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- Coal Miner
- Location: In my happy place :3
- Join Date: 1/6/2011
- Posts: 113
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Join our server! Great up time, near no crashes, anti grief plugins, rank system, and soon to be much more! Friendly furry community, with a true survival game play. We have a unique multiworld set-up to match the preferences of the community! For the down to earth survivalist players, we have our survival world with no privileged exceptions for anyone! For the more creatively inspired, we have a creative world, where the world is your open canvas. For the more combat inclined, we have a PvP world, where absolutely no rules apply! And lastly, for those looking for a more story driven approach, there is an adventure world in the works! Stay tuned, there is always more updates to be had~
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Quote fromQuote from
>i'm scene
I don't want to annoy too many people...
i'm sorry, i don't understand


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Career Connections: Criminal Justice
Following the sold out luncheon featuring alumnus, Michael Dolce, area law schools and law enforcement agencies will be on hand to speak with interested students and alumni.
SOLD OUT:Panel Luncheon 12:30-1:30 p.m.Alumnus, Michael Dolce is the featured expert in a documentary movie that was released to critical acclaim this year, with one independent film award to date and five other award nominations pending. The film, entitled "Pursuit of Truth; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse Seeking Justice," (see details and trailer at www.pursuitoftruthfilm.com) was directed by Kathy Barbini, an award-winning documentary and television producer/director. He was also elevated to the executive board of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, a statewide nonprofit organization committed to victims and survivors of sexual violence and the sexual assault crisis programs who serve them. Michael is celebrating the second year of the founding of his law firm, Dolce & Paruas, PLLC, with offices in West Palm Beach and Hollywood, representing crime victims statewide. Mr. Dolce will share how/why he chose his path, interesting cases/experiences, how Lynn prepared him and advice to students and young alumni interested in becoming an attorney.
Criminal Justice and Law Fair 1:30-2:30 p.m.Area law schools and law enforcement agencies will be on hand to speak with interested students and alumni. If you are interested in attending law school or are looking for a career in law enforcement, feel free to attend. Registration for this event is not necessary. This is a FREE event.
Lynn UniversityOffice of Development and Alumni Affairs3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL 33431Phone: +1 561-237-7288 | Toll free: 877-326-5966Email: email@example.com
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subset: commoncrawl


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Colliers International Ranked Among Top Three Global Commercial Real Estate Firms
The Lipsey Survey Rankings Confirm Colliers' Commitment to Industry Leadership
Mar 11, 2013, 08:00 ET from Colliers International
SEATTLE, March 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a game of numbers and names, and in a world where transaction volumes often indicate monetary success, one number specifically reflects leadership and excellence in the global commercial real estate industry.
That number is highlighted in the 12th annual Lipsey survey. The Lipsey Co., the industry's leading training consultancy, has ranked Colliers International among the top global brands in its survey of more than 100,000 industry professionals from commercial property owners, investors and lenders, to brokers and property managers around the globe. For the fourth year in a row, Colliers International was ranked second out of 25 firms.
"Our Lipsey ranking reflects more than our yearly number of transactions," said Doug Frye, global president and CEO of Colliers International. "It displays our dedication to service and expertise – which is at the core of who we are. Our employees around the globe are truly committed to our clients and the success of this firm and we thank them for their exceptional work in the past year."
Colliers International, a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV; TSX: FSV and FSV.PR.U), focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide. Colliers employs about 12,300 professionals in 522 offices in 62 countries worldwide.
Frye added that Colliers International outpaced all of its key competitors in revenue growth -- up 18% globally in 2012, he said.
"Our goal is not necessarily to be the biggest firm," said Dylan Taylor, CEO of Colliers International in the Americas. "Our goal has always been to be the best firm. As we navigate through complex transactions and provide enterprising, strategic solutions, our clients see how well we understand our industry and turn to Colliers for exemplary service."
The Lipsey Co. survey uses a combination of voting and focus groups to calculate the relative strength of commercial real estate brands among all categories in the industry, including brokerage services, real estate investment trusts (REITs), developers, property managers and data providers. For a copy of the 2013 Lipsey Survey results, click here.
About Colliers International Colliers International is the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world, with over 12,300 professionals operating out of more than 522 offices in 62 countries. A subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (NASDAQ: FSRV; TSX: FSV and FSV.PR.U), it focuses on accelerating success for its clients by seamlessly providing a full range of services to real estate users, owners and investors worldwide, including global corporate solutions, brokerage, property and asset management, hotel investment sales and consulting, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, mortgage banking and research. Commercial Property Executive and Multi-Housing News magazines ranked Colliers International the top U.S. real estate company. The latest annual survey by the Lipsey Company ranked Colliers International as the second-most recognized commercial real estate firm in the world.
SOURCE Colliers International


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Tender Times Daycare RR 2, Birch Tree Missouri 65438 (MO)
Tender Times Daycare in Birch Tree
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Birch Tree Missouri 65438 MO
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Tender Times Daycare Reviews: Take Our Quick 5 Question Survey And Leave A Comment
About Tender Times Daycare
Tender Times Daycare is mainly engaged in Child Day Care Services. Tender Times Daycare operates in Birch Tree Missouri 65438. This organization is involved in Child Day Care Services as well as other possible related aspects and functions of Child Day Care Services. In Birch Tree Missouri 65438 Tender Times Daycare maintains its local business operations and may possibly conduct other local business operations outside of Birch Tree Missouri in additional functions related to Child Day Care Services.
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JosuéZapata/TimCruzLovesYou is currently seeking talent for the Web series "Taco Cabana."
"Taco Cabana" is about Therese, a girl who, at the end of high school, realizes she's yet to experience the real world. Therese lands a job at Taco Cabana in hopes of experience what the world is really like.
One lead roles and three supporting roles are being cast, and submissions are being sought from the Los Angeles area.
For more details, check out the casting notice for "Taco Cabana" here, and be sure to check out the rest of our Los Angeles audition listings!


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note blakem Try the first() function List::Util. Its like grep but returns as soon as it finds the first match.  % perldoc List::Util first BLOCK LIST Similar to "grep" in that it evaluates BLOCK setting $_ to each element of LIST in turn. "first" returns the first element where the result from BLOCK is a true value. If BLOCK never returns true or LIST was empty then "undef" is returned. $foo = first { defined($_) } @list # first defined value in @list $foo = first { $_ > $value } @list # first value in @list which # is greater than $value

 -Blake

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Spring offers plenty of reasons to entertain: graduations, showers, showing off the garden, recitals, initiations, sacraments and glorious weather.
The season also brings spring fever, which plagues even ambitious cooks. If you want to host a great party without working too hard, follow this prescription: Keep the food simple and you'll be in on the fun, too.
For easy spring entertaining ideas, we enlisted local culinary professionals and home cooks who entertain often. They offered ideas for shortcut appetizers and reception food and drinks that can be made ahead. We rounded out their suggestions with more tips for carefree entertaining.
Pick and choose from this list to put on a casual spring party without putting yourself out.
Tina Danze is a Dallas freelance writer.
Coconut-Curry Cheese Ball
Combine 8 ounces cream cheese, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste) and 1/3 cup Major Grey mango chutney. Gently fold in 2 tablespoons crumbled cooked bacon and 1/4 cup chopped green onions. Form into a large ball or several smaller balls. Place each ball on a separate piece of plastic wrap, gather the edges up tightly to make the ball more compact, and secure with a twist tie. Refrigerate overnight. May be prepared up to this point 2 days ahead of time.
Before serving, combine 1 cup toasted coconut flakes and 1 cup chopped toasted pecans. Roll chilled cheese balls in coconut-nut mixture to cover them well. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers or baked pita chips.
Makes 12 servings.
SOURCE: Sharon Van Meter, owner, 3015 at Trinity Groves
Crab Cake Minis
Buy 4 crab cakes from a seafood market or seafood department of a specialty supermarket. Divide each crab cake into fifths and roll into balls.
Coat the outside of each ball in panko (Japanese bread crumbs). Flatten and arrange on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. May be prepared to this point the night before, covered tightly with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake until heated through, about 5 minutes (longer if crab cakes have been refrigerated).
SOURCE: Andrea Speer, Dallas
Dressed-up Chicken Salad
Buy a tub of Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad or a similar plain chicken salad from the supermarket deli. Add grapes, chopped pecans or walnuts and diced celery to taste. Add sour cream to taste, to moisten. Season with freshly chopped tarragon, dill or mint to taste.
Serve as a sandwich filling using small, split dinner rolls or in split pita pockets; in Bibb lettuce cups; or as a spread for crackers or crostini.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Strawberry, Mango and Avocado Salsa
Combine 1 cup finely diced strawberries, 1 cup finely diced mango, 2 finely diced avocados, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion, 1 finely chopped jalapeño (seeded), 2 tablespoons lime juice and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl. Season with 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or to taste) and a couple of shakes of pepper. Serve with tortilla chips or mini tortilla cups. Makes 31/2 to 4 cups.
SOURCE: Susan Klein, Dallas
Watermelon Cubes With Balsamic Syrup
Cut seedless watermelon into 1-inch cubes. Use a small melon baller to carve a well in the center of each cube. Turn the cubes over onto a paper-towel-lined baking sheet or cutting board to drain for at least 20 minutes. At this point, you can wrap the cubes lightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.
When ready to serve, put a few drops of balsamic syrup or glaze (sold at Sprouts, Kroger and Central Market). Place each cube on a mint or basil leaf, arranged on a platter (for best presentation, don't crowd them).
SOURCE: showfoodchef.com
Dill-Yogurt Dip With Vegetables
Cut 2 garlic cloves in half, and if there are green sprouts in the centers, remove them. In a mortar with pestle, mash garlic with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir in 2 cups Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill and 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper, to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or up to one day ahead of time.
Serve with raw sugar snap peas, yellow bell pepper strips, cucumber wedges and cherry tomatoes. Or use as a dip for baked pita chips.
Artful crudité arrangements
Use different-size glass vases, bowls and Mason jars to hold each vegetable you are offering with your dip. Place the glass containers on one large tray or on a small table. Cut vegetables into long wands so that they stand up in the container, like a floral arrangement. Cherry tomatoes can be placed in a low glass bowl.
Alternatively, stand the vegetables up in one large basket, with the dip in the middle.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Beef Tenderloin Crostini With Garlic-Herb Mayo
Slice cold or room-temperature beef tenderloin to fit store-bought crostini (baguette toasts) or fresh baguette slices.
Combine 1 cup Hellman's or Duke's mayonnaise with 1 mashed garlic clove, lemon juice and freshly ground pepper to taste, 3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley and 2 tablespoons minced basil or chives, to taste. Cover bread slices with the spread. Top each with a tenderloin slice, then a small dollop of the spread.
Garnish with a baby arugula leaf, if desired.
Blue cheese variation: Mix mayonnaise and a creamy blue cheese to taste. Substitute it for the garlic-herb mayo.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Pork Picadillo Bites
Buy 1 pound pulled pork from a barbecue takeout spot.
Chop pork and mix with 10 minced green olives, 4 tablespoons dried currants, 3/4 cup Arriba Fire-Roasted Chipotle Salsa, a pinch or two of cinnamon and 1 cup grated manchego cheese. Refrigerate.
Before serving time, spoon mixture into Tostitos Scoops (bite-size tortilla chip bowls). Place on baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Top each bite with a slice of grape or cherry tomato. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes, or until heated through and cheese melts.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Mini Baked Ham-and-Cheese Sandwiches
Combine 12 tablespoons melted butter with 11/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 11/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce and 11/2 teaspoons minced dried onion.
Cut a 12-pack of King's Hawaiian Dinner Rolls in half horizontally (do not separate the rolls; you should have one set of tops and 1 set of bottoms). Place bottom half of rolls in a 9x13-inch pan and cover with 1 pound of shaved deli ham or Black Forest ham and 1 pound of sliced or grated Gruyère cheese. Cover the stacks with the top half of the rolls.
Drizzle the butter mixture over tops of rolls, making sure onion is evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a knife to separate the rolls for individual sandwiches.
Makes 12 servings.
SOURCE: Adapted from kingshawaiian.com
The best nuts
Set out a variety of salted nuts in bowls. Wonderful Pistachios brand sells big bags of shelled, roasted, salted pistachios. Emerald brand sells Sea Salt and Pepper Cashews.
Smoked almonds are popular, and if you want a variety of bold-flavored almonds, Blue Diamond has two flavors: Wasabi & Soy Sauce and Habanero Barbecue.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Stuffed Marinated Peppers
Buy peppers from the olive bar at Kroger or Tom Thumb, or Peppadew peppers in a jar. Combine 2 parts goat cheese with 1 part softened cream cheese (or use all goat cheese). Place in a zip-top plastic bag and cut a hole in one corner of it. Pipe the cheese into the cavity of each pepper.
May be prepared the night before, covered and refrigerated.
SOURCE: Andrea Speer, Dallas
Heat-and-serve appetizers from Trader Joe's
Here are two products from Trader Joe's:
Savory Profiteroles With Spinach Artichoke Cheese Dip: A box of 12 bite-size pieces is $4.99. Just heat and serve.
Herb Brie Cheese Dip: A 12-ounce tub is $4.99. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave. Serve with sliced baguettes, toasts or flatbread crackers.
SOURCE: Susan Klein, Dallas
Dressed-up drinks, and an easy table topper
Mint or Lavender Lemonade: Place 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water and 3/4 cup (packed) mint leaves in a saucepan. (For Lavender Lemonade, substitute 11/2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers for the fresh mint.) Bring to a simmer. Cook until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve, pressing on mint leaves to extract liquid. Combine sugar syrup with 12/3 cups fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 4 cups ice and 4 cups water (or more, to taste).
Pour into glasses or Mason jars, add ice and garnish with lemon slices, or a mint sprig, if making minted lemonade.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Drinks served in Mason jars: Mason jars are stylish, inexpensive and easy to find. Buy the 16-ounce, wide-mouth Mason jars for serving crowd-pleasing drinks such as Arnold Palmers (equal parts lemonade and iced tea; for a spiked version, add a shot of vodka).
SOURCE: Chef Sharon Van Meter, owner, 3015 at Trinity Groves
An easy table runner: Cover your table with a big white or cream tablecloth and add color to the tablescape with a no-sew runner made with fabric that you buy from the fabric store. Instead of sewing, just fold the edges over and iron them flat.
Floral ice cubes for chilling wine bottles
Freeze spring flowers, rosebuds, miniature rose blooms and herb leaves in ice cube trays filled with water. Here's how:
Fill ice cube trays one-fourth full with water. Place flowers face side down in each cube compartment and freeze. Fill trays completely with water and freeze. For especially clear ice cubes, use distilled water that has been boiled for a few minutes and cooled.
SOURCE: marthastewart.com
Use the floral ice cubes to chill white wine, rosé wine or a sparkler in a bucket with plain ice and water. Scatter the floral and herb ice cubes on top for decoration.
If you want to use frozen flower ice cubes in drinks, be sure to buy edible flowers from the supermarket produce department.
SOURCE: Tina Danze
Tabletop ideas
Floral arrangements: Arrange flowers in a Mason jar filled with lemon slices and water.
Use vegetables for centerpieces: Buy several bunches of radishes and put them in bowls, upside down, like a bouquet. Consider using bunches of herbs or a bowl of lemons for a casual note.
Banana leaves for lining platters: Buy a package of banana leaves at a Hispanic supermarket. Place leaves on rectangular platters or wooden planks and arrange appetizers on the leaves.
On the sweet side
Here are some best bets for store-bought cookies:
Mexican wedding cookies: Buy at Mexican supermarket bakery departments for best value and freshness, or buy packaged at supermarkets.
Bahlsen makes pretty butter cookies (sold at most supermarkets).
Tom Thumb sells Safeway Select brand Meyer lemon cookies; their scalloped edges give them a springtime look.
Most supermarket bakery departments sell Two-Bite Brownies or other brands of small brownies; use these to assemble fast dessert trays.
For slightly sweet bites, try Nonni's brand Thin Addictives Pistachio Almond Thins. Serve alone or with mascarpone cheese to spread on them.


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The first yuan-denominated securities to trade outside of mainland China made their debut Friday on Hong Kong's stock exchange as Beijing seeks to broaden the use of its currency.
Units in Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust were greeted with a tepid response from investors. They were down 7 percent at 4.84 yuan in morning trading from the offer price of 5.24 yuan, which was at the bottom end of the proposed issue price range. They fell as low as 4.83 yuan at one point.
The initial public offering raised 10.5 billion yuan ($1.6 billion). The international portion of the IPO was "moderately oversubscribed" while Hong Kong investors applied for 2.2 times more units than were available to them, according to a company announcement.
The IPO is being keenly watched by other companies looking to launch their own yuan-denominated financial products to tap surging investor demand for China's strengthening currency.
Beijing is promoting Hong Kong as a platform for yuan-based international banking. Hong Kong is a former British colony that was handed back to China in 1997, but maintains its own political and financial systems and currency, the Hong Kong dollar.
Hong Kong banks started handling yuan in 2004 and now offer services including deposits, credit cards and trade financing that allows foreign companies to pay Chinese business partners in yuan.
Beijing began allowing foreign companies to issue yuan debt last year. The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Caterpillar Inc. and McDonald's Corp. have sold yuan-denominated debt to finance activities in China. Yuan stocks are seen as the next logical step as China expands the so-called offshore yuan market.
With the IPO, "we can help China's overall strategic development in internationalization of the renminbi," said Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which operates the city's stock exchange.
Offshore yuan products will "provide a new and important way for Chinese to invest gradually outside China," he added.
Hui Xian's sole asset is the Oriental Plaza, a complex in Beijing controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest man. Two billion units in the trust, or 40 percent, were sold to investors.
Units in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are traded like shares and offer investors property income, similar to stock dividends.
Analysts blamed the lukewarm response to the IPO on the Hui Xian's relatively low yield of 4.26 percent.
"You can buy a lot of REITs in Hong Kong that yield much more than that," said Jackson Wong, a vice president at Tanrich Securities.
The remaining 60 percent of the trust will be owned by six companies, including Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., both controlled by Li, and Bank of China Ltd.
Oriental Plaza consists of a shopping mall, office and apartment towers and the Grand Hyatt Beijing hotel.
Hong Kong's stock exchange topped the list last year for initial public offerings, with companies raising $57 billion in share sales, outpacing its rivals in London and New York.


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Why do you suppose that God only kicked satan out of heaven rather than simply throwing him into hell or destroying him on the spot? Why let him come down and corrupt what He had created?
Why do you suppose that God only kicked satan out of heaven rather than simply throwing him into hell or destroying him on the spot? Why let him come down and corrupt what He had created?
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor 1:18
However, I do believe it plays into the ultimate plan for the ultimate good for those who love God. We are indeed told that God enters into all things for good for those that love Him so that we can be conformed to the image of His Son. I do not think in any way that we were forced to sin, nor that Satan was forced to sin, but once the rebellions started, the best outcome is what God is aiming for. There is nothing to say that Adam would have kept himself from sinning without Satan around. As is obvious when Adam tried to blame Satan for his sin, God would have none of it. So, I do believe Satan is kept around for a particular outcome, including being a teaching tool.
Thanks to sweeetlilgurlie on Narniaweb for the sig
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor 1:18
Satan is part of this whole plan for earth/man. He fits into this whole scene for bringing God's plan to fruition.
The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world so this was all in the works beforehand. Not that God creates evil, mind you, but what ensued was known ahead of time.
It's purpose, as I see it, is that it gave the opportunity for us (and the angels) to have freewill, as you need two direct opposites to choose from for it to be true love.
The angels are immortal beings, so "destoying" is not, decreed not to be, an option. The Lord gives us an overriding principle, to give Him glory, to make His riches and mercy known to those created. It does that better than if he was just thrown into the pit. The mercy and grace shown to me, personally, makes it easier to understand God and His dealings with others, even angels. I do know the "why", love does what love does, mercy and grace are just who God is, they go to all as undeserved chances, underserved time to repent, undeserved grace to live another day. I would suspect the answer as to why the Lord did what He did is fundamentally answered in one word, love.
Don't panic! Just be Rapture Ready.
Joel 3:2
I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Thanks to sweeetlilgurlie on Narniaweb for the sig
satan challenged God. He challenged Him within the relm of timelessness.
His challenge also effected our existance within the boundries of our creation. Within time.
Just how is probably beyond our comprehension.
Perhaps the temptation of man coincided with the rebellion,
perhaps God limited His perception in Creation so that satan was able to get away with something,
perhaps trying to figure it out simply pushes us into science fiction drama, barely worthy only of paperback publication....
But God is Holy and Just. He is all Truth. His ways are perfect. We can trust Him.
We may not have the whole story, but we do know that the chain of events involving satan,
also involved God's very personal involvement with His creation.
An involvement that would require such intimacy, love, and sacrifice.
Our faith is in Christ who clearly asked the Father - If there was any other way...
Believing is trusting. Trusting God's wisdom.
Somehow in God's dealing with satan, there is an incredible blessing for us.
Although the dime-store novel may be an entertaining read,
Child-like faith is the best way to regard this question. The Father knows what He is doing.
It's ALL about Jesus. The Son of God - Emanuel - The Mighty God - Our Salvation.
John 1:1-3 NKJV --- Luke 22:42 NKJV --Romans 3:23 NKJV, Rom 5:8 NKJV, Rom 8:28 NKJV, Rom 8:31 NKJV, Rom8:38-39 NKJV, ---Titus 1:2 NKJV - Heb 6:18 NKJV --- John 14:6 NKJV --- 1 John 5:13 NKJV --- Acts 16:29-31 NKJV ... John 6:28-29 NKJV... 1John 2:22 NKJV... Heb 10:11-13 NKJV
Oh Look,... an Atheist........I Don't believe it....
I agree with Sea Shelly that free will is probably an important part of the answer.
God is all-powerful. He could have kept all His power and glory to Himself. Instead, He wanted to share His love (e.g., maybe kind of like good earthly parents who want children). He created the angels, whom He gave free will, but even in perfect conditions some of them rebelled. When He created mankind, He gave us free will, too. Our conditions may not be as good as the angels had, but, on the other hand, we can "fall" and still be redeemed. Out of love for us, Jesus died to take the punishment for our sins and to be a bridge to the Lord and Heaven (John 3:16-17, John 15:13).
By letting us live on this "boarding school" of earth, the Lord gives us a chance to: (1) hear about salvation through Jesus alone; (2) experience good things (indicative of God and Heaven) and (3) experience bad things (indicative of Satan and Hell). God wants us to love Him and spend eternity with Him, but love isn't love if it is forced, so He gave us free will to choose our path. Although His word and our experiences make it very clear that Jesus (and Heaven) is the best choice, He won't force us to make that choice.
One wonders if appreciation might play a part in it, too. Thinking first in earthly terms, many people might not truly appreciate: a good job until they lose it, .....electricity until there is a power failure, .....running water until the pipes break, .....their health until they lose it, .....a fireman until their house starts to burn down, .....the trash men until they miss a week, and so on. Being forced to do without things like that can be one of the hardest, yet most eminently instructional ways to learn to appreciate something. One might say that the extent of a person's level of appreciation is based largely on the gain or the loss of it. For example:
(A) If someone has always lived in the lap of luxury, they will probably never realize quite how well-off they are. [perhaps like the fallen angels who rebelled]
(B) If someone has always lived in the lap of luxury in the past, but then loses it for a while, they will probably appreciate it more than someone who never had to do without.
(C) If someone never did live in the lap of luxury, they will probably appreciate luxury the most.
If we were given Heaven outright, it seems logical that we would not appreciate it as much as if we had to first experience the vicissitudes of life that Satan has caused on earth. Like the Bible says: Prov 20:21 An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end. Because we have experienced the joys (that hint of Heaven) and the sad things (that hint of Hell), it seems logical that those experiences will not only help us long for and choose Heaven, but also appreciate it more when we get there.
Finally, although much of our learning and appreciation may be gained the hard way, we can be encouraged by 2 Cor 4:17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Thank you, Mary Rae, for your lovely picture!
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21 ______
Pastor JD Farag (Aloha Bible Prophecy) actually addresses this in his Mid East Prophecy update this week.
He basically says that if God has simply abolished Satan, then everyone would be forced to worship God out of fear rather than making a choice to worship God. Its worth watching - his explanation starts about half way through.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)
We don't need satan in the picture to choose the wrong choice, perhaps this is one of the things the milinnial kingdom will prove
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Cor 1:18
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
Psalm 84:10-11
There is great agreement on that statement.
The final condemnation of man that justifies an eternity of separation.
Even in His very presence, man will still choose evil as attested by the final rebellion.
God's children desire to be under Him. They desire fellowship.
And the Father will not deny them, neither will He refuse to suffer any cost to make it so.
That is the message of love in Christ Jesus - a Cross for our sake.
For all who would believe.
It's ALL about Jesus. The Son of God - Emanuel - The Mighty God - Our Salvation.
John 1:1-3 NKJV --- Luke 22:42 NKJV --Romans 3:23 NKJV, Rom 5:8 NKJV, Rom 8:28 NKJV, Rom 8:31 NKJV, Rom8:38-39 NKJV, ---Titus 1:2 NKJV - Heb 6:18 NKJV --- John 14:6 NKJV --- 1 John 5:13 NKJV --- Acts 16:29-31 NKJV ... John 6:28-29 NKJV... 1John 2:22 NKJV... Heb 10:11-13 NKJV
Oh Look,... an Atheist........I Don't believe it....
Yes, it is mind blowing indeed,
but when we consider our own selfish person, we are even more amazed by His love - While we were yet sinners - His enemies.
Thank You Jesus, forgive our self focus, renew us daily, be our all.
It's ALL about Jesus. The Son of God - Emanuel - The Mighty God - Our Salvation.
John 1:1-3 NKJV --- Luke 22:42 NKJV --Romans 3:23 NKJV, Rom 5:8 NKJV, Rom 8:28 NKJV, Rom 8:31 NKJV, Rom8:38-39 NKJV, ---Titus 1:2 NKJV - Heb 6:18 NKJV --- John 14:6 NKJV --- 1 John 5:13 NKJV --- Acts 16:29-31 NKJV ... John 6:28-29 NKJV... 1John 2:22 NKJV... Heb 10:11-13 NKJV
Oh Look,... an Atheist........I Don't believe it....
I wrote a paper on some of the questions asked in my Theology class and I like to share this with everyone. Nothing Satan can is outside of what God allows him to do. He is creation just as we are. Good and evil are not equal parallels as some would believe. Just as Satan rebelled against God for his sins and he will be held responsible for them in time, just as we shall be held if we have not chosen to accept Christ. As we see how God is patience with Satan and what he did, we also see how God is with us and that we come to him. It also serves as an another example that just because we sin we should be grateful that God did not destroy Satan when he sinned, because then we could be under the same judgment when we sin,while Satan is not forgiven of his sin of pride, that is what makes us different from Him we were given the option of Salvation thru Jesus Christ but for Satan there is no second chances. We know that final rejection of Christ will condemn a person to hell, but for Satan that his final destination along with the angels that fell.
Here is my paper
Short Essay 4 on Angelology and Satanology
Today our society is fascinated by good and evil and that both sides are equal and will always be in a back and forth battle. But is this view really biblical, what does the Bible teach about God and Satan and are the two really locked in an internal battle for all history.
Many believe that God and Satan co-equal to each other and locked in an eternal battle of good and evil. This is known as ethical dualism. The belief of ethical dualism is that there are two mutually hostile forces or beings in the world and one being the source of good and the other being the source of evil[1]. It is taught in most churches that God is the supremely good and Satan is creature that is bent on throwing evil in any direction he can. But is that what the Bible teaches. God is the creator and Satan is the creation who choose to rebel.
According to the Bible that Satan was created in time past with the other angels and he was placed as one of the highest angels. He was created with free will and identity of his own, but he was not content and his pride leads him to rebel against God and was thrown out of heaven along with 1/3 of the angels. (Isa 14:12-15; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6). According to the books of Isaiah 14: 12-17 and Ezekiel 28 we see Satan fall and God's judgment upon him, In Isaiah 14 we see a condensed version of his fall and punishment and then Ezekiel 28 show a more detail version of his fall and judgment.
While this view of Satan's rise and fall is partially talked about in each of these chapters we also need to see that there are some arguments[2] and Towns presents a few arguments against that both Isaiah and Ezekiel are talking solely about Satan, some believe that God is giving judgment again in Isaiah an earthly king; it could be either a historical or future king of Babylon or Sennacherib, or a king in the past. I would explain that we need to look at that the whole chapter and see that there are both the literal view point and also spiritual implications, which the verses are holding to the correct viewpoint and we need to make sure that we have correct viewpoint of the scripture.
When God created the angels and the entire world he created the angels with free will so that they would freely praise and worship God, so we see that Satan was given the choice to worship God or himself. As a created being from God we see Satan limitations as his is self –existent due to being created by God (2 Cor 12:7), He is not omniscient and must rely on demon to do his work (1 Peter 1:11-12), omnipotent (1 John 5:19; Matt 16:22-23; Luke 22: 1-6; Eph 2:2; Rev 13), he can be resisted and caused to flee (Jam 4:7) by the power of God give to believers in Christ (Eph. 6:10-18). He is not omnipresent (Eph 2:2) and must rely on his demon to do his work (Mark 5:9), He is not sovereign and has been exiled to earth and is under the judgments of God (Eph 2:2), Allow to go where God allows him to go (Job 1:12;2:6), He is powerless before Jesus Christ and believers in Christ (Mark 3:27),Was defeated at the cross with the death and resurrection of Christ (John 12:31;Col 2:14-15;Rev. 1:17,18), Unable to separate believers from God and is subject to power of God thru the armor of God that we Christian must put on (Rom 8:37-39, Eph 6:11, 13). These verse show that no matter what Satan does he is limited by what power God gives to him and allow him to do.
While we are and can be tempted by Satan, we cannot always blame him for every sin that we do, In James 1:14 "but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed". So we see that it is our human heart that can cause us to sin, Jesus said in Mat. 26:41 that we are to "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" so just because we get tempted by Satan it is our own hearts that are the cause of falling to sin.
Also wanted to add Mark 7:20- " And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.
H.B. Kuhn "Dualism" In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell, 2nd ed., 239-45. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001, 357.
Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today Mason, OH: Thomson Custom Solutions Center, 2001
[1] H.B. Kuhn "Dualism" In Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell, 2nd ed., 239-45. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001, 357.
[2]Towns, Elmer. Theology for Today Mason, OH: Thomson Custom Solutions Center, 2001.
Last edited by trandraskell; March 21st, 2012 at 04:00 PM. Reason: corrected formatting;adding idea point
This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)
The thought that we could have been created for the purpose of blindly worshiping God makes my blood run cold.
I'm glad we have a choice weather to serve Him or not.....to choose between salvation and damnation. To that end God uses Satan most effectively. How else could we know what is holy if we haven't been exposed to evil?


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Microchip expands DSC portfolio for digital power applications
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Chandler, Ariz.Microchip Technology Inc. has expanded its 16-bit dsPIC Digital Signal Controller (DSC) portfolio for digital power-conversion applications.
Microchip's 16-bit dsPIC33F 'GS' Series DSCs provide up to four times the memory, compared to Microchip's existing SMPS & Digital Power Conversion families. Additionally, these flexible DSCs can be configured for a variety of topologies, giving power-supply designers freedom to optimize for specific product applications.
The expanded dsPIC33F 'GS' family supports applications such as induction cooking, uninterruptable power supplies, solar and pure sine-wave inverters, intelligent battery chargers, power factor correction, HID lighting, fluorescent lighting, LED lighting, and AC-DC and DC-DC power converters.
Microchip's 16-bit dsPIC33F 'GS' Series DSCs provide on-chip peripherals specifically designed for high-performance, digital power supplies. On-chip digital power peripherals include high-speed PWMs, ADCs and analog comparators.
The eight new DSCs offer up to 18 channels of Pulse-Width-Modulators (PWMs) with 1 nanosecond resolution, enabling an unprecedented number of completely independent digital control loops. Implementing high-speed, precision digital control loops for digital power conversion applications requires a high-performance DSP engine, along with specialized digital power peripherals.
The eight new dsPIC33F 'GS' series digital-power DSCs enable digital control loops with 12 to 18 high-speed, 1 nanosecond (ns) resolution PWMs and one or two 10-bit, on-chip ADCs, providing 2 to 4 Million samples per second (MSPS) for low latency and high-resolution control. They range from 64 to 100 pins and 32 to 64 KB Flash memory. These DSCs feature interactive peripherals that both minimize the intervention of the processor and are able to handle the real-time needs of high-speed current-mode control.
The dsPIC33F "GS" series DSCs are supported by the MPLAB Integrated Development Environment, MPLAB C Compiler for dsPIC DSCs, MPLAB SIM 30 Software Simulator, MPLAB ICD 3 In-Circuit Debugger and MPLAB REAL ICE In-Circuit Emulation System.
The dsPIC33FJ32GS406, dsPIC33FJ64GS406, dsPIC33FJ32GS606 and dsPIC33FJ64GS606 are available in 64-pin TQFP and 9x9 mm QFN packages. The dsPIC33FJ32GS608 and dsPIC33FJ64GS608 are available in an 80-pin TQFP package. The dsPIC33FJ32GS610 and dsPIC33FJ64GS610 are available in a 100-pin TQFP package
Pricing: Starts at $2.93 each in 10,000-unit quantities.
Availability: Samples; production quantities.
More information: Click here.
Microchip Technology Inc., www.microchip.com


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How to use a Funeral Poem in a Eulogy Speech
Delivering a eulogy speech can be a very difficult and emotional task. Many people like to use a poem during their speech and there are many that you can choose from. There is no rule of thumb whether the poem should be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a eulogy. However, the poem should make the fit properly into the speech and express a relevant point, story, or relationship to add significance to what you are trying to express.
For example, the poem in the following eulogy example is the perfect fit in a eulogy given for a school teacher. In this case the person ends with the perfect poem to fit the situation:
Eulogy Example with Funeral Poem:
Ms. Smith was a remarkable teacher. She was a teacher in the Middle School for thirteen years. But it wasn't the number of years teaching that made her so remarkable. It was how she lived, everyday, for ten years, which made her so.
Ms. Smith loved her work. Everyday, she walked her way purposefully to school. She used to carry two bags, one on each hand. On her right, she would carry the things she needed for school, while on the other, a smaller bag which contained two diligently-packed lunches: one for her, and one extra for in case some pupil forgot his/her lunch or lunch money! Ms. Smith was this generous and her thoughtfulness is beyond words. These generosity and thoughtfulness was often seen and attested to by none other than her pupils and co-teachers themselves. This was how she viewed her profession as a teacher: a place where not only knowledge can be taught, but a place where love can be sown as well, through her examples.
For Ms. Smith, teaching was not at all a profession but a mission. On the rare and precious moments that she has invited me over for a cup of her famous hot chocolate after mowing her tiny lawn, Ms. Smith would often recount to me how important the youth is. This was a cause she sincerely believed in and untiringly fought for. You see, Ms. Smith believed that the problems in this world were often caused by being unloved. And in the small world the she moved around in, in the simple daily tasks that she did everyday as a teacher, Ms. Smith made sure that no pupil, no friend, no colleague of her went uncared for and unloved. It might be in the simple way she would greet her fellow teachers that she conveyed to them that even with the busy schedule of a teacher, a moment's greeting would go a long way for the other person. It might also be in the way that she stays up late after school to wait with a kid who had not been fetched by his parent. It might be in the way that she made sure everybody in her class had taken their lunch, or in the way she can easily sensed and understood a child's first experience with family problems in the home.
As tiny as Ms. Smith physical frame was, she definitely had a big heart. And she made sure that everyone got their chance inside it everyday for as long as she lived.
Ms. Smith will surely be missed by her colleagues, her neighbors, her students and most especially her family. What consoles us now is the knowledge that she is back again to her Heavenly Father's embrace to enjoy the same love she so generously gave and showed to the world through her life.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 't is centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
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When either a Republican or a Democratic Administration appoints an outside commission to study a problem, it usually hopes that the outsiders will endorse policies that have in fact already been decided. Sometimes, however, the government gets more than it bargained for.
A blue-ribbon commission appointed by the Defense Department itself to study President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") has hoisted a very large flag of caution. In a draft report that was leaked to the press, the advisers raised serious questions about the Pentagon's plan to speed up the President's program to develop a space-based defense against attacking missiles.
Although the Pentagon says that no decision has been made, the Administration has seemed determined to move quickly toward the deployment of a first-stage, foot-in-the-door missile defense system in order to make it more difficult for the next Administration to abandon or cut back Reagan's strategic-defense project.
Members of the study group were appointed by the Pentagon and the Defense Science Board. All are members of the defense Establishment, and none have been vociferous critics of the anti-missile defense program. The panel includes such people as Robert R. Everett, former president of Mitre Corp.; William J. Perry, a top Pentagon official in the Carter Administration; Gen. Russell E. Dougherty, former commander of the Strategic Air Command, and Samuel C. Phillips, former head of the Air Force Systems Command.


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ECCO I haven't tried them yet because I can't afford a pair (hint hint).
Wilcor Aqua Shoes I bought these at a hardware store in Hot Springs, NC for $10 and they've proven to be one of the best trail and wet-running shoes I've ever had on my feet. They're like moccasins with an attitude. Get some if you can find them for sale somewhere (not in running stores). This shoe, like most shoes designed for water sports and poking around tide pools at the beach, is a great way to run close-to-barefoot without spending more than $30.
PUMA Cabana Racer II (7 oz.) This was first introduced as a lightweight racing flat in 1981. It features a leather upper, EVA midsole and rubber outsole. As far as I can tell it is the exact same shoe brought back from the dead. $45
Asics Hyperspeed 3&4 (7 oz.) I haven't run on these shoes myself, but I've heard from a number of folks that this is a good minimal shoe. It is very light and very fast. The downside of the shoe (as with many racing flats) is that they're very narrow in the toe box, so they're off my shopping list because my feet are EEE width. It's a shame they don't make racing flats in widths or they could multiply their sales by tenfold. $60
La Sportiva Crosslite (10 oz.) This is a great trail racing flat built low to the ground with extremely aggressive treads. It's not a true minimal shoe, but one of the more minimal (while still aggressive) trail shoes. It is also reasonably light for a trail shoe. $85
INOV-8 Rocklite 295 (8.5 oz.) This is a fabulous shoe for trail runners looking for a very low-profile, light-weight shoe with great traction and flexibility. It has sticky rubber soles with very aggressive lugs. They have a nice rounded toebox with plenty of room for my paddle feet. This is a more substantial trail shoe for those looking for a good, dependable, lightweight, aggressive-soled shoe. $90
INOV-8 Talon 212 (7.5 oz.) This is the stripped-down, mininal heel lift version of the 295 reviewed above. It's a no-bones-about-it-flat-out trail racer. It's a bit narrower in feel than the 295, but not uncomfortably so. It hugs your foot well and transfers the traction from the sticky rubber soles directly into your feet. I feel like a spider with them on. I haven't tried walking up the side of a brick building yet, but they tempt me to try. I feel very fast and agile in them, and I'm sure I'll be running in these at the next USATF National Trail Championships later this year. Hats off to INOV-8! (Note: These shoes have very minimal cushioning and might not be for everyone. If you run on very hard-packed trails, these might be too minimal for you unless you're minding all your ChiRunning P's & Q's. If you're doubtful, go for the 295's. Also, the numbers show the weight in grams of the shoe model.) $100
NB-MT100 (7.0 oz.) This is one of the lightest trail shoes ever made. It's very flexible and breathable and also drains well when wet. Great for most trail running, but tend to lose traction on wet surfaces, especially wet rock. Personally, I'd like the lugs a bit more aggressive for these North Carolina mountains, but they're totally adequate on dry trails. $70
For beginners and competitors, practiced by thousands of runners, ChiRunning combines modern physics with the ancient wisdom ofT'ai Chi to create a running form that is easily learned and makesrunning more effortless and enjoyable. To learn more, visit www.chirunning.com
Copyright ChiLiving, Inc. 2010
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text: As some of you may or may not know, there has been a rumor circulating about GH for the wii. Well, look no further. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6165647.html As the article states, they plan on releasing it for the 2008 fiscal year. Now, with DDR Hottest Party coming out, do you guys think that it will be the start of many good music games to come, or the beginning and end of music games on the Wii console? I Believe DDR was the first and most influencial in introducing music and a unique interface to videogame consoles and arcades alike, but GH is notihng to be made light of. Do you think its the "New DDR"? It is most cirtaintly fun, if not at times frustrating.


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Gartner Inc. posted a 24 percent drop in fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday, as revenue generated by its information technology research declined.
The company, which focuses on the information technology market, earned $25.7 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $33.6 million, or 35 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The most recent quarter included 2 cents per share in one-time expenses related to acquisitions.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $328.8 million.
The results were better than Wall Street expected. Analysts, who typically exclude one-time costs from their estimates, predicted earnings of 26 cents per share and revenue of $317.7 million.
Gartner projected earnings for 2010 of 74 cents to 87 cents per share, or 91 cents to $1.03 per share excluding one-time charges. It expects revenue of between $1.25 billion and $1.29 billion.
Full-year earnings were $83 million, or 85 cents per share, down 20 percent from $103.9 million, or $1.05 per share, the year before. Revenue fell 11 percent to $1.14 billion.
Analysts were looking for 2009 results of 94 cents per share and revenue of $1.23 billion.
Gartner shares were down 13 cents to $20.73 in morning trading.


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Oh coffee sweet coffee. I love you to the bottom of my mug and back.
How about you? Are you a coffee lover like me?
If so, you might be interested in our sweet giveaway for a Keurig coffee brewer. That's right…a Keurig!
I have teamed up with Cheap Is The New Classy to bring you an awesome prize sponsored by Keurig.
One lucky entrant will receive a brand new Keurig K-Cup Brewer.
This giveaway is open to US entrants and ends on 9/17 /13.
This gives you plenty of time to enter!
Good luck everyone!
Disclaimer: Keurig or it's representing PR agency is responsible for prize fulfillment.


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This isn't about the toddler's interest in exploring her genitals that I've posted about earlier; this is about the toddler's obsession with identifying and categorizing everyone around her according to their sex. As I'm eager to nurture a new generation of little women and men breaking out of conservative and confining gender roles, I often pause to think about how best to respond to Lilly's repetitive "she's a girl and he's a boy and mama's a woman and papa's a man."
When I brought this up in a conversation with some mama friends of mine, one said her mother, who ran a daycare for a number of years, had said that the boy-girl topic was the most prominent of all among the children she'd cared for over the years.
Sex educator Debra W. Haffner, author of From Diapers to Dating, seconds the significance of this topic. By as early as six months of age, babies can pick out male and female voices, and children learn to divide the world into "male" and "female" before they reach the age of two. Depending on the behaviors they see in their homes and preschools, they will identify certain behaviors as male or female.
Haffner encourages parents to stimulate non-traditional gender roles by positive gender equal role modeling. But as she also points out, even children in less traditional homes will still divide the world by gender based on the models they see. Raising her children in the spirit of Free to Be You and Me, Haffner nonetheless remembers how her two-year-old son told her one that that he wished he could be a doctor, but he knew he couldn't. When Haffner asked him why, he, "thinking of his own woman pediatrician, said, 'Mom, only ladies can be doctors!'"
While I find my toddler's need to organize the world in gendered terms incessant at times, I also respect her need to sort things out for herself. I want to show her recognition for her observations. And so I nod, yes, Anna's a girl, Mary's a woman. Sometimes things get a little more interesting when she tries out some sexual role play; "Lilly' a boy. Snoopy's a girl. No, Lilly's silly. Lilly's a girl. Snoopy's a girl too!"
Perhaps even more problematic to me, is how I've been finding myself adding on to Lilly's gender fixation by stressing the difference between "she" and "he." In Lilly's vocabulary everyone is a "he." In Norwegian, that is, as in han. Whenever we're playing with her dolls and stuffed animals, Lilly never fails to refer to all of them as han (he). Maybe it's the feminist in me, but I can't help but feel a bit peeved by this, so I insist that when it's a girl or a woman, it's a hun (she).
I actually suspect the answer's to this language hiccup is not a gender complicated one at all; it finally dawned on me the other day that it might instead have something to do with the fact that hun (she) sounds just the same as hund (dog) and clearly her baby doll Belle is not a dog (duh). After my countless "can you say hun" one day, Lilly looked at me as confused as I was exasperated, "but where is the hun (or hund?).
Norwegian parents out there, any thoughts on this?
Originally published on LOVE, SEX, AND FAMILY.
Quizzical mama, aka Anne G. Sabo, Ph.D., is a renegade academic, writer, speaker, public educator and founder of the new online resource center LOVE, SEX, AND FAMILY devoted to holistic human sexuality information for the whole family. Her blog quizzical mama is an educated and personal approach to the politics and philosophies of parenting, often addressing controversial issues, and often reflecting on different cultural values and practices in the US and her native Norway. She also writes about sexual politics and new porn by women (and some men) in new porn.
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Nick Grant should be on everyone's radar by now. His impressive freestyle on Sway in the Morning earned him a ton of attention, and helped him capture the ears of industry heavyweights. With that huge moment circulating the Internet, this Atlanta-based rapper is moving on to a debut project.
Nick Grant's 88 is due out on February 2. Its rollout began with the release of his CyHi the Prynce-assisted "Royalty." And now, as the project nears, this buzzing newcomer links with Big K.R.I.T. and Killer Mike, two of hip-hop's most powerful voices, for the official remix. "Ain't no other kings in this rap thing, they're trap queens," Nick leads in over this Damon Thomas-produced track. After the soulful hook, K.R.I.T. and Killer Mike schools listeners with visual verses about everything from afrocentric culture to maintaining respect.
"It has a lot of gems," Nick Grant told STASHED about his upcoming tape. "You can never be afraid to say what you feel, and that's how I felt at the time." 88 includes guest appearances from Grand Hustle's Young Dro, Motown signee's BJ The Chicago Kid, Stacy Barthe, and more.
Listen above as Nick Grant rhymes his way towards a crown on "Royalty."
Photo Credit: Culture Republic


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Latest Activity: Played Platoonz (Feb 2, 2014 3:21pm)
Points needed for next level: 33 Level
I was born in tha U.S.A. and i part RUSSA and but that not the point's in russa i was about to be born in russa. i white and 13 i am not ugly oh i not derte amerca my fovret game is assassin's creed part1 part2 part3 part4 my fevret games i hath ps3 and xbox 360 the new one booth it was a war in russa sexy girls in russa and cool gun.
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Age of Zombies PS Vita Review: The return of Barry Steakfries
Barry Steakfries is a funny dude. When he's not busy avoiding obstacles in the endless runner Jetpack Joyride, he's travelling through time, getting rid of zombies one bullet at a time. Originally released on iOS and PlayStation Minis in 2009, Halfbrick Studios' Age of Zombies is better known as a mobile game for your phone. Now it has a home on the PS Vita, with a bigger screen and two analog sticks to help improve the experience.
In Age of Zombies, you play as Barry Steakfries as he travels through time trying to eliminate hordes of undead. It's a top-down twin-stick shooter. The conversion from touchscreen controls to the Vita's makes the game more appealing. I'd choose analog sticks over touchscreen controls any day, and the Vita lets you maneuver Barry and aim his shots with ease. Some weapons/powerups are a little finicky with aiming, but, like I said, the Vita controls perform admirably. Likewise, Age of Zombies converts well to the Vita's screen. If you've played it on a screen like the Galaxy Note, there's not too much of a difference. It looks better than the phone versions, and it runs at 60 FPS.
The conversion to the PlayStation Vita also brings global leaderboards and trophies, which are really the only form of replay value Age of Zombies has. It's a short game and gets very repetitive; unless you're trying ot best others' scores or get all the trophies, once you beat the game, that's all there is to it. Barry SteakFries and the cast of characters you'll come across are full of humor and make for an enjoyable experience, but every level plays the same. You'll encounter some different zombies, and bosses make the final area of each stage tough, but you're always doing the same thing. It's very monotonous, and different weapon powerups with limited ammo aren't enough to shake things up.
Age of Zombies takes you across prehistoric times with dinosaurs, the 1930s with gangsters, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Japan, the Future, and as a bonus, the Wild West. Consider these skins. Yes, you'll encounter some different zombies, but you play each level the same way. It's a twin-stick shooter, so there's not much to vary anyways. Level layouts change how you approach a level to a certain degree, but in the end, you'll wind up resorting to the same strategy.
Age of Zombies on the PS Vita functions well as a pick up for a couple of minutes and play type of game. The game's humor, which is as crude as it can get, still had me chuckling as I played through a second time. And the action is fun. Still, if you're looking for a ton of replay value, you're going to be disappointed. It's a solid twin-stick shooter on the Vita, and if you're aching for more Barry Steakfries after your time with him on your phone, this is one way to do it.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at firstname.lastname@example.com


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I started a sex spreadsheet because my boyfriend had one, and was completely surprised that I didn't.
"It makes it so easy to remember everybody," he said. Carlos was a sex addict, and had 175 entries on his spreadsheet back in 2009, some of which were just listings like "Hooker in Reno" or "That girl", with little notes next to them like "Drunk" or "Hmm." He tried to put them in chronological order, though, and the whole spreadsheet was accessible through Google Docs so he could update it from anywhere.
Most of us don't have the problem of trying to catalog the several hundred sexual partners we've had by our thirties, but for me, even the dozens were starting to blend together. I went through kind of a busy period at the end of high school and had a lot of one-night stands. As I got older and farther away from those escapades, first the experiences, and then the names and faces, started to recede into the oblivion of my encroaching memory loss.
I felt bad about forgetting people: not that the sex had been great, necessarily—this was before I realized girls could ask for what they wanted and even, dare I say, get it—but it seemed a bit disrespectful to not at least try to remember the names of people who had physically entered my body. I'd write down the name of my surgeon if he was wrist-deep in my abdomen looking for a gallbladder.
So I made a Google Doc too. It's pretty simple: name, short note. I have a sidebar column for anyone that wasn't actually penetrative sex: the ladies who were part of threesomes, the frantic memorable makeouts that deserved more than being forgotten entirely. The listings for the main penis-insertion section are roughly in chronological order, although some of them have years next to them, presumably because Past Me was worried that I would not realize in which year I had been sluttiest. The notes range from "once in back of van" to "uncut, likes sounding." Sometimes the stories are a bit longer: "Great smile, muscular, in Colorado–climbed over the roof to fuck me." The whole thing is automatically numbered, so I can keep track of how many partners I had in the past year or so, for the sake of medical paperwork. It's pretty simple.
When I delved into other people's lists, though, I started to get some fascinating responses. Right after I made mine, my friend Megan said, "Really? You have a spreadsheet? Can I see it?" I shared it with her, and she was so pleased that she made her own. Hers had listings like "French guy 1" and "French guy 2", and notes on rhythm style and cock size. "I mostly just wanted to be able to tell people my number, but it got kind of fun to remember what they were like," she told me.
"It's more like a memorial, a plinth at a WWII cemetery – 'these are the ones who have trod here and fallen'."
Another friend, Jonathan, sent me an OpenOffice document. Thirty pages worth of detailed notations, each entry for each guy included a photo, some identificatory information (like their address, or in one case, a Social Security Number). The blocks of text included not just physical descriptions, but how they'd met, what the sex felt like, and a touching exegesis on Jonathan's emotional state pre- and post-union. It was a fascinating read, especially given the way it chronicled a downward shame spiral that culminated in a life-changing moment (where they vowed never to repeat said experience again). It was more like a novel than a bare-bones list of sexual partners, and each entry could have been a separate short story.
My friend Erik sent me his PowerPoint. I have no idea if this was something he gives to sex partners, something he just keeps around for personal reference, or something that he rents out conference rooms with a slide projector for, but it was simple, with plenty of photos and clean lines–exactly what you hope a PowerPoint would be. Each slide was one lady, with a nice big photo, and short bullet-point notes on either her, their relationship, or the encounter. Why a PowerPoint? Because it was funnier than a simple document.
Every time I asked, I got some fascinating responses. Almost universally, people started the list because they were worried about forgetting a partner. This included even people who had very short lists, partners they could count on both hands. One guy who kept only a non-chronological list of first names, said, "It's more like a memorial, a plinth at a WWII cemetery – 'these are the ones who have trod here and fallen'."
The different divisions people made in their lists were interesting as well: one young woman from Australia said she divided her list into people she met on a sex website, people she slept with before her first long-term relationship, and people after the long-term relationship. Most people have different columns for men and women. Some separated by category of sex act, some by whether or not they had been emotionally involved with the person.
A woman named Sarabeth told me she'd struggled about including her rapist on the list: that she didn't want him lumped in with fun, happy sexual experiences. Along that vein, more than one person said they had people on their list that they really wished hadn't been there: painful experiences, non-consensual experiences, or reflections of bad decision-making. Why was that? Perhaps it was similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous need for a fearless self-inventory, no matter how much it hurt, or if it was just out of a sense of completion. An older married woman said she thought keeping a list at all just made it harder to process feelings and let go, that she preferred to not revisit any of her past lovers, mentally or otherwise. Oddly, a lot of the men I spoke to said they kept mental lists because reading a written one was too depressing.
"Two women responded that they valued the list as a way to keep track of their emotional growth."
Women seemed happiest to talk about their lists, although few could tell me exactly why they felt so strongly about keeping them. A recently-married woman, Emily, speculated that it was because women are expected to know the number of their sexual partners when asked, whereas it's OK for men to have had so many they've "lost count." Two women responded that they valued the list as a way to keep track of their emotional growth. When asked why she kept a list of sexual partners as opposed to, say, primary school teachers, 30-year-old Jennifer responded, "I guess although both partners and primary school teachers can have an impact on your life, you choose your partners (unless you don't, which is a completely different matter) but you don't choose your primary school teachers. Each one, to me, represents a decision I've made, which reminds me of where I was at in life at the time and what I learned from the experience (and associated experiences)."
A woman named Adelaide said, "To some extent I use who I was dating/sleeping with to keep track of where I was emotionally/mentally at any given point in my life, the way some people measure their own personal time lines by bad things that happened to them or what kind of fashion/music they were into."
Sasha, a pillar in the polyamory community, showed me her partnership map, which organizes her partners' relationships to each other, and their relationships to her in color-coded categorizations. She said she started the map because the first question she gets asked is, "How many partners do you have?" Her map includes people with whom she has an emotional connection but not necessarily a sexual one: heart-felt relationships that are equally as valid in one's constellation of partners as people with whom you have squashed body parts together. Conversely, she has had some sexual partners that aren't on the map at all: it's a current outline of her emotional and romantic space, and she updates it whenever relevant.
"Showing the map is a way to provoke thought," Sasha told me. "I kind of want someone to think about their best friend who they tell everything to and recognize that this too is intimacy and no less valuable than their wife/husband." She also added that she considers the map and its updates to be part of the chronicle of her life, along with her blog posts, her Facebook status updates, and her Google calendar, where she marks important conversations, first kisses, and other meaningful events. By setting up yearly reminders of memorable moments, she can reconnect with people she might have shared them with.
Someone sent me a link to Amy Webb's TED Talk about creating her own dating website algorithms to "beat the system" and find true love more effectively. I wondered if the lists were an effort to do that: to lay out our past history so we can narrow down more effectively what we might be looking for in the future. The lists might be more about figuring out what we do and don't want in a partner than in merely cataloguing our pasts.
The more I asked, the more in-depth, fascinating responses I got. I told my roommate about my informal research project, and he said, "You know, this seems like it could be a really excellent conversation starter for the rest of your life. It's good to have a way to connect with people on an emotional level." People's lists are so personal, even meaningful to them, way more than I anticipated from the first moment of just wanting to jot down a few names and cock sizes.


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This kind of behavior hurts us all...........
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August 24, 2011, 08:16 PM
Senior Member
Join Date: June 4, 2006
Location: NE FL.......
Posts: 1,081
This kind of behavior hurts us all...........
The pictures you are seeing are of a gator Louann and I ran up on a little while before sunrise on Saturday morning. As you can tell someone has cut its tail and head off leaving the balance to bloat and rot in the lake.
You can also see that it was FRESH, having been done during the previous evening.
Needless to say we called the FWC and reported it.
Beyond the wasting of a lot of meat the clown who did this left the remains out in the lake where every kayaker, canoe paddler, water skier, PWC rider......well just everyone had to see it.
Now it is potentially arguable that what he did was legal as he may have put his tag in the tail and then carried off the parts he wanted. And while I know he wasted a lot of good meat I can't say his decisions were illegal.
What I will say though is that we who hunt, whether it be gators or deer or whatever, need to be aware how what we do influences public perceptions of what we do.
We've just got to do a better job getting some folks in the fraternity to behave better because if we alinate enough folks the next generation may well end up not having the joy of hunting.
Rant over.............
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- Materials For The ArtsMaterials for the Arts in Long Island City has been providing art supplies to the city's arts organizations and non-profits since 1978. With a mission of reducing waste, reusing, and upcycling, MFTA receives donations from New York's leading businesses to pass on the art organizations in need, free of charge. Their Long Island City warehouse is a virtual treasure trove of art supplies, props, and furniture.1
- Materials For The ArtsA bevy of materials are found and given away through MFTA. The warehouse includes aisles of craft supplies, a fabric center, a paint room, lumber, furniture, paper and props donated by designer fashion houses, offices, lumber yards, retail stores and leading companies around New York City.2
- Materials For The ArtsWith these donations, not only are hundreds of tons kept out of our landfills each year, but with them, fledgling organizations are able to flourish and realize their creative projects.3
- Materials For The ArtsAlthough private individuals may not receive donations, many organizations easily qualify, free of charge. Schools and educators may use craft supplies to supplement arts budget funding, independent theater groups can furnish their sets, and artists can gain supplies and installation materials through exhibiting non-profits.4
- Materials For The ArtsThroughout the warehouse, MFTA offers arty project suggestions for their materials, from making puppets out of old shirts to Christmas ornaments and origami.5
- Materials For The ArtsEach is described step by step, to encourage educators to get creative with the materials at hand. The materials change from day to day, but can inspire new projects and creativity themselves.6
- Materials For The ArtsWhat's more, MFTA offers special classes and events in the warehouse and off site, including community crafting classes, composting, recycling and other creative green living practices. New organizations are encouraged to apply, and reap the benefits of upcycling the great materials at the center.7


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by Jeff Reeves | January 8, 2014 8:00 am
[1]The hardest part of trying to invest is simply figuring out a good place to start. Some companies you might be familiar with — Subway restaurant, for instance, or the candy maker Mars — might not even be publicly traded and don't have stock for you to buy. Other brands you are familiar with are so entangled in subsidiaries it can get confusing.
The good news is that a quick search in Google or Wikipedia[2] will let you know the stock name and ticker symbol behind a given company or brand if you have some ideas of your own.
Do you have a favorite gadget, like your Apple Inc. (AAPL[3]) iPad or Amazon (AMZN[4]) Kindle, that you think everyone is going to own? Do you have a favorite restaurant or clothing store that always is crowded? Did you read about an innovative new medical product that you think has potential? Then find out if it's an "investable" idea by tracking down the company behind those products or services.
If you're not confident enough in your own observations just yet, don't worry. There's a very engaged universe of investors just like you who offer free commentary on the Internet. Some of these guys will be trying to sell something, like a money management service, and many will make bad calls. But their musings are a great place to start — as long as you take what you read with a grain of salt, and promise to go through the next nine items on this checklist!
Here's how I see it: Rather than see online stock commentary as a magical treasure map, you should view the financial media as a far less glamorous metal detector. It's not as precise as "X marks the spot," but when you hear a lot of beeping, it's worth digging around. Sometimes you're just stuck with a tin can — but you never know what you might find.
The rest of this book will teach you how to dig and sift the sand. But these five sites are a great place to start because they offer plenty of opinions and commentary beyond your typical grind of data-driven news items:
InvestorPlace.com: You are here — and this is my site. I designed it to be light on financial news and heavy on opinion. InvestorPlace.com specializes in "actionable" stories, meant to give investors trading ideas and not just information to chew over. The site aims to talk about what the headlines mean, not just regurgitate Reuters or Associated Press headlines you can find just about everywhere these days. (Check out my latest stock picks here[5])
Fool.com[6]: The Motley Fool is one of the oldest media outlets for stock picks. Investing commentary sometimes requires you to register your email address to keep reading, but the ideas still are free and valuable.
MarketWatch.com/trading-deck[7]: MarketWatch has long been part of the financial news business. But in 2011, it launched a dedicated section just for trading ideas. The "Trading Deck" also gives you actionable ideas beyond the typical news feed.
SeekingAlpha.com[8]: Seeking Alpha has perhaps the largest group of investors and contributors out there, offering tons of trading ideas. It's social, it's easy to search and it has decent ideas. The bad news is that contributors get paid per click, so sometimes good headlines can lead you to disappointing articles … but that's true for 99% of websites, financial or otherwise.
TheStreet[9]: There's a lot of news here, but also some good commentary from well-known advisors like stock personality Jim Cramer. Also part of TheStreet family of websites is Stockpickr.com[10], which focuses more on trading ideas and stock picks.
There are a host of other sites out there, too, so this is not a complete list. But skim these sites for starters — daily if you can, since the market moves fast. It's also worthwhile to keep an investing mind-set as you follow your favorite "hard news" outlet. For instance, did you see that report saying oil prices are going up? Well, maybe it's worth taking a look at oil stocks!
Always keep in mind my metal detector analogy in this first step. The goal is not to find a clear path to buried treasure, but just to follow the beeps and see where they lead us. We have plenty of digging ahead of us — but it's crucial that we're not just picking a spot at random to start our research.
Like what you see? Sign up for our Young Investors e-letter[11] and get practical investing advice delivered to your inbox every week!
Or, download the complete series of Jeff's educational articles for just 99 cents via his e-book "The Frugal Investor's Guide to Finding Great Stocks: 11 Free Resources to Help Beginners Identify Fantastic Investments."[12]
You can also [13]buy a printed copy of "The Frugal Investor's Guide"[14] for $15 via online publisher Lulu.
Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2014/01/how-to-start-investing-stock-invest/
Short URL: http://invstplc.com/1bangSj
Copyright ©2017 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.


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MIAMI - Police in Miami are searching for a 79-year-old man who suffers from Alzheimer's.
Juan Manuel Vera was last seen at his home, located at 311 Flagami Boulevard, about 6:20 a.m. Thursday.16858570
Vera is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall, 120 pounds, and balding with brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black shirt and pants.
Anyone with information on Vera's whereabouts is asked to call Miami police at 305-603-6310 or 305-603-6300.
Copyright 2012 by Post Newsweek. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text: Hi Shinta, SHINTA <shinta.0806@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > Here is a code which is the static version of APE. Thank you. > > > http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~shinta/test/APEReaderDonate.zip > > > http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~shinta/test/LibMonkeysAudioDonate.zip > > This code has two problems. > > > > One is taking long time in CAPEHeader::FindDescriptor(). 1 byte x > > 1 > > mega times disk access seems to be slow, although this code worked > > well > > in ZETA. > I modified the code, and now, APE reader is fast. Please use > attached > new APEHeader.cpp. Great, thanks! It's never a good idea to read single bytes if you don't know wether or not the byte stream is buffered or not (BFile is not, for example, but maybe it is in Zeta). In any case, Dano needs a bit more 1 usec per Syscall on my machine - that means that by reading 1MB 1 byte after the other, you already waste more than 1 second doing syscalls alone. And that will even be a lot slower in emulation. > > Another is no support for seeking. Seek code doesn't work. > Currently, I have no perspective to improve this. But, APE reader > can > play APE files anyway. In the long run, seeking is mandatory, though. But it's a good start :- ) Bye, Axel.


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Tis the weekend to finally get my Christmas shopping started and done. I've got my list, checked it twice and I'm ready to hit the San Francisco streets. I think comfy shoes, a nice big scarf and a top knot are in order to get everything accomplished in two days.
My favorite part will be wrapping up all the gifts with beautiful ribbon – this year we're keeping it neutral with a touch of silver.
What are all of you up to this weekend? Have you purchased all of your holiday gifts? I feel incredibly behind this year.
A few of my favorite posts from this week:
* A little holiday sparkle to keep you smiling.
* These gift guides have me swooning over everything.
* I'm coveting these shoes . . .
* These healthy eats are perfect for weeknights.
* I'm following Sarah's lead by shopping locally.
Hope all of you have a lovely weekend – I'm certainly going to cherish this last weekend before Christmas!


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Fan arrested on Emirates racial abuse charge
A man was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of a racially aggravated public-order offence during Arsenal's match against Newcastle on 12 March. The 29-year-old was held in connection with an alleged incident after Arsenal carried out an internal investigation following reports that an individual had been caught on Sky Sports' live coverage of the match at Emirates Stadium abusing Newcastle's Cheik Tioté.
A club statement confirmed: "Following an incident during our home Premier League match against Newcastle United on Monday March 12, a 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public-order offence. The suspect has been interviewed and bailed to return to Islington police station in April."
It added: "We reiterate that Arsenal Football Club does not tolerate foul language, racist chanting, homophobic chanting or any anti-social behaviour, and we will continue to act with zero tolerance towards any individual found to be acting in an abusive manner."PA
Ton-up for Ronaldo as Messi matches 55 mark
Cristiano Ronaldo became the fastest player to reach 100 La Liga goals in Real Madrid's 5-1 rout of Real Sociedad, but his great rival, Barcelona's Lionel Messi, also reached a scoring landmark.
At the Bernabéu Gonzalo Higuaín scored before both Ronaldo, in his 92nd La Liga game, and Karim Benzema hit doubles. The great Ference Puskas reached 100 La Liga goals in 105 games.
Madrid stayed six points clear at the top, after Barcelona won 2-0 at Real Mallorca, where Lionel Messi netted his 55th goal of the season in all competitions, a mark last reached by a European top-flight player a decade ago, by Sporting Lisbon's Mario Jardel. AP
Al Masry fans in clash
Egyptian military and police clashed with thousands of angry fans in Port Said over the suspension of their club, Al Masry, following a riot in which at least 74 people died last month. A medical official in the city said a teenager was killed in the latest clashes. AP


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Manthan Systems Seals $15M
Manthan Systems, a provider of business intelligence and analytics software for the retail and consumer packaged goods industries, has closed on $15 million in Series C financing from Norwest Venture Partners. PRESS RELEASE Manthan Systems, a leading provider of Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics solutions for the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, today announced that it has secured $15 million in Series C funding from Norwest Venture Partners (NVP). Manthan's suite of aRead Full Article


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Holdren Dissects Near- and Long-Term Energy Challenges at AAAS Forum on S&T Policy
The administration of President Barack Obama believes that energy will likely be "the biggest science- and technology-related challenge of the new century," White House science adviser John P. Holdren said at the AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy.
In a keynote address that opened the Forum, Holdren explored a range of other issues—U.S. budget deficits and their impact on federal research and development investments; science-related education and other elements of the nation's innovation culture; and the science behind the White House decision to abandon the NASA Constellation program for returning human explorers to the moon.
The former AAAS president said that many of the grand challenges facing the United States and the world—from economic growth and climate change to national security—are interconnected, and that energy is a nexus where they come together.
"The essence of it is simple," Holdren told the Forum audience. "Without energy, there's no economy. Without climate, there's no environment. Without economy and environment, there's no well-being, no civil society, no personal or national security. The problem is that the world is getting most of the energy its economies need—over 80% in fact, and the United States over 85%—in ways that are wrecking the climate that the environment needs."
The AAAS Forum on Science & Technology Policy celebrated its 35th year with an event that attracted over 500 U.S. and foreign leaders from government, education, and business to Washington, D.C., on 13-14 May. They heard top policy experts talk on range of critical issues, including the global economic outlook for science research and development; the challenge of managing research universities in times of economic turmoil; building a stronger culture of innovation; science and technology in national security; and the impact of science and technology on society.
The Forum was organized by the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program.
Holdren is director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. During a long and distinguished career in research and policy, he has established his influence on a broad range of high-profile S&T issues. He served as AAAS president in 2007 and as chairman of the association's Board of Directors in 2008.
In his 13 May address to the Forum, he listed a number of areas where the Obama administration had demonstrated its strong commitment to the role of science and technology in addressing national and global challenges.
The president understands science and technology recognized their importance in solving a range of pressing challenges, Holdren said. Obama has hired a team of top scientists and engineers to help guide U.S. S&T initiatives, and he is pressing to increase federal research and development investments that are crucial to future economic strength.
Energy and climate change are among the nation's most high-profile issues, and many analysts have suggested that conflicting political and economic blocs will make it difficult to get ambitious measures through Congress. But, said Holdren: "President Obama has by no means abandoned the pursuit of comprehensive energy and climate legislation in the Congress."
Meanwhile, the administration is advancing a number of energy innovation efforts. For example, Holdren cited the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, a new agency established to pursue paradigm-shifting research.
Another proposed initiative—known as RE-ENERGYSE (Regaining our Energy Science and Engineering Edge)—would create energy education and research opportunities for students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. And it would use movies, cyber-learning, social networks, and other media to reach out to young people.
The White House views energy conservation and innovation as important in addressing climate change, Holdren said.
He said that the United States must do more to harvest the "low-hanging fruit" of improved efficiency. Already, the administration has set combined fuel economy/carbon dioxide tailpipe standards for cars and light trucks. Other efficiency can be achieved through improvements that can be made around the home without huge investments—recycling, insulation, and improved household appliances and electronics.
The nation also should be looking to benefits that can be gained by investment in infrastructure—broadband, energy, transportation, and education, Holdren said. And in climate science, he added, it must work toward better monitoring and modeling of the climate and better assessment of regional climate change effects.
Further, the science community must find a more effective way to communicate with the public and policymakers on energy and climate, Holdren said. "Anyone who's paying attention knows the science community needs to do a lot better at that."
While energy and climate change are critical challenges, the White House sees them as opportunities, Holdren suggested. "This is not energy and climate policy versus the economy," he said. "It's energy and climate policy for the economy. The costs of action are likely to be far smaller than the cost of inaction.
"We can get many things done at once that we need to do. We can reduce costly and risky oil imports and dangerous air pollution with the same measures, in large degree, that we employ to reduce climate-damaging emissions. And the surge of innovation that we need in clean energy technology and energy efficiency is going to create new business and new jobs and help drive economic recovery, growth, and global competitiveness."
On other issues:
Budget deficits: In response to a question from AAAS President Alice S. Huang, Holdren said that Obama is responding to budget deficits by freezing non-defense federal discretionary spending for three years. Any funding for new programs must come from other programs "that aren't successful, or not successful enough."
Education: In Obama's view, "the single most important thing we can do to improve the prospects of our country in this century is to lift the level of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education," Holdren said.
He cited two "immensely important" elements of that push: upgrading the quality of school laboratories and hiring or training teachers who know how to use those facilities and who can draw practicing scientists, engineers, and mathematicians to the classroom.
The administration is also working with computer manufacturers, game developers, and even the National Basketball Association on games that can effectively teach such issues as nutrition or the mathematics and physics of basketball, he said.
Space Exploration: In an analysis of the White House's proposed 2011 budget, the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program reported that Obama wants to end NASA's Constellation program, which had targeted a return to the moon by 2020. The budget plan would save $3.1 billion by ending the return-to-the-moon mission and retiring the space shuttle. But it would increase overall NASA R&D funding by $1.7 billion, or 18.3%. Obama would invest $6.1 billion over five years to transition regular near-Earth orbit missions to private industry; increase funding by $812 million, or 35.1% over three years, for the International Space Station; and invest $559 million in "heavy-lift" and propulsion systems, including research into new engines, new propellants, and advanced combustion processes.
That shift has drawn criticism in Congress and from some sectors of the public—and recently from Neil Armstrong, who became the first man on the moon in 1969, and Eugene Cernan, who in 1972 was the last man on the moon.
In response to a question from the audience, Holdren strongly defended the administration's decision, both on scientific and budgetary grounds.
After a close look at Constellation, he said, the White House concluded that, "notwithstanding its rapidly escalating cost, to three and four times the original estimate, it was still not going to able to land U.S. astronauts on the surface of the moon until 2030 or later.
"To get them to the moon by 2025 would cost an extra $60 billion over the next 10 years," he said. "The president and his advisers, including me, made the decision that there are other destinations in deep space—destinations beyond low-earth orbit, that will allow us to do more science sooner, with more missions, more visits, more exciting discoveries—than going back to the moon 50 years later.
"It's not real surprising that the American heroes who were the first people to set foot on the moon might think the most exciting thing we could do now is to go back there. But not everybody agrees with them. In fact, the second person to set foot on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, is a strong supporter of the president's program. And a large array of other astronauts, including Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, and John Grunsfeld, the Hubble [space telescope] repairman, who had five missions and 60 hours of spacewalking…all are strong supporters of the president's program."
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill: In response to another question from the audience, Holdren said the Obama administration is working with oil companies, and with experts from the U.S. national laboratories and the academic community, in an urgent effort to cap the leak or capture the oil.
The leak is the result of an explosion that sank British Petroleum's rig on 22 April. The disaster left 11 crew members dead and tens of thousands of barrels of oil floating in the Gulf; it could cost the Gulf Coast states economy billions of dollars and uncounted jobs.
Holdren said the spill poses an "immense challenge." Despite near-continual efforts, engineers haven't found a way control the leak. Oil and natural gas—no one is sure how much—have continued to gush from the Gulf floor more than 4000 feet below the water's surface. Holdren attributed that uncertainty to a variety of factors: the depth of the leak, the darkness of the waters there, and the lack of uniformity of the oil plume, among others.
"We really do not know whether its 5000 barrels a day, or 10,000, or 2000," he said. "The one thing we do know is that it could be more if it gets worse down there. The maximum flow rate is considerably higher. So it's very important to get this thing plugged, rather than allowing it to make itself worse or to make a misstep in our effort to plug it that actually causes it to get worse.
"The federal government is working with all of the oil companies—they realize it is now all of their problem," said Holdren. "They are struggling with this very energetically."
View video of White House science adviser John P. Holdren discussing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the Obama administration's space policy.
See more news from the 2010 AAAS Science & Technology Policy Forum.
Learn more about the program and speakers at this year's Forum.


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At Gemvara, we believe that the jewelry you wear should be one of a kind, like you. That's why we make each piece to order, one at a time, just the way you want it. Choose Peridot and Rose Gold or Lemon Quartz and Yellow Gold: it's your choice. Mix and match gems and precious metals for a look that's exactly you. Gemvara uses only the highest quality materials to craft your Platinum Three Stone Marquise Rose Quartz Jewelry design with meticulous attention to detail. Our precious metals are recycled or responsibly mined. Legend has it that rose quartz is the love stone, with the power to heal a broken heart. This lovely pale pink gem has a velvety texture and cotton candy cloudiness. Gemvara's rose quartz is faceted to add some sparkle too.Naturally white and so pure it's hypoallergenic, platinum is thirty times more rare than gold.Our wide selection of Platinum Three Stone Marquise Rose Quartz Jewelry by talented designers means you can find jewelry that's exactly your style. You can also shop by style, choosing our Circle, Birthstone, or Family Collections. Three-stone jewelry can be personalized with the birthstones of your family: your parents, kids, or siblings.Gemvara's fine quality Platinum Three Stone Marquise Rose Quartz Jewelry is designed to be passed down for generations to come, crafted by hand in the United States.
We can help right away. Chat with a jewelry expert now!