text:
Young Professionals for MDGs - Main
About YPP
The Young Professionals for the Millennium Development Goals Program
The Young Professionals for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Program was established in order to document the FVP experience in the most vulnerable communities in the Americas, develop participatory diagnoses, and identify best practices for MDG achievement at the local level. The program gives Masters students professional field experience at the international and community level. While living in the communities, Young Professionals will document their experiences as well as those of the community through audio and visual mediums. This, along with local partnerships, is a way of representing invisible communities by giving them a face, a voice and a place in development.
Program outline
Over a period of 11 weeks, a Young Professional will...
The Ideal Candidate will...
This is an unpaid internship that should count as credit towards your academic program. In addition, Young Professionals should ensure that they are able to cover their own travel and living expenses for the duration of the program.
Printable resources:
|Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 November 2013 13:32


text:
Columbus offers the caliber of attractions, cultural events, the arts, dining, sports, and shopping as other big cities. However Columbus' cost of living is comparatively low to other metro areas.
Graduate Student Housing
Graduate students have two options to live in on-campus apartments close to Fisher's campus.
Space in Fisher Commons is limited and granted on a first come, first serve basis. Contact Fisher's Graduate Programs Office to inquire about living at Fisher Commons.
Housing in the Neil Avenue Building is available to students who are single or living away from spouses and/or children, and are enrolled in a graduate or professional curriculum at The Ohio State University.
The Neil Avenue Building, located on the southern edge of the Columbus campus, is a five story, air-conditioned residence hall for men and women. Single apartments with kitchens and private baths are available. For more information pertaining to on-campus graduate living, or for a housing application, refer to the Office of Residence Life's website.
Student Family Housing
Buckeye Village is a 396-unit apartment complex provided by the university for married students or single parent students with dependent children. Both one- and two-bedroom apartments are available. Buckeye Village is located less than a mile northwest of the center of campus and bus service is available daily via the university bus system. Students seeking family housing are urged to apply at the time they apply for admission to Ohio State.
A request for information about any university sponsored housing may be indicated on the Graduate School Admission Application, or by writing or calling:
Buckeye Village
Off-Campus Housing
Rooming houses, apartments, and homes provide rental housing for many Ohio State students. The Office of Off-Campus Student Services provides information on available rental units as well as offers a roommate referral service.
Office of Off-Campus Student Services

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Oakland's police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned.
Chief Anthony Batts listed exactly 44 situations that his officers will no longer respond to and they include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism. He says if you live and Oakland and one of the above happens to you, you need to let police know on-line
- Show Prep
- Listen to FTL
- FTL Info
- Community
- Support FTL
- Learn More


text:
A proposal to keep one rifle each at three Gainesville schools will cost approximately $6,000, a number to be evenly split between the Gainesville City School System and the Gainesville Police Department.
Already have an account? If so just LOG IN HERE.
Don't have an account? Sign up!
An ALL-INCLUSIVE Times 2 Go Subscription is required to continue reading more than 10 stories per month.
Print and digital packages, including an online-only option, begin at only $9.28 per month.
Having problems?
I've forgotten my username. Click here to retrieve it.
I've forgotten my password. Click here to reset it.
I never received a verfication message. The most likely culprit is a spam filter. If you don't find it there, we'll be happy to help. Send us a message and we'll work to resolve this quickly. We'll need your e-mail address or username to assist.
I have another issue. Write to us here. Please include your e-mail address and username.


text:
POSTED: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - 5:59am
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - 12:39pm
Shipping pallets are a plentiful source of wood to reclaim and build with. Since pallets are rough hewn, they lend themselves to rustic pieces of furniture, which happen to be in style right now. With imagination and some basic carpentry skills, you can turn shipping pallets into all kinds of practical and whimsical furniture. Have a look at nine ideas, all shared by DIY bloggers. A special thanks goes out to Donna of Funky Junk Interiors [1], a skilled DIY carpenter [2] who built and posted photos of many of these projects.
Garden lounge chairs [3]: These garden lounge chairs look like a combination of extra wide loungers and Adirondack chairs.
Pallet sofa [4]: Most sofas have wood frames underneath the upholstery. With this sofa, the frame is on the outside, and it is built from shipping pallets. It's just about the least expensive outdoor sofa that you could "buy".
TV stand [5]: Want to soften up the look of your TV's cold, hard plastic? Build a rustic TV stand out of pallets. It balances the TV with the natural look of wood.
Dresser [6]: If you need a dresser and have absolutely no budget to buy one, a pallet dresser could be for you. If you can scrounge up six pallets and a bunch of baskets, you have the components of a unique and stylish storage solution.
Tiki bar [7]: When you're throwing a party but don't have a bar, you can always build a DIY pallet bar. This project was built and posted by David Rundle, a builder in Tacoma [8].
Pallet desk [9]: This desk [10] is so stylish. People pay hundreds for desks like this one. Why pay hundreds when you can build your own desk out of scrap lumber?
Picnic table [11]: Be sure to sand the edges well when you build this super cute DIY kid's picnic table. You don't want your kids to get splinters!
Coffee table [12]: This is fantastic. Anyone can build this pallet coffee table, which looks absolutely modern and stylish. You won't have to pay hundreds for an industrial-chic coffee table if you can score some shipping pallets.
Farmhouse table [13]: Finally, a dining table made from shipping pallets. Is this too good to be true? Nope. Click through to learn how to make it yourself.
Chaya Kurtz writes for Networx.com. View original post [14].


text:
Shop now and get Free Value Shipping on most orders over $49 to the contiguous 48 states, DC and to all U.S. Military APO/FPO/DPO addresses.
We want to ensure that making a return is as easy and hassle-free as possible! If for any reason you decide that your purchase just isn't for you, simply return the item within 30 days of receipt and we'll cover the cost of return shipping. Learn more about our Return Policy.
In the event you can't make up your mind on which Tactical Batons to get then look at our Tactical Batons Reviews and compare leading brands to find a Tactical Batons which is ideal for you. Our customer written reviews comprise of recommendations, reviews, ratings and feedback. Get knowledgeable buying suggestions for all of our preferred brands. Possessing a good comprehension as well as a general knowledge of the products you're going to get is critical if you want the appropriate items to begin with. Our online product reviews of Tactical Batons will help you get the information you want and let you discover which Tactical Batons consumers think are the best available. Also make sure you check out our OpticsPlanet discussion forum for all the newest talk about Tactical Batons. So before you decide, be sure to look at our customer feedback for all our best brands for Tactical Batons.
Connect with OpticsPlanet
Become our fan, follow us, & subscribe for the latest updates and deals
Subscribe to our email list
Sign up and receive $5 Off and get exclusive access to promotions, sales
events, pre-order sales & more!
Contact Information
Toll-Free: 800-504-5897
Intl.: 847-513-6201
Fax: 847-919-3003
Email: email@example.com
Hours of Operation
7AM-8PM CST Mon-Fri9AM-5PM CST Sat-Sun
Our Guarantees


text:
quote:Nuss out thinks himself sometimes and gets too cute. Since when is Alabama afraid to run the ball to get 2 yards? It was sickening man
quote:What if we had run it and they didn't get in? What would we say? We should've thrown it!!
quote:If Amari would have picked his man like he was supposed to, it probably would have been a TD. The fact is that most of the plays that a lot of people are pissed about have nothing to do with play calling. They have to do with execution. What if we had run it and they didn't get in? What would we say? We should've thrown it!! Think about it. Up until LSU, Nuss has been doing a great job and now all of a sudden, he's not? I don't think so. Our boys aren't executing (over throws, drops, fumbles, Barrett got beat a lot last night). We have regressed in the execution department big time. I don't know if its fatigue, injuries, or what, but that is the problem that is fixable and requires more focus. I'd say it's probably 80% execution and 20% play calling if you want to throw some percentages around.


text:
Does Google plan to switch Chrome OS to use Wayland instead of Xorg?
They could be the main driver to speed up driver development for Wayland.
That right there is the safety net. You can hate on Qt all you want but the reality is its a non-issue because the moment a BSD version of Qt hit the web, "Selling Qt" would no longer be a business model. Its in Digia's best interest to keep the LGPL version of the toolkit updated and continuing.
current X11 limitations:
* drawing paths (decoration and widgets) are actually a mess of hardcore API and protocols extension since this was not part of the original X11 protocol
* Window title are handle by isolated apps and normally are the compositors too, hence each DE enviroment implemented their own(kwin/metacity/e17/compiz/etc)
* title bars and windows are separated X11 objects with lots of hacks included
* everything in the screen with X11 is X11 api + extension and since every DE use a different toolkit wich uses this API differently at C/C++level, hence requiring ABI compatibility or bridges to keep visual consistency(almost non existant today)
* opengl compositing is alien to X11 core protocol(improved with lots of extension and other subsystems API but still not a first class citizen)
* X11 acceleration is at best partial for modern requirements and is very dependant on the driver
* X11 is the middle and intermediary of another middle man that knows an intermediary
thank to this limitations and the fact that the X11 never included a proper compositor each toolkit had to implement their own, forcing you to use API/ABI compatible visuals normally found only when the same TK is used (Qt/kde apps only look good if you run KDE and Kwin, same for efl/gtk/etc), and ofc since every TK has its own compositor and drawing API you get a salad of visuals if you dont use the correct for every app(GIMP is ugly as hell in KDE and calligra make you wanna puke when you are in Gnome3 shell for example).
Wayland pros(some in current development)
* in wayland everything is just a TEXTURE, thereis no low level API, no objects, no ABI, no middleman, no extensions, no visuals dependency, no drawing process or server.
* wayland is drawing language free, you can draw with G/ASM, Opengl, OES, DirectX(if you had a driver ofc) or any other wicked way you want
* wayland is just an assistant that let you talk directly to the a GPU Framebuffer in a coordinated way, nothing else
* wayland is a good damn good compositor and it works at framebuffer level inside the GPU automagically(no extensions or API/ABI or server in the middle)
* window and windows decorations once again are just textures
so with wayland the next predicaments are true
* each toolkit could render the app widgets/window & decoration directly with no need for kwin/metacity/etc except for protocol and events handling(so you kde app look like in running in KDE regardless that you are running gnome3)
* 1 app could look the same regardless the DE and toolkit(true for widget and decoration) just drawing directly in any form you like(GL GLES DX ASM)
* if DE enviroments agree in using a common drawing API that interfaces with Wayland protocol(cairo, GL, etc) to draw widgets/decorations, the DE enviroments just need to implement the skining that can be shared even, so the app looks native regardless the toolkit it was written with and even the themes can be written in a easy lang(js, qml, python, CSS,etc) and loaded by any DE enviroment so your apps looks the same in any DE as long you set same theme or even better 1 theme engine that work in any DE so regardless the TK you used to write your app or the DE you are using all apps will use the selected theme
* wayland dont require anything and is not a process, it just a protocol library aka put a kernel load drm modules and get mesa(if you wanna draw in GL/GLES/openVG/etc) and voila
* wayland dont impose session API/ABI so kdm/gdm/etc just will be needed for da eye candy cuz the session can be handled using PAM/KRB/AD/etc in the background and you dont need to be root for it
* wayland dont handle network rendering, which is very good since is 1500billions times better at TK level and freaking lot more secure than X11 network security blackhole(i know is useful if you use it, so stay with X11 until TK implement theirs)
in easiest words wayland behave like libusb or the tcp library, is just an interface that allows you to talk directly to a piece of hardware in a sequence that the piece of hardware can understand but what you sent to the hardware later is entirely up to you in userspace level (like in tcp/IP library doesnt tell you how to torrent just how to package it in tcp/IP format so the hardware can trasmit/receive whatever your libtorrent library generate in userspace effectively), so in wayand everything is client side not just the decorations aka framebuffer background/widgets/windows/decorations/apps/etc all is client side without execption
Some toolkits don't seem 100% complete, as they don't support features that Wayland has, such as the drag and drop protocol, or the onscreen keyboard protocol. And then there is the issue that QT5 is ported to wayland, so QT4 apps need to be ported to qt5, and many GTK apps have bugs because some of them happen to make X calls directly along with GTK calls when GTK is using the wayland backend causing them to segfault.
If they are not ported to be Wayland native, then they can use the integrated xwayland server, which currently works, but needs some features, and needs to be integrated to work better with Wayland, so that dnd works, and subwindows such as menus don't appear in random parts of the screen.
Are you using "fucking" as a verb or an adverb here?Who cares? Qt is still fucking freedom.
/next (kind-of-on-topic)
In case anyone is still confused, Weston isn't used by GTK or Qt...ever. Or, rather, it is completely separate from the two tool-kits. In other words, Qt and GTK will implement window decorations, controls, etc., separately from Weston, because they each implement their own Wayland compositors. OTOH, Qt and GTK apps will run under the Weston compositor fine, because the Wayland protocol allows this (compositors running under other compositors). And, I would imagine, in the future (when/if xorg becomes the fallback) Weston will be replaced by "root" compositors similar in design to GDM, KDM, LightDM.
Weston will still live on, because it is the "reference" compositor.
jrch, I read your post like this:
Wayland pros(some in current development)
* It doesn't do anything
so with wayland the next predicaments are true
* The toolkits will have to do everything that X is doing right now
Last edited by pingufunkybeat; 01-29-2013 at 07:03 PM.
Also, I'm positive, client side decorations are optional(the compositor can still do them if its decides, or maybe if the program "doesn't want to" and just fall back to some default).


text:
Revive White
Bring a stylish simplicity to any room with the Revive White designer radiator collection. Whether you show it to it's advantage in a vertical setting, where space is at a premium or have a more conventional area for your heating, Revive offers the perfect focal point. The Revive white designer radiators are available in a wide choice of sizes so you can be certain to find the right fit for the space you have, as well as vertical and horizontal styles too. The high quality white finish of the Revive designer radiators will blend in seamlessly with any decor, and create a sleek, minimal look. With Hudson Reed you can benefit from FREE shipping on all orders over $99 to mainland USA and over $199 to Canada.
Each Revive white designer radiator boasts an outstanding heat output, which ensures your room is quickly and efficiently transformed into a warm and inviting space that you'll enjoy spending time in. Suitable for use in any room of your home such as the lounge, bedroom or bathroom, all the Revive white designer radiators are constructed to the highest of quality to ensure long lasting durability.
With Hudson Reed you can also benefit from a comprehensive warranty and an impressive 30 day money back guarantee for added reassurance.
There are no products matching the selection.


text:
Hot Dog Graphic Tee Shirt (B&T)
Our Hot Dog Graphic Tee Shirt (B&T) features: a Classic crew neck collar, Diner advertisement design for hot dogs, Casual fit. Model is wearing 4XL.
Style ID: AC66118
Model Height6'5 (196 cm)
Fabric100% Cotton
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, simply return the items to us in original condition and packaging within 30 days of receipt and we will issue you a full refund, excluding original delivery charges and any applicable custom duties or taxes paid upon receipt.
Click here for our detailed Return Policy.
Shipping Policy
The majority of orders placed with Akademiks.com will be shipped the next business day (Monday-Friday). Packages do not ship out on weekends or holidays. Orders placed with different billing and shipping addresses will require extra time for processing.
Click here for our detailed Shipping Options & Rates.
Contact Information
Questions? Comments? We'd love to hear from you!
Click here to contact our Customer Service team.


text:
FREE CLICK & COLLECT SERVICEOrder online and pick up in-store for free
Shoes & Trainers
Sorry your search options returned no results
Please try again with new options or back to your previous search options.
Back to previous search options
Clear current options
Wellington Boots
We know parents need boys' school shoes to be hard wearing, stylish and affordable so that is exactly what we have created with our latest range. Whether in the schoolroom or playground, these school shoes won't let you down.
Sign up for our emails
For the latest trends, offers and more


text:
Mitsubishi Repair in Vine Grove
We found 23 Mitsubishi service shops and mechanics in Vine Grove.
2 are RepairPal Certified.
Accurate Automotive
5122 N Preston Hwy(502) 354-4641
Shepherdsville, KY 40165Map & directions
"Bill takes care of my concerns and goes the extra mile to make sure repairs are done right." - Mike, Shepherdsville, KYSee more real customer reviews
Meineke Car Care
4170 Bardstown Rd(502) 661-6131
Louisville, KY 40218Map & directions
"Friendly, fast, and honest service." - Kristin, Louisville, KYSee more real customer reviews
RepairPal Certified Shops
An exclusive network of auto repair and maintenance shops that delivers:
- Quality work, backed by a minimum 12-month/12,000-mile warranty
- Guaranteed fair prices
- Happy customers


text:
Hi there! Its exciting news. I've some questions that I'd like to ask to people out there with android development experience. Beforehand I'd say that I've no experience with java and do not plan to get into it.
1. I develop javascript/HTML and php/mysql applications for web mainly and I've some experience with c++/qt4.x. Does qt5 have web-like UI interfaces that I'd use to easily develop android applications?
2. Can Qt5 on android gain momentum and become a viable alternative to other frameworks? (can I eat bread with it?)
3. Does using opengl with qt make it easier to develop android apps with GL?
4. Will I have to write some parts of the application in java or is it pure C++11/Qt awesomeness that just works dude on android?
Thank you in advance for your answers!


text: The GoPro Snow Team dominating Winter X Games 2012 in Aspen. Shaun White, two-time Olympic gold and thirteen-time X Games gold medal winner, has signed on to our world class lineup of premier ski and snowboard athletes. Check out the GoPro Snow Team Shaun White, Tom Wallisch, Eric Willett. Tucker Perkins, Hannah Teter, and Jamie Anderson demonstrating how GoPro's athletes go to a whole new level of radness. View More


text:
PPU® Cutout Brief
Select Color:color
Select Size:size
Select Quantity
- Men's cutout briefs
- Men's underwear made from nylon/spandex/polyester
- Machine wash
- Imported
- PPU underwear style 1235
PPU takes men's underwear in a bold new direction with the Cutout briefs. A modern men's underwear design, these PPU briefs have comfortable elastic side straps that attach to the front cup and back for an innovative style. Made from soft stretch fabric with colorful horizontal stripes, supportive PPU Cutout briefs look as good as they feel.


text:
Hi: 9° Lo:5°
By Dan Santy Wednesday 31 October 2012 Updated: 05/11 11:53
A RUGBY man who took his wife to New York for her birthday has described the 'sobering' experience of being caught up in Hurricane Sandy.
Paul Coxon and wife Lara were in the city for just one day when the huge storm struck America's east coast, causing huge damage and flooding, and knocking out power for millions of people.
The social care communications worker for Warwickshire County Council even had a near miss when a large flying piece of aluminium landed just feet away from where he was stood outside smoking.
Mr Coxon said he did not have to be evacuated from his Manhattan hotel and stayed there during the worst of the storm to avoid the danger.
Writing from New York as the storm hit, he said: "Just got back from Battery Park. Wow, it's insane right now. Very high winds and torrential rains. Had to turn back in the end as conditions were too dangerous.
"There is a crane badly damaged in Midtown so just waiting to see if we are to be evacuated. It all feels rather real now."
After the worst had passed, he added: "We weren't evacuated last night, but lost power a few times. Midtown Manhattan is okay, but there remains a risk of flying debris.
"Last night a large piece of metal blew over one of the buildings adjacent to our hotel and landed feet from where I was smoking. It was a bit scary. We stayed in the hotel the whole night."
Since the storm Mr Coxon and his wife have walked around parts of New York, where he described seeing heavy damage and some shops open by candelight in what he called a 'totally sobering' experience.
"We walked back to the hotel in total silence, lost in thoughts. New York city is a weird place to be right now," he said.
"It's a little scary and disappointing as we're here for Lara's birthday."
The couple were due to fly home tomorrow (Friday), but this now looks unlikely as the city and the country prepares to try and recover from the chaos wrought by Hurricane Sandy.
1 Rugby man with kilos of cannabis not a dealer
2 Rugby shopping mall put up for sale
3 Burglar sneaked in to Rugby home while couple watched TV
4 Rugby burglar wanted for probation breach
5 M&S, Burton head to bigger out-of-town stores
CHRISTMAS is coming after this year's lights switch
PEOPLE are being warned not to land themselves
FLOOD warnings remain in place in parts of
POLICE have charged a teenager and are searching
FEARS Rolls-Royce will close its entire Ansty site are mounting ...
THE WIFE of Birmingham City FC goalkeeper Colin Doyle is ...
THE BANDSTAND in the middle of Leamington's Pump Room Gardens ...
REPAIR don't bin was the message in Stratford at the ...


text:
Summer Nights
2. Part Two
He stepped inside, only to be enveloped in a crushing bear hug. He looked up at the strong shoulders and the dark locks not unlike his own. "Boromir!" he exclaimed. "I thought you were not coming until next week."
"Now, is that any way to greet your brother?" Boromir ruffled Faramir's hair before drawing them over to sit down on the couch opposite Imrahil's chair. Faramir turned first to Boromir, then to his uncle, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Father insisted," Boromir explained. "He ordered my captain to release me a few days early. 'I will not have Faramir running around Dol Amroth by himself!'" Faramir laughed at the imitation of Denethor's gruffness. "He did not trust you, little brother," Boromir continued, "and wanted me to come look after you. But it seems his fears were groundless. Uncle tells me you leave every morning for the woods to read a book and are home every night by dinner --"
"My book!" Faramir cried. His mind flew back to an image of his book lying on his table in the common room of The Silver Fox. "I left it --" He stopped short.
"Yes?" Imrahil asked. "What of it?"
Faramir blushed slightly. His thoughts winged back to the cool room and the nervous look on the madam's face. No, he could not tell his Uncle about what had transpired there. "Nowhere. It is not important."
Boromir raised an eyebrow at that. "O ho, maybe Father was not quite as wrong as I thought! I had hoped you were not really spending all day reviewing Elvish -- that the book was just your excuse. And I see I was correct. Come now, Faramir, what mischief have you done today?"
"Mischief?" Faramir asked, fixing his brother with a stare. "Why, I have done no such thing. No worse than you would, at any rate."
"That does not eliminate much."
"No, indeed!" Imrahil chuckled.
Boromir gave Faramir a conspiratorial smile, then looked at his uncle. "True. Perhaps I should set a better example, but then Faramir would have no excuse, and we cannot have that, can we?" Faramir tried to force a laugh, but it was not very convincing. He was grateful when his brother, perhaps noticing his uneasiness, appeared to have decided not to pursue the matter.
"We eat in an hour?" Boromir asked, and Imrahil nodded. "Then I must beg your leave. That is, unless you wish your sons to suffer the smells of the road all through dinner?"
"Of course not," Imrahil replied. "Out with you, then. You, too, Faramir." And the brothers left.
Once they were out in the hall, Boromir turned to Faramir. "Come now, what did you do? You can tell me."
"Nothing," Faramir replied. He felt the colour return to his face. "I was lost, and I --"
Faramir was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal coming down the hall. The brothers turned and saw a small girl toddling towards them with seemingly impossible speed. "Bo'mir!" she cried, and Boromir ran to her, catching her up in a hug.
"Hallo, Thíri," he said, setting her down on the floor and kneeling in front of her. "And how is the Lady of Dol Amroth?"
"Good," Lothíriel replied, curtseying awkwardly in front of her cousins and dropping what she had been holding.
"What do you have there?" Faramir asked, coming over.
Lothíriel bent over and picked up the bronze spoon she had dropped. "Pretty," she said, looking up at him nervously.
"Aye, it is," Boromir replied. "Where did you get it?"
Lothíriel thought about that, and then ran behind Faramir, peeking out around his legs.
"It is all right," Boromir replied. "It is very pretty, but don't you think Cook will miss it?" Lothíriel nodded, and Boromir picked her up in his arms. "Well, let us give it back to her, shall we?" The three stopped at the kitchen and returned the spoon before Boromir and Faramir left Lothíriel in her nursery. "Do they always let her run loose like that?" Boromir asked as they headed on to their quarters.
"No, but she is small and her legs are quick," Faramir replied. He was silent for a second. You can tell him, Faramir; he is your brother. At last he said nervously, "Boromir, we must talk."
He suffered his brother's scrutiny until Boromir nodded gravely and said, "But not here. This should be a talk between brothers."
Five minutes later Boromir and Faramir reached the suite of rooms they shared. Faramir sat down on Boromir's bed and watched his brother remove his tunic and begin washing. "We need to talk," he repeated.
"We do," Boromir agreed. "Do you wish to tell me how you lost your book?"
Faramir tugged uncomfortably at his collar. "I left it at an inn," he said at last. "The Silver Fox. The matron said you came there often?"
Boromir smiled and nodded. "I go there on occasion. It is a nice inn, and it serves its purpose. How did you find it?"
Faramir turned his head away and mumbled, "I got lost."
Boromir left his cloth beside the washbasin, came over to the bed, and sat beside his brother. Faramir felt his brother's eyes boring into him. "So did you enjoy your dinner?" Boromir asked.
Faramir shook his head. "I left before my meal was ready."
"Oh?" Boromir asked. "Why? The wine there is said to be the best in the city."
Faramir turned to face him and saw Boromir's eyes flash with suspicion. He held himself still while Boromir ran a finger along Faramir's cheek and inspected it. Faramir sighed quietly, letting his head drop, his long hair falling into his face. He thought he had wiped away all traces of Isilwen's kiss, but obviously he should have been more thorough.
"Faramir, do you know what happens in that house?" Boromir asked.
"Not when I went in," Faramir replied flatly, averting his eyes.
"And now?"
Faramir lifted his head, brushing the hair away from his face, his eyes ablaze. How dare Boromir impugn his honour so! "I would never -- never -- have entered such a house if I knew what went on in the upper rooms. You know that." He knew he was avoiding the question directly, and quite frankly he did not care: Boromir may have the gall to ask him that, but Faramir did not have to answer.
Faramir inhaled slowly, stalling for time to think, and saw his brother do likewise. This was a conversation they had had before, so often that Faramir could guess his brother's thoughts. Few men would admit to visiting a brothel, Boromir would say, but most had seen the inside of one, at least before they were married. Aye, but there was a good reason men would not confess to purchasing such a service. They were Númenóreans -- elf-friends -- not Easterlings, and for the Men of the West certain things required commitment: a shared bed was one of them. And if other men forgot that fact, how did that excuse Faramir from doing what he knew was right?
As Faramir drew in his breath he caught the scent of lilies, vines, and rose-petals; he knew that Boromir, sitting so close, must surely smell it also. Faramir's fear was confirmed when Boromir leaned towards him, pulled his younger brother's tunic to the side, and sniffed.
"You did not answer my question, Faramir," Boromir said, his voice terse. "Do you know what happens in that house?" He straightened Faramir's tunic, then returned to the washbasin. "Do not try to deny that you do; I smell her on you." He came back with a wet cloth and ruthlessly began to scrub away the remains of Isilwen's lip colouring.
"Nothing happened," Faramir said.
"Do not lie to me, Faramir," Boromir replied angrily. "I am no hypocrite. I will not think you less honourable if you have indulged in something I too have done. Why do you hold back so?"
"Nothing happened," Faramir repeated stubbornly. It was the truth, as much as he might wish otherwise. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then shut it, convinced that anything he could say would only lower him in his brother's opinion.
Faramir watched Boromir study his face for some time. "When you say that," Boromir said at last, "do you mean that nothing happened -- that you went in, decided you were not hungry, and left?" He paused, waiting for Faramir to reply, but when his brother offered no answer he continued, "Or perhaps that you did no more than I would have done?" Boromir placed his callused hands on Faramir's shoulders and turned him so that the brothers faced each other.
Faramir fidgeted under Boromir's rough touch. "Nothing happened," he said a third time. But he could not force himself to look his brother in the eyes, and he knew Boromir must guess something of the truth.
Boromir released Faramir's shoulders and leaned back against the headboard, his lips curling into the beginnings of a smile. "Something happened. Tell me, Faramir, or I will go to the matron herself."
Not that! Faramir thought, trying to keep his panic from showing.
Boromir smiled encouragingly. "Do not worry, I will not laugh at you."
Faramir knew that Boromir had never given him cause to distrust his promises before, and he would rather his brother hear the truth from him than some stranger. "I was lost," he admitted, "as I said, and so I went in to ask directions. The matron offered me a room; I accepted." The smile Boromir had been fighting broke out, followed quickly by a soft chuckle. "Boromir, you promised!" Faramir cried indignantly. "And what of it? In Minas Tirith I could accept a room without fear of such unwanted company."
"You are not in Minas Tirith," Boromir answered; "this is Dol Amroth. Uncle would say that men are not so forward here as they are in Minas Tirith, and that they would not use courtesans if everyone who saw them enter such a house knew exactly what they were doing. And he has a point." He laughed.
"But men in the White City," he went on, "do not fear that tattling goodwives will spy on their visits: there are none to be found on the north side of the Fourth Circle! And there is no doubt as to what they will encounter when they go to an inn in that quarter. They do not face unwanted advances because they strayed into the wrong house."
Faramir reddened. "Nothing happened," he insisted. Boromir raised a sceptical eyebrow and Faramir found he could not meet his brother's amused gaze. He looked up at the ceiling, out towards the balcony, at the painting of Mithrellas on the wall -- everywhere but at Boromir. At last he sighed and met his brother's eyes. "But I wished it had." Then he shook his head. A man of Gondor should hardly think such thoughts, let alone share them. "I did not ask for her company. Or at least I did not mean to. But she said I did…" His voice trailed off.
Boromir gave him a kindly smile and said, "A little wisdom from the guards, brother:
'Ask for a ground room if sleep you desire; so says the fisherman's lore.
But seek for the stairs and the rooms above, if you wish for something more.'"
A moment passed, then Boromir continued. "Did she have a name?"
Faramir sighed contentedly. "Isilwen."
"You have good taste," Boromir said, smiling at his brother. "Aye, I can see why you would wish to bed her."
"I never said --" Faramir began to protest.
"Yes, you did," Boromir reminded him. "And why not? She is beautiful."
"Because," Faramir replied in his superior tone, "I do not do that. I would sooner find release in my hand than in another man's toy."
"Toy?" Faramir flinched under the scorn and incredulity of his brother's tone. "I hope you find release, then, for there are worse 'toys,' as you put it, than tavern wenches." He paused. "Do you remember Eseleth?"
Faramir thought for a moment. "She was your chamber maid, was she not?" he said at last.
"Yes," Boromir replied, nodding his head seriously. "Yes. And do you know what became of her?"
Faramir considered that, trying to recall what had become of her. "I have not seen her in years," he said. "I think someone told me she went to live with her aunt in Anórien…"
"And do you know why she left?" Boromir asked. When Faramir could not answer he continued, "Eseleth left Minas Tirith because she was three months with child. With my child." Boromir's eyes clouded, and he said, almost to himself, "My son."
Faramir sat in silence and tried to ease the knot growing in his chest. He was an uncle… he had a nephew… No, that was just not possible. And yet, why would his brother lie? It had to be the truth. And that meant -- that meant Boromir had known, and not told him. For years now!
He looked sharply at his brother. "Why did you never speak of this to me?" he demanded.
This was clearly not the reaction his brother had expected. "You were a boy --" Boromir began, sounding slightly aggrieved.
"I am not one now, nor have I been one for many years. I would have understood." So you consider me man enough to bed a girl, Faramir thought bitterly, but not old enough to know the consequences of your doing so?
"Would you have understood, Faramir?" Boromir asked, a note of scepticism in his voice. "Do you understand even now?"
Oh, I understand perfectly well, Faramir thought. I have a brother who fathered a child when he was little more than a child himself. Any man with the brains of a mumak knows how children are begotten! And more than that, he sent the child and mother away, without speaking so much as a word about the whole affair to me. And -- He looked over at Boromir and saw his brother's need for approval. Would you really have done so much better, Faramir? You wished to do the same thing Boromir did, yet you were too afraid to do it. Boromir at least had the strength to match his actions to his desires. Which is worse?
"I do not know," Faramir admitted. "I like to think I would have understood, but -- Boromir, you have just told me I have a nephew somewhere in the wilds of Anórien. News like that takes time to get used to." He sighed, and then repeated stubbornly, "I still think you should have told me."
"Now, that would have been an interesting conversation!" Boromir laughed. "Tell me, how should I have opened the subject? 'Faramir, when I was your age, I slept with a maid, and now she cares for my son…'"
Come now, brother, I know you better than that. Do you really think I would have been so surprised? "I already knew you bedded tavern girls, and you are not the only man to sleep with women besides his wife," Faramir replied coldly.
"Or perhaps: 'Somewhere in Anórien lives a girl who will never marry, not for any fault of her own but because I could not resist her charms--'"
"All right!" Faramir cried, clenching his hands around the edge of the bed. He was puzzled that those words had so ignited his temper, usually kept under such tight control. But this talk of passion, and not being able to resist it… Boromir's words contained too much truth for Faramir's comfort.
Boromir laid his hand on his brother's shoulder soothingly, and Faramir relaxed his grip and smoothed the quilt. "Where is the boy?" he asked. He stood up and marched over to the washbasin and splashed some cold water on his face to calm himself.
"I do not know," Boromir said.
"What do you mean you do not know?" Faramir demanded, spinning around and walking back to the bed. "How could you not know? We are talking about your son!"
"Father would not tell me." Boromir's voice was calm, but his hands were clenched and his shoulders more tense than Faramir had ever seen them.
"Did you not search for them?" he asked.
Boromir shook his head. "What would that have achieved? I will be steward one day, and a steward needs a wife, and a proper heir. Eseleth can provide me with neither. If I found the boy I would only bring them both pain; I have harmed them enough."
Faramir sat down and leaned back on the bed, sighing. Over the last two years, he had become used to being able to outpoint his older brother in matters of logic. Now he found himself rightly corrected. If Boromir had sought the child out, what good would that have accomplished? Nothing at all, but to bring more trouble to those he would love. But Faramir and Boromir had shared so much: in all the joys and adversities of their lives, they had each been the strength the other drew on. Except for this. Surely Boromir should have known he could trust Faramir with this burden?
"All right," Faramir said at last. "I still say you should have told me."
"Perhaps," Boromir replied. "Yes. I should have told you. Do you hate me, brother?"
Faramir looked over at Boromir. "No. This is quite a shock, yes, but you are still my brother." He hesitated for a second. "Why are you telling me all of this now?"
"Because I will not have you repeating my mistakes," Boromir said, his patience wearing thin. "Faramir, there is a boy somewhere in Anórien who will never see how much his father might love him. Why? Because Father did not have this conversation with me. He never told me that a lord of Gondor should not chase after innocent servants, and that he should work out his frustrations through more appropriate means. I will not have you ruining some maid's prospects or depriving another child of a father, like I did. Your pride is not worth their lives."
"I would not have let Father send her away," Faramir replied.
"No, you would not, would you?" Boromir mused. "You would marry her. And that is perhaps even worse. You would risk locking you both into a loveless marriage, throw away your lives, everything you have worked for, for one night of passion?"
Faramir sat up and looked over at Boromir, a wounded expression on his face. "Do you really think I have so little control, Boromir, that I would do that to some poor girl? To myself?"
"I do not know, Faramir," Boromir answered. "I thought that I had control. All I know is that you are seventeen, as was I." Faramir shot him a hurt look. "Oh, do not look at me that way, brother! We all are faced with situations we did not choose or did not foresee would be the consequences of our actions. Often we would prefer to avoid them, but life demands we deal with them. I made the best decision I could." He paused and brought the conversation back to its original point. "As did Isilwen. Do not condemn us when you do not know our full story."
Isilwen? Faramir thought. What evil drove her to such a life? Or did she make one poor choice that set her on this path? He had never stopped to consider why any woman would agree to work in such a place. "Why?" he asked at last.
"Why what?" Boromir asked. "Why did I never seek out the child? I've explained --"
"No," Faramir replied, waving off the question. "That I understand -- your desire for Eseleth I understand all too well, and I can see why finding the boy would only make life more difficult for everyone." He laid his hand on Boromir's shoulder. "That was many years ago. The idea will take some getting used to, but I will accept it. No, I was wondering why any woman would choose to trade her favours for coin? Did Isilwen really have any other choice?"
Boromir nodded. "The Silver Fox does not accept unwilling girls. If Isilwen had not chosen this life freely, they would have helped her find work elsewhere. But if you would hear her whole story, you should ask her yourself."
"You mean I should go back?" Faramir asked, blushing slightly. "I -- I couldn't. They would laugh at me."
"Nay," Boromir said, "'tis more than their lives are worth to ridicule the Prince's nephew." Faramir avoided Boromir's piercing gaze, and for a long time the two brothers sat in silence. At last Boromir stood up, walked to his saddlebags, and pulled out a fresh tunic. "This is something you must decide for yourself, Faramir," he said.
Somewhere in the castle a bell rang.
"We should get ready for dinner," Faramir said, and he went to his own room to change.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.


text:
Series starts 10/30
|Game 1: Tuesday, October 30th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 2: Sunday, January 27th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 3: Monday, March 18th
|Recap »Boxscore »
|Game 4: Friday, April 12th
|Recap »Boxscore »
8:00 PM ET, October 30, 2012
AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami, FL
MIAMI -- LeBron James got cramps, Ray Allen was snubbed and Dwyane Wade was steaming.
None of that spoiled the Miami Heat's mood on ring night.
Wade scored 29 points, James finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds while missing much of the second half because of cramps in both legs, and the reigning NBA champion Heat beat the Boston Celtics 120-107 on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
More on Celtics-Heat
If it still feels odd seeing Ray Allen run the court in a Heat uniform, you're not alone. Allen feels the same way, Brian Windhorst writes. Daily Dime
• Gutierrez: C's can't find rhythm
• Haberstroh: Allen's big weapon
• Stats & Info: Heat's hot shooting
• Heat Reaction | Heat Index
• Listen: Mike & Mike | Bob Ryan
The story of the Celtics' season-opening loss was their struggles on defense, especially in the third quarter, Chris Forsberg writes. Story
There were actual fireworks before the game to close the ceremony where the Heat got their championship rings and raised their title banner. There also were plenty of figurative fireworks late, first with Boston almost digging out of a 19-point hole and, after the outcome was decided, Rajon Rondo flagrantly fouling Wade by wrapping his arms around his neck on a drive.
In the end, though, the first Celtics-Heat matchup of this season was like the final one of last season -- with Miami winning.
"It was good to cap this night off with a win," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was an emotional time for all of us in our organization."
Even for the newcomers, like Allen. He scored 19 points -- needing only seven field goal attempts -- in his first game with Miami since leaving Boston over the summer. Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Miami.
Allen got chants from the Heat crowd, which is nothing new. Except this time, they were positive.
"Never thought I'd hear that here," Allen said.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Rondo finished with 20 points and 13 assists, and Leandro Barbosa scored 16 for Boston. The Celtics, who lost to the Heat in last season's Eastern Conference finals, were not on the court for the ring ceremony.
They almost wrecked the festive mood with a late comeback.
An 11-2 run late in the fourth quarter got Boston within 111-107 on Courtney Lee's layup with 2:09 left. That was the last Celtics hurrah -- Bosh scored the game's next seven points, sealing it for Miami.
"I thought they were the aggressor the whole game," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They got on the floor where they wanted to get on the floor. They took us out of stuff that they wanted to."
Rashard Lewis scored 10 points for Miami, which held on even while James, last season's MVP of both the regular season and NBA Finals, was in the locker room for the second time because of the cramps, first in his right leg and then his left.
Right Where He Left Off
The Heat outscored the Celtics by 20 points with LeBron James on the court Tuesday and were more efficient on both ends of the floor with him in the game.
|With LeBron
|Score diff
|Opp. FG pct
|Pts/100 poss.
|3-pt FG pct
"It's not an all-the-time thing," James said. "I'm not too worried about it."
The Heat got their championship rings from owner Micky Arison before the game, then watched the banner get hoisted to the rafters. More emotion came late, when Wade drove past Rondo -- and the Celtics guard grabbed Wade around the neck. Wade appeared as though he was ready to throw the ball at Rondo in retaliation, and stopped himself.
"I thought he hooked me," Rondo said.
Wade had a different opinion.
"It was a punk play by him," Wade said. "The league will take care of it. He clotheslined me, with two hands."
So Rondo raised eyebrows by putting hands on Wade. Kevin Garnett made news by not offering his hand to Allen.
As Allen entered the game for the first time, he trotted toward the Boston bench, exchanging a handshake, embrace and a few words with Rivers, who hasn't hidden his displeasure about his former shooting guard's decision to sign with Miami and didn't sound certain before the game how he would react when he saw Allen in Miami colors. Allen then briskly shook hands with a few assistant coaches.
But when Allen tried to engage Garnett, the mutual pleasantries ended. Allen tapped Garnett on the shoulder as he sat on the Boston bench; Garnett didn't even flinch, staring straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge the gesture in any way.
"I was just trying to focus as much as I could. I am such an intense person," Garnett said. "It was a blank. Obviously he's on the other side. It's time to play the game, man."
Allen didn't seem flustered. His first shot in a Miami uniform was -- what else? -- a corner 3-pointer, which swished.
More on the Celtics
Keep on top of the Green throughout the season with ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg. Blog
"He was by himself in the corner," Rivers said. "You'd think we'd know better."
Miami controlled much of the first half, taking a 62-54 lead after James went by Pierce and Garnett for a two-handed dunk and yell for the crowd.
The first Heat angst of the season came in the third quarter, when James walked slowly to the bench after a timeout with 4:40 remaining, favoring his right leg and then headed out the tunnel toward the locker room.
When he left, the Miami lead was 79-70.
When he returned to open the fourth quarter, the lead was 93-76. The Heat scored the final eight points of the third, with Bosh, Allen, Mario Chalmers and Lewis all scoring in the final 2:17 to give the Heat their biggest lead of the game.
James -- who was dealing with a cramping issue, like he experienced at times in last season's NBA Finals -- opened the fourth quarter with a jumper to extend the run to 10-0, and Miami seemed well on its way. But he returned to the locker room a short time later, the cramps having flared up again.
"Once you start cramping, there's nothing you can do about it," James said.
Jeff Green, who had season-ending surgery for an aortic aneurysm last January, played in a game that counts for the first time since May 11, 2011 -- also in Miami, when the Heat ousted the Celtics from that season's playoffs. Green finished with three points in 23 minutes.
Game notes
Wade passed the 15,000-point mark for his career early in the second quarter, becoming the 123rd player in NBA history to reach that mark, according to STATS LLC. ... Rondo had at least 10 assists for the 25th straight regular-season game. ... The Celtics allowed 62 points in the first half; they gave up 62 or more only seven times in 379 regular-season and playoff games over the past four seasons. ... Miami players wore sneakers with gold somewhere in the color scheme; James' were primarily gold -- in honor of the ring -- and trimmed in white and red.
Also See
Next 5 Games
Research Notes
ESPN Stats & Information


text:
Spago will not be accepting reservations from April 1 - June 30, 2015. Spago, the flagship restaurant of master chef Wolfgang Puck and the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group, opened at The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in December, 2007. Spago continues to set the standard for cuisine, service and style. Spago's talented culinary team – alongside Chef Puck and Lee Hefter, Managing Partner and Executive Corporate Chef of the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group – creates imaginative, seasonal American cuisine with global accents in a sophisticated, warm environment crafted by esteemed New York-based hospitality designer Tony Chi.
The menu feature Spago's classics from over the years – Handmade Agnolotti with seasonal fillings and the Chino Farms Goat Cheese Napoleon - as well as new signature dishes locally inspired by the surrounding environment. Using premier produce, fish and meats, the menu showcases healthy and lighter fare as well as select signature game dishes including the Pan-Roasted Venison Filet Mignon.
The 4,400 square-foot restaurant captures the essence of the surrounding mountain landscape. The design of the 126-seat restaurant weaves rustic and modern elements and materials to create a balanced transition between the restaurant and the traditional log and stone features of the resort. A hip and sophisticated 37-seat bar and lounge features an etched silver bar top, clear glass display towers and tables and booths for small groups to gather and socialize. An open-oven kitchen acts as an active and dynamic staging area for the culinary team, providing diners with up close and personal views of the celebrity chef's kitchen.Open 7 days a week for Lunch 11 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. and Dinner 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Contact Us | Corporate Site | Careers | Site Map
© 2015 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Downloadable directories in English, Português (Brasil), Русский, Español
Terms of Use
| Privacy and Cookie Statement


text:
Quality CareFind out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment.
Meet the StaffFind a directory of doctors and departments at all Mayo Clinic campuses. Visit now.
Research and Clinical TrialsSee how Mayo Clinic research and clinical trials advance the science of medicine and improve patient care. Explore now.
Visit Our SchoolsEducators at Mayo Clinic train tomorrow's leaders to deliver compassionate, high-value, safe patient care. Choose a degree.
Professional ServicesExplore Mayo Clinic's many resources and see jobs available for medical professionals. Get updates.
Give to Mayo ClinicHelp set a new world standard in care for people everywhere. Give now.
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
If the stress in your life is more than you can cope with, get help right away.
The American poet Carl Sandburg said, "Time is the coin of life. It's the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent."
For me the same can be said of relationships. They are essential for maintaining our sanity and vitality, especially when dealing with life's challenges. However, relationships can also be a source of stress and can drain our reserves. We often hear people say, "He drives me crazy!" or "She stresses me out."
I have said the same thing myself, but now I know better. I do not allow myself to fall into the trap of letting others rob me of my most precious commodity — my peace of mind. I own my emotions. I determine how I will react. If I allow myself to become angry or upset with another individual, I am giving away my serenity. And once it is gone, it is very difficult to get back.
We need to understand that it is not other people who stress us out. It is our reactions to them. We must choose our relationships with care, and we must be judicious in how we spend our emotional energy. If we fail to do so, we may find we have nothing left to give.
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Follow on Twitter:
Join the discussion at #Stress.
Selecting "Submit" signifies that you have read and agree to our posting guidelines.
Hi Edward T, Whatever you saying is true. Sometime it happens to me too.
Yet more sound,comforting and supportive advice from the doctor. It's so true that you can't choose how others act but you can choose how to react. Thankyou
it is true that relationship problems do not really stress us out but HOW we react to the problems that's what drains our energy. So if you are facing relationship problems the best way to do is be open minded and never dwell on what hurts you instead focus on how to solve the issues to be able to find solutions.
How true it is that we must choose our relationships with care,we are very careless many time when choosing relationships and then wonder why we are so stressed out over the relationship. Great information.
It is totally true that we are the masters of our emotions and we should never let them to control us. Maintaining our peace of mind is the most thing that person can do in a relationship.
"Relationship problems start and end with you "
As Carl Sandburg said -time is the only coin we have and it's us determine how to spend this time coin.
I agree that relationship starts ans ends with you and nobody else.
In modern era, for online dating or offline dating, it depends on you when,with whom and when to start a relationship for friendship, intimacy or .....
Be confident and cautious.
Be honest and trustworthy.
I agree that emotional problems in relationships are caused by our reaction to our partner's actions which are driven by our own emotional baggage. I agree that peace of mind is precious and once its lost it would be hard to regain it. However, letting go of emotional problems is easier said than done. It is actually a process that entails incremental changes in behavior. It would be helpful to read marriage counseling bookss, for one, to find tips on how to positively react to your partner and how to handle relationship-related stresses. There can be a lot of means to cope with relationship problems. But before exerting any effort, you should have a clear understanding of your self and of how much value you give on your relationship. That way, you will know the extent that you're willing to compromise to make the relationship work.
Sometimes it can be difficult to maintain a sense of equanimity when dealing with difficult people. How can one maintain peace when living with someone who is abusive or an alcoholic? At times, attaining that peace may involve loving confrontation, designed to help someone who is dysfunctional. As a cousin of mine, who was married to an alcoholic, says: "Peace involves living in the eye of the storm." Daily prayer, meditation, and forgiveness play a big role in keeping a sense of composure when dealing with "God's heavenly sandpaper."
Barbara, author of "Cry Depression, Celebrate Recovery."
It's hard for me to express my displeasure with others actions or comments because I find that I'm stressing about how they will inturn react to me! I know that I'm responsible for my well being but what would you suggest to someone who is uncomfortable with conflict?
The article reminds me of the phrase that ( Every action has its own reaction ) So here also the relationship will reflect the way how someone has in his or her mind to the other.
I am coming to realize the truth of "choose your attitude" -- "happiness is a choice" -- type of advice. But it can be very very hard to make that choice. And, you can't let that choice blind you to what is sometimes harsh reality. We do need to grieve, we do need to consider the what ifs, we do need to experience regret, and to ask for forgiveness...we just need to know how and when to move on. A hard situation is still a hard situation...but as Roberta says, we don't have to let it have complete control of us. Where is your focus? That is what counts.
When I feel stressed out by what I think are the intentions of others, I repeat this mantra: "I refuse to give them the power to make me feel miserable." Then I relax and enjoy the situation.
I really appreciate this blog, i had heard about this prebiously but today it seemed to actualy sink in I have been trying all kinds of things to gain control of my patience with my kids and husband. it seems that after i had my baby twins i lost all of my patience and became really irritated whenever things didn't go how i had it planned. but putting your thought in play i can see how i can apply this in my life and gain control by not letting myself loose my patience. thank you i will work on this immediately you have made a big difference for me. Thanks!
Totally agree with you. Having been through widowhood, breast cancer, and taking care of my younger sister who had 3 strokes at 56, I had to maintain some sense of control over my emotional reactions to other people. Be they family members, friends, acquaintances, they all have made inappropriate comments to the situation. Serenity in my daily life was imperative and I did it through meditation early in the morning. I shut out the noises and did not go in crowds or traffic. My peaceful home, gardening and reading were my routine for the past three years. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer's book "Change Your Thoughts--Change Your Life" was my daily bible for two years.
I am much better now and ready to move on to new situations.
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization. Proceeds from website advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse non-Mayo products and services.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.


text:
The Easy Search feature allows visitors to search all of our available criteria in just one search bar. You can search by category, model, keyword or part number all in the Easy Search bar!
The Powerbook G$ is built with the Motorola-based Processor. It has two memory sockets and can be upgraded to 2GBs maximum depending on all model. Memory can be installed one module at a time. Apple recommends that two modules of the same size be installed for maximum performance.
All form fields are required.


text:
The goal of SNAP-Ed is to provide educational programs that help low income households, in particularly SNAP recipients, make healthy food choices and active life styles consistent with the message reflected in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the My Plate.
In Oregon, OSU Extension Service is contracted with the SNAP Program in the Department of Human Services (DHS) to provide activities that help bring awareness of the importance of good nutrition to the targeted audience and improve their health by promoting good eating habits. Besides OSU Extension Service, the Child Nutrition Program (CNP) in Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the WIC Program in DHS and the Nutrition Council of Oregon are also actively involved in delivering nutrition education to Oregonians.
Adobe Reader, or equivalent, is required to view PDF files. Click the "Get Adobe Reader" image to get a free download of the reader from Adobe.
Are you sure you would like to leave?
You are currently running an old version of IE, please upgrade for better performance.


text:
We use cookies on this site to make sure you have the best experience possible. If you continue browsing without changing your browser settings, we assume you are happy to use those cookies.
For more information, including how to change your browser settings, please read our cookie policy.
Entertainment for the entire family
Stop by the Event Stage in the Event area (behind Polar Land) to experience live entertainment, shows and events throughout the season.
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations, the Minifigure, DUPLO, LEGENDS OF CHIMA and LEGOLAND are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2015 The LEGO Group. The LEGO MOVIE © The LEGO Group & Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. Star Wars™ and all the characters, names and related indicia are © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
LEGOLAND ApS | Nordmarksvej | DK-7190 Billund | CVR: DK36887613
Privacy Policy | Legal Notice | Cookies


text:
404 File Not Found
Host by NetBox Version 2.8 Build 4128
Gift Wrap Not Available
• Paper
About Waste Not Paper
In the last year, we have reaffirmed our dedication to the world around us, and we will continue to offer beautiful, competitive and eco-friendly products in the years to come.
Our paper comes from mills that practice responsible, sustainable forestry as certified by objective 3rd parties. Much of our product is created using renewable energy sources, such as hydro power or wind power.
Our entire line of solid cards, envelopes and paper is produced without elemental chlorine (PCF). Our printers operate with reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emission and recycle their ink waste. Many of our note sets are handmade from renewable content, usually cotton or bark fiber.
Eco-White, made of 100% recycled content with 30% PCW, is the base for our printed notes, wrap and bags. We also donate, reuse, and recycle all of our scrap paper. In addition, we have added new labels to our note sets and wrap which feature information about their recycled content.
We have swapped out all of our packing materials to reduce waste (and peanuts), and continue to look for creative ways to reuse packing materials.Watch for more environmental practices in the future as we find new and innovative ways to incorporate eco-friendliness into our business. We are confident that beauty and environmental responsibility can go hand-in-hand.
Product Notes
|Santa Xlarge Bag
Tell us where you're shipping to see delivery dates
Click this item for delivery times
Limit Reached
Please choose which cart you want to add the item.
By choosing one of the above, you are able to shop for both yourself and a registrant at the same time. Once you are ready to checkout your items will be waiting for you in both your personal and registry shopping carts.
Still need assistance?
Please contact us at (1-888-696-0423)
© 2005 - 2015, Quidsi, Inc. or its Affiliates. BeautyBar.com is operated by Quidsi Solutions LLC. Unless otherwise noted, products on BeautyBar.com are sold by Quidsi Retail LLC. Gift Cards and E-Gift Cards sold on BeautyBar.com are sold by Quidsi Gift Cards, Inc.


text:
With easy-to-wash cotton and a slim fit, these jeans create a squeaky clean look—at least until the sloppy joes hit the plate. Featuring classic five-pocket styling and a snap and zip fly at the front, they're designed with a straight leg fit that sits below the waist. Finished with adjustable tabs at the inside of the waist for a customizable fit.
Department: Children'sStyle: 81R514873


text:
One bright and vibrant round ice blue sapphire, at approximately .29 carat total weight, is the focus of this ring that is part of our exclusive Always, I Promise® collection. This delightful ring is crafted in quality sterling silver with a eye-catching sand-blasted finish.
Order now for delivery on or before
Thursday, April 09, 2015
using FedEx 2nd Day.


text:
Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko pulled out of the men's individual event at the Sochi Olympics on Thursday, seconds before he was due to start his short program.
The three-time Olympic medalist landed awkwardly on a triple axel in warm-ups for the event and could be seen clutching the base of his spine throughout the rest of his warm-up.
When it came to his time to skate in the event, Plushenko skated up to the judges and an announcer said in Russian that he was withdrawing due to an injury.
The 31-year-old skater has a history of back problems and had four screws inserted into his back in a 2013 surgery. He announced his retirement shortly after withdrawing from the event.
He already owned an Olympic gold and two silvers in the men's event coming into Sochi and won another gold over the weekend as part of the Russian team in the first-ever Olympic team figure skating event. His four medals ties him with Sweden's Gillis Grafstrom for the most Olympic medals won by a figure skater.
His withdrawal leaves the Russians without a figure skater in the men's event.


text:
Greenpeace activist, disguised as a polar bear, protesting in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin. He demands immediate global action to protect the Arctic from destructive oil drilling and holds a banner reading "Save The Arctic" in English and German.06/21/2012
© Gordon Welters / Greenpeace
No results found.
Multimedia hub
Want to learn more about tax-deductible giving, donating stock and estate planning? Visit Greenpeace Fund, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable entity created to increase public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through research, the media and educational programs.


text:
After Hours at the Tiki Bar: Moonshine, Ninjas & Silver Balls
In case you missed the party! Here it is by popular demand.
Posted in After Hours | 12 Comments »
Fear, horror, terror, fright, scariness, bad feelings, saddy. All words that I could think of to hook you into reading this. But seriously, that is what was felt all across America, Canada, The Europes and the other countries that are rumored to exist, when Lala plunged into the deep drink.
For the first time the International Academy of Web Television has released the shocking footage of Lala's near-death experience. It all happened in the lead up to a live appearance by Doctor Tiki and Lala at the annual Streamy Award's in Los Angeles. Watch now.
Yes Alex Albrecht did bribe us with 15 bucks and we duly turned over the award to him. That's OK though, I charged $20 for him to be a guest star so I came out ahead.
Now make sure we get nominated for a Streamy this year!
Click here!


text:
Many of the sites I go to nowadays have some type of dating offer for girls looking for sugar daddies, sponsors, affairs and everything in between. Some sites pitch "send an email and get laid". Is it possible? Even when I am looking for some company from a professional lady and I do a search for girl friend experience or GFE Escorts I find listing for all kinds of FREE dating sites. So I did some research and here is what I found. Dating sites have a very well paying affiliate program. Many will pay the affiliate up to $50 per free email sign up. That means that all a person has to do is submit their email address and the affiliate make 50 bucks. Thats not too shabby. Thats the reason many of the dating sites will hijack escort service and escort keywords to try and entice people that are looking for meet chicks into NSA hookups. I remember back in the day on craigslist I would search the personals for hours and many of the "girls" ads I responded to always sent me a link to join a dating site. As I got older I think its a lot easier, cheaper and less time to simply call an escort agency and select from the many female escorts they have on the site and get a girl to come to my place within the hour. You really can't beat that and I suspect that as men get more and more into working a gazillion hours per week many will turn to escort services to find a lady to spend some time with.
PPC Advertising: Information Highway Robbery?
If you do SEM for your company, you're already familiar with the fact that you have to bid on your own company's name in AdWords et. al., this is a common practice in keyword bidding. Has anyone sat back and thought about how inconceivably ridiculous that really is?
In essence, it's extortion: you have a heavily-hit search engine with its own advertising program, that allows anyone and everyone with some green stuff to bid on any keyword. Bid on your competitor – bid on their domain name, bid on their misspelling, you know the drill. Most importantly, bid on your own name so that nobody else beats you to the top position for these same things. Why on earth should anyone have to pay to appear on paid search for their own name, especially if it's trademarked?
Trademark Protection in Google AdWords (Kinda)
Recently, Google began a new policy stating that AdWords users can successfully use trademarked brands within their ad text, regardless of if they own the trademark or not. So, feel free to throw in the actual brand name of that affiliate ad copy to your eBay store. It's good for some, but murder for others. As for my company: a good $300/day is spent advertising just on our own company name, which is unique, and, of course, trademarked. If we ever stopped doing this, our bitter rival would take over their current 2nd spot as the 1st spot in all wild card search results for our company name.
Give or take, that's a 6-figure expenditure per year, just to advertise for our own company name. Seriously. Morality has lost to money once again.
There actually is a measure you can take to "register" your registered trademark with Google Adwords, it's perhaps the only way to protect your trademark in AdWords. By filling out a lengthy form and including your registered trademark serials, Google will block advertisers' abilities to use your trademarked term in the title of an AdWords ad.
A good resolve would be to look at how Facebook tackles trademark infringement. If you're a trademark owner, you're entitled to own that trademarked name as a Facebook Page name (Facebook.com/whatever) – nobody else can have it. When it comes to Google search results, any search for your company's registered trademark should yield a page with no PPC ads whatsoever. That's in an ideal world, though.
Youtube Videos and Nasty Surprises
Most internet marketers use pre-existing videos from Youtube to help spice up their affiliate marketing endeavors. There's no doubt that a good video that demonstrates a product or a related topic is a perfect compliment to an affiliate marketing sales page. There are many videos that are purely demonstrative out there – you'd be crazy not to drop those into your page. Videos, on the other hand, can make you look like a complete fool. Here are a few examples.
- The video you've dropped on your sales page is watermarked with someone else's URL, or has a promotion at the end of it. This is why it is SO important to watch the entire video you intend to use, BEFORE you put it on your live site. Otherwise, you're enticing people to visit that other guy's site. You know, the guy who went through all of that trouble to create the video in the first place, giving him more credibility than you.
- Youtube videos are click-able, as you know, and clicking one will take you to its respective page on Youtube. If that page has the video author's link pointing to his or her affiliate site, you've just lost a sale. The instant someone moves away from your site and onto another site with a link to further information about the product as seen in the video is the point where you'll either lose the cookie or the sale.
- Some Youtube videos are just malicious by their own nature. Some videos have a curse word, image or wind up having a completely different turn of events during the last few seconds — I've seen it a million times! Nothing will KILL your credibility more than using a video that you scanned for 5 seconds that has something really embarrassing in it.
Watch all videos from Youtube in their entirety before you use them…can't stress that enough!
Giveaway Raffles: What If Nobody Wins?
Have you ever attended a sales demo in a store or trade show that offered you a box where you could drop in your business card or contact information for a chance to win some great product? It seems like the iPhone or MacBook are the two prizes of choice, and they sure are in high demand. Is this legit, or just a dirty trick to get more sales leads?
If you think of it this way: have you ever seen one of these companies announce who the winner was? Chances are that you'll forget that you had entered the drawing within a half hour after doing so, anyway. The same applies to online raffles for a Wii or XBOX. What if nobody wins? What if there is no iPhone or XBOX from day one? This could all be an elaborate way to get more valuable phone numbers and email addresses. Have you ever seen one of these sites say "Congratulations to (username)" or "Congratulations to John D. for winning our (whatever) raffle" with a link pointing to that user's profile, making it public and available for anyone to instant message them and ask "hey, did you really win that thing?"
Here's some good practice…if you're going to run one of these raffles, make sure you physically give the product away at the end of the day, and make it is well known and publicized. Not only will it increase confidence and interest, but it will force people to come back to see you at the end of the day, giving you double exposure. Otherwise, your company looks deceptive and crooked if the raffle is held days later at the office…if at all.
How to Be A Successful Cybersquatter
How's that for a controversial topic? Don't worry – the premise here is to inform you how cybersquatters do what they do, and how they get away with it. Think of it as an action item for you in your line of work, at your company!
Here are some facts about companies (especially small to mid-size companies): there's usually nobody in the office who knows a damn thing about the brand protection elements of internet marketing. These days, you'll probably find a graphic designer who does minor website graphics here and there, and maybe an SEM guy who does AdWords, but nobody who really knows what the hell they're talking about in regard to advanced brand integrity, domaining or anything of that nature.
Good cybersquatters know this. I'm also convinced at this point in time that the best cybersquatters on earth do not exist in the United States, but elsewhere. You'd be a fool to cybersquat in the US, it's probably the most difficult country to do it and get away with it.
Corporate Weaknesses that Cybersquatters Exploit
Here are two of the biggest vulnerabilities I've seen in my career in small to mid-size businesses, in regard to protecting the brand name (more specifically, domain names) online:
- Nobody's educated about cybersquatting: That's right, upper management usually doesn't understand the point of owning the .com of your brand name. They only thought about the actual company name. They don't know that cybersquatters go for misspellings, plural versions and other variants to capitalize on type-in traffic. Oh, and they don't know what type-in traffic means, either. They know so little about the world of cybersquatting that they wouldn't even know to say "let's hire a guy who knows about this stuff."
- Nobody's willing to spend thousands to sue someone over a cybersquatting case: What I'm about to say is so true — companies tend to send cease and desist letters as empty threats that will never be acted upon. I've heard corporate counsel say "we'll send the letter, but I'm not spending $15k to take someone to court over a domain name." I've heard it MANY times, actually. To a bigger extreme, most small-mid size companies don't own an international trademark and won't even touch an international cybersquatting case with a ten foot pole.
With that being said, the two things cybersquatters have going for them are 1) misinformation, and 2) the cost and time involved in the court process, which is enough to scare most people away. In essence, cybersquatters are like great Texas Hold 'Em players – the call the bluff of any cease & desist that comes their way. The occasional squatter sitting in his mother's basement will cave in to a C&D, but many won't fall for it.
The best thing any 'web guru' (God, I hate that term) working for a company can do is to spend a good day or so typing in domains based on their company's name, brand names and variants, and buy all of the major .com versions right away so that they're in the company's possession. Don't forget the "CompanyNameSucks.com" version, too. If your company runs franchises, be sure to start working on an internet policy that restricts franchisees from doing certain things (like registering domains without your approval). If you don't take these actions, a cybersquatter will.
Carelessness in Domaining Can Hurt
The worst case scenario I've ever seen was for a multi-national, $600 million company who didn't even own the .net domain name to their own one-word company name. It was registered in the earlier half of the 2000's by a cybersquatter in South Korea, who is still running a parked page on it. Given that the .com site was pulling in about 7,500 uniques per day and is a popular international brand name, there's no doubt the .net was getting some healthy type-ins.
Here are all of the aforementioned elements coming into play that I mentioned before: 1) nobody knew/cared to do anything about it in time, 2) nobody is willing to pursue this in court, 3) it's international, so, the Korean legal team would have to go after it, and nobody is even willing to reach out to them and request this.
Cybersquatter 1, Big Corporation 0.
I could rattle off a whole bunch of other scenarios I've seen: plural domains, common exact-word misspelling .com's, .ca's, etc. – running on parked pages, with or without a "this domain is for sale" link at the top…all of which were careless, stupid and easily avoidable issues, even in the early 2000s. However, the cybersquatters who are still benefiting to this moment are having a field day.
Many other huge corporations still sit back oblivious to their cybersquatted trademarked names, benefiting someone else's monthly payroll. Which companies are on the ball, and which aren't? Maybe Rolex is up on these shenanigans, but how about Invicta? Maybe John Deere knows about cybersquatting, but what about Toro? Cybersquatters do their due diligence, even if these companies don't.
This is why cybersquatting is still alive. Smart squatters don't go after god-like organizations like Microsoft, Dell, or Disney; they're going after the ones who probably have an internal weakness, or no system in place that has enough of a backbone to do anything about it. Just like the way hackers find a weakness to exploit, so do cybersquatters. With that being said – to be a good cybersquatter, you have to be a good risk-taker. You'd have to know which companies would probably never pursue you in court. You'd be the kind of person who would let a 30 day term on a C&D letter go by, and wait for the next move (if any).
The New Facebook Viral Bandwagon
It sprang up a few times on my Facebook front page. Someone "likes" some witty statement as seen on "♥". Erm…what the hell is ♥? Curiously I investigated, and was pretty surprised at what I found.
Since this might not make much sense to most of you, let me give you a visual:
See that little heart on the right? It's hyperlinked, and it points to a site called LikeMyThought. I started seeing this stuff pop up a few days ago, until the little heart icon caught my eye – knowing that it was a hyperlink, I had to see what it was (mostly because I knew it was something created by some new, aspiring internet marketing genius).
When visiting the site, I was astounded to see that it was nothing but some big Facebook API-driven list of nonsense quotes, mantras and phrases that you could "like" and have appear on your Facebook feed, through Facebook connect. The quotes were ranked by "most liked," which appeared at the top-most portion of the page.
Check this out: visit the site and hit "refresh." A new quote appears, and the page's <title> changes to accommodate it as well. Below it is an AdSense 335×280 ad, and a medium banner at top. That's it. Gee, I thought AdSense banned content-less, RSS-driven or auto-generated sites? Hmm.
There's more?!
Well, for whatever reason, I managed to see another one of these quotes appear that one of my friends "like"d. I hovered over the heart…but…it wasn't that same site. It was another one, named LikeFever.info. It's basically like LikeMyThought, except it looks less cluttered and fits one column. There's another one, too…it's called GoLikeUs.net. Oh, and Likesy, too. Ok – I'm guessing this is some kind of new trend here. How long until we see "Facebook Like Site CMS clones" popping up on marketing for-sale forums everywhere?
Dumb or not, these "like" sites are getting oodles of Facebook traffic. While they don't seem to be ranking for anything worthwhile according to SEMrush, Alexa.com puts LikeMyThought on their map as it is currently around #87,800, with the lesser visited LikeFever at around 194,000…the latter of which has a nice stalagmite spike on its chart. LikeMyThought even has its own Facebook Page as seen here. Looks like they're harvesting new visitors through good old social networking, rather than putting out the website and hoping for the best.
Just for the hell of it, I searched Google for "♥", which wound up throwing back a "Your search did not match any documents" reply. Hmm, so much for the hypothesis that they were attempting to appear on Google page 1 for an ASCII character.
Viral Without A Cause
What's the point of creating these sites? AdSense clicks? Does anyone even click them? For that matter, what's the motivation of spending more than a few seconds on these sites? The worthiness of any site to get massive Facebook love is obvious, but what's the resolve – a couple AdSense blocks that can't possibly be paying more than a penny or two per click? The sites themselves don't have any backlinks – I've counted around 30. However, they must have oodles of Facebook backlinks.
Just like all of the other fads in the past including Hot Or Not, Million Dollar Homepage & others, this has the potential of being a new contender in the quest to copy (and hopefully improve) on a popular new concept. Where it goes, however, is yet to be seen.
As for me, I'll click the "unlike" icon next to this one (if it actually existed).
Frustrations of Username Registration
Have you ever attempted to create a group on LinkedIn? I've done so today, and man, was I furious. Here's the premise: you have to fill out an ENTIRE page of information about the group. Normally, I'm not one to be lazy about the "group description" field, so I'll take my time out to put something significant and compelling in there. Once the entire form was completed, I hit submit and got a refresh of the screen with red text saying "Group name is not available." Great. Thanks.
So, back to the drawing board. I came up with an alternate name. That wasn't available either. I tried another. Nope, not available. My blood pressure started to rise. I tried at least five other alternate names for my group, and not a single one of them were available.
Here in 2009, we kind of expect these things to be AJAX'ed. You know, like, type in a username and a little script to the right of the field will display a green check mark with an "Available!" indicator, or a red X signifying that the username is already taken. Why on Earth does a HUGE-mongous site like LinkedIn not have this capability? It's frustrating, obnoxious and self-defeating for their users. What was my end result? I gave up and clicked the "close" button on my browser. I have better things to do with my time than sit there and mindlessly type in group names, which are probably all being cybersquatted and not used, anyway.
Think of your visitors when you create this functionality on your website. Always keep the "frustration factor" in mind, it's just good business practice. Otherwise, you'll encounter users like me who simply won't give you the time or effort anymore.
Your Company Sucks…Dot Com
While at the office, I spoke with a Godaddy representative over the phone who later laughed at how the latest domain I purchased was a "CompanynameSucks.com" domain (he already knew why I did it). Personally, I was amazed that it was still available due to some of the other negativity I've seen about the company via a simple Google, Twitter or Youtube search.
Have you registered your "CompanynameSucks.com" yet? If not, you should – someone might just beat you to it! If you thought it might be illegal for anyone to ever be able to use it, just visit PayPalSucks.com to see how that is far from true. Remember – as long as they're not impersonating or profiting off a company, but rather putting up a parody, humor or review site, it will probably fly. To add insult to injury, it just might be competing with your own site on the first page of a search result.
The extra $8 it costs to buy a domain name like this is minuscule compared to the amount of damage a "…sucks.com" domain can do – food for thought!
Things I've Discovered About SEO On Squidoo
With the new inception of the Squidoo trophy system, my level of interest went way up in the site. I've been spending the past few weeks going back to my old Squidoo lenses from years back, revitalizing them and laughing at my atrocious attempts of keyword saturation from the mid 2000s. There are a few things I've noticed in respect to SEO, though, and I felt as though they were important to point out.
Dumbing Down Squidoo Page Titles
This was the most dramatic thing I saw. For many of my lenses that were on their last legs, I removed my "editorial-ish" titles and made them completely generic. So, instead of something like "A Buyer's Guide for Totally Awesome Blue Widgets," I renamed it to "Blue Widgets" and left it at that.
It's an awful thing to do – everything we were taught in respect to good editorialism and SEO gets thrown out the window when we do this. We are, of course, supposed to be providing "good helpful content" and not gaming the system, since SE's know how to rank pages based on what they're about.
However, these lenses started picking up both within Squidoo's internal rank, and in respect to SE visibility. Especially the ones whose URLs were actually named the same exact thing as the title (in this case, /blue-widgets). Interesting…game on. I stopped ranking for all of those extra terms that surrounded the keyword, which were for the most part, attracting worthless long-tail searches irrelevant to what my page was truly about.
A little while ago, I read a post on SEO Book mentioning that Google Caffeine has been favoring exact word domains – possibly more than ever before. Perhaps this is why exact titles are doing better than "editorial titles?" Or, maybe short, exact title terms do better on huge multi-topic, multi-category sites like Squidoo? I'm not sure, but I'm still experimenting with them. I was always a fan of uniformity within single-page SEO: identical title & URL + a healthy (but not blatant) dose of keyword saturation.
In-Content Keyword Saturation (Is Not Dead)
This gets me on to the next topic: keyword saturation. I went back to my old lenses, which abused the hell out of repetitive long-tail keyword terms.
I removed about 60-70% of those terms, and either replaced them with pronouns, synonyms, or alternate versions of the keyword (i.e., "time pieces" instead of "watches," etc.) I then pinged the lens, and moved on. I did notice a few of these lenses get some new hits for relative terms. If anything else, it's probably due to getting a pat on the head by search engines for removing keyword cram.
Diversifying Relevant Squidoo Tags
Lastly, I played around with Squidoo's tag system. Many of my older lenses were very poorly done, and I tagged my pages with terms that were way too broad or not on target with the topic, such as tags like "best price" or "sale."
I removed all of these, and went to Google Keyword Tool. I researched my target keyword, and added a mix of the frequent, moderate and sparsely searched for terms that best fit the term. I added these, and it gradually increased the search engine rankings of a few Squidoo lenses for long-tail terms.
Unlike your blog or website, Squidoo's internal tag system is far more powerful than that of any of our sites because their site is so massive, and so well inter-connected. Think 'interlinking.' In the old days, those tags had dofollow page rank, and it was entirely possible to own a PR6 Squidoo lens (I had two). While they're all nofollow, they still are significant for inter-Squidoo and external SEO.
My favorite aspect here is that Squidoo is like a virtual sandbox for SEO: you can really learn a lot about how search engines behave by playing around with the basic elements: title, headings, content/keyword saturation and tags. If you hadn't given Squidoo a chance before, play around with it and report back with your discoveries!
The Quick and Easy Way to Get Blogging Ideas
There's no excuse for having writer's block these days. With so many places to turn, it's easy to find a great topic to blog about on a constant basis. Use social media as a source of unlimited inspiration for your writing material! Other people doing the work for you? It's the most simple idea you'll kick yourself over not considering.
For instance, if you have a blog that deals with one particular topic (such as electric cars), search the internet for "electric car forum" and read up on what people are posting about. What you'll really want to look for are the questions people are asking, and the answers and opinions that come afterward. There's your real content: popular questions that probably don't have web pages dedicated to them, nor a great deal of search engine competition. From here, you can easily combine a bunch of Q&A sessions into your own personal content-rich article. There's a smart way to come up with a topic and all of its content without having to toil over any of the basic stuff!
Still not enough? There's also Yahoo Answers – a GREAT place to search for any keyword and see what common questions people are asking. Best yet, they have answers, and you can use all of this great stuff to write unique content!
Ripoff artists and the general uninspired population turn to places like ArticlesBase, eZine Articles, PRweb and any of the other major article submission sites. There's a lot of shame in copying other people's stuff, no doubt about it…although, it can prove to be helpful to get industry information in lieu of writing content for your affiliate sites. Need sites and references? Find more articles on Google News or Yahoo News.
As a last measure, there's always Youtube…a place to watch tutorials, debates, demonstrations and everything in between. Type out what you see to create the text version (that is, the version that search engines can actually see!)
Wait, there actually is one completely LAST measure. You can simply create a mash-up of different articles by copying and pasting them into one big word document, then running them through a professional "spinner" like Magic Article Rewriter to turn them into unique content with the grace of an alchemist. Disclaimer: Requirements include no shame, little patience and the desire to do things the easy way.