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GMA - Gamma-ray Spectroscopy
Gamma Ray Description (GMA)
- Note that there is NO eating or drinking in the 111-Lab anywhere, except in rooms 282 & 286 LeConte on the bench with the BLUE stripe around it. Thank You the Staff.
The purpose of this experiment is to study some properties of the gamma ray. First, this lab will walk you through some tests to show you how the equipment is affected by your settings. You will then use the gamma rays from some known sources to calibrate your detector, and verify the inverse-square law. Finally, you will make some measurements that will allow you to calculate the mass attenuation coefficients for several materials at several energies.
The experiment offers a good acquaintance with a number of important devices, including a pulse height analyzer, scintillator and photomultiplier tube (PMT). It is well suited for data analysis with a computer.
The gamma rays enter a NaI(Tl) scintillator crystal, which converts them into many lower-energy photons. These photons travel through the crystal to the photocathode of a photomultiplier tube, where they are converted into electrons by means of the photoelectric effect. The photoelectrons are sent through a series of electrodes where the number of electrons is multiplied. At the anode, a pulse of current is produced.
The number of lower energy photons produced in the scintillator is very nearly proportional to the energy of the incident gamma ray, and the number of electrons produced is proportional to the number of photons incident on the photocathode. Therefore, the pulse height is proportional to the energy of the incident gamma ray. A pulse height analyzer is used to display the spectrum of pulses from the photomultiplier tube.
- Pre-requisites: None
- Days Allotted for the Experiment: 6
All pages in this lab. Note To print Full Lab Write-up click on each link below and print separately
I. Gamma-ray Spectroscopy
This lab will be graded 20% on theory, 40% on technique, and 40% on analysis. For more information, see the Advanced Lab Syllabus.
Comments: E-mail Don Orlando
Gamma Ray Spectroscopy Photos
Gamma Ray Apparatus Click here to see larger picture
Figure 5 Gamma Ray Equipment Click here to see larger picture
Figure 1 Lead Pig where source is placed Click here to see larger picture
Figure 2 Pig & Collimator where source is placed Click here to see larger picture
Figure 3 Collimator moved in place Click here to see larger picture
Figure 4 PMT on Cart & source Lead Pig Setup Click here to see larger picture
Before the 1st Day of Lab and Standard Operating Procedures, SOP's
for this Gamma Ray
Complete the following before your experiment's scheduled start date:
- View the Gamma Ray video. The equipment for this lab has changed over the years making the last part of the video inconsistent with the procedure on this lab but it is nonetheless useful for understanding how the set-up works.
- View the 'Radiation Safety Video' After watching the video in the 111-Lab, get a pink Radiation Safety form from a 111-Lab staff person. Fill it out & sign the form for getting a Radiation Ring.
- Now complete the Radiation Safety Training Radiation_Safety After completion of Training turn in all forms to Don Orlando.
- Complete the GMA Pre Lab and Evaluation sheets. Print, fill it out, then turn in your answers with the report. The Pre-Lab must be printed separately. Discuss the experiment and pre-lab questions with any faculty member or GSI and get it signed off by that faculty member or GSI. Turn in the signed pre-lab sheet with your lab report.
- Check points are examination points that are placed in this lab where you must STOP and call a GSI or professor to make sure you understand what's expected. There could be multiple check points throughout your lab so make sure you don't skip them since there is a sign off sheet that must be turned in with your lab report.
- View the Introduction to Error Analysis video and Error Analysis Notes.
- Also view Light Sources and Detectors video.
- Read the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for this lab before starting SOP_3271_Cs-137_Na-22_Co-60_Mn-54_Am-241_Fe-55_2014.
- Last day of the experiment please fill out the Experiment Evaluation
Suggested Reading: 1. Knoll, Radiation Detection and Measurement, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1979):
a. Ch. 1 §IV pp 16-25 (Information about the sources of EM radiation),
b. Ch. 2 §III pp 62-71 (How gamma rays interact),
c. Ch. 3 §I-VI pp 79-95 (Detectors in general)
d. Ch. 9 §I-§III pp 272-284 (Photomultiplier tubes)
e. Ch. 10 §I-IV(B) pp 306-338 (Scintillators).
2. RCA 6810A Photomultiplier Tube PMT 6810
3. Harshaw Scintillation Phosphors; Harshaw Scintillators and NaI Crystal Information
4. RCA Photomultiplier Tube Manual
More References
You should keep a laboratory notebook. The notebook should contain a detailed record of everything that was done and how/why it was done, as well as all of the data and analysis, also with plenty of how/why entries. This will aid you when you write your report.
- Learn what real experimental physics is about
- Learn the synergy between experimental and theoretical work
- Learn to use pieces of equipment that are commonly used in research
- Learn how measurements are performed, analyzed, and interpreted.
- Learn how to present your work and results
- Learn problem solving strategies
- Learn how to manage and organize your time
- Learn about gamma ray spectroscopy using doped sodium iodide scintillator
- Thorough understanding on how the photo multiplier (PMT) works, and how it is used with the CANBERRA amplifier.
- You should also gain a well-developed understanding on how the pulse height analyzer works.
- Formation of the peaks on the spectrum
- Identify sources that cause the peaks to spread wider.
- Learn how to calibrate the PHA.
- Measure the spectra of various radioactive sources.
- Verify the inverse square law for radiation.
- Determine the absolute intensity of the $^{137}Cs$ source.
- Determine the mass attenuation coefficients of several materials at several energies.
- Learn how to operate the Digital Delay Operator.
The measurement of energy levels of atomic, molecular, and nuclear systems constitutes a large part of experimental physics. This experiment examines gamma rays, which come from transitions between nuclear energy levels, with emphasis on their interaction with matter. This experiment is a little different from most in the 111 Laboratory in that a lot of what you do will be oriented towards learning about the equipment and its capabilities, rather than striving to achieve some experimental result. It is important that before you start to use the tools understand their purpose in this lab. Stop and think about what it is that you're trying to accomplish by using this tool, this can save you a great amount of valuable time.
- PMT with Ortec 266 Base
- Stanford Research Systems Model PS325 High Voltage Power Supply
- Canberra Amplifier Model 816
- Stanford Research Systems Model DG645 Digital Delay Generator
- National Instruments NI-5124 Digitizer Card (Used for digital Soft Scope and Pulse Height Analyzer)
- Oscilloscope
Remember the Lead Bricks are heavy, at least 30 to 50 pounds each. If it is knocked off the bench and falls onto someone's foot it will smash it to pieces.
You must wear a radiation ring when you are working with the gamma-ray apparatus. You should also always wear vinyl gloves when handling the radioactive sources, but remove and discard them when adjusting the equipment or you will defeat the purpose. The sources are located in a lead container, and this should be kept closed. Keep the sources in their plastic bags. When you use the sources, put the clamps on the bags, not on the source itself inside the bag. Any rupture of the source package will cause leakage of radioactive materials - very low-level radiation and not a serious health hazard, yet it will require discarding the source and a decontamination of the bench area or wherever the source has been.
Do not stack the lead bricks on the lab bench - it would be very dangerous to do so. They are quite heavy and the kinetic energy they would gain from a one-meter fall is more than that enough to shatter a human toe (we know this from direct experience). In addition, you will find experimentally that some of the gamma rays can Compton scatter off these bricks and contribute to the scattering portion of your spectra.
Radioactive sources
The radioactive sources are in plastic bottles with the radioactive material embedded in epoxy. The original activity and date are on the label of the bottle. The sources emit radiation in all directions. To use a source, hang the bottle by grasping its top with a clamp so that the source is at the same height as the center of the detector.
The following are the radioactive sources used in this experiment.
|Energy (MeV)
|0.511, 1.28
|2.6 years
|30 years
|1.17, 1.33
|5.2 years
|312 days
The gamma rays in this experiment are detected with a thallium-doped sodium iodide [NaI(Tl)] crystal (3.0" in diameter and 3" in height: verify these dimensions) mounted on a PMT (See Ortec Specs 905-4 Model; 3M3/3X with tube base Ortec # 266). The maximum voltage supplied to the PMT is +800 Volt DC. This crystal emits photons in the visible range when struck by gamma rays, and is hence called a "scintillating" crystal. These visible photons are detected and amplified by the photomultiplier tube, which outputs a pulse of electrical current with an amplitude proportional to the energy of the incident gamma ray. This pulse is further amplified with an external amplifier and then fed into a NI-5124 Pulse Height Analyzer.
The Pulse Height Analyzer (PHA) is a LabView program, "PHA-5124.exe", using the National Instruments NI-5124 Digitizer Card. National Instruments donated this card to us for the Physics 111-Lab. You first check the signals out of the pre-amplifier with the Soft Scope program using the NI-5124 Card. Pulses of varying amplitudes between 0 and 8 volts are sampled into 1024 increments (or what you select in program control Tab). When a pulse representing a detected gamma ray is received, the PHA-5124 determines its amplitude and puts it into the correct channel (bin). Because the amplitude expressed as a voltage is proportional to the energy of the incoming gamma ray (a fact you should explain in your report), the accumulated counts form a distribution called an energy spectrum on the screen - the number of gamma rays that have been detected in each energy bin.
$\checkmark$This is a checkpoint and a great time to stop and think about the physics. Discuss the following questions with you partner and once you feel you have a better understanding of what is happening, call over a GSI to sign you off:
What is the role of the variable high voltage and how does it affect the output amplitude on the oscilloscope?
- Before turning on the SRS High Voltage Power Supply, you need to make sure that the polarity is set to positive, and that the High Voltage line is connected to the PMT (this should already be the case). The polarity may be set using a flat-head screw-driver on the back of the unit. The groove aligns with the chosen setting, and should already point to positive. There should be a red BNC cable running from the back of the power supply to the POS HV input at the PMT base. Before powering on the power supply, make sure that the black High Voltage switch is set to OFF/RESET. Now, power on the power supply. You first need to set the power supply to provide 780V. The word SET should be backlit by a green LED, allowing you to adjust the power supply potential. Above it, the smallest LED screen should read 780 (V). If it does not, type 780 and click ENTER. Once set, this will be our starting point. If you are sure that everything is connected properly, turn on the High Voltage using the High Voltage switch. The word ON should now be back-lit with a red LED. To have stable operation, it is better to leave the high-voltage power supply running during the period that you sign up for the experiment. Remember that a High Voltage supply such as this one may need up to 15 min of warm-up time before the potential stabilizes, therefore it is a good idea to let it run for some time before taking data. If there is a problem with this power supply, alert the staff. There is an older HV power supply available (Fluke 415B) if necessary.
Place the $^{137}Cs$ source into the Circular Lead Pig See picture Figure 1 above. 20 to 25 cm away from the detector with lead colliminator in front of the source. Make sure that the collimator assembly is in place as shown See picture Figures 2 & 3 above. Look at the output of the PMT on a fast scope (Tektronix type), then look at it with the "Soft Scope program using the Digitizer NI-5124. To match impedance, use a 50-ohm terminator on a BNC "tee" going into the scope. Look for a faint signal about 0.5 μsec wide and -50 mV high (see Fig. 2). You'll have to play with the triggering to get this, and you'll probably have to turn up the trace intensity and shield the screen from glare. Each trace of this signal is the electron pulse coming from the PMT that represents a gamma ray striking the detector. The signal is blurred because of many negative pulses with different amplitudes coming from the PMT.Figure 2 scope picture of trace: PMT Output, $^{137}Cs$ Source Scope: 50 mV/div; 0.5 $ \mu$sec/div.
- The CANBERRA AMPLIFIER (amp), located in the equipment rack Figure 5 above, amplifies the small pulses from the PMT to a sufficiently large one necessary for the PHA-5124 program. Feed the output of the PMT into the amp (you don't need a terminator here). Set the INPUT switch to NEG (since the PMT output are negative pulses), and the MODE switch to UNI (since the pulses are unipolar - that is, they are entirely negative as opposed to a signal that has positive as well as negative parts). Look at the output of the amp (without a terminator); you should see a positive pulse about 1 μsec wide followed by a negative pulse that is of no interest (see Figure 3). Watch the effects of varying the gain controls, it's recommended to start with FINE GAIN at 2.5 and COARSE GAIN AT 4. Set the gain to produce a pulse that does not have a flat top.
If you have trouble with this unit, there should be a 472A Spectroscopy Amplifier in storage which can perform the same task. You should report the problem of the amplifier to the staff, and they will provide you with a different amplifier.
Pulse Height Analyzer (PHA Digitizer)
- The PHA-5124 is explained here. For this experiment we use the National Instruments Digitizer Card NI-5124.
- To start, plug the output of the amp into the Digitizer channel 0 located at the rear of the computer (The Digitizer cable should be labeled and connected to a T). Using a $^{60}Co $ source you should see a spectrum similar to Figure 4.
$\checkmark$This is a checkpoint and a great time to stop and think about the physics at play. Discuss the following questions with you partner and once you feel you have a better understanding of what is happening, call over a GSI to sign you off:
For a given radioactive sample (in a bottle) what are some things that can produce a change in coherent time producing a spread of the peak with a finite width in the Pulse Height analyzer? (You should be thinking about what's going on in the bottle)
- The other adjustments you should experiment with are the LLD on the Control Tab in the program: this sets the Lower Level Discriminator so that the PHA will ignore pulses with amplitudes below the setting. This way the system doesn't spend its time with unwanted pulses like low-level noise. To set it properly look at the Soft Scope program display. Setting the LLD too low will allow the program to trigger on noise, and overload the program. Set the LLD at a reasonable level that is above the noise level, but below the level of the physical processes that you are interested in. You may find that you still have some noise causing your spectrum to look distorted and this could be due to a couple of factors. Try thinking about the PMT and what are some of the variables that can contribute to non-linearity in it (this should hint you on what should be adjusted).
- After setting the LLD, STOP the unit from acquiring, change your source back to $^{137}Cs$ and ACQUIRE again. You should see one peak start to form in the middle of the display, along with a "mess" forming to its left. The peak corresponds to the 0.662 MeV $^{137}Cs$ gamma rays; what are the peaks to its left? It may be useful to try thinking about what determines the height of the peaks on the graph. Press STOP to stop the accumulation of counts when the peak is reasonably well formed. See Figure 3.
- After collecting a data set and saving it to a file you can use a computer with Matlab or some other program to display the channel number and counts of any channel that you want to see. In this experiment we are only interested in channel 0.
- To start, plug the output of the amp into the Digitizer channel 0 located at the rear of the computer (The Digitizer cable should be labeled and connected to a T). Using a $^{60}Co $ source you should see a spectrum similar to Figure 4.
- Remember The Maximum Voltage is +800 VDC. Measure the relative gain of the photomultiplier tube as a function of high voltage using the photopeak of the Cs source. The purpose of this exercise is to gain familiarity with the gain of a photomultiplier. It is not an examination of the non-linearity of the gain curve. To do this, vary the high voltage to the PMT using the knobs on the 3 KV High Voltage power supply only, and watch to see where the Cs peak moves. Because the peak channel number is equivalent to some pulse height, by recording the peak channel number at each voltage we can determine the relative gain as a function of the PMT high voltage. Start at around +400 volts, and stop at about +800 volts (change the high voltage by 10 volts at a time) to determine the relation between gain and high voltage. Do not exceed 800V. Plot the results. Explain the plot, particularly the behavior at the higher (more positive) voltage settings. Then, make another plot to show that the gain is related to the applied high voltage as a power law (see the section on Photomultiplier Tube in Knoll).
- To examine the capabilities and linearity of the amplifier, use the SRS DG645 Digital Delay Pulse Generator (PG) to simulate the detected pulses that you saw coming from the PMT in step 1 (instructions on how to do this are below). To make the PG's pulses as small as those from the PMT, connect the Pulse Gen to the dB attenuator (a small box with a row of toggle switches that selects the attenuation). Use a BNC tee to send the attenuated output of the Pulse Gen to the input of the amplifier as well as to the scope - once again you need a BNC tee and 50 ohm terminator on the scope-input to match impedance (Make sure you are not using the PMT OUTPUT signal but rather Digital Delay Generator) . Set the Pulse Gen such that the pulse width is approximately the same as that of the pulses from the PMT (This will be explained below). To get you started with the DG645, set it up as follows:
- Set the Delay Generator to trigger internally at 8.5kHz. To do this:
- Use the up / down arrows in TRIG MODE to select INT
- Type in 8500 and press ENTER. The display should read "trg 8 500. 000 000" and the LED next to Hz should be lit.
- Set the generator to create a 1 μs pulse on channel AB right as the trigger fires. To do this:
- Use the left / right arrows under EDGE to select the rising edge of the AB pulse. The green LED just to the left of "AB" should be lit.
- Type 0 and click μs (this is the down arrow under MODIFY). The display should read "A = 0 + 000. 000 000 000 000" with the "sec" LED lit.
- Now select the falling edge of the AB pulse. The green LED just to the right of "AB" should be lit.
- Type 1 and click μs. The display should ready "b = A + 000. 000 001 000 000".
- Now you need to adjust the pulse to have negative polarity. To do so, set the offset of the AB pulse to -0.5, the amplitude to 0.5V, and the polarity to negative. To do this:
- With the AB pulse still selected (rising or falling edge), click LEVEL until the screen reads "Ab offset" (the rising edge LED should be lit). Type -0.5 and press ENTER.
- Press LEVEL until the screen reads "step". Type 0.5 and click ENTER.
- Press LEVEL until the screen reads "Ab Polarity" and use the modify arrows to set it to "neg".
- The AB output of the Delay Generator should now be outputting a 1μs negative polarity pulse at a rate of 8.5kHz. Don't forget to use the 50 ohm terminator to view the pulse on the oscilloscope.
- Set the Delay Generator to trigger internally at 8.5kHz. To do this:
- Now choose an amp gain setting, and vary the amplitude of your input pulses and record the corresponding peak channels. Do this for at least three gain settings and determine whether the amp is linear for each. (Be careful not to set the Pulse Gen Repetition Rate so high that overwhelms the PHA.) We want to examine the behavior of the amplifier when the signal begins to cause the amplifier to hit the rails. We will do this using the SRS DG645 Digital Delay Pulse Generator and the settings you used above. Hook the pulse generator to attenuator to amplifier to digitizer cable. Start PHA from the link on the desktop and set CH0 range to 10V, the sample rate to 6Mhz and gain0 to 1.5. Set the amplifiers gain to 16 for coarse and the finite gain to 2.5. Set the attenuator to 20db. Start collecting data. You should see a sharp peak a little below 2 and nothing else (you can zoom in by turning off the x-axis auto scaling and changing the lower and upper x-axis values by hand). The amplifier should still be linear at this pulse height, but if the signal gets much larger the amplifier will begin to distort the signal. Turn auto scaling back on, the amplifier's gain to 32 and the attenuator to 10 and collect a new set of data in PHA. Do you see a double peak? Initially this might appear to be a reflection from the attenuator, but the problem gets worse at lower attenuation. To examine this more closely we'll use the SCOPE Soft Front Panel. Close out PHA completely and open up SCOPE Soft. Notice the almost square shape of the wave. This is caused by the amplifier clipping the top of the waveform. Once again set the attenuation to 20 and examine the shape of the wave. With the attenuation at 6db, find the amplification that preserves the shape of the waveform. Close out the SCOPE Soft and open up PHA. Using the PHA settings mentioned above once again verify that the amplification settings you found produces a single peak on the data collection. Try increasing the amplification to verify you do indeed get a second peak. Why is the software registering two peaks when the amplifier clips? Why does increasing the sample rate seem to "fix" the problem. How does clipping the amplifier impact your peak width and how does that impact your error?
- Also look at the effects of varying the repetition rate of the Pulse Gen: do the counts under the peak increase as you expect? As you increase the repetition rate, you may begin to see a phenomenon called pileup. This is when a pulse comes along before the electronics have finished processing the previous pulse. The lesson to learn here is that if you place the source too close to the NaI detector, your spectrum will be skewed due to pile up.
- Choose a high voltage somewhere near the middle of the range and an amp gain setting in the linear region such that you are utilizing the full scale of the PHA; that is, the highest energy gamma ray (which comes not from the $^{137}Cs$ but from the $^{22}Na$ source) should appear near the end of your spectrum, not in the middle. Then obtain a spectrum for each source listed above (2-5 minute runs each).
- Determine carefully the peak channels and the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the peaks in the spectra, and then calculate the resolution at the energy of each peak. Compare your measurement with the theoretical line width for each gamma ray. Remember that you need to estimate the uncertainty in each of your determination.
- Also compute the 180° back-scatter and Compton edge energies of the gamma ray(s) for each source, and compare to the observed spectra. See the book by Knoll for a description of what the plot should look like.
- Use the computer connected to the apparatus to obtain the data and plots of all of your spectra. There is a built-in timer in the equipment. Once your spectra are available on the computer, you may use Matlab to perform background subtraction and peak-fitting.
- Once you have determined the best combination of High Voltage and Gain Settings, keep these settings fixed. Eventually, you should calibrate your voltage axis using the known energy values. If you vary your settings, your energy calibration can change drastically.
- Verify the inverse square law for radiation using one of the radioactive sources on the cart with the PMT See Picture Figure 4 above. *Remember* putting the source closer than 25 cm to the detector will skew your spectrum. For a given detector with a fixed size and gain, how does the rate of data collection vary with distance from the source?
- Compute the absolute intensity of the $^{137}Cs$ source using the published values of the NaI efficiency. The NaI crystal must not be near or enclosed by lead shielding for this measurement. Subtract the background. To reduce background, support the source with a low-mass stand. Use where n(E) is the intrinsic efficiency and the quantity in brackets (the product of nand the solid angle) is given in the NaI Crystal Information for a distance of d = 30 cm.
- Use the $^{22}Na$ and $^{137}Cs$ sources and several sheets/blocks of different thickness to measure the mass attenuation coefficient, in cm$^2$/gm, of Al, Cu, and Pb [see reference (ii)]. Compare the results to the accepted values. Think about doing background subtraction, and be sure to include some discussion of uncertainties.
- When measuring the mass attenuation coefficients it is important to have proper geometry. Your source, collimators, absorber, and detector must all be in a line. The source should be placed on this line so that the greatest intensity of gamma-rays will go toward the detector, not toward the ceiling, table, PHA, etc.
- There should be two lead bricks with holes in them at the apparatus. Use these bricks as collimators (see figure below). The first collimator passes only photons that strike the absorber nearly perpendicular to its face. The second collimator is needed to absorb the gamma rays that have undergone small angle scattering from the absorber. If the angle is small enough these gamma rays might enter the detector and be counted as unaffected gamma rays. It is possible for gamma rays that are scattered by the collimators to reach the detector, but these are of such low energies that they do not affect your results significantly.
- Last day of the experiment please fill out the Experiment Evaluation
Gamma Layout
1. Web Elements Period Table of Elements
2. Segre, Emilio. "Appendix A: Scattering from a Fixed Center of Force." Nuclei and Particles, Second Edition, WA Benjamin Inc. London (1977).
3. Yoshizawa, Yasukazu. "Beta and Gamma Ray Spectroscopy of C 137",Nuclear Physics 5, 1958, pp. 122-140. #QC770.N8
4. Canberra Counter/Timer 1772 Instruction Manual
5. Equipment Manuals; GMA Equipment Manuals
6. DG645 Digital pulser DG645 Manual
7. R. D. Evans, The Atomic Nucleus. McGraw Hill (1972).
Other reprints and reference materials can be found on the Physics 111 Library Site


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Curiosity rover powered down after solar blast
Thu., March 7, 2013
LOS ANGELES – Curiosity hunkered down Wednesday after the sun unleashed a blast that raced toward Mars.
While the hardy rover was designed to withstand punishing space weather, its handlers decided to power it down as a precaution since it suffered a recent computer problem.
"We're being more careful," said project manager Richard Cook of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which runs the $2.5 billion mission.
While Curiosity slept, the Opportunity rover and two NASA spacecraft circling overhead carried on with normal activities.
On Tuesday, scientists noticed a huge flare erupting from the sun that hurled a stream of radiation in Mars' direction. The solar burst also spawned a cloud of superheated gas that barreled toward the red planet at 2 million mph.
The eruption did not appear severe or extreme, but "middle of the road, all things considered" said space weather chief Bob Rutledge at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The solar tempest was not expected to have an impact on Earth. In the past, such outbursts have triggered solar storms with the ability to disrupt utility grids, airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services. They're also known to produce shimmering auroras in places farther from the poles.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gearing up for their big premiere, the cast of "Café Society" arrived for a photocall at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival today (May 11).
Gearing up for the September 18th release date, Warner Bros just unloaded eight character posters for "Black Mass" via the web.
Following up the overwhelming success of "Gone Girl," Gillian Flynn is back with a new novel-turned-movie called "Dark Places" and it certainly lives up to its name.
Showing off his impressive acting range, Johnny Depp is featured in a brand new trailer for his forthcoming film "Black Mass."
Adding to the summer movie season hype, "Ant-Man" just dropped a full-length trailer and it looks like Marvel Studios has another hit on the way.
Given the fact that "Gone Girl" was a big hit, Gillian Flynn has offered up her novel "Dark Places" as her next feature film adaptation.
The brand new trailer features Charlize Theron, Chloe Moretz, Christina Hendricks, Nicholas Hoult and Corey Stoll under the direction of Gilles Paquet-Brenner.
Building plenty of pre-release buzz, Marvel just unveiled the official trailer for the forthcoming flick "Ant-Man." Starring Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly and Corey Stoll, the new preview first debuted during "Marvel's
Showing some love to their Tinseltown fans, the cast of "This is Where I Leave You" hammed it up at the TCL Chinese Theatre at Monday night's premiere (September 15).
"Arrested Development" star Jason Bateman looked to be in good spirits as he mingled with fellow hunks Dax Shepard and Corey Stoll.


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Photo Gallery: 500+ Shots of Audi R18 Testing in Sebring
by, 03-24-2011 at 10:29 PM (10832 Views)
We're still working on some video and our story of our time spent last Monday on location with Audi Sport at their post-Sebring R18 test session. In the meantime though we've managed to sift through our photos.
Click the link at the bottom and you'll find a collection of over 500 shots taken at the test from both myself (George Achorn) and by photographer Jim Fets who was there to shoot the test for Audi of America. 40-some shots of Jim's can also be found via Audi of America's Flickr account (also linked below). Jim was kind enough to share over 200 images from his shoot with us.
As for our specific Fourtitude shots, we were liberal with what we included in the gallery. A few of the shots are close to duplicates of others while some are a little blurry. We consciously decided to not be too selective because we figure hardcore fans of Audi Sport will want to see as many shots as possible. In that regard, please enjoy what you find below.
We've also seen complaints about our gallery format size... 1024 pixels being the largest size. We plan to take some of the better shots and turn them into wallpapers but those will come after we get the video and story live sometime tomorrow. For now, enjoy the pics and if you have any specific suggestions for which ones we choose as wallpaper then let us know below.
Fourtitude Audi R18 Test Photo Gallery
Audi of America R18 Test Photo Gallery on Flickr


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Operation Apache Snow was a military operation carried out by ten battalions from the US 101st Airborne Division, 501st, 506th, the 187th Infantry Divisions, in the A Shau Valley from May 10 to June 7, 1969, during the Vietnam War. The A Shau Valley was a logistic corridor used by the North Vietnamese Army to transport military supplies into South Vietnam. Until May 1969, two operations had been conducted in the area (Operation Delaware and Operation Dewey Canyon), but the US forces had not been able to stop the flow of material through the trails in the valley.
Operation Apache Snow had been planned to block escape routes into Laos, destroy moving enemy formations, and launch assaults on fixed communist strongholds. One of the main targets became Hill 937, which triggered a fierce battle which became known as the Battle of Hamburger Hill. After ten days of fighting and at the cost of heavy losses, US forces managed to capture the hill, only to abandon it two weeks later.
Operation Apache Snow raged on until June 7, 1969. Although more than 900 enemy soldiers were killed and several fortified positions destroyed, it failed to prevent North Vietnamese forces from pouring into the valley as the flow of supplies continued. The A Shau Valley remained as a springboard from which communist attacks were launched into northern South Vietnam. Probably the solution to this problem would have been to launch a total and massive attack against North Vietnam to completely destroy the enemy where they came from. Doing that would have provoked the direct involvement of communist China, and perhaps Russia, but the American government wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with super powers which also had nuclear arsenal. That was the cold war.


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The easily adjustable Grows-A-Long system accommodates three sizes to ensure that the boot lasts your little ripper the entire season, and possibly even longer. Boa lacing makes it easy for him to tighten and loosen his boots by himself with the twist of a dial so he can adjust it even with gloves on, and it provides a secure and comfy fit. An EVA insole absorbs shock to protect his heels on that first jump attempt, and the Bright Futures with lights outsole helps him stay illuminated after dark, as well as keeps things lightweight so the boots don't feel clunky and awkward.
- Boa closure
- Custom moldable liner fit with internal J-Bars
- Grows-A-Long EVA footbed
- Heel and tongue pull for easy entry
- Bright Futures with lights outsole
- Item #K2S006Y


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Take a look at our video for a taster of what it's really like to live out your student days as part of our vibrant community. If you like what you see, come along to one of our Open Days, meet some current Hatfielders and soak up the beauty of the place.
Cast your eyes over our blog and see which hot topics have caught our attention. You'll be able to glimpse into the current happenings at Hatfield. We keep our readers reliably informed, faithfully typing, so you don't miss a thing.
Our societies mean you'll fit right in here at Hatfield. Your spare time can be dedicated to the things you love and you'll meet people with similar interests along the way. Your free time and social life is readymade and waiting.
Within the JCR, there is an endless choice of sporting activities to get involved in. There's something here to suit everyone, something that's guaranteed to set your heart racing. You'll always have a place within Team Hatfield.


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Why I am voting against SPLOST on March 15?
This letter is in response to a letter Thursday by Jane Browder. The context of the article was of her demonization of labor unions. It is very obvious Ms. Browder knows absolutely nothing about the inner workings of labor unions or the obvious reasons for their existence.
In response to the recent letter to the editor regarding our proposal to raise the level of Lake Lanier by 2 feet, I would like to give additional information on this proposal.
I was appalled at the article in Wednesday's Times, "Republican Party Rejects Member."
Sometimes a good idea is so good it's hard to sustain over the long haul. That's often true with ideas that come from government that depend on revenues that blow with the economic winds.
Why in the world do the people in Washington not see the importance of exploring and drilling for crude in the Americas?
This is in response to Nathan Deal's pre-kindergarten cuts, about cutting pre-K two hours a day and the comment about paying for them to sleep. In private centers, pre-K teachers work exceptionally hard. Nap time is often used for teachers for planning time.
The Hall County Democratic Party supports a "yes" vote on March 15 to continue the one percent Special Local Option Sales Tax for educational funds.
I just recently did an Internet search and found 38 assorted photos of Ku Klux Klan activities. In these 38 photos, there are displayed 55 U.S. flags, eight Confederate flags and one sign which says "Our Flag The Stars and Stripes Forever."
Regarding the billboard bill in the state House of Representatives, from information I have received, this bill is very costly to Georgia, monetarily as well as visually.
In J.C. Smith's letter Saturday, he seems to have his facts wrong about the NFL Players Association and the owners. He states that a strike is looming when in fact the players have not threatened to strike.
An article by the president of Georgia River Network, "Reservoirs an Unnecessary Expense," details how unnecessary and useless the Hall County reservoirs are. With our county in debt already, this just seems like a very wrong idea at the wrong time.
This letter is to pose a question to anyone who votes for Democratic candidates: If you knew of a drug addicted parent who took money from their parents to buy drugs and took the earnings of their children to buy drugs, would you think that the moral or ethical thing to do? Wouldn't you rather see these parents placed in a drug rehab program that would teach them behavior modification techniques?
Unions are fighting for more control over Jane and Joe Taxpayer's checkbook on the state and federal level while still strangling private sector companies with their financially unrealistic demands. That makes goods and services cost more, or you're out of a job since the business goes bankrupt.
Unbelievable; we now have two out of five county commissioners' filing bankruptcy, and yet they feel they have the ability to handle the fiscal budget of our county. Go figure.
Page 5 of 91
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Former Rwandan Minister Augustin Ngirabatware was sentenced Thursday to 35 years in prison after being found guilty by a U.N. tribunal of genocide, incitement to genocide and rape as a crime against humanity.
Ngirabatware was Rwanada's planning minister during the 1994 genocide which killed over 800,000 Rwandans and displaced thousands more. During the genocides, those from the Hutu tribe slaughtered Tutsis.
Ngirabatware, 55, was found guilty for his role in publicly inciting the killing of Tutsis at a roadblock in February 1994 and trafficking weapons which were being used to kill Tutsis.
He was convicted of "participating in a joint criminal enterprise … whose members shared the common purpose of destroying, in whole or in part, the Tutsi ethnic group, and exterminating the Tutsi civilian population in Nyamyumba commune."
In addition, Ngirabatware was also convicted of raping Tutsi women.
Ngirabatware was nabbed in Germany in 2007, and sent to the U.N. tribunal for trial in 2009.
"The delivery of judgment today in this case marks a historic occasion and important milestone in the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda," said chief prosecutor Justice Hassan Bubacar Jallow.
Thus far, 83 people have been arrested for Rwandan war crimes, 75 have been prosecuted, and there have been 65 convictions.
"It has taken considerable effort, dedication and diligence by several parties for this outcome, amongst them the governments and law enforcement authorities of some 21 countries," Jallow said.
Jallow also praised witnesses in the case.
"We hope that the ICTR has through the execution of its mandate made a difference: a difference in ensuring accountability for those who played a leading role in the tragedy of 1994 in Rwanda; in contributing to justice, reconciliation and respect for the rule of law in Rwanda; in demonstrating the viability and effectiveness of the process of international legal accountability for international crimes," Jallow said.


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Thanks for the help, not sure if this solved it, i tried it again last night, I first saved the resolution with the "save changes" button, then I saved the video with the "submit file for review" button. Now it looks normal.
The previous times i did it before I only press the "submit file for review" button trying to submit both resolution and uploading the file at the same time.
so the reviewer said it's out of his hands, so what was the point of setting the video resolution in the update field if it's not comply by the video preview lightbox?
first time uploading a video flv to an item of mine and listed the dimension as 1000×550. But the preview window is way too small at 320×238.
I re-uploaded it again a 2nd time stating in the comment for reviewer to make it larger, but still it's not enlarged. How do I go about adjusting the video preview window size?
Pixelworkshop said
Top "selling" items ? Or picked items among top sellers ? But it's a nice idea to promote quality stuff.
i'm kind of curious too what the criteria for "top selling" items are? is this award by sales number for the year?
VF said
This happens because they prefer to display (total items -1) with the aim of not to show same current item on "more items by" section. But due to the way they cache the files (1 time cache for all the items of an author) this bug can't be solved without displaying all the items (or select 7 from total entries, not Total-1). For example if an author has 2 files, this section will always show 1 file but 50% of the times, that 1 file will be the same current file . Once I reported to support, tried to explain exactly what is missing but my attempt was an epic fail and I forgot it!
i tried too contacting support about it, but they told me i didn't have enough items to fill all the slots but i tried explaining to them it's more about their duplicate filter not working but they never got back to me again.
i've noticed that under more items by … in the items page, it doesn't list all my codecanyon items even though there are still available slots.
i have 6 items currently on codecanyon and it's only listing 5. I can understand if they are not listing the duplicate one, but that doesn't seem to be the case at least for me.
maybe it's just the front page thumbnails, does it take longer for it to update the front page? although now i just noticed a couple of other ones besides mine on the front page missing it also
Wonder if anyone is seeing the same problem, i recently updated just the inline preview image for an item of mine and i've noticed when you mouseover the small thumbnail, the preview image is no longer showing anything.
thanks for letting me know and looking into it
can someone in envato help me with this notice i got, i emailed a couple of times already explaining what is happening and no response yet,
it's rather important since the notice i received initially stated i have a limited amount of time to take the file down or else my account may be shut down.
like i said before, i have no clue as to who is selling my file, so have no control over taking it down.


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How to Buy
Solutions Overview
Ubuntu Security Notice (C) 2007-2016 Canonical, Inc. / NASL script (C) 2007-2016 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
Synopsis :
The remote Ubuntu host is missing one or more security-related
Description :
It was discovered that Quagga did not correctly verify length
information sent from configured peers. Remote malicious peers could
send a specially crafted UPDATE message which would cause bgpd to
abort, leading to a denial of service.
Note that Tenable Network Security has extracted the preceding
description block directly from the Ubuntu security advisory. Tenable
has attempted to automatically clean and format it as much as possible
without introducing additional issues.
Solution :
Update the affected quagga and / or quagga-doc packages.
Risk factor :
Medium / CVSS Base Score : 6.3
Family: Ubuntu Local Security Checks
Nessus Plugin ID: 28061 ()
Bugtraq ID:
Get Nessus Professional to scan unlimited IPs, run compliance checks & more
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Ozark Wonder Cave/ Witt's Resort Noel, Mo brochure MINT
- Sold for: Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
- Item Category: Books, Paper & Magazines
- Source: eBay
- Sold Date: Jul 21, 2008
- Channel: Auction House
Photos info and map. $2.00 S/H email ?'s


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Your browser does not support iframes.
The hottest technology emerging today are Virtual Reality devices, or VR. The strongest of the early competitors include, Microsoft HoloLens, Oculus (owned by Facebook, the Oculus Rift model is now shipping,) and Google Glass (also see Glass at Work, for some very interesting work place applications.)
These devices are for moving about and viewing in a 3D world, However, the experience does not come cheaply, as the Oculus Rift bundle from Amazon will set you back about $1500! A developer's version of the Microsoft's HoloLens can be purchased for only $3000.
Other than constitutional amendments, which go before the voters, every bill the General Assembly passes has to clear one final hurdle before becoming law: The governor's pen.
The governor has the authority to sign or reject bills, or to let them become law without a signature. He or she can only approve or veto bills in their entirety – except in budgetary matters, which can be line-item vetoed without affecting the rest.
Are you water aware? Do you know how your home and garden water use impacts the water around you? May is Kentucky Water Awareness Month, and that's a good time to think about how what we do affects the health of waterways in Kentucky and beyond.
Kentucky has more than 90,000 miles of rivers and streams. Each stream eventually meets the Mississippi River, either directly or via the Ohio River. That means everything we put into the water can potentially reach as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
Spring is a great time to target harmful bacteria that can lurk on kitchen surfaces and even in your refrigerator. Harmful bacteria especially like moist environments. A clean, dry kitchen helps protect your family from foodborne illness.
Some cleaning tips you should practice year round to make your kitchen and your meals safer include:
Always clean surfaces thoroughly with hot, soapy water.
From 1997 through 2002, I stayed busy helping many businesses convert from computer accounting software that was not Y2K compliant.
To refresh your memory, when the calendar turned over to January 1, 2000, a number of older software codes failed to work properly. This was because a lot of programs used a six-character date, representing the year in two digits.
This was done to save the costs of data storage; I know, seems funny now. This practice worked great until we cycled to zero-zero. Then, not so good.
Legislative sessions tend to be remembered for just a handful of new laws, and this year's, which ended April 15th, is no different.
The budget was understandably the most prominent, with its chief highlight being the significant amount of new money the General Assembly put toward the unfunded liabilities of our public retirement systems.
I just want to be me, the real me, jeans and tshirt with crazy hair and kids hanging off of me like little monkeys and probably some shimmering snot on my shoulder where someone was crying. This version of me is like most women my age who have children; it's where I feel most fulfilled, shimmering snot and all.
No, I did not misspell it, Pi as in Raspberry Pi is not a dessert your mom makes; it is a low cost computer that can accept an external monitor, keyboard and mouse, cameras and more. It is a capable little device that enables people of all ages to explore computing, and to learn how to program in computer languages like Python, Scratch and others. It's capable of doing everything you'd expect a desktop computer to do, from browsing the internet, playing high-definition video, playing games or business applications.
I love getting paid! However, waiting to get paid, worrying about bounced checks, or paying excessive bank fees; not so much fun. If asked how long I wanted to wait to be paid for my services, my reply would be "immediately." In fact, sooner if possible.
Collection of receivables can be a real problem for a small business. The failure to manage timely receivables has led to many small businesses failing. Fortunately, there are solutions to allow a small business to get paid faster, and also allow a greater range of payment options for their customers.
When people ask me what the greatest strength of the Fort Knox Federal Credit Union is, I tell them, undoubtedly, it's our people.
Copyright © 2017
The LaRue County Herald is your source for local news, sports, events and information in LaRue County, KY, and the surrounding area.


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Spoilers: NXT taping results
Credit: Josh Parry & PW Torch
Triple H came out and awarded a $10,000 scholarship to a production student.
Dark Match: Damien Sandow beat Brandon Trayvon.
NXT Episodes #1 & 2 taping
(1) Brodus Clay beat Camacho.
(2) Trent Barreta beat Kassius Ohno. Really good match. Hot, hot crowd so far.
(3) Layla & Alicia Fox beat Paige & Audrey.
(4) Bronson beat Lincoln Broderick with a figur-four leglock variation. Quick squash debut for Bronson, who is basically a fat Ryback.
(5) NXT champion Seth Rollins beat Heath Slater in a non-title match. The stipulation was that if Slater wins, he faces Seth again for the title "next week." Rollins won with a new finisher where he back-flipped over Slater and came down in neckbreaker position. Pretty sick. The match was great, too. They went a good 15 minutes.
A new vignette hyped the return of Bray Wyatt (former Husky Harris). Creepy stuff again.
(6) The Usos beat Michael McGillicutty & Johnny Curtis. Post-match, the lights went out and The Ascension was spotlighted in the observatory box at the top of the arena as their music played, signaling that their feud with the Usos is not over.
To finish the show, Dusty Rhodes announced a fatal four-way "next week" to determine the next number one contender. This was after Bo Dallas, Drew McIntyre, Justin Gabriel, and Jinder Mahal argued for the #1 contender spot.
NXT Episode #3 taping
(1) Roman Reigns (Leakee) debuted and squashed C.J. Parker.
The return date is October 11.
(2) U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro beat Tyson Kidd to retain the U.S. Title after the Gotch-style Neutralizer. Match of the night so far. Some seriously good nearfalls and holds in this match. It's worth checking out when it airs.
(3) Kassius Ohno beat Trent Barreta with a sick rolling elbow. Post-match, KO tried to hit it again, but Trent ducked and dropkicked him out of the ring.
(4) Big E. squashed Memo Montenegro (Del Rio's brother). After the match, Vickie Guerrero excused herself on the Titantron and said she has offered $5,000 to anyone who thinks they can put Big E. on the shelf. Of note, Big E.'s "5 Count" act is absurdly over with the crowd.
Bray Wyatt returned. Jason Jordan was already in the ring and he was interrupted by Wyatt's singing as he walked to the ring to tell him that he came to fight, so shut up and do it. Wyatt said Jason just doesn't get it. "Jason…I. AM. A. MONSTER," he said with the most creepy delivery ever. He said that he is a monster and does not roll alone. Luke Harper (Brodie Lee) ran out past Bray and beat the crap out of Jordan in the ring. Excellent; definitely a must-see segment.
(5) Jinder Mahal beat Justin Gabriel, Bo Dallas, and Drew McIntyre in a four-way #1 contender match to the NXT Title. Very sleepy, long fatal four-way.
(6) The Ascension beat Yoshi Tatsu & Percy Watson. A squash.
– John Cena came out to thunderous applause. Not a boo to be heard. He apologized for being unable to compete and said he hopes the crowd will take a rain check because he will be back to compete on October 11.
Antonio Cesaro then came out and said that if Cena were a real man, he would face him right now. Cena said he has someone just as good. Sheamus's music then hit to an equally massive ovation.
Bonus Dark Match: World Hvt. champion Sheamus beat U.S. champion Antonio Cesaro with the Brogue Kick in a Champion vs. Champion match.


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"Was just OK"
This book was not near as good as First to die and the lady who read it was not as good either. I'm going to give the 3rd book a try and see how good it is.
This is a pretty good story, but I did not like the narrators at all.
"Be Patient"
The first 4-5 chapters are almost painful to listen to. The reader doesn't do a very good job, However, if you are able to hold on until the sixth or seventh chapters she gets better.
She still misses the mark a bit, however there is improvment. The reader sounds excited when the character is described as calm and calm when the character should clearly be excited or alarmed. It seems that she emphasized the wrong places.
She made the lead characters seem whiny and weak. The voices she created for the characters changed to some degree throughout the book so it was a bit confusing.
She did not seem to know the story or the material prior to hitting the record button.
If this reader were reading the rest of the series, I would not choose to listen. However, since this appears to be the only one in the series that she reads, I will conitue to listen.
The story it pretty good. If you have a chance to read this one on your own, instead of the audible version, I would recommend it.
"I wish I read the reviews before buying....."
I'm really regretting this book. I enjoyed the first one, but the narrator on this book is actually making it painful to listen to. Accents, tone (or should I say monotone), interpretation are all horrendous! I enjoyed the narrator on the first book MUCH more. As for the actual writing, I can't really say as I can't get through the book to know.
Yes - I typically enjoy books by James Patterson.
Absolutely now on Melissa Leo. I was only able to listen to the first entrance of Jeremy Piven's chararchter, but the narration sounded good.
Anger at the narrator.
"Missed the prior narrator, good story though"
Not at the very top but this story really kept me interested. Different clue took different twists through the story.
The most interesting was when she visited the prison. That really kept me on edge. The least interesting was Cindy's dating life,
Jeremy Piven was born to do this. His voice was entrancing and I thought fit the character very well. Melissa Leo was OK but I could never tell which woman was speaking. I wish they would have used the first narrator again.
I can't tell, it would give too much away
Problem Solver, Storyteller, Business Doctor
"Impossible to listen to"
I kept wanting to like this series, but just can't stomach this narrator. Her characters are indistinguishable from one another. She makes Claire sound like a paper-thin lightweight. No thanks
"i cant believe i listened to 2 of this series!"
ok, i thought the first book in the series was pretty bad and i thought maybe it was the terrible narrator. so, i listened to the 2nd book. it was so much worse than the first book. not only was the writing elementary, (actually, that's a slam to elementary school children)but the narration was so poor i was talking back to my ipod in frustration. the california native lead character was read by an actor with an overwhelming new york accent. she was inappropriately emotional for a police homicide lieutenant, completely over emoting to the point of laughability. i caught myself rolling my eyes not only at the stupid dialog written for supposedly intelligent, powerful women but also at the extremely poor voice acting. i will never listen to anything read by this actress again. this actress was so bad, she made the first narrator (from book one in the series) seem good by comparison.
"The story continues.."
I read 1st to Die and loved it. I was thrilled to come across the next novel in the series, and this story was even better. The narrator was also better for this book.
The characters in "The Women's Murder Club" have become so endearing. I feel like they are friends of mine. They have very distinct personalities and it adds so much to the story. It's more than just a good mystery - which it is - it also held my interest in wanting to know what happens to them. Patterson is on to something with this series, and I hope it continues.
"Needs a different Narrator"
First to Die was an excellent "read" with a terrific narrator. This story was good, but the narrator detracted from the story. If time permits, read the book and skip this audio.
"Classic Patterson"
Patterson delivers another great work of suspenseful twists and turns so I gave it four stars (and did not penalize for the performance of the narrator). Great characters continue from "1st to Die".
Sadly, the narrator that recorded "1st to Die" did not continue on this novel. The narrators severely detract from the novel. I stuck it out because I got hooked on the plot and liked the book, but the voice & acting was annoying...sometimes even hard to make out what they were saying. Hopefully someone will give this work a second chance and re-record it. But if you like Patterson, it is still worth it.


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John 14:6
The way, the truth, and the life
During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ answered Thomas's question about how the disciples could know the way to the Father.
Doctrine or Principle
The only way to receive eternal life and dwell with Father in Heaven is through Jesus Christ.
What are you doing to rely upon Jesus Christ as you strive to come unto the Father?


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Category Archives: Be On Time Series
How to Be on Time in the Morning, Part 3
This is part 3 in my series on how to be on time in the mornings. If you've missed the other parts, click here for part 1, and click here for part 2!
Okay, ladies. Here we are. #3 in the series on being on time. What seemingly impossible task can I tell you to do today? (Has anyone else noticed I have a thing for bossing you all around, or am I successfully keeping it a secret? Lol.)
Yesterday, I talked about how it's their job to go to school. Yes, you are the mom. Or dad, I'm cool with that. You are the parent and you have a legal obligation to make sure your children are in school. BUT. What does your school handbook say about how they go to school? (I'm not talking transporation, here.) Stick with me, okay?
Ideally, we send our children out the door (or out of the car, or onto the bus), looking perfect. Their socks match, their outfits well coordinated (oh, I envy you uniform schools!), their hair is perfectly in place, their tummies full of nutritious breakfast, and their backpacks zipped, containing every piece of homework, form, and book needed to return to school. This is real life though, and real life isn't quite so perfect.
My next tip for being on time is
3. Give your child the chance to learn natural consequences.
What you need to do is let go of any perfection that is slowing down you getting out the door. As parents, it is our job to teach our children responsibility, as well as natural consequences when we fail our responsbilities. If we rescue them over and over by bringing them homework, driving them to school because they slept in and didn't have time for breakfast, or were just moving to darn slow to eat breakfast, we will raise children who depend on us to save them and are unprepared for the "unfairness" of life.
Guess what? If you don't have time to get dressed, the natural consequence is that you go to school in pajamas.
- If you don't have time to get your hair styled, the natural consequence is going to school with messy hair.
- If you don't put away your homework and can't find it in the morning, the natural consequence is not getting credit for the work you've done.
- If you are moving too slow to eat breakfast, or you sleep in past breakfast, the natural consequence is going hungry, or going with only a piece of fruit as you head out the door.
- If you are late to school, the natural consequences are explaining to your peers why you are late, as well as missing important information at the beginning of the day.
Is this mean? Perhaps, but school is about learning, and getting ready for school has just as many opportunities for learning as school itself. Being on time is a skill, one with which you yourself may struggle. Giving your child the chance to learn this from a young age isn't cruel, it's providing them ample opportunity to learn this skill.
To what age is this applicable?
Well, on the one hand, I wouldn't put your kindergartner in charge of getting to places on time. Chances are your kindergartner has no real concept of time; which is why using this chart is a handy tool. But I have dragged my preschooler out of the house crying because she wasn't wearing pants. As I buckled her into the car I explained that she told me "no" several times when I asked her to put pants on. When we arrived at our location, she quickly and eagerly put her pants on, and the next time we left the house, she complied with no defiance.
So while this suggestion is mainly for older children who are able to get themselves ready for school with not much help from you beyond nagging, it can be helpful for younger children as well. We have a new rule in my house: I don't nag (I use a timer or offer friendly time reminders), but you leave the house with whatever you are wearing when it's time to go.
There are so many more ideas and posts I could give you on this subject; because it's something I struggle with (and learn from!) on a daily basis.
A few tidbits:
-arrange a carpool or a walkpool (if you walk to school) with their friends. Kids are very motivated by not keeping their peers waiting!
-give yourself 5 extra minutes if you are consistently 5 minutes to school. Even if it means waking up 5 minutes earlier.
-use rewards. Use a sticker chart, and every day they are on time for school they get a sticker. 'X' many stickers equals a prize (we often work towards Doughnut Days before school!)
-a small "ride to school" treat goes a long way. A sucker, a Tootsie Roll, or some non-food related prize can be an easy bribe on days that you need to move quickly
-children who are ready before it's time to go can be given a few minutes of snuggle time, TV time, or reading time
Speaking of a sticker chart, I made one for you! I'm all nice like that. :) Print it off and reward your child when it's all full of stickers.
Okay, now it's your turn. What are your ideas for how to be on time in the morning? Post them below to make this a great resource with all of your ideas!
How to Be On Time in the Mornings, Part 2
This is the second post in my series on being on time in the morning. If you missed the first post, click on over and check it out!
This week, I've been talking about how to be on time in the morning, even while herding multiple children of varied shoe-finding abilities out the door. I want you to think back for a moment, if you can… try to recall those blissful moments, pre-kid, when you needed to leave the house. Maybe there were hectic days (because you set your alarm for exactly six minutes before you have to be out the door, perhaps), but I'd be willing to bet you could be on time to any given situation.
{If you really wanted to be, that is.}
Now that we've had a moment of reflection, and shed a few tears for the young, youthful, skinny woman you used to be; reflect on today. Was there a lot of noise? Was there yelling? Was there more than five minutes spent looking for one item, only to realize you should have been looking for two missing items all along? Was there begging, pleading, and nagging, only to have it all fall on suddenly deaf ears?
(Though if you whisper "pick up some ice cream" to your husband, those ears are as fine tuned as a sniper's in the jungle.)
What's changed? The birth of your innocent, precious angels. Somehow those little angels turned into people who needed more than just a diaper and a source of milk.
Which is also why you shouldn't get a puppy. They tend to turn into dogs.
They are now kids who need breakfast, and backpacks, and socks, and shoes, and signed field trip permission slips, and money for lunch, and their top secret diary because their illiterate preschool sister might "read" it while they are gone. On top of this, they still manage to leave their homework in the car and will call you two hours later asking you to bring it to school. Seriously.
Let's step back. Let's think about this for a moment. Just who is causing all the problems in the morning?
Certainly not you, who can still roll out the door in 6 minutes flat, given enough motivation and no kids.
It's them.
My next tip for getting out the door on time:
2. Put the kids in charge.
No, don't roll your eyes. I know I don't know your kids, but I know my kids, and kids are all the same. :) I happen to be a stay at home mom. My job is to raise and feed and care for my kids to the best of my abilities. Their job is to go to school. So why are you stressing about getting them there on time?
I know, I know, you can't just let them not go to school. I'm not suggesting that. We want to live within the bounds of where someone could call DCFS on us; isn't that every parent's dream?
In all seriousness though, put some of that headache inducing stress on them. If they are older than 5, they are plenty old enough to be picking out their outfits the night before. Have them lay their clothes out, socks and shoes included. Backpacks need to be packed by the door (or even in the car!), ready to go. If you are OCD (I'm not, I'm just a control freak), double check the outfit to save their teachers from anything that could potentially blind with "flair."
Older kids can be given an alarm clock. Teach them how to set it, and if your child is not a morning person, teach them how to use the snooze. Let them know the absolute latest they need to be up.
If this ends up being a problem, let them know how soon they need to be up if they expect to shower, and the latest time to be up to get out the door, semi-dressed. Let them know at what time they need to be in your sight dressed to leave before you will come and wake them up; set consequences if you need to take the time from your morning to wake them up.
Even little kids can set the table for breakfast. Alternatively, setting the table can be part of after dinner chores, unless that will drive you crazy to have the table set all night. :) But don't feel like you need to be the only one making their breakfast. My oldest either pours all the cereal or starts the toaster. On smoothie days, he'll help pull the ingredients out of the freeze so all I do is combine and blend. If lunches need to be packed, older children can help with this as well. (You do have your monthly menu posted on your fridge, don't you?) If your kids are too young or not responsible enough for this chore, then be sure to pack the lunch the night before.
(Hint: place condiments between layers of meat, or between leaves of lettuce, and the bread won't get soggy! Or you could get little condiment packets from Sams Club—mustard here, mayo here–and have your kid spread them at school!)
And one last idea for the kid who just can't get going, or spends way too much time doing basically everything, I suggest this:
The all-powerful timer. I've posted about using a timer before, but another way to use it is to set a timer for each activity your child needs to be doing. Eating breakfast? Give them ten minutes. Brushing teeth? Two minutes. Dressing? Five minutes. And so on. Every time the timer beeps, have your child (or assist them) to reset the timer. I've included a free printable for a morning checklist. Simply write in the time each task should take, and let them check it of when they are all finished. Put it in a sheet protector and use a dry eraser marker for re-usability (I think I just made that word up.)
The bonus for the child is not only using a nifty gadget, but it helps them pace their own speed better. Children have virtually no sense of time, so picking up a Barbie for what they thought was ten seconds, was actually enough time to miss the bus. This would also work well for the child who can't get themselves out of bed, but isn't ready for an alarm clock. Rouse them to semi-consciousness, and let them know you're setting the timer for x minutes. Let them know they can have one "snooze" where you will come in and reset the timer. Keep the "snoozes" short, so their brains stay in a lighter sleep pattern and will often wake easily by the second time you come in to turn off the timer.
Oh, and speaking of pacing their time; if they only take eight minutes to dress, they can have the rest of the time for play! Before you know it, your child will be racing to get ready for school.
Click here for post 3 in the series "How to Be On Time in the Morning."
How to Be on Time in the Morning, Part 1
Everybody has those days where no matter what, it seems impossible to get your kids out the door on time.
{Right? It's not just me, it's everyone?}
This is personally the most aggravating thing on the planet. I'm ADHD, people. Once I decide to go, I wanna go. Like, five minutes ago. My kids have this magical ability to sense when I absolutely must be out the door right now because I procrastinated getting ready. This is the time when they move like mud on a sunny day. Tantrums ensue, tempers flare, and yelling escalates.
And they don't act great, either.
This is the first in a three part series on how to be on time in the morning. While I'm sure these will also apply to being on time for other parts of the day too, I'm going to focus on being on time in that mad dash out the door for school (or day care and work, or wherever it is you head off to first thing).
My first suggestion I'm bringing you today is all about the breakfast. I am–or was–a huge die hard fan of cereal. My only craving throughout my entire first pregnancy was Lucky Charms. Seriously. So cereal used to be my standby. Five, six, seven days a week, cereal it was. Occasionally we'd break out the griddle for a pancake Saturday.
The problem I was finding is that my kids were spending an awful lot of time in the morning standing in front of the pantry, bleary-eyed, trying to decide which cereal it was they wanted as they slowly woke up. Or worse, there would be an argument over who got to finish that box of cereal. Then there would be the inevitable cereal spills for me to try and remember to clean up after school. And by the time I got home from school, I was hungry again, how were my poor kids making it through the day at school?
While doing my daily perusal of Confessions of a Homeschooler, I came across her menu plan. At first, I was shocked. She had brilliantly planned out a menu not just for dinner, but for breakfast, lunch, and a snack! The word cereal didn't appear on her menu once. I thought to myself that this could only work for a homeschooler. I'm no morning person; I'm not going to be up at six a.m. flipping pancakes for my crabby kids. Unrealistic.
I asked her a couple of questions, and I took a second look at her menu. Waffles–frozen. Pancakes–frozen. She even makes her kids smoothies in the morning using frozen yogurt mixes from the store. When I sat down to really look at the amount of time she spends preparing breakfast, it wasn't that big of a deal.
So, on the list of getting out the door:
1. Make your kids a real breakfast.
I know you're wondering what this is going to do to help you get out the door on time. Adding 'making a meal' isn't going to cut down on time! Well, let's back up a little. First, a prepared plan for breakfast. No more arguing who gets what for breakfast, no more sleep deprived children trying to make up their minds. Today, we are having frozen pancakes with fruit. Sit, eat. Second, most of my breakfast meals are toaster-friendly, or even go in the microwave. As you toast your waffles, you go about getting your kids ready. You can try to stagger their eating times so the
slowest youngest ones eat while you do the older ones' hair, then while the older one is eating you can finish up the younger ones' hair.
{Or do it while she eats. It happens.}
Another benefit of not-cereal-again is that it adds variety to your kids' schedule. While most kids thrive on consistency, my kids have been extremely excited to wake up and find today is smoothie day. I like to plan smoothie day for days that we'll be extra short on time, because if you can throw a lid on your smoothie, your kids can drink it in the car. We're not going for gourmet, or family discussions on politics while eating. Fast, easy, simple, out the door.
Click here to check out my menu for the month.
Now it's your turn. What are some of your favorite out-the-door or on-the-go breakfasts for the kiddos?
Click here for post 2 in the series "How to Be on Time in the Morning."


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"Drugs feel good, plus they help you deal with the stress of school."
FALSE. Some drugs do make people feel good for a short time, and this is what's called the "high." But there is no drug that
As far as relieving the stress from school, drugs will only make things worse. Kids who are on drugs almost always get into trouble with behavior and grades, and these things only add to stress. Think about kids you know, or even characters on TV or in the movies, who do drugs. Do they look like they don't have any stress?
"Drugs aren't bad as long as you can control them."
FALSE. Drugs are against the law whether you do a little or do a lot. If you're caught using drugs, depending on your age, you can get kicked out of school, be sent to a juvenile correction center, or go to jail. As far as health and mental effects, drugs can sometimes hurt you the first time you take them.
You should also be aware that the whole idea of "controlling it" is often a lie. Drugs can take over your mind and body so that all you want to do is get more drugs. In a way, the drug controls you, instead of the other way around. Not everyone who tries drugs will end up a hopeless addict, but the chances of controlling your life, and being healthy and successful, are much greater if you never try drugs.
"Drugs can make you feel like you have bugs under your skin!"
TRUE. Many people who abuse methamphetamine or Ritalin can feel the sensation of insects crawling beneath their skin. This can be a very scary thing! Hallucinogenic drugs, like LSD, can also make you see and feel things that aren't there, and this can include bugs and even more frightening things. Yikes!
In the next section we'll show you how you can Make A Difference! when it comes to drug abuse.


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Moving on, I have been on an oil burning spree lately and I love it. For Christmas Mike and I got a couple of great oils from his parents and we have been burning them non stop lately. Since I didn't have an oil burner I bought a starter kit from In Essence and got three more oils so now we have five to choose from on a daily basis. At the moment I am burning sweet zanzibar which is just divine! When we were recovering from our jetlag I made sure relaxing lavender was on high rotation.
The Orange pure essential oil is "a pleasant uplifting oil which restores the spirit". It can also releave headaches and sleeplessness.
The Essence of Australia aromatic oil blend has Australian sandalwood, lemon scented eucalyptus, melaleuca and citrus. It truly captures the Australian beauty and the scent is incredible.
The Lavender pure essential oil is the one I've used the most and it truly relaxes you. It also provides releaf for coughs and colds so this is a great oil to have around when winter rolls around in a few months. It can also treat mild acne and it's a truly versatile oil.
The Breathe Easy therapeutic blend is perfect for me. It relieves symptoms of sinusitis, colds, flu, hay fever and more. The perfect recovery blend.
|The silk scarf was a $5 thrift store find. Got to love that!


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Ola Dubh (or 'Black Oil') is a collaboration between Harviestoun Brewery and Highland Park, Distiller of the Year*. It is based on Harviestoun's award-winning Old Engine Oil. With more than a stylistic nod to the classic Imperial Porters (and Stouts) of the nineteenth century, this deliciously rich, dark, 8% a.b.v. beer is the first ale to be aged in malt whisky casks from a named distillery and, with traceable casks and numbered bottles, the rest with genuine provenance. Ola Dubh will initially be available in three different expressions; the initial release will be of small batches aged in casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 12 Year Old, Highland Park 16 Year Old and Highland Park 30 Year Old. Further variants are planned for the future. Ola Dubh is, in the words of beer afficionado Owen D.L. Barstow: "The most interesting new British beer I have tried in years."
Brewer: Harviestoun
Style: Old Ale
Alcohol Content: 8%
Seasonal: No
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This second album from Phoenix groove thrashers Incite—featuring Soulfly's Max Cavalera's stepson Richie Cavalera on vocals—is full of mean riffing and serious aggression. "Feel the Flames" hits like Pantera; "Retaliation" has a killer balance of melodies and intense thrash guitar work. Richie has Max's sense of subtlety, meaning none whatsoever, and his band's latest plows ahead with one emotion: hate. This can get tiring, but the group more or less pulls it off, thanks to the energetic hardcore edge. Too bad the stiff, triggered drum sound destroys any semblance of nuance, the missing ingredient to push this one to a new level. GREG PRATT
Review: Incite - All Out War
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Reviews, markets and speech therapy
August 25, 2012 , 11:04 AM by Courtney Carthy
First off, superannuation specialist Heather Gray from DLA Piper mentioned an Australian Tax Office service to find your super.
SuperSeeker is the one.
And... at the end of Speech Therapy Week we spoke to Robyn Stephen, speech pathologist.
Wanted to pass on this address after so many people called looking for more information.
You'll find resources and contact information for services.
We should mentione Jo Toscano's picks of the week - carrots, celery and strawberries.
Alex First, here again, for the weekly reviews and news for this weekend.
- Melbourne Writer's Festival (go to mwf.com.au to download the program.)
- Markets
- Guided tours of Melbourne - the Golden Mile walk
- Review of Chess (Melbourne Theatre Company)
- Movies: Hope Springs, Total Recall, Bully, Holy Motors
Accredited farmers' markets this weekend are:
Casey Berwick Farmers' Market, Berwick
Mansfield Farmers' Market
Lancefield Farmers' Market
Slow Food Farmers' Market, Abbotsford
Mt Eliza Farmers' Market
Flemington Farmers' Market
Just lastly, if you've ever wondered what Manuel Parianos from Planet Seafood - and our regular seafood market expert, he stopped by this morning.
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Cooley Law Professors File Amicus Brief in Michigan Marriage Equality Case
August 28, 2013 – Eight Thomas M. Cooley Law School professors recently filed a joint amicus brief in the marriage equality case DeBoer v. Snyder, which challenges the legality of both the 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in Michigan and the Michigan Adoption Code. An amicus brief, or "Friend of the Court" brief, makes arguments and provides information that might be helpful to the court.
"This amendment not only bans same-sex marriage, it also harms the families of same-sex couples, depriving them of the protections of Michigan law," said Dan Ray, professor of constitutional law at Cooley and one of the amicus brief authors. "Same sex couples don't enjoy many of the things that other Michigan couples take for granted, like health care benefits or other spousal benefits. At its core, the amendment is discriminatory and does not reflect the kinds of values the people of Michigan put in our constitution."
The plaintiffs, April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse, are in a long-term, committed relationship, and would marry if they were allowed to by Michigan law. The couple originallyfiled suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to challenge the Michigan Adoption Code, which prevents them from jointly adopting the three children they have adopted separately.
Michigan adoption law allows married couples and individuals to adopt, but non-married couples cannot jointly adopt a child. Since same-sex couples cannot legally marry in Michigan, they cannot legally adopt together. Recognizing this, Judge Bernard Friedman allowed the plaintiffs to amend their suit to include a challenge to Michigan's same-sex marriage ban.
"The United States Supreme Court has ruled several times, most recently this past June, that discrimination against gays and lesbians just because of their sexual orientation is unconstitutional," said Ray. "The amendment does just that – it singles out gays and lesbians because of their sexual orientation – and refuses to recognize their committed relationships for any purpose. Michigan punishes an entire class of people who have done nothing wrong. The United States Constitution doesn't allow Michigan to do that."
Besides Ray, other co-authors of the brief include Cooley professors Brendan Beery, Alan Gershel, Gina Torielli, Frank Aiello, Emily Horvath, Karen Chadwick, and Marjorie Gell.
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled in front of Judge Bernard A. Friedman, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, on Oct. 1, 2013.
About Cooley Law School: Celebrating 40 years of excellence, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School is a private, nonprofit, independent law school accredited by the American Bar Association and the Higher Learning Commission. Cooley has provided its more than 17,000 graduates with the practical skills necessary for a seamless transition from academia to the real world. Cooley offers its Juris Doctor program, Joint Degree programs, and Master of Laws programs three times a year with enrollment in January, May and September. Cooley Law School has campuses across Michigan in Lansing, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, and its new campus in Tampa Bay, Florida.


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Canada's Enbridge posts quarterly loss
May 6 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc , Canada's largest pipeline company, reported a quarterly loss compared with a year-ago profit, hurt by the impact of a steep drop in oil and gas prices and hedging losses.
The Calgary-based company said loss attributable to shareholders was C$383 million ($319 million), or 46 Canadian cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of C$390 million, or 47 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. ($1 = 1.2014 Canadian dollars) (Reporting By Shubhankar Chakravorty in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved.


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Anyone want a Sport Exhaust for Mini Cooper
I have a Rogue Engineering Sport Exhaust which I used for 1 month on my 2002 Mini Cooper and then had uninstalled because it sounded too intense for me. This will provide for added HP and a louder 'growl'. This exhaust replaces entire factory system from the catalytic converters. Fully mandrel-bent and TIG welded T-304 stainless steel. System uses a high-flow resonator in the front with a free-flow design muffler all terminating in signature Rogue Engineering exhaust tip. Best reasonable offer takes it. Located in N.J., will ship at your cost if interested.
My 02 Mini is also for sale.
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Coming into this season, Jay Cutler's best stretch as a quarterback for the Chicago Bears came in 2011 between Week 6 and Week 11. The Bears went 5-0 during that timeframe, which included a bye week, and Cutler was being talked about as a potential MVP candidate.
As we all know, a broken finger derailed that campaign but during those five games Cutler, in his second year under former offensive coordinator Mike Martz, was playing at an extremely high level. Some folks even felt Cutler was on his way to finally reaching his immense potential.
Yet a year under Mike Tice saw Cutler regress into a skittish passer that was uncomfortable in the pocket and only willing to throw to Brandon Marshall. That was all GM Phil Emery needed to see. Remember, Emery is an NFL executive that understands the value of the quarterback in today's game. He knows the Bears aren't going to win championships with a mediocre offense, which is why he fired Lovie Smith and hired Marc Trestman, a coach with more than 20 years working with some of the greatest quarterbacks in the game.
Emery has put all his eggs into Cutler's basket, believing that if Trestman can develop Jay into the quarterback we all know he can be, the Bears can win another Super Bowl. It appears Emery made the right choice.
Through just six games this season, Cutler has shown rapid development. He's been confident in the pocket and in his reads, showing great comfort in a system that gets the ball quickly out of his hands. And the numbers bear that out. Here are Cutler's numbers in six games this year compared to his five-game stretch in 2011.
|Completion %
|QB Rating
As you can see, Cutler is playing at his highest level since coming to Chicago in 2009. He's thrown zero interception in three of his past four contests and is posting career highs in completion percentage and passer rating. He's also on pace to throw 32 touchdowns, beating by five his former career-high in TDs (27 in 2009). And all of this has happened with a brand new head coach, a new quarterbacks coach, a new offensive coordinator and a new playbook.
If anyone tells you they foresaw before the season Cutler developing this rapidly, they are lying. But the numbers don't lie and neither do the results. Coming into Week 6, the Bears ranked 11th in total offense. During Smith's nine-year tenure as head coach, Chicago never finished better than 16th. The result of the improved offense has been a 4-2 team that could take sole possession of first place in the NFC North if Detroit loses today.
It's painful to consider how many championships the Bears could have won under Smith had he hired Trestman, who interviewed for Chicago's offensive coordinator position in 2004, instead of Terry Shea.
"He's always trying to push the limits," Cutler said. "He's always trying to find different ways to get guys open. He's very sound protection-wise. That's the first thing we do and the last thing we do is make sure we're protected. I think he's done a great job of just managing the team.
"It's hard to be a head coach in the NFL and call the plays. It's a tricky situation of having to make sure offense, defense, special teams and everything is in order during the week and be able to concentrate enough to say, 'Hey, on third-and-seven we've got to do this; third-and-four we've got to do this.' It's hard. So he's juggling everything quite nicely, I think."
Trestman has instilled in Cutler the confidence he needs to be a special quarterback in the NFL, as demonstrated by his two fourth-quarter comeback wins this year. He has also dramatically improved his fundamentals, to the point where Cutler has almost eliminated his patented back-foot flip tosses and now steps into the vast majority of his throws.
Yet the biggest difference for Cutler has been the offensive line, which features four new starters this year.
"I think those five guys up front have to get the majority of the credit of where we're heading right now," said Cutler. "They're doing a great job protecting, run blocking. We're throwing a lot of stuff at them and I think they've gelled quite nicely so far."
The offensive line hasn't allowed a sack in three of six contests this season. By comparison, Cutler went un-sacked in just five games the previous four years combined. That type of improvement is substantial, the importance of which cannot be overstated.
Cutler's confidence in his front five has given him a comfort level in the pocket he's never before had in Chicago. Instead of scrambling for his life on every snap, Cutler now has time to work through his progressions to find the open receiver.
With quality weapons at his disposal, a solid offensive line in front of him and a competent coach running the offense, Cutler is finally on the path to becoming an elite quarterback. He's as talented as any player in the league and Trestman appears to be the coach that can transfer that talent to the field.
The Green Bay Packers showed in 2010 that if you have a great quarterback and a high-powered passing attack, you can overcome a weak rushing attack, a bad offensive line, a defense that can't stop anyone and countless injuries. Aaron Rodgers singlehandedly carried the Packers to a Super Bowl title – that's how valuable quarterbacks are in today's NFL.
So if Trestman keeps Cutler on his current pace, there's no reason to think that, if the two stay together for years to come, they can't bring at least one more championship to the Windy City.
Jeremy Stoltz is Publisher of BearReport.com and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. He is in his third season covering the Chicago Bears full time. Follow Bear Report on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Bear Report Web site or magazine, click here.