his slender legs stomped a staccato of percussive sounds. His cadence matched rhythmic beats of singing, chanting, clapping, and guitar playing from a background ensemble. As his stomping intensified, the audience became … [Read more...]
Proposition C Treats Symptom Not Cause Of City's Housing Unaffordability
How does a city allay its affordability quagmire? With one-bedroom median rent breaching past $3,500, would-be and existing residents of San Francisco are faced with an oppressive housing market. Solving such a crisis, which also includes 1.1 million median home prices, requires understanding of … [Read more...]
1598 Bay Street: How High Should The Marina Go?
"Honey, I'm at the corner of Broadway and Lyon Street. You got to see this.", the visitor spoke with a mobile phone clasped to her ear. I followed her beaming eyes to the bay and a blissful panorama of the Marina District, San Francisco Bay, and Marin County Hills unfolded before me. There on top … [Read more...]
Exposing The Whale Shark's Exploitation In On The Brink
The majestic whale shark, a gentle filter feeder painted in dichromatic patterns of dots and stripes. A colossal sea beast so massive it can grow beyond 40 feet in length and weigh more than 20 tons. An animal classified as the largest fish in the world and endowed with a gaping cavernous mouth … [Read more...]
An Afternoon With The Sea Whisperer
My eyes momentarily gazed up at the Berkeley Hills, blazing in fiery colors. The fleeting moment, caused by the sunset's light reflecting off of hillside homes, brought a moment of retrospection to my afternoon experiences. Standing on the seawall's crown, I turned my head back down to the man … [Read more...]
Great! You Found An Apartment But Where Are You Going To Park Your Car?
The city of San Francisco is known for many things, a bustling tech industry, diverse neighborhoods, and a delicious variety of restaurants. Unfortunately, the "City by the Bay's" booming tech industry is growing more quickly than the city can create housing opportunities, thus leading to one of … [Read more...]
Poll: Is More "Affordable" Housing The Solution To The City's High Rents?
Though the accelerating swell of prices has slowed, San Francisco's $3,500 median rents still lead the country, even when compared to its East Coast big brother New York City. So how can the 13th largest city in the Union, known for its social activism and strong tenant rights, be center of an … [Read more...]
B-Boys and B-Girls Bring the House Down At Hip Hop DanceFest 2015
Get lost in it. Feel the music. Move with the breakbeats. Get down with the b-boys and b-girls. Dancers brought down the house last weekend at the Palace of Fine Arts for the 17th annual San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest. The festival was truly a global affair with troupes from … [Read more...]
Making Sense of The Proposition Madness – November 2015 Edition
Vote yes on A, No on K! Those ads, billboards and crazy propositions are back. Some want to help the poor, some want to help the rich. Others represent political infighting and really don't want to help anyone. Despite some improvements this year (many have summaries now), the ballot measures … [Read more...]
Eat Drink SF: A Playground For Foodies
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Release Blitz: Rough Around the Soul by Maria Monroe
Rough Around the Soul
by Maria Monroe
Release Date: April 18, 2017
About Rough Around the Soul
Gritty. Sexy. Taboo.
Melanie Cannon is troubled, desperate, and only eighteen. Taking the fall for a friend, she's forced into a drug education class, which she expects to be boring as hell. Until Detective Jake Beck walks in as her instructor.
Jake knows it's a mistake to get involved with a high school senior.
But their passion is undeniable.
Their bond is the kind that lasts forever.
Their connection is more than just lust.
Jake's willing to risk it all—even when harsh betrayal and ugly secrets threaten everything.
Read my 4.5-starred review of Rough Around the Soul.
Add Rough Around the Soul on Goodreads.
Purchase Links
About Maria Monroe
Maria Monroe writes sexy and smart romance, often focusing on new adult characters. Bad boys, especially gruff and sexy ones, are her favorite alpha males to read (and write) about.
Her contemporary romance novels include The Rescue, Julian & Lia, Love (Literally), and Afterglow, an apocalyptic love story.
Maria has also published two BDSM books, Her Millionaire Master and Kept by the Commanders, through Stormy Night Publications.
She enjoys reading, playing Pokemon, building bonfires, drinking wine, sarcasm, hiking, and laughing about inappropriate things.
She's from Chicago and currently lives just outside the city with her three awesome kids, two rescue dogs, two rescue cats, and the most supportive husband in the world.
You can learn more about her (and her two sisters, who are also romance authors!) at http://www.graffitifiction.com.
Connect with Maria


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THE war on fish-guzzling cormorants hit new heights last week with the Angling Trust passing over a large petition to the Government while prime-time BBC News carried a large news item on the same day.
As we exclusively reported in last week's issue, the Trust handed over the petition carrying over 16,000 signatures to DEFRA fisheries minister Richard Benyon.
We had revealed last week that Chris Tarrant and UK Music boss Feargal Sharkey were due to help hand it over and they both did just that in Westminster last Tuesday.
But the campaign got a massive boost that morning when BBC covered the story.
For the full news story, grab this week's Angler's Mail magazine.
And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.


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Here's an ill-timed tweet from an NRA-affiliated Twitter account, just hours after the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, that killed at least 12 and wounded at least 50:
It's timestamped at 9:20 a.m. ET.
However, it has now been deleted.
NRA Rifleman is a publication of the NRA, according to an official NRA website. The NRA's official website describes it as the NRA's "flagship magazine" and the "largest circulation firearms magazine in the world."
We've reached out to the NRA for comment.


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Athens Community Council on Aging Athens Community Council on Aging
Here's a sample of our volunteer opportunities:VIEW AS
Mission Statement
The Athens Community Council on Aging is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for older adults and persons with disabilities through services and advocacy.
Founded in 1967 by local citizens, the Council on Aging aims to maintain and enrich the lives of older person in the 12 counties of Northeast Georgia and beyond. ACCA's services enable older persons to live independently at home and offer opportunities for employment, volunteerism, and community engagement. ACCA is a resource for education, information, referral, counseling, and general assistance. Services include the Center for Active Living, Athens-Clarke and Barrow County Home Delivered Meals, Transportation, Adult Day Health Centers in Athens and Barrow Counties, Senior Employment, Senior Service Corps programs (Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and Retired and Senior Volunteer Program), Long Term Care Ombudsman advocacy services for those living in personal care or nursing homes, Geriatric Care Management, GeorgiaCares Medicare counseling, and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, a kinship care program for adults raising their non-child relatives.