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Vermont Slumber Socks
Vermont-Made Fleece Slumber Socks Keep Toes Toasty All Night Long
Vermont Slumber Socks
Vermont-Made Fleece Slumber Socks Keep Toes Toasty All Night Long
Say good-bye to cold toes and hello to our cozy slumber socks. Made from lightweight polyester fleece, these loose-fitting bed socks keep feet warm from the tips of your toes to the tops of your ankles. Perfect for cool nights. We have added nonskid snowflake "grippies" to the soles, so you can wear these socks as slippers, too. Made in the USA of Canadian fleece.
- Lightweight polyester fleece—soft as a kitten
- With non-skid soles to wear as slippers
- Made in the USA
- Available in 6 colors
Rated 4.2 out of 5Â by 13 reviewers.
Rated 3 out of 5Â by Aunt Jane Well-Made! I love these Slumber Socks. The only reason I didn't give them a 5-star rating is the sizes offered. The smaller size is too small for me and the larger size is too large. Why not offer a size in-between the two? October 12, 2016
Rated 2 out of 5Â by Irishwoman Slumber Socks I recently purchased a pair of slumber socks and was disappointed with the quality of the socks. I expected a pair with a bit of a stronger structure than these socks appear to have. I expected more of a slipper sock. I realize that these socks are to keep your feet warm and not to take the place of a slipper but they actually reminded me of hospital socks except for the color. Hospital ones are usually grey! Sincerely, Nancy Koecki March 2, 2016
Rated 5 out of 5Â by Caribbean Queen Mom says these are mandatory My mother says her feet are ice cold at night. She used to use microwavable sock inserts every night. I had a feeling these might work for her, based on their description and the reviews. She says these are usually enough, although on very chilly nights she wears the microwavables over them. She says these are mandatory in her life now. January 28, 2016
Rated 5 out of 5Â by bguff Hard to find item I was so glad to find these warm slumber socks. They are exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for sending them so promptly-just in time for cooler nights! September 25, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5Â by Kathy B Slumber Socks I bought 3 slumber socks because the floor at nursing home was cold all the times, the socks keeps me so warm when I was in bed and walk to the bathroom. I didn't know about that when I was looking for that socks at your cat log so I bought one the first time to see if I like it or not so I loved it so I bought 2 more socks. I wanted to say thanks for let me order those slumber socks and a gown and soon I will look for more things. March 23, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5Â by Sparrowz Grandma D loved these! She is 80+ years young with some mobility problems. It is hard for her to sleep with cold feet, but harder still to get up in the middle of the night with slippery socks. These filled a need for her. Thanks January 5, 2015
Rated 4 out of 5Â by Old Mama Just one thing could make these better I love these warm socks and have worn an older pair for more than a year. The non-skid sole feature is good enough to keep you from slipping without feeling like knobs under your feet (like those hospital socks !). The only thing I would like is to have them a little higher on the ankle, so that when you sit down to watch tv you don't have that little strip of bare skin feeling cold! December 29, 2014
Rated 5 out of 5Â by Tuck's Mom Gift I am hoping these slipper socks fit as good as they look. My 97 and 98 year old in laws are always cold even in Florida. Slippers and shoes are too heavy so these look like the perfect compromise. December 17, 2014


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Dog's Vomit in the North Campus!
Why would I write about finding dog's vomit in the North Campus? Because it is, contrary to what you might think, an awesome type of fungus, a slime mold!
Slime molds are a type of non-gilled fungi that often appear on mulch. What I find really interesting about them is their unique lifecycle! Most of their lives, slime molds are hidden in rotten logs or buried in leaf litter. However, when it's time to reproduce, they have to move to an appropriate site for spore dispersal. To do this they propel themselves over considerable distances (well considerable for a fungus), up to three feet for Fulgio septica, aka dog's vomit. Unfortunately, this usually happens at night when it is cool and moist, so I've never seen it happen in person. Watch out for a time-lapse video if I can convince Sam Easterson to spend a night in the North Campus.
Here are some images of the...

subset: commoncrawl


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Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management (SHERM) Department
Director, Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management: Stephanie Kibbee, email@example.com, ext. 2874
Other Contacts:
Waterloo: WSIB/Safety Programs Officer: Donna Kubica, email@example.com, ext. 2875
Brantford: EOHS Advisor: Jessica Berrigan, firstname.lastname@example.com, ext. 5469
Website: www.wlu.ca/sherm
Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management (SHERM) is mandated to support the university's strategic goals, innovation and excellence. This is achieved by integrating health, safety and environment into the university's culture and by guiding the community in achieving due diligence.
The team's role is to:
1. Develop, promote and implement best practices in loss prevention, mitigation and operational risk management.
2. Manage the university's overall health and safety program with the goal of preventing occupational injuries and illness and provide a safe and healthy work and educational environment for all of its employees, students and visitors.
3. Develop and implement programs and procedures to meet all of the requirements, duties, and standards set by the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Regulations for Industrial Establishments, and the Environmental Protection Act. A complete listing of all international, federal, provincial, municipal legislation and CSA Standards applicable to Laurier is available for further information.
Academic & Related Dates 2012/2013
Other Calendars


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This is when my numerous projects come into play. My grown daughter gets frustrated with me (quite frequently) because I am not more like her and uber-reactionary. She feels like nothing ever gets to me.
Those of you who know me well know that is most definitely not the case. She was upset because I didn't "ooh and ahh" over a gift I had received at one point, but I am not "gift-oriented," and I try to explain that to her. She is "gift-oriented," and I am "time-oriented." I know how valuable time is for people and when they give of their time for me then I am moved.
Now, it also depends on a lot of other aspects of my relationship with them. If I have hired them to do something for me, then I expect them to give of their time (I know, silly me.)
When my son, daughter, or their significant others come in to help me out with heavy work or their siblings, it means the world to me. They have their own households, work schedules, and friendships to maintain, so when they step up to help me out, it is at a sacrifice for them.
Don't get me wrong, they like to help, but I don't like to ask. What does get under my skin and irritates me endlessly is when I am promised or even offered something and it doesn't come through in a time frame I am expecting. Sometimes, I think to ask, "So, when is this going to happen?"
Other times, I just take in the offer with the expectation that it will happen sooner than the "offerer" meant it. My delayed personal Christmas is agonizingly painful.
I know that life happens, but my inner child is feeling insignificant when people do not follow through in my time frame. I feel neglected and like I don't matter. Then I steer clear of those people and I pretend it doesn't matter in the least. They become "someone that I used to know," because I can't possibly explain my childish thinking.
I know they have their reasons, and life happens and I would forgive them only to be disappointed again by their human-ness. My self-preservation kicks in and I withdraw.
Now, aren't you thankful I don't speak my mind in person? There is a reason I am outwardly reserved.
Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Unchanging, and Eternal, God waits for each of us. The gift-giving of His Son for our sins has already happened (John 3:16, we know this one).
I am humbled by such a sacrifice. I can't imagine being so humiliated for people who just didn't care. Then I think on how God waits for each of us to acknowledge what He has done for us and accept it. Once that is accomplished, He waits for us to get around to seeking Him daily. We act like it is nothing sometimes.
Yet, every time we act like an independent 2-year-old with the "I do it myself" attitude, we are breaking His heart. He wants to be involved in the simplest to the deepest parts of our lives.
I have been walking around here for days saying, "God, you know how I am! Forgive me. I have significance because of You. I am relevant because of You. I matter because of You. I am here at this point because You have a master plan for my life. Thank You for whatever lies ahead."
And I don't think poorly of myself, I just expect people to honor their word (within my time frame and I know they have no idea what they have done or not done!)
God knows, too, that we are ignorant of how often and how deeply we hurt Him.
Then I am reminded of Luke 23:34, "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' "
Forgive me for thinking this is all about me. Help me look past me and find the joy in You, God, and shake off the childish behavior. Thank You again, Alpha and Omega, for loving me as I am.


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Lori Matthews had heard it once before: the unmistakable sound of a mother who had just lost her baby.
"I've heard the wailing sound one time and knew immediately what it was. I knew because that sound was now coming out of me," recalled Matthews, the day her six-month-old son became limp in her arms.


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"I love the 'Open Forum for Non-Catholics' shows. I have learned so much from these programs, and they've helped me to not be caught off-guard when I'm called to answer friends, family members, and co-workers who question the teachings and doctrines of the Church."
Subscribe to Catholic Answers Magazine
"God pardon you and make a Paul of your Saul. I heartily forgive you."


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I am so lost, I could really use some advice and encouragement.
BF has been a terrible experience, and yet I still don't want to quit trying. I dream of having a successful BF
relationship with my dd, my first child, and envy all of you who have made it there. We have had a really hard
time learning to get a good latch, so my nipples have suffered. In fact, when I went to see my OB, she said they
were the worst she had ever seen and was surprised that I was able to continue feeding through the pain! I've also
developed mastitis and had two yeast infections. I was advised to switch to pumping and feeding EBM "for a while."
My LC and the pedi NP both said to keep BF because I would heal faster, so I've been switching back & forth,
depending on which expert I've heard from my recently. The result has been a disaster.
Right now I am pumping again, and while my nipples look much better they still have scabs that come off every time
I get ready to pump, so i still am bleeding. I'm pumping 8 or more times per day, so I wonder if they can heal
under those conditions. I went back to pumping at DH's request, because he was worried about me becoming depressed
because of the hard time dd & I were having when I went back to BF. The little darling would squirm in my arms
making positioning a long, difficult process. When I got her in place, she wouldn't open her mouth - she just made
sucking movements. I ended up opening her mouth with my index finger or waiting until she screamed. Once on the
breast, she would continue to cry and squirm as if she wanted to get off. When I pulled her away, milk (and blood)
would be flowing, and she'd be giving me frantic hunger cues. So I'd try and try again until we were both a wet,
frustrated crying mess. Poor DH came home in the middle of this and asked me to go back to pumping for a few days
to heal and to figure out what to do. He wants to be supportive but suggsts that I only pump from now on. Even the LC has suggested this may be best for us... but I want to raise my baby BF the way women always have!
In the meanwhile, I am worried about dd's health. She lost almost a pound in her first three days, then only gained
4 ounces in her first two weeks. The ped said to supplement one formula per day and reweigh her at three weeks.
We did, and she gained 8 ounces. Our LC said that we shouldn't give her formula, but DH insisted we listen to the doc. DD also isn't having regular BMs. SHe has one large one every four days. It looks normal (yellow, seedy, soft, painless) so the doc
isn't worried. The LC says it is a sign that dd isn't getting enough food and that we should be working on
improving our BF. She also says to do anal stimulation, but the doc says to let dd's body learn to pass stool
on its own. I don't know who to listen to! DH trusts the doc more because we've seen him and we've never met
the LC. We only talk to the LC on the phone.
I desperately want to BF! So here are my questions:
1. Do I wait for my nipples to heal first, like the OB says? Or BF on injured nipples?
2. When I do try, any tips on controlling dd's squirming? She is too strong for me to control her head with one
finger behind each ear, and she keeps turning away from the breast.
3. How do I get her to open wide? I read that I'm not supposed to open her mouth and I hate trying to latch her
only when she cries.
4. Why would she not feed when I know she is hungry, the nipple is in her mouth and milk is flowing? How do I calm her down and get her to just close her mouth and suck?
5. How do I deal with the guilt of all this? I feel like I am depriving my beautiful dd by not feeding her
exclusively from the breast, like I am a failure for not being able to BF. But I dread each session because for
almost two weeks they haven't worked at all. I cry with every bottle, with every pump, and a lot in between. I even cry in my sleep because I feel so guilty.
Like my screen name says, I am a total wreck.


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Montpelier police log: Circus animal escapesJune 18,2014
The following is a sampling of calls to Montpelier police in recent days.
June 9
A wallet was lost somewhere in the city.
An iPhone and iPad were found in front of City Hall and returned to their owner.
On Berlin Street, a cat was reportedly hit by a vehicle.
June 10
A vehicle was repossessed on North Street.
Disorderly behavior was reported on Main Street.
Black-framed glasses were lost on Main Street.
June 11
An animal that was part of a circus at the Civic Center was on the loose.
On Greenwood Terrace, a dog was loose.
Property was lost or found on Main Street.
There was an animal problem on Elm Street.
A ring was lost somewhere in the city.
June 12
A dog was loose on Cross Street.
On River Street, a vehicle was pulled over for having defective equipment.
June 13
A license plate was stolen somewhere in the city.
A two-vehicle crash occurred on Berlin Street around 3:45 p.m. A minor injury was reported.
On Ledgewood Terrace, a dog was loose.
A wallet was lost on Main Street.
June 14
A pillow with a foul odor was left in front of City Hall.
Property was lost or found somewhere in the city.
Property was found at the intersection of College and Liberty streets.
Someone threw a smoke bomb onto a porch on Court Street.
June 15
Property was lost or found somewhere in the city.
A license plate was found somewhere in the city.
On Hebert Road, a suspicious male was looking in windows.MORE IN This Just InMONTPELIER A new report from a commission that studied the cost, availability and quality of... Full StoryVermont fish hatchery changes focus, looks inland
BETHEL, Vt. Full StoryHONOLULU (AP) A group of Hawaii musicians and a Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant provided... Full Story
- Most Popular
- Most Emailed


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Escorted Tours of Italy
Some travelers prefer to leave the planning to the experts. That's why our escorted tours of Italy are so popular! Tour Italy Now offers a variety of Italy vacation packages designed for those who enjoy fun and informative tours led by experienced guides who know the country inside and out. These outstanding guided tours of Italy allow guests to travel in style with no worry about what's next on the itinerary.
Our escorted Italy vacation packages cover literally every corner of the country, including major cities such as Rome, Florence, Venice, and Milan and small countryside locations like those found in Tuscany or Umbria. Our escorted tours will take you to the magnificent Amalfi Coast, historic Pisa, scenic Lake Como, the Isle of Capri, mysterious Pompeii, the fascinating islands of Sicily and Sardinia, and all those other places you've dreamed of visiting on your dream Italy vacation. more >>
Let us take you on an unforgettable guided tour of Italy
Travel professionals rank our escorted tours of Italy, including our vacation packages in Rome and Venice, among the best available. That's because our experienced travel organizers and guides know all there is to know about this historic, adventurous, and romantic country, considered to be one of the finest and most popular travel destinations of the 21st century.
Consider, for example, a vacation in Florence, enjoyed by those who love arts and culture. In Florence, you will experience the city's finest attractions, including the Piazza del Duomo and the magnificent Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, where visitors can view Michelangelo's famed statue David. Combine these sites with plenty of leisure time to taste the city's fine food and meet its eclectic citizens. Add a personable guide who keeps you informed and entertained, and your guided tour of Italy will be perfect!
5 Day Specialty Tours to two week travel packages – the choice is yours
Our Italy vacation packages come in all shapes and sizes, from our short 5-day escorted tours to fantastic two-week-long Italian tour packages that provide the opportunity to explore all the highlights of this amazing country. At Tour Italy Now, our escorted tours also fit a variety of budgets, so you can tour Italy in style without breaking the bank. << hide
Classic Italy Tour
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Tours Start from $1965… Travel the length of the country and discover the most beautiful and intriguing locations in Italy! Call today and talk to us about your dream trip to Italy!LEARN MORE»
Classic Italy Rome to Venice
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Tours start from $1660… Follow the footsteps of ancient Romans as you travel through Italy from the Eternal City to the magic of the Venetian canals! Book now.LEARN MORE»
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Sicilian Adventure Tour
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Tours start from $1626… Spend 7 days and 6 nights exploring some of Italy's most beautiful cities and sites at the southern part of Italy.LEARN MORE»
Rome to Amalfi Coast
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Tours start from $1425… Experience the breathtaking beauty of the Amalfi Coast. All of the most famous Seaside destinations in Italy are on your itinerary. Book today!LEARN MORE»
Mini-Italian Adventure
5 Day Tour
Tours starting from $710… One of our most popular Italy vacation packages. Starts and finishes in Rome taking you on a 5 Day whirlwind discovery, including Tuscany and Venice!LEARN MORE»
Ultimate Italy Tour
18 Day Tour
Tours start from $3750… A balanced blend of sightseeing, guided touring, and time for leisure. All wrapped up in one neat little package – Italy!


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RainScapes Neighborhoods
A RainScapes Neighborhood is a community that the County determined was in need of more intensive stormwater control projects. The County works with local residents to implement stormwater management projects on private and public land.
A RainScape Neighborhood is determined by:
For more information and resources on the RainScapes program please click here.
Where are the RainScapes Neighborhoods?
Search for your address to see if your property is within a designated RainScapes Neighborhood area. If your property falls within a shaded area on the map, you might be eligible to participate in the RainScapes Neighborhoods program. If it does not, go to the RainScapes Rewards Rebates page to learn how you can participate in the Program.
(Please click on the arrows in the top left corner to view legend) Can't view the map? Contact us at email@example.com
Targeted Neighborhoods in Montgomery County
How to Participate
When DEP selects a neighborhood to participate in the program, DEP conducts an inventory of potential project opportunities and limitations. The next step is to hold workshops and training events to help residents understand how various projects work. Projects such as rain gardens, conservation landscaping, rain barrels and cisterns, dry wells and tree planting are explained and then may be offered to be installed on properties that qualify, based on our assessment. For those properties not eligible for full installation, RainScapes can be a retrofit via the RainScapes Rewards Rebates program.
Property owners who wish to participate in the program sign an agreement with the County to maintain all projects.
If you are in a RainScape neighborhood and wish to participate in the program, please email RainScapes.
DEP will monitor the level of participation and the amount of runoff reduction that can be achieved within small drainage areas in these neighborhoods with a combination of flow monitoring equipment, follow-up surveys, and site visits after projects are installed.
Local Watershed Organizations
DEP encourages local watershed organizations to lead stewardship efforts in their community. DEP will partner with local nonprofits to reach as many citizens as possible within RainScapes neighborhoods and to provide opportunities for new neighborhoods to join the program.
Participating organizations will receive technical assistance and supplies from DEP for project installation. DEP is currently working with the Friends of Sligo Creek in several neighborhoods and they expect to expand the effort in the Rock Creek watershed with the help of the Friends of Rock Creek's Environment group. If you interested in learning more about RainScapes Neighborhoods,and partnerships, please email RainScapes.
How does a Community Qualify as a RainScapes Neighborhood?
RainScapes Neighborhoods are determined by DEP based on watershed conditions, local community support, existing/ongoing infrastructure improvements in the neighborhood, and other landscape factors.
The geographic locations of current RainScapes Neighborhoods are primarily in more populated watershed regions of the County including Rock Creek, the Anacostia River drainages (Sligo Creek, Northwest Branch, and Paint and Little Paint Branch), and selected watersheds that drain directly to the Potomac River.
Projects which are in the targeted neighborhood but not on a targeted property may apply for a Rainscapes Rewards Rebates.
Goals and Methods
The County has set a goal that a minimum of 30 percent of the properties in a RainScapes Neighborhood will have some form of stormwater control project. The purpose of this goal is to achieve a measurable reduction in stormwater runoff.
With a measurable implementation approach, RainScapes in these neighborhoods will have a greater combined impact, resulting in clean, healthy local streams while adding value through attractive landscaping throughout the community.
We encourage every resident in the neighborhood to select an appropriate RainScapes technique to install, or take other easy steps to reduce stormwater pollution from their yard.


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The Taiwanese airline EVA Air, which already flies five Hello Kitty-themed planes in Asia, is adding thrice-weekly flights from Taipei to Los Angeles starting Sept. 18, bringing what's called the world's cutest plane to the U.S.
On the current planes, a huge version of the garish cartoon feline perches on the fuselage in the company of other imaginary animal friends.
But it doesn't stop there. On the inside, more than 100 in-flight items bear the Hello Kitty motif, including headrest covers, baggage tags, tissues, utensils, snacks and soap dispensers.
And when you're not blowing your nose on Hello Kitty or tearing her in two to get at some peanuts, flight attendants wearing Hello Kitty aprons will sell you limited edition duty-free goods branded with the cutesy animal.
You can't even escape Hello Kitty in the bathroom, where soap and lotion bottles are emblazoned with the feline.
Seats in the B777 aircraft come with Hello Kitty seat coverings. Want a pillow? It's Hello Kitty-themed too.
Even the meals have a Hello Kitty flavor, as seen here.
Kids meals get extra special Hello Kitty treatment.
And the flight attendants wear special uniforms when serving up your food.
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Please confirm or modify the email address to which you will have subscription offers sent.
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Ever wondered what goes on inside the big stone building at Lincoln and Ellet in West Mt. Airy? Join us for Germantown Jewish Centre's SUMMER SAMPLER. Wednesday, August 7 at 7 pm. An evening of Jewish community, arts, music, study & dessert that will give you a taste of what happens here throughout the year!
215.844.1507 x19 or [email protected] [3] for more information.
RSVPs appreciated.


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Police Chief Gerald Arismendez said the operation broke a human smuggling ring that was using Mathis as a staging area. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol were also involved.
"In the past, Mathis has been used as a place for illegal activities; people thought they could get away with it," Arismendez said. "Now, we're trying to send the message that criminals can't come to Mathis...if you do, you're gonna get caught."
Arismendez said the ring would leave cars parked at the Texas Star truck stop overnight, while the drivers spent the night in a local motel. Illegals were hiding out in the brush outside the city limits with "brush guides" to assist them in meeting the vehicles.
Drivers began arriving in the late afternoon, around 5 p.m., with several moving vehicles to the gas pumps for fueling before heading out.
As the drivers began to arrive, officers were waiting at the scene. After all of them were on the property, police moved in and apprehended 10 individuals, including two females and seized eight vehicles.
"This was Phase 1," Arismendez said. "We wanted to get everybody and their vehicles without involving an bystanders."
Four of the drivers ran into the Texas Star convenience store, but they were identified and taken into custody without incident.
Phase 2 involved rounding up the illegals waiting in the brush. For this phase, the operation utilized the Border Patrol helicopter, which is equipped with FLIR (thermal) imaging. Officers waited until after dark, when the sweltering July temperature had started to cool down, which allowed for better performance of the FLIR system.
After locating the bulk of the reported 60 illegals, officers approached the area in the seized vehicles, honking the horns to signal for them to come out of the brush and load up.
As they emerged from the brush and headed for the vehicles, officers closed in and apprehended 49 persons, 39 adults and 10 children.
All of them were taken into custody by the Border Patrol.
"It was a big success all the way around," Arismendez said. "We got the vehicles, the smugglers and the illegals. These kinds of operations are also good for establishing and cultivating relationships with different federal agencies."
"We want to bring credibility and confidence in this department back within the law enforcement community," he added.
Officers used the Mathis PD as a staging area, to set up prior to the operation and again that night as they waited for the Border Patrol to transport the illegals.
"We wanted to do this without incident," Arismendez said. "That was the key."


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Makes about 8 servings
This stunning presentation of glistening vegetables is great on the buffet. Immediately after roasting, arrange the hot vegetables on a platter. Add olives and jarred marinated artichoke hearts, if you like. Serve the sauce in a bowl on the side, a basket of sliced French bread, and provide plates and forks. Or, if you prefer, serve the vegetables as a lovely side dish for one of your holiday meals.
For the vegetables
¼ cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Pinch of salt
8 trimmed medium-thick asparagus spears
½ eggplant, peeled and cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into ½-inch-wide strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide lengthwise strips
1 zucchini, halved horizontally, each half cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
½ red onion, cut into ½-inch-thick wedges
For the sauce
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon capers, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ½ teaspoon dried thyme


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Sherry & almond Christmas cake
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
Nutrition: per serving with icing and marzipan
- kcal1079
- fat54g
- saturates15g
- carbs137g
- sugars126g
- fibre0g
- protein19g
- salt0.6g
- 1kg bag mixed dried fruit (not one with cherries)
- zest and juice 2 large oranges
One of the best-known citrus fruits, oranges aren't necessarily orange - some varieties are…
- 150ml PX (Pedro Ximenez) sherry, plus extra for feeding
- 250g pack butter, softened, plus extra for the tin
Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…
- 250g light muscovado sugar
- seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod
- 140g plain flour
- 100g ground almond
Almondarr-mund or al-mund
Sweet almonds have a subtle fragrance that lends itself well to baking and also works well with…
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- 4 large egg, beaten
The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…
- 140g whole almond
Almondarr-mund or al-mund
Sweet almonds have a subtle fragrance that lends itself well to baking and also works well with…
Mix the fruit, zest, juice and sherry, and leave overnight to soak. Next day, heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and double-line a deep, 20cm round cake tin. Wrap the outside with brown paper or newspaper and secure with string, as this will protect the sides from overcooking.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla seeds together until pale and creamy. Mix the flour, ground almonds and mixed spice together, then tip into the butter mix with the eggs. Beat until combined and smooth. Stir in the whole almonds, fruit and any leftover juices, turn into the tin, then smooth the top and make a dip in the middle. Bake for 1½ hrs.
Turn down the oven to 140C/fan 130C/ gas 2, then bake for 1½ hrs more until dark on the top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, or with a few damp crumbs clinging to it. Once cool enough to handle, turn onto a cooling rack and peel away the lining paper. Cool completely.
Keep the cake well wrapped, then feed once a fortnight with 1-2 tbsp sherry. Poke holes into the cake with a skewer and slowly spoon over the sherry. If you don't have time to do this, this cake is delicious freshly made, and can be covered and decorated as soon as it has completely cooled down.
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Comments, questions and tips
Comments (32)
Brilliant recipe for Christmas cake. I made this for the family at Christmas time and they loved it! I didn't add almonds as hubby is not keen on those and used brandy to feed the cake instead of sherry. This was my first attempt at Christmas cake and I couldn't have been more happy with the results. Thanks for a great recipe! :-)
Made this cake for Christmas, but used gran marnier not sherry instead. it took less time to cook than recipe stated (only took 2 hours total, not 3 hours as suggested), but that may have been as I used a square tin and not a round one as did not have one bigger enough! Cake uses a lot of fruit and so not the cheapest ! Also used unsalted butter and vanilla essence instead of vanilla pod. 4 medium eggs were sufficient too with all the orange juice! Also did not use whole almonds, but flaked ones instead!Fed cake only a couple of times as plenty of alcohol in it! Tasted delicious, though very heavy! A little goes a long way, but was moist and not dry at all!
I wont be making this recipe again. I will use the PX and almonds (I add essence too) but use the basis of another as its far too flakey and ends up a mess on the plate. It seems to have many faults as I have listed before - tin size too small, soggy etc. The taste is good but will devise my own next year.
I first made this cake for Christmas 2 years ago when it was first in Good Food and I must admit it was so lovely that I will be making it again this year. The PX sherry makes it so moist and has a real 'raisiny' flavour so compliments the cake amazingly. I use the orange marzipan to cover it that was also in the same magazine a couple of years ago. Highly recommended!
Its the 3rd year I've made this cake and after a few disasters as mentioned I think I have perfected it. First of all roughly chop the almonds as this make it easier to cut. If using a 20cm tin bake for 4hrs. But I think this size tin is far to small as mine rises well above the tin so I think 22cm is better as I'll have to trim this down as far too high! Cover the top with foil too as the top can burn and that tastes awful. Will be making mini cakes too from this receipe. This is one of the nicest christmas cakes I've tasted as it doesnt have that over rich black fruit that blows you down.
I baked this cake a few weeks ago and it looks as though it will be delicious! I did use PX sherry in the end (it was cheaper than I had originally thought) and I found this in Sainsburys. The cake took closer to 3 and a half hours to bake, even though I have a very cook electric oven, and I had to cover with foil not long after cooking to stop the top from burning. It smells wonderful and is staying very moist - I have wrapped it in cling film and put it in tupperware. I fed with extra PX sherry at the weekend so hopefully it will be very tasty. It looks fiddly at first but the recipe is actually quite simple and I am excited to have made my first Christmas cake! Will rate when I've tasted it.
Last year I made this cake and it came out perfect - this year although it was in for 4 and a half hours it still seems quite soggy and when it came out of the tin it started to collapse.
I have a fan oven which I think cooks a little cool so perhaps that could be the issue looking at the note from Welsh Lass on 8th Oct 09.
I am considering cutting in and seeing how it is, if it is ok then by the time it is wrapped in marzipan and icing nobody will know better but dreading it not being right - if not anybody got any ideas what I might be able to do with it rather than waste it?
Its the second year I have made this and once again the centre is very soggy. I found last year it started to fall apart when cutting.
This year I tried testing with scewer and came out fine, left in oven overnight to cool but just taken the top off and noticed it just itsnt going to keep firm once the slices are taken out.
I am wondering if soaking the fruit makes it too moist and impossible to set. I am contemplating making again as it is a lovely cake but with less sherry???
I'm so disappointed but cant face relatives laughing over the cake colaspse.
I was using an electric fan oven which is new.
I tried this cake as a base for my first ever attempt at marzipan & fondant covered/ decorated cake. Everyone loved the taste of the cake but ifound it very difficult to cut/slice at room temperature due to the full almonds and possible because the whitworths mix i used had almost all raisins/sultanas etc and hardly any glaced fruit. Will be trying it again with a more balanced mix, chopped almonds. I have to add that once refrigerated for about 4 ¬5 hours i managed to shape a rectangular cake into a cross shape quite easily.
Having now eaten all of this cake, I have to say it was lovely! Really moist and tasty, and it lasted a long time as well. I fed it regularly with sherry which probably helped with the flavours and the moistness. Everyone who tried some really liked the cake - will consider making it again next year!
Questions (2)
I made this christmas cake last year from the magazine, it stated somewhere on the recipe tips that I could microwave the fruit, sherry and orange juice rather than letting it stand overnight. I can't find this information anywhere now, the cake was amazing especially as it was my first attempt at a fruit cake. If anybody has this information could you please let me know how long I should microwave it as I want to repeat what I did last year. Thank you
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text: What's Emerging? A New Story Dave Csinos, the founder and president of the Faith Forward Conference taking place in Nashville May 19-22, is excited by what is emerging in Christian education curricula today. He sees more taking place than just surface changes. New forms are reflecting the revitalization of emerging Christianity and that diversity is [Read More…]


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Temple Brith Achim
Temple Brith Achim, a Reform synagogue affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism, began in 1971 as Brotherhood Temple Brith Achim, when a small group of families established a Jewish presence in the Valley Forge area. They dreamed of a place to worship, to celebrate the holidays and simchas together, to mourn their loved ones, and to teach their children about their heritage and to be comfortable with their Jewishness. They felt a deep love for Judaism and a high regard for its principles and traditions. But they also understood that a religion must be relevant to its people and the ever-changing world they live in.
For the first eleven years, we met at the Valley Forge Presbyterian Church and the Upper Merion Cultural Center, while using other local venues for services and religious school. Then, on September 12, 1982, we dedicated our first "real home" at 481 South Gulph Road, King of Prussia. At that time, we changed our name to "Temple Brith Achim."
With our own building came our first full-time Reform rabbi, Rabbi David Cahn-Lipman, and membership growth so rapid -- especially among families with young children -- that the religious school had to institute double sessions.
In 1986, Rabbi Robert Ourach became our rabbi. In 1987, we expanded the existing building to meet the new programming needs of our rapidly growing and increasingly diverse congregation.
Now we have come to yet another crossroads: We must move forward if we are to stay vital and vibrant. So, supported and encouraged by Rabbi Eric Lazar (who became our rabbi in 2004), we are building a new wing to house the Center for Lifelong Learning and we are making improvements to our existing building.
It's an exciting time for Temple Brith Achim, and we invite you to join us as we continue to explore our Jewish heritage and become the best we can be.


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Paws & Relax
Looking for a fun way to de-stress before finals? Then come to the M.D. Anderson Library to "paws" and relax with some furry friends! The M.D. Anderson Library is partnering with local organization, Faithful Paws, to bring in certified therapy dogs for petting, cuddling, and treat-feeding.
For more information visit http://info.lib.uh.edu/finals-
- Location
- 114 University Libraries M.D. Anderson Library Rooms 106-T & 106- P
- Price
- Free
- Sponsor
- M.D. Anderson Library
- Contact
- Kirsten Feist, email@example.com


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By Shelly Lopez-Gray
With so much focus on patient satisfaction, it's easy to forget about employee satisfaction. Here are 12 ways you can make sure your employees — including nurses — are happy to come to work every day.
1. Say thank you. It sounds easy enough, but you'd be surprised ...
By Bill Thomson
In the last six months, healthcare employers have been asking why it's become more difficult — and why it takes longer — to find talent to join the practice, hospital or faculty.
This chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics gives a snapshot as to where the healthcare ...
Recruiting candidates to fill positions in your organization is never easy. The first step is to write a great job posting, and that can be a challenge. Creating a job post that explains what the job and your hospital or practice are all about requires careful planning.
Need some help? Use ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
November 19, 2014
Five tips on how employers can win back high-quality healthcare employees that got away.
By Angela Rose, HEALTHeCAREERS.com
According to a report released on November 7, the healthcare industry added 25,000 jobs last month—on par with the previous 12-month average gain of 21,000 jobs per ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
October 22, 2014
Consider these tips to help you focus on employee retention and reduce the likelihood of turnover at your healthcare organization.
By Angela Rose, HEALTHeCAREERS.com
In recent years, most healthcare employers have had bigger issues to worry about than potential staff turnover. Solving problems associated with ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
October 22, 2014
Top five healthcare recruiting errors to avoid.
By Angela Rose, HEALTHeCAREERS.com
They may 'play the game' in sterile exam rooms and neatly organized administration areas, but the doctors, nurses, technicians, and assistants who make up your healthcare staff are much like members of an NBA ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
September 17, 2014
Recruiting under the dome
By Peter Weddle for HEALTHeCAREERS.com
The CBS series Under the Dome explores what happens to the people of a small town when they're completely cut off from the rest of the world. It's a tale of endurance and intrigue, ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
September 17, 2014
Three unconventional hiring tips healthcare recruiters need to fill a position.
By Angela Rose for HEALTHeCAREERS.com
Hiring top-notch talent can be difficult in any industry, including healthcare. As demand for preventative and elective services increases, physician practices, hospitals, and health systems of all sizes will ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
September 11, 2014
Five ways healthcare employers can improve their hiring process at this moment.
By Angela Rose for HEALTHeCAREERS.com
A company is only as good as its employees, even in healthcare. You need the right medical assistants, registered nurses, and physicians on your team to maximize profits, ...
Reach and recruit healthcare professionals today!
August 20, 2014
With a variety of sources a candidate can apply to a job posting, tracking down the exact one could be a challenge for healthcare recruiters or HR managers.
By Peter Weddle for HEALTHeCAREERS.com
A director of recruiting for a major employer made a bold statement ...


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Why is it that every time something good for the city happens, its crumbles to the ground before giving it a chance to get started.
Woodsboro will always mound to nothing, because we have too many greedy people in the town. The game rooms in town bring in more revenue to the city than any other business in town. Last year the city got $75,000 from the game room plus other donations. Councilman Larry Jochetz made the motion to charge the game room $5,000 per machine when last year they paid $500 per machine.
This price is ridiculous and still the council voted for it. Who ever plays these machines do so in their own free will, it's their money and they have the right to spend it however they want.
Rev. Arnold and his congregation was there to stop these game rooms from operation. When they close will the Reverend and his followers give the city $75,000 every year like the game rooms used too? All this started because Ms. Hubbard cried wolf and everybody got on her band wagon without proof of her allegation, maybe the flower shop will send the city $75,000 a year. All this came about parking space and any business in town can park anywhere, there has never been a fuss about parking before, but since the game rooms were getting more business than the flower shop she cried wolf.
I think the council is making a big mistake in increasing such a big price per machine, we'll lose a big chunk of revenue if they close, so do right for the city and maybe one day we'll come together, but I wouldn't hold your breathe.


text: I exclusively breastfeed, I don't give her water only my milk. I haven't pumped yet, so it's straight off the boob. She's a little over 5 months and I've been hearing it's time to introduce solids, honestly I'd rather still to boob milk for as long as possible!! Looking for some guidance!! I have a mommy's group on facebook, but my Mom recommended asking on here too.


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Unsupported Browser Detected
The Lenovo Support website supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 10+, Mozilla Firefox 29+, Chrome 34+ and any other modern web browser.
System will not boot from a USB key, even though USB is set in the boot order, the system still boots from the HDD.
|Affected configurations
The above symptom may occur on the following systems:
All Idea Systems with UEFI BIOS
The above symptom may occur under the following operating system:
Microsoft Windows 8
Lenovo machines shipped with Microsoft Windows 8 preloads are configured in UEFI mode. Legacy-based boot media will not boot successfully on Think systems. The following procedure will enable you to create bootable Win 7 or Win 8 USB keys on UEFI enabled systems.
Start with a blank USB key of at least 4GB capacity.
To install Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8 in UEFI mode, the 64-bit versions of the respective operating system DVD media will be required. A full Windows 7 or Windows 8 DVD media is required. An upgrade DVD may not function correctly during base operating installs.
To create UEFI bootable USB media that can be used to install Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows 8 64-bit operating systems on Lenovo computers, complete the following steps:
1) Open a Command Prompt with Administrator privileges in either Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8 Pro.
2) Insert the target USB boot media device into an available USB port.
3) Type DiskPart in the command prompt.
4) Type List Disk (make note of the disk number of the target USB drive).
5) Type Select Disk X, where X is the target USB drive noted in step 4.
6) Type Clean.
7) Type Create Partition Primary.
8) Type format FS=fat32 quick.
9) Type Active.
10) Type Assign.
11) Type list volume.
12) Type Exit.
Now copy the entire contents of the desired operating system onto the newly created UEFI boot media device.
If the AUTORUN.INF file fails to copy from the Windows DVD media to the USB key, then use Notepad to create a new AUTORUN.INF file on the USB boot media by following the steps below:
Open the AUTORUN.INF file on the DVD media with Notepad and copy the contents.
1. Create a new file on the USB media with Notepad and paste the contents from step
2. Save the file as AUTORUN.INF.
UEFI BIOS requires 64-bit versions of Windows operating systems


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Is Anthony Weiner fit for office?
At what point does the private life of a political candidate or officeholder became part of his/her public life?
When does how one conducts their private life influence or potentially influence how they conduct their public life?
When the personal life of a candidate or officeholder is smeared with admitted impropriety, does he/she have a right to a "private" life?
Maybe more to the point, does a candidate and/or officeholder in reality actually ever have a private or personal life, or are they always on public display due to their always wanting public support?
Those certainly are among the questions that many New York City voters will have to answer when they go to the polls to elect a new mayor.
They also undoubtedly are asking themselves how long they would stay with a spouse, such as Anthony Weiner, who repeatedly has admitted and been caught sending sexual pictures and messages to female fans even after his humiliating resignation in 2011 from the U.S. Congress?
Weiner's politically well-connected wife, Huma Abedin, who was a top aide to former first lady, presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and who has been said to have an uncanny ability to weave through the chaos of presidential campaigns and diplomatic overseas trips, has vowed to stay with her husband because, "Quite simply, I love my husband, I love my city, and I believe in what he wants to do for the people of New York."
I wonder how many non-politically connected wives would have the same reaction?
Understandably, Abedin is being kept at arm's length by Hillary Clinton, who we all remember had her own issues when Bill Clinton, then president, was caught in an alleged sexual mess with a young female in the White House.
Meanwhile, Weiner continues his campaign for New York mayor, as calls for his withdrawal continue to mount, his approval rating drops, late night comics use him for comic fodder, the New York media rips him to shreds, political officeholders distance themselves from him and TV talking heads delve into what possible mental issues could drive a previously successful politician to appear to go off the deep end in such a sexual manner.
Maybe the bottom line questions are: Could a voter trust a candidate who conducts himself in such a manner and if elected what effect would his sexually related contacts with alleged fans have on the way in which he conducts city business?
It seems very likely to me if a local candidate or officeholder were caught and admitted to this type of improper conduct, his political life would be over … as it should be. The Mid-Ohio Valley, I believe, is far too conservative to ever tolerate such inappropriate behavior from a candidate or officeholder.
* * *
The Senate needs to continue its push for legislation to protect reporters and the news media from improper phone taps in what one could only characterize as fishing expeditions by the government to identify sources.
The Judiciary Committee met last week on proposed legislation by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The legislation was proposed after it became known the Justice Department secretly subpoenaed almost two months of telephone records for 21 phone lines used by reporters and editors for The Associated Press and secretly used a warrant to obtain some emails of a Fox News journalist. The AP received no advance warning and no court hearing on the subpoenas.
Schumer's measure would incorporate many of Attorney General Eric Holder's proposed changes after President Obama ordered a review of Justice Department procedures.
Holder's revised guidelines called for advance notice to the news media about subpoena for reporters' phone records. As expected as an easy out of avoiding advance notice, the guidelines would be negated if the attorney general determined such notice would pose a clear and substantial threat to the investigation. Search warrants for a reporter's email only would apply when the individual is the target of a criminal investigation for conduct not connected to news gathering.
The Schumer bill demands before the government asks a news organization to divulge sources it first must go before a judge, who would supervise any subpoenas or court orders for information. Holder's new guidelines have no such judicial review requirement.
While Holder is getting closer to protecting the concept of a free and open press, Schumer is more on target.


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Jacoby Cochran
Bradley's not just a place to get an education; it's a place to become everything that you are capable of being. It allows you to become the person you want to be.
I started out focused on becoming a national champion in speech. I had some success. But to be the best, I had to become a better student and a better person. I got a campus job, joined a fraternity, and I learned to talk to my professors. Through student organizations, leadership roles, and getting to know different points of view, I became a more social, more confident and more successful person. When I applied my Bradley experience, I become a champion.
More about Jacoby's National Championship Performance
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently interviewed Jacoby about his hard work and successes on the Bradley Speech Team. Cochran is a seven-time national champion at the National Forensics Association and the American Forensics Association tournaments.
Cochran performed the introduction of his award-winning rhetorical criticism speech for the education magazine and discussed how he approached his sensitive subject—that of a African-American teenager who was demoted to "co-valedictorian" by her high school in Arkansas despite earning the highest grade-point average in her class. Listen to Cochran's interview here:


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Statistics show three out of every 100 births deliver twins.
Vickie and Curtis Eberle aren't statisticians, but they're crunching the numbers after Vickie delivered twins Monday, two years to the day since she gave birth to their first set of twins.
"It's very much more demanding," said Vickie Eberle. "You're thinking, 'OK, whose diaper did I change? Who ate last? Did I do it twice?'"
The Prairie du Sac couple's first set of twins was born two years ago.
"We're set for probably five or six more years of two car seats," Curtis Eberle said.
"I just know that once you have twins, it's a greater chance of having them," said Vickie Eberle.
The chances are greater when a person has given birth to twins before, and families have multiple sets of twins more often than some may think.
But what makes the Eberles' situation rare is that the couple's two sets of twins share the same birthday -- Jan. 28.
"Even having the same birthdays for just singletons is rare," said Vickie Eberle. "It's just got to be astronomically rare for having twins on the same day."
People can calculate the odds and find probabilities, but the Eberles said they're content just to count their blessings.
"I just feel like I'm blessed to be able to have these children and raise them, and that that the good Lord is giving us what we need," said Vickie Eberle.


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Police reports
Arrested: Zachary Moore, 25, Apartment 209, 730 N. Seventh St., domestic violence, Tuesday.
Shots: Residents in vicinity of Carnegie Street and Oregon Avenue reported hearing several sequential shots fired, Tuesday. Upon investigating, officers found seven casings.
Theft: AEP meter reported stolen from residence on Capital Avenue, Tuesday.
Theft: Water and gas pipes stripped from vacant home in 300 block of Wilshire Avenue, Tuesday. Meter reader discovered back door open and upon investigating, police discovered water and gas leaks in basement.
Hit-Skip: Unknown driver left scene after striking car parked in Anytime Fitness lot, Tuesday.
Cited: Martha Brooks White, 39, no address listed, intoxication.
Jefferson County sheriff
Theft: An Adena woman reported someone known to her used her credit card without authorization to purchase about $2,500 in merchandise at various locations.
Brooke County sheriff
Arrested: William Dean Tredway, 23, Weirton, burglary, grand larceny and conspiring to commit burglary, Monday.
Arrested: Kaitlyn Marie Vogler, 20, 117 Brooke St., Follansbee, burglary, grand larceny and conspiring to commit burglary, Monday.
Vehicle vandalism: A side window of a vehicle was shattered while it was parked along state Route 67 near Wellsburg early Monday. Nothing was taken.


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Draught Survey Spreadsheet
- Date:
Use of the draught survey spreadsheet (14.2 kB)
Draught survey spreadsheet (76 kB)
Industry developments
Polar Shipping
Legal, navigational and environmental resources, news and updates on the development of polar shipping. Read more
US VRP Compliance
With effect from 30th January 2014 non-tank as well as tankships calling at US ports will be required to submit VRPs. For Club and other resources to assist in compliance click here
International Environmental compliance
Environmental Compliance resource page collates material in respect of International environmental compliance issues affecting our Members. Information from the Club, Loss Prevention and external resources has been collated in one place for ease of reference.
The Maritime Labour Convention enters into force in August 2013 - resources, news & advice on implementation can be found in this dedicated section. READ MORE
International sanctions
Essential precautions and preparation against piracy, as well as additional information and resources, loss prevention advisories and useful external web links


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As a new citizen of Shelby County, I had never been to Shelby Baptist and didn't know anything about it until recently. I woke one morning to find Alison, my 20-year-old daughter, going into a diabetic coma.
Click hereto read Tamara's story
There are those who believe that angels walk among us, masked as everyday people yet affecting others in a way that can only be explained as spiritual. These "angels" take an ordinary job or everyday experience and transform it into something extraordinary.
Click here to read Doug's story
"When my son was admitted to Walker Baptist Medical Center recently, it made me realize how important our hospital is to our community," said Haig Wright.
Click here to read Haig's story
I spent a lot of time reading and I was nervous when I found that I had to have an operation on my eyes...
Click here to read Mary's story
During a recent hospital stay, I realized just how special Citizens Baptist Hospital is, from the friendly staff to the cleanliness of the hospital, my trust and confidence was reinforced.
Click here to read Robbie's story
Sandi had the intentions of having her hip surgery in Birmingham or Atlanta; larger cities that she thought had the best physicians and medical facilities.
Click here to read Sandi's story


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Prices, promotions, styles and availability may vary by store and online.
Action - Revolver
Action Type - Double Action
Caliber - .45 LC/.410 Bore
Barrel Length - 3"
Weight - 2.2 Lbs.
The Taurus Judge is so named because of the number of judges who carry it into the courtroom for their protection. Capable of chambering both .410 bore, 2-1/2" shotgun shells and .45 Colt Ammunition, this amazing combo gun is ideal for short distances, where most altercations occur, or longer distances with the .45 Colt ammo. Taurus has finely-tuned the rifling to spread the shot pattern at close quarters or to guide the .45 caliber bullet to the target. The exclusive Taurus ergonomic shock-absorbing grip design provides a firm grip under virtually all shooting conditions. This double-action revolver features a red bar front sight and a fixed rear groove. Its grips, metal, and bore are all in very good condition.


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Practical Help for Praying for Help
I want to talk this morning, very practically, about how to live the Christian life — and more specifically how prayer fits into that hour by hour activity.
A Description of the Christian Life
Let me begin by describing the Christian life with three biblical phrases.
1. Living by Faith in the Son of God
Living the Christian life means living by faith in the Son of God.
Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me."
So the Christian life is an hour by hour trusting in Jesus Christ. (Trusting him for what? We will see in a moment.)
2. Walking by the Spirit
Living the Christian life means walking by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, "Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh." Verse 25, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." (Compare with Romans 8:4.)
So the Christian life is an hour by hour walking by the help of the Holy Spirit. How do you do that?
3. Serving in the Strength That God Supplies
Living the Christian life means serving in the strength that God supplies.
1 Peter 4:11, " . . . whoever renders service let him render it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ."
So the Christian life is serving the needs of others by the strength of God so that God gets the glory for your service.
Now if we put all this together, we can say that when you live the Christian life, you live so that hour by hour Christ gets trusted, you get helped, people get served, and God gets glory. The reason we exist as a church is to help each other live like that.
How Does Prayer Fit into Christian Living?
Now specifically at the beginning of this week of prayer I want to ask how prayer fits in to this hour by hour Christian living. We know that prayer is right at the heart of this hour by hour life because 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." And Ephesians 6:19 says, "Pray at all times in the Spirit." And Luke tells us in 18:1 that "Jesus told a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart." So we can see clearly that part of the hour by hour walk of a Christian is hour by hour praying.
What I want to do then this morning is to show you from Scripture how to seek help from God (pray) for living the Christian life. What I am going to say can be summed up in five steps. I formulated these five steps about five years ago during a sermon series on Galatians. Since that time they have become very much a part of my daily life. With the help of Char Ransom and Andrea Nelson and Carol Steinbach we now have them summed up on these little cards made to fit into your wallet. That's how practical we think these five points are.
So how do you live the Christian life? How do you live so that Christ gets trusted and you get helped and people get helped and God gets glory? This is one answer and only part of the answer. But it has proven for some of us to be a crucial guide.
The Kinds of Situations That Are in Mind
The kind of situation I have in mind for using these five steps is virtually any situation in which you aim to obey God. But I know it is unrealistic and artificial to think that any of us could or should go through some formula before every single action of the day. There are too many and they come too close together. So practically what I have in mind are those situations that feel especially challenging or threatening — acts of obedience and service that could be dangerous, or embarrassing, or situations where temptation will be great, or where great potential good could come.
For me it is preaching, certain counseling sessions, crisis calls, hospital visitation, writing projects, personal witnessing situations, board meetings, etc. In other words, how do you approach and enter the stressful, threatening, or challenging situations of life so that Christ is trusted, you are helped, people are served, and God gets glory — how do you live the Christian life in the everyday challenges (little or big) that you face?
This is what revival is all about — a church experiences revival when a large number of people get red hot about trusting Christ, and red hot about turning to God for help, and red hot about loving others, especially the lost, and red hot about showing the glory of God. That's revival. That's spiritual awakening. It's the rediscovery of radical, God-centered Christian living. And it is intensely practical. It will change more at home and work probably than it will at church.
Five Steps to Living the Christian Life
Let's go through the five steps together. They can be remembered by the acronym APTAT. Remember, what we are trying to discover is the practical biblical meaning of living by faith, or walking by the Spirit, or serving in the strength that God supplies.
Picture yourself facing some challenge now. A confrontation with an antagonist. A difficult visit to the doctor. A chance to tell someone about what Christ means to you. A lesson to teach. A job to apply for. An exam to take. A move to make. Too many things to do in one day. Etc.!! What do you do so that when the challenge is past and the day is done, you can say, I lived by faith; I walked by the Spirit; I served in the strength that God supplied; to him be the glory?
I see five Biblical steps. Three of the five steps are prayer.
Step #1 — A: ADMIT
Admit that without Christ you can do nothing.
None of us can please God, live by faith, walk by the Spirit, or serve in God's strength until we admit our utter helplessness without Christ — physically, morally, and spiritually. Let me mention four levels of helplessness that we need to see and admit from our hearts.
Four Levels of Our Helplessness Without Christ
- We would not have come into being without Christ. John 1:2–3, "He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." Your eternal personhood was created by Christ out of nothing. You would not exist without him.
- We would vanish out of existence without the moment by moment sustaining of Christ. Colossians 1:17, "He is before all things and in him all things hold together." Or as Acts 17:25, "God gives to all men life and breath and everything." Every breath we take we owe to Christ. We are utterly helpless without his creating and sustaining power.
- We would have no true virtue without his work in our soul. 1 Corinthians 2:14, "The natural man [i.e., the man without the Spirit of Christ] does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." Until the Spirit of Christ invades our soul and gives us a spiritual taste, we recoil at spiritual things. So we are utterly helpless to love God and live for God's sake without the renovating power of Christ.
- Therefore, we are helpless to bear fruit without Christ. That is, the abiding significance of our lives will be zero without the power of Christ.
Only one life
'Twill soon be past
Only what's done for Christ
Will last.
So in the little APTAT card I quote John 15:5 where Jesus says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." By the world's standards we may accomplish much without Christ (like build an institution, or produce a blockbuster movie). But from God's perspective without Christ our lives are like little shriveled fruitless twigs.
Cries for Help Follow Admissions of Helplessness
So step one as we face the tasks of our lives is to say to God — this is a prayer — O Lord, I can't do anything without you. Without Christ, I wouldn't exist; I wouldn't take another breath; I wouldn't know or love you; and there will be no fruit from what I am about to do. This is an act of great humility. This is where living by faith, and walking by the Spirit begins.
King Solomon faced the challenge of governing a great nation. How did he pray for help? He said (in 1 Kings 3:7), "O Lord, my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in." In other words he admits his helplessness without God. I am no more capable of ruling this people without you than is a little child.
Or consider Jeremiah's cry for help (Jeremiah 10:23f.), "I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing." Before he asks for help, he admits that a man's way is not in himself. "Man proposes, God disposes" (Proverbs 16:9).
(See also: Genesis 18:27; Psalm 86:1; Isaiah 66:2; Luke 18:13; 2 Corinthians 3:5.)
Living by faith, and walking by the Spirit begins with the admission of helplessness.
When you bow your head to pray
Let the first thing that you say
Be a lowly word and meek:
"I admit that I am weak."
That is step one in living so that Christ gets trusted and you get helped and people get served and God gets glory.
Step #2 — P: PRAY
Pray for God's help!
You are about to make that difficult phone call, or talk to your colleague about Christ, or take the test, or start your new job, or reprimand an employee, or enter the doctor's office, or preach a sermon. You may be in the car or an office or a classroom, or kitchen or waiting room or behind a pulpit.
"O Lord, Help!"
You admit from your heart that without Christ this is going to be a wash. Then you you very simply and very humbly pray like this, "O Lord, help me! Please help me." And you may get specific: help me not to forget anything important; help me to love this person; help me to be wise; help me to accept the news with hopefulness; help not to be bitter; help him to accept what I say; help me not to forget whose I am.
Asa, king of Judah, gives us a beautiful example of steps one and two when Serah the king of Ethiopia came against him with one million men and three hundred chariots in the valley Zephathah. 2 Chronicles 14:11 says,
Asa cried to the Lord his God, "O Lord, there is none like thee
to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our
"We are weak, help us, O our God!"
The Heart of Christian Living
The very heart of Christian living is to admit our weakness and to seek strength and help from God. God commands it in Psalm 50:15 (on the card), "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify me."
That's the answer to the question how to live so that you get help and God gets glory!! Pray for help from God. The one who gives the help gets the glory. That's what it says in Psalm 50. You get help. God gets glory. Or as the Lord said to Paul, when he cried out for help: "My power is made perfect in [your] weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to him belong,
They are weak but he is strong.
That song is not just for kids. When you face your day, ADMIT your helplessness, and PRAY for help from God.
(See also Psalm 18:3; 22:19; 34:15, 17; 38:22; 56:9; 91:15; Mark 9:24; Hebrews 4:16.)
Step #3 — T: TRUST
Trust in a promise of God suited to your need.
Living by Faith
This is the way that the action you are about to take becomes an act of faith. This is what Paul meant when he said in Galatians 2:20 that the life he now lives he lives by faith in the Son of God. Living by faith means overcoming obstacles to obedience by trusting promises of help and future happiness.
An act is an act of faith when the strength to do it comes through trusting in a promise of God. When you bank on God's help and his promise of happiness to get you through your task, then you are living by faith, and walking by the Spirit.
How to Do Right in the Choices We Face
Every day we are confronted with choices — to do right or to do wrong, to be honest or dishonest, to be loving or to be indifferent, to forgive or to go on holding a grudge, to speak of Christ or to be silent, to go do my assignment or to put it off, to go to follow God's leading to the mission field or to stay home. And every day there are obstacles to making the right choice: fear, pride, addiction to comfort — and these come in all shapes and sizes.
How do you bring yourself to do the right thing so that Christ gets trusted, you get helped, people get served, and God gets glory? Answer:
- ADMIT you can't do it without Christ.
- PRAY for God's help. And then
- TRUST in some promise that assures you that the world's incentive toward disobedience is not as great as God's incentive toward obedience.
This is not a passive thing. It is an active, disciplined tactical maneuver in the fight of faith. If you have time, you go to your Bible and look for some promise suited for your specific challenge. For example, if you are struggling for the strength to let a grudge go and be kind to your enemy, go to the promise in Romans 12:19, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." And trust that the Lord can and will settle accounts far more justly and fairly than you ever could, and roll that burden onto him.
Our Need for an Arsenal of General Promises
But there are times when we do not have time to look through the Bible for a tailor-made promise. So we all need to have an arsenal of general promises ready to use whenever fear or addiction to comfort threaten to lead us astray or make us weak. Here are a few of my most proven weapons:
- "Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will help you. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). I have slain more dragons in my soul with that sword than any other I think. It is a precious weapon to me.
- "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him?" (Romans 8:32). How many times I have been persuaded in the hour of trial by this verse that the reward of disobedience could never be greater than "all things."
- Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me . . . And lo, I will be with you to the close of the age!" (Matthew 28:18, 20). How many times have I strengthened my sagging spirit with the assurance that the Lord of heaven and earth is just as much with me today as he was with the disciples on earth!
- "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you shall glorify me" (Psalm 50:15).
- "My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Constantly be adding to your arsenal of promises. Every morning look for a new one to take with you through the day. And when the hour of challenge and trial comes, get the strength to do right by TRUSTING a specific promise from the Word of God.
Step #4 — A: ACT
Act with humble confidence in God's help.
This might seem so obvious that it wouldn't need mentioning. But it does because there are some who say that since Christ is supposed to live his life through you ("I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I but Christ who lives in me."), you should not do anything — that is, simply wait until you are, as it were, carried along by another will.
Well this is simply not what the Bible teaches. The Spirit of God does not cancel out our will. The work of God does not cancel out our work. The Spirit transforms our will. And God works in us so that we can work. So Philippians 2:12–13 (correct your card) says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
When you have admitted to God that you can do nothing without him, and prayed for his help, and trusted his promise, then go ahead, ACT! And in that act Christ will be trusted, you will be helped, others will be served, and God will get glory.
Which will lead naturally to the last of our five steps.
Step #5 — T: THANK
Thank God for the good that comes.
This is what you naturally do if 1 Peter 4:11 has really happened, namely, serving in the strength that God supplies. God gave the help, God gets the glory, and that starts with our thanks.
This is what Paul was urging when he said in Colossians 3:17, "Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." When you have the grace to do a thing in the name of Jesus, that is, for his glory and by faith in his promise, then give God thanks!
Or if the person you are trying to change experiences a change of heart, then thank God! It is God who changes hearts and brings good intentions. "But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus" (2 Corinthians 8:16).
(See also Romans 7:25; 1 Corinthians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 1:12.)
Whether you are a "card-carrying" Christian or not, be a Christian.
- Live by faith.
- Walk by the Spirit.
- Serve in the strength that God supplies.
That is, live in such a way that
- Christ gets trusted,
- you get helped,
- people get served, and
- God gets glory.
When you face a challenge or a temptation do APTAT:
- A - ADMIT that without Christ you can do nothing.
- P - PRAY for God's help.
- T - TRUST in a promise suited to your need.
- A - ACT with humble confidence in God's help.
- T - THANK him for the good that comes.
The first two and the last are acts of prayer. So let us enter prayer week with a deep awareness that prayer is not a mere devotional interlude in the real business of living; it is the pathway of faith and obedience. There is no other.


text:
by Anton Shilov
At the forthcoming CeBIT trade-show in Hannover, Germany, Advanced Micro Devices plans to demonstrate and announce its new microprocessors that will succeed the company's Phenom II central processing units (CPUs). Based on the program of CeBIT show, the company will show off the desktop versions of code-named Bulldozer chips.
"The U.S.-based CPU and chip maker AMD will present at CeBIT 2011 processors, which performance exceeds the current top models of the Phenom-II series by 50%," the of official description of a CeBIT "theme and event" reads.
In case AMD formally introduces its desktop processors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture code-named Zambezi at CeBIT, it will not be a big surprise as the company already used the show for formal introduction of important products and technologies in the previous years. The big question, however, is whether the company will initiate a review program for the new chips shortly after the show, will unveil official performance levels of the chip or will let select journalists to "independently" benchmark the new CPUs on site, a more than controversial move.
The first Zambezi microprocessors to be launched are expected to be eight-core products with 95W and 125W thermal design power as well as 8MB L3 cache. Later in the second quarter of 2011 AMD, according to sources with knowledge of the company's roadmap, will release six-core chips with 8MB L3 cache and four-core products with 4MB cache. All of the processors will feature TurboCore 2.0 technology, dual-channel DDR3 memory controller with up to 1866MHz memory support and will be compatible with AM3+ mainboards.
Eight-core Zambezi/Orochi features four dual-core Bulldozer modules, each of which is believed to have 2MB of shared level-two cache, that will share 8MB L3 cache. In total, the whole chip will pack in whopping 16MB of cache.
AMD Orochi design is the company's next-generation processor for high-end desktop (Zambezi) and server (Valencia) markets. The chip will feature eight processing engines, but since it is based on Bulldozer micro-architecture, those cores will be packed into four modules. Every module which will have two independent integer cores (that will share fetch, decode and L2 functionality) with dedicated schedulers, one "Flex FP" floating point unit with two 128-bit FMAC pipes with one FP scheduler. The chip will have shared L3 cache, new dual-channel DDR3 memory controller and will use HyperTransport 3.1 bus. The Zambezi chips will use new AM3+ form-factor and will require brand new platforms.
The code-named Zambezi processors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture with four, six or eight cores will belong to FX-series and will be sold under AMD Vision Black and AMD Vision Ultimate labels.


text: I had Hubby take me to the hospital at about 3 am monday morning because I was experiencing pain in my chest I had BFed my daughter right before we went in. but as soon as I was seen I was told I had a stone in my gallbladder and would have to have surgery to take it out. Well since I wasn't planning on having surgery or having to stay in the hospital I did not bring my pump with me. Well my sweet Hubby went home to take a nap after I was brought back to my room and when he came back he brought my pump for me but it was still about 19 hours before I pumped but I did pump every three hours after that and still experienced a major drop in my supply. since coming home around 5pm yesterday I have pretty much stayed in bed and nursed my sweet baby girl to get my supply up but is there anything else I could do to help? and when can I expect to start seeing/feeling results? Thank you for your help!


text:
Headlines (Notices)
Laurier Brantford
Laurier updates policy governing official University names, marks and logos
Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing
May 24/12
Wilfrid Laurier University has updated the policy that governs the use of official University names, marks and logos.
The purpose of Policy 13.1 is to protect and regulate the use of all Laurier names and branded property. The University has officially-registered trademarks, pursuant to the Trade-marks Act of Canada, including names, marks and insignia related to the university such as Golden Hawks, WLU Hawks, academic crests, Laurier logos, designs and symbols.
It is important for legal and branding reasons that Policy 13.1 be followed by members of the Laurier community and by all external parties. The policy also includes links to related information, including a Flowchart for Use of Branded Property, Procedure for Commercial Use, Procedure for Non-Commercial Use, and Ethical Purchasing.
Click here to read the updated policy.
The University's Branding Standards for the new visual identity can be found by clicking here.


text:
Hurricane prep checklist
Published On: Oct 29 2012 09:33:02 AM CDT Updated On: Aug 31 2014 12:35:42 PM CDT
Are you ready for a hurricane? Read through the following checklist to make sure you're ready before a storm hits your neighborhood.
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.


text:
Since the earliest times, humans have needed to be sensitive to their surroundings to survive, which means that we have an innate awareness of our environment and seek out environments with certain qualities.
First of all, humans have a strong need for safety and security and look for those attributes in their environment. We also look for physical comfort, such as an environment with the right temperature. In addition, we seek an environment that is psychologically comfortable: for example, environments that are familiar, but offer the right amount of stimulus.
Retailers and the hospitality industry know this very well and try to provide an atmosphere that creates a positive customer experience and offers three important attributes: comfort, safety, and entertainment. These attributes are equally important in healthcare as well.
Below are just a few examples of how the environment can impact you.
Perhaps most importantly for health, the environment can create or reduce stress, which in turn impacts our bodies in multiple ways. This is because our brain and our nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are constantly interacting. As neuroscientist Candice Pert puts it, "What you are thinking at any moment is changing your biochemistry."
Thus, the stress of a noisy, confusing hospital room might result in a patient not only feeling worried, sad, or helpless, but experiencing higher blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. In addition, hormones released in response to the emotional stress could suppress the patient's immune system, causing his wounds to heal more slowly.
Stress is an important medical consideration, and creating an environment that reduces stress is a key piece of improving health outcomes.
For more information on stress and how it impacts the body, see Mind-Body Therapies [4].
There is a great deal of very rigorous research that links the physical environment of hospitals to health outcomes. According to Ulrich and Zimming, authors of the 2004 report, The Role of the Physical Environment in the 21st Century Hospital [5], there are more than 600 credible studies that show how aspects of healthcare design can influence medical outcomes.
Essentially, this research shows that the conventional ways hospitals have been designed contribute to stress and adverse patient and staff outcomes. Poor design can adversely impact health and wellbeing [6], as well as staff productivity and ability to deliver great patient care. For example, because of poor design, nurses in most hospitals spend a great deal of time just gathering the material they need for care. One study showed that almost one-third of nursing staff time was spent walking. (Ulrich, p5.)
On the other hand, improving the physical environment can make healthcare settings less stressful, safer, and better places to work.
Experts in the new area of evidence-based design have identified five environmental attributes that can have a large impact on health outcomes. The research demonstrates that improvement in these areas reduces stress and improves patient outcomes:
Changes in these areas help create a healing environment [8] that is psychologically supportive for patients, families, and staff. And many hospitals and healthcare settings are applying these findings. To find out how, see the section: What Is Happening in Healthcare Settings Today? [9]
If you want to learn more about how design can impact the environment, see Are There Design Rules to Follow? [10]
[1] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/navigate-healthcare-system/how-can-i-ensure-healthy-hospitalization/how-can-i-ensure-healthy-hospita
[2] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/feeling-down-or-stressed-try-eco-therapy
[3] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/glossary/3#term37
[4] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/what-are-mind-body-therapies
[5] http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CC8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthdesign.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FRole%2520Physical%2520Environ%2520in%2520the%252021st%2520Century%2520Hospital_0.pdf&ei=RojdUebHMMagywGxpoDQBw&usg=AFQjCNHVqjpmO2371kJ2U8o6XihmvU2e0w&sig2=UICUqbmEHKszUy_fdvSVng&bvm=bv.48705608,d.aWc
[6] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/glossary/3#term45
[7] http://takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/therapies/environment/today
[8] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/glossary/3#term18
[9] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/healing-environment/what-happening-healthcare-settings-today
[10] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/healing-environment/are-there-design-rules-follow
[11] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/our-experts/mary-jo-kreitzer-rn-phd
[12] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/our-experts/terri-zborowsky-phd
[13] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/our-experts/jean-larson-ma-htr-ctrs
[14] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/activities/what-healing-environment-you
[15] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/activities/what-healing-about-hospital
[16] http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/activities/what-can-i-do-healthcare-setting


text:
Brockway - Felt Finish / EURO FLAP - A2 Envelopes - NATURAL - 250 PK
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text:
The Depression didn't get its name ironically, in the way you call a big guy "Tiny" or Nancy Grace "lady." It really was a kick in the ass, and so is the current recession/meltdown or whatever we're calling it now.
But then you hear a story about how the economy may force everyone to stop wearing Crocs and you realize that as many kicks in the ass as the recession dishes out, there seem to be a few upsides. Such as...
6The Environment is Doing Great
Ever since Al Gore became the boogeyman who springs up from the back seat every time we gas up the Hummer, environmentalism has been big on everyone's mind. We try to recycle, carpool and eat less bald eagle. But is any of that enough? Well, probably not, no. But don't worry, where your personal efforts fail, global economic crisis excels.
When the economy is booming we all want to buy lead-lined, CFC-spewing volleyballs and grilling accessories, all mass produced in China or India or some other part of the world where industrial runoff tends to also be bathwater for the average citizen. When the world suffers a huge economic downturn, pollutant-belching factories that cheaply make shit no one needs are the first to shut down.
You win this round, environment.
This has resulted in acid rain-producing sulfur dioxide levels in Delhi falling 85 percent in a year and it's been estimated the the US's and Europe's total greenhouse gas emission will be reduced by 100 million tons each in 2009.
Deforestation in the Amazonian rain forest has dropped 70 percent in a year because of the falling price of cattle and possibly because all of those "Save the Rainforest" buttons from the mid-80s finally found their way south of the equator.
Presumably if we hit Depression-era squalor all around the world, we'll at least get to enjoy fighting for scraps of food and blankets in a verdant paradise.
5Great Deals on Whores
It says something about the power of the current economical crisis when even the oldest profession in the world feels the cold, uncircumcised sting of the recession in its rear end. Sadly, times being what they are, many conservative politicians and hard working fathers had to cut down on teenage-runaways; instead spending their meager extra dollars on things like grandma's medication and HBO.
With so many street walking girls and whore houses seeing a rapid drop in customers, many have fallen back on tactics that keep dollar stores and late night TV infomercials in business: bargain basement prices!
Reports say that promotions, specials, cut prices, flat rates, shuttle buses (holy hell!) and even discounts for seniors in brothels all around the world mean way more action for you and your wheelchair bound grandpa. How much action are we talking about here?
Well, some professional massage parlors, also known by their Christian name "rub-n-tugs," had to cut prices by 30-50 percent; meaning every ESL lady massaging your ballsack may only be pulling in $80 or so (and that includes a tip).
The situation has apparently gotten so desperate that Berlin's Pussy Club (the Mecca for lovers of both womanly charms and subtlety) started offering a 70 Euro Flat Rate service for unlimited food, drink and sex at their establishment, catering to the coveted "fat, drunken pervert" crowd who tend to drive the economy.
The situation isn't much different on our own continent. Canada's hookers recently had to drop prices to about $20 for oral sex or $60-$80 for the full on Canuck Fuck. Based on exchange rates, if you paid in American dollars she'd actually owe you money.
Oh, Canada...


text:
And now they've hit another milestone and will be heading back overseas to play one of the biggest country festivals in the world.
"We got an e-mail from a dude in France in December inquiring about us playing this festival," Bob Strause said. "It's the 26th annual Country Rendez-Vous Festival, and it's in France. A lot of our friends have done it, and we've always known about it, and it was unsolicited. They called us, and we've made a deal. They average about 10,000 people a day, so we're going to go freak them out a bit. We've got a little raunchy-tonk for them."
The festival is full of bands from all over the United States who play honky-tonk, bluegrass, country, folk and every other genre in between. JB and the Moonshine band, who will be playing in this year's Western Week, will be heading overseas, as well as The Mavericks.
"We're looking forward to seeing the Mavericks," Strause added. "It sucks we have to go to France to see them, but it's going to be cool to see them and hang out with them."
And it is a bit odd that a country music festival, in France of all places, would draw more than 30,000 fans from all over Europe who camp out overnight just to see a bunch of country musicians, most of whom they've never even heard of. But the artists have their obvious reasons for signing up the second they get asked.
"It's a free trip to Europe," Strause said with a laugh. "The few people that we knew who had been, like Cody Braun from Reckless Kelly, I called him up, and he said, 'You're not going to get rich, but you're going to get to go to Europe for free, and they're going to treat you like you're Elvis Presley, so go.' So we're going.
"You can drive an hour almost every night and see somebody play, but these people wait all year for this thing. They camp out for three days, and hopefully we catch them Friday night before they're hung over."
And for a band going into their ninth year, the waters seem to finally be calming a bit even though the shore is still far from sight. Once they head back to the states, they'll be opening for Travis Tritt in October and releasing their new album in September, Cinco de Psycho. The band is in good shape and good spirits and shows no signs of slowing.
"There's been a lot of bands that have come and gone since we started. I haven't done anything but this for eight years. We've managed to go across the Atlantic twice. We got to go to Saudi Arabia. Who goes to Saudi Arabia?"
So, by the time this article hits newstands, the band from George West will already be settling in France, preparing for the festival and trying to stay out of trouble.
"We're looking forward to it, so let's see what happens.
"We'll either make a whole bunch of fans or (upset) a bunch of French people... I don't know."


text: So my LO is 9 1/2 months and he is starting to take to solids. I was wondering how much breast milk a baby this age should be drinking. I keep hearing that there need for milk will lessen as they get more solids and get older. But what does that really mean in terms of ounces? It would certainly help me since I'm getting tired of pumping six times a day. Reducing even a session would be great!