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This Cochise County cactus wren, Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus, was definitely a juvenile. The species and age were both obvious once the photos were enlarged on the computer screen.
However, none of that was clear during the actual encounter with the little bug pecking bird. I was out back by our water tower, fixing a plumbing boo-boo. (It helps to remember to glue the joints together before pumping water through the PVC pipes.) My feathered friend was curious and friendly, going about its business of stabbing insects out of the red clay earth while trying to figure out what I was doing.
For half an hour at least, maybe more, the little one would dart hither, thither, and yon, alternating between quick, short dashes and pecking chow right out of the ground, yet never straying more than thirty feet from my location.
Small as it was compared to my looming human size, it seemed to sense no threat and at times approached as close as seven feet from where I was plumbing.
The possibility of a bird this young showing up in mid-December never occurred to me. Cactus wrens do raise more than one batch of babies per year, though. This one was barely half the size of a typical adult Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus, so unless it was a deformed runt (which it did not appear to be), Mom and Dad Wren were busy doing the parenting thing long after the last grasshopper had died off and temperatures had begun dropping toward the freezing mark.
The extreme youth of this little avian Friend to Man wasn't that apparent while we were out there interacting with each other. In fact, most of the photos don't make the juvenile status of the bird all that clear, either–except for the markings, which are more muted, less striking, than in the adults.
For example, the light stripe above the eye is sharply defined in older individuals but hardly stands out at all on this teenager. The barred pattern on the tail is barely there, and even the distinctive speckled chest required an enlarged photo before it was apparent to the observer.
This observer, anyway.
Living on our off grid Cochise County acreage is an education unto itself. I had no clue that in this cooler winter-is-coming weather, there were still plenty of insects and other bugs roaming around just beneath the surface of the land. Watching the young cactus wren feed itself by hunting those tiny creatures proved that to be the case, though.
First, the bird would take a listening stance, cocking its head to one side in order to hear a bug moving around a millimeter underground.
Next, having located the quarry, this hunting wren would stab down into the soil, frequently coming up with a clay covered snack. It must take a lot of those tiny bugs to feed even a small bird, but the avian predator covers a lot of ground and pecks up a lot of bugs over time.
Clearly, the system works.
The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona, common enough in our desert country, yet this was only the second sighting of the species we've had on our 20 acres during the five years we've been here. We'd like to see more of them, but at least the presence of a youngster counts as evidence of a mating pair living somewhere nearby.
Adults are fairly sizeable, seven to nine inches in total length. This baby wasn't nearly that large, a fact made clear when it perched on a discarded piece of 1″ PVC pipe for a moment.
Several online sources refer to this bird as the desert noisemaker. It supposedly makes a "chur-chur-chur" monotone sound. Frankly, I've never noticed–though my wife would say that's because I can't hear anything, anyway. (I hear better than she thinks I do, but what she doesn't know….)
Juveniles reportedly have a softer, quieter warble. At a guess, that's what my friend was doing, warbling softly, when the camera caught the next shot.
The truly inquisitive nature of this bird became obvious as it worked its way around the other side of the water tower, through a bunch of bunch grass, and showed up again on the gravel next to my worksite. It had taken some minutes, but the cactus wren was obviously circling me at what it felt was a safe distance yet close enough to check me out.
It didn't seem bothered at all by my working away at the plumbing. Most wildlife around here will startle and move away when I stand up from a seated or squatting position, but not this curious, bright eyed little critter.
Reportedly, cactus wrens do fall prey to various predators–but I'm willing to bet when that happens, it's almost always an ambush case. With a second's warning, the wren can move with impressive speed.
The following photo didn't quite manage to squeeze all of the bird into the frame. The wren was doing one of its frequent darts. Shutter speed was at least 1/400 second…and still there's nothing but a blur of motion recorded.
To put this into perspective, consider this: I used to take pictures of saddle broncs and bulls in the rodeo arena. Back then, finding camera and film that would produce at 1/400 second was considered state of the art; we seldom saw anything faster. And yet that was enough to stop the action of a high flying horse (or bull) sailing back down to earth. There was never the slightest hint of blur, not even on a kicking hoof.
Of course, speed is life when you're a tasty morsel weighing no more than a few ounces.
The bird's comfort in my presence was a balm to me. Pam is more of a critter magnet than I am; this young wren would likely have run right up to her, had she been the one doing the plumbing when the sighting occurred. But I take what I can get, and this little flyer's trust was soothing. (Not that I saw it fly; it was far too busy, hunting ground-covered insects.)
Some of our other birds are curious, but none will knowingly allow me as close to them as this one did.
The age helps, of course. Our coyote friend, Angel, was still little more than a pup when she first made our acquaintance. The friendliest cottontail rabbits are those who figure out the connection between humans and sliced carrots before they're reached breeding age. Kids of any species are as a rule less paranoid than older, wilder adults who never saw a human until after they were grown.
I've got nearly two dozen more photos of this juvenile cactus wren that are good enough to publish, but I've got to stop somewhere.
A few more?
Okay. Just a few.


text: In a message dated 12/30/1999, 9:05:12 AM, firstname.lastname@example.com writes: << From my conversations with hikers who have not hiked in Florida they tend to view the FT as swamps strung together with road walks.>> I know well this assumption. Until a year or so ago, I had barely heard of the FT, never mind hiked any of it. Being a New England native, I pictured the trail as being all alligator and snake infested swamps. While I have hiked barely 25 miles of the trail (in 3 different areas), I have been pleasantly surprised with the amazing diversity in plant life. I think the observation that has made the most impact has been the open areas along the trail. I had thought it would be all dark, damp, tropical foresty looking trails with huge snakes hanging from the trees (perhaps I have seen too many Tarzan movies?) I am sure it comes as no surprise to any of you that my original expectations did not match the trail I hiked. I don't think that my uneducated assumptions were much different than many people who aren't directly involved with the FT - even people who live in Florida. I have family who lived in Florida who voiced comments such as my own when I said I was hiking the Florida Trail. To spread the word, you need to break down the stereotypes. Pictures tell a thousand words so make a point of passing around those non-swampy pictures whenever hikers gather! POG (p.s. - I STILL haven't seen an alligator out on the trail - although I saw the HUGE splash of one last week - does that count?) * From the Florida Trail Mailing List | http://www.backcountry.net * ============================================================================== To: email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Main Street Invests in New Portfolio Company
Main Street announced that it recently closed a new portfolio investment totaling $8.9 million of invested capital in Hydro Ex Acquisition, the parent company of Texas ReExcavation (T-Rex). Main Street's investment consists of $6 million in second lien, secured term debt and a $2.9 million direct equity investment.
Founded in 2001, T-Rex is headquartered in Houston, TX and provides hydro excavation and vacuum excavation services for a variety of industry sectors, including the petrochemical, pipeline, municipal, utilities, construction, oil & gas, engineering, transportation, telecommunication and environmental industries. Main Street partnered with third party investors and certain members of T-Rex's management team to support the acquisition of T-Rex.
Main Street is an investment firm that provides long-term debt and equity capital to lower middle-market companies and debt capital to middle-market companies.


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Sunday, December 2, 2012
Who will foot the legal bill for your self-driving car?
Ideally, automakers would like to see regulations set at the federal level: one set of rules for each entire country, rather than different rules for each province, state, county, or region. That may or may not happen. For instance, only a small number of states in the U.S. allow self-driving cars to be tested on their roadways, but already, the laws governing liability vary from state to state. (I assume that, in the European Union, such laws would be consistent from country to country — please comment if I assume incorrectly.)
This inconsistency is but one of the legal roadblocks to a self-driving future, according to a recent article published by Law360.com. For instance, the article also discusses how an automaker may be subject to liability claims if it simply designs a vehicle in a way that allows someone to install driverless technology.
Will all this put a stop to self-driving cars? Don't count on it. People will inevitably demand cars with autonomous capabilities, if a recent survey is anything to go by. And automakers will get in the game if for no other reason than to stay competitive and attract customers (which, when you think of it, is the raison d'être of any business).
In fact, automakers may have little choice. According to Law360, some automakers have been subject to lawsuits because they didn't install electronic stability control in their vehicles, a technology known to save thousands of lives annually. If some self-driving technologies can indeed reduce accidents, as research suggests, then automakers may, in effect, be forced to deploy them. And call me naïve, but I assume that governments could likewise be held accountable if they implement laws that slow the deployment of accident-reducing technology.
My take? It seems to be in everyone's interest to make the self-driving car happen.
Read the full Law360 article here. Registration is required, but is fast and painless.
Posted by QNX Team Auto at 9:55 PM
Labels: Autonomous cars
1 comment:
I'll admit that I'm hopelessly naive when it comes to law, but my guess is that it would be views in much the same light as "drive by wire" technology (electronic linkage of throttle, brake or steering). If your electronic throttle or brake fails to operate properly and causes an accident, unless it was tampered with or not properly serviced it comes back to the manufacturer.ReplyDelete
If a self-drive system causes an accident - something that it is clearly intended and designed to avoid - again, that is on the manufacturer.
I'm sure there will be lawyers who are willing to argue both sides. That's how they get paid. *sigh*
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This session is just £2, enjoy 45 minutes of chill time in the form of Yoga, preparing you for the end of the week. Come and relaxxx...
This is held in the LRS (old Evolve gym) under University square accommodation, opposite Sainsbury's.
Come and show off your Tree position, or Downward Dog, or maybe the Camel is more your thing? Don't know what any of these are, come and find out!
Make sure you bring suitable clothing and some water!
We'll see you there! :)


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I have been MIA lately. Last Sunday we had our family leave. We've had visitors since February 15th! While I'm glad to get back to my regular schedule with just the hubby and my son, I do miss my family already! Needless to say, time with family has kept me from getting on the computer at night.
So, I'm getting back into the swing of things by joining up with a Linky Party. I love Latoya from Flying Into First and am excited to join up with her.
- Definitely have to go with the husband and kiddo- they provide my entertainment on a daily basis.
- My IPod- what better way to pass the time than with some good tunes. Rolling Stones would top my playlist- plus I can use it to tune out the hubby and son when they start wining at me- LOL!
- Pillow/Blanket- If I'm stranded, I might as well be comfortable. I do love me some sleep!!!


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AKA Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix
Born: 26-Apr-1798
Birthplace: Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France
Died: 13-Aug-1863
Location of death: Paris, France
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Painter
Nationality: France
Executive summary: 19th century French painter
Father: Charles Delacroix (government minister, b. 1741, d. 1805)
Mother: (d. 1814)
High School: Lycée Henri-IV
University: L'Ecole des Beaux-Art (1816-)
c. 1837
Oil on canvas, 65 x 54,5 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris
© Web Gallery of Art
Quote by the artist:
"What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough."
Eugene Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix (portrait by Nadar)
From Wikimedia Commons
Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement. A fine lithographer, Delacroix illustrated various works of William Shakespeare, the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott and the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
In contrast to the Neoclassical perfectionism of his chief rival Ingres, Delacroix took for his inspiration the art of Rubens and painters of the Venetian Renaissance, with an attendant emphasis on color and movement rather than clarity of outline and carefully modeled form. Dramatic and romantic content characterized the central themes of his maturity, and led him not to the classical models of Greek and Roman art, but to travel in North Africa, in search of the exotic.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire described his hero Eugène Delacroix as 'a volcanic crater artistically concealed beneath bouquets of flowers.' Beneath the surface of Delacroix's polished elegance and charm roiled turbulent interior emotions. In 1822 Delacroix took the Salon by storm. Although the French artistic establishment considered him a wild man and a rebel, the French government, bought his paintings and commissioned murals throughout Paris. Though Delacroix aimed to balance classicism and Romanticism, his art centered on a revolutionary idea born with the Romantics: that art should be created out of sincerity, that it should express the artist's true feelings and convictions. Educated firmly in the classics, Delacroix often depicted mythological subjects, themes encouraged by the reigning Neoclassical artists at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. But Delacroix's brilliant colors and passionate brushwork frightened them; their watchwords were 'noble simplicity and calm grandeur.' They barred him from academy membership until 1857, and even then he was prohibited from teaching in the École des Beaux-Arts. For those very reasons, he was an inspiration to the Impressionists and other young artists. Paul Cézanne once said, 'We are all in Delacroix.' Intensely private, Delacroix kept a journal that is renowned as a profoundly moving record of the artistic experience.
(© J. Paul Getty Trust)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delacroix's most influential work, completed in 1830 and displayed at the 1831 Salon was the painting Liberty Leading the People. In terms of both subject matter and technique it highlights the marked differences that were evolving between the romantic approach of Delacroix and the neoclassical style of one of his most important forerunners, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
Probably Delacroix's best known painting, it is a striking image of Parisians, having taken up arms, marching forward under the banner of the Flag of France representing liberty and freedom. Delacroix, although notably apolitical, was inspired to invoke the romantic image of the spirit of liberty by the political turmoil happening in France at that time. 'Liberty' is portrayed as part woman, part goddess showing more strength than femininity. The soldiers lying dead in the foreground offer a poignant juxtaposition to the symbolic female figure illuminated triumphantly in a shimmering cloud.
Rather than glorifying the actual revolution which overthrew King Charles X, Delacroix seems to have been trying to represent the spirit and the character of the people who, even after democratic reforms and long years of struggle, found themselves with another king when Louis-Philippe came to power.
The French government bought the painting but officials deemed its glorification of liberty too inflammatory and removed it from the public's view. Still, Delacroix continued to receive many government commissions for murals and ceiling paintings. Following the Revolution of 1848 and the end of the reign of King Louis Philippe, the painting, Liberty Leading the People, was finally put on display by the newly elected President, Napoleon III. Today, it can be viewed at the Louvre.
The boy holding a gun up on the right is sometimes thought to have been the inspiration for the Gavroche character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, Les Misérables.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
'The last of the great artists of the Renaissance and the first modern'; thus Baudelaire on Delacroix. For Baudelaire, Delacroix's position as one of the great figures of art history was assured not just by his daring and originality qualities generally considered Romantic - but for the fact that they found expression within a tradition. Another great poet, Paul Valéry restated this paradox: 'The veritable tradition in great things is not to repeat what others have done, but to rediscover the spirit that created these great things - and creates utterly different things in different times.' Delacroix rediscovered the spirit of Michelangelo and Rubens, but the masterpieces that he created under their influence are of a very different kind. In his turn, Picasso made many studies of Delacroix's Women of Algiers. In Kahnweiler's imaginary dialogue, Picasso tells Delacroix: 'You took what you could from Rubens and made Delacroix of it. In the same way, I think of you and what I make is my own.'
Oil on canvas
71 x 90 1/4" (180 x 229 cm)
Musée du Louvre, Paris
From The Artchive
'Though we trace Delacroix's artistic heritage directly back to Michelangelo and Rubens, in the matter of colour there is a further influence, that of the Venetian school. Delacroix is a master of colour, and his influence on Cezanne and Matisse is clear. In his own words: "The work of a painter who is not a colourist is illumination rather than painting. If one intends something other than cameos, colour is, strictly speaking, one of the founding principles of painting, no less so than chiaroscuro, proportion and perspective... Colour gives the appearance of life.'
'As early as 1824, Stendhal had perceived in Delacroix 'a pupil of Tintoretto'. In his Journal, Delacroix noted: 'In Giorgione, Titian and their pupils, Venice possesses artists who perform miracles of colour without any derogation from beauty.' In Delacroix's words, 'all the great problems of art were resolved in the 16th century'; perfection 'in drawing, grace and composition' had been attained by Raphael, and in 'colour and chiaroscuro" by Correggio, Titian, and Paolo Veronese. Nonetheless, it was Rubens who, after Michelangelo, left the most profound mark upon Delacroix's art. Delacroix was overwhelmed. The affinity between the swirling dynamic vitality of Rubens and Delacroix's art is clear: 'Then comes Rubens, who had already forgotten the traditions of simplicity and grace. He created a new ideal through sheer force of genius. Strength, striking effects and expressiveness are pushed to their limits.'
(From Gilles Neret, "Eugene Delacroix 1798-1863: The Prince of Romanticism", courtesy of The Artchive)
Oil on canvas, 40 x 32 cm
Musée Fabre, Montpellier
© Web Gallery of Art
In England. He was inspired by the bright colors of the landscape painters John Constable and J.M.W. Turner.
In North Africa. The colors and violent contrasts of North Africa inflamed his work. He became one of the greatest animal painters being able to make his painted animals seem alive. He loved the natural beauty in the movements of animals and spent time at the zoo sketching tigers, lions, horses, and any other animals that caught his imagination. With colors, the scene shows an exciting view of African life in his time. One of the best paintings he liked best was a violent lion and a rearing horse in the swirling dust. One after another, he filled his sketchbook with action-packed drawings which he used as subjects for his paintings.
Oil on canvas, 86 x 115 cm
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
© Web Gallery of Art
Jaguar Attacking a Horseman
c. 1855
Oil on canvas, 23,5 x 28,5 cm
National Gallery, Prague
© Web Gallery of Art
In Morocco, Algiers, and Spain. His experiences in these places provided him with oriental flavor and exotic subjects such as the Algerian women who enchanted him. He sketched them at their daily activities noting the minutest details of color and design. The rich interweaving of colors in such scenes as Women of Algiers would inspire future Impressionist painters
Oil on canvas, 98 x 131 cm
Institute of Arts, Minneapolis
© Web Gallery of Art
The Sultan of Morocco and his Entourage
Oil on canvas, 384 x 343 cm
Musée des Augustins, Toulouse
© Web Gallery of Art
Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable
Oil on canvas, 64,6 x 81 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris
© Web Gallery of Art
He worked on a series of panels for the library of the Chamber of Deputies, choosing as his subject the history of ancient civilization. Despite this official recognition and the fact that the government had bought his Massacre at Chios, he was regarded as a rebel in the art world and was not elected to the Institut de France until 1857.
Oil and virgin wax on plaster
Salon du Roi, Palais Bourbon, Paris
© Web Gallery of Art
A man of immense energy, he also interested himself in politics and literature. He was a friend of George Sand whom he painted. He also painted the composers Chopin and Paganini. Most of his portraits reflect strong personal feelings, primarily because they were people he knew and liked. His daily accounting in Journal which he kept from the age of 23 until his death records fascinating details of his life and work.
Oil on canvas, 1838
31 x 22 3/8 inches (79 x 57 cm)
Ordrupgaardsamlingen, Copenhagen
Image is courtesy of the Art Renewal Center
Frédéric Chopin
Oil on canvas, 1838
17 7/8 x 14 3/4 inches (45.7 x 37.5 cm)
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Image is courtesy of the Art Renewal Center
Perhaps the greatest figure in 19th century French art, Delacroix was one of the most accomplished colorists of all time. His pictures were filled with action, with bold swinging brush strokes loaded with vigorous colors. In spite recurring illness, Delacroix continued painting. He died at 65.
(From suite101.de)
Eugene Delacroix died in Paris, France and was interred there in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. His house, formerly situated along the canal of the Marne, is now near the exit of the motorway leading from Paris to central Germany.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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Blog Archives
MLB Player Profile: Nationals Pitcher Jordan Zimmermann
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Wednesday January 23rd, 2013
Bernie Olshansky (Baseball Writer): Follow @BernieOlshansky
Having his breakout season in 2012, Jordan Zimmermann has been a guy the Washington Nationals have been able to rely on. 27 years old in 2013, Zimmermann helps anchor the young Nationals rotation including Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals had success in 2012, winning the NL East and making the playoffs for the first time as a franchise. The Nationals got unlucky though, and were eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series. This year the Nationals will hope to build on their 2012 performance, and Jordan Zimmermann will most likely be a big help.
One of the main reasons the Nationals were eliminated so early last season is because of the shutting down of Stephen Strasburg. In the middle of the season, I wrote about the pros and cons of shutting Strasburg down, and in the end the situation ended badly. Last year, the Nationals had a very strong rotation consisting of Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, and Edwin Jackson. By shutting Strasburg down, the Nationals lost a quarter of their rotation and had to scramble when the Division Series went more than three games. Ross Detwiler got the start and Zimmermann had to come into the game in a relief role. There was no reason for this to have to happen. Protecting Strasburg was important, but in my opinion the Nationals overprotected him, which cost them dearly in the playoffs.
Jordan Zimmermann Flashback Highlights:


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NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Call it the miracle on the Hudson.
Manhattan-based TV news crews got quite a workout at about 3:30 p.m. ET (8:30 p.m. British time) when a US Airways Airbus A320 lost both engines and landed in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan. Coverage went live nationwide as the passengers were rescued from the icy river; all 155 people aboard apparently survived.
"We've had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we've had a miracle on the Hudson," a relieved New York Gov. David Paterson said at a news conference held by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The twin-engine jet, which floated for two hours after the emergency landing, had taken off moments before from LaGuardia International Airport bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. The flight lasted less than six minutes.
Word about a jet landing in the water soon began to leak into CBS News headquarters, three blocks from the crash site. CBS News quickly confirmed it, and CBS Radio went on the air at 3:44 p.m., three minutes before the Associated Press moved the story.
The TV crews weren't there to record most of the passengers and crew leaving the airliner, but every network broke into regular programming and showed the jet floating in the water, surrounded by ferries, Coast Guard cutters and police and fire boats. WABC-TV showed amateur video of the jet floating in the middle of the river with a New York Waterway ferry first arriving on the scene to rescue passengers.
While the passengers scattered to New Jersey and Manhattan on ferries and other watercraft — some to hospitals — several gave interviews while sopping wet.
"The pilot turned around (and) made a line for the river," one passenger, identified as Fred, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "There was just a lot of silence, and everybody was just waiting for what the pilot would say. A few minutes later, he said, 'Prepare for impact,' and then we went into the water."
The crash was witnessed by "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts, who was at her apartment on Manhattan's West Side when she saw the plane go down. She immediately called ABC's newsroom.
"It completely just hit the water full force, never bounced or anything like that, and came to a relatively quick stop," she told anchor Charles Gibson. "But it didn't skim along the water. ... (I) still can't believe what I saw."
"You get a call like we did this afternoon and you immediately fear the worst," Gibson said.
Couric later anchored the "CBS Evening News" from near the crash scene and interviewed a survivor.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


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Explore the farthest reaches of our solar system and create a lunar eclipse in this "mad" planetary tour! Learn how the planets stack up. Build and take home Kepler's Cube™, a fun and educational 3-D solar system puzzle!
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It's been a busy couple of months with the final Borders P7 classes taking part in the Work of an Archaeologist session.
Here are some of their theories about their mini-excavation:
We also had a visit by Trinity Primary to Hermitage Castle, where we worked jointly with Historic Scotland. Students did some role-play dramatic activities and had a tour of the Castle with Jane Gaze of Historic Scotland. They worked with an archaeologist to do some measured drawing of the castle walls and learned how archaeologists record sites with kite and pole aerial photography.


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Barry Gold, PhD
Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Co-Director University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
Office: 711 Salk Hall
A.B. in Chemistry, Hunter College 1966
While I was originally trained as an organic chemist, I have been involved in the field of chemical carcinogenesis since 1976 when I took a position at the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). My early training included in vitro and in vivo metabolism of potential carcinogens and chronic bioassays of chemical carcinogens in rodent species (mice, rats and hamsters). Accordingly, I have been interested in the relationship between exposure to genotoxic chemicals and cancer for my entire career. While chemicals in our environment are associated with a higher risk of cancer, for example the higher incidence of colorectal cancer in diets with grilled meats, normal exposure to DNA damaging agents in many animal models is not sufficient to develop cancer. For this reason, we have turned to the interaction between inflammation and chemical-induced mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. Recently we have adapted, and published, an enzymatic approach to measure stem cell mutations formed in the colon of mice treated with putative promutagenic/carcinogenic compounds. This approach has allowed us to determine whether compound(s) or treatments can generate stem cell mutations or affect the spontaneous mutation frequency presumably due to replication errors and endogenous genotoxins. We have demonstrated that inflammation induced by dextran sulfate sodium does not produce stem cell mutations proving that inflammation associated reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (RONS) are not acting via direct mutagenesis. The current grant application builds and expands on this finding using a mutagen found in grilled meats, which has been epidemiologically tied to human colorectal cancer and is known to produce colon tumors in animal models. We are proposing a novel mechanism by which RONS mediated oxidation converts the initial heterocyclic aromatic amine DNA adduct into more potent promutagenic ring-opened lesions. The analytical MS work is being conducted with my co-investigator (Robert Turesky), who is an established expert in the field of adduct analysis. We have known each other for many years and are excited to collaborate on a project of mutual interest. The proposal was developed based on extensive face-to-face and electronic meetings.


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Free US/UK Kindle Classic
The Princess and the Goblin is an 1872 fantasy by Scottish writer George McDonald. It is certainly an overlooked classic. (US Edition) (UK Edition)
Let's let the Amazon Reader Reviewers have their say:
"It must first be understood that George MacDonald inspired such authors as J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, Madeline L'Engle and E. Nesbit. C.S. Lewis regarded him as his master. If you are a fan of these authors then you might want to seriously consider exploring the works of one who inspired them.. . . MacDonald knows magic and weaves magic in his tale. He also knows how Faerie and the realms of Faerie works. Having been a fan of Tolkien most of my life I have read many of his essays on the realm and I recognize the strange laws of the realm that are difficult to put down to paper but you recognize them even if you can't communicate them yourself."
" . . . it's a mixture of shimmering magic and dark grimy bleakness, written in lushly fantastical prose. The childlike princess can be a little annoying at times, but otherwise this book is a gem."
I have to say that one reviewer described the heroine as a bit "twee." If you need help with that, it means treacly. Well we can't all be "Jo" of Little Women. I suppose you might say "Beth" was a bit twee . . .
Now in these subterranean caverns lived a strange race of beings, called by some gnomes, by some kobolds, by some goblins. There was a legend current in the country that at one time they lived above ground, and were very like other people. But for some reason or other, concerning which there were different legendary theories, the king had laid what they thought too severe taxes upon them, or had required observances of them they did not like, or had begun to treat them with more severity, in some way or other, and impose stricter laws; and the consequence was that they had all disappeared from the face of the country. According to the legend, however, instead of going to some other country, they had all taken refuge in the subterranean caverns, whence they never came out but at night, and then seldom showed themselves in any numbers, and never to many people at once. It was only in the least frequented and most difficult parts of the mountains that they were said to gather even at night in the open air. Those who had caught sight of any of them said that they had greatly altered in the course of generations; and no wonder, seeing they lived away from the sun, in cold and wet and dark places.
That's a good beginning!
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text: Business Directory Back to Search Kahuna Paddleboards Inc. Share: Activity & Recreation Kahuna Paddleboards Inc. Visit Website Po Box 385 Whistler, BC Von 1B0 (604) 902-3335 www.kahunapaddleboards.com Map What's Nearby? Distance: 5 10 15 20 25 50 km. MembershipIt's Good to be a Member Join / Renew New Member Application Business Directory Business Savings Member Login Member Benefits Promote Your Business Coffee Talk Member Info Sessions Employment Resources Service Canada Working in Whistler Job Board Recruitment and Retention Toolkit Blog The Big Idea Tweet


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LOOK: Orlando Terrorist Appeared in Documentary on BP Oil Spill
VIDEO: Man Flips Out at Mom for Breastfeeding Her Baby at Target
Marine Vet Saved Dozens of Lives During Orlando Attack
Omar Mateen, the terrorist who murdered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando last weekend, appeared in a documentary about the BP oil spill, Gretchen Carlson reported this afternoon.
In the 2012 documentary "The Big Fix," Mateen is shown being interviewed while working as a security guard after the 2010 oil spill.
In the clip, he criticized BP's cleanup efforts after the disaster.
"No one gives a s*** here. Everybody's just out to get paid," Mateen said to a reporter.
"They're like hoping for more oil to come out and more people to complain so they'll have jobs. Once people get laid off here it's gonna suck for them. They want more disaster to happen cuz that's where their money-making is."
Mateen worked for security company G4S, which confirmed that Mateen is the person shown in the documentary.
G4S Solutions has been a major contractor for the Department of Homeland Security since 9/11, securing 90 percent of U.S. nuclear facilities.
Prior to Sunday's massacre, Mateen, 29, was working as a guard in a gated community in Florida.
Daniel Gilroy, who worked as a guard with Mateen for a year, described Mateen's anger as "constant."
Gilroy said that he left the company because the employer wouldn't get rid of Mateen, and that his stalker-like behavior began to worry Gilroy and his family.
Watch the clip above.
Orlando Club Victim's Chilling Snapchat Video Captures Terror Attack
DHS Whistleblower: Deleted Records on Muslims Might Have Stopped Attacks
Graham: 'If FBI File Was Kept Open, We Could Have Prevented Orlando Attack'


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Click photo to view larger image and other views. Mouse over image to zoom.
Buckle with Star EAPG Creamer. This pattern is also known as Bryce's Orient. Made by Bryce, Walker & Co., 1880; United States Glass Co., circa 1891
Size: 3.25" diameter; 6.25" high
Condition: excellent - no chips or cracks
Item ID: 153


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On Thursday, too, there was a shortage of 150 mw power from the central pool. While there has not been any major capacity addition in power generation since 1996, the consumer base of the board has almost doubled since then.
Many senior officials in KSEB feel that the recent agreement the board signed with NTPC for 180 mw power on the condition that the board will fully bear the fixed cost charges --- would backfire. Though Tamil Nadu and Kerala were sharing the fixed charges for running the plant, TN had recently backed out of the deal citing high cost of power, thus forcing Kerala to bear the fixed cost charges to the tune of Rs 25 crore every month.
Though it was claimed that NTPC had agreed to give 135 mw power at a cheaper cost, it made it clear on Wednesday that KSEB need not pin its hopes on it. As per the agreement, KSEB will have to shell more than Rs 10 per unit for the power it takes from NTPC. The rate is more than the existing cost per unit in open market. This would wreck the financial backbone of KSEB, which is already reeling under Rs 2,000 crore deficit.
A vertical split among senior engineers in the generation department, mainly following the appointment of a junior level officer as KSEB board member (generation), has also made a dent in the boardas efforts to circumvent the present power crisis. The junior officer was promoted as member bypassing more than half a dozen senior officials. As a result, many crucial decisions of generation fail to have the desired results, leading to uncertainty over power situation every day.
Source - Times of India


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This post is by Askoh Singh, Cofounder & MD, MCAL – Management Consulting & Advanced Learning
Machine Learning is one of the crucial members of the triad which is moving our world into an era which was only present in the science fiction stories. Combination of Big Data, IOT and Data Science is recrafting technology landscape where impossible is the term will be used "least"
In this article, I will put a brief light on some areas where machine learning is revolutionizing the state of affairs and that are most likely to adopt machine learning like never before.
1. Cyber Security
Existing system to monitor traffic coming from outside nodes or the traffic exchanged between internal PC and servers exchanged can be defeated by the volume and variety of traffic.
In nutshell all existing IDS (information detection system) have a limit to produced alerts per unit time but the way IOT is coming up big, these limits will be insufficient to safeguard the enterprise system.
Use of Machine Learning can make Cyber Security Strategy aligned to new age threats.
2. Malware
The rate at new malware are getting generated, it will be impossible for existing tools & methods to detect all of them.
The bigger challenge is the mutation of malware, where most of the new malware differ less that 2% from previous malware. This slight change in the definition of malware on a gigantic scale throws a tough challenge.
New age deep learning models are capable of fighting this challenge.
3. Legal Documents
Legal documents are very lengthy & complex to study for a normal executive unless you hire a costly lawyer, many times these legal documents are not fully studied in a belief that everything will be all right.
By using deep learning and topological data analysis a complex legal document can be translated into big strings of numbers.
So the number of documents or complexity of a document can be tackled by Machine Learning.
4. Health Care
Continuous Improvement of medicines against countless patterns is a job Machine Learning can do a better. Medical experts along with Data Scientists are making a regression model to look at the relationship between independent variables that drive future events based on the hypothetical analysis that indicates the future events.
The medical pattern of a person can also give lots of information regarding the future health risks.
Deep learning of these patterns can also reduce the avoidable hospitalization or emergency situations.
5. Money Laundering
Web of millions of transactions world over happening every day is throwing challenge to financial institutions and as well security agencies when it comes to monitoring bad transactions especially "Money Laundering"
with help of deep learning along with machine learning company or agency can detect fraudulent transactions from sea of all transactions.
6. Intelligence Gathering
Intelligence is gathered by many ways and one of the most important way (controversial at the same time) is surveillance. But the challenge now days is to detect and pass on the intelligence in real time. It is becoming difficult because the amount of data generated per unit time is huge and further getting bigger.
Imagine a case where multiple cameras backed with data model can detect a criminal element from a crowd of thousands in a stadium or public gathering
So Machine Learning can help to make intelligence gathering effective and faster.
7. Cars
Autonomous Cars are an ideal example of how Machine Learning can revolutionize the world. Imagine an autonomous car that actually drives itself the way you would have driven. This is possible by the use of Machine learning and list goes on like AC temperature, inside lighting and so on.
Machine Learning also helps autonomous cars in a big way in other aspects of security, fuel consumption, and better maintainability.
8. Customer Service
It was impossible for an MNC to study each and customer's behavior, likes and needs given a large number of customers it has. But with the effective use of Machine Learning it will be possible.
It does not mean that customer service has to be automated completely, but humans assisted with inputs from Machine Learning can do wonders in customer Service.
There are many more areas where Machine Learning will play a crucial role, I have listed down few of them. You can put areas you think where machine learning can be used in the comment section.
Disclaimer: This is a curated post. The statements, opinions and data contained in these publications are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of iamwire or its editor(s). This article was originally published by the author here.


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Google rolled out some new features and improvements to Picasa Web Albums: Firs up, the name tags feature is now available in 38 languages that Picasa Web Albums currently serves. To get started with name tags, just click the opt-in button on your Picasa Web Albums gallery page.
Secondly, they've added a new option that makes your albums stricly private. If you edit an album's properties and select "Require sign-in to view", only the people you are explicitly sharing the album can see it. "Select the 'Require sign-in to view' option to set the highest level of privacy for your album — you specify who has permission to view it, and visitors must sign in to their Google Account to verify their identity. Anyone not included on the album's 'Shared with' access list will be unable to view the album," details the help page.
The access list is displayed in the album's sidebar and you can add or remove people from that list at any time. Whenever your friends or family look at your gallery page, they can now easily see all the albums you've shared with them — public, unlisted, or sign-in-required — in one place. The only problem is that your friends need to have Google accounts to validate their identity and access the album.
Until now the only alternative to making the album public was to make it unlisted, but the album still had a web address that allowed anyone who knew it to view your album. If you try to view an album that has the new visibility option enabled, you'll get this error message:
Since you now have three levels of visibility and it's difficult to remember which albums are unlisted or private, Picasa Web Albums' homepage displays the access setting next to each album using an icon.
Finally, now all your uploaded videos over a certain size (320 pixels) will play back in higher-quality MPEG4 format.


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Not long ago, games were just another way to kill time, but not anymore. Today, innovative game-based programs can add a whole new dimension to your corporate training initiatives, getting people excited and engaged, ensuring a rapid and deep viral spread among your audience, and, most importantly, capturing the response and evolution of the audience as they interact with your message.
Join us for this Tata Interactive Systems (TIS) webinar, as we discuss with you serious games and their impact on corporate learning. Helen Harries-Rees, senior director, training and development for DHL Express in the UK and Ireland, and Chandra Shekhar Ghildiyal, practice head, serious games for TIS, will interact with you as they outline the benefits and best practices for incorporating serious gaming into your learning initiatives.
At this webinar, you will learn how:
- Serious games can improve your organizational performance.
- Immersive gaming can help decrease drop-out rates.
- Organizations are increasingly adopting games for training.
- Serious games are exposing the world to whole new ways of instructional techniques.
- You can leverage better metrics for learning effectiveness through serious games.


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Italy v Australia
Scotland U20 fly-half Allan set for Italy debut
ESPN Staff
November 8, 2013
Tommy Allan will line up for Italy at the weekend © Getty Images
Scotland Under-20 fly-half Tommy Allan is set to make his Italy Test debut after being named on their bench for Saturday's game against Australia in Turin.
Alberto Di Bernardo gets the starting No.10 shirt but there is every chance Allan could get some game time from the bench. The 20-year-old was born in Italy but played his schoolboy rugby for Scotland. However, he has impressed at Perpignan and Jacques Brunel managed to secure his services for Italy.
Elsewhere in the Italy side, Sergio Parisse captains the team with Luke McLean getting the nod at fullback. And McLean is wary of the Wallabies' strength in depth. He said: "Sometimes it's easier when they come off wins, when they're a little over-confident.
"I think they backs have their backs to the wall and there's only one way they can go, and that is forward. The last couple of games they have played reasonably well. They finished the rugby championships with a great victory over Argentina, and last weekend they were quite unlucky, for whatever reasons, to come away with the win in London.
"I think (criticism of) their performances have been a little bit over-exaggerated."
Luke McLean, Tommaso Benevenuti, Luca Morisi, Alberto Sgarbi, Leonardo Sarto, Alberto Di Bernardo, Edoardo Gori, Michele Rizzo, 2 Davide Giazzon, Martin Castrogiovanni, Antonio Pavanello, Marco Bortolami, Alessandro Zanni, Robert Barbieri, Sergio Parisse (capt)
Replacements: Leonardo Ghiraldini, Matias Aguero, Lorenzo Cittadini, Quintin Geldenhuys, Joshua Furno, Tobias Botes, Tommaso Allan, Tommaso Iannone.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
Communication error please reload the page.


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TasteSara Ivanhoe
Year Released: 2013
Categories: Yoga
Video Fitness reviews may not be copied, quoted, or posted elsewhere without the permission of the reviewer
Show oldest reviews first
Full disclosure: I received a free review copy of this workout.
I have trouble fitting in enough stretching/yoga into my fitness routine. Given that I just linked stretching and yoga, you probably can guess that I'm not a yogi and that the yoga I do is gentle and stretchy in nature. When I heard about TASTE - that it was intended to present a series of short yoga routines, each around five minutes in length, and that these segments could be alone or combined for longer yoga sessions, I was intrigued. Sara Ivanhoe is a practioner I haven't ever bonded with, but she's such a professional and good at what she does that I was intrigued.
The production value of this DVD are high. It includes appropriate music and Sara wears different outfits in different segments, all seemingly appropriate to what she is doing. The set is a small room with shelves and a mat in the middle of a wood floor. There are strong Eastern themes, both with the music and the set and the graphics on some of the screens.
Each of the segments is 5 minutes, give or take some. The segments that I enjoyed included:
WAKE - Intended to be done in the morning and includes a breaths and forward bends that combine into half sun salutations. These are repeated multiple times.
BURN is more athletic and includes chair pose going into standing forward bends. Then, there is a vinyasa morphing into Warrior 2.
WORK - I guess this segment is meant to be done at work? It seems to be intended to stretch the upper body while seated at a desk. It includes an overhead stretch, a twist, and eagle arms. At less than four minutes, it seems really, really short.
CHILL is somewhat longer than some of the other segments. It includes breath work and stretching and ends in savasana.
SLEEP is very relaxing to me! This floor session includes areclined cobbler's pose, a reclined twist, and ends with savasana.
There were some that I was less enamored with, mainly because they didn't agree with some of my body parts. For people who don't have the physical contraints I have, they probably would enjoy them more. There was nothing "wrong" with these segments other than the fact that they weren't for me:
SHED starts with cat/cow stretches (I liked this) and then moved into a series of cleansing breaths while in different lunge positions. My wonky knees didn't like this section, but if you don't have these problems, it might be better for you.
CLEANSE focuses on twists - a seated twist, low lunge twist, and a squat twist. My wonky lower back and knees didn't like this segment.
FIRM includes planks, all planks, so if you like planks, you'll like this segment. My arthritic hands/wrists weren't thrilled with it.
CORE includes boat pose and, once you are in a lying position, leg drops and a criss-cross crunch.
TAIL is comprised of balancing postures in a kneeling position. My knees don't do kneeling positions.
There are also three premixes that combine 2-3 individual segments to make a longer practices:
*SLIM (15 minutes)-- Wake, Shed, and Burn
*STRENGTH (14 minutes)-- Firm, Burn, and Cleanse
*REST (12 minutes)-- Chill and Sleep
It's too bad they didn't include the option to build your own practice by choosing the segments you want to do. That is what would have made this DVD a really good choice. It's easy enough to choose the menu options off the menu one at a time, but it breaks the flow of what you are doing. For me, the REST premix would be good, but the other two contain both segments I would want and segments I don't want.
This DVD is well done. For those wanting really short segments, it may be a good choice. As I said before, it's too bad they didn't maximize its potential by letting you customize the order of the segments.
Instructor Comments:
She is a very good instructor.
NOTE: I received a free copy of this DVD to review for the web site Metapsychology.net; you can read a more detailed version of my review on that site.
TASTE provides a series of short yoga routines--each about five minutes in length--which can be used as stand-alone practices or combined together for longer yoga sessions. Ivanhoe practices alone in a small indoor room, and she instructs via voiceover. Sometimes her mat is set up parallel to the camera, sometimes perpendicular to it. In addition to a yoga mat, a chair is required for the "Work" routine (Ivanhoe uses a stool). I have described each segment below.
WAKE (5 minutes). This routine, intended for the a.m., builds from sun breaths and forward bends to half sun salutations, which are then repeated for several minutes.
SHED (5 minutes). This practice, which has the theme of letting go, starts with some cat/cow stretches then focuses on a series of cleansing breaths, first in low lunge, then in high lunge.
BURN (5 minutes). This active routine begins with a vinyasa which moves between chair pose and standing forward bend. This is followed by a vinyasa moving in and out of Warrior 2 pose which includes breath retention holds and is repeated on both sides.
CLEANSE (4.5 minutes). This is a twist-focused routine which starts with a seated twist, moves into a low lunge twist, and finishes with a squat twist.
FIRM (4 minutes). This upper-body centered practice consists of plank pose, side plank, forearm plank, and side forearm plank.
CORE (4.5 minutes). Begins with a vinyasa in and out of boat pose. Coming to lying on the back, moves into alternating leg drops and then finishes with a criss-cross crunch.
WORK (<4 minutes). This routine seems designed to stretch the upper body while seated at a desk. It starts with a stretch overhead, moves into a twist, and finishes with eagle arms.
TAIL (5 minutes). This practice centers around balancing postures in a kneeling position. After opening with cat breaths, it includes bird dog, a side version of bird dog, and a kneeling half moon.
CHILL (6 minutes). This slightly longer routine offers seated breath work, including breath holds. Coming to lying on the back, there is a Figure 4 stretch and a brief (1.5 minutes) rest in savasana.
SLEEP (6 minutes). This all-lying session starts with reclined cobbler's pose and then moves into a reclined twist. It concludes with savasana (2 minutes) using a knee support.
In addition to the short routines, Ivanhoe includes several "premix" workouts on this DVD--i.e., longer practices made from a combination of the shorter ones. These are as follows:
*SLIM (15 minutes)--consists of Wake, Shed, and Burn
*STRENGTH (14 minutes)--consists of Firm, Burn, and Cleanse
*REST (12 minutes)--consists of Chill and Sleep
Personally, I felt that these segments were a bit too brief to work very well as independent practices. Furthermore, the usability of this DVD is limited by the lack of a programming option; I found it disruptive to have to go back to the Main Menu after each sequence when trying to attempt a longer practice. (Note: Even the preset routines are still choppy: in-between segments, the name of each individual sequence appears on screen as well as an additional separator screen stating "Yoga with Sara Ivanhoe," which felt completely unnecessary.) Still, I expect that fans of Ivanhoe's prior material (e.g., Crunch: Candlelight Yoga, Yoga Body Makeover Series) will appreciate this new offering.
Instructor Comments:
Sarah is a likeable enough instructor, but admittedly, I've never really clicked with her. Her practices tend to appeal to me and I hold on to them for a time, but I always wind up trading them, as I don't reach for them very often. I think it's because (at least in part) that Sarah has some verbal quirks that get on my nerves, such as saying "let's get that on the other side" virtually EVERY time she switches to the second side.


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Months pass. Winter leaves behind mounds of plowed-over, dirty frozen snow which take months to fully melt away. Spring begins to warm and brighten the landscape.
In January, Mom and Dad had an "anniversary." I'm not sure what that is, but it has something to do with how much they love each other. And they love each other a lot. Mom says Dad is the best thing that ever happened to her. Dad frequently asks 'how did he get so lucky?' For me, never before having experienced what love between humans can be like, it was new and strange – but wonderful. I could feel the love that came from them and surrounded them. I was becoming enveloped in their love, becoming a part of it somehow, and that new sensation was so warm and comforting. I knew I was home, and this home meant safety and security for me for the rest of my life.
I began to change then. Maybe it was the lovely meals I get twice a day, plus treats. Maybe it was all that love. Maybe it was both. The fur on my butt and thighs began to grow back. My gums stopped bleeding. My ears were now clear and free of wax deposits. The blackheads on my chest began healing and clearing. I began to gain weight; my coat grew glossier and softer each day. But more amazing than the physical changes were the changes in my personality.
Just a few months earlier, when I was first adopted, I was nervous and fearful of almost everything. But as I was fed and cared for so lovingly, and taught so many new and wonderful things, my fear lessened. I quickly learned that humans here, away from the track, are ALL nice! Every human I meet is a new friend! I learned that the car is not so awful, because it takes us to fun places full of new scents where I can play. Lessons like these have shaped my life and made it happy and secure.
Mom has changed too. She cries less and is not as frightened of the thumping overhead. She seems healthier and has gained some weight. When they first brought me home, Mom was underweight because of stress and illness. She says having me in her life helps her so much. This makes me proud. In my life at the track, I never even began to think that I could do something for a human that they needed. I just ran, ate and slept. Now though, not only do I enjoy a rich life, full of comforts and a loving environment, but my life here has a purpose.
As my fears lessen, so do my inhibitions. I discover what playing is, to the delight of Mom and Dad. They laugh each time I bite a toy and fling it or make it squeak repeatedly. I play "pounce" with Mom and Dad. I play bow and stomp my front paws, pouncing toward them. One of them pounces toward me and laughs. I whirl around, bite a toy, snap my teeth in the air, and pounce again. They pounce back and laugh. I love human laughter. It makes me feel happy and encourages me to continue doing whatever it is that makes them laugh.
With my newfound confidence, I am more playful with other dogs but also more aggressive toward those small fluffy creatures we sometimes meet with other humans. They are on a leash like a dog, and Mom assures me that they are in fact real dogs too. But I don't believe it. How can a "real dog" look, sound and move like prey? Mom says we are going to work on this behavior. I don't know what that means exactly, but I get the idea she wants to change me reaction to those small fluffy things. I don't see why we should change my reaction. But Mom's the boss.
With the warmer weather, we go to the park more often, which I enjoy very much, although when I arrive home I am completely exhausted and sleep for the rest of the day.
One day in late spring, Mom and Dad put me in the car and we take a long drive. As the car turns off the main roads and into a grassy area, I can see dozens – maybe hundreds – of dogs! Real dogs: Greyhounds! I begin to whine in anticipation. I want to meet them all!
"Shh, calm down, Gracie-girl. You'll get to meet them soon enough."
We get out of the car and walk around what I recognize as a park. But it is full of tents and tables – and Greyhounds. Mom and Dad walk me over to one of the tents. Mom talks to the woman under the tent.
"We'd like to get her microchipped."
"OK, just fill out this form and we'll take care of her."
Mom hands my leash off to Dad and starts writing something. Dad leads me a few feet away, and while Mom is still writing, the woman in the tent walks over to me with a big needle and quickly sticks me between the shoulder blades.
Mom looks up from her writing.
"What happened?"
"It's done. She's chipped."
"What a yelp!"
"You know she's a bit of a drama queen."
Hey. I resent that.
We walk toward a table that smells very good. There are people preparing food and eating all around it. There's also a line of humans with Greyhounds waiting for food. We stand in line. The humans all talk to each other about the dogs. We dogs sniff each other and enjoy a subtle exchange. It goes something like this:
Me: Sniff sniff. Nice to meet you. Your people seem nice.
Brindle girl: Sniff sniff. Nice meeting you too. My people are very nice. How are yours?
Me: Oh they're great. Are you allowed on the furniture? I am.
Brindle girl: Yes, I am too. It's great being retired, huh? Who knew humans were so nice?
Me: Yeah, who knew? Hey, look, someone dropped a hamburger!
And we both look at the hamburger, calmly keeping our places in line. Eventually a large parti-colored female shoves past us to eat the burger.
Someone has obviously forgotten their Greyhound manners.
Mom and Dad eat and talk to several of the kind people that I met months ago, when I first arrived from Florida. Mom buys a t-shirt to support the adoption group and then we go back to the car for the long drive home.


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Michaelsguardian.blogspot.com - A travel in scripture, Bible prophecy and the Word of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes and soul of the last witness and chosen vessel, Michael surnamed Jackson
God: Reconnect to Him
Monday, December 31, 2012
Taking You To The Next Level - Seeing in 3-D
21 comments:
The importance of FaithfulnessReplyDelete
IMPORTANT REVELATION KNOWLEDGE from the Root Language of Scripture! PLEASE READ and STUDY!
The 10 Commandments and the Hebrew Alphabet!
Message 7 of 10 . . .
7th Commandment
Debarim (Deut) 5:18 'You do not commit adultery.
MattithYahu (Mat) 5:28 "But I say to you that everyone looking at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Iyob (Job) 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze at a maiden?
Debarim (Deut) 6:5 "And you shall love YHUH/YHWH your Eloah with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.
Marqos (Mark) 12:30 'And you shall love YHUH/YHWH your Eloah with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first command (summing-up commands 1-4 – it's about our relationship with the Father).
When Believers speak about adultery, they think that it implies only to having sex with someone else, outside of marriage! The majority of Believers COMMIT SPIRITUAL ADULTERY every day and they don't even realize or know it! How you might ask? Scripture is clear that our FIRST LOVE and FIRST PRIORITY should be our LOVE RELATIONSHIP with the Father, through His Son, by His Spirit! If we place anything above this relationship, we COMMIT ADULTERY! When we REBEL against the Instructions of the Father (His Torah), choosing to rather believe and yield to the doctrines of man and what we are taught through religion and tradition, we COMMIT ADULTERY!
When we lust after anything material or the flesh of another being (male or female), we COMMIT ADULTERY!
What is the consequence of ADULTERY against Abbah YHUH/YHWH?
MattithYahu (Mat) 7:21-23 NOT everyone who says to Me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. Many shall say to Me in that day, 'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?' And then I shall declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness (disobedience to the Instructions of Abbah YHUH/YHWH (called His Torah))!'
What does the 7th Commandment and the 7th Hebrew Letter have in common?
The 7th Letter in Hebrew is the letter "ZAN" (Ancient Hebrew) and "ZAYIN" (Modern Hebrew), meaning "A WEAPON", symbolizing "CUTTING" or "SEPARATING" . . .
"A WEAPON" (COVENANT with Abbah YHUH Yahuah/YHWH Yahuwah, as well as COVENANT with your spouse) can be used to PROTECT! The PURPOSE of the WEAPON (COVENANT) is to "CUT COVENANT" and to PROTECT and ESTABLISH "lasting covenants" (with Abbah YHUH/YHWH and your spouse)!
"A WEAPON" can also DESTROY (COVENANT)! The Hebrew word for an enemy that is OUTSIDE of YHUH/YHWH'S COVENANT is "zar"! The ancient word picture shows that such a person is a "weapon person", DESTROYING COVENANT, instead of ESTABLISHING and PROTECTING it!
ADULTERY is associated with the "enemies or weapon people"! Adultery is what CUTS (DESTROYS, SEPARATES from) LIFE!
This IMPORTANT COMMANDMENT calls Believers to be a people of YHUH/YHWH who make and establish COVENANT, NOT a people of the "weapon" who destroys life!
The number 7 (associated with the Letter "Zayin") symbolizes SPIRITUAL PERFECTION (KEEPING COVENANT) Hazon (Rev) 10:7 and 16:7
- AnonymousJanuary 1, 2013 at 10:37 AM
Hi Bonnie,ReplyDelete
Good Morning, and Happy New Year to you. Here we are with a brand New Year ahead of us. My desire this New Year? To be more like Jesus, so thank you for the insight of your comment...Wow! I will be MAKING time to study today. It is so easy to let LIFE and THINGS, and FAMILY crowd out the Lord, and it happens so gradually that it's hard to see it happening, so thank you for this Word from the Lord, my friend.
"She never cut from me
She never cut baby
I had to work baby
You just a rival..."
These lyrics are from Michael's song, "Morphine". What does "cut from me" mean? When you said:"A WEAPON" (COVENANT with Abbah YHUH Yahuah/YHWH Yahuwah, as well as COVENANT with your spouse) can be used to PROTECT! The PURPOSE of the WEAPON (COVENANT) is to "CUT COVENANT" and to PROTECT and ESTABLISH "lasting covenants" (with Abbah YHUH/YHWH and your spouse)!",my mind went to these lyrics. What do you think he is referring to? It has always made me wonder. It seems that Michael has his own language sometimes, have you ever noticed that?, and I don't know what he is talking about, so I thought maybe you would have some insight into this.
Thanks for the homework assignment, and for the "wake up" call!
God bless you so richly this day:)
Love you,
Hi MLY,Delete
Morphine is probably one of those songs most combed through on this blog. I remember looking up "urban dictionary" meanings for "cut" and "cut from me", and according to THAT, it means:
"She'll never cut from me
She'll never cut, baby
I had to work baby
You're just a rival
Who considered Michael a rival? If this is someone taunting Michael, who is the "she" mentioned in the song? Cut from me or she'll never cut = "Cut: Slang, n. (1)to have sexual intercourse with. Originated in GA; primarily used in the Southeast, United States (Lisa Marie???). (2)a song on an album. Standard, v. (1)to penetrate with a sharp edged instrument.
Cut: Slang, v., n. (1)attempting to sabotage or thwart another individual's pursuit of a love or sex interest, particularly when done to further one's own chances with the target individual. (2)someone who engages in this practice." Source" - http://michaelsguardian.blogspot.com/2011/05/michael-jackson-shouts-about-morphine.html
However, I don't believe Michael was talking about "sexual" intercourse here. I believe he was talking about "cleaving to", as you mention - weapon. You can cleave FROM something or cleave TO something. Michael is singing in the third person here but he jumps back and forth between tell us the story DIRECTLY and "quoting" what he's heard from those around him. So in this song, in context with his other songs about this "woman", this is someone who wants to USE him, but doesn't love him and won't "cleave to" him, like Israel wouldn't do with God. (how many victims must their be, before we choose to live the prophet's plan...)
God bless you MLY, and Happy New Year. ♥
MLY - cont....Delete
On this part: "Cut: Slang, v., n. (1)attempting to sabotage or thwart another individual's pursuit of a love or sex interest, particularly when done to further one's own chances with the target individual. (2)someone who engages in this practice."
>>>>>>>> Billie Jean/Susie/the devil would "sabotage or thwart another's pursuit of a love interest...when done to further one's own chances with the target individual..."
This translated would be the devil sabotaging God's love interest - i.e. the "church bride" to further his own chances with the individual. This has nothing to do with love, but more like "possession". To explain that, we can again look at the lyrics to "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" by Iron Maiden....
Here the birth from an unbroken line
Born the healer the seventh, his time
Unknowingly blessed and as his life unfolds
Slowly unveiling the power he holds
Then they watch the progress he makes
The Good and the evil which path will he take
Both of them trying to manipulate
The use of his powers before it's too late....source, http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ironmaiden/seventhsonofaseventhson.html
Then this also fits with Revelation 12:4-5
"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."
The fight over his soul.
- AnonymousJanuary 3, 2013 at 4:18 PM
Hi Bonnie,Delete
Thank you SO much for helping me to understand Michael Lyrics. I clicked on the link that you listed in your comment from your blog... "http://michaelsguardian.blogspot.com/2011/05/michael-jackson-shouts-about-morphine.", and have been studying it whenever I can get the time throughout the day. I also scrolled down through the comments, as this was before I found you, and it was all new to me. The things this man went through are horrendous.What sick, twisted people could do such things to another human being? The thought of him enduring such torture, more than we could ever imagine,reveals how much love and determination he had in his heart...that LOVE took Him through it...GOD took him through it. I just want to him to know how much he is LOVED, and tell him how sorry I am for what these sad excuses for humans did to him.To know that he was alone with these people while they kicked, tazered, mocked, abused, hit, drugged, terrorized,and tried to get him to lose the man that he really is...well...there just aren't words for what THAT does to MY heart.
Someday...when we reach our Heavenly Home, after I have embraced the Lord for long while,looking into HIS face... the One who loves me so,and put my hands into HIS, and after I have embraced my family, where the circle will never be broken again,I want to meet Michael, and look into his eyes,Feel the warmth of his embrace, his love, and his smile, and hear his laughter...so pure and sweet... and tell him how thankful I am for the day that God brought him into my life, because that day my life changed. More and more, I am discovering what a treasure he IS...so rare. With each discovery of the truth, He becomes more precious. The picture of Michael at the end of this blog, is pricless. He is BEAUTIFUL...and THOSE EYES...and just a hint of a smile...I can hear his heart... without him saying a word:)
Bonnie, I will be keeping your mom in my prayers, and I know that God will be right there with her, holding her hand, as she goes through this surgery. I pray for the surgeon, that God will guide his hands, so that this surgery will be the avenue that God works through to accomplish her healing, and for all those responsible for her care. I will also be praying for you, that God will give you peace and keep your heart calm as she goes through this. She is in the Hands of the Master.
Love you my friend, and keep us updated when you can.
Thank you for your kind words about Mom and your prayers for her. I believe you, that God will be right there with her.
This has definitely NOT been a normal Christmas, and as I said above, we were meant to be up there and God found a way to get us up there. As someone wrote to me, this may have been the last "normal" Christmas season we will have. That thought sends prickles of apprehension through my veins of what is to come. Tears will be no stranger.
Tears were no stranger to Michael either. The tug of war with his soul, the "Armageddon" of his brain . . . How sweetly God answered my prayer for him and I wasn't even remotely prepared for what that was, as it continues to unfold.
I believe we would be wise to focus on God through Christ. Michael's eyes, yes they are beautiful. But Billie Jean was not Michael's Iconic song for nothing. His likeness and his image will be used. The Michael we love is not going to be what are eyes are used to recognizing. Not if his lyrics are true and we believe the truth of the prophecy of Daniel and Revelation. If you hear his heart, we will have to also remember his words. Signs and lying wonders yet to come.
God bless you, MLY!
- AnonymousJanuary 1, 2013 at 2:08 PM
Dear Bonnie,ReplyDelete
Happy & Healthy New Year to you, all your loved ones & everyone here, also hoping the truth for Michael approaches slowly but surely despite the ongoing corruption.
Also despite the physical pain & stress suffered by some family members of yours, you & Hubby during the Xmas week, you all received a special grace as a Gift from God bringing new harmony, affection & support between you all. It feels good to read that this wave of love wrapped you all together. Those now concerned with illness will recover much better grace to this family blessing. Thank you Bonnie for sharing with us these difficult but also very precious moments of your family life. After your own tribulations & fights for the truth for Michael & our world in your Blog, you seem indeed happier & relaxed & I do hope this good mood will maintain. Also your nice husband Ed who had a difficult 2012 should feel a renewed strength after the love of his family during Xmas was confirmed to him & it should help him to better overcome the adversity in his job. Your first dream was very endearing.
Your Para on Michael starting with : "This is perhaps the most Christ-like yet hardest thing to do." I loved as you raised a very strong but yes a too often ignored point of Michael's adult character : except his public words as against Sony & Mottola, Michael never bashed his accusers, the media & other enemies publicly. How many can do this ? A Jesus-like man Michael was but so misunderstood & hated by the real evil ones. Also to the credit of Michael's family, they never reacted to mockeries or bad comments on them by the media. Best Wishes & Love to the Jackson family ! They need strength & support & I'm sure this family anyhow keeps tight together whatever the evil media can say.
Happy New Year Line,Delete
The more we get into the truth about Michael, the more love I feel for him, his family, God, Jesus and the whole magical way God is moving this forward. It's also increasingly frustrating to see how many people are focused on the material things and think on the level of "me". Even with family members, there seem to be three levels - Those who are selfless, those who are waking up to the softening of their hearts and those that seem to be completely one dimensional. You start to see it as an almost palpable film inside the person and nobody believes you when you tell them someone's intentions are not genuine or good. And trying to explain what a "countenance" is? They look at you like "what planet are you on?"
When I do feel or see this, I try to form my words carefully, but so they can hear what they sound like - not of offend them but to get them to see that they DON'T see is important than their wants.
My husband is a bit more vocal than I am and he has had a very difficult 2012 (and 2011, 2010, etc..) but in that, we see where that is coming from. Separating anxiety exists even from things that are not in your best interest. Making a decision between the "world" and "God" is not as clear for some. I believe our biggest struggles is against our own doubt and refusal to let go of the familiar, even if that "familiar" is slavery.
The paragraph you mention about Michael being Christ-like in the face of adversity is probably something we should keep asserting on an ongoing bases, to reinforce. People in our generation only know Christ Jesus from a literary view and the way the Bible reads him to us, it is hard to see Christ as human.
Michael is Christ-like and he is human. Our generation was blessed with being exposed to another example of a person who's number one priority was becoming one with God and witnessing Christ's love through example, not just words. We're not going to get another one. Michael was it. And now that the last witness has "stood up", only those that see and recognize what has happened are left to help tell that story before the "last chance" at love for them is gone and God takes his creation back.
Jackson family has been rather quiet. I pray for them when I pray for what is going on, every day. And despite my treks off the path, I am amazed that they haven't given up through their own battles against the world powers, and I thank them for that. L♥VE you too, Line :o)
Your first dream reminded me of this poem of Michael's:
When Babies Smile
When dreamers dream and kiss their lover
And rainbows weave and splash their color
Those are moments so gloriously alive
We take the plunge, take the dive
Into the abyss
We are suspended awhile
Those are moments when babies smile.
Those are moments when fate is unsealed
Nothing is impossible and we are healed
We can soar, we can fly
Walk on fire, navigate the sky
In the light of a glittering star
There's no distance, nothing is far
Those are moments of innocent guile
In the glow
We are suspended awhile
Those are moments when babies smile.
Those are moments when the heart is tender
When seascapes gleam in magnificent splendor
When the laughter of Heaven reverberates the Earth
And we are renewed in a new birth
In a timeless Eternity
In the angels fraternity
We romp and roll
The playground of our soul
In the twilight
We are suspended awhile
Those are moments when babies smile.
Those are moments we're one with God
All is well, nothing is odd
In silent reflection
We feel our perfection
We are the source, we are the crucible
Nothing can hurt us, for we are invincible
There is no sin, there is no sinner
We can only win, we have felt the glimmer
In the bliss
We're floating awhile
Those are moments when babies smile.
Kingdoms topple, lose their class
Civilizations crumble, ages pass
Turbulent tempests ravage the seas
Violent killings, despite our pleas
But dewdrops sparkle when children play
Tyrants cry, there's nothing to slay
Fairies dance and goblins sing
All are crowned, all are king
In the Garden
We frolic awhile
Those are moments when babies smile.
I used to fly a lot when I was a child - even danced in the air. Oh the joy and freedom! No wings needed either. As I got older I had trouble getting off the ground and couldn't fly as high. Something dark was chasing me and I'd try so hard to get away....I long to take off and soar again. At least I remember. I can even feel the cool air on my face and hear the wind rushing past my ears! Capture those giggles and hold them dear in your heart!
God bless you!
- AnonymousJanuary 1, 2013 at 8:01 PM
What is the Google New Year thing about? I think Google used MJ's image once.ReplyDeleteReplies
Google DID use Mike's image - his feet I believe. Still trying to decipher the Google image. The next day (New Year's Day) was the same scene but everyone went home. Trying to make out what some of the wall images are.Delete
- AnonymousJanuary 2, 2013 at 3:35 PM
One of the wall images is a famous Klimt painting called 'The Kiss'.Delete
Thank you Anonymous. I copied both Google images. I will take another look. Thanks again!Delete
OMG . . . there are some things you find out that just make you say the s-h-*-t word outloud. OMG. God? Wow.ReplyDelete
Hey Bonnie,ReplyDelete
Sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations during the holiday. Hope things are better and praying for a wonderful 2013 for you, your family and everyone here.
I'm curious too about the Google thing. It was so cluttered I didn't even pay any attention to it until I read your blog mentioning it.
Here's a link to the New Year's Eve picture, with all the people in it and a picture with tags telling who all the people are.
I don't see Michael or any part of him in it. You don't think they edited it, do you? I do see the "Star Trek" picture though, that was the first thing my eye went to. Star Trek my butt. :/
Hi Deb,Delete
Thank you for posting that. It points out everything. Looks like they are promoting artists, authors, innovators, "visionaries" and engineers. One of the paintings, as anonymous said above, is "The Kiss" by Klimt. the other wall hanging looks like "Still Life with Fruit Dish and Mandolin" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Gris). In the "New Years Day" logo, everything is cleaned up and only a few of the "knowns" remain. I will take another look at that when I put up that blog.
No, I think THAT anonymous that mentioned Michael was talking about a separate "doodle" - the one with the "Michael's legs on his toes" for the "L" in Google.
- AnonymousJanuary 4, 2013 at 1:40 PM
Yes I was talking about the one with the "Michael's legs on his toes" for the "L" in Google. I think it was maybe for MJ's birthday once.Delete
In a room strewn with the letters making up the Google logo, the search giant has placed figures and images that have been immortalised in a Google Doodle this year.
In one corner composer Clara Schumann, whose 193rd birthday was marked in a Google Doodle this year, plays a synthesiser made by Robert Moog, who got a Google Doodle for his 78th birthday.
Elsewhere, Dracula chats to Moby Dick's Captain Ahab. Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula, was commemorated in a doodle for his 165th birthday this year, as was the 161st anniversary of the publication of Moby Dick.
In another corner Rodin's The Thinker sits at a computer, representing Alan Turing, whose centenary was this year, while Ada Lovelace - 197 this year - offers advice.
Other 2012 Google Doodles referred to in today's Doodle include the 46th anniversary of the first broadcast of Star Trek, the 200th anniversary of Grimm's Fairy Tales and the 142nd birthday of Maria Montessori.
Everyone - I'm sorry. have a blog I am working on and it was supposed to go up tonight BUT . . . we still have company, I have to "share" the computer now, and phone calls about Mom are still coming in.ReplyDelete
The blog will be up early tomorrow, and Mom is going into surgery on Friday. Thank you, THANK YOU for your prayers. Very sweet and she knows people are praying for her. God bless you and Michael, please don't be mad at me. I really tried to get this up tonight. Lots of information and only one pair of typing hands. ♥Replies
- AnonymousJanuary 3, 2013 at 6:34 AM
BONNIE, I too join the others in their prayers for your beloved mother in surgery to-morrow & already dare wishing her a good & speedy recovery thereafter. Take care..the Blog can wait♥Delete
Line, I thank you for your sentiments and your prayers. I pray God knows he comes first and I trust him for what's best for mom. He made her strong for a reason. He knows what's coming and he knows if I could take her physical pain, I would. She is such a cute lady . . . like you :o) ♥Delete


text:
Tim Leigh's two-year stint on the Colorado Springs City Council was, shall we say, interesting.
Leigh's not quite a tea party conservative — he flirted with the idea that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya — nor is he a doctrinaire libertarian. Call him a results-oriented communitarian, a big-government liberal who opposes big government, a free-market guru who occasionally supports massive market intervention, or an older guy (not really, at 57) who thinks like a 25-year-old, or a quote machine for reporters ... he's all that and more.
It didn't take long for Leigh to make powerful enemies. He became a scathing critic of Utilities, contending that executives of the municipally owned enterprise had made an irresponsible (even criminal, he alleged) $100 million bet on unproven pollution control technology for the coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant. Utilities managers pooh-poohed his allegations, as did the contractor, Colorado Springs-based Neumann Systems.
At first, it was just another arcane discussion about smokestack emissions, available technology and federal mandates. It soon became heated and personal. Leigh wouldn't back down, demanding that the Neumann contract be suspended and that Council determine whether it might make more sense to shut down Drake.
Believing that Leigh had deliberately targeted his company for destruction, Dave Neumann responded to a perceived existential threat by charging Leigh with multiple ethics violations. Utilities officials vigorously defended themselves against allegations of impropriety, the anti-Drake campaign lost momentum as threats of a Sierra Club lawsuit evaporated, and Mayor Steve Bach reversed field on Drake, claiming he had never sought to close it.
But in the April city election, Leigh was toast. Painted as an ethically challenged scoundrel who wanted to tear down Drake, make money from the real estate and stick ratepayers with the bill, Leigh didn't have a chance. The coal industry and a CSU employee political action committee targeted him, and he lost the District 1 race resoundingly to newcomer Don Knight.
Months later, the city's sluggish ethics commission completely absolved Leigh of wrongdoing. It was a day late and more than a dollar short; Leigh's brief political career was over, his reputation stained, and his wallet $20,000 lighter thanks to legal fees. Yet, surprisingly, he seems to view the whole episode with resigned amusement. Our discussion focused entirely on today's city politics, not yesterday's, such as why Bach and Council are so visibly at loggerheads, just three months after six new Councilors took office.
"I don't think that anybody who hasn't been elected understands the dynamic," Leigh says. "When you get there, there's a certain amount of ego, especially if you're agenda-driven. You have some power today that you didn't have yesterday, and you don't want to give it up."
How does the business community feel about the infighting?
"This is a subject that's talked about, believe me," he says. "I think there's some surprise that he doesn't get on with Keith [King, new Council president]. Things might run a lot more smoothly with an accommodating mayor, but Bach wasn't elected to be accommodating. He was elected to make changes, and he's made a lot of them. Still, he should have put Council in the loop on the Regional Tourism Act — just sent [senior economic vitality specialist] Aimee Cox over to give 'em a confidential briefing."
Why didn't Bach do that? Leigh hesitates.
"My sense is that the mayor has no respect for Council, and vice versa," he says. "But it's not an equal fight, because the mayor has access to information from his staff, from private groups such as the City Committee, and from off-the-record discussions with community leaders that aren't available to Council. Council's screwed. Bach has the edge."
What about the Kum & Go planned adjacent to Old Colorado City?
"It'll be a sad day for Colorado Springs if this goes ahead," Leigh says. "Can they get any less sensitive to neighborhood uses? Why, when we have this really cool destination, are we sending a message: We're a convenience store market? This is an industrial use. It's not community. It's a few people making fast money."
Doesn't Goodwill have the right to market to the highest and best use?
"They overpriced it," Leigh says. "That's why it didn't sell."
That's typical Tim Leigh, always with an answer.


text:
Star striker Besart Berisha will leave the Brisbane Roar at the end of the season to link with Melbourne Victory.
The Albanian international had been in contract negotiations with the Roar for some time and it was thought he could return to his native Europe.
But the Victory has managed to secure the services of the Albanian, who will become their international marquee player for the next two seasons.
"With the salary cap we have in this league, the ins and outs of players are a fact of life," Roar coach Mike Mulvey said.
"Brisbane Roar has been aware that this was a possibility and we are committed to bringing in a quality striker for the next A-League season."
Melbourne Victory Coach Kevin Muscat was clearly thrilled at the coup.
"Besart has been performing at the highest level week-in, week-out for Brisbane and has caused plenty of headaches for opposition defenders and coaches, including myself," Muscat said.
"He's a proven goal-scorer and a player that we can't wait to welcome to Melbourne Victory.
"It's certainly well documented how competitive Besart is, and that is something every A-League fan surely admires about him."
The move will stun Roar fans, who have adopted Berisha as one of their own and made him a cult hero in the River City. He was a key piece of the success under Ange Postecoglou and has scored 41 goals in 65 A-League appearances.
He provided the league with one of its most memorable moments when he was adjudged to have been felled in the box during the 2012 grand final against Perth, which the Roar went on to win 2-1 after a Berisha penalty in stoppage time.
A move away from the Roar seemed a distinct possibility but the timing and the destination may not go down well with the orange army.
Berisha will fill the international-marquee slot currently being filled by Chilean defender Pablo Contreras. He will formally join Victory in July.
Sports reporter


text:
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text:
| International Charter Space and Major Disasters
Product ID: 1374 - English
Published: 8 Sep, 2009
Product Links
|PDF (2.7MB) - Static viewing and printing
PDF (8.0MB) - Static viewing and printing
This map illustrates satellite-detected areas of possible flood waters and flood-affected areas within the central section of the capital city of Dakar, Senegal, as based on change detection methods using Radarsat-2 data acquired 4 September and pre-crisis Spot-5 imagery acquired 11 May 2009. Pre-crisis Radasat-1 from 5 September 2006 was also used. Please note there is an associated high degree of uncertainly for this flood assessment resulting from the dense urban environment and the lack of archived radar data of corresponding sensor characteristics. It is likely that standing water bodies located along narrow streets have been significantly underestimated, and that some detected water bodies shown in the map are errors resulting from the interaction of the satellite radar signals with buildings. This flood assessment is a preliminary analysis & has not yet been validated in the field. Please send ground feedback to UNITAR / UNOSAT. Map scale for A3: 1:30,000 Projection : UTM Zone 28 North; Datum : WGS-84 (EGM-96).
|Satellite Data (1): Radarsat-2 / 1
Imagery Dates : 4 Sept. 2009, / 5 Sept. 2006
Resolution : 3m / 12.5m
Copyright : RADARSAT-2 © MDA 2009
Credit :Canadian Space Agency
Satellite Data (2) : SPOT-5 (2.5m Panshapened)
Imagery Date : 11 May 2009
Copyright : SPOT Image 2009
Road Data : Google Map Maker 2009
Other Data : WDPA, USGS, NGA
Flood Analysis : UNITAR / UNOSAT


text:
The Lear's macaw is endangered in its natural habitat in Brazil. Recent conservation efforts have resulted in an increase in the wild population, but now the birds are seeking out new feeding grounds. Lear's macaws have taken to raiding the corn fields of local farmers; taking corn that is vital to these small farmers and their families. Parrots International, Lymington Foundation, Amigos de las Aves (USA), Nutropica Bird Foods, Brazil, Pennies for Parrots, and AFA are coming together to help protect these birds. A corn subsidy program is underway where sacks of corn are purchased from other areas of Brazil and distributed to these struggling farmers by conservation partners, ECO in Brazil. This ensures the birds are protected instead of exterminated for raiding corn crops. The program is in its eighth successful year.
For every donation of $10 or more, receive a packet of genuine heirloom Blue Hopi Corn seeds for your home garden. Planting and growing Blue Corn is easy and fun for the whole family. Dried Blue Corn ears are beautiful and make great holiday decorations and gifts. Every time you look at your Blue Corn, you'll be reminded of how much we can accomplish when we work together to help parrots in the wild. Thank you for your generous donation to the Ears for Lear's conservation program!
Rick Jordan, AFA Conservation Committee Chair
Click here to download a printable version of this page.


text:
For today's Reflection post, I headed to the local zoo where a flock of pelicans were most active in the water.
To see more posts on Weekend Reflections, visit James at http://newtowndailyphoto.blogspot.com
Lovely critters and reflections.
Happy weekend.
You still visit the zoo? I haven't been there for a very long time. But I would love to take these sort of photos. I can see we have the same passion. Lovely photos. :)
Lovely photos Kanak!
We don't have any pelicans in this area and I have never seen a real one. Love these shots.
This is the first time I've visited your blog! AMAZING photos of dragonflies! Wow! Today, I love the pelican images, and wish I lived where I had access to such creatures.
Nice pictures ! I like their natural touch.


text:
B.B.C. Article
US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko have taken off on a 12-month tour of duty on the International Space Station.
It will be the longest continuous stay anyone has had aboard the 400km-high (250 mile) orbiting platform.
Scientists hope to get a keener idea of the effects on the human body of living in microgravity for extended periods.
The space agencies say the data will be invaluable as they plan towards eventually mounting a mission to Mars.
Mr Kelly and Mr Kornienko launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan in a Soyuz vehicle at 01:42 local time, Saturday (19:42 GMT Friday).
They will be joined on the flight up by cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, but his tour will only last the normal six months.
Arrival at the ISS should occur about six hours after lift-off.