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Dec 8, 2010 11:27 AM
This could be possibly the best gift you give your guy this holiday season! The Striptease Kit: A Guide to the Art of Striptease ($20) will teach you all the right moves to impress your guy. This tantalizing little kit includes a 48 page illustrated book, 2 red sequin pasties, a sheer black scarf, body glitter and 10 cards with illustrated routines. You taking it all off...will def be his best gift!
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AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS (NBC) - A program in the Netherlands is getting people with serious alcohol addictions off the streets, and putting them to work. There's controversy surrounding the program, because the pay includes beer.
Its 9:00 am on the east side of Amsterdam, and Fred Schiphorst has just arrived at work.
He, like all of his co-workers, is an alcoholic. These beers might as well be their morning coffee.
The men are part of an unusual social project. A partially government funded program to pay alcoholics to pick up litter, with beer. Five beers: two in the morning, two at lunch, and one at the end of their shift.
That, along with a half a pack of rolling tobacco, about 13 dollars, and a hot lunch.
The goal? To get them off the streets where they drink all day, and into a daily routine.
From legal sex for sale in the Red Light District, to legal marijuana at the coffee shops, the people of Amsterdam have little to hide. Even their home windows are rarely curtained.
Their problems are up for discussion.
Ramon Spits was sleeping on a train station floor before he joined the project.
They all may still be drinking, but they claim it's a lot less than before.
Marco is even trying to stop.
A rhythm that doesn't just give them a chance to restore their city, but their pride.

subset: commoncrawl


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We need more videos of her in high heels.
She's so hot that if I fuucked her she would funking Mary me
I want to fuck her plz tell me where she live in London
you r loking great AND sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
She is my ex girlfriend and so I've tapped that bitch motherfuckers
I whised i could fuck here, omfg so fucking hot!!! Hot hot hot hot hot hot!!!!
Her boobs are more taller than her. Loving it. She is damn hot.
Name: Jasmine James
aka: Amber Marie Lane, Amber Lane, Miss James, Miss Jasmine James
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Birth place: London, England, United Kingdom
Birth date: April 14, 1990
Age: 26 years
Astrological Sign: Aries ♈
Height: 5 feet, 4 inches (163 cm)
Weight: 132 lbs (60 kg)
Measurements: 34EE-26-36
Natural tits: No
Biography: Click here to show


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UPDATE: We didn't win, but our friends did! We celebrated into the night. Grateful for recognition of hard work.
We are so excited to cheer on The Gorilla's movie nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup! Knoxville went through 3+ hours of makeup a day while shooting this movie for nearly a year. His Grandpa makeup fooled real people even close up under regular circumstances, no other movie magic or lighting.
Here's a video of the transformation process:
That's Oscar-worthy, right?!
The Gorilla and I will be cheering from home for a win, and I'll be tweeting the red carpet and the ceremony.
So excited!!
PS - Our fingers are also crossed for our dear friend Spike (The Gorilla's childhood friend and co-producer of the franchise movies) and his movie Her, up for FIVE Academy Awards including Best Picture.


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It was Kevin Westgarth's second outing as a member of the Calgary Flames, so not technically a first impression.
Make no mistake, though, when the broad-shouldered, long-haired right-winger bumped Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Ben Bishop in his crease in the Flames' first contest of 2014, his new teammates took notice.
"I'd never seen a guy cross-check a goalie before like that, so that was a bit of a shocker to me," marvelled Westgarth's linemate, Joe Colborne. "We knew what we were getting beforehand, but that was his welcome-to-the-team moment, I guess."
Monday's meeting with the Carolina Hurricanes (5 p.m., Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Fan 960) at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., will be his welcome-back-to-the-Sun Belt moment.
Westgarth spent the lockout-shortened season with the 'Canes — as part of the NHLPA's negotiating committee, the Princeton graduate was also a key figure during the work-stoppage — and appeared in a dozen games with Carolina this winter before a Dec. 30 trade to Calgary, his third stop at the National Hockey League level.
"Inevitably, when you get to play a bunch of guys that you know, it's a pretty nice feeling. Everybody has a little desire to win the bragging rights," Westgarth said. "You want to give your best every night, but especially when you're playing old buddies, you want to give it to them."
Westgarth should be in an ornery mood already after a frustrating night in Saturday's 2-1 home loss — the Flames' seventh setback in eight games since Christmas — to the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his sixth contest since the swap, the hard-nosed newcomer was on the ice for both goals against in just 3:39 of work.
Westgarth is now minus-5 in a Flames uniform, but he seems to be settling into his role at the Saddledome, where he doubles as a positive influence in the locker room and a deputy chief of police to heavyweight Brian McGrattan on the ice.
The 29-year-old has 11 penalty minutes with his new squad, including a cross-checking call after he crashed into Bishop and a scrap with Lightning winger Ryan Malone not long after that run-in. He has yet to record a point, although he was providing a screen on Colorado Avalanche puck-stopper J-S Giguere when Colborne scored on a deflection in Denver.
"Whenever I'm out there with him, you know there could be a line brawl on the horizon," Colborne said with a grin. "But seriously, he's been awesome ... He's really vocal, something we haven't had too much. (Flames defenceman Shane O'Brien) is always yapping, Grats is always talking, but other than those two guys, we didn't really have too many loud guys on the bench. He never shuts up."
He won't.
Take a look at his measurements — 6-foot-4, 234 lb. — and you know the main reason Brian Burke wanted to add Westgarth to his forward group, but the Flames president of hockey operations was also bullish on his "brain-power" and "leadership skills."
From the moment he started packing his suitcase in Carolina, Westgarth promised to bring a mix of pugnacity and positivity to the Flames, and his new teammates say he's delivered.
"He brings that leadership role to the room, and obviously with the young group that we have, that's very important," McGrattan said. "We have a presence on the ice, a physical presence. And then, I think what teams and management look at is how important guys are in the room, because if your room is not clicking, you're going to have problems. That's not the case here.
"We have a very young team. We have guys that are learning the pro game, learning the NHL game, and I think by bringing guys like me and Kevin in here, it kind of balances out and guys can feed off our positive energy."
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College Hockey:Atlantic Hockey Approves Expansion: Niagara and Robert Morris To Join
Affiliate Members Next Season; Full Members in 2010-11
Sources within Atlantic Hockey have confirmed to USCHO.com that Niagara and Robert Morris will join the league as full members beginning with the 2010-2011 season. The schools will be affiliate members of Atlantic Hockey next season, using league officiating crews.
An official announcement from the league detailing the decision will be released within the next few days.
This development will mean the dissolution of College Hockey America, which had been reduced to four teams — Alabama-Huntsville, Bemidji State, Niagara and Robert Morris — after Wayne State dropped hockey last season. The WCHA last week lifted its moratorium on expansion, paving the way for Bemidji State to apply for membership.
Atlantic Hockey had previously voted to increase its scholarship limit from 11 to 12 starting next season. Robert Morris is below that limit, but Niagara has 18 scholarships, the maximum allowed by the NCAA. Niagara will have to eliminate six scholarships by the 2010-2011 season to comply.
AHA coaches, speaking off the record until the announcement is made official, were generally positive about the development, although there is a concern about what has traditionally been a "one bid" league expanding further.
The addition of Niagara and Robert Morris increases the number of schools in Atlantic Hockey to 12. The conference added Air Force and RIT in 2006. Founding AHA member Quinnipiac departed the league in 2005.
The following is a self-policing forum for discussing views on this story. Comments that are derogatory, make personal attacks, are abusive, or contain profanity or racism will be removed at our discretion. USCHO.com is not responsible for comments posted by users. Please report any inappropriate or offensive comments by clicking the "Flag" link next to that comment in order to alert the moderator.
Please also keep "woofing," taunting, and otherwise unsportsmanlike behavior to a minimum. Your posts will more than likely be deleted, and worse yet, you reflect badly on yourself, your favorite team and your conference.


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Listed below are subjects where DNR provides assistance with landowner fish and wildlife resources. Specific questions on subjects are listed to help landowners quickly find the information they need.
1. Fishing
1.1 Where can I find fishing information in lakes, ponds and streams?
1.2 Can I find out where the fish are biting?
2. Pond building and maintenance
2.1 Where can I get information about constructing or stocking my pond?
2.2 I want to improve the fishing in my pond, where can I get information?
2.3 Where can I get information about problems in my pond, such as weeds or aquatic vegetation?
2.4 I want to buy fish to stock my pond, where can I go?
2.5 Who should I call about managing or improving the fishing in my pond?
3. Classified habitat, improving habitat
4. Bees
5. Nuisance wildlife
6. Miscellaneous wildlife questions
6.1 What should I do if I find a sick, injured or orphaned wild animal?
6.2 I've heard about invasive species. What are they and how do I prevent spreading them?


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Ranked among the nation's most integrated healthcare systems, Community Health Network is Central Indiana's leader in providing convenient access to exceptional healthcare services, where and when patients need them—in hospitals, health pavilions, workplaces, schools and homes.
Drug rashes are the body's reaction to a certain medication. The type of rash that occurs depends on the type of drug that is causing it. Rashes can range from mild to severe.
Rashes caused by drugs can be categorized in the following groups:
Diagnosing a rash caused by a reaction to medication is complicated. Even a small amount of a drug can cause a major reaction in the skin. In addition, the reaction can occur after the patient has taken a medication for a long time. Your physician will usually advise you to stop taking any medication that is not necessary to sustain your life, to see if the reaction abates. Other medications may be substituted, if possible.
The condition usually clears up if the patient stops taking the medication that is causing the reaction. Other treatment may include:
Allergic reactions can be serious and even fatal.
Click here to view the
Online Resources of Dermatology
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Determine where Bill Moyer lives
Published: Sunday, March 6, 2005 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, March 6, 2005 at 12:00 a.m.
To The Editor: Many public offices have a residency requirement. For example, to hold public office in Flat Rock, you must be a resident of the village. The same is true for Hendersonville, Fletcher and so on.
When Commissioner Chuck McGrady moved from Flat Rock, he resigned his position on the Village Council. In a similar manner, when Mr. Sinclair and Mr. Bridges, respectively, moved from the city limits of Hendersonville and Fletcher, they resigned from their positions because they did not meet the residency requirements.
In the state of North Carolina, the residency question is somewhat vague but usually is determined by the person in office as shown above. In other cases, it is determined by the local board of elections and this raises the question as to when our Board of Elections is going to take action to determine if County Commission Chairman Bill Moyer is a resident of Henderson or Polk county?
Vincent K. White
Horse Shoe
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Luis Suarez believes Liverpool can still qualify for the Champions League this season.
The Reds are nine points off a top-four spot after 22 games, but can take hope from the inconsistent form of teams like Arsenal and Tottenham.
Suarez recognises that catching the latter will not be easy, but he remains hopeful.
"It's going to be difficult but in English football with all its ups and downs, you can never be sure of anything," the Uruguay striker told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We're not ideally placed at the moment, but I think that the club is on the right track and the team is playing in the right way and so we should still be hopeful that we can make this happen.
"Coming off the back of defeat against Manchester United, we need to be even more determined to get the home win [against Norwich] on Saturday in front of our own fans."
Suarez has scored a hat-trick in each of our last two games against the Canaries - so he must be relishing Saturday's encounter, right?
"Yes, they've been good games to play in," he said. "But this is an entirely different game and Norwich will be aware of our strengths and will be on their guard."
Tagged: Luis Suarez , Suarez


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Awesomeness day is celebrates on March 10. It is a day to both celebrate being awesome and strive to be awesome. Use the day wisely and go out to make someone smile.
Awesomeness day started in 2007 by a few guys who wanted time be happy about the awesomeness in people. They thought that being awesome was something most people ignored or simply took for granted. So they decided to created a day to celebrate it.
Ways to celebrate awesomeness day:
Smile at your reflection. Even if you do not believe it or think it, you are an awesome person. You probably do many awesome things in a day that you don't even realize.
Call, email or Facebook someone to let them know why you believe that they are awesome! Tell them it is awesomeness day to spread the message.
Think of something that you can do for someone else. Help a person with heavy groceries, do a chore at home you normally don't do, don't complain for a day, support a random charity etc.
Be happy and go toward the day bright and cheerful. Grumpiness is rarely found in awesomeness.


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We Are the Eighth Day, © Melanie Weidner
The poetry of care and loss
Likely no culture has been so ignorant and contemptuous of place as is contemporary industrialized society. We may not even qualify as a culture, since that word generally connotes a form of social organization that connects people and places through time. By that criterion, industrialized society fails miserably.
You wish to be a Douglas firTall, straight, almost immortalBut you stand like a Peking willowProne to cankers, full of twisted twigsWorse still, you are not so resistantAs the authentic willow that can bend gracefullyShake off all its unwanted leaves in autumnWhen there is a wind blowing even from nowhereNo matter how much sunshine you receiveDuring the summer, you have nothing but scarsTo show off against winter stormsThe scars that you can never shake off
Ten refugees have been selected to compete in the Summer Olympics in Brazil this year. Five of them are runners from South Sudan who have been living in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya. The Sudanese will be joined by two Congolese judo fighters, two Syrian swimmers, and an Ethiopian marathoner. Anjelina Nadai, one of the Sudanese runners, said she first started running while tending her family's cows. She discovered she could get to the cows in half the time by running instead of walking. These athletes will compete under the Olympic flag, not that of any nation. If any of them should win a medal, the Olympic theme song will be played (The Christian Science Monitor, June 3).
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AT&T's LG Thrill 4G delayed until August 21?
Earlier this week, AT&T announced that the new LG Thrill 4G (its own version of the Optimus 3D) would cost $99.99 on contract, also saying that the handset should be released pretty soon. Rumor has it that the Thrill is expected to hit the shelves on August 7. However, the smartphone may have been delayed.
The Radio Shack memo seen below suggests that AT&T pushed back the launch date to August 21. Not a huge delay, of course, but still a delay.
Regardless if it launches on August 7 or two weeks later, the LG Thrill will become AT&T's fifth 4G smartphone. It features Android 2.2 (upgradeable to 2.3), a 4.3 inch WVGA 3D display, Wi-Fi hotspot capability, GPS, dual 5MP cameras with 3D video recording, dual-core 1GHz processor, and 8GB of internal memory.
Via Android Central


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Pop super star and now "bad boy" Justin Bieber may finally be held responsible for his actions. Belieber's are waking up to shocking news this morning. Their beloved star was taking into custody early this morning in Miami Beach, Florida for drag racing and also for allegedly failing a field sobriety test. Justin's been in town the past week and he presence has not gone by unnoticed. His visit has sparked an investigation into an unauthorized police escort that provided Beiber and his crew with transportation from the airport and local strip clubs. Justin is reported to have dropped nearly 75,000 at the King of Diamonds strip club to celebrates his friend Lil Scrappys 30th birthday.
Justin is no stranger to controversy he's been dominating headlines around the world for months, with reports of his strange and sometimes bizarre antics. As recent as last week. The young pop stars Calabasas home in California was raided in connection with an egg throwing assault that caused over twenty thousand dollars on a neighbors home. The search resulted in the arrest of his friend Lil Za on drug charges. Story is still developing.


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I'm looking for a fun (not too many tedious calculations) calculus one problem that uses the concept that, after subsitution, you have two integrals of diffent functions with different limits, but equal area. For example:
Those two regions are the same. I'm thinking of a problem that asks the student to prove two regions are of equal area, and once they set up the integrals they can see it is a case of subsitution.
Do you know of such a problem?


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Posted by Brian Lambert on December 20, 2011
As the 2011 calendar year winds down, many sales enablement professionals are working on their sales kickoff initiative for the coming year. These large-scale events are an integral part of annual cycle, where the sales team converges on a fully prepared hotel for a days-long pep rally full of content sessions, vision-setting, and plenty of networking. Many of the sales kickoffs we hear about, and participate in, are focused on motivating and inspiring the sales force to hit their annual quota, or better yet, set new sales records.
While a healthy dose of motivation for the sales force is always important, next year's sales kickoff may require a healthy dose of reality as well.
It seems the expense of sales kickoffs is being scrutinized more than last year at higher levels of the organization. In fact, many of sales enablement professionals we talked with this quarter are being asked to justify the sales kickoff investment by their CEO. On top of that, sales leaders are asking for a more specific description of what's going to happen in the sales kickoff, and how the content in the event is going to help their salespeople drive the sales process forward. Both of these views – the view from the top and the view from the trenches – converge at a seemingly simple, yet often difficult to answer question:
"What's the expected impact of the sales kickoff next year?"
Posted by Brian Lambert on October 19, 2011
I have yet to meet a senior executive who doesn't agree that agility is important in business. At Forrester's 2011 Sales Enablement Forum, Forrester CEO George Colony shared some of his research with fellow CEOs. He asked a simple question; "Are you satisfied that your sales force is advancing your strategy?" The answer was a resounding "No!" Giving their sales forces an average grade of C- [read the full post here]. George's research found that CEOs have the following problems with their sales forces:
Posted by Brian Lambert on October 11, 2011
Technology vendors continue to focus on implementing sales coaching programs. I'm finding that sales coaching programs mostly focus on providing sales managers the skills they need to be more "coach-like" with their reps. When you step back and look at what kind of skills sales managers need to be more coaching oriented, you end up with a broad ranging list like objectively assessing reps and where they're at, or clearly defining future rep behaviors, or using technology to help inform sales coaching decisions. Along with this focus on skills, some sales coaching programs focus on defining the critical elements of each sales coaching conversation (like increased relevance, giving developmental feedback, and providing motivation). Yet, despite these efforts, the sales enablement professionals we talk to share their frustration that sales coaching doesn't quite take off with frontline sales managers like they were expecting.
For example, in one technology vendor, sales coaching didn't take off despite sales coaching training, top-down sales leader support, and feedback from reps demanding more coach-like interactions with their managers. In another technology vendor, it seemed massive communications and sales coaching training efforts were a non-starter (and dare I say it, dead on arrival). Why is that? Why are technology vendors seemingly doing the right things, but not getting the traction they expect?
It seems that one critical and often overlooked aspect of helping sales coaches be more successful is the ability to help coaches get started: 1) defining their sales coaching approach, and 2) starting each and every interaction with reps in a valuable and meaningful way, especially when those interactions are around previously identified sales coaching scenarios.
Posted by Brian Lambert on August 30, 2011
Sales training and enablement professionals who effectively build an internal sales coaching capability help sales reps overcome complexity and sell more successfully. According to the sales enablement professionals we interviewed, building an internal sales coaching capability has two major components: strategic architecture and effective enablement.
The strategic architecture is built from thoughtful design, implementation, and reinforcement of sales coaching initiatives. Effective enablement comes from using sales coaching conversations as the design point while making sure coaches have the right content, skills, and tools to do tailor those conversations.
Unfortunately, most of the sales coaching programs we see lack the tools and methods to do just that.
So what is an enterprising sales training or sales enablement professional to do?
Join me for a Forrester workshop on sales coaching
To understand the state of sales coaching today, Forrester interviewed sales enablement professionals at 35 technology vendors. They universally agreed that achieving the goals of the sales leadership team, including selling at higher levels, often requires a change in salesperson behavior. This workshop provides sales enablement professionals the strategies and tools needed to create effective sales coaching programs at their companies to more effectively support their sales initiatives in the field.
Many sales enablement professionals we talked to have looked to sales coaching as a key enabler to salesperson success. So we built the workshop to
Posted by Brian Lambert on August 24, 2011
Why does sales coaching continue to be an important sales enablement trend? Perhaps it's because salespeople learn new skills through mutually beneficial relationships with individual coaches. If you think about it, sales coaches can come from many parts of the organization and include sales managers, sales trainers, sales engineers, and in some cases from product marketers. When sales enablement professionals effectively support tailored sales coaching conversations between coaches and reps, salespeople learn faster, converse more confidently with their customers, and achieve specific sales objectives, like gaining access to the right buyers or building a winning business case.
If you think about it, the role of a sales coach is challenging. Sales coaches must process many different content inputs from across the organization, package those inputs (in their head), and then deliver content through an effective sales coaching conversation to one salesperson at a time. And, sales coaches must make sure they treat everyone uniquely, so they maximize their sales coaching impact. Sales Enablement professionals need a strategy, a methodology, and tools to effectively enable their sales coaches to implement and sustain high-quality coaching conversations that help salespeople achieve sales objectives.
In order to make sales coaching successful, Sales Enablement pros need a clear definition. The definition should drive specific sales coaching behavior while at the same time clearly defining the business reason why sales coaching is important. The definition should serve as a clear design point for sales coaching success.
For example, Forrester defines sales coaching as:
Posted by Brian Lambert on August 18, 2011
Over the past several months, I've had conversations with a lot of technology vendors about "overcoming sales training challenges." While all of the people I talked to fall into the Sales Enablement function, (meaning they come from product groups, marketing groups, and sales groups and are working to support the conversations that salespeople have) only 2 of those people were actually from within the sales training function at their company. In other words, there seems to be a lot of concern about sales training and a lot of work going on in the name of sales training but the discussion is happening outside the sales training group!
This finding led me to ask, "Is sales training strategic or tactical?" over on LinkedIn [check out some of the answers]. Taking a step back and looking through those answers in light of the conversations I've been having, I found an interesting pattern emerging.
Most of the people involved in sales training initiatives have a specific view on the role, scope, and value of sales training. This view biases the ways these people approach solving these sales training challenges or leverage training for solving the sales challenges their organizations face. At a macro level, these differing views, or paradigms, can be broken down into two camps which are often in direct conflict with one another. These competing mindsets can end up pulling in opposite directions, creating a sales training stalemate with noting really being solved and lots of money being wasted.
Here are a few examples of these different, often competing views:
1. Regarding the Scope of Sales Training
Posted by Brian Lambert on May 24, 2011
This week, I presented a session on "How to Drive Sales Coaching Results" at the International Conference for the American Society for Training and Development. While ASTD doesn't publish the actual number of attendees, my guess is there between 7,000 to 9,000 people in attendance. Session topics run the gamut with topics related to change management, performance management, instructional design, talent management, e-learning, performance improvement, and of course, sales training.
It was interesting to attend the conference this year and experience it as someone who spends a lot of time thinking through human performance, HR, training, learning, and coaching with Forrester's definition of "sales enablement" in mind. At Forrester, we define sales enablement as "a strategic, ongoing process that equips all client-facing employees with the ability to consistently and systematically have a valuable conversation with the right set of customer stakeholders at each stage of the customer's problem-solving life cycle to optimize the return of investment of the selling system." With this top-down view in mind I participated in a panel discussion on the future of sales training, delivered a session on driving sales coaching results, and also chaired the day-long ASTD Sales Training Committee meeting to help chart ASTDs course for the next few years in the sales training and development space.
I asked a series of questions to a room of 200 attendees. Here's what I asked:
Posted by Brian Lambert on May 13, 2011
A week doesn't go by when I haven't talked to someone who is in sales or marketing about the work they're doing to help the sales team change how they communicate value. It seems that many marketing and sales leaders are working hard to "help salespeople sell higher" or "help salespeople differentiate the messages they deliver." A couple of patterns are emerging; like moving the sales conversations from being transaction-focused to a more consultative one, or moving a consultative conversation to a more outcome-focused conversation.
There is no doubt that changing the sales conversation means changing the behavior of the sales team -- many sales leaders believe that change can't happen fast enough. When it comes to making the shift, you have a short list of choices:
1) develop or expand the existing skill set of the current salespeople you have, or
2) work with the sales leadership team and HR team to hire the right salespeople who have the right skills and connections to have the right conversations you need to be successful
3) a combination of both 1 and 2
More and more technology vendors are deciding to invest in the salespeople they have. For most technology vendors, hiring for skill just isn't working. One sales leader said, "We are realizing that the talent shortage in the profession overall is working against us. Many salespeople just haven't been trained like they used to, and they have picked up some bad habits along the way."
We are at a sales "skills cross-road."
Posted by Brian Lambert on March 16, 2011
I was in South Africa this week, giving a keynote at a Forrester Sales Enablement event in Johannesburg. As I wrapped up the discussion of overcoming complexity and creating more of an adaptive sales enablement approach in sales organization, someone asked, "How important is the role of the sales manager in supporting the behavior change needed within the sales team?" A great question! As a sales leader, he recognized that communicating value to today's buyers requires a behavior change by today's sellers, and that behavior change needs to be supported by an involved manager. My answer to his question was, "Before I answer that question, who owns your sales coaching strategy, and does that strategy provide sales coaches what they need to be successful?" Sales coaching is playing an increasingly important role in helping sellers adapt to change while handing the complexity around them.
With an effective sales coaching strategy, salespeople can expand skills and advance the sales process. Perhaps this is why so many sales trainers and sales enablement professionals are asked to focus on developing sales coaching programs in support of driving more valuable sales conversations with buyers.
Posted by Brian Lambert on February 18, 2011
Wow! We just came back from our first annual Technology Sales Enablement Forum (Feb. 14-15, 2011).
Brad Holmes, the practice leader serving Technology Sales Enablement, shared on his blog that the theme for the Forum was New Buyers, New Demands: Accelerating Sales Performance.
The objectives of the Forum were to help sales enablement professionals identify ways to:


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UK architect George King has used ultra-violet wool thread to produce an installation that appears to be formed by laser beams within an old train underpass in Detroit (+ slideshow). More »
Tag: rope
Variations by Stephen Burks
for Calligaris
New York designer Stephen Burks filled the Milan showroom of Italian brand Calligaris with colourful ropes and columns of plastic chairs lashed together last month (+ movie). More »
Autumn Winter 2013 collection
by Eilish Macintosh
Central Saint Martins graduate Eilish Macintosh showed outfits tied up with knotted lengths of rope at the institution's show during London Fashion Week. More »
Acorn lights by
Vasiliy Butenko
Ukrainian designer Vasiliy Butenko has made a series of pendant lamps by wrapping cotton rope around plastic bottles. More »
Screenplay by
Oyler Wu Collective
Architects Oyler Wu Collaborative wound more than 13,000 metres of rope through steel frames to create this screen wall for Dwell on Design 2012 in Los Angeles (+ movie). More »
Bound Basics
by Toon Welling
Taut rope is all that holds together this furniture by Dutch design graduate Toon Welling. More »
Drink Link by Joon Lee
Endhoven designer Joon Lee has created this tea set where all the cups are linked to a central jug by ropes. More »
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According to a recent report on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, forty percent of Olympic viewers say watching has inspired them to exercise more often.
Despite a tragic death, several injuries and defeats, the 2010 Winter Games did not disappoint. The energy of the Closing Ceremony could be felt miles and miles away. So it's no wonder adults and kids alike were inspired in some way. Who knows, maybe you will be the next Olympic gold medalist?
Are you in that forty percent? If not, get up and join the ripple! Experts recommend thirty minutes of vigorous activity a day. Always consult a physician before you begin any exercise program.
Now on to Russia for 2014!


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Stanford Cardinal (18-11, 9-8 Pac-12)
Utah Runnin' Utes (20-9, 9-8 Pac-12)
Saturday, March 8, 2014 • 11:30 a.m.
Stanford, Calif. • Maples Pavilion (7,233)
Series History: Utah leads 15-10
Last Meeting: Stanford 84, Utah 66 (March 3, 2013 at Stanford, Calif.)
Radio: KNBR 1050 AM (PBP: Scott Reiss, Analyst: John Platz)
KZSU 90.1 FM (PBP: Dev Bhargava, Analyst: Vihan Lakshman)
TV: P12NET (PBP: JB Long, Analyst: Don MacLean)
The Opening Tip
One pivotal game follows another, as Stanford (18-11, 9-8 Pac-12) hosts Utah (20-9, 9-8 Pac-12) in the regular season finale for both teams. The Cardinal has dropped three in a row after Wednesday's 59-56 loss to Colorado, representing its longest losing streak since January 2012. There is one scenario in which Stanford can earn the No. 4 seed. The Cardinal must beat Utah coupled with victories from Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State.
Media Memo
The game can be heard on KNBR 1050 AM, featuring the insightful duo of Scott Reiss (play-by-play) and John Platz (analyst). KZSU 90.1 FM provides coverage with Dev Bhargava (play-by-play) and Vihan Lakshman (analyst). The contest will be televised on Pac-12 Networks with JB Long (play-by-play) and Don MacLean (analyst).
Scouting Utah
Utah (20-9, 9-8 Pac-12), which topped California 63-59 on Wednesday in Berkeley, is the league's most improved team following up last year's campaign (15-18, 5-13 Pac-12) ... The Runnin' Utes, who have won six of their last eight overall, have chalked up an 18-2 record at home but are only 2-7 on the road ... Utah compiled an 11-1 record in non-conference play, although its most notable win came at home against BYU ... Utah is averaging 77.8 points while shooting a league-best 49.6 percent overall. The defense has been equally solid, allowing 64.1 points and 40.6 percent shooting ... Look out for: Delon Wright (16.2 ppg, 59.3 percent FG, 153 assists, 75 steals), Jordan Loveridge (15.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 79.6 percent FT), Brandon Taylor (10.8 ppg, 108 assists).
Stanford All-Time vs. Utah
Utah owns a 15-10 edge. Stanford blitzed Utah in both meetings last year, winning 87-56 in Salt Lake City before coasting to an 84-66 victory at Maples Pavilion one month later. Stanford has won three in a row at home, with Utah's last road victory in the series coming back on Jan. 23, 1971 in the form of a 99-91 decision.
Notable Career Totals Against Utah
Could this be the game that gets John Gage going? The sharp-shooter is averaging 10.2 points while having made 13-21 (61.9 percent) from the floor in four games. Also in four career appearances against Utah, Chasson Randle is averaging 17.2 points while making 23-51 (45.1 percent) from the field. Of Randle's 23 baskets, 13 have come from beyond the arc. In four contests, Josh Huestis is averaging 8.0 points and 7.0 boards.
Nice To CU and U On The Schedule
This scheduling nugget from radio analyst and longtime program historian John Platz: in hosting Colorado and Utah to close out the Pac-12 regular season, Stanford is facing the Buffaloes and the Utes for the first time in 2014. The last time Stanford faced a conference foe for the first time in the last week of the regular season schedule was 23 years ago, when the Cardinal played a home-and-home with California (March 2 at Stanford, March 7 at Berkeley) to close out the 1991 Pac-10 regular-season slate.
Takeaways From The Colorado Game
Despite a game-high 24 points from Chasson Randle, Colorado escaped with a 59-56 victory over Stanford. Randle missed on a potential game-tying three-pointer on the final possession as Stanford's second-half rally fell short ... Randle was the only Stanford player to reach double-figures in scoring, shooting 9-18 and knocking down all four of the team's three-point attempts, making him only the sixth player in school history to knock down 200 career triples ... Stanford shot 36.8 percent overall and 10-17 from the foul line. The Cardinal allowed only 38.8 percent shooting but was plagued by 12 turnovers ... Josh Huestis pulled down 13 rebounds but fell one point shy of his eighth double-double of the year. Huestis grabbed at least 10 rebounds in a game for the 10th time ... Thanks to an improved defensive effort, Stanford erased a 33-28 halftime deficit. A layup from Anthony Brown with 3:58 remaining put Stanford in front 51-48 before Colorado responded with seven unanswered points ... John Gage converted a three-point play, accounting for Stanford's only bench points.
Why Stanford Is An NCAA Team...
Stanford checks in at No. 46 in the latest edition of the NCAA's RPI, one of six Pac-12 clubs ranked in the top-50. The Pac-12 is regarded as one of the nation's strongest conferences ... According to ESPN.com, Stanford boasts solid strength of schedule (16) and BPI (38) totals ... Stanford is 3-2 against top-25 squads this year, defeating No. 23/25 UCLA (83-74) at home while winning road games at No. 10/10 Connecticut (53-51) and No. 17/13 Oregon (82-80) ... Stanford has tallied six overall road victories, second in the Pac-12 behind Arizona's eight ... The Cardinal has dropped consecutive games only three times this season ... Stanford's challenging non-conference slate included matchups against BYU, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Michigan. The Cardinal also made two separate trips to the East Coast.
Six Honored On Senior Day
Stanford will honor six seniors in a pregame ceremony: Aaron Bright, Andy Brown, John Gage, Josh Huestis, Robbie Lemons and Dwight Powell. During their time on The Farm, this group has led Stanford to 78 victories and a school-record 17 home wins two years ago en route to capturing the 2012 Postseason NIT championship. Huestis and Powell have started all 29 games, Gage and Lemons are first off the bench, and Bright and Brown are out due to injury.
Aaron Bright: Bright's senior year may have been cut short by injury but that won't stop him from leaving his legacy. Bright ignited Stanford's 2012 NIT championship, averaging 16.8 points and shooting over 60.0 percent overall while being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. In 105 career games, Bright's 316 career assists rank 10th all-time in school history. A science, technology and society major, Bright will graduate in June.
Andy Brown: Brown battled through three ACL tears since arriving on The Farm and four in his career overall. After appearing in nine games in 2011-12, Brown played his first full season last year and averaged 6.2 points while making 20 starts. A Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team honoree and NABC Honors Court selection in 2013, Brown received his undergraduate degree in communication last summer and is completing coursework toward a Master's in communication.
John Gage: Few teams have the luxury of bringing the conference's leading three-pointer shooter off their bench. But that's exactly what Stanford had last year in Gage, who averaged 5.8 points and connected on 44.6 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Much of that damage was done against Utah, as Gage scored a career-high 19 points in a 31-point road win. Gage is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selection and 2013 NABC Honors Court selection. Gage boasts a 3.65 GPA and is majoring in economics.
Josh Huestis: Huestis has built a reputation as one of the conference's elite defenders, twice being named to the Pac-12's All-Defensive Team. Two weeks ago against USC, Huestis became Stanford's all-time leading shot-blocker and he stands 50 points shy of 1,000 and nine rebounds away from 800. Also capable of hurting teams from outside with his jumper, Huestis has racked up 18 career double-doubles. A psychology major, Huestis was recognized as a Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention pick in 2012.
Robbie Lemons: Lemons joined the Cardinal as a walk-on after establishing a reputation as one of the premier high school scorers in the nation. Lemons went on to earn a scholarship and found his niche as one of the team's key reserves, providing hustle and energy plays. He scored a career-high 12 points in Stanford's win over Northwestern last year, knocking down four three-pointers. A Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team honoree and NABC Honors Court selection in 2013, Lemons is majoring in economics.
Dwight Powell: Powell's dynamic all-around game makes him a matchup nightmare for opponents. Powell's breakthrough junior year resulted in NABC All-District Second Team honors, while also being named the Pac-12 Most Improved Player and earning a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team. A double-double machine, Powell has averaged at least 14 points and seven boards over the last two seasons. A science, technology and society major, Powell is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic pick and Senior CLASS award candidate.


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It's true, I bowl like a girl but at least I have the same opportunity as a boy. Today, while I bowl with my own pretty blue marbelized ball with drilled holes to fit my fingers, I remember what it was like to bowl when I was five-years-old with a big black clunky ball.
Fifty-years or so ago when my feminist "sisters," were burning their bras and rightfully chanting and marching for equal rights I was a hormone raging pre-teen. I always teetered between being strong and a go-getter type of woman, and the female in distress who needed to be saved. Now, that I am a post menopausal woman who can and who has done everything I have wanted to, I don't care about the hormonal differences; I just want peace.
I believe, as I look back at feminists like Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan in the early 1960's as they were leading us to where women and men are now … I can dress up like Barbie or not, men can choose softer colors to wear, add makeup and get their hair colored too, but the most important thing that came out of the movement was a change in the consciousness for an equal opportunity and equal money for the same job performance. Ok, I like that. A thoughtful distribution of power and education is the way it should have always been. And even though we have a longer way to go what I also think about now as I reflect back and float on the clouds of my non baby producing years is that the pendulum was swinging at the time, as it had to, and depending on where you live is where the pendulum will feel right for women. Now before I go any further, I will say, two things…I don't like the references to the verbiage of the "opposite sex"…because that implies that men or women are the main sex; and I don't like the word sex unless we are referring to the act. I prefer, gender, and sexual orientation. How do parents of a new born boy know his sex…it's his gender they are observing. His preference will rear its head later on.
"It's no secret that boys and girls are different—very different. The differences between genders, however, extend beyond what the eye can see. Research reveals major distinguishers between male and female brains," writes Gregory L. Jantz, Ph.D. in Psychology Today's February 24th 2014 issue.
Before I entered the first grade my Uncle Johnny would take me to the bowling lanes in Glendale, New York. Like learning a language early in life, he showed me the steps the swing of the ball, and how to throw it. It was cute. I was tiny and the men at the bar on black plastic bar stools would smoke and drink and laugh. When I finished there was a coke and bag of potato chips on the black table waiting for me. It was different but my uncle didn't think so. He gave me the opportunity to do what he did…he was a 300 bowler many times over. A star of sorts in the downstairs bar that darkened even with the red lights that tried to shine in the summer nights.
Dr. Jantz continues to write that, "Scientists generally study four primary areas of difference in male and female brains: processing, chemistry, structure, and activity. The differences between male and female brains in these areas show up all over the world, but scientists also have discovered exceptions to every so-called gender rule. You may know some boys who are very sensitive, immensely talkative about feelings, and just generally don't seem to fit the "boy" way of doing things. As with all gender differences, no one way of doing things is better or worse. The differences listed below are simply generalized differences in typical brain functioning, and it is important to remember that all differences have advantages and disadvantages".
I know that Betty and Gloria wanted the lives for women all over to be enhanced and they did a passionate job of getting the word out. We all wriggled a bit in the transition of gender roles and are still figuring out a lot of the important stuff like equal parenting so both parents can be fulfilled.
Here are the four areas of the brain that that Dr. Jantz shares in his article and indeed it may encourage more peace in our relating styles between the genders other than time and maturity.
Male brains utilize nearly seven times more gray matter for activity while female brains utilize nearly ten times more white matter. What does this mean?
Gray matter areas of the brain are localized. They are information- and action-processing centers in specific splotches in a specific area of the brain. This can translate to a kind of tunnel vision when they are doing something. Once they are deeply engaged in a task or game, they may not demonstrate much sensitivity to other people or their surroundings.
White matter is the networking grid that connects the brain's gray matter and other processing centers with one another. This profound brain-processing difference is probably one reason you may have noticed that girls tend to more quickly transition between tasks than boys do. The gray-white matter difference may explain why, in adulthood, females are great multi-taskers, while men excel in highly task-focused projects.
Male and female brains process the same neurochemicals but to different degrees and through gender-specific body-brain connections. Some dominant neurochemicals are serotonin, which, among other things, helps us sit still; testosterone, our sex and aggression chemical; estrogen, a female growth and reproductive chemical; and oxytocin, a bonding-relationship chemical.
In part, because of differences in processing these chemicals, males on average tend to be less inclined to sit still for as long as females and tend to be more physically impulsive and aggressive. Additionally, males process less of the bonding chemical oxytocin than females. Overall, a major takeaway of chemistry differences is to realize that our boys at times need different strategies for stress release than our girls.
Structural Differences
A number of structural elements in the human brain differ between males and females. "Structural" refers to actual parts of the brain and the way they are built, including their size and/or mass.
Females often have a larger hippocampus, our human memory center. Females also often have a higher density of neural connections into the hippocampus. As a result, girls and women tend to input or absorb more sensorial and emotive information than males do. By "sensorial" we mean information to and from all five senses. If you note your observations over the next months of boys and girls and women and men, you will find that females tend to sense a lot more of what is going on around them throughout the day, and they retain that sensorial information more than men.
Additionally, before boys or girls are born, their brains developed with different hemispheric divisions of labor. The right and left hemispheres of the male and female brains are not set up exactly the same way. For instance, females tend to have verbal centers on both sides of the brain, while males tend to have verbal centers on only the left hemisphere. This is a significant difference. Girls tend to use more words when discussing or describing incidence, story, person, object, feeling, or place. Males not only have fewer verbal centers in general but also, often, have less connectivity between their word centers and their memories or feelings. When it comes to discussing feelings and emotions and senses together, girls tend to have an advantage, and they tend to have more interest in talking about these things.
Blood Flow and Brain Activity
While we are on the subject of emotional processing, another difference worth looking closely at is the activity difference between male and female brains. The female brain, in part thanks to far more natural blood flow throughout the brain at any given moment (more white matter processing), and because of a higher degree of blood flow in aconcentration part of the brain called the cingulate gyrus, will often ruminate on and revisit emotional memories more than the male brain.
Males, in general, are designed a bit differently. Males tend, after reflecting more briefly on an emotive memory, to analyze it somewhat, then move onto the next task. During this process, they may also choose to change course and do something active and unrelated to feelings rather than analyze their feelings at all. Thus, observers may mistakenly believe that boys avoid feelings in comparison to girls or move to problem-solving too quickly.
These four, natural design differences listed above are just a sample of how males and females think differently. Scientists have discovered approximately 100 gender differences in the brain, and the importance of these differences cannot be overstated. Understanding gender differences from a neurological perspective not only opens the door to greater appreciation of the different genders, it also calls into question how we parent, educate, and support our children from a young age.
Today, I am married to a man who has bowled over fifty-years of his life…so now I have the opportunity to do what I let go of a long time ago. The opportunity was there then and it is still rolling into my life.
Maybe I don't bowl like a girl…I bowled a 158 game the other day; or perhaps I am one of those girls with boy tendencies. I bowl like a bowler with female chemistry and Bill bowls like a bowler with male chemistry and both are good.


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AT&T intros Samsung Strive, Samsung Sunburst, Pantech Link, Pantech Pursuit, new services
AT&T has just announced its 2010 spring portfolio of "quick messaging devices" (which includes two phones made by Samsung and two made by Pantech), as well as new cloud-based services for them.
Let's talk about the new services first.
AT&T Mobile Share provides users with their own web-based storage locker called "AT&T Locker". This enables you to transfer, store and share photos and videos from a mobile phone. The stored content can also be accessed and managed via your PC. AT&T Mobile Share costs $10 per month and includes 250MB of storage space and 50 media transfers. Additional 10GB of storage can be purchased for $5 per month.
Another new web-based service is AT&T Address Book, which automatically syncs your contacts to an online address book that's accessible from both your phone and your PC.
AT&T has also announced Next Generation Messaging, which should bring an advanced messaging experience to AT&T customers. It includes "a consolidated inbox", group messaging, threaded conversation format, and "reply all" format.
And now the new phones:
Samsung Strive is the phone that will first include AT&T's new services. It's a vertical slider with a full QWERTY keyboard, email, instant messaging, social networking apps and a 2MP camera. The Samsung Strive will be available starting March 21. For a limited period of time, the phone will cost $19.99 with a 2-yr contract agreement.
Samsung Sunburst is a touchscreen phone with an unusual design. It features GPS and a widget bar that "allows one-touch access to a wealth of phone functions like creating a text message, in addition to direct links to social networking sites". The Sunburst will also be available at the same time with the Samsung Strive, for $39.99 on contract.
Pantech Pursuit and Pantech Link's prices were not announced, but we know that the Pursuit is a touchscreen phone with a QWERTY keyboard (maybe it's the Pantech P9020?), and the Link is a candybar, also with a QWERTY keyboard. The Pantech Link will be available at AT&T in the coming weeks, while the Pantech Pursuit should be launched in the summer.
Via Press release


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Woods Awarded Competitive Dissertation Completion Grant
May 31, 2012
Elizabeth Woods, Ph.D. candidate in the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience program, has been named the recipient of a CLASS Dissertation Completion Grant for the 2012-2013 academic year. The grant is awarded to outstanding Ph.D. students in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences based on excellence of their dissertation project and timely progress toward the completion of their degree. The grant provides stipends of $20,000 to cover students' expenses for up to a full academic year while they complete their dissertations. Woods is one of six students selected to receive this grant.
"All of our Dissertation Completion Fellows are outstanding students working on significant research or creative projects in their disciplines," said Dr. Catherine Patterson, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in CLASS. "Only the most highly qualified students from a department may be nominated for these awards, so the application pool is highly competitive."
Click here for more information about the Dissertation Completion Grant.


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According to court records, an 11-year-old girl told her neighbor that McLean on Sunday, June 2, put his hands under her shirt and on top of her bra. The girl said McLean repeated the activity on Monday, though this time he put his hands under her bra, court records show.
The girl also told the same thing to her mother and to Bay City public safety officers.
McLean was convicted of driving while impaired in 1998, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in 1999 and disorderly conduct in 2001, court records show.
McLean's operating while intoxicated charge has been outstanding since he was arraigned on that charge on July 24, 2002. He failed to appear for a preliminary examination on that charge in August 2002 and the count remains open.


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"Life is either a great adventure or nothing" -Helen Keller
I was dozing off at my local Starbucks on Hollywood Boulevard, having just guzzled down a scrumptious soy hot chocolate. Bliss.
Then it happened. The voice in my head began its merry dance.
You must go on an RV trip and you must do it within the next three days.
When the voice in my head speaks -- I listen. I called a few buddies and we conjured up a plan: Conquer the Grand Canyon in 4 days. Start in Los Angeles. Finish in Los Angeles. Simple. Fun. Relaxing. Well, that was the plan anyways. Just a simple trip to the Grand Canyon. Happens every day…
What happened to us was far from an everyday occurrence… we were accidently transported into a vortex of some kind. The good kind of vortex… happens every day! But that's all to come.
I managed to muster 6 people together: Ilia, Ian, Hengi, Ellisabeth, Tina and myself. An epic journey awaited, but before it could truly begin we needed props. Yes, Props. I went on a Toys R Us run and bought the essentials: a Darth Vader mask replete with voice changer, a Chewbacca mask, an Iron man mask, three light sabers and anticipation galore, which was priceless.
Now, we were ready.
The day dawned bright as we prepared the RV for its adventure. First stop, the Grand Canyon. Happiness abounded. We took a wacky group picture (think balloons, Chewbacca masks, Boston Terriers…) and then it was game on baby!
It sure didn't take long for the madness to infect us all.
First to make an appearance were the Iron man and Chewbacca masks as we wilted in the heat and early afternoon traffic. People stared. Perplexed. Then the smiles came. Then came the laughter. I like to think we brightened up a few people's day on that slow stretch of monotonous highway. With the music blaring and the adrenaline pumping we eked our way east. To the Promised Land.
As the traffic cleared we made a pit stop where this whole idea began: someone else's local Starbucks. One of the motley crew yelled, "Lets do the Starbucks run in drag!" Well, in Star Wars drag that is, so out came the Chewbacca mask again. Fun was had by all… including the young girl who looked at her mum and said, "Why is there a bear inside the shop mummy?" Why indeed?
We got back on the road and sped on our merry way to the Grand Canyon. With the music pumping and the sun setting our next adventure was brewing: a light saber duel. I always knew those light sabers would come in handy. I donned the Darth Vader mask and Ian wore the Chewbacca mask. The duel was indeed epic, as all light saber duels should be. Was this really happening? Chewy, Darth, a light saber duel and the whirr of trucks on the side of an American highway.
It was really happening and it was but the beginning…
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Press Releases
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IMF Completes First Review Under Gabon's Stand-By Arrangement and Approves US$20 Million Disbursement
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the first review of Gabon's economic performance under a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement to support the country's economic program. The completion of the review enables the release of a further SDR13.9 million (about US$20 million), which will bring the total amount drawn under the arrangement to SDR 27.8 (about US$41 million).
Following the Executive Board's discussion on Gabon's economic performance, Agustín Carstens, Deputy Managing Director and Chair, said:
"Gabon's implementation of the program supported by the 14-month Stand-By Arrangement with the Fund, was off to a good start. Budgetary performance in the first half of 2004 was in line with program objectives and progress was made in the implementation of structural reforms, particularly in the fiscal area. Gabon's economic outlook is positive because of favorable oil prices, improved prospects for oil production, and the authorities' commitment to economic adjustment and reform.
"Nevertheless, Gabon's economy remains subject to considerable vulnerabilities—including in oil prices and the heavy debt burden—and social indicators are weak. Sustained fiscal adjustment and steadfast pursuit of structural reforms are needed to place the debt on a sustainable path, free resources for the growth of the non-oil private sector, and increase spending in priority areas to reduce poverty while containing the wage bill and controlling expenditures. The authorities should seize the opportunity provided by the current favorable commodity prices to make progress in this regard. They have wisely chosen to use the oil revenue windfall to repay public debt, strengthen the government's position in the banking system, and accumulate deposits in the Fund for Future Generations. Particular care will be needed to avoid embarking on unsustainable spending programs.
"There has been progress in improving the transparency and efficiency of budgetary management, including through a review of the implementation of priority investment projects. These efforts should be intensified. The public expenditure review to be conducted in the coming months will be important in this regard.
"The authorities expect to complete their poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in early 2005. The PRSP will set the medium-term priorities and policies for tackling Gabon's poverty problem. High on the agenda will be structural reform to complement prudent macroeconomic policies. The authorities are making progress in implementing a comprehensive set of reforms to promote economic diversification and non-oil growth. The key reforms that are being tackled include privatization of Gabon Télécom, restructuring of Air Gabon and admitting private capital in the enterprise, improvement of the investment climate and the regulatory framework, reform of the forestry sector, and strengthening of governance," Mr. Carstens said.
A Stand-By Arrangement is a decision of the IMF by which a member is assured that it will be able to make purchases (drawings) from the General Resources Account up to a specified amount and during a specified period of time, normally between 12 and 18 months, provided that the member observes the terms of the arrangement.


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We've been using Server2008R2 with Hyper-V for a couple of years now and chose it at the time because of its ability to make use of Intel SpeedStep and AMD PowerNow! Now with Server 2012 and Hyper-V V3, all power management abilities seem to be gone. The CPUs are always at full speed and our servers need twice the energy as before while idling. (Yes, the CPU P-states are enabled in the BIOS) Is this by design? Is there a workaround to enable cpu power management again? Despite the great new features of Hyper-V 3, this would be a show-stopper for us since we are very concerned about energy consumption.
Have you looked at you power plan settings? I believe if you have it set to High Performance, the CPUs are never parked and therefore always consuming maximum power. Perhaps you can switch to Balanced or a Custom level that allows for power savings features to be enabled.


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Sith Dominion
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@Black Knight of Keno
Words. Words everywhere.
Join Date
: Oct 2003
: Bergen, Norway
: 3,942
Sith Dominion
A lone Consular-class ship made way throught hyperspace, painted with pure red and yellow. There was also a Sith Empire emblem on both sides of its engines and on the escape pod. Inside the cockpit, a skeleton crew was working hard to keep the old piece of junk working as well as it could. The ship jumped out from hyperspace and approached a planet with several Star Destroyers and Dreadnaughts around it. There was also a large structure being built. A box for making a ship of some sort. The captain opened the intercom and smiled.
"My Lord, we have arrived" he informed and two gleaming eyes opened in a meditation area made for the Lord. A dark robed man stood up and turned to another similiarly dressed man.
"Let's go, Kaoin. It'll be your time seeing how an Empire is built without the Tarkin Doctrine I have seen as your path" the Lord said and walked out of the meditation chambers with his apprentice. The two Sith walked to the ramp that started opening after the ship settled down next to a palace in making.
A pair of local guards came over and bowed deep to their Count and the Viceroy. As the men straightened, a man wearing an Imperial uniform without the rank sign and the hat walked to the landing pad.
"My Lords, the palace is well on it's way to completion, the overhaul of Imperial officers is being finished and the other planets' populations are being searched for strong recruits, just like you ordered"
"Well done, Admiral. With the way you are going, I would say you might become a Grand Admiral in no time"
"Thank you, sire"
"Tell me, have you yet gotten an answer on those armors and weapons?"
"Yes, sire. The order of 400,000 AV-1 combat armors, most being the AV-1c armors has been confirmed. There is a slight hickup on the Enviro-suit order, but once we get the smugglers we need, it'll be no problem. The DLT-19s, EG-7s, E-Webs and 434s have all been confirmed for production. We should get the first shipment in a few months to replace the old E-11s the Empire gave us"
"Indeed. Hurry everything. I need absolutely everything and everyone ready before I start the plan. Is the Weequay here?"
"Yes, sire. He is waiting in the Dooku palace"
Darth Tepe walked to a hovercar and stepped on the backseat with his apprentice before they left for the old Dooku palace now used more as a mayor's office and the temporary throne room of Tepe. As the hovercar went on it's way, many turned to see him and bowed. People here respected him. Especially ater he had 'liberated' the people from the evil of the old regime. With his more socially equal ways pf controlling the planet, the workers had gotten more work than they could handle, the economy was booming, the soldiers got more money and training and the civilian population was overall happy. When the hovercar stopped, a weequay stood infront of the main entrance, leaning onto a cane. Darth Tepe and Kaoin stepped out of the hovercar and Tepe hailed the ex-jedi before they got near enought for talking.
"Evening, Lord Tepe. I have an idea why you invited me here, but you tell me"
"I invited you because I need someone with a light side energy on Coruscant. The Dark Jedi I currently have around are pathetic idiots. I need your experience"
"I'm a believer in the Potentium and Living Force now, Lord Tepe. The Sith want what once was theirs and the Republic hardly need the planets. Eventually your conquering will strenghten and unify the Republic more than what it is now... I can live with that"
"What if it came to killing the Masters' Council?"
"Hm... The Sith Hunters"
"I will get rid of them. After I manage to get them out of the Order, you kill the council"
"Pure genius. I have not seen anyone as good of a strategist before you except for Palpatine and maybe some others who never got to fame. I will leave for Coruscant and wait for your orders. But be certain that if you do something horrible like orbital bombardments, you'll have me
the Sith Hunters after you"
"Don't worry, my friend. It is a shame how people manage to destroy entire civilizations just because they happen not to like how a rock is shaped. I will not destroy worlds. You have my word. Not as a Sith Lord, but as an old Jedi Consular"
"Good. Good rest of the evening"
So the Weequay left for his lift for Coruscant onboard a merchant that ha brought supplies for the drydock. Tepe shook his head quietly and walked inside with Kaoin. He qould need to train his apprentice some more in keeping a strong connection with the Force or the plan might fail due to even little failures of judgement on Kaoin's part. Not only did the Sith Lord not trust this apprentice, as Kaoin had always been like any other Sith and wanting the place of his master, but he could feel his time running short. Everything had to be timed right and if it wasn't, the Dominion would fail before it could start
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A Healthy Beautiful Smile is Just a Phone Call Away!
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Office of Accounting
Accounts Payable
Post-Payment Audit
In November 1999 the Office of Accounting announced its plan to implement a post-payment audit process. Beginning June 15, 2000, the majority of payment vouchers less than $1,000 will not require pre-approval by Accounting but approve after all department signatures are obtained.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the post-payment audit process, visit askUS


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New Angle Grinder from Metabo Features Lighter Weight, Powerful Performance
| Ideal for cutting and grinding applications where user comfort is paramount
WEST CHESTER, Pa. October 2011 - Metabo Corporation, a leading international manufacturer of professional grade portable electric power tools and abrasives for industrial, construction and welding applications, now offers...


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All goals have been accomplished!
2a. Teachers design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
1) Students in my Advanced Algebra with Trigonometry classes particiapted in a linear regression project based on the article by Leonardo's study of human anatomy. The purpose of the project was to discover if the proportions of hand length vs arm length proported by Leonardo were supported by the sample of students in our classes. Data was entered into Excel spreadsheets and then transferred to the students' graphing calculators. Attached below is further information on the project.
2) The learning check capabilities of the navigator system will be utilized more often as a way to asses student learning more frequently. This will enable me to receive immediate feedback on the lesson that was just presented rather than waiting until the next class period to learn if student understanding has been achieved. By gaining immediate feedback, remediation can happen during the same class period, producing better quality homework and hopefully lesson the students' need to visit the math lab.
3c. Teachers communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
This has been accomplished through my Google teacher page.
5a. Teachers participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
I attended the Teachers Teaching with Technology conference in San Antonio February 25-27. My goal for this conference was to become more adept at using the CAS calculators. I will use this knowledge to develop CAS calculator activities for my classes over the summer. I also hope to be better able to assist the other members of the math department with the use of the CAS calculators.
FACULTY > Carla Kenyon >


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"The Big Bang Theory" wraps up its seventh season with an episode in which Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) have to deal with the repercussions from getting engaged. How will they tell their parents and where will Sheldon (Jim Parsons) live? We all know he isn't good with change.
Then Mrs. Wolowitz's injury is a major headache for Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and Emily (Laura Spencer) take it to the next level.
At a press conference to promote "The Big Bang Theory," Nayyar was asked how much he was like his character Raj, who up until this season had the embarrassing predicament of getting tongue-tied around women.
In real life, Nayyar married former Miss India Neha Kapur on Dec. 22, 2011, so he definitely has Raj beat in that arena. And he holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Portland and a Masters in Fine Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia, rather than a degree in astrophysics.
But there are certain things the writers do take from Nayyar's life and apply to the character. Earlier this season, for example, the guys made fun of the way Raj pronounces the word moustache [he says moostache]. The idea to steal that for the show came about following a night when he was hanging out with Helberg and the writers.
"Simon and I always make fun of each other. We have a great dynamic. They always make fun of the funny words that I say. That was born out of that," he says. Then he adds, "I get calls sometimes from the writers saying, 'If you were in a bowling alley in India, what would you eat? Or, what is a funny festival you celebrate? Or, what do you guys do for Christmas in India?' It is fun to have that collaborative process."
Unlike Raj, the London, England-born actor, who was raised in New Delhi, India, is not a huge fan of "Star Wars," but they do have common ground when it comes to "Lord of the Rings." Being a Tolkien fan Nayyar says is the nerdiest thing about him.
"When 'Return of the King' came on, I cried in the opening sequence when the music started playing. 'The Hobbit,' too. I cried in both of them," Nayyar says. He also says he is nerdy about sports … if that makes any sense.
And finally, the two men are alike in their respect for Stephen Hawking, who guest starred on "The Big Bang Theory."
"It was amazing when we had Stephen Hawking on the show even though it wasn't shot on the set," Nayyar says. "Jim [Parsons] got to be in that scene, but Stephen Hawking did come to the set and watch a run through. It was amazing. That I felt was the heights -- just to meet Stephen Hawking."
In addition, Nayyar really appreciates the positive feedback positive feedback he gets from parents, who watch "The Big Bang Theory" with their kids.
"All the time, parents come up to me and say, 'You inspired my child to be a physicist,' which is much nicer than, 'You inspired my child to be a stripper.' I don't judge," he jokes.
"The Big Bang Theory" airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.


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Sep 10, 2009 8:13 AM
This amazing Laura Mercier Essential Eye Organizer, ($125) exclusively at Neiman Marcus for a limited-edition run, has "OURS" written all over it. Twelve perfect eyeshadows in some of our favorite matte & sateen hues like African Violet, Buttercream, Stellar, and Baroque, plus three high-quality double-ended brushes, with a total retail value of $250, equals a total must-have. The shadows can combine to create an endless number of chic fall looks, and are creamy and long wearing, as with all Laura Mercier products. True, we need yet another eyeshadow set like we need more credit card debt, but this classic set will last us for years, and that's justification enough.
If you've got a product or service that you'd like to promote on Outblush, click here to find out about our advertising opportunities.
Outblush is a blog for girls who love to shop. Our staff digs up the best clothes, home stuff, beauty items, and more. New items are posted every day — bookmark us and check out:


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Former NBA player Hamed Haddadi put on a show for the in Granada, Spain, but his performance couldn't get Iran its first 2014 FIBA World Cup victory. Haddadi, coming off a poor performance versus Brazil, scored a game-high 29 points as Iran fell to Serbia 83-70 on Sept. 1.
Haddadi, the first Iranian to play in the NBA, was 10-of-12 field with his only misses coming from beyond the arc. He was 9-of-12 from the charity stripe, hauled in five rebounds and came up with four thefts. Haddadi only tallied four points against Brazil.
Haddadi was a handful for Serbia, specifically in the first half. Haddadi tallied 22 of Iran's 38 first half points and got NBA free agent Miroslav Raduljica into first half foul trouble.
It was difficult for us (to stop him on one-and-one situation), but especially on two-and-two and pick-and-roll game." Raduljica said. "The bottom line is that he is a good player… We didn't play good defense on him."
Radulija decided not worry about not fouling Haddadi in the second half and Serbia took control of the game. Radulijica, who was recently released by the Los Angeles Clippers after being traded by Milwaukee, scored 9 of his 13 points in the third stanza as Serbia took a 67-51 lead into the last period.
Nemanja Bjelica led the way for Serbia with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Phoenix Suns first round selection Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 16 points, on 7-of-11 shooting. Milos Teodosic chipped in with eight points and nine helpers. Bjelica, whose NBA rights are held by Minnesota, was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round of the 2010 draft.
Samad Nikkhah Bahrami was the only other Irian in double-figures and finished with 20 points and seven dimes. Philadelphia 76ers 2013 second round draft choice Arslam Kazemi added six points and four rebounds for Iran.
Serbia (2-1) plays an important game against Brazil on Sept. 3, while someone will get its first World Cup victory as Iraq and Egypt (0-3) battle.


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That hour-glass-backed,
heavy-headed will, . . .
That hour-glass-backed,
heavy-headed will, . . .
I walk the purple carpet into your eye
carrying the silver butter server
but a truck rumbles by, . . .
Now you hear what the house has to say.
Pipes clanking, water running in the dark,
the mortgaged walls shifting in discomfort, . . .
Thin are the night-skirts left behind
By daybreak hours that onward creep,
And thin, alas! the shred of sleep . . .
When I have baked white cakes
And grated green almonds to spread upon them;
When I have picked the green crowns from the strawberries . . .
Such a book must contain—
it always does!—a disclaimer.
I make no such. For here . . .
Piping down the valleys wild
Piping songs of pleasant glee
On a cloud I saw a child. . . .
Inventing a horse is not easy.
One must not only think of the horse.
One must dig fence posts around him.
One must include a place where horses like to live; . . .
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be . . .
Come when the nights are bright with stars
Or come when the moon is mellow;
Come when the sun his golden bars . . .


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The stubborn stratus cloud layer, that's limited sun the past few days, is not as prevalent today. As a result temperatures are warming faster, and already over the average high (70°) for this time of year.
Visible satellite imagery shows partial cloud cover central Indiana.
Isolated rain/storms are possible…and "locally" heavy rain can't be ruled out due to a juicy atmosphere.
Temperatures will peak in the lower 80s bewteen 3pm-5pm.


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Emotionally Distant Relationships: What's the Payoff?
There's a great movie called "Roger Dodger" in which the main character, played by the wonderfully offbeat Campbell Scott, spends most of his screen time spouting cynical, somewhat misogynistic beliefs about women and relationships. One of his lines, speaking to a pretty young girl about her boyfriend problems, is "It's the emotional distance that counts, right?" As dark as that sounds, it contains a powerful truth. It's a succinct summary of the "nice guys finish last," "women want men who treat them badly," "why can't I find someone who loves me for me," "why am I attracted to jerks" sort of complaints in the relationship world.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that emotional distance is the norm, but Roger was on to an important idea, certainly one worth considering if you have any of these chronically misery-causing issues recurring chronically in your life. There are some specific things to look at, and they are not the sociological reasons that there are no good men—or women—anymore. The reasons are inside you, and if you want to remedy this situation, that's where you must look to find out what the payoff of emotionally distant relationships really is.
First of all, what is an emotionally distant relationship? It can take myriad forms, but it is basically a relationship that should be intimate but isn't. For whatever reason, you don't feel completely comfortable with your partner, you don't feel completely safe, there are impenetrable barriers between you, and you're not getting what you want. You're not happy. Or at least, you're not happy most of the time. Occasionally, you feel alive when you have a moment of connection or you've evoked some strong reaction, and these moments can keep you hanging around for a long, long time: sure, neither of you are happy, but you don't know how to do it any differently, so you stay in this pattern ad infinitum. If you do break out of the relationship, but don't address the reasons for the pattern, you are destined to repeat it. It's like your subconscious does the interviewing, and will only allow the space to be filled by somebody with the same emotionally distant characteristics.
Why? Why do we pick people who don't make us happy, who we don't feel close to, who we don't feel safe with? Then do it again, and yet again? While everybody has different patterns and specifics, I think the underlying reasons break down into some combination of the following categories:
- It's safe
- It satisfies different wants than intimacy
- It's easier, and thus more common
- It re-creates an unresolved childhood issue.
Let's discuss each of these.
It's Safe
Even if you don't feel "safe" with a person in the sense of being yourself and not being judged, there is a different kind of safety involved here, and that is the safety of not having to risk too much of yourself. If you're with someone who doesn't demand a high level of emotional involvement, then you're never at risk of being vulnerable. It's like an emotional airbag, constantly employed, cushioning you from the harsh reality of emotional injury. Often you hear about people who have a bad breakup and then get married to the next person they hook up with, maybe just a few months later. This is often about this kind of safe. Having been badly hurt, they decide that they never want to feel that kind of pain again, so they pick someone who will never be able to stir strong feelings. These relationships aren't the worst kind of emotional distance, as there's usually no nastiness or abuse, just two shut down people who've settled for each other in implicit agreement to never demand too much. It's bland, but it's workable.
It Satisfies Different Wants than Intimacy
While "safe" also fits here, this category covers a lot more ground than that. People can pick their partners for many different reasons than love. Sometimes, they don't want to be alone. Other times, they need to have a partner for career advancement (married men are promoted faster than single men, and ambitious people know this). Or wealth is important, so they marry somebody rich. Or they can't see past a big fancy wedding. Or they think their family will approve, or it's just time they got married, or they want to have babies, or they think they'll never find anyone better. Relationships based on any of these reasons usually aren't terrible either: If your reasons for getting into a relationship are only tangentially about your emotions, then a strong emotional attachment just isn't a priority. Again, bland but wholly workable, in an empty sort of way. However, if you start looking for passion on the side, you've proven to yourself that your initial reasons for getting into a relationship weren't very good ones.
It's Easier, Thus More Common
This means simply that there are a lot more people in the world who haven't reached a high level of emotional maturity than who have, just as there are fewer college graduates, fewer people in really good physical condition, fewer people who reach self-actualization, etc. In any endeavor, average is more common than exceptional (that's why it's called average), and emotional development is no exception. Therefore, there are all kinds of emotionally immature people getting into relationships with other emotionally immature people. Emotional immaturity is a virtual guarantee of emotional distance by default: intimacy is not for the timid, the faint of heart, or the naive. If you're still figuring out who you are and what you want, you won't have a lot left over for somebody else. And that's just fine, and as it should be. It's when you try to do a relationship anyway that you get in trouble (and who among us hasn't had this experience once or twice?)
When two emotionally immature people get together, sparks can fly. The emotional distance can take all sorts of awful forms: loud fights, name calling, attacking each other's vulnerable areas, unfaithfulness, as well as the blander varieties of disconnectedness listed above.
If neither person wants a deeper connection, then things might work out. Remember the scene in "Annie Hall" when Alvy is wondering what makes a relationship successful, and asks a couple on the street? The man looks into the camera and says, "I'm completely shallow, and have no opinions on anything." Then the woman smiles and says, "And I'm exactly the same way!" Dark, perhaps, but it speaks accurately to the emotional maturity issue.
It Re-creates an Unresolved Childhood Issue
Now it gets interesting. Much has been written about people marrying their mother or their father, and I think much of it is true. Deeply rooted impulses in our subconscious make this almost an inevitability. Many of our ideas about relationships—as well as most other personality traits—are shaped by the time we're six years old. The best we can do is to be aware of them.
It's not always a bad thing. If we had kind, loving parents who we felt close to and safe with, then we are likely to seek out kind, loving partners. However, if we had emotionally distant parents, particularly our opposite sex parent, then we grew up with a gaping hole where love and intimacy should have been. Since a child does not have the intellectual or emotional maturity to deal with the overwhelming feelings caused by such a lack, she tends to repress them. She quickly learns to grab any morsel of kindness, love, or support thrown her way and rationalize away the rest. It's actually a healthy way for a child to deal with scary emotions, because she literally has no other way; emotionally distant parents is a problem she cannot solve. But she learns two powerful lessons that fuel her subconscious relationship impulses and control her behavior for the rest of her life, or until she decides to face the painful—and painful it is—truth. One, she learns that lying to herself is an effective way to deal with emotional distance. Two, she learns that love is connected to performance, and that if she can get the performance right, she can earn someone's love.
Both of these are, of course, tragically false. Lying to yourself about how someone is treating you creates all sorts of awful situations. Physical abuse. Emotional abuse. Addiction. Prostitution. Sexual compulsion. You hang on, convincing yourself that it's "good enough" or that "he's hurting and I can fix him" or that "I don't deserve anything better," or that "it's better than being alone." The truth is that no one deserves to be treated badly, there is no reason or excuse that could ever make it okay, and that someone who says he loves you yet treats you badly is a cruel, emotionally immature, person. There is no hope of ever being happy with someone like this, period. He may change, but it won't be because of you or for you. The sooner you accept that fundamental truth about human nature, the better off you will be.
When love is connected to performance, you have a sense of wanting to "fix" someone. You tend to pick "fixer uppers," people who aren't quite what you want, but could be if you can find the right combination of behaviors to make them how you want them (that is, to give you the love you want). Generally these partners are emotionally distant in ways similar (if not identical) to your opposite sex parent, and the "fixer upper" is really you; if you can perform just right, then you will earn the person's love. There are so many glaring omissions of logic about this idea, I'm not sure they need to be pointed out. And yet, so many of us engage in this behavior. That's how needy our emotionally distant parents left us—we know on some level that what we're doing is an ineffective way to feel loved, but our deeply-rooted impulses push us down that path anyway, and we follow willingly.
Love tied to performance is not love. If you have to be a certain way to get your loved one's approval, then you are in an emotionally distant relationship. This dynamic usually results in a dance of power and control, where one partner seeks approval and the other gives it when it's beneficial for him to do so. Like the emotionally distant parent, he controls his partner's behavior by giving or withholding his affection/approval/support.
People can stay in unsatisfying and even abusive relationships, and relationship patterns, for a long time, never really dealing with their unmet needs for closeness and connection. Why? The reason is amazingly simple: it's too painful to deal with having been unloved as a child. Most people would rather believe that their parents loved them, that they got what they needed from them, and that they're getting what they need from their partners (or, that they have bad relationships because there are no good prospective partners) than face the ugly truth. However, the divorce rate, the infidelity rate, and the addiction rate in our society all say differently.
A Distance of Our Own
There is the final piece to all of this and it's the most hopeful, but also the most difficult to look at: our own need for emotional distance. Thus far, I've been talking only about emotionally distant partners, but if we get into emotionally distant relationships, then we, too, are emotional distancers. We pick jerks, abusers, alcoholics, and all other types of emotionally distant people because we know subconsciously that we'll never have to get too close. The emotional distance itself is the payoff for us. So powerful is this drive, we are willing to put up with all manner of poor treatment to avoid intimacy. It's the skewed way we protect ourselves when we learn very young that being vulnerable is painful and dangerous.
The problem is not with our partner. It's with us. Exclusively. Completely. Irrevocably. And without exception.
This is terrific news! It means we can do something about it. We can't make other people change, and we can't change our childhoods, but we can change ourselves and we can start this very moment if we want to. The big feelings we've been avoiding for a lifetime can make it seem more complicated than that, but it's really not. It's also all we really have, but it is enough.
I have come to these conclusions through personal experiences, which, although anecdotal, I believe express a common struggle. I worked hard for many years to come to terms with my emotional issues. After years of therapy, self-help books, bodywork, support groups galore, antidepressants, and gallons of healing tears, I reached a simple, rather elegant awareness: that when all is said and done, all my self-destructive, addictive, shame-based, dishonest, unproductive, and emotionally distant behavior was about dealing with (or rather, avoiding) my grief. Those of us who grew up with parents who weren't very good at loving us have a deep, heavy grief underlying everything we do until we come to terms with it. It's not a grief that ever goes away; it will be with me for my lifetime, but accepting this sort of took away its power. It can no longer hurt me or control me. This big, scary, powerful lion that I spent the first third of my life avoiding, with irrational urgency and terror, turned out to be a lamb, a bleating baby that, in reality, had no power at all. It just needed love like everything else. Less than two years after I accepted my grief and all the residue that came with it, I got into the first loving, mutually supportive relationship I'd ever had. This was no coincidence.
Emotional distance is a deceptive weapon. While it may protect us from emotional pain, it also prevents emotional fulfillment. In the end, you can only be honest with yourself about which is more important to you, and make your choices accordingly.
Categorised as: Relationships, Shadow


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Tonight I am setting up for Fireside 2012. Fireside is an acoustic show and its going to be awesome. Every year the Sisters of Sigma Alpha Iota put on this show. The brothers of Phi Mu Alpha run sound for the show. Lots of people come to this show and it's a great opportunity for people to come.
It is one of my favorite events on campus and it has brought me a lot of great memories. My sophomore year a friend of mine and I closed the show. It was awesome and overall just a ton of fun. Its something I will cherish forever.