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I must've been distracted by the Cafe Press Logo Thong talk!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TAMPA, FL
Posts: 3,565
Back to the Island-Double Dip Delight!Western COMPLETE~Cruising with a baby w/PICS!
Ahoy, there! Welcome aboard! This is my third trip report, for our third cruise on DCL, the first 7-night cruise after dry-dock: an alternate Western of sorts, dubbed the Double Dip Delight. If you have read along with my adventures before, welcome back. If you are new, you can expect a play-by-play of all the action onboard we took part in (and sometimes some we didnt), lots and lots of pictures, and as much detail as I can possibly remember! I hope you find reading our memories as enjoyable as it was for us to make them.
Here are direct links to individual installments: Introduction Bring Back the Magic Door Number Three They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More Gypsies in the Palace Back to the Island Perrier Blues I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever Christmas in the Caribbean Quietly Making Noise Carnival World Fins! Margaritaville A Pirate Looks At 40 (Thousand) Mexico Mexico, continued Take Another Road (Part 1) Take Another Road (Part 2) Take Another Road (Part 3) The Coconut(s) Telegraph (Part 1) The Coconut(s) Telegraph (Part 2) The Great Filling Station Holdup Where's The Party? License to Chill Bank of Bad Habits Back to the Island Back to the Island (Part 2) Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On Meet your Cast of Characters: My name is Jen. Im 34 and I have been a Disney fan for quite a long time. Other than that I am unremarkable. My husband Ron is also 34 and his interests include all the usual guy stuff. He loves to travel, which works real well with this cruising thing. My son Brendan is 8 (almost 9). He plays football and baseball and is the Hidden Mickey guru of the family. I have two daughters, Savannah, the oldest is 7 and Sarah is our baby, who just turned 4 months old. Savannah is a competitive dancer and cheerleader whose newest main interest is Hannah Montana. And Sarah well she likes to drool and chew things, but who doesnt? I cant have a trip report installment without at least one photo, so here is my favorite one of the kids taken this trip onboard the Magic: We booked this cruise pretty much as a result of post-trip restlessness after our first cruise, a 4-night on the Wonder in 2007. We did not rebook on board for some silly reason I have never managed to figure out. However, not even two weeks after stepping foot off of the boat, we were lazily browsing the DCL website and saw this special itinerary cruise which intrigued us. It was an alternate Western, with stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico and two stops at Castaway Cay. The pricing for it was surprisingly less than the other Westerns so within about 2 hours, we had made our decision and booked the cruise. At that point we had previously only sailed in a Cat 11, which was fine for our needs at the time (as far as it being an inside room), but we did think we would prefer to have the split bath so we chose a Cat. 10. It was at that time 18 months from sailing. We took another cruise on the Wonder, a 3-night in the interim, which turned out to be our last cruise as a family of four. This time we had spoiled ourselves. We had gotten a fab Florida Residents rate on a Cat.5 for the 3-night, so now we felt we could not take the step backwards to an inside room for the next one. So onboard our second trip on the Wonder, we re-booked to get the 10% discount and $200 and also upgraded to a Cat.8. This -as well as most categories at that time- was already in guarantee status, so we could not pick a room, but all of the Cat.8 rooms are forward on 5, 6, & 7 so we had a pretty good idea of where we would end up. And hey, we could always hope for an upgrade! After finding out we were expecting Sarah, we had some real strategics to figure out. Our preference at that point would have been to just move to a Cat.4 room, but the prices on those were more than double what we had already paid, so that was out. A friend of ours also going on the cruise ended up booking Sarah in their room (though Sarah would stay with us in our room), but she ended up having to cancel so we found ourselves scrambling once again. Our travel agent managed to get us a Cat.11 room to go with our Cat. 8 (right across the hall from each other) for only $800 more than we had already paid, so we figured that would be the way to go. We were no longer in GTY status, we now had rooms, 6022 (Cat.8) and 6019 (the Cat.11). We had never stayed on Deck 6 before, plus 6019 was a sideways 11 so we were interested to check these rooms out. The doors for both rooms were directly opposing in the hallway so it would be easy to run between the rooms, to check on Brendan and Savannah, who would be in 6019 by themselves. We figured (correctly) that we would only be in the rooms to sleep, and whenever they would be in their room, we would be in ours so there would be no shenanigans over there unbeknownst to us! (We packed Sarahs baby monitor to listen in on them, just in case ) Are you following all this? There will be a short quiz at the end. (OK, Im kidding, but I promise this is pertinent information) The countdown begins This particular cruise, originally to be the first sailing of the Magic out of dry dock, was packed full of Castaway Club members and Disers. In fact 473 folks onboard were either Disers or their immediate family and friends thats 158 staterooms. Our meets thread Double Dip Delight was a blast and it was not uncommon to go through 20 or more pages in a day. Our great group initiated so many fun plans that made the time waiting for the cruise go by swift in anticipation. We would have a DIS meet, of course and also do fish extenders. Some of us would participate in a Secret Mickey exchange that is akin to Secret Santa, and we would also have cool lanyards with name tags to identify ourselves (thanks lanyard team!) Group photos, and a group Palo brunch, dinner, and tea are just a couple more examples of all the neat events we had planned out. And when I say plan, I aint joking around folks. This group is made up of some serious planners (me included). Most of us were repeat cruisers on DCL and knew the deal. We wanted to plan out every little detail, from the dinner rotations, to the shows, right on down to the drinks of the day. In fact I worked very hard to create a spreadsheet with all this information on it to have at hand to help out with the planning. I used prior Navigators to gather the information and called DCL to confirm that the rotations, etc. I had figured out were right. They confirmed that yes, indeed I was correct. They also told a few of my co-cruisers the same thing so we were all pretty secure in that the info we had was accurate. (Yes, this is all foreshadowing). Anyway, what do you think? A handy little tool, eh? (Don't bother copying all this stuff down. It's wrong) The first thing to change was the ports. (You knew changes were coming, now didnt ya?) Costa Maya was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Dean in 2007, and Disney decided, that although the port repair work was on schedule to be complete by the time we arrived in late Sept., that it would not be up to DCLs standards, so it was scrapped in favor of Grand Cayman. Although we were looking forward to Costa Maya, we had never been to GC before so it worked for us. However, to accommodate THAT change, they also changed the departure time on our first Castaway Cay day to 2:30 PM. None of us were very happy about that, and didnt really buy DCLs excuse that they needed the extra time to account for the longer sailing distance (I mean, how much further is CC from Key West, really?) This change would affect some of our other plans later on, but well get to that later. Then they decided that the Magic would get done with dry dock sooner than expected, so they snuck in a special 3-night sailing before our cruise. This, folks turned out to be a good thing. Trust me. Before we knew it 90 days out had arrived. I got on the computer at the stroke of midnight (okay actually 11:59) and snagged Palo dinner, Palo brunch (one of only three reservations left!) and our Flounders Reef allotment. I could have gotten the one Palo High Tea spot still there also, but we werent too interested in doing the tea. We did not take any excursions through DCL, since we consider ourselves cruise veterans now and felt comfortable we could arrange excursions on our own for cheaper. Our plans were at Castaway Cay, the first day to spend as a family beach day and the second day we would rent bikes and explore the island and maybe (just maybe) get a little time at Serenity Bay since Sarah would be in Flounders. In Grand Cayman we would do a Stingray City and snorkeling trip booked through Captain Marvins. And in Cozumel this is where we really stepped out on a limb- we would rent a car and explore the island ourselves (a little ambitious for us slightly green world travelers, I know). The last few months before the cruise flew (of course I had just had a baby), and before you know it we were in the home stretch. The last couple of weeks were frantic. I work graveyard, and thats hard enough in & of itself, but add in a newborn, cruise planning, packing, FE gift assembly, magnet designing & printing. Needless to say I was going out of my mind (what little I had left!) And then, the accident. Just eight days before the trip I was involved in a hit & run accident that totaled my car. Ironically I did the hitting, but I didnt do the running. Go on & figure *that one* out! Nobody was injured (well, at least I wasnt- who knows about the mystery vehicle or invisible brick wall as the police said I must have hit) so we decided to let the insurance company clean up the mess, because its time to cruise!!!! Next up: All Aboard! (If youre still with me, that is. It was a real long intro, wasnt it?)
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas 9/2011- NEW! TRIP REPORT! - Disney Magic 7 Night Western 10/2010: Trip Report - Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas 1/2010: Trip Report and Videos - Disney Magic 7 Night Western Double Dip 09/08: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 3 Night Bahamas 10/07: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 4 Night Bahamas 03/07: Trip Report Last edited by nenner1; 09-20-2009 at 10:00 PM. |
DIS Veteran
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,739
Absolutely wonderful, as I knew it would be!!! And Jen...those children...absolutely beautiful!! That is a fantastic picture!!! Thanks so much for writing another TR!! You are my hero !
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Grand Slam club members
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ATL
Posts: 3,075
Awesome picture of the kids!!
great t/r so far!!
I found my Disney Prince!
Animals that have gone through the taxidermy process scare like nothing else! Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Quakertown, PA
Posts: 7,764
I love your kids! I miss seeing their smiling faces at dinner!
Your TR is wonderful! I can't wait to read more!!!!!
Meand my DHI love my Disney Prince!
Ive got nothing planned whats an OCVP to do?
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Temecula, Ca
Posts: 2,689
love the 1st installment. If only i could get up the gusto to write LOL. maybe once I get over this CRUD.
BTW I knew this pic would be perfect when we were behind you the kids all did great, and no it didnt take long at all. Sarah was in prime form. Girl will be a natural in front of the camera LOL. Cant wait to read more. Oh and you dont know how many times I refered to the spread sheet. E even did to... It wasnt that far off really LOL Totally helped me plan my palo and character breakfast once we got our KTTW lol |
Blessed beyond measure!
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 423
Amen, sister! But it was a rockin' spreadsheet anyway!
Love the TR so far - that photo of your kids is darling! What sweeties.
Mommy to Dexter (10½yo) and Celeste (7yo) |
DIS Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 6,275
The pic is stunning! And those baby cheeks-just want to aqueeze em !! I love all the details and more pics please!!
Me Dh: DD 10 DD 8
DIS Veteran
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 1,338
Great job and beautiful kids!!!!
Me ... Dh .... DS (20, US Marine Corps ... OohRah!!!) ... DS (16).... DD (7) WDW - too many times to count; Cruised for the 1st time - Sept. 27, 2008 Double Dip ; Made AMAZING friends on the Haunted Magic - October 31, 2009 Next trip ... Escaping the Election chaos on the Fantasy - November 3, 2012 |
Is that the cruise ship horn I hear??
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Big D
Posts: 608
Shel DH DS (13) DS (10) DS (9) and foster parent to little ones
Proud DVC Member since 2006 8 Cruises so far - and too many trips to WDW to count |
DIS Veteran
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Oregon
Posts: 571
The kids look so cute! I love that they got sarah to smile
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: NE Philly, PA
Posts: 342
Here are direct links to individual installments:
Introduction Bring Back the Magic Door Number Three They Don't Dance Like Carmen No More Gypsies in the Palace Back to the Island Perrier Blues I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever Christmas in the Caribbean Quietly Making Noise Carnival World Fins! Margaritaville I love the title's to each adventure!! Awesome ! We are headed in October on the same cruise our first one! Have been to Key West before and can't wait to head back. The report is great !!! Fins UP! |
I must've been distracted by the Cafe Press Logo Thong talk!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TAMPA, FL
Posts: 3,565
Thanks! It is getting hard to not repeat some titles (which I have done, shamelessly!) I mean with a catalog as huge as Buffett's is that really shouldn't be an issue but some things just fit so well I can't help but reuse them! Being such huge fans, we did miss the Key West stop on our trip...as much as we loved having two stops at CC, that is just one more reason we decided to go on another Western! Thanks for reading!!!
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas 9/2011- NEW! TRIP REPORT! - Disney Magic 7 Night Western 10/2010: Trip Report - Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas 1/2010: Trip Report and Videos - Disney Magic 7 Night Western Double Dip 09/08: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 3 Night Bahamas 10/07: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 4 Night Bahamas 03/07: Trip Report |
Ive got nothing planned whats an OCVP to do?
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Temecula, Ca
Posts: 2,689
Im actually on the Creative DIS looking for tshirt ideas and more LOL Theres a LOT of cute ones if you sew LOL unfortunatly I cant LOL (or maybe its fortunatly ) |
I must've been distracted by the Cafe Press Logo Thong talk!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TAMPA, FL
Posts: 3,565
I know what you mean, it is dance costume time again, this year I have five of them to alter! I took home ec in 6th grade, we had a whole semester on sewing, our project was to sew a stuffed animal from a kit...OMG I got the tail done (the easiest part) and then I had to hand it over to my grandma or I would have gotten an F! ETA: The stuffed animal...it was a skunk. I still have that bad boy. Aside from the tail it looks pretty nice! Gran did a great job!
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas 9/2011- NEW! TRIP REPORT! - Disney Magic 7 Night Western 10/2010: Trip Report - Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas 1/2010: Trip Report and Videos - Disney Magic 7 Night Western Double Dip 09/08: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 3 Night Bahamas 10/07: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 4 Night Bahamas 03/07: Trip Report |
I must've been distracted by the Cafe Press Logo Thong talk!
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: TAMPA, FL
Posts: 3,565
A Pirate Looks At 40 (Thousand)
Tonight, of course, was Pirate Night. Usually on the Westerns, Pirate Night is held on Wednesday (Night 5), but as we found out in the Palo line when we boarded, our cruise would be extra special. The move to Tuesday was to accommodate a late stay in Cozumel on Wednesday; we would not be departing until 1:00 AM. This would allow some of the crew and cast members a much needed break and allow them some time to let loose onshore.
After adjusting to the initial shock (yes, shock. Remember how hard I worked on the dining rotations and spreadsheet?) It actually worked out rather well. I think the Pirate theme goes great after a day in the islands. It might have even fit better if the Pirate Ship excursions for that day had not been cancelled, but . After the movie, we headed back to our rooms to freshen up just a bit. We were staying casual this time, no Pirate costumes or really even any fully themed clothing. Ron, Brendan, and Savannah were all wearing pirate T-shirts and the boys wore shorts (hey, this is the one night they are allowed in the dining room we were so going to take advantage of that!). I wore the best thing I could find, a black and grey striped scoop neck top that resembles the attire in the best prisons across the country! Sarah just wore a Carters dress. They dont make much in pirate garb for the infant set, if you know what I mean! We stopped to empty out the Fish Extender, which was packed full of trinkets, tattoos, glow sticks, eye patches, and all manner of booty. One item inside the FE was a small felt do-it-yourself Pirate Flag kit, which Savannah became immediately obsessed with assembling! Taking inventory of the booty: Tonights dinner was in Animators Palate featuring the Pirate Menu. It would be our first of two back to back nights in AP, with the show night being tomorrow. The Pirate menu is not one of my favorites, and in fact it had been our practice of scheduling Palo on Pirate Night on our shorter cruises. We headed down to the dining room and found our table near the back of the room, right behind the service station where our private serving team would stand and watch us all night, waiting until one of us needed something. As I glanced around at the crowd, I was a bit surprised to see most people were dressed casually like us, and not in full out costume. The costumes we did see however were amazing. Kimberly and her mom and grandma were all decked out in their hand sewn costumes that were simply stunning! Hadley and Erik and their respective parties were also dressed to the nines. I did expect more participation to this level on the Magic, so like I said I was surprised to see most people in T shirts and shorts. Jakub and Candice greeted us; of course they were in their pirate costume. Fitz too, was impossible to miss in his swashbuckler hat that was almost as large as he was (and thats saying a lot!) The room was decked out in festive yellow tablecloths but it really didnt seem right being in Animators. Pirate Night in Parrot Cay is the best atmosphere. Oh well I tried! We also noticed a few people at the big table tonight. Remember, that is the 12-top right near us that we assumed (and would be confirmed for us later on) belonged to our serving team. It was always empty, which is why we got the private dining room service. A small family was sitting there, a mom and dad and two very small children (one baby, one toddler). They, however, also had their own serving team and were also appeared halfway through dinner when we arrived, so I dont really know what that situation was all about. Interesting, though. We got our drinks and bread, delicious crusty Cuban rolls and the soft, amazingly yummy banana bread. As we awaited our appetizers, Kimberly came by to take our picture; she was going around getting snapshots of everyone from our meet thread for her scrapbook (what a great idea!) We took a few shots, too but I was pretty restrained with the photography this evening. Showing off their tattoos (I have no idea where they got these. The DVC desk, maybe?) There were new bandanas also. Not the ones they used to have from Oriental Trading Company. I kind of like the red, and I like the Pirate in the Caribbean logo on it, however these were way too small to tie around a normal adults head properly. They were more like handkerchiefs then bandanas. As far as the food goes, nothing we ate this evening was exceptional in one direction or the other, therefore not very memorable. The kids selected their usual, Minnies Mini Burger. For appetizers, Ron had the Blackbeards Jumbo Crab Cakes (I dont especially remember anything jumbo about them, but then again I am not a crab cake connoisseur.) I had the Buccaneers Sun-Ripened Pineapple with banana-orange glaze and coconut (the best part!). For soup/salad, I had the Chilled Honeydew and Mango soup, which was very good. (All of the chilled soups on DCL are awesome!) Ron had the Hideaway Bay Salad, Romaine with parmesan and jerk croutons, which was unremarkable. For entrées, Ron had the Treasure of the Seas Grilled Shrimp and Seared Scallops, again in his opinion unremarkable. I had the Black Pearl Oven Roasted Beef Tenderloin, which was pretty good. For all our ambivalence of this meal, we ended up pretty darn full (really darn full, actually), so it must have been decent. As usual our service was stellar. It moved at a nice rapid pace and we did not want for anything. Tonight was the night Brendan had selected for his birthday celebration. Candice had mentioned it briefly earlier to ensure this was the night we would like to celebrate and I took that opportunity to let her know that Brendan really did not like that Jell-O mold cake they make. She assured me Dont worry, we dont have that here, we have *real* cake. She had just come over to the Magic from the Wonder and agreed that it was pretty yucky. After dinner, but before our desserts arrived, our team gathered to sing Happy Birthday to Brendan. And sure enough, it was real cake. His favorite, vanilla! For dessert, aside from the birthday cake which we all shared, I was the only one who selected anything off the dessert menu. This was, of course, the Walk the Plank Chocolate Cake. It was awesome but I seem to recall the serving being a bit small, which probably was a good thing, because I was very, very full. As we finished our dessert, the loud tropical music began to blare, the rhythmic clapping thundered; the servers gathered .let the limbo commence! As I mentioned, we were way in the back of the room, tucked behind a service station, so we were in an awful vantage point. I was the only one who could see at all, and that required bending halfway over backwards and craning my neck to a painful position that no creature aside from an owl should attempt. While the last Pirate Night limbo we were at seemed to go on forever (those of you who read my first trip report may recall that is when Brendan overate and he had a Code V right in the limbo parade), this one was over very quick. The kids never even made it up there, the crowds backing up behind the limbo were huge (extending to the side walls of the room on both directions) and it seemed like people were spurting out from under the bar very slowly. In all actuality, it was a good thing the music stopped abruptly, as several decks up the Pirate in the Caribbean Deck Party was already in full swing. And boy was it! After a very brief stop at the rooms for a potty break/diaper change we headed up to the party. We decided to strategize a bit and after being in the pool area of deck 9 last time, we decided being up on deck 10 would afford us a better vantage point. Since we had Sarah in the stroller, we had to think ahead about how we would get up there (not all of the elevators go to the top floor, literally and figuratively). We walked all the way aft on 6 through the narrow hallway past all of the stateroom hosts carts, room service trays, vacuums, and the like to take the aft lifts up to deck 10. We emerged outside of Palo, and the elevator lobby area was deserted save one cast member holding a fire extinguisher. We started to head in one direction before she stopped us and let us know we could not go out that way. So we headed back to the other direction and all the way around the back. As we passed the Mickey pool are we could see a bit of congestion ahead, but it still did not seem unreasonable. UNTIL we passed the stack. OMG! It was utter insanity! Wall to wall (or rail to rail) people, just stacks of them! It was impossible to get through, but we tried anyway. We werent going to stop and try to get a spot there (or TAKE anyones spot there) we just thought wed move through the mass and it would be clear on the other side. Everyone there was having none of it though. As we tried to squeeze our way past (it was a walkway, after all) there was plenty of grumbling, groaning, eye rolling, and glaring coming from the crowd ahead of us. GUYS! This is not Main Street and we are not plopping down in front of you for the parade at the last minute, I PROMISE! We are not those people!. We were just trying to get through. Most likely though, there was no room on the other side, but we could not see that from where we were in the midst of the throng. I had the stroller and as I was inching it forward a lady took a big step back into the hole another person made so I could pass, and as she did, well her ankle hit my wheel (I *swear* it was her, not me!). She gave me the You will NOT take MY spot! glare, and it was right then I decided this was ridiculous, we were NOT going to get past this crowd, so I turned the stroller around and headed back aft. Thats what they need, though, is Parade Control! And ropes! Our plan having massively failed, we decided to head back down to deck 9 and take our chances down there. As we headed back toward the Palo elevator, there was a CM with a fire extinguisher now there on deck, blocking the path. Im sorry; you cannot go this way for your own safety. UGH. Now we were really stuck! So we walked back in the general direction of the Goofy deck area. Ron said, Go down! and motioned to the stairs. We went down, and he followed, carrying Sarah in the stroller. (Yes, if you were looking on in horror, that was us!) Once down on deck 9, it as readily apparent what was going on up on 10. The deck was totally full! Completely surrounding the Goofy Pool area, it was shoulder to shoulder five to ten deep, just a massive wall of humanity! Looking at it from below, I am impressed we managed to get as far as we did, and I was also glad we decided to turn back when we did. Deck 9 was no ghost town either, in the center the crowd extended all the way back to the hot tubs. In fact, I was more than a little bit in awe of the crowd. This was nothing like what we had experienced on the Wonder! There were spots along the edge of the deck by where the chairs were piled up, so we hung over there (not like we had much choice). We got ourselves a drink (cant remember what, but it was tropical and fruity!) and finally took a breath. Who needs glow sticks when you have glow baby! Heres a quick pan of the ginormous crowd (which really, really does not do it justice): The party was in full swing up on stage. The bad pirates had taken over and after a little more dancing it was time for the good guys to save the day! Let a Hero show you how its really done! (Ahem, spoiler) I had my shutter speed set too slow for fireworks shots so a lot of them ended up like this, which is actually kind of cool IMO: After the fireworks there is a mad dash for the buffet, obviously from the folks on the early dining rotation because we could not even stomach the idea of more food yet. Normally I would have grabbed a dessert plate for later but the crowds were huge and I decided it just wasnt worth it. When the massive throng had dissipated enough for us to walk across the deck to midship, we were exhausted and relieved! We headed back to the rooms and fed Sarah, then decided it was well time to finish our Fish Extender deliveries. We had only gotten deck 8 done the day before, so we had all the rest of the ship still to go. However we had gotten oriented to the map and now had a good system of covering the floors. It was a whole lot of fun to look at all the doors and to cover areas of the ship we hadnt seen yet. There were some really neat (and unusual) FEs. We saw some amazing door magnets and decorations. It took about an hour to complete the drops. I was utterly exhausted by the time we made it back to our rooms, and collapsed into bed. In bed with all of us tonight: wascally wabbits! All in all, yet another amazing day aboard the Magic. Up Next: Mexico (Ive never really been, so I dont really know)
Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas 9/2011- NEW! TRIP REPORT! - Disney Magic 7 Night Western 10/2010: Trip Report - Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas 1/2010: Trip Report and Videos - Disney Magic 7 Night Western Double Dip 09/08: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 3 Night Bahamas 10/07: Trip Report - Disney Wonder 4 Night Bahamas 03/07: Trip Report |
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piano theme
a dream to have a piano... one little girl, and her older brother
This photo was shot on film. Taken by hanibale with a Zenit E loaded with B.W. 100 film in Mazeikiai, Lithuania. These tags describe this photo: piano, theme, zenit, black, and, white, film, 35mm, children, hat, mood, teddy, bear, little, girl, music, silent, play, lithuania, the, wall, hands, lips, smooth, sadness, home, made, first, photoset, long, feelings, fingers, fluffy, hair, and lomo. Date: 2011-04. Time: Noon. This photo can also be found in the album piano theme.Please login to get more out of this site
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2 comments
so peculiar and adorable at the same time!
thanks :)

subset: commoncrawl


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Via John Reid's Anglo-Celtic Connections, the National Archives of Ireland now reports that the 1901 census (with all data for all counties) will be available online from 3 June 2010. The digitization of the 1901 and 1911 Irish census returns, with free online access to the records, is the result of a partnership between the National Archives of Ireland and Library and Archives Canada.
Census Records
Census Records, Home Children
Home Children in Fitzroy Township: Charles Lambert and Benjamin Clayton
by M.C. Moran •
I came across Charles Lambert and Benjamin Clayton while researching my Galligan ancestors, who emigrated from Kilmore, Co. Cavan, Ireland in the early 1840s and initially settled in Fitzroy township, Carleton Co., Ontario (with some branches later moving to Arnprior and Eganville, in Renfrew Co., Ontario).
Charles Lambert
In the 1901 census for Fitzroy township (Ontario, Lanark North, Fitzroy township, p. 15, family no. 143), Charles Lambert is found in the household of Michael Moran*, a bachelor farmer living with his widowed mother Anne Galligan and his unmarried sisters Anne Elizabeth and Margaret:
- Name: Lambert, Charles
- Sex: Male
- Colour: White
- Relationship to head of house: Domestic
- Month and date of birth: Unknown
- Year of birth: 1884
- Age at last birthday: 17
- Country or place of birth: England
- Year of Immigration to Canada: 1895
- Year of Naturalization: Left blank [this category was not applicable to someone born in England]
- Racial or tribal origin: English
- Nationality: Canadian
- Religion: R. Catholic [Roman Catholic]
- Profession or occupation: Farm labourer


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Emily from Massachusetts has sent us photos of her little one's vintage-inspired nursery — another adorable entry in our Eye Candy Giveaway. Inspired by vintage pieces from her father's childhood, Emily created a wonderful, original nursery design for Baby Paul.
Emily takes us on a tour…
"I [created] the nursery (with some help from my mother and husband) for my 4 month old little boy. When I found out I was having a boy my mother went through my father's old things and dug out some of his baby clothes and dishes. We decided to use those, along with some other vintage pieces picked up at flea markets and online to decorate the room."
"The clothing on the wall was my dad's. One of the plates was also my dad's and the other one was a lucky find at a flea market!"
"I chose Michael Miller's "Dick and Jane" fabric and some other coordinating fabrics and sewed the curtains and all of the bedding for the room. This crib was mine as a baby."
"This is the changing table area (aka closet). I used a vintage tool chest to store extra bedding in and added a cushion on top. Eventually we'll add slow-closing hinges and use it as a toy chest. I framed some copies of vintage prints that I cut out of a book and added a vintage Lettie Lane paperdoll print inside the closet."
"This bookcase was my dad's when he was little, I painted it "Asparagus Green" to refresh it a bit. The clothing hanging above the bookcase were my father's as well."
"The blanket on the chair was made for my baby by my mother. [Here's] a closer view as she used vintage patterns to make the quilt. The peachy orange gingham fabric in the quilt was originally the curtains she made for my nursery as a baby!"
"I absolutely love the way the room turned out and we enjoy spending time in there. I think it's a room that will be able to grow along with my little boy as well!"
Thanks, Emily, for the great photos! Love the family ties you infused in the room!


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When leading brands do not market through the social media marketing and stick to the traditional methods, they miss out on a big opportunity. Various digital marketing studies have revealed that 70% of the market is likely to transact with companies that have profiles on social media websites like Twitter or Facebook.
Lately, national brands have joined the bandwagon of firms having conversations with customers on digital marketing platforms. Customer engagement ratios have been enhanced by the proliferation of corporate pages on social media. Unfortunately, those in the best position to engage the customers in conversations do not have as much access like franchises, dealers and agents. At times restrictions are imposed on interacting with local audiences.
According to digital marketing research studies it is essential to include them in conversations for the following reasons:
- People searching for local business information on social media sites want to contact local businesses.
- Most consumers that want to contact local businesses via the internet tend to succeed in doing this using a search on a social network after viewing the company's profile.
- 67% of searchers that looked at the social media profile actually bought something.
This is a strong indicator as only 54% of the customers buy things on other mobile and online channels. As such, leading digital marketing brands should allow their local retail outlets to develop distinct social media profiles. At the same time they should create a clear digital marketing plan to make their local social media programs successful.
Piecing The Information Together
There are many opinions to a successful plan for the implementation of digital marketing on social media like:
- Education – Among the biggest challenges local specialist need to learn how social networking sites function and how to use them to boost revenues.
- Coordination – You can utilize content management systems to develop up to thousands of local digital marketing profiles on social media like Vitrue, Hearsay and Involver.
- Measurement – Measurement of response channels should be done with stealth to gauge performance using purchase surveys, user comments and telephone line tracking.


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Jan 24 Walmart Coupons and Deals: Dreyers Ice Cream, Coffeemate, Lean Cuisine by Amy posted on January 24, 2013 at 3:11 pm 1 comment . There are 4 new printable Nestle coupons on Walmart.com! Use the $1/1 Coffeemate Coupon to get 16 oz. Coffeemate for only $0.98! Nestle Coupons: $1/2 Dreyers Ice Cream Coupon $1/1 Coffeemate Liquid Coupon $1/4 Lean Cuisine Coupon $1/2 Lean Cuisine Salad Additions Coupon EmailMorePocketShare on TumblrPrint About Amy Finding amazing Walmart Deals through price match strategies and coupon organization techniques has always given me an extreme coupon high! It's truly a mental rush to leave the store with a shopping cart overflowing with great Wally World money makers, freebies, discount sale items, and with my grocery budget still in tact! My passion for bargain shopping has always come hand in hand with helping other deal seekers save money and become more financially secure, and all while still maintaining our integrity. With over 18 years experience, 3 websites, managing the largest deal website in Utah, and thousands of hours spent combing the grocery aisles, I know a great deal when I see one. Roll back the savings, one price match at a time with http://www.thewallyworldwoman.com. Add my circles on Google+ : Amy View all posts by Amy→ One Comment cece Posted January 24, 2013 at 9:46 pm | Permalink The coffee mate coupon says its ended. Reply ↓ Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Website Comment You may use these HTML tags and attributes:   <acronym title="">
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This is a syndicated post from LifeSiteNews.com Latest Headlines. [Read the original article...]
by Ben Johnson INDIANAPOLIS, December 9, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Medical authorities in Indiana have asked an abortionist who violated a state law designed to catch child molesters to appear in person before renewing his license to practice. Dr. Ulrich George Klopfer must explain to the Indiana Medical Licensing… (106)


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If you are looking for a new slow cooker recipe, this Angel Chicken is so, so good! Everyone I make it for loves it.
Ingredients adapted from MidWestLiving.com
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
8 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 TSP butter
1 can of cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)
1 package of Italian dry salad dressing mix
1/2 8 oz block of light cream cheese
1 cup of chicken broth
Serve with Egg Noodles, Angel Hair Pasta or Rice.
1. Place both cartons of mushrooms in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Place chicken breasts on top of the mushrooms.
3. Melt butter in a saucepan.
4. Add the mushroom soup, Italian dressing mix, cream cheese and chicken broth and stir until everything is blended and melted into a sauce.
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
6. Cook on low 8-10 hours or on high for 4 -6 hours. (I actually cooked it on the longer side and it just falls apart!)
7. Serve over cooked egg noodles, angel hair pasta, or rice.


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`Dogs Open MW with Nevada
March 27, 2013
By Theresa Kurtz FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State softball faces Nevada in its inaugural Mountain West series March 28-30 at Bulldog Diamond. The three-game series is both programs first in MW action. Live streaming and GameTracker will be available for all three games. Also the entire series will be broadcast on ESPN2 790 The Deuce. About Nevada Scouting the Wolf Pack Bulldogs Start First Season in Mountain West Home Is Where the Heart Is Compton Named MW Pitcher of the Week Angotti Moves into Lineup "Discover Fresno State Athletics!" -- Bulldog softball open Mountain West action on Thursday, March 28 against Nevada at 6 p.m. Catch the action on ESPN 790 The Deuce, home Bulldog softball. Stay connected with the Bulldogs on Facebook (fresnostateathletics) and Twitter (@FSAthletics).


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Patrick-Murray Administration Awards $500,000 Gateway Cities Grant to Methuen
METHUEN – Thursday, February 7, 2013 – As part of the Governor's plan to grow jobs and expand economic opportunity, Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rick Sullivan today announced a $500,000 grant to help construct a new clubhouse at Methuen's Nicholson Stadium.
The grant was awarded through EEA's Gateway Cities Parks Program. Established in 2009, the program was launched to create parks and enhance recreational facilities in 24 communities, designated as Gateway Cities, across the Commonwealth.
"Contributing to the health and economic wellbeing of our communities, public parks provide recreational opportunities for local residents," said Secretary Sullivan. "The Gateway Cities Park Program is another tool the Patrick-Murray Administration uses to continue the work of revitalizing our state's urban areas, strengthening the Commonwealth as a whole."
The project will involve the construction of the stadium's new clubhouse. The building will feature ADA-compliant restrooms and locker rooms, a concession stand, a multipurpose room and office space.
"This grant is a welcomed infusion of funding to finish a new clubhouse that volunteers worked so hard to get started," said Sen. Kathleen O'Connor Ives.
"This initiative by the Patrick Administration has had such a positive impact on the daily lives residents of our Gateway cities," said Rep. Linda Campbell. "In this economy it is virtually impossible for these communities to make these types of investments. These grants give these communities further incentive to continue revitalization."
"I am delighted to participate in this important announcement of a multi-purpose facility at Methuen's Nicholson Stadium. Methuen's students, and the community as a whole, will greatly benefit from this Gateway Cities Grant, which will help to revitalize recreational infrastructure in Methuen that was in dire need. My thanks to Governor Patrick and his administration for a real commitment to the Gateway Cities of Massachusetts," said Rep. Diana DiZoglio.
"The Gateway Cities Parks grant offers a great opportunity to support recreational facilities in the community," said Rep. Frank Moran. "I am pleased that Methuen has been awarded a $500,000 grant to help construct a new clubhouse with restrooms, locker rooms, and a concession stand at Methuen's Nicholson Stadium."
"These funds will allow us to move forward on an important piece of our stadium enhancement project," said Mayor Steve Zanni. "Our City has longed for these improvements to be made, and I am thankful to Secretary Sullivan and Governor Patrick for working so closely with me in getting this project off the ground and moving in a positive direction. Our young men and women who participate in youth athletic programs are more than deserving of this state of the art facility. I know I am joined by all residents when I say how excited I am about these developments!"
The Gateway City Parks Program is a flexible program that provides municipal officials with a number of funding options for all phases of park development. There are 24 Massachusetts cities eligible for the program, which targets communities with population greater than 35,000, and median household incomes and educational attainment levels below the state average.
Funding can be used for activities and costs such as brownfield assessment and cleanup, park planning and recreational needs assessments – including the development of open space and recreation plans, activities that were not eligible for state parks funding prior to the Patrick-Murray Administration's creation of the Gateway City Parks program. Communities can also use the grants for acquisition, design and construction of parks, greenways, and other recreational facilities.
Over the past three years, the Patrick-Murray Administration has invested nearly $22 million in the program. In 2012, the program funded $7 million worth of park construction projects, providing jobs and enhancing economic vitality and quality of life. In fiscal year 2014, $6.6 million is budgeted for the program.
Since taking office, the Patrick-Murray Administration has made a historic investment of more than $300 million in land conservation. This has been accomplished by focusing on three goals: preserving working farms and forests, protecting large natural landscapes for habitat, and investing in urban parks.


text: Der Todesking (aka The Death King) is a 1989 German horror film directed by Jrg Buttgereit. This experimental style movie which does not use central characters explores the topic of suicide and violent death in the form of seven episodes, each one attributed to one day of the week. These episodes are enframed by the vision of a human body, slowly rotting during the course of the movie.


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Sleeps | 6 |
Bedrooms | 2 |
Bathrooms | 2 |
Half Baths | 1 |
Property type | condo |
Minimum Stay | nights |
Slip away into a tropical paradise as wild and natural as Florida has to offer. Bocilla Island Club is the gateway to a part of Florida that few people can even imagine. Watch dolphin play in the bay as you listen to osprey from one of your screened lanais. Surrounded by a lush abundance of flowers, palms and mangroves, you can relax by one of the swimming pools, play tennis or hang out in the gazebo. But like many visitors, you may find yourself casting off the 400' foot private pier to have your luck at fishing for tarpon, snook, red fish, shark, sea trout and much more in the Gulf waters of Charlotte Harbor.
The sunsets are breathtaking from the pier and on most evenings you can see manatee swimming nearby. Bocilla Island Club is the ideal place to canoe, kayak, fish, and motorboat. The club even has its own marina and boat ramp. The unit also comes with its own private 23' foot boat slip. G35 is an end unit townhouse and sits on the water, with beautiful views of Jug Creek and is only a short boat ride from the famous Boca Grande Pass and the pristine beaches of Cayo Costa.
Our condo has been fully renovated with you in mind. Come relax in what we call "Old Florida" and enjoy the unspoiled beauty found at Bocilla Island Club. You will want to come back again and again.
Keywords: Waterside Condo
private ocean fishing pier
Excellent Fishing both in-shore and off-shore


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Note: The 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 publications have not been audited.
Jump to: Publications | Grants and Consultancies | HDR completions
Ruth Bridgstock may be from another institution or only recently joined Deakin University.
2008 External
McWilliam, Erica*, Bridgstock, Ruth*, Lawson, Alan*, Evans, Terry and Taylor, Peter* (2008) Who's Dean today? Acting and interim management as paradoxes of the contemporary university, Journal of higher education policy and management, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 297-307, Carfax, Cammeray, N.S.W. [C1]
ERA journal ID: 19921 – Scopus EID: 2-s2.0-47749144345
Citation counts: Scopus - 3
DRO entry for this publication
No grants and/or consultancies found or audited – the 2014 HERDC financial return has not been completed or loaded as yet.
No completions found or audited.
DRO to publications collection last synchronised: Saturday 31st January 2015 10:04pm


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Varsovian in Los Angeles carving his own path through life and the entertainment industry, while working tirelessly under the palm trees.
Veronica Belmont - about.me user since 2010
"First, customize your page. It's easy and fun to design!"
Hi! I'm currently living in (City), where I work at (Work Place) doing (Job Title). When I'm not working I like to (Hobby), (Interest) and (Passion). Connect with me!
"Next, connect services and send people to your page."
"That's it! Let about.me do all of the work for you."
Showcase a 360 degree view of who you are
Help people find and follow you on your social networks
Be found for new opportunities


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Anyone ever hear of this?
http://www.aquasalt.com/ There is a radio show in my area on Sat, called:
I started listening to it a while back and it was informative. They constantly plug how this should be the only salt you consider for your salt water pool... Anyone know if this is legit, or is it just part of a big AM radio infomercial these guys are putting on? |
Follow-Up Postings:
I use it. Works like Morton's, Diamond Chrystal, just a different bag. Scott |
- Posted by muddy_water (My Page) on Tue, Mar 30, 10 at 10:18
yep it's a crystal salt works great...I would still turn my cell off for 24hrs after adding ... |
- Posted by Amanda(email@example.com) onMon, May 23, 11 at 15:19
I came across this question and just wanted to see if any one had any more questions about AQUASALT. Just a brief description of AQUASALT: AQUASALT is a Food Grade Salt, highest purity. AQUASALT is 99.9% pure. You are asking yourself 'why would you want a pure salt� Isn�t salt, salt?' Not when it comes to the maintenance of your pool. There are solar salts, and there is AQUASALT. Solar salts is salt that is out on a salt lake that is being dried and exposed to outside environmental eliminates. AQUASALT is a mined, in an underground mine. We take special care of the salt to clean in a brine solution, sift the salt well to make the salt nearly powder, and to give you the high purity food quality salt to put in your pool. Knowing you don�t have to worry about impurities, or potential staining like the other salts that are out on the market today. Challenge: Take another brand salt, put it into a clear plastic bag. Now take AQUASALT and do the same in another clear plastic bag. And you will immediately see the difference. AQUASALT prides ourselves in the best product for a competitive price, unlike other 'high purity salts' that are so expensive. To set ourselves apart from other companies our salt is even kosher, certified by the OU. Thank you, |
Here is a link that might be useful: AQUASALT, LLC
A salt cell won't know the difference between Morton's, Diamond Crystal, or Aqua brands. The biggest delta is the initial size and how long it takes to dissolve, where smaller granules are faster. The pool still needs a turn or two of the pool's volume to evenly distribute it. Any 99.9% NaCl salt, whether granular or gems for the brine tank of a water softener is still 99.9% pure. Scott |
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National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy – Improving Health and Quality of Life in Communities
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recently released a key report titled the National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy. The publication is a call to action for "organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families" to join together in a national response to the problems stemming from low health literacy.
The report is notable in many areas. The report begins with an introduction about health information in the lives of ordinary people and the decisions and actions that must be taken on a daily basis. Even seemingly simple tasks can be difficult, such as choosing the correct over-the-counter cold medicine for a child, or reading the label on a prescription bottle. The report notes that "nearly 9 out of 10 adults have difficulty using the everyday health information that is routinely available in our health care facilities, retail outlets, media, and communities." A thorough definition of health literacy follows, including the correlation between literacy and health literacy.
The second section of the report compiles data and statistics which identify disturbing scenarios related to limited health literacy and numeracy skills. Research points to a clear association between limited health literacy and poor health outcomes and health disparities. Some of the findings indicate that limited health literacy affects the use of preventive services, medication errors, unnecessary emergency room visits, not to mention the psychological cost – many patients report a sense of shame that they cannot read or understand the information provided by the health care professional. The report then segues to new approaches and evidence-based strategies that hold promise in improving health literacy, such as simplifying written materials, using videos or other media to deliver health education, and improving patient-provider communication.
The Action Plan states seven goals to improve health literacy, including strategies, examples, and commentary on the "who, what, and how" is needed to achieve the goals. The goals are well-developed, utilizing a multi-faceted approach to solving the issues of health literacy.
The goals are to:
- Develop and disseminate health and safety information that is accurate, accessible, and actionable,
- Promote changes in the health care system that improve health information, communication, informed decisionmaking, and access to health services,
- Incorporate accurate, standards-based, and developmentally appropriate health and science information and curricula in child care and education through the university level,
- Support and expand local efforts to provide adult education, English language instruction, and culturally and linguistically appropriate health information services in the community,
- Build partnerships, develop guidance, and change policies,
- Increase basic research and the development, implementation, and evaluation of practices and interventions to improve health literacy, and
- Increase the dissemination and use of evidence-based health literacy practices and interventions.
We were pleased to discover the recognition of librarians and the roles that libraries can play in the Action Plan. Repeatedly, libraries are mentioned in the report – public libraries as knowledgeable resources for patrons and as potential partners in communities, medical libraries as resources for health providers and patients, and school libraries as partners in creating healthy school populations.
The report identifies strategies for organizations to utilize libraries in the development of health-literate communities. For example, Goal 4 states "libraries of all types, including public and medical libraries, have become important partners in supporting community-based health literacy efforts and working with health care professional … However, library staff members, like health professionals and health providers, require additional training so they can respond appropriately to the health literacy needs of library patrons." Several strategies are offered, such as skill-building in health reference services, creating health-related programs, and forming partnerships between community organizations, health professionals and libraries.
A special mention is made about the partnership between Santa Clara Medical Center, Santa Clara County Library, and Plane Tree Health Library from San Jose; the three organizations work together to operate a community learning center for improving health literacy. The learning center provides information about medical topics in several languages (English, Spanish and Vietnamese) and different formats (print, audio, and video) with a focus on easy-to read materials. Each organization offers something unique to the partnership, and the result is improved literacy for the diverse populations in the community.
Not only is the introductory material a good primer on health literacy, the Action Plan identifies the problems along with concrete strategies for creating a more health-literate nation. For anyone interested in new approaches for working individually and in partnerships to improve the health and quality of life of people in their communities, the entire document is worth reading and is highly recommended.
To listen to a podcast about the report, visit the NLM Director's Comments podcasts page. The audio file can be played on your computer, or it can be downloaded through iTunes. Directions are available on the page, and a transcript of the audio is also available.


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Szechuan Sampler 2.0
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Szechuan Sampler 2.0
by Fred Rosenbaum, Larry Becker and Lee Earle
The performer hands four authentic menus from different Chinese restaurants to a participant, informing, "We're going to take a virtual tour among these dining establishments, sampling selections from each place until we've ordered a four-course meal: an appetizer, main dish, side dish, and dessert. Note that each restaurant has a wide variety of selections and all at different prices, yes?" The participant agrees.
"You will be the host for our culinary caper," explains the Mentalis, "so hand three of those menus to folks you will invite to join you. And this, (placing a letter-size card in full view) is our gift certificate for the expenses, tax and tip included."
Once the menus are distributed, the 'host' is instructed, "As our gastronomical guide, you may choose a dish from any course on the menu - we don't have to go in order. Which course shall it be? ("A side dish")"
The performer takes out a pad and marking pen and, after inquiring which item is being ordered, writes it down and asks, "How much is it?" The amount is openly written down on the pad.
All of the others each choose a different course and item from their menus with each name and price duly recorded in a column on the pad. "I'm certain that each of you will agree," reminds the Mentalist, "that if you had chosen a different course, the selection ordered would have varied and the price would not be the same, correct?" All the participants agree.
"Let's determine the total bill," suggests the performer, holding the pad in full view as he adds the price of each freely selected item. "It appears the dinner will cost $23.45. Not bad for a party of four. Let's see how much of that amount the gift certificate covers."
The gift certificate is turned around and is seen to be printed with the amount $23.45!
This routine comes with professionally designed and printed menus, all of them (except the paper takeout menu) are glossy coated for years of use. In addition, each menu has hidden cues for some of the most outrageous (and definitely un-PC) gag lines you could possibly imagine, which turn the effect from mere mental magic into belly-spitting entertainment.
Szechuan Sampler is ready to go - no setup is required. The routine uses no forces, no gimmicks, no stooges, and nothing added or taken away. If you are working a repeat show, you may rest assured that the final total will be different. It's the perfect 'packs flat, plays big' presentation that you can perform right away.
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Freshness Interview with Larry Johnson from Packer x Fila Event
The Packer release of the Fila FX-100 was a celebratory event for all the parties involved. Packer and Fila are both commemorating 100 years in the business, and Larry Johnson's 4-point play to beat the Pacers brought it all together for the in store-appearance of the baller … READ MORE
Fila x Packer Shoes x Larry Johnson – FX-100 4-Point Play Pack In-Store Event
First it was an in-store appearance by Dominique Wilkins to celebrate the release of the Packer Edition of the Pump 20 that was inspired by Mr. Human Highlight Film himself, and now we get another former N.B.A. star to celebrate a Packer x Fila exclusive. For the … READ MORE


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Listening To North Raleigh
Hi Neighbor
After 28 years of military service, Deborah and I chose to live in Raleigh because of the excellent quality of life available here. It is that very same quality of life that attracts a well trained and educated work force which in turn attracts a variety of business interests to Raleigh. These businesses help to underwrite our taxes which allow us to have the lowest cost for services in the Triangle and one of the lowest in the state while still providing a high level of city services.
Raleigh's success is a result of years of detailed planning and hard work. I will preserve and improve upon our quality of life in Raleigh with a focus on public safety, transit and water. With three decades of leadership, management and organizational experience, I will continue to build and support consensus within the City Council that will allow the best interests of Raleigh's citizens to flourish.
Because no one person ever has all of the answers to every question, I will listen to you—the citizens of Raleigh. With your help, we will meet the challenges and opportunities of this vibrant and growing city and keep Raleigh a great place to live, work and play.
Randy Stagner
Councilman, District A
Raleigh, North Carolina
Working For North Raleigh
You Spoke. I Listened.
Our quality of life is recognized nationally as one of the best. And yet, we pay the lowest cost-for-service in the Triangle and one of the lowest in the State. In my first term, I represented your interests in--
Public Safety
Member of the Council Committee for Law and Public Safety.
Traffic Lights:
-Installed at Lead Mine and Bridgeport Roads.
-Approved for Harvest Oaks Drive and Strickland Road.
-Under survey for Lead Mine Road and Inman Park Drive.
-Numerous crosswalk lights installed in North Raleigh.
Capital Area Greenway Volunteers:
-Initiated a program that assists visitors and promotes public safety on our greenways. Although this effort is only a year old, there are over 60 volunteers in this program.
Public Safety Center:
-A scaled-down public safety center will be built just north of I-440, near Capital Boulevard.
Increased Equipment and Training Facilities for Our Police and Firefighters.
-Supported the new police training range facility and Fire Station 29 in North Raleigh. Spearheaded effort to replace fire department's air supply truck.
Member of the Council Committee for Comprehensive Planning.
Sandy Forks Road:
-Initiated the complete redesign and reconstruction of the worst road in Raleigh, Sandy Forks Road. This major connector in North Raleigh has been on the Capital Improvements Program list for over ten years and has been a hazard for motorists and pedestrians alike.
Six Forks Corridor Survey:
-Accelerated the study of this major north-south artery in North Raleigh.
Traffic Signalization:
-Synchronization of traffic signals is nearly complete in North Raleigh.
Union Station:
-Will replace the decrepit downtown station and provide a nexus for all modes of transit in the City.
Better Bus Service:
-Recent reassessment of bus routes and equipment to support a more efficient public transportation system completed. More bus shelters are in the works.
More Sidewalks:
-Federally-funded sidewalks approved for the length of Creedmoor Road in North Raleigh.
-Continued the citizen petition process for increasing neighborhood sidewalks.
More Bike-Friendly Streets:
-Expansion of bike lanes and bike sharrows on City streets—now over 20 miles and growing.
Public Works Maintenance Facility in North Raleigh:
-A new public works maintenance facility will be built just north of I-540.
Capital Boulevard Corridor Revitalization:
-The complete redesign and reconstruction of Raleigh's northern gateway to downtown. Federal dollars have paid for the removal of the bowling alley and will do the same for the Milner Inn. The City will remove the downtown maintenance facility. These actions and the State's replacement of two bridges will allow a better traffic flow and a more park-like entrance to downtown. This will also improve the water quality of Pigeon House Branch Creek, the most polluted stream in our city.
Transportation Planner:
-Hired the City's first strategic transportation planner to ensure a holistic approach to our future transit needs.
City of Raleigh Representative on the Upper Neuse River Basin Association Board and Council Liaison to the Stormwater Advisory Commission.
Falls Lake:
-Worked with upstream governments to maintain and improve Falls Lake water quality through better stormwater management and preservation of watershed around the lake. Raleigh draws 50-70 million gallons of drinking water daily from Falls Lake.
-Working with the State to increase the use of ultraviolet light to reduce the chemicals used in our water treatment process.
-Requested a complete inventory and replacement schedule of our $10.5 billion water and sewer infrastructure. It's better to maintain/replace on a planned schedule than to pay more with unanticipated breaks in the system. A replacement schedule will produce greater predictability of costs and allow a fairer, flatter rate for water and sewer charges.
-Supported citizen stormwater concerns across North Raleigh—Wimbledon, Yorkgate, Haymarket, and Summerfield North among others.
Council Liaison to the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board.
-Expanded the Capital Area Greenway to just over 100 miles to include the near completion of the 30-mile Neuse River Greenway.
-Initiated the funding of repairs to the Ironwood Trail (just south of Shelly Lake) and the installation of lights in greenway tunnels.
Strategic Parks Planning:
-Served as the Council representative to the Parks Visioning Process. This citizen-driven process will determine the future path of our parks for the next 20 to 50 years.
Community Gardens:
-Initiated the limited use of R-10 property for community gardens in the new Unified Development Ordinance.
Dix Park:
-Voted in good faith for a lease to preserve Dix Hill with the State of North Carolina. I expect the State to uphold their end of this agreement.
Economic Development:
Member of the Council Committee for Budget and Economic Development.
-Worked every day to support our neighborhoods. When the folks at Inman Park were not notified of a proposed development that directly impacted them, I paused the process at Council to give them a voice. Neighborhoods must be heard on quality of life issues.
Unified Development Ordinance:
-Cleans up the previous development ordinance and provides a predictable process designed to ensure fairness for all stakeholders.
-Red Hat brought 900 employees to Raleigh. "Now employers have to locate where employees want to be." Jim Whitehurst, CEO Redhat, at the ribbon-cutting for their new headquarters in Raleigh.
-Citrix has relocated to the new Union Station complex.
-Allscripts has increased its employees in North Raleigh by 350—now over 1500.
From Council/Committee public hearings to the Atlantic, Midtown and North Citizen Advisory Councils to phone calls, emails and home visits, I never stop listening to you.


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Nemo's Reef Musical Mobile
Fish are friends at bedtime! Let your little one join Nemo from FINDING NEMO as he embarks on an underwater adventure at bedtime. This musical mobile featuring Nemo will help soothe your little clownfish to sleep while it gently spins and plays Brahms' Lullaby. The mobile features two plush Nemo and two plush starfish in bold colors of navy, blue and green with a pop of orange.
Available at Babies"R"Us
Suggested Retail Price: 39.99


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Top 5 favorite Hawaii music artists (ever): HAWAII Magazine Facebook poll results
by: Maureen O'Connellposted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 at 01:16 PM
No. 4
Na Leo Pilimehana
Na Leo Pilimehana, which translates from Hawaiian as "voices blending together in warmth" consists of three friends (since seventh grade at Kamehameha Schools): Nalani Choy, Lehua Kalima Heine and Angela Morales. They had their first hit in 1984, with their original song Local Boys. The next year, the tune won a Na Hoku music award and became the best-selling single in Hawaii's history. The trio — known for original pop and hapa-haole songs and Hawaiian standards — has gone on to win more than 20 Na Hoku awards. Also listed among its achievements: first Hawaiian band to headline at Hollywood's House of Blues.
Video above: "Do the Hula" by Na Leo Pilimehana
Check out these related HawaiiMagazine.com posts:
Watch Tia Carrere win her Grammy
Hawaiian music Sunday afternoons
New Hawaii music festival expands Na Hoku Hanohano Awards celebration
The Brothers Cazimero return with "Destiny"


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Though Wells is showing flickers of life these days, he will never ever earn the pay cheque he receives. That said: amazing highlight reel catches like this are a nice attempt.
The relief Ervin Santana clearly feels, after resigning himself to surrendering yet another homer the moment the ball leaves Infantes' bat, when Wells pulls in this bomb back into play as to be worth a couple bucks, right? Vernon is just doing his part, trying to be good in the room, you know?


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Ozzy Osbourne
- John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is a Grammy Award winning English singer-songwriter, whose career has now spanned four decades.
- Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
- In the early 2000s, his career as a celebrity hit a new zenith when he became a star in his own reality show, The Osbournes alongside wife/manager Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly and Jack.
- In August 2008, Osbourne stated in USA Today that he intends to retire from his music career after two more albums.
70's Rock
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For many, Friday represents the end of a long work week that's filled with heavy doses of drudging, sludging and other words that don't actually exist but rhyme with "udging" and connote menial and tedious tasks that are ultimately distasteful. It's my hope that at the end of such misery, at that moment in time that only occurs on a Friday afternoon when it's too far away from closing time to leave work early, but too late in the day to start anything new, you'll join us here to read some random observations about baseball and contribute your own thoughts on the subjects that are broached.
So, without further ado, I present this week's Ten Stray Thoughts On A Friday:
Casey Janssen And Home Plate Umpires
Toronto Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen has made six appearances this season, over which he's faced 21 batters. He's given up a single run on three hits and no walks, while striking out eight. By all accounts, it's a successful start to the season from a reliever coming off of off-season shoulder surgery.
However, one could be forgiven for wondering if Janssen isn't benefiting from the enticement of post-game foot-massages for hard-working home plate umpires. After all, here is his called strike zone so far this season:
The first inclination when we see pitchers getting calls is to credit the catcher's ability to frame the strike zone. Blue Jays starting catcher J.P. Arencibia, despite some early season evidence that suggests he's improved, has been listed among the worst framers in the league over the last two years. It's worth noting here that it's incredibly inaccurate to look at a small sample of games and suggest that a catcher's framing ability is the sole reason for borderline locations being called strikes. There's a reason that Mike Fast's original study used five years of data. So, merely looking at this and suggesting that Arencibia is improved doesn't quite cut it.
So, let's break this up a little bit. Here's Janssen's called strike zone vs. right handed batters:
And here's his called strike zone vs. left handed batters:
Now, let's consider something else for which Fast, now working for the Houston Astros, was a proponent: altered strike zone considerations for right-handed and left-handed hitters.
You see, umpires don't call a definitive strike zone for both handed hitters. For righties, it's a bit larger horizontally and smaller vertically than it should be. For lefties, the strike zone is shifted more toward the outside. Look at the umpire cards of any big league umpire, and this is exactly what you'll find.
With all of the credit for borderline calls being given to the catcher, I think we might be short-changing the ability of a pitcher to locate his pitches and exploit an umpire's inherent fallibility. In my mind, this is what we're seeing with Janssen, a pitcher who doesn't overpower anyone with a very hard fastball. It's obviously not uncommon for pitchers to consistently throw outside to batters, but Janssen – so far this season – has shown an ability to consistently locate pitches in the perfect spot: difficult for a batter to make solid contact, and still generally accepted as a strike. It's not by accident either, as he typically uses his four-seamer on the outside of the plate to left-handers and his cut-fastball on the outside of the plate to right-handers, pitches with right/left movement that fulfill their purpose in location and appearance.
Derek Jeter's Brittle Bones
I suppose it should have been expected, but I was still surprised to learn that Derek Jeter won't be back until around the All-Star Break due to complications during his recovery from a broken ankle. I say I shouldn't have been surprised because only 15 players in baseball history that were Derek Jeter's age or older have ever played 140 or more games as a shortstop. This also make me wonder what his role will be with the New York Yankees when he finally does return.
I made fun of the Seattle Mariners before the season began for having more players who should be designated hitter than actually filling out a defensive spot in the lineup. The Yankees are going to be or maybe already are just as bad, if not worse.
The Most Saintly Player In Baseball
Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds is the most likely player in baseball history to be named a saint. No, it's not because of his excellent start to the 2013 season saving the Reds for losses. Instead it's because the sophomore player has already performed three miracles during his short MLB career.
First, there was the no-hands home run last season.
Then, Frazier saved another man's life who was choking on food before the third baseman performed the Heimlich Maneuver to dislodge a piece of steak.
Frazier's latest miracle occurred last night when he hit a home run for Ted Kremer, after the batboy asked him to go yard.
Saint Todd Fraizer.
I wonder if more at bats were given to Frazier, and less at bats were given to Scott Rolen during the Cincinatti Reds' NLDS series loss to the San Francisco Giants last year, we might have a different World Series winner.
Stephen Strasbrug Vs. Matt Harvey
Remember in What About Bob? when Bill Murray's character explains the divorce with his ex-wife by suggesting that there are two types of people in this world: Those who love Neil Diamond; and those who don't? I think I feel the same way about there being two types of baseball fans: Those who like a lot of runs, and those who don't.
Count me among the group that prefers a tense pitching battle to a run extravaganza. In addition to this, I tend to appreciate young talent more than proven talent. As such, I'm tremendously excited to watch 24-year-old Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals play against 24-year-old Matt Harvey and the New York Mets tonight. Both pitchers can hit the upper 90s with their four-seamer, and possess the capability to throw change ups at velocities that match other pitchers' fastballs.
I can't imagine a more appealing pitching match up.
Brian Kenny Vs. Harold Reynolds
The Evisceration Of Harold Reynolds is my new favorite program on MLB Network.
I saw "42″ last weekend. It was awful. I hated it. I hated it more than any movie I've seen so far this year, and that includes Spring Breakers which was awful. I think what I hated most about the movie is that there was such a real and inspiring story in there, but it was glossed over by a cookie-cutter score, writing that stunk of cliches, and the cleanest costuming of all time. It was as though the entire story was washed over by Disney, and it wasn't even a Disney movie. I was really disappointed.
You can read more about what I thought about it, along with the more measured responses of Alison Broverman and Andrew Stoeten in this week's edition of the National Post's Popcorn Panel.
The Ten Best
These are the ten best baseball movies. It's not subjective. It's fact:
- Battlefield Baseball
- Major League
- Moneyball
- Eight Men Out
- Sugar
- Field Of Dreams
- The Rookie
- Mr. Baseball
- For The Love Of The Game
- Bang The Drum Slowly
HM: Angels In The Outfield and Tiger Town.
The Ten Worst
These are the ten worst baseball movies. It's not subjective. It's fact:
- Bull Durham
- The Bad News Bears
- The Fan
- A League Of Their Own
- Rookie Of The Year
- Little Big League
- Fever Pitch
- Mr. 3000
- The Sandlot
- The Natural
HM: Stealing Home and The Scout. Oh, and Summer Catch too.
In Praise Of R.J. Anderson
You know how that guy in Philadelphia wants to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay, I'd very much like to go to a baseball game with R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus. Anderson, who used to write for Fangraphs and DRaysBay, as well as the exceptional Process Report, watches a game differently. He's an excellent follow on Twitter for his curiosity about the inner workings of baseball. While you and I might be curious as to why Player A does this, or why Team B does that, Anderson consistently looks into these things and examines the process that leads to each outcome.
A recent post at Baseball Prospectus is the perfect example of what I'm writing about. Houston Astros manager Bo Porter pulled J.D. Martinez in the fourth inning of a game without explanation. Anderson looked through the team's history this season to realize that the most likely reason for the benching was due to Martinez getting a one-pitch out after the previous batter did it.
I love these investigative-through-research pieces, and Anderson is the very best at them.
Versatility Naming
Tom Tango brings up a great question pertaining to the naming of a type of baseball player. It doesn't quite seem right to call a regular in the lineup who plays multiple positions like Ben Zobrist a utility player, because "utility player" connotes something closer to replacement than what Zobrist offers the Tampa Bay Rays. So, what should we call a player of Zobrist's ilk who is capable of playing everyday at a number of positions?
Personally, I like "Rounder" because it's a shortened form of "all-around" and also refers to the origin of baseball when such a multi-positioned player was more likely to be utilized. Any other ideas?


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Note to sports media: Soccer is here to stay. Deal with it!
OK, I am tired of justifying to some of my friends in the sports media who for some reason do not seem to understand that like it or not the United States actually likes soccer and did before World
UEFA Final goes to Real Madrid in a wild one
Tensions were racing until the very end of the UEFA Champions League final, with Real Madrid finally clinching the win 4-1 with three goals in extra time. TheY beat crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in what turned from a nail bitter to laughter in about
Arsenal Vs. Borussia Dortmund Key Matchups
If there was ever a day to take an extended lunch break or come down with a bit of the afternoon flu, today is it.
With Messi Injuried, Who Will Lead Barcelona?
One the most incredible things about Lionel Messi – and yes, the list is quite long – is how healthy he has kept himself throughout his career.
Is Bayern Munich like the New York Yankees?
On Saturday, the soccer world sets its sites on German powerhouses Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as they square-off in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final at London's Wembley Stadium, with game airing nationally at 2 p.m. on Fox.


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Science & Technology
Patricia Compas-Markman
Founder and CEO, DayOne Response, Inc.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
B.S. Civil Engineering (2009)
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering (2009)
B.S. Civil Engineering (2009)
M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering (2009)
- Founded DayOne Response, Inc. in 2010 based on her water treatment for disaster relief research at Cal Poly and focused on addressing the global need for emergency portable water. Targeted clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, local emergency management agencies, and disaster relief organizations.
- Co-invented the DayOne Waterbag technology with Cal Poly Professor Dr. Tryg Lundquist. The DayOne Waterbag provides all the essential functions of municipal water supply: (1) water collections, (2) transport, (3) treatment, and (4) hygienic storage.
- Recognized by President Clinton and awarded a Clinton Global Initiative Outstanding Commitment Grant.
- Selected by the Department of Defense (United States Marine Corps Forces Pacific Experiment Center and the U.S. Navy) as one of 10 technologies to be tested for water-quality performance and user operation at the July 2010 Crimson Viper exercise, and was the technical lead for DayOne Response, Inc. during this exercise in Sattahip, Thailand.
- Traveled to Haiti to conduct DayOne Waterbag training with support from two relief organizations. Over 200 Haitians participated. The testing showed that the pictographic instructions allowed untrained individuals to produce their own clean water.
- During summer 2011, attended the Unreasonable Institute Incubator in Boulder, Colo., as a 2011 Unreasonable Fellow, and was selected by the Junior Chamber International Osaka as a candidate to participate in the 2011 TOYP (The Outstanding Young Persona) Program in Japan.
Connect with other Cal Poly San Luis Obispo alumni »
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