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Cryptocurrency Bitcoin Trading Ultimate Beginners Guide – John Piper and Tim Lowe
Welcome to my guide to all things 'Crypto'. I started to become curious about cryptocurrencies about five years ago when I recognised their potential for small and medium businesses who got stung for a 3% charge on transactions and often waited anything from a few days to a month to get their money. As Bitcoin began to slowly get more popular it was obvious that these types of currency would be here to stay as a unique way for everyone to buy, sell and pay for services without the excessive charges Banks seem to be able to get away with.
I'm going to give you all the information you need to make a profit trading cryptocurrencies and even show you how to get them for FREE !
This blog is aimed at the beginner so I've put everything you need in one place so that you can understand what Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are, which ones you might be interested in making money with, where to buy them and which proven strategies are best for your profits. So lets get started !
So What is a Cryptocurrency?
A crypto currency is a digital asset designed to be easy to exchange between people. You actually already use digital currency ….every time you use your bank card to pay for something. You haven't handed a physical note or coin over , but the money has been deducted from your bank account securely and safely and the shop you bought something from has now been paid too. The Bank 'handles' the transaction for a small fee they charge the shopkeeper and a series of computers at the bank keep tabs on who gave who what money.
Just like the digital currency you use when paying for stuff with your bank card digital currencies like Bitcoin are exactly the same. The only real difference is that now instead of a bank handling your transaction a huge network of computers all round the world all keep track of who has given who money and what everyones balance is in their digital wallets.
By bypassing a central bank you avoid the delays and charges associated as well as the costs of varying exchange rates between different currencies. You can think of a digital currency as a kind of 'peoples universal coin' that is welcome anywhere without the need for a bank or a government.
What is a Cryptocurrency – A Recap
Although a lot of things sound confusing with Cryptocurrency once you grasp the basic reason of why it exists and how it works everything else falls in to place. Lets do one final recap so you are absolutely happy with what it is before we start looking at all the more interesting money making parts !
Traditionally when you purchase an item of clothing online or in a store you will present your financial card or bank details at the point of sale. This might be in the form of a debit bank card. The shop owner will then use a card reader which will securely check with your bank that you have enough money in your account.
Once the card reader says 'APPROVED' they print you a receipt and you are on your way with the item you purchased with the shop owner happy that the cost of the item will be sent to his bank account within a day or two minus a banking charge of a few percent. With digital currencies you no longer need a central bank to approve a transaction of money being passed between two people ( you and the shopkeeper for example).
So now imagine a shop where you can 'walk in' and simply ask to purchase an item and you and the shopkeeper and anyone else with that digital currency already know how much everyone has ( they don't know your identity and cant take your money without your permission , only your unique account number and your balance).
So What is a Blockchain ?
When you approve sending the money direct to the shopkeeper everyone using this currency all automatically and separately take a note of this transaction so everyone is in agreement that it happened and what the new balances are for everyone. In this way the money is transferred without a cost and instantly. These financial records are known as 'blocks' so you will often hear people referring to Blockchains when they talk about these records.
The Origins of Cryptocurrency
So we now know what cryptocurrency is so when did it all start ?
It all started in 2008 with a A paper called Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System was posted to a mailing list discussion on cryptography. It was posted by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains a mystery to this day.
By 2009 Bitcoin had been created and people were encouraged to help with the computing power needed to help with all the transactions. In exchange for allowing their computers to be used to help keep track of everything they were rewarded with a little bit of Bitcoin. This became known as 'mining'
What is Cryptocurrency Mining ?
The advantages for a cost free and rapid transaction for the World is huge and will make doing business for everyone easier and faster. Naturally the big greedy banks are worried as they have had a huge profitable monopoly with online financial transactions for years. The Blockchain I mentioned earlier acts as a very public financial transaction database so that EVERYONE can see all the transactions that happen each day.
Digital Currencies need a lot of computing power to keep tabs on all these transactions so instead of having one large and vulnerable single computer or server in a building like banks do, digital currencies spread the computing required across thousands and thousands of people with powerful computers and pay them a very small amount of coin directly for doing these coded and secure transactions. This is what people are talking about when they mention 'mining' a digital currency.
Where do you buy and sell Cryptocurrency ?
Buying and selling Cryptocurrencies is relatively straightforward. There are a number of online Exchanges you can use. You will need to fill out an online form and some will require that you have proof of ID in order to open an account. Frustratingly many will not let you fund the exchange accounts with your bank card so you may need to do a bank transfer into your new Cryptocurrency Exchange Account in order to get started.
List of the best cryptocurrency exchanges 2019
I've created a useful list for you here of a few Cryptocurrency Exchanges you can look at. Annoyingly there is no one exchange that 'stocks' all the different Cryptocurrencies out there so you will probably find you will actually need about 2 or 3 Exchange accounts if you want access to trading all the coins For now I suggest you just pick one to get started!
- Binance: Offers mobile app and probably the fastest growing exchange. If you need to pick only one, this is the best and #1 in 2019.
- Bitmex: The whale of cryptocurrency exchanges. You can do margin trading if that's your thing ( more about that later !)
- Bitfinex: Offers mobile app and a popular exchange. You can also lend cryptos here to earn interest.
- KuCoin: One of the strongest exchanges that also offers a mobile app. They have been constantly updating their mobile app to make it one of the best in the industry.
- Gate.io: Many new cryptos can be found here. Unique approach and something you should sign up for in 2018. Also offers mobile app just like KuCoin and Binance.
- Changelly: Perfect for quick crypto exchange. Easy to use and great for beginners.
- Bittrex: Another high-quality exchange with lots of coins.
what are Cryptocurrency wallets?
Wallets are software which can be used to view cryptocurrency balances and make transactions. Think of them like an electronic place to store your Cryptos.
Each wallet type is a little bit different, but in general, any given wallet will work with one or more cryptocurrencies and will be able to store one or more cryptocurrency-specific "public addresses."
Public addresses are like cryptocurrency-specific account numbers, they can be used to receive a specific type of cryptocurrency (for example, to receive Bitcoin, you need a Bitcoin address) and can be shared publicly.
Each address relates back to all transactions associated with that address on a coin's blockchain.
A wallet lets you view balances associated with an address and lets you move funds around on the blockchain as long as you are the owner of the address.
Proving you own the address is done with a private key (a secret code associated with a public address) in non-custodial wallets. In custodial wallets, the custodian (a third party like an exchange, broker, etc) holds the key for you, and it is just a matter of inputing your password into their wallet app.
Essentially a wallet is like your online bank account platform, your address is like your account number, the blockchain is like the bank's ledger, and with custodial wallets the custodian is a bit like your banker.
Why NOw is a superb time to be investing in Cryptocurrencies
I'm sure you will have seen various articles and TV news over the past year or two presenting fierce opinions from people on whether digital currencies are here to stay or will be outlawed. If you look past the people making the loudest noises and calmly and unemotionally look at the signs beneath the surface there are a couple of key areas that should give you the confidence to easily see that digital currencies are here to stay.
Globally-renowned businesses such as Microsoft, Paypal, and Shopify accept Bitcoin. There is simply no way entities of this size would consider doing this unless they had taken a corporate decision at the highest level that this method of payment was here to stay. Members of parliament in the UK, and senators in the USA, have already been forced to disclose their significant holdings in cryptocurrencies and are actively lobbying for the digital currency industry already.
Digital currencies are expected to be about to be allowed to be traded within an investment portfolio known as an ETF or Exchange Traded Fund. The implications for this are vast. When gold and silver were approved to be traded in an ETF their price skyrocketed and stayed there ever since.
Case Study – John Piper turned $4000 into $38,000 in only 6 months ! Then $200,000
Famous Investing author and good friend of mine John Piper began investing in digital currencies and started with just $4000. Johns initial $4000 grew to $38,000 6 months later – so he managed to double his money 4 times (4x) and a bit, in 6 months. After another 6 months, his initial investment was worth about $85,000. In December 2017 he saw spectacular growth and his funds exceeded $200,000.
Cryptocurrency as part of your investments as a whole
In one of my Beginners Blogs about investing in the Stockmarket I talk about building a portfolio and asset allocation. You can read about this here.
How to INvest in Cryptocurrency
The main principle of investing in cryptocurrency is simple. You need to identify coins that are likely to increase in value as they become more popular, and spread your risk across a number of coins to reduce the chances of one coin causing you an issue.
This blog contains a list of the top coins to potentially invest in for 2019.
Short Term trading
This is a huge topic and superby covered in a course from renowned trading John Piper here www.yahurasystem.co.uk
What is Cryptocurrency Arbitrage ?
Imagine that you see an item for sale on ebay thats a few pounds cheaper than on Amazon. Even with the postage costs you could still be in profit. What you could do is buy the item on ebay, then sell the item on Amazon for a profit and get the person on ebay to post the item directly to the person you sold it to.
If you dont think this is possible it really is and its called 'dropshipping'. So what has this got to do with Cryptocurrencies?
There are lots of exchanges for cryptocurrencies, and the prices on these exchanges fluctuate all day. There are times when you can buy a coin on one exchange for a lower price and then sell it straight away on another exchange for a higher price.
This principle of Arbitrage as its known is actually the basis of a rather superb little system call Buncejar that does the same thing with Horse Racing Bets ! You can find out more here www.buncejar.com.
With cryptocurrency trading still in its infancy and markets spread all around the world, there can sometimes be significant price differences between exchanges. Cryptocurrency arbitrage allows you to take advantage of those price differences, buying a crypto on one exchange where the price is low and then immediately selling it on another exchange where the price is high.
Be aware that exchange fees may eat into your profits and that some exchanges have a rather large minimum transaction size for this.
Can I be hacked with Cryptocurrency ?
There have been widely publicized frauds, scams, and hacks which have plagued individual investors and even major cryptocurrency exchanges in their short history. Part of the issue is simply that the technology and the space itself are new. While this makes cryptocurrencies like bitcoin incredibly exciting–and potentially very profitable–investments, it also means that there are those looking to capitalize on security holes before they are corrected.
If you use a well respected and known digital wallet with a well known broker such as the the ones i recommend in this blog and make sure you NEVER reveal your encryption code to anyone you'll find the chances of you being hacked are possibly lower than your real bank account.
Top list of Cryptocurrencies to trade in 2019
So lets take a look at my personal list of Cryptocurrencies to trade for 2019
Bitcoin (BTC or XBT)*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin "Bitcoin is a digital asset invented by Satoshi Nakamoto that was designed to work as a currency. It is commonly referred to as digital currency, digital cash (or digital Gold), virtual currency, electronic currency, or cryptocurrency. Bitcoin does not necessarily work well as a currency (but that is changing).
" The leader of the pack, Bitcoin was created in 2009 and has led the way ever since. Not only that but those who hold Bitcoin had a great bonus in August 2017 when Bitcoin Cash forked (meaning all holders of Bitcoin got free Bitcoin Cash – which later saw a high at $4000). Bitcoin has weathered every storm and there have only been two bad times to buy so far. These being in December 2017 when we saw a mania possibly brought on by the introduction of CBOT futures, the other time being December 2013 when something similar happened – albeit if you had bought in December 2013 and held (or HODL'd in crypto parlance – meaning Held On for Dear Life) you would be well up. Bitcoin has become investment grade and we now have the CBOT Futures and we will shortly have an SEC approved ETF – deferred from the 10th August but, if not then, in the foreseeable future. Regulation will open the institutional floodgates and that weight of money will push prices UP! The future is looking VERY rosy!! Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at £3,996.73 (0.20%)
*For larger sums, £5000+, I can also recommend UK exchange Coinfloor
Ethereum (ETH)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethereum "Ethereum is an open source, decentralized platform that allows the creation of agreements of intelligent contracts between pairs, based on the blockchain model. Any developer can create and publish distributed applications that make intelligent contracts . Ethereum also provides a cryptocurrency chip called 'ether'. You can exchange ether between different accounts and it is also used to compensate the participating nodes for the calculations made. Ethereum was proposed by Vitalik Buterin, a developer of digital currency. The development of the same was achieved thanks to a collective financing platform, from July to August 2014. The system finally came out on July 30, 2015."Ethereum has been no. 2 for some years. Many of the ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) that come out are based on Ethereum and Ethereum is often needed to buy coin in an ICO. Ethereum is a little slow compared to say NEO, but its market cap is a factor as are its track record and team. Ethereum (ETH) is currently trading at £135.84 (0.44%)
https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-is-eos/ "Calling itself the most powerful infrastructure for decentralized applications, EOS is a blockchain-based, decentralized system that enables the development, hosting, and execution of commercial-scale decentralized applications (dApps) on its platform." An Ethereum competitor with potentially better tech.
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bitcoin-cash.asp "Bitcoin cash is a digital currency created in August 2017, arising from a fork of Bitcoin Classic. Bitcoin Cash increased the size of the blocks, allowing more transactions to be processed more quickly. Since its launch, Bitcoin faced pressure from community members on the topic of scalability. Specifically, that the size of blocks – set at 1 megabyte (MB), or a million bytes, in 2010 – would slow down transaction processing times, thus limiting the currency's potential, just as it was gaining in popularity. The block size limit was added to the Bitcoin code in order to prevent spam attacks on the network at a time when the value of a Bitcoin was low. By 2015, the value of Bitcoin had increased substantially and average block size had reached 600 bytes, creating a scenario in which transaction times could run into delays as more blocks reached maximum capacity." Created by a fork from Bitcoin and with real potential in fact it has been said that Bitcoin Cash might be come THE Bitcoin – I understand this occurs if it achieves greater turnover and acceptance. In this sense holding BCH can be seen as a hedge against holdings of Bitcoin. However as we now have Bitcoin Futures with an ETF in the pipeline this now seems less likely. But Bitcoin Cash is now a real contender when it comes to payment systems. This was, of course, the original aim of Bitcoin itself but that is now more akin to digital gold!
Stellar Lumens (XLM)
https://coincentral.com/what-is-stellar-lumens-a-beginners-guide/ "On its website, Stellar Lumens advertises itself as an open-sourced, distributed payments infrastructure, built on the premise that the international community needs "a worldwide financial network open to anyone." Stellar Lumens will fill this need, connecting individuals, institutions, and payment systems through its platform. In doing so, the Stellar Lumen's team wants to make monetary transactions cheaper, quicker, and more reliable than they are under current systems. In addition, their protocol would connect people from all over the world by allowing for more efficient cross-border payments." Often mentioned in dispatches and highly rated XLM is one of my favourite coins as it is with many others. XLM is already working with some very well known brands and deserves its place in my top 10 (and its place in the top 20 coins as per market cap).
6. Litecoin (LTC)
https://www.weusecoins.com/what-is-litecoin/ "Litecoin is a peer-to-peer Internet currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin is an open source, global payment network that is fully decentralized without any central authorities. Mathematics secures the network and empowers individuals to control their own finances. Litecoin features faster transaction confirmation times and improved storage efficiency than the leading math-based currency. With substantial industry support, trade volume and liquidity, Litecoin is a proven medium of commerce complementary to Bitcoin. The official website declares this is "The CryptoCurrency for Payments" and is one of the contenders for the crypto payments coin (along with BCH and XLM)) – albeit there will be more than one winner.
Monero (XMR)
https://www.investopedia.com/tech/introduction-monero-xmr/ "A lot of digital currencies have launched in recent years. Many aimed to enhance privacy and anonymity, although their success varied. A few of these digital currencies allow public viewing of all transactions, while others make privacy optional. And still others keep the privacy feature as strictly implicit. The digital currency Monero has achieved a high level of popularity and acceptance for its privacy-oriented features. A coin with additional security and privacy – a basic human right IMHO.
Zcash (ZEC)
https://cryptobriefing.com/what-is-zec-introduction-to-zcash/ "Zcash is a digital currency just like Bitcoin and Litecoin, but with a few improvements to the structure. The Zerocoin protocol that became the Zcash cryptocurrency in 2016 was created by the Zcash Company, founded by Zooko Wilcox-O'Hearn. It uses cryptography to enhance user privacy, so Zcash transactions can either by transparent like Bitcoin, or shielded through a zero-knowledge proof called zk-SNARKs. While this concept sounds shady to law enforcement, the Zcash Company insists it was developed to act more like fiat currency than to facilitate any type of illegal or criminal activity. Another major contender for the cash of the future with additional security and privacy but not to the extent of XMR. Zcash is currently considered undervalued.
https://coincentral.com/what-is-neo-cryptocurrency/ "NEO is a next generation smart economy platform (formerly Antshares) and means new and young in Greek. NEO has had a monumental rise to fame and most know NEO for its explosive growth. However, when you look under the hood there is a lot to see." The Chinese Ethereum which I bought when it was still Antshares. The Chinese are many, are technically minded, and favour their own – hence my purchase over a year ago. I'm up around 20x since then! But plenty more to come.
https://ukcryptocurrency.com/iota/introduction-what-is-iota/ "Unlike Bitcoin which uses a blockchain architecture for maintaining it's ledger, IOTA uses the 'Tangle' which is a Directed Acyclic Graph, known as a DAG. In summary the Tangle solves both the scalability and transaction fee issues faced by Bitcoin (And most digital currencies) by requiring the Sender in a transaction to perform a kind of proof of work which approves two transactions. Thus, the act of making a transaction and validating transactions are coupled. This removes dedicated miners and makes the system fully decenteralised – those making transactions (the systems 'users') are the only actors who can affect the system (whereas in bitcoin miners are not 'using' the system, rather they are simply enabling it to operate). Here is a quote from the website – The IOTA Foundation's vision extends to many different realms which are all dependent on access to a single source of truth. Data is only as valuable as it is valid. Ensuring what is true is precisely what Distributed Ledger Technology enables. You can see the rest of this statement at https://www.iota.org/the-foundation/our-vision – interesting stuff!
List of Speculative Cryptocurrencies for 2019 for Big Potential Profits
Lets now look at the smaller, less well known digital currencies that I believe have the strongest potential for meteoric rises in the near future. I have had holdings in coins like these go from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds in value. These smaller altcoins should make up a small percentage of your overall portfolio.
With these coins, the mentality should be simple. You need to buy holdings in these coins almost as a 'punt'. What I mean is, you should expect some of them to not move in value at all. In fact, a couple may even fall and disappear. In contrast, we only need ONE of the coins we choose to explode in value and we will make a handsome profit.
MaidSafeCoin (MAID) – Exc. HitBTC
https://coincentral.com/what-is-maidsafecoin-beginners-guide/ "This is a coin with a very clear plan and the introduction on the link above sets it out… MaidSafeCoin serves as a token for Safecoin, a decentralized currency for a decentralized network. Safecoin will serve as the currency for the SAFE network, a network made up of the extra hard disk space, processing power, and data connectivity of its users. Think of it as the sharing economy but for your digital resources. MaidSafe is the company developing the SAFE network to save the world from the perils of centralized data storage. In the current paradigm, the best case is corporations use your data to better target you to their advertisers. The worst case is they leak your private data to the public, as Yahoo, Equifax, Target, and many other companies have already done." Governments and corporations are very keen on keeping their data secret but do not like it when we want the same. This sort of hypocrisy is why digital coins are necessary and it is what also makes them important. The history of the world is to an extent the history of the less powerful breaking away from the control of the powerful and right now we are at a pivotal point.
Ethos (ETHOS) – Exc. Binance+
https://coincentral.com/what-is-ethos/ "Ethos was formerly known as Bitquence since its debut in 2017. They later changed the name to Ethos in November. Under the new name, interest in the project grew steadily after the ICO. Ethos's popularity exploded in the first week of 2018, as evidenced by the price of ETHOS coin. The Ethos platform and underlying technology are still under development. A public version of the platform has not yet been released. However, Ethos had a limited alpha in 2017, and it will enter beta and production in 2018. The ultimate goal of the platform is to be a complete multi-asset wealth management solution. As such, the founders have focused on user experience, people-centric features, and regulatory compliance. In this article, we'll look at what Ethos has in store and why the project is generating such excitement." One of the BIG issues with cryptos is security and this has been a real issue for me over the last 20 months or so – Ethos plans to solve this and there are other coins/exchanges with similar plans. However Ethos are one of the most advanced projects also planning to offer an automated diversification process. Regulation is welcome to the digital currency world, by me and others, as it will be one more step towards greater acceptance (and thus higher prices) BUT over-regulation, which is a fairly typical trend is NOT welcome, at least not by me. However, that is a trend that is much harder to stop. The new ETHOS wallet is already available to download and I will be looking at this shortly.
Stratis (STRAT) – Exc Bitfinex ++
https://coincentral.com/stratis-beginner-guide/ "Stratis is a blockchain development platform for enterprise businesses to easily create applications on specific, private blockchains. The Stratis API framework enables organizations to speed up their blockchain creation and simplify the development process involved with it. Although the company is primarily targeting financial institutions, any business interested in incorporating blockchain can benefit from the project. They've even recently partnered with a seafood company, Earth Twine. Stratis takes a more hands-on approach to implementation than other blockchain projects. Beyond building the platform, the team offers consulting services to businesses who may need guidance in working with their technology. They also work with clients in building out and hosting decentralized applications so they can fully understand their smart contract needs." Stratis is a highly regarded business development coin. One issue with this is that the coin itself has no particular purpose but the team is innovative and expected to overcome this issue.
Power Ledger (POWR) – Exc Bitfinex ++
https://coincentral.com/power-ledger-beginner-guide/ "Imagine a world without reliance on big utility companies or foreign resources for all the energy needed to run your life. That world may become a reality in the near future in thanks to Power Ledger's decentralized applications. Power Ledger, a blockchain-based platform, plans to completely revolutionalise the worldwide energy industry by enabling local areas the ability to sell and distribute solar power to its neighbors without the need of a middleman. In a 2015 report, Deutsche Bank stated that at least thirty countries worldwide have already reached grid parity: the state where the price of solar-generated electricity was equal or less than the cost of local retail electricity. Combining innovations in both solar power and blockchain development, Power Ledger offers an unmatchable energy solution that is cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable than traditional energy alternatives." I think the comments above say it all – another innovative, and potentially disruptive, digital coin which may change the world we live in for the better.
Cardano (ADA) – Exc Bitfinex ++
https://coincentral.com/cardano-beginner-guide/ "Cardano is being developed in two layers that separate the ledger of account values from the reason why values are moved from one account to the other. This separation enables the smart contracts that are written on the platform to be more flexible. Businesses can take advantage of this separation to tailor the design, privacy, and execution" Another business based application based on smart contracts which are basically contracts which enforce themselves.
Bitshares (BTS) – Exc. BInance+
https://www.cryptocompare.com/coins/bts/overview/BTC "BitShares (BTS) was first introduced in a White Paper titled "A Peer-to-Peer Polymorphic Digital Asset Exchange" by Daniel Larimer, Charles Hoskinson, and Stan Larimer. It is a brand of open-source software based on the as blockchain technology as used by Bitcoin. Unlike bitcoins, which do not produce any income for their owners, BitShare can be used to launch Decentralized Autonomous Companies (DACs) which issue shares, produce profits and distribute profits to shareholders. As such, BitShares is about making profitable companies that people want to own shares in, thus creating return for the shareholders. The first DAC launched by this proces was called BitSharesX, a decentralized asset exchange based in Hong Kong. BitShares was originally launched under the name of ProtoShares (PTS); it was later renamed to BitShares (BTS) and "reloaded" in November 2014 by merging several products into BitShares (BTS)." This one is a simpler concept, a de-centralised exchange, which runs itself free from human interference. The concept of de-centralisation is central to the digital currency world to take us away from over-zealous government regulation.
NEM (XEM) – Exc. Binance
https://coincentral.com/what-is-nem/ New Economy Movement (NEM) is an enterprise-grade solution to power the impending blockchain economy. Originally intended to be a fork of NXT, the community decided to go with a completely new codebase with an alpha version released June 25, 2014, and the first stable release March 31, 2015. The platform is currently being rewritten in C++ and will be released as the "Catapult" update sometime in early 2018. The Smart Asset System: The NEM blockchain powers what they call the Smart Asset System. This system is intended to be an open, customizable blockchain solution for any number of use cases built on top of simple, powerful API calls. The blockchain is secured and transactions are processed by a global network of nodes running the NEM core software, and the network is used as an API Gateway server. This means developers looking to build blockchain powered apps don't need to run any special NEM software as all of the NEM functionality is available by accessing API calls.This allows for a lot of flexibility when it comes to system design and how various apps are making use of the NEM network. Apps can access the NEM API directly, access a separate server in addition to making NEM requests, or existing servers can be adapted to make use of NEM in the background. Coins like NEM are less sexy and also harder to grasp but will have a key roll in the future of crypto as it develops (just as the internet did 20 odd years ago).
Quantstamp (QSP) – Exc. Binance +
https://coincentral.com/quantstamp-beginner-guide/ Quantstamp is a security-auditing protocol for smart contracts. As a dapps platform, Ethereum has proven its security time and again. However, dapps and smart contracts on top of Ethereum may still have bugs in which malicious players can cause havoc on the network. The two most notable examples of these being the $55 million DAO hack and the $30 million Parity wallet bug. These issues not only affect the people who've had their funds stolen, but they also diminish the credibility of the entire ecosystem. Writing smart contracts is already a tough job. Like any other computer programming, writing them without any bugs is near impossible. To add fuel to the fire, the rate at which smart contracts are being written (estimated 10 million by the end of the year) is outpacing the resources needed to audit them. Even with robust security auditing, a small bug could slip through the cracks causing catastrophe down the road. This is potentially a key coin providing a verification process for smart contracts and it has been given a solid welcome.
Mainframe (MFT) – Exc. Binance+
https://coincentral.com/mainframe-mick-hagen-interview-part-1/ How exactly does Mainframe work? How do you guarantee censorship resistance and the privacy surrounding data and messages? We're building the infrastructure. We also built an app called Onyx, the messaging app that people can use to communicate. But, Mainframe is the infrastructure. It's the decentralized communication network – a network of nodes. You've got people all over the world who are running Mainframe nodes, and essentially those nodes relay messages across the network. That's why the Mainframe token is essential. They're paid to relay messages, to route messages across the network, to deliver messages, to store messages. And, everything's fully encrypted. That's table stakes at this point for messaging networks. We also have this functionality called dark routing which creates an added layer of privacy for people who want it. It's optional depending on the message. If you're having a conversation that's very private, you can turn on dark routing. Mainframe is all about secure messaging and they plan to offer a decentralized platform so that no one can interfere, read your messages or censor what you want to say – so pretty key stuff!
Nano Exc. Binance +
https://coincentral.com/raiblocks-beginners-guide/ Nano hopes to become what Bitcoin, at times, struggles to be: an efficient, viable alternative to fiat currencies. In Nano's white paper (each crypto has a white paper setting out its stall) the digital currency's development team raises concerns over the practicality of Bitcoin as a common currency. The concerns are as follows: Scalability issues have users facing high transaction fees, with a median fee of $10.38 Bitcoin's high computational latency makes for an average transaction time of 164 minutes. Bitcoin's proof of work consensus uses an estimated 27.28TWh annually, an average of 260KWh per transaction. Using its own block-lattice structure, Nano wants to succeed where Bitcoin has fallen short. The cryptocurrency promises to deliver zero-fee transactions in real time without the same work-intensive overhead and energy consumption as Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has shifted to become a store of a value, the digital currency equivalent of gold, and this was perhaps inevitable for the first digital currency. Nano can send transactions at lightning sped and at zero cost.
One point you will note above is that there are various digital currencies in each "sector" (for example "payments" and here we find Bitcoin Cash, Z-cash, Litecoin, Monero and Nano.) Now, not all of the digital currencies in this space are going to succeed, albeit I believe that my choices have better prospects than the average, but it would be a mistake to think only one will in each sector – look at the Motor Industry and Banking as examples where there are numerous winners.
Another point is that you might think a new coin like Nano has an advantage as it is based on more innovative technology. This is true to an extent but the more established coins, like Bitcoin itself, have development teams and can "catch up" plus they have much bigger bases of established fans. As I write (in July 2018) price remains depressed but this will not remain the case for long. In fact, I think we have a fantastic opportunity at this time. Bitcoin has fallen 70%+ from the $20k high seen at the end of 2017 but some of the altcoins have seen even bigger falls. Similarly when the rally comes the altcoins are liable to benefit by much larger percentages than Bitcoin – but I suggest a portfolio including Bitcoin as well.
There was a key event on August 10th that got postponed, when the SEC in the US will give their decision on a major Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) – The creation of such funds have often marked key lows in other commodities, i.e. Gold and Uranium. I'm waiting closely for a ruling on this around the time you will all be starting this course. In the next module we will bring all that you have learned so far together and show you one of the most important skills in digital currencies trading…. which is security. Just like keeping your money safely locked up in a bank or in your pocket in a wallet I'll show you how to keep your coins safe from hackers and unscrupulous brokers.
Once we have covered safety we will then bring this all together and begin learning the crucial skill of reading the market and knowing when to buy and when to sell with absolute confidence. Now that we have explored the big main coins and the smaller altcoins in which I'm particularly interested,its time to show you a very useful website to add to the favourites on your browser.
This website is a hugely useful resource to get an in depth listing of which brokers sell which coins. It also is a great centralised to find out about more coins and even shop around with the best broker sometimes to get the absolute best price when buying. You'll hear me mention this site a lot in my webinars and posts. Don't worry about the content too much for now (there is a lot there !!!), for now you know what I'm talking about and where to find the site.
How to Avoid Cryptocurrency Scams
There are a number of areas where I have seen people scammed with Cryptocurrency and armed with the knowledge here you will be able to avoid them easily.
Dodgy Exchanges
Here is a list of exchanges to avoid
01crypto, Btc-cap, Capital-coins, Coinquick, Cryptavenir, Crypto-banque, Crypto-infos, Cryptos.solutions, Cryptos-currency, Ether-invest, Eurocryptopro, Finance-mag, Gme-crypto, Gmtcrypto, Good-crypto, Mycrypto24, Nettocrypto, Patrimoinecrypto, and Ydconsultant.
Fake Wallets
Only download or buy software for Digital Currency Wallets from reputable places.
Pyramid and Ponzi Cryptocurrency Schemes
Be careful of scam sites that clone a reputable website with a very similar name and near identical layout.
The BEst Cryptocurrency profit making strategies
Buying & HODLing
This is the principle of most Investors. Buy and Hold on until you get a profit you are happy with. The key here is to buy at the lowest price possible and sell at the highest price. Also Ill explain later in this blog how to get FREE coins and also invest in coins that pay a second passive income as well.
What Cryptocurrencies pay Dividends?
You are probably already aware that when you hold shares in a public company they often pay a 'dividend' to the shareholders each year as a representation of the profits that the company has made.
Well its great to see that while you are buying and holding on to a cryptocurrency there are some that will also pay you an additional passive income while you also see the underlying increase in the value of the coin as well.
Each coin has different rules , and you shouldn't confuse this with 'mining' which is different.
So What are masternodes?
Masternode is simply a cryptocurrency full node or computer wallet that keeps the full copy of the blockchain in real-time ,
Masternodes are very useful for crypto investors because of running a masternode you are incentivized. Consider it just like earning a monthly or weekly interest on your crypto holdings.
Different cryptocurrencies have different incentive models through which an MN operator can earn a decently monthly or weekly income. I call it smart passive income.
If you are invested in a cryptocurrency that allows you to run a masternode, you should definitely explore that option of earning.
So lets take a look at some great Coins for some passive income .
Neo Dividends – GAS
Owning Neo means you also get paid a crypto-token called GAS. The GAS can only be paid into certain digital wallets so make sure you check their rules and have the correct wallet. These tokens are worth about 5.5% return per year on top of the price change of Neo itself.
KuCoin Dividends
With Kucoin you get a daily variable bonus . You will need to have a MyEtherWallet or Any ERC-20 Wallet
Other coins that pays dividends
Some of the other coins that pay dividends include Bridgecoin, Neblio, Komodo, PIVX, NAVcoin#4. Run Masternodes
Day Trading Cryptocurrencies
This is a HUGE topic in itself and you will need guidance from a day trading expert. Remember the case study from John Piper in this blog ? Well John Piper has been investing and trading for decades and has written countless books. He runs a superb course on trading Cryptocurrencies from the site https://www.yahurasystem.co.uk.
What is a Cryptocurrency Airdrop ?
Free Coins ? FREE ?! Airdrops are a superb way for a cryptocurrency investor to make some gains with no outlay .
An airdrop is a distribution of a cryptocurrency token or coin, usually for free, to a large number of wallet addresses. Airdrops are primarily implemented as a way of gaining attention and new followers, resulting in a larger user-base and a wider disbursement of coins.
There are some more services and websites through which you can get regular updates about airdrops. However, understand the fact that not all airdrops are worth participating in and can be sometimes fraudulent too.
Two great places for alerts are at
What is a Cryptocurrency ICO ?
This is the launch of a new coin. An initial coin offering (ICO) or initial currency offering is a type of funding using cryptocurrencies. … In an ICO, a quantity of cryptocurrency is sold in the form of "tokens" ("coins") to speculators or investors, in exchange for legal tender or othercryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
The advantage of an ICO is you have the potential to get them at a low price, but you need to be careful about scams and make sure by checking in multiple places that the offering is genuine.
Is it worth Cryptocurrency mining?
You'll remember from earlier in this blog I explained that cryptocurrnecy mining was allowing your computer or a special computer you have bought to handle some of the cryptocurrency transactions and get paid a small amount of coin as a thankyou.
you may have seen the huge warehouses full of computers set up in countries like Iceland to mine coins, but due to the costs of electricity and the hardware its almost impossible for you to make money at home from your laptop doing this. With a recent drop in value of some of the big coins it also means that mining just isn't worth it at the moment.
Summary of Cryptocurrency Investing and Trading
The Cryptocurrency market is still very much 'The Wild West' but with big risks comes the potential for HUGE rewards. This guide has given you everything you need to get started , open accounts, maintain a secure wallet, pick quality coins and even get a second income and free coins too.


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A DISPERSAL order for the Sealand Manor Estate has been extended by three months after continued reports of anti-social behaviour.
The order was first introduced on February 1 by North Wales Police in conjunction with Flintshire County Council.
The new order commenced yesterday (Thursday) and expires at 6am on August 1.
It will give police officers and police community support officers powers to move on groups of people congregating in an area if they suspect possible disorder or harassment.
People who ignore the order or who return to an area they were dispersed from can be arrested.
The dispersal order includes Manor Road, the Owl Industrial Estate, Meadow View, Ferry Close, South Green, East Green, North Green, West Green, the grounds of the Shooting School and the playground and recreational areas.
Deeside Inspector Darren Wareing said: "Since the current order has been imposed reports of anti-social behaviour have significantly reduced in the area, however North Wales Police want to ensure all members of the community are aware we will continue to use any legislation available to us to allow the residents and visitors to the area to feel safer and enjoy a better quality of life."
As part of the decision-making process, residents were asked their views and from the large amount of results received it was clear the vast majority fully supported the continuation of the current dispersal order.
Insp Wareing added: "North Wales Police is currently working alongside other partnership agencies, including the local authority and housing agencies, to effectively reduce crime and anti- social behaviour and will target those who continue to break the law and act in an anti-social manner."
Any residents experiencing anti-social behaviour or any victims of crime are urged to contact North Wales Police on 0845 6071002.

subset: commoncrawl


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Borealis, Nestlé, and Walmart have joined eight other leading businesses to become part of the Core Partners group for the New Plastics Economy, an initiative which brings together key stakeholders to rethink and redesign the future of plastics. Beginning with plastic packaging, the Core Partners will all work towards building and scaling a circular economy in which it never becomes waste.
As a global provider of innovative plastics solutions, Borealis aims to lead the industry to a future circular economy in which plastics are reused and recycled – and never wasted. Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins & Innovation & Technology, said:
"We are proud and honoured to have been invited to join the other Core Partners of the New Plastics Economy initiative in accelerating the transition to a circular economy for plastics. Borealis has made firm commitments to significantly increase the volume and range of our circular plastic solutions. We are equally committed to working with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to achieve this essential transformation to a new and circular future of plastics."
Nestlé is the largest food company in the world, with a portfolio of more than 2,000 brands and present in 189 countries. Nestlé's products include coffee, petcare, infant nutrition and health science, dairy products and ice cream, prepared dishes and cooking aids, confectionery and water. Véronique Cremades-Mathis, Global Head of Sustainable Packaging at Nestlé, said:
"Collaboration and collective action are critical to achieving system-wide change to the way we think about and engage with plastics. At Nestlé, we don't want any of our packaging, including plastics, to become waste or pollution. The New Plastics Economy initiative represents an important catalyst on the journey to achieving a circular economy for plastics, and we are pleased to be able to contribute to this work through our expanded role as a Core Partner."
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, counts more than 11,200 stores under 55 banners in 27 countries. The business provides access to high-quality affordable food and other essential products to people around the world. Zach Freeze, Senior Director of Sustainability at Walmart, said:
"We are excited to join the New Plastics Economy initiative as a Core Partner, which supports our aspirational goal of achieving zero plastic waste. Our continued collaboration with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation builds upon our work with suppliers to move towards 100% recyclable, reusable, or industrially compostable packaging, use less virgin plastic, and help educate customers on how to recycle more."
The three new Core Partners are also signatories of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which unites more than 400 organisations behind a common vision and targets to address plastic waste and pollution at its source. This vision of a circular economy for plastic is underpinned by three main actions: (1) Eliminate all problematic and unnecessary plastic items (2) Innovate to ensure that the plastics we do need are reusable, recyclable, or compostable. (3) Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the economy and out of the environment. Find out more about the New Plastics Economy vision here.
Note: The Global Environment Facility and the Oak Foundation are the Philanthropic Funders of the New Plastics Economy initiative. Wendy Schmidt, through The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, is the lead Philanthropic Partner.


text:
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We are often concerned about the danger to pets from predators, such as a cage bird or pet rodent threatened by a cat, or a cat threatened by a dog, but we do not always pay enough attention to the threat posed to our children from other creatures.
Figures recently issued in America claim that about 4.7 million people report dog bites per year. Each year, between 15 and 25 people die from dog bites and most of the victims are children. Children aged between 5 to 7, especially boys, are the most common victims.
In the UK 50% of homes include a pet of some description and 1600 children each year are admitted to hospital as a result of a dog bite.
Certain dog breeds, such as Alsatians and Rottweilers, account for over fifty percent of fatal cases.
When approaching an owner's dog consider the following:
In addition, some further attention should be focused on other health hazards involving dogs. The estimated population in the UK is about six million. This produces approximately 1000 tons of
faeces a day. Over 350,000 tons of dog excrement is deposited each year in children's playgrounds.
This unpleasant material very often contains a parasitic roundworm, Toxocara Canis, which can cause blindness in humans. Over 100 people each year are known to catch a disease resulting from this problem, and many of these victims are children. This is a particularly hazardous threat when very young children are on their hands and knees. Young children often put their hands in their mouths after exploring everything with their fingers, and of course, do not wash them. Even some adults can be neglectful in this way.
Another unpleasant organism which can be found in dog faeces and, in fact, all animals including humans, is Cryptosporidium Parvum. Cryptosporidiosis can be easily cured but can be very dangerous if left untreated.
Cats are the most popular pets in this country, more so than dogs, but can still create problems, such as Toxoplasmosis. This condition is caused by a single-celled protozoa called Toxoplasma Gondii, again found in the faeces. As long as normal, healthy procedures are maintained with a sensible attitude towards hygiene this condition should never occur, but people should be aware of these dangers where children are concerned.
As many of these diseases are to be found in soil very young children should be prevented from eating it or anything that may be in contact with soil. Children's hands should be washed before eating.
Even some pet reptiles, such as snakes, turtles, and lizards, can cause infections from salmonella, which is found in their faeces. This threat is becoming more serious as the interest in keeping these pets increases.
Keep reptiles away from children under five years old, and teach older children to wash their hands after handling them.
No child should be touching an animal whilst eating food, sweets, or ice creams.
All children should be closely supervised when in the presence of animals.
for details on dangerous dogs in the UK Dangerous dogs in the UK


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There's an old saying "Time waits for no one." Sages and zen masters have used this for centuries to move their nations forward.
We all try and convince ourselves that we have plenty of time to do something on our goal list, or worse to start doing something on our big dream list.
But nothing happens unless we act. The goals can't be goals and the dreams can't be more than something we wish for unless we actually do something to move forward towards them becoming a reality.
This year my wife and I celebrate our 10th anniversary. Since we first got together, all she talked about was London. She spent a semester there in college and when she returned, wanted to be right back there.
For the first few years of our marriage, she dreamed of returning and we both talked about how "one day" we'll go there. One day was a long ways off, because every time we'd talk about how it was a "goal" we had to do it, neither of us were doing anything to make that happen.
One day we both stopped each other and asked, when are we going to London? Are we ever going to go or are we just going to talk about it?
The truth is, we didn't have the money to make an international trip. Finances had been the main reason we'd just talked about London and not been proactive about making it happen. However, just because you can't pay for something big right now doesn't mean you lack the resources to make it happen at a future date.
So from that day forward, we saved money every month and put it in our London Fund. Note, we weren't making a ton of money at the time. Both of us worked full time jobs with a few part time projects on the side and were fresh out of college. We cut expenses where we could and did what was necessary to be able to save up.
Last September that dream came true. We spent 10 days in London and the surrounding area, got to experience the gorgeous English country side, some of the best pub beer on earth, and I even bought a few comic books at this killer antique shop.
What made the dream into a reality was more than money, which was what we originally thought was all that was needed. In truth, what it took was deliberate planning, discipline, and an end date. Years ago when we started this process, we set an end date for 2014, roughly ten years after her original trip overseas. Without an end date, it's easy to keep kicking the can down the road, and then nothing come from your goal setting.
You have goals and plans and hopes and dreams. Do you have an end date set for when you want those to come into fruition? Is that end date realistic?
Sometimes obstacles that lie in the path of our goals and dreams can seem too big to overcome, or too much to try and deal with right now, so we say to ourselves, "Someday I'll have that."
Let someday be today, because you're choosing to take action and figure out what the next steps are.
Let me know what your goals are, and what challenges are in the way. We can put together an action-item plan to help you get ahead and reach your dreams.
Time isn't waiting on you. You are.


text: Weight Loss: Decrease in existing BODY WEIGHT.Body Weight: The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.Weight Gain: Increase in BODY WEIGHT over existing weight.Diet, Reducing: A diet designed to cause an individual to lose weight.Obesity: A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the acceptable or desirable weight, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).Weight Reduction Programs: Services providing counseling and activities that help overweight individuals to attain a more healthy body weight.Molecular Weight: The sum of the weight of all the atoms in a molecule.Birth Weight: The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual at BIRTH. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.Obesity, Morbid: The condition of weighing two, three, or more times the ideal weight, so called because it is associated with many serious and life-threatening disorders. In the BODY MASS INDEX, morbid obesity is defined as having a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2.Body Mass Index: An indicator of body density as determined by the relationship of BODY WEIGHT to BODY HEIGHT. BMI=weight (kg)/height squared (m2). BMI correlates with body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE). Their relationship varies with age and gender. For adults, BMI falls into these categories: below 18.5 (underweight); 18.5-24.9 (normal); 25.0-29.9 (overweight); 30.0 and above (obese). (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Overweight: A status with BODY WEIGHT that is above certain standard of acceptable or desirable weight. In the scale of BODY MASS INDEX, overweight is defined as having a BMI of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2. Overweight may or may not be due to increases in body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE), hence overweight does not equal "over fat".Anti-Obesity Agents: Agents that increase energy expenditure and weight loss by neural and chemical regulation. Beta-adrenergic agents and serotoninergic drugs have been experimentally used in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) to treat obesity.Energy Intake: Total number of calories taken in daily whether ingested or by parenteral routes.Body Composition: The relative amounts of various components in the body, such as percentage of body fat.Caloric Restriction: Reduction in caloric intake without reduction in adequate nutrition. In experimental animals, caloric restriction has been shown to extend lifespan and enhance other physiological variables.Bariatric Surgery: Surgical procedures aimed at affecting metabolism and producing major WEIGHT REDUCTION in patients with MORBID OBESITY.Exercise: Physical activity which is usually regular and done with the intention of improving or maintaining PHYSICAL FITNESS or HEALTH. Contrast with PHYSICAL EXERTION which is concerned largely with the physiologic and metabolic response to energy expenditure.Cachexia: General ill health, malnutrition, and weight loss, usually associated with chronic disease.CyclobutanesDiet, Carbohydrate-Restricted: A diet that contains limited amounts of CARBOHYDRATES. This is in distinction to a regular DIET.Energy Metabolism: The chemical reactions involved in the production and utilization of various forms of energy in cells.Diet, Fat-Restricted: A diet that contains limited amounts of fat with less than 30% of calories from all fats and less than 10% from saturated fat. Such a diet is used in control of HYPERLIPIDEMIAS. (From Bondy et al, Metabolic Control and Disease, 8th ed, pp468-70; Dorland, 27th ed)Behavior Therapy: The application of modern theories of learning and conditioning in the treatment of behavior disorders.Appetite Depressants: Agents that are used to suppress appetite.Eating: The consumption of edible substances.Adipose Tissue: Specialized connective tissue composed of fat cells (ADIPOCYTES). It is the site of stored FATS, usually in the form of TRIGLYCERIDES. In mammals, there are two types of adipose tissue, the WHITE FAT and the BROWN FAT. Their relative distributions vary in different species with most adipose tissue being white.Diet: Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.Feeding Behavior: Behavioral responses or sequences associated with eating including modes of feeding, rhythmic patterns of eating, and time intervals.Fetal Weight: The weight of the FETUS in utero. It is usually estimated by various formulas based on measurements made during PRENATAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY.Infant, Low Birth Weight: An infant having a birth weight of 2500 gm. (5.5 lb.) or less but INFANT, VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT is available for infants having a birth weight of 1500 grams (3.3 lb.) or less.Time Factors: Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.Treatment Outcome: Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.Organ Size: The measurement of an organ in volume, mass, or heaviness.Diet Therapy: By adjusting the quantity and quality of food intake to improve health status of an individual. This term does not include the methods of food intake (NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT).Life Style: Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)Leptin: A 16-kDa peptide hormone secreted from WHITE ADIPOCYTES. Leptin serves as a feedback signal from fat cells to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM in regulation of food intake, energy balance, and fat storage.Anorexia: The lack or loss of APPETITE accompanied by an aversion to food and the inability to eat. It is the defining characteristic of the disorder ANOREXIA NERVOSA.Follow-Up Studies: Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.Gastric Balloon: An inflatable device implanted in the stomach as an adjunct to therapy of morbid obesity. Specific types include the silicone Garren-Edwards Gastric Bubble (GEGB), approved by the FDA in 1985, and the Ballobes Balloon.Diet Fads: Diets which become fashionable, but which are not necessarily nutritious.(Lehninger 1982, page 484)Anthropometry: The technique that deals with the measurement of the size, weight, and proportions of the human or other primate body.Biliopancreatic Diversion: A surgical procedure which diverts pancreatobiliary secretions via the duodenum and the jejunum into the colon, the remaining small intestine being anastomosed to the stomach after antrectomy. The procedure produces less diarrhea than does jejunoileal bypass.Pregnancy: The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.Dietary Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates present in food comprising digestible sugars and starches and indigestible cellulose and other dietary fibers. The former are the major source of energy. The sugars are in beet and cane sugar, fruits, honey, sweet corn, corn syrup, milk and milk products, etc.; the starches are in cereal grains, legumes (FABACEAE), tubers, etc. (From Claudio & Lagua, Nutrition and Diet Therapy Dictionary, 3d ed, p32, p277)Appetite: Natural recurring desire for food. Alterations may be induced by APPETITE DEPRESSANTS or APPETITE STIMULANTS.Dietary Proteins: Proteins obtained from foods. They are the main source of the ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS.Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2: A subclass of DIABETES MELLITUS that is not INSULIN-responsive or dependent (NIDDM). It is characterized initially by INSULIN RESISTANCE and HYPERINSULINEMIA; and eventually by GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE; HYPERGLYCEMIA; and overt diabetes. Type II diabetes mellitus is no longer considered a disease exclusively found in adults. Patients seldom develop KETOSIS but often exhibit OBESITY.Risk Factors: An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.Insulin: A 51-amino acid pancreatic hormone that plays a major role in the regulation of glucose metabolism, directly by suppressing endogenous glucose production (GLYCOGENOLYSIS; GLUCONEOGENESIS) and indirectly by suppressing GLUCAGON secretion and LIPOLYSIS. Native insulin is a globular protein comprised of a zinc-coordinated hexamer. Each insulin monomer containing two chains, A (21 residues) and B (30 residues), linked by two disulfide bonds. Insulin is used as a drug to control insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (DIABETES MELLITUS, TYPE 1).Infant, Newborn: An infant during the first month after birth.Basal Metabolism: Heat production, or its measurement, of an organism at the lowest level of cell chemistry in an inactive, awake, fasting state. It may be determined directly by means of a calorimeter or indirectly by calculating the heat production from an analysis of the end products of oxidation within the organism or from the amount of oxygen utilized.Motor Activity: The physical activity of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.Insulin Resistance: Diminished effectiveness of INSULIN in lowering blood sugar levels: requiring the use of 200 units or more of insulin per day to prevent HYPERGLYCEMIA or KETOSIS.Prospective Studies: Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.Phentermine: A central nervous system stimulant and sympathomimetic with actions and uses similar to those of DEXTROAMPHETAMINE. It has been used most frequently in the treatment of obesity.Dietary Fats: Fats present in food, especially in animal products such as meat, meat products, butter, ghee. They are present in lower amounts in nuts, seeds, and avocados.Patient Compliance: Voluntary cooperation of the patient in following a prescribed regimen.Adiposity: The amount of fat or lipid deposit at a site or an organ in the body, an indicator of body fat status.Bariatrics: Activities related to WEIGHT REDUCTION in patients with OBESITY. Treatment methods include DIET; EXERCISE; BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION; medications; and BARIATRIC SURGERY.Lipids: A generic term for fats and lipoids, the alcohol-ether-soluble constituents of protoplasm, which are insoluble in water. They comprise the fats, fatty oils, essential oils, waxes, phospholipids, glycolipids, sulfolipids, aminolipids, chromolipids (lipochromes), and fatty acids. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)Blood Glucose: Glucose in blood.HIV Wasting Syndrome: Involuntary weight loss of greater than 10 percent associated with intermittent or constant fever and chronic diarrhea or fatigue for more than 30 days in the absence of a defined cause other than HIV infection. A constant feature is major muscle wasting with scattered myofiber degeneration. A variety of etiologies, which vary among patients, contributes to this syndrome. (From Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed, p1611).Nutritional Status: State of the body in relation to the consumption and utilization of nutrients.Peptide YY: A 36-amino acid peptide produced by the L cells of the distal small intestine and colon. Peptide YY inhibits gastric and pancreatic secretion.Analysis of Variance: A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.Thinness: A state of insufficient flesh on the body usually defined as having a body weight less than skeletal and physical standards. Depending on age, sex, and genetic background, a BODY MASS INDEX of less than 18.5 is considered as underweight.Health Behavior: Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.Appetite Regulation: Physiologic mechanisms which regulate or control the appetite and food intake.Infant, Very Low Birth Weight: An infant whose weight at birth is less than 1500 grams (3.3 lbs), regardless of gestational age.Food, Formulated: Food and dietary formulations including elemental (chemically defined formula) diets, synthetic and semisynthetic diets, space diets, weight-reduction formulas, tube-feeding diets, complete liquid diets, and supplemental liquid and solid diets.Coniferophyta: A plant division of GYMNOSPERMS consisting of cone-bearing trees and shrubs.Cohort Studies: Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.Disease Models, Animal: Naturally occurring or experimentally induced animal diseases with pathological processes sufficiently similar to those of human diseases. They are used as study models for human diseases.Ghrelin: A 28-amino acid, acylated, orexigenic peptide that is a ligand for GROWTH HORMONE SECRETAGOGUE RECEPTORS. Ghrelin is widely expressed but primarily in the stomach in the adults. Ghrelin acts centrally to stimulate growth hormone secretion and food intake, and peripherally to regulate energy homeostasis. Its large precursor protein, known as appetite-regulating hormone or motilin-related peptide, contains ghrelin and obestatin.TriglyceridesNutrition Disorders: Disorders caused by nutritional imbalance, either overnutrition or undernutrition.Risk Reduction Behavior: Reduction of high-risk choices and adoption of low-risk quantity and frequency alternatives.Anastomosis, Roux-en-Y: A Y-shaped surgical anastomosis of any part of the digestive system which includes the small intestine as the eventual drainage site.Exercise Therapy: A regimen or plan of physical activities designed and prescribed for specific therapeutic goals. Its purpose is to restore normal musculoskeletal function or to reduce pain caused by diseases or injuries.Regression Analysis: Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.Glucagon-Like Peptide 1: A peptide of 36 or 37 amino acids that is derived from PROGLUCAGON and mainly produced by the INTESTINAL L CELLS. GLP-1(1-37 or 1-36) is further N-terminally truncated resulting in GLP-1(7-37) or GLP-1-(7-36) which can be amidated. These GLP-1 peptides are known to enhance glucose-dependent INSULIN release, suppress GLUCAGON release and gastric emptying, lower BLOOD GLUCOSE, and reduce food intake.Diet Records: Records of nutrient intake over a specific period of time, usually kept by the patient.Random Allocation: A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects.Malnutrition: An imbalanced nutritional status resulted from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological requirement.Waist Circumference: The measurement around the body at the level of the ABDOMEN and just above the hip bone. The measurement is usually taken immediately after exhalation.Nutrition Therapy: Improving health status of an individual by adjusting the quantities, qualities, and methods of nutrient intake.Intervention Studies: Epidemiologic investigations designed to test a hypothesized cause-effect relation by modifying the supposed causal factor(s) in the study population.Body Constitution: The physical characteristics of the body, including the mode of performance of functions, the activity of metabolic processes, the manner and degree of reactions to stimuli, and power of resistance to the attack of pathogenic organisms.Mice, Inbred C57BLWeaning: Permanent deprivation of breast milk and commencement of nourishment with other food. (From Stedman, 25th ed)Body Weights and Measures: Measurements of the height, weight, length, area, etc., of the human and animal body or its parts.Fasting: Abstaining from all food.Lactones: Cyclic esters of hydroxy carboxylic acids, containing a 1-oxacycloalkan-2-one structure. Large cyclic lactones of over a dozen atoms are MACROLIDES.Rhode IslandRetrospective Studies: Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.Nutritional Physiological Phenomena: The processes and properties of living organisms by which they take in and balance the use of nutritive materials for energy, heat production, or building material for the growth, maintenance, or repair of tissues and the nutritive properties of FOOD.Absorptiometry, Photon: A noninvasive method for assessing BODY COMPOSITION. It is based on the differential absorption of X-RAYS (or GAMMA RAYS) by different tissues such as bone, fat and other soft tissues. The source of (X-ray or gamma-ray) photon beam is generated either from radioisotopes such as GADOLINIUM 153, IODINE 125, or Americanium 241 which emit GAMMA RAYS in the appropriate range; or from an X-ray tube which produces X-RAYS in the desired range. It is primarily used for quantitating BONE MINERAL CONTENT, especially for the diagnosis of OSTEOPOROSIS, and also in measuring BONE MINERALIZATION.Hyperalgesia: An increased sensation of pain or discomfort produced by mimimally noxious stimuli due to damage to soft tissue containing NOCICEPTORS or injury to a peripheral nerve.Venoms: Poisonous animal secretions forming fluid mixtures of many different enzymes, toxins, and other substances. These substances are produced in specialized glands and secreted through specialized delivery systems (nematocysts, spines, fangs, etc.) for disabling prey or predator.Gestational Age: The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated as the time from the last day of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization.Blood Pressure: PRESSURE of the BLOOD on the ARTERIES and other BLOOD VESSELS.Questionnaires: Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.Muscle, Skeletal: A subtype of striated muscle, attached by TENDONS to the SKELETON. Skeletal muscles are innervated and their movement can be consciously controlled. They are also called voluntary muscles.Sex Factors: Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.Jejunoileal Bypass: A procedure consisting of the SURGICAL ANASTOMOSIS of the proximal part of the JEJUNUM to the distal portion of the ILEUM, so as to bypass the nutrient-absorptive segment of the SMALL INTESTINE. Due to the severe malnutrition and life-threatening metabolic complications, this method is no longer used to treat MORBID OBESITY.Directive Counseling: Counseling during which a professional plays an active role in a client's or patient's decision making by offering advice, guidance, and/or recommendations.Wrestling: A sport consisting of hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants seeking to pin or press each other's shoulders to the ground.Hunger: The desire for FOOD generated by a sensation arising from the lack of food in the STOMACH.Appetite Stimulants: Agents that are used to stimulate appetite. These drugs are frequently used to treat anorexia associated with cancer and AIDS.Age Factors: Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.Anorexia Nervosa: An eating disorder that is characterized by the lack or loss of APPETITE, known as ANOREXIA. Other features include excess fear of becoming OVERWEIGHT; BODY IMAGE disturbance; significant WEIGHT LOSS; refusal to maintain minimal normal weight; and AMENORRHEA. This disorder occurs most frequently in adolescent females. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)Colitis: Inflammation of the COLON section of the large intestine (INTESTINE, LARGE), usually with symptoms such as DIARRHEA (often with blood and mucus), ABDOMINAL PAIN, and FEVER.Food Habits: Acquired or learned food preferences.United StatesCattle: Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor.Fenfluramine: A centrally active drug that apparently both blocks serotonin uptake and provokes transport-mediated serotonin release.Satiety Response: Behavioral response associated with the achieving of gratification.Health Promotion: Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.Dose-Response Relationship, Drug: The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug.Cross-Sectional Studies: Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.Litter Size: The number of offspring produced at one birth by a viviparous animal.Lactation: The processes of milk secretion by the maternal MAMMARY GLANDS after PARTURITION. The proliferation of the mammary glandular tissue, milk synthesis, and milk expulsion or let down are regulated by the interactions of several hormones including ESTRADIOL; PROGESTERONE; PROLACTIN; and OXYTOCIN.Dextran Sulfate: Long-chain polymer of glucose containing 17-20% sulfur. It has been used as an anticoagulant and also has been shown to inhibit the binding of HIV-1 to CD4-POSITIVE T-LYMPHOCYTES. It is commonly used as both an experimental and clinical laboratory reagent and has been investigated for use as an antiviral agent, in the treatment of hypolipidemia, and for the prevention of free radical damage, among other applications.Biological Markers: Measurable and quantifiable biological parameters (e.g., specific enzyme concentration, specific hormone concentration, specific gene phenotype distribution in a population, presence of biological substances) which serve as indices for health- and physiology-related assessments, such as disease risk, psychiatric disorders, environmental exposure and its effects, disease diagnosis, metabolic processes, substance abuse, pregnancy, cell line development, epidemiologic studies, etc.Amino Acids: Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-NH2) and a carboxyl (-COOH) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerized to form proteins.Ideal Body Weight: Expected weight of a healthy normal individual based on age, sex, and height. Thus, a malnourished person would weigh less than their ideal body weight.Laparoscopy: A procedure in which a laparoscope (LAPAROSCOPES) is inserted through a small incision near the navel to examine the abdominal and pelvic organs in the PERITONEAL CAVITY. If appropriate, biopsy or surgery can be performed during laparoscopy.Internet: A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.Nutrition Assessment: Evaluation and measurement of nutritional variables in order to assess the level of nutrition or the NUTRITIONAL STATUS of the individual. NUTRITION SURVEYS may be used in making the assessment.Swine: Any of various animals that constitute the family Suidae and comprise stout-bodied, short-legged omnivorous mammals with thick skin, usually covered with coarse bristles, a rather long mobile snout, and small tail. Included are the genera Babyrousa, Phacochoerus (wart hogs), and Sus, the latter containing the domestic pig (see SUS SCROFA).Weight Lifting: A sport in which weights are lifted competitively or as an exercise.Eating Disorders: A group of disorders characterized by physiological and psychological disturbances in appetite or food intake.Lipid Metabolism: Physiological processes in biosynthesis (anabolism) and degradation (catabolism) of LIPIDS.Body Image: Individuals' concept of their own bodies.African Americans: Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.Rats, Sprague-Dawley: A strain of albino rat used widely for experimental purposes because of its calmness and ease of handling. It was developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal Company.Motivation: Those factors which cause an organism to behave or act in either a goal-seeking or satisfying manner. They may be influenced by physiological drives or by external stimuli.Cardiovascular Diseases: Pathological conditions involving the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM including the HEART; the BLOOD VESSELS; or the PERICARDIUM.Hyperphagia: Ingestion of a greater than optimal quantity of food.Cholesterol: The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils.Pilot Projects: Small-scale tests of methods and procedures to be used on a larger scale if the pilot study demonstrates that these methods and procedures can work.Glucose Tolerance Test: A test to determine the ability of an individual to maintain HOMEOSTASIS of BLOOD GLUCOSE. It includes measuring blood glucose levels in a fasting state, and at prescribed intervals before and after oral glucose intake (75 or 100 g) or intravenous infusion (0.5 g/kg).Breeding: The production of offspring by selective mating or HYBRIDIZATION, GENETIC in animals or plants.Bulimia: Eating an excess amount of food in a short period of time, as seen in the disorder of BULIMIA NERVOSA. It is caused by an abnormal craving for food, or insatiable hunger also known as "ox hunger".Drinking: The consumption of liquids.Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight: An infant whose weight at birth is less than 1000 grams (2.2 lbs), regardless of GESTATIONAL AGE.Calorimetry, Indirect: Calculation of the energy expenditure in the form of heat production of the whole body or individual organs based on respiratory gas exchange.Counseling: The giving of advice and assistance to individuals with educational or personal problems.Double-Blind Method: A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the subjects and investigators are kept unaware of who is actually getting which specific treatment.Animal Feed: Foodstuff used especially for domestic and laboratory animals, or livestock.Body Fat Distribution: Deposits of ADIPOSE TISSUE throughout the body. The pattern of fat deposits in the body regions is an indicator of health status. Excess ABDOMINAL FAT increases health risks more than excess fat around the hips or thighs, therefore, WAIST-HIP RATIO is often used to determine health risks.Adiponectin: A 30-kDa COMPLEMENT C1Q-related protein, the most abundant gene product secreted by FAT CELLS of the white ADIPOSE TISSUE. Adiponectin modulates several physiological processes, such as metabolism of GLUCOSE and FATTY ACIDS, and immune responses. Decreased plasma adiponectin levels are associated with INSULIN RESISTANCE; TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS; OBESITY; and ATHEROSCLEROSIS.Reference Values: The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality.Intra-Abdominal Fat: Fatty tissue inside the ABDOMINAL CAVITY, including visceral fat and retroperitoneal fat. It is the most metabolically active fat in the body and easily accessible for LIPOLYSIS. Increased visceral fat is associated with metabolic complications of OBESITY.Glycemic Index: A numerical system of measuring the rate of BLOOD GLUCOSE generation from a particular food item as compared to a reference item, such as glucose = 100. Foods with higher glycemic index numbers create greater blood sugar swings.Combined Modality Therapy: The treatment of a disease or condition by several different means simultaneously or sequentially. Chemoimmunotherapy, RADIOIMMUNOTHERAPY, chemoradiotherapy, cryochemotherapy, and SALVAGE THERAPY are seen most frequently, but their combinations with each other and surgery are also used.Postpartum Period: In females, the period that is shortly after giving birth (PARTURITION).Aging: The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.Gastrectomy: Excision of the whole (total gastrectomy) or part (subtotal gastrectomy, partial gastrectomy, gastric resection) of the stomach. (Dorland, 28th ed)Diabetes Mellitus: A heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by HYPERGLYCEMIA and GLUCOSE INTOLERANCE.Prevalence: The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.Postmenopause: The physiological period following the MENOPAUSE, the permanent cessation of the menstrual life.Mice, Inbred BALB CRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic: Works about clinical trials that involve at least one test treatment and one control treatment, concurrent enrollment and follow-up of the test- and control-treated groups, and in which the treatments to be administered are selected by a random process, such as the use of a random-numbers table.Rats, Wistar: A strain of albino rat developed at the Wistar Institute that has spread widely at other institutions. This has markedly diluted the original strain.Food Deprivation: The withholding of food in a structured experimental situation.Dehydration: The condition that results from excessive loss of water from a living organism.Physical Fitness: The ability to carry out daily tasks and perform physical activities in a highly functional state, often as a result of physical conditioning.


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Dominic Mulhall made it five out of five on the national junior scene, taking victory from 52 entries in the recent Hartlepool leg of the National Junior Ranking Series.
The Ormesby Institute player has been unstoppable this season, and looks like living up to his aim at the start of the year and going undefeated all season.
The semi-finals saw Mulhall beat fellow Teessider Darren Cook 464-241, breaks of 91, 47, 47, 34 and 30 from Mulhall, and two breaks of 32 from Cook.
Ross McDonald beat Park End's Matty Wilkinson 248-166 in a low key last four encounter to also reach the final.
But, after just two minutes of the final, Ross conceded the game due to feeling unwell, leaving Dom to claim the match and take the £75 first prize.
The plate event was won by Mark McGahern (Ormesby), who beat Thomas Clark (Hartlepool) 251-154 in the final.
European Under-16 Snooker Open
DARREN Cook narrowly missed out on a slice of European glory this week, losing in the final of the European Under-16 Open.
The event, played in Malta, saw eight players from six different countries take part, in the first event of its kind.
On his way to the final, Cook finished second in his qualifying group to reach the semis, where he beat Belgian Nicky Godeyne 4-2.
In the best of nine final, he met Luca Brecel (Belgium) but despite winning the opening two frames 60-24 and 62-19, he was ultimately beaten 5-3.
Darren said: "He played better than me, and I am really pleased for him. He is going to be an absolutely amazing player when he is older, he is just a potting machine."
Harrison Trophy Snooker Final
RICHARD Beckham emerged victorious from the final, beating Anthony Parsons at Redcar Conservative Club to retain his crown.
Beckham, of Redcar Unionists, was defending his title and looking to chalk up his fifth win in the competition.
It was Beckham who took up the early running, winning the first frame 97-26 aided with breaks of 24, 30 and 31 against Parsons, from Guisborough Cons Club.
In the next game Beckham compiled a 39 break to lead 45-23. Parsons replied with a 33 break of his own and went on to win this game 69-45.
Beckham stamped his authority in the third frame chalking up breaks of 24 and 46, in an 86-22 win.
The next game was a cagey affair with Beckham compiling an outstanding 60 break to take the frame 69-3 and the final 3-1.


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Kim Wallach
Movin' Into Music, banjo
B.A. Wellesely College. Kim Wallach is a music teacher, singer, songwriter, mom, camp counselor, Short Sister, Children's Music Network board member, avid reader, and gardener.
Before moving to New Hampshire in 1990 and settling into teaching Kim studied with legendary Scottish singer Jean Redpath, busked in subways and on the streets of Boston, played at Club Passim, founded the Short Sisters singing trio, toured extensively, taught music to toddlers at the Brookline Arts Center and in Wellesley and found time to record more than a dozen albums and raise a daughter.


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Audrey Eyelet Crossbody
A petite version of the statement bag, Audrey, the feminine curved lines and spacious interior ensures that the bag is both chic and functional. Can be comfortably worn on the shoulder; features a removable shoulder strap embellished with gold eyelets and yellow resin droplets. The flap is accented by multi-color covered eyelets and our signature "tulip" stitch in a contrasting yellow.
Product Details
- Dimensions 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inches
- Navy grained calfskin / Yellow tulip stitching
- Multicolor plated brass eyelets
- Gold-toned brass hardware
- Magnet closure
- 2 interior slot pockets
- 1 interior zip pocket
- 1 outside back pocket
- Detachable leather guitar strap with resin droplets
- Lightweight
- Comes with dust bag
- 100% Made in Italy


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Back in December last year when I mapped my transits I knew that the first few months of the year were going to be the most chaotic.
If you check out my transit map for 2017 (below) you can see a lot of Pluto, Uranus and Saturn activity in the first few months of the year. March and April had the biggest concentration of "hot spots" (when major transits are either exact or within 1 degree of being exact – as signified by the darker colour shades), with another busy time in the last few months.
What I knew about 2017
- We'd decided to move 1000kms up to South East Queensland
- The progressed Moon would be changing signs – into Aquarius. Independence and future-proofing would be big themes.
- Saturn stationed square my Moon and was at or around this degree for most of March and all of April. I knew that this period would be very tough.
- It was set to be another busy Jupiter and Saturn year, although there was some respite in August. Again, work and career would be big themes – as would health and balancing creativity with my corporate responsibilities.
- The middle few months of the year would be free of close Uranus aspects, but with Uranus squaring Jupiter, faith would be tested…repeatedly.
- Pluto was still making a close aspect to my Ascendant and was also getting closer to my Sun. More importantly, Pluto was flipping around between houses – 10 and 11 – again.
What happened in 2017?
Yep, pretty much what it said on the tin.
January was spent getting the house ready for sale. It went on the market in the last week of January and sold in three weeks for the exact price we wanted. The hard work that we'd put into fixing and de-cluttering and styling paid off.
We bought a house on the Sunshine Coast in mid-January. Luckily we were able to negotiate a long settlement on the purchase and, thanks to a rapid sale, had just a few days between finalising the sale and the purchase. In the interim, however, money was extremely tight – probably the tightest it had been, relatively speaking, in the entire 28 years we've been together. All of that required an awful lot of faith – in ourselves, each other, what we were doing, and the future. We were moving up without (at that point) any form of income and knew that we'd be living off savings until something came up.
Hubby and daughter moved up to the Sunshine in February and stayed in a short-term rental while Miss T started University. I remained in Sydney to continue working and to pack up 18 years of life in the old house.
February and March was one big series of goodbyes as we left my birth family and all of our friends behind. Before I left Sydney it was decided that rather than resign, I would continue to work on a casual basis remotely. This was a huge relief and meant that we'd have some money coming in.
As for the last week of March? It looked something like this:
- I waved goodbye to the movers on the 22nd of March as they left Sydney with all our stuff,
- flew to the Sunshine Coast on the 23rd to help hubby to finalise the purchase settlement,
- moved into our new home on the 24th,
- had every single box unpacked by the 27th
- filled the fridge, pantry and freezer for Miss T for while we were in Vietnam. We'd booked the holiday (to celebrate my 50th birthday) before we decided to move.
- settled the sale of our Sydney house on the 28th,
- flew back to Sydney on the 29th in order to fly out for Vietnam the following day
- Ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie hit the coast on the 30th leaving Miss T without power for 3 days in a house she was unfamiliar with – something she is no doubt going to remind me of in many years to come – and meant that everything we'd stocked the fridge and freezer with had to be thrown because it spoiled.
In between all of that, I still had work commitments – both corporate and freelance. This meant that even while on holidays I was working.
In short, this period was my Saturn-Moon conjunction – self-care went out the window and I was stretched beyond breaking. I finally did break on the morning of the 28th when in the midst of trying to deal with problems with the real estate in Sydney, the laundry and most of the downstairs flooded due to the movers not hooking up the washing machine correctly.
Hubby started work late in July, easing the pressure on the finances. July and August were full of repetitious and grinding work (hello, Saturn) but no major pressures. There were visits from family and a mini-break to Melbourne. We went whale watching and also took a joy flight in an open cockpit bi-plane. Winter in Queensland was sunny, blue and fabulous.
The pressure began to turn up a notch with the corporate gig in late September and is still going strong.
I've had the final Saturn square to my Moon and some revelations around self-care that I probably wouldn't have had if it weren't for the events of the Saturn station back in March.
As I write this now, Uranus is now square Jupiter and inconjunct Neptune, Saturn is square itself and Jupiter is trine my Ascendant. The themes I'm looking at as I set my goals for 2018 are independence, freedom, and what I need to do in order to build the structures of both my life and my business with a view to being financially independent in the next few years.
The astro map was pretty spot on and a good reflection of what 2017 has turned out to be. By seeing it like this – in a pictorial representation – I didn't need to get hung up on a series of individual transits. Rather, it helped me see all the themes for the year in one viewing. It also helped me see how all of those individual transits contributed to those themes.
It doesn't mean that there weren't tough times, and things I didn't see coming – that's part of the texture that is life – but when those things did turn up, it helped me keep it all in a sort of perspective.
Next time: How to map your transits and set goals using them.


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