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The Great Debate
Bank CEOs and the infinite pile of cash
By Roger Martin
The views expressed are his own.
The three-week old, 60's-style Occupy Wall Street protest raises once again the question that won't go away: What on earth were those bankers doing in the period leading up to the 2008 financial meltdown? This street-level insurgency combines with last month's smackdown-from-on-high administered by the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Authority's (FHFA), which sued 17 leading global financial institutions for $196 billion, charging that they knowingly peddled shoddy mortgage-backed security products to unsuspecting customers. With the European financial system continuing to teeter on the brink due to the massive bank losses and bailouts, the U.S. economy stagnating and its equity markets close to free-fall, the answer of Chuck Prince, former Citigroup chair, that "we danced until the music stopped" has not mollified either Occupy Wall Street or the FHFA, or anybody else for that matter.
It is obvious that they did keep dancing. But it leaves unanswered the question: Why did it make sense to them to keep dancing? And also: When the music did finally stop, how did we manage to have asset-backed derivatives contracts outstanding with an estimated value of three times the size of global GDP?
The answer was that thanks to the structure of their compensation, major bank CEOs were obsessed with their stock price and trying to keep beating expectations until the music stopped. And the asset-based derivatives market was their clever device for beating expectations for much longer than could have happened before – because it was the world's first market of infinite size. And it worked for them. When the music stopped and expectations came crashing down, they were by and large wildly rich.
Public companies, such as FHFA's target list, operate in two markets. In the real market, they produce and sell real services – like mortgages and mutual funds – for real customers – like you or me or your company – who pay them real money, which, in a successful company, results in a real profit at the end of the year. They also play in an expectations market, where investors observe what is happening to the company in the real market and, on the basis of that, form expectations about what will happen in the future. It is the collective expectations of investors that determine the company's stock price.
While most assume that stock-based compensation is an incentive to improve real performance, it isn't. It is an incentive to increase expectations about future performance because an executive's stock-based compensation will be worth a penny more than when it was awarded only if the executive can cause expectations to rise. So the primary incentive at all times for executives with heavy stock-based compensation is to increase expectations – even when expectations are so high they can never be met.
So how heavily stock-driven were the bank CEOs? There is very nice data in the study of the compensation and stock sales of the CEOs of the 14 leading American financial institutions by scholars Sanjai Bhagat and Brian Bolton. Seven of the American financial institutions accounting for 94% ($116B) of the FHFA suit totals for the American firms ($123B) are included in their study (Bank of America, Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley). It shows that over the 2000-2008 period, the CEOs of these seven companies were making small fortunes by exercising options and selling stock – an average of $139M per CEO. That is almost double what they made in cash compensation ($78M apiece). They lost, on average, $83M in the market crash, causing some to argue that they weren't taking excess risks because they had so much skin in the game. But it is hardly a compelling argument for a group that was left with net proceeds of the 2000-2008 period of $133M each, plus remaining stock holdings of $76M each. Remaining personal wealth of $209 million is not bad given the massive destruction of value suffered by their shareholders and the American taxpayers.
So why did Chuck Prince feel so compelled to keep dancing? Shareholder expectations for Citigroup performance just kept rising. During the 1990s, its stock increased 15-fold. Hence, expectations of future performance for Citi rose an incredible 1500%. And they increased another 50% between the beginning of 2000 and May 2007. Goldman Sachs almost tripled between January 2000 and October 2007. On the other side of the Atlantic, Barclays quadrupled in the 1990s and then more than doubled between 2000 and February 2007. These were universally sky-high expectations – and their stock-driven CEOs had to keep increasing expectations from the already sky-high expectations or their stock would fall, disappointing their overly optimistic shareholders and taking a chunk out of their wealth.
Because expectations take into account everything that investors now understand, the only way to increase expectations from the current level is to positively surprise investors – to produce results better than they couldn't have expected. That is awfully hard to do – especially if you did it last quarter and the quarter before that and the quarter before that. And the financial services business is hardly like the smartphone business, which is growing so explosively that all players can experience dramatic growth simultaneously. Consumers need only so many checking accounts, savings accounts, investment services and mortgages. Companies need only so much credit, issue so much stock, and make so many acquisitions. None of these are the possible source of repeatedly surprisingly great growth for the entire sector. A given player can produce expectations-busting results by grabbing share but everybody can't simultaneously – share change is a zero-sum game.
To keep producing positive expectations surprises, the leading financial firms had to create something unreal – something with no physical limits unlike the number of consumers, or real share certificates of real companies. Their creation was the wide array of mortgage-based derivative instruments. There was no limit to how much of it could be produced, sold and traded – trillions of dollars' worth, in fact. As is chronicled in Goldman's infamous Abacus transactions, all Goldman had to do is call up a crafty hedge fund and a couple of dumb insurance companies and create a product out of thin air to make some extra bucks while taking zero responsibility for any economic consequences. And since investors were not accustomed to the creation of infinitely large ethereal markets, they would be positively surprised for a while – maybe forever, the most delusional of CEOs might have hoped.
But nothing lasts forever – even an infinitely-sized product market – and boosted by enthusiastic and self-interested bank CEOs, expectations get overly high and then crashed spectacularly back to earth in 2008. And the world is now dealing with an entirely new task: unwinding an expectations-driven market multiple times the size of the entire global real market. No wonder it ain't going so great!
There is much discussion of tighter regulation of the banks, now that we've found out how damaging bad behavior on their part could be for the economy. One regulatory change would dwarf all of the others in protecting the economy: banning stock-based compensation for bank employees. It is not so much about how much they make but what incentives their compensation structures produce. Bank executives need to be turned back to managing the real market rather than dreaming up ways – and there will always be ways – of manipulating the expectations market and making off like bandits while the economy takes it in the teeth.
PHOTO: A demonstrator (C) holds a sign while two onlookers stand by during an Occupy Wall Street protest in lower Manhattan in New York October 3, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar
This is a good article. I cannot add a thing. I do wonder why the US Government is being led around by the nose by these same bankers. If I had something that did me wrong like these bankers, I would push push it into a hole and bury it.
Does anyone else find it ironic that working class voters will still vote to for less government regulation and lower taxes on these parasites?
Thank you for a well written, comprehensible explanation of what happened to our banking industry. It makes me seethe to think about what was pulled on us. I'm sure those who profited are still laughing about it.
This gets to the heart of what the Occupy Wall Street protests are about, and why the protests don't seem to be very focused. There's no way to protest this complex type of fraud that was perpetrated on the citizens of the US and the world, but it's imperative that those in power understand that they've been put on notice that change has to come one way or another. This isn't going away. The perpetrators deserve much worse than just protestors marching outside of their castle gates.
GREAT article. In the era of e-funds and shady authorizations to shadier banks, anything and everything goes, and has – and the rest of us have paid for it.
As a former FDIC Chairman's grandson, I FULLY support the #OccupyWallStreet movement and #OccupyTogether and a full independent audit of the 2008 and 2009 TARP proceedings. There was no oversight on TARP. Four-page applications were approved for multi-billion dollar loans. Criminals were bailed out and given time to shred and destroy whatever evidence they needed.
When this happened to Japan in 1992, such banks quickly gained a proper name – "zombie banks". The failure of the government to reform these banks in Japan was a major contributor to their Lost Decade.
My grandfather was critical of Paulson's handling of TARP, as was I, and Obama has not supported the movement to audit the Federal Reserve. We need to get banking back to banking, and end casino capitalism. Please continue to provide wonderful and thoughtful coverage on this issue, Reuters.
It seems to me that someone or something got over 2+ trillion of the taxpayer's money, 196 billion doses not add up. I think the gangsters who made this scam should have to pay the 2+trillion back in full like other criminals have to pay restitution. This will give the taxpayer a break to stimulate the economy. WE THE PEOPLE / TAX PAYER know that interest and inflation are coming so it will be a long road for all of us. No one should get a free lunch or a get out of jail free card. We are in an Economic War and Congress and the President should not take this to lightly.
To the Guillotine!
By all accounts written, I come to the conclusion that the "zero-sum game" is as fraudulent as a Ponzi scheme.
I support the suggestion that stock-based compensation be eliminated in the banking industry. I would further suggest that market makers and insurance companies do not belong in the banking industry and roll-back in our regulations is in order.
This is a good article, but I don't think it's accurate to attribute all of the shortsightedness, mismanagement, greed, and undeniable fraud we've seen to stock based compensation. Shouldn't we also be remember the deregulation of the banking industry, and how allowing institutions with massive amounts of cash (from our checking and savings accounts, mortgages, etc.) to experiment with these exotic instruments (derivatives, etc) might have contributed as much or more to the current situation?
I personally would rather see increased effort spent on reinstituting the firewalls that used to exist between these segments of the financial community. Shouldn't that automatically limit the tools bankers have to increase their compensation, as well as protect main street?
There are numerous studies studies of compensation and performance and they invariably show that the higher compensation the worse the performance. You can check out the study by Ariely and others commissioned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for a starting point. If we go by the science, then the compensation packages are virtually guaranteeing poor performance. Why are these studies ignored by the Federal Reserve, boards of directors, etc? Possibly, because they don't jive with their preconceived notions, but more selfish reasons come to mind.
OK, here's the scoop – Pres Obama came in and hired the same
guys that put us in this situation – Geithner, Summers, and half of Goldman Sachs. Of course our Government looks after the banks – they ARE the government. That said, what a wonderful article – what a great idea to stop stock based compensation, if only… Always remember with these CEOs and top echelon bankers: it's nothing personal, they're just playing "The GAME": "You 99% rabble should understand, you lost! You are losers. I am a winner. Accept it! It's nothing personal, it's JUST BUSINESS!"
What a powerful analysis, Roger.
So clearly explained. And so plainly diagnosed for people like me who can't understand a word about the banking industry as well.
I wonder why do you think that no one has offered this explanation or examination before now? I mean you are describing a cataclysm that is three years old. And an industry pathology that is – at least – a decade old. Why for example, is someone at the WhiteHouse, or the Congress, or the Senate, have provided this service to its citizens? Clearly it is not a problem of political ideology. It is a problem of practical ideology. The way regulation is planned, designed, implemented and amended.
And why is this article not posted on the New York Times, CNN, or FoxNews?
Your recommendation of banning stock compensation for bank employees, is clear about how it would alter incentives. But why stop at bank employees? [which include CEOs].
Would you not agree that this conflict of interest is hollowing out executive leadership at Fortune 500 Companies in all industries? Yahoo, HP, Kodak, all come to mind as misdirected by short term expectations. If you are right about bankers Roger, does your hypothesis apply to the valuations of Facebook, Twitter, GroupOn and the like as well?
@weing – Point me to some of these studies and I'll check them out, but I'm betting that they're confounded by payments execs receive AFTER being fired (a year's severance, guaranteed bonus payouts, accelerated vesting of equity, etc.). In other words, failure equals high pay, rather than high pay equals failure. Both are bad, but it's inaccurate to say that "science" provides proof of your belief.


text: ask your developers what competitions they're passionate about or suggest some related to your initiatives in mobile, APIs, or their personal interests. For example, Code for America invites developers to generate web-based solutions for city governments across the country. These are opportunities for your developers to expand their networks for future referrals and to elevate their skills.4 Ways Leading Companies Attract Top Tech Talent - Business Insider

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I can't wait to remove my kid in this school. We decided to put my kid here to have a good education and to know god better. Me and my husband are really disappointed, because every monday the teacher will give her an assignment that she already did a few months ago. The teachers are new that came from different state, it looks like they are just practicing to have their certificate....ok that's fine...but think about it, we are paying for the tuition...it's not FREE-that's why i look for good results. Also, i don't like that the grades are together like for example 1st and 2nd grade are in the same room and 1 teacher. One time, i attended one of their friday mass i was in awe when the principal is the one that gave the homily, not the priest, I told myself what the heck!!! I know their tuition fee is really affordable, but for me i rather pay an extra bucks to give my child a better education. Very disappointed!!!! Doesn't even deserve 1 star..
Holy Cross School is one of the best. Things this year are different, but not the teachers and staffs leadership and one on one attention the kids get. The low enroll is a shame, seems some of the parents have forgotten what support your school really means. I have experience with the local public system (WUSD) it is not what our kids should be exposed to. With WSUD if your child falls behind they stay behind.
Holy Cross School has been the best! My child had unbelievable one on one attention from the 3rd grade teacher. She was able to change her teaching methods easily to fit each child. I highly disagree with the children being unprepared for 4th grade. Since there was a combined class of 3/4, it added stability for the children to have the same teacher again. Unfortunately, there was a change in leadership which led to low registration, BUT this next year will bring back much of the community to Holy Cross. We all need to show our support now, in order to keep this wonderful school in our community. I am thankful to God that Holy Cross is here.
I sent my child to Holy Cross - and from grades K-2, I was EXTREMELY happy. Then, they changed leadership and it all broke down from there. My child's 3rd grade year was awful! A number of parents complained about ineffective teaching methods, rigidity and arrogance shown by some of the teaching staff, and a lack of preparedness in math for the students. Leadership failed to effectively address any of these issues. As a result, many of the children who were transitioning from the 3rd grade were unprepared for the 4th grade did not return (my child included). A decrease in registration resulted in having to combine classes for the following year. We were sad to leave, but it was absolutely necessary. My child tested above their grade level exiting 2nd grade and tested well below their grade level exiting 3rd grade. Completely unacceptable.
My daughter is completing her final year at Holy Cross and will be attempting to get into Christian Brother's High School or Saint Francis High School next fall. I have been very pleased with the school and could not image her attending any of the public schools in the area. In some sense, I think the school coddles the children abit more than I would like (but this is a father talking). I also think the school could greatly improve if there was a male teacher available for some of the higher grades.
Good small school atmosphere. Ideal low student/teacher ratio. Students will receive sufficient one-on-one instruction. Available choir and band programs. Sports field and Science lab under construction for possible 2006-07 school year use. High level of parent involvement required. Small school with small enrolment numbers and small budget will require parents to volunteer to staff various positions (i.e. yard duty, fundrasing etc.)
Holy cross is a great scool with a low student teacher ratio. My child has a tough time learning and the teachers are a great help. The low student teacher ratio allows the teacher extra time with a child who may be struggling. They always encourage and praise the children for a job well done. I always know how my child is doing because the teachers and pricipal take the time to inform me of his progress.
Our family has had students at Holy Cross for eight years now. It has been a great school. Low student/teacher ratio. Each child gets the individual attention they need. They learn to respect themselves and everyone else. Parents also make a difference and have a say in their child's education. All administration and staff personel are open minded and friendly on a first name basis. Everyone that attends the school is known by a first name basis. It's a very warm and nurturing environment with strong academic expectations.
15o words isn't much space to tell you how pleased we are with Holy Cross. Small classes mean a great deal of attention for each child--no one gets 'lost in the crowd'. The atmosphere has been extremely supportive, and the kids all seem to look out for each other. It is an older school, but as another poster stated, don't let that fool you. You are going to get a terrific education comparable to any other Catholic school in the region.
This school is one of West Sacramento's best kept secret. It is an older facility, but don't be fooled by it exterior. There is a great community feeling in this school. There are strong ties between the parish and the school. There are members of this community who have and will continue to do so much for this school! The number of students in each class is approximately 20 students. The matriculation rate into the local private high school (i.e. Christian Brothers High School) is high.
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Daily Strength for Daily Needs - July 1
July 1
In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord.--EX. xvi. 7.
Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope.--ROM. xii. 11, 12.
Every day is a fresh beginning,
Every morn is the world made new.
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,
Here is a beautiful hope for you;
A hope for me and a hope for you.
Be patient with every one, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and always rise up bravely from a fall. I am glad that you make a daily new beginning; there is no better means of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and never to think that we have done enough.
Because perseverance is so difficult, even when supported by the grace of God, thence is the value of new beginnings. For new beginnings are the life of perseverance.
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Bidder offers $283,000 for historic Maine lighthouse
The bid would be the highest ever for a Maine lighthouse if accepted by the General Services Administration.
Man killed by Downeaster in North Berwick likely a suicide
Police say Christopher Sprague, 27, had apparently walked up the tracks heading north out of town prior to the Saturday evening fatality.
Woman, 60, killed in three-vehicle crash in Bethel
Route 2 was shut down after the accident, which remains under investigation
September 22The independent claims some of his rival's past positions were not ecologically friendly but they have been 'green-washed' by groups that endorsed the Democrat.
September 22The governor offers to form a coalition of governors 'to tackle' the issue.
September 22Former world champion Michael Spinks will be on hand for the local club's 100th event.
September 22GWI will install a fiber-optic network that will provide service that is 100 times faster than what most of the state can access.
September 22Federal authorities are interviewing the three men who came to the United States to train but were not believed to pose any threat.
September 22A Press Herald analysis identifies the battleground districts likely to be turning points in who wins power, which is now of great interest to national groups.
September 22Jason Boucher, 34, briefly held off police in a Cedar Street apartment before he was charged with elevated aggravated assault Monday night.
September 22A woman who escaped last Thursday's fatal blaze recalls the terror and chaos of that night.
September 22Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant said the victim was 60-year-old Arlene Shepler, of Randolph, Vermont.
September 22The strikes are part of the expanded military campaign that President Obama authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the Islamic State militants.
September 22But the study's authors say it's too soon to draw definitive conclusions.
September 22Police say he had a pot-growing operation on his Lincoln County property
Richard Weymouth failed to report income he earned from his snow plowing and excavation business.
at 12:30 AMBut police say there's no link between a fatal fire set Thursday and one on Sunday night that led to an arrest.
September 22The inspection July 13 gave the ship a low grade, but the CEO points out that the ship was built to European standards and required modifications.
September 22The governor says he'll debate independent candidate Eliot Cutler, but criticizes his Democratic opponent for not denouncing an attack ad from an outside group.
September 22Her visit continues a string of high-profile figures to campaign on behalf of Michaud in Maine's three-way race for governor.
September 22Officials say it's the first fatal bear attack in the state on record.
September 22In the region and the nation, sales were down for the month.
September 22Maine State Police joined the investigation after another victim, Michael Moore died Friday from his injuries.
September 22Robel Phillipos, who is accused of lying to police, tried unsuccessfully once before to move his trial away from Boston.
Photo editor Yoon Byun and photographer Gabe Souza discuss an image from a naturalization ceremony in our new weekly video feature.
September 22They decide to phase out two majors and a graduate program as they work to close budget gaps.
September 22He says the soldiers disappeared during a siege on the town of Sijir on Sunday and have likely been taken to the nearby city of Fallujah.
September 22Organizers say they aim to disrupt business in the financial district.
September 22Police are trying to find Jason Boucher, 34 of Augusta, in connection with the multiple stabbing of a Sidney man on Saturday.
CEO Tim Cook says demand for the phones has exceeded the company's expectations.
September 22Omar J. Gonzalez is accused of scaling the White House perimeter fence, sprinting across the lawn and entering the building.
September 22The chase north on U.S. Route 1 ended in Nobleboro when officers put spike strips in the road to flatten the vehicle's tires.
September 22The world pumped an estimated 39.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air last year – 2.3 percent more than the previous year.
September 22Robert Ford, who held the position from 2011 until earlier this year, will discuss domestic policies and U.S. strategy.
Nine Mainers unable to install an array at home buy shares to get electricity from the state's first community solar farm.
September 22Lepage calls veterans' unheralded homecomings 'totally, totally inappropriate'; Michaud says 'it's critical to separate the war from the warriors.'
September 22The private owners of 26 vintage train cars arrive in Portland for their annual convention, some traveling in ornate luxury once enjoyed by U.S. presidents.
September 22Members of the First Assembly of God on Cumberland Avenue distribute up to 10,000 pounds of food to needy neighbors each Sunday.
Delaying may be a boon to the women and to the children they eventually bear, but not to the economy.
The goal is to give tenants and landlords the ability to recognize mental illness before an issue becomes a crisis.
The departures result from what employees describe as a dysfunctional work environment, abysmal morale and the lure of private security companies.
September 22They will look at consolidating human resources services, phasing out academic programs and asking for more state funding.
September 22Members of Congress insist that security procedures be improved after an Army veteran jumped a fence and managed to make it into the White House.
September 21The Amtrak Downeaster struck the person shortly before 7 p.m. Saturday in North Berwick.
September 22The fire Sunday night was in a densely populated neighborhood near the city's downtown.
September 21On Sunday, heavy clashes broke out between the Islamic State militants and Kurdish fighters only miles from the Syrian border town of Kobani.
No one was injured in the fire late Saturday night.
September 22Contestants in the steer-pulling contests take their hobby seriously. Amber Ferris, 15, of Peru is one of them.


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Exif & IPTC Metadata Browser
Read the metadata in your pictures. Works for images taken with the camera and imported with the camera connection Kit or from your computer (using iTunes).
You will get all the kinds of metadata readable in your image, including:
- Exif metadata (aperture, speed, maker, date...)
- IPTC metadata (Headline, By_line, credits, ...)
- GPS Metadata (longitude, latitude, date, accuracy, direction)
The app requires you to accept that it reads your location. Location can be kept on pictures in the Photo Library. It doesn't search or use your current location.
This requirement is an Apple iOS requirement to protect your privacy.
What's new
Finally updated for iOS 7
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- 2.50 (24)
Exif & IPTC Metadata Browser 2.50 out of 5 based on 24 ratings.


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Category Archives: Evangelism
Missional Straightforwardness
One of the most challenging tasks of sacred agents is contextualization. (Oh the irony, I've used a 19-letter word and a 17-letter word already.) Contextualization is the challenge of translating the great news of God's Kingdom, which reaches across all time, places and cultures, into a specific time, place and culture so that it can be understood. If you've ever looked at someone, scratched your head, and thought "how can I possibly put this wonderful hope in a way that you'll be able to grasp?" then you've wrestled with contextualization. It's tricky.
And of all of the trickiness, there's the danger that it makes us tricky. It's good for us to keep our finger on the pulse of societal trends and communication methods. In our dealing with the world we are to be as wise as serpents. But we're also meant to be as innocent as doves.
If we follow too closely the PR approach to mission, never wanting to offend or repel anyone, loudly proclaiming the "upside" of following Jesus and fudging on the cost, we can end up being quite unlike Jesus in our efforts to represent him. There is a wonderful straightforwardness to Jesus, speaking the truth lovingly but also directly and clearly, and being up-front about the cost of discipleship.
(Selling Christianity as a lifestyle choice by highlighting how its benefits far outweighs its costs has problems in itself in leading to consumer Christianity where people "select" Jesus for his usefulness rather than submit and entrust themselves to him, but let's discuss that later.)
Another form of trickiness comes when we make reconciliation to God an over-complicated process. When a person is 1,000 miles from God's kingdom, sometimes we try to influence them towards a place just 990 miles from God. Nudge them a little bit closer, and feel that we've done some mission. But a person 1,000 miles from God is actually only one step away (hallelujah!), and we see many such people in the Gospels coming to Jesus and being wonderfully transformed. Do we inch people along the garden path sometimes instead of inviting them to come right on in?
What might it mean for us to be clear and straightforward as agents of the Kingdom? More wise and yet less sophisticated? Might it not be both truer to the gospel and refreshing and appealing to many in our time and culture?
Missional Proximity
Have you ever attempted the Coke-Can Challenge? The idea is to hold a full can of Coke (or indeed any other beverage that is willing to sponsor this blog) out in front of you at full arm's length, for as long as possible. The can doesn't weigh much, but (if you're like me) you'll find you're in agony after a couple of minutes. But if it's close to your body, you could carry it all day.
Surely the challenge of God's mission is like that. The further you are from people, the harder and more painful it is. The closer you are to the people you're sent to, the easier it is to connect meaningfully. Missionaries who live and move among a people group learn so much more about how to speak to them, and gain far more credibility to be heard. It's Missiology 101. We see it in Christ himself: "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood." (John 1:14, The Message)
Our family has learned what a powerful and natural thing local witness is. Moving to West Beach church has meant moving home and changing school across town, but I think we would have done it even if called just down the road to Parkside, simply because of the difference proximity makes to mission.
But it's not just about where we live. What does it mean to really draw near not just to residential neighbours but also to our neighbours at our work, school or club? Our message that "the Kingdom of God is near" has an existential truth in that we as agents of the Kingdom embody it. Who can think God is distant when one of His 'angels' is giving them a visitation? We do the gospel when we practice hospitality to invite people into our space. And we do the gospel when, like Jesus, we are not ashamed to eat and drink in the space of those far from God. Far until we arrive!
When church is over here and life is over there, mission too easily ends up being neither here nor there. It's too hard, we think. But is the coke can really too heavy? Or just too distant?
Bring Him Home
There are deep, strong, and many connections between evangelism and hospitality – far more than I can go into here. One of the most poignant images of the gospel is the embrace of the prodigal son by the Father. God's deep longing for prodigals to be reconciled to Him means always looking out and always ready to welcome in.
If you want to come to my house you can probably find the front door and the doorbell, but the experience for you is vastly different if the light is on and my kids are peeping out the front windows eager for your arrival. In the same way, at my home church we feel we have some renovations to do. There are four doors at the front of our buildings, and none of them obviously presents as the entrance. If you really want to come, you can definitely figure it out, but it's something short of hospitality.
But enough about buildings, what about the actual church? Does yours have a clear and warm point of entry? Do those without church experience get strong signals saying "Welcome! Start here"? Or do they get the feeling that this church is for regulars, not irregulars?
One church that welcomes well is Rostrevor Baptist. Banners all along their street frontage make quite clear that that church is geared up to help beginners, and the Alpha Course is the place to start. We can learn from them. Is there somewhere obvious on your church's website where beginners can click? Is there a ministry clearly aimed at ushering people from curiosity to membership?
Many churches seem to have ministries that usher people from the Outer Hebrides to the Inner Hebrides (hostility to openness), but not ministries to welcome people ashore and settle them on the mainland. We move people from Pluto to Neptune and call it mission, but do we really want Martians here on Earth?
So our church is looking at a new entrance. But even more urgently, we're looking at a weekly Sunday breakfast for enquirers where people can ask anything, begin just where they are, and discover all it means to belong in God's family. Mission isn't just running down the road, mission is bringing the prodigal home!
Are You Safe to Ask?
It's a tricky game we're in. As agents for God's great resistance movement, just mentioning the movement is frowned upon by the cultural police, let alone openly recruiting for it! How can we possibly get away with it? Psst, just pretend like you're reading a blog and let's talk about it.
One of the problems with an underground movement like ours is paranoia – you come to believe that everyone else is against you. When we focus on our difficulty to speak out in a Christophobic society, we forget that there are others, too, who regret the Great Forced Silence: the sympathetic enquirers. They are open, even wanting to be recruited. They want to join the resistance, but they don't know where to apply.
(You might think it obvious – apply at a church, speak to a pastor – but some are concerned not to expose themselves so obviously (think of those who like Nicodemus approached Jesus at night), and some are not even sure that any given church will connect them with the real movement.)
Such people want to ask their questions, they thirst for a spiritual D&M, but they are not sure where it's safe to get it. Which leads to my point: Do the people around you know that you're a safe person to have a spiritual conversation with? How can you hint that you are?
If you keep your Christianity privatised and use no hint or symbol in your everyday space, people will not be likely to approach you for the inside word. On the other hand, if you're over-the-top in your continual gush about Jesus people may not consider you safe, either. I know people that I dare not ask about fishing without running the risk of losing the rest of the day lost in tackle-talk and spot-speak!
So even when we're not in a position to make the first move, are there ways we can hint that we're pro-resistance and safe to approach? I know some who keep a Bible in view at their work-station. Others wear a cross, or have a Bible verse on display in their home. And which verse? Or what other ways might be ideal signals for your setting? Discuss…
A Deaf Culture? Eh?
I came across someone this week who was talking about the kind of evangelism needed to reach "a deaf culture". That phrase really got me thinking.
Imagine you're talking to someone, and they're clearly just not getting what you're trying to say. It's just a blank stare. If you assume that it's because they're a bit deaf, the tempting thing might be to repeat yourself, but a bit louder. And louder again, if needed. Can you picture it?
How embarrassing it would be to find out that they're not deaf at all, it's just that they don't understand English! (More to the point, the problem is that you don't speak their language.) Getting louder and louder is just making yourself look like an obnoxious fool.
I wonder if we sacred agents can be a bit like that in our endeavours to express the gospel to those to whom we're sent. If we're not connecting, it's easy to put the blame on them. THEY'RE just not interested, we might tell ourselves and others. Or THEY just don't get it. THEY'RE closed. THEY'RE deaf. But the truth might be that WE just haven't done the missionary work of learning their language.
Could it be that we are the deaf ones – not taking enough time to listen to people to understand their world-view, their way of thinking, their language? It's fascinating to me that God's approach from the beginning (in the Garden of Eden) and Jesus' approach to so many was not to open with "Have I got news for you" but rather with questions, drawing people out and being prepared to begin by listening.
I'm not convinced that our culture is deaf, or completely closed to God. It might be deafened by the incredible multitude of voices and messages that bombard it daily. In that case, raising our voices louder and increasing the din isn't really a good answer. What if we found ways to give quality time to really listen with interest to people, all the while asking God's Spirit for insight into just how His great news can best be communicated to them?
Evangelism does involve speaking. We do need to find our voice. But we need to find it in their language.
Is It Explosive?
When we think about what the gospel is, quite often we get fixated on the details of how people can be saved. How to get into the kingdom. The trouble is, there's no point in telling people how to enter a place they don't want to go. What's the point in hailing down cars telling them how to get to the airport, when they don't want to go there?
The how is important – it's worth knowing and getting right. But we could, I think, swing more of our efforts to telling people the WHO and the WHAT of God's kingdom – and they may well then ask us how to enter.
Many people seem to have the idea that God's big dream is that everyone would behave themselves and attend church – a club, they think, where everyone is very careful to conform and pretend to be good, a club where the rules are explained over and over and the game is never played. Have we contributed to that impression? Do we continue to in ways?
God is so much more than a cosmic referee with whistle in mouth looking for people who are breaking the rules. His dream is not that people would stop sinning, but that they would be explosively transformed. Not merely that thieves would "stop thieving" – but become givers! Not merely that cursers would "stop cursing" – but become encouragers (Eph 3:28-29)! Our message is not merely that empty people can come and "be filled" – but come and be turned into fountains (John 7:38)! It's a message of radical and good transformation! (Yes, for those fixated on how, not by our own efforts but by God's grace and empowering).
Our message is not merely "Come follow Jesus" but also "…and he will make you fishers for people. He will enlist you in his incredible re-creative plot. He will transform you, and through you, the world!" Now that's explosive.
The gospel of behavioural conformity has its roots as much in new-world-settler-western-imperialism as it does in Scripture. It's an emasculating message that defuses people down to worker-bees. The biblical gospel, on the other hand, is explosive in releasing people as carriers of a viral goodness that will supplant the empires. One saps, the other inspires – which one are we conveying?


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Knight Basketball Opens at Cincinnati Christian Classic
On Friday the Knight basketball team traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to play their opener, as part of the Cincinnati Christian University Classic. KCU had drawn host CCU on the first day of play. The Knights were outscored in the first half 54-30, but put in 46 in the second half, against CCU's 47. The Knights were led in scoring by freshman Caleb Ford with 24, including 3 of 3 from behind the arc. Sophomore Trevor Hunt and junior transfer Tyler Farley each put in 15. Dylan Genung had 10. Hunt was the leading rebounder with 7. KCU shot 13 of 19 from the foul line, but hit 58% from three-point land. Cincinnati Christian was led in scoring by Mitch McLeish with 21, Michael Hill with 19, and Kenny Gaynor with 18. They shot 56% from the floor, but were only 2/13 from 3 point range.
On Saturday, the Knights took on the Bearcats of Brescia University, and fell to them 82-76.


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Oregon Distillery Trail
We love this gorgeous video showcasing the Oregon Distillery Trail. Each stop is well worth a visit.
The Oregon Distillers Guild is an organization working in behalf of 28 distilleries in the state. Equal parts brotherhood and ipseity, the Guild promotes its growing industry in the beautiful state of Oregon, as well as the individual characteristics that make each distillery unique.


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Suggested Team Slogan: Keepin' football relevant in Illinois!
What We Learned In 2007: Illinois fans learned, or remembered, how much fun college football can be when your team isn't getting rolled every Saturday. Last season the Illini's nine victories surpassed the previous four seasons' COMBINED win total.
The team learned what an upgrade in talent can do. The last several seasons of the Ron Turner regime saw the Illini winning recruiting battles with the likes of Ball State and Toledo and the results on the field reflected it. Ron Zook came in and started going up against the likes of Notre Dame, Iowa, and Nebraska for recruits and slowly, but surely, the product on the field has improved. Zook said that his program would go in stages; lose big, lose small, win small, win big. He was sure right about those first two steps, but in the "win small" season, the Illini went to the Rose Bowl. Now we'll see if they can top that in the "win big" season.
Finally, the rest of the Big Ten learned that the Illini can run the ball! However, they couldn't do much else. The Illini ranked 5th in the NCAA with 256.8 ypg on the ground, but were 109th through the air with 168.2 ypg.
Expectations in 2008: The team is expected to be strong once again, but there are some holes that need to be filled after losing Big Ten MVP Rashard Mendenhall to the NFL and the anchor of the defense J Leman to graduation. To me, the season will hinge on the play of Junior QB Juice Williams. If defenses are allowed to overload the line of scrimmage to stop the run, it will be a disappointing season. Without a stud running back to lean on, Juice needs to continue his evolution into a QB that can hurt defenses on the ground and through the air. In the second half of last season, he showed that he is ready to take that next step. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Arrelious Benn at wideout will help make it easier.
The defense is expected to be the strength of the team. The defensive line is considered to be one of the ten best in the nation. Only six starters return from last season's squad, but the upgrade in recruiting is expected to make its impact with a very talented group of sophomores, including DT Josh Brent and LB Martez Wilson, stepping in to make the defense even better. Key returnees are Senior DE Will Davis (9.5 sacks in 2007) and Junior DB Vontae Davis (4 INTs).
The Fighting Illini certainly won't have a favorable schedule to work with. They open up the season in St. Louis where they will face off with the Missouri Tigers in the annual rivalry game. Conference road games at Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin will make a return trip to Pasadena difficult to achieve.
Big Men On Campus: On the offensive side of the ball, QB Juice Williams is the straw that stirs the drink. He is a threat with his feet and now he has to start being a threat with his arm on a more consistent basis. He will have one of the best targets to throw to in WR Arrelious Benn, Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2007. All-Big Ten candidates Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald will be the leaders on the O-Line.
The strength of the defense will be the defensive line, where Will Davis and David Lindquist will be All-Big Ten candidates. Illini fans had better enjoy Junior DB Vontae Davis this season because there is a strong chance that he will be in the NFL in 2009. The most exciting newcomer to the starting lineup is Sophomore LB Martez Wilson. His combination of size and speed has the Illini staff convinced that he will be a star.
What Will Keep the Illini From Meeting Expectations?...If Juice Williams can't keep defenses honest with his arm, that will put pressure on the running game to match last season's output. With Rashard Mendenhall gone to the NFL, the Illini don't have a clear cut No. 1 running back to fill the hole. Redshirt freshman Troy Pollard showed flashes last season, but the reason he is a redshirt freshman is that he tore up his knee in week 4 last year and his health is a concern. He has been declared healthy, but we will see. After Pollard there is Junior Daniel Dufrene and freshmen Mikel LeShoure and Jason Ford. While none of them will match Mendenhall's numbers, they need to come close as a group.
Cheerleader Grade:
Being an alumnus of the fine university located in Champaign, IL, I can vouch for the fine quality of the females on campus. However, it was always felt that none of them wanted to be cheerleaders. Either we were being incredibly picky or the quality has improved over the last 15 years (man, I'm getting old), but if nothing else, if you like legs, it looks like the U of I is where you want to be! Grade: B+ for the gams.
Schedule and Predictions:
8/30 - Missouri in St. Louis: Great game, but Mizzou pulls it out 27-21
9/6 - Eastern Illinois: Illini win 44-10
9/13 - Louisiana-Lafayette: Illini win 31-14
9/27 - @ Penn State: Illini take advantage of PSU's new QB and score just enough to win 17-14
10/4 - @ Michigan: If there is a year to win in the Big House, this is it. Illini win 24-14
10/11 - Minnesota: This could be ugly. Illini win 45-14
10/18 – Indiana: Illini win 28-13
10/25 - @ Wisconsin: Close, but no cigar. Badgers win 31-24
11/1 – Iowa: Of all the games on the docket, the Illini can lose any of them but this one. I want blood. Illini win 34-14
11/8 – Western Michigan in Detroit: This could be a trap game, but I think the Illini stay focused and win 27-13
11/15 – Ohio State: The Ohio State University Buckeyes won't be looking past this game again. Illini lose at home 27-20
11/22 - @ Northwestern: Rivalry game that the Illini win 34-20.
If accurate, that would put their record at 9-3 (6-2). Depending on if Ohio State is in the BCS Championship Game or not, that should be good enough for the Capital One or Outback Bowl.


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Scrap My Car Maidstone
Welcome to Kent Car And Commercial, local providers of a "scrap my car" scheme in Maidstone. We are a car scrappage company based in Maidstone, Kent.
Come to us for peace of mind, a name that you can trust in. We remove and pay for cars, caravans, commercial vehicles and motorcycles.
Small family run business est 1999. We will always try and beat any genuine quote. Quick polite service, we leave no mess behind. We are registered waste carriers and have the approval from the DVLA and Environment Agency to destroy the cars at our licensed facility.
We may not be the biggest but we do pride ourselves at being the best.
We offer car scrappage and "scrap my car services" as well as car parts for sale.
Contact us for further information.


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- Birthplace: Birmingham, England
- Residence: Archerfield, SCOTLAND
- Age: 58
- Turned Pro: 1973
- Eligibility Code: 14, 15
Returned to form spectacularly in 2010, finally landing his maiden Senior Tour title after nine runner-up finishes when he won the De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship. Victory was especially sweet as his son Chris was his caddie. Four other top ten finishes helped the man better known as 'DJ' end the year in sixth place on the Order of Merit – his best season in seven years on the Senior Tour. His last second place came in the 2007 Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open. The previous year, he came desperately close to securing his first win at the season-opening DGM Barbados Open, only to be beaten by Spain's José Rivero at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off. The eighth runner-up finish of his Senior Tour career followed at the FIRSTPLUS Wales Seniors Open, when Rivero was again the man to profit. Was part of Europe Team Captain Ian Woosnam's backroom team at The 2006 Ryder Cup, and helped oversee a record-equalling 18½-9½ victory against the United States. Quit The European Tour in 1996 and spent six years as a club professional at Kedleston Park in Derby, while more recently he has focused on his golf course design project at Archerfield in Scotland, where he has designed two links courses. Won the first of his two European Tour titles, the Car Care Plan International, in 1985. The second came at the Open de Lyon Trophée V33 in 1992, when he romped to victory with a 21 under par effort which contained 19 birdies, an eagle and no dropped shots in the entire 72 holes. Is a close friend of Ian Woosnam and the pair have a golf design company together. Took over as Chairman of the Senior Tour Committee in 2011 and is also a European Tour Board Member.
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Schedule of Commercial Properties
(Sept 2002)
The study area was visited and the following commercial uses noted
Penrhiwceiber Road
Number User
Rheola Street
61 Little cherub (baby clothes)
Commercial Property/Business
J.W Jones (Builders) in former Wesley chapel off Church Street
Cynon Garage off Abercynon Road
Cynon Garage - Cynon Terrace
R Compton (electrician) - Based at residential property in Penrhiwceiber Road
Penrhiwceiber Constitutional Club
The British Legion
The Lee Hotel
The Osborne Hotel
There is a small Library housed in aged temporary buildings
Penrhiwceiber Welfare Hall
This is a derelict building vacant since 1982 and owned by
a absent landlord
Commonly known as Ceiber Hall and formally Known as Penrhiwceiber
Workmans Hall
The Office on Penrhiwceiber Road houses the Penrhiwceiber
Community Revival Strategy Group
On the lower ground floor is a large meeting room, snooker
room, kitchen and cafeteria
The Institute is home to the Ultimate Stage Company - an
up and coming Youth stage company
The Institute is also the home base for the Penrhiwceiber
Communities First Partnership Board,
As of September 02 the following courses were arranged at
the Institute through the W.E.A
The childrens paddling pool is open only for the school summer
Various local and outside football teams use the Glasbrook
fields and the colliery fields pitches owned by the Local Authority
Hope Chapel
St Winifreds Church and Hall
The Hall provides facilities for Weddings and Birthdays with
regular prize bingo
This is a new purpose built Welsh medium parent and Toddler facility
The Doctors Surgery is in a former house in Rheola Street.
The Penrhiwceiber clinic at the former Nixon's Hall has now
The current school provision consists of pre school, infants
and juniors
The numbers at Sept 2002 were as follows
Class 1 26
Class 3 14
class 5 25
class 6 21
Special needs 5
Penrikcyber colliery was closed in 1985 at the end of the
miners strike,
The hillside tip was reclaimed, stabised and provided with
adequate through
Prior to the filling of the Penikcyber Colliery Surface,
site preparation and drainage work
Treatment of mine shafts
The three major colliery shafts have been backfilled in a controlled manner and capped
British coal have stipulated that no buildings are to be
located over or within 15m zone
It is understood that the diversion of a 33KVA overhead line which traversed the site has been diverted to a new alignment in conjunction and in consideration with proposals for the site
The reclaimed site would support lightly loaded structures . Suitable foundation options would be traditional concrete strip, trench fill, or reinforced concrete raft
The following are extracts of the October 1998 local plan relevant to the Penrhiwceiber area
ENVP3J pp38
ENVP4 pp38
URB1 pp104
TP2C pp134
TP8B pp139
C2 pp147
CP1G pp148
Streets identified within the survey area are as follows
Street Number of properties
Building on the hillside does have intrinsic problems. Houses
on the uphill side of
Built on a steep damp hillside to mainly rule of thumb engineering
it is not
During a recent survey the following results were reported in the area
21% reported dampness encountered by a number of factors
including the
45% reported inadequate drainage, this is reflected in the overall drainage problems within the area
21% reported poor standards of heating
36% structural stability
33% Inadequate water supply
Household Profiles Penrhiwceiber/Miskin
Tenure Quantity %
Prices in Penrhiwceiber range from £10,000 with an
average price of £23,900
These figures do not include properties up for auction where the reserve price is usually around £10,000 or the newer detached or semi detached properties where the price is higher
Penrhiwceiber is a Commercial improvement Area, here commercial
and voluntary


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
PalominoMule said...
In a war-torn land it's pretty hard to raise livestock though. They're big, tasty targets to armies, brigands, and starving neighbors. Pastures are often in poor condition, it's hard to grow enough feed to supplement their diet or get them through winter and other times of poor grazing, and stress can put a real damper on animal health and breeding success.
So, given that all forms of agriculture can break down under these conditions, good old hunter-gatherer strategies can help a lot. The "gatherer" part here is important. In-game we have a method of hunting (though the distribution of animal species is often...questionable to say the least, both in geography and percentage of local biomass), but no way of gathering the sorts of plant and fungal matter that get people through lean times. Well, okay, there's the fungal bits you can pick off of undead characters sometimes, but that's...kinda' gross.
Edible plants and fungi are all around us! Dandelion greens are extremely rich in a number of vitamins and nutrients and can easily be eaten raw; their roots are also a source of energy if cooked. Morels are still harvested in the American south even today, 'cause they's tasty, valuable things. Many nuts are edible, though they may require proper cooking methods to remove their less savory chemical components. Tubers abound, clover grows wild and provides good nutrition. So on, so forth.
Not to mention that of all food types meat and grains keep the longest ( without modern preparation that is ). Dry 'em out and you're good to go. Jerky is ftw.
Granted you can dehydrate any food, not just meat, but it was much more common practice to dry out your meat than it was to dry out your veggies. It's easier for one and less likely to attract insects because you do it over a firepit so bugs will not try to eat it. Plus you can also just toss your meat in a barrel full of salt and roll it around a bit then come back a year later when you get hungry ( Viking/Vrykul style ). The salt removes moisture from the meat and wards off/kills bugs like the smoke from a fire would.
Awesome point. The lore behind Westfall and the fact that the whole zone lies fallow supports this. There are very few farms in Azeroth at all and the only cattle I remember are wandering blithely around Elwynn Forest. Hell, none of the eggs I've ever seen came from any chickens including my Westfall and Ancona; they're farmed from buzzards and draghawk hatchlings.
As far as Outland goes, the native orcs were nomadic tribes in Nagrand. IIRC, nomads have little time for cultivating soil, planting crops, and harvesting.
These are some great points, though I admit that I figured that the lack of farm goods was more of a professions choice than anything to do with the state of the world at the time. Though considering this is the world of warcraft, that probably is a big part of it.
I play Lord of the Rings Online and they have a really robust cooking profession, with a WIDE variety of food you can make. But they also have a completely seperate profession to support it; farming. In fact, it's the meat you have to buy and all the veggies can be supplied by farming. But farming is a rather boring profession (you stand in a field for long periods of time, sowing and harvesting your crops) and it has to fit the world. Middle Earth is a much more civilized and less war-torn land than Azeroth so the idea of someone farming for a living, instead of adventuring or keeping orcs off their lands, seems more likely.
If Azeroth was going to introduce more veggies, they'd most likely have to introduce some sort of profession for it (so that cooking remains self-sufficient) or have the produce sold at vendors. Though the vendor thing isn't a bad idea; it's a good gold sink.
Of course, with Cataclysm, I can't imagine there'd be much crops being grown at all.


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Get Away From Hana
Credits & Info
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- 4.50 / 5.00
- Date
- 06/23/2012
- Category
- Illustration
- File Info
- 1501 x 818 px
- 1.5 mb
- Tags
- anime
- manga
- rollercoaster
- hana
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Author Comments
Kai's just pissed off that, that darn Nobu is hanging around Hana again. I don't think Nobu will ever learn. Him and Hana are such a cute destructive couple thou.
Again trying out new things. Trying to draw scenes rather than just boring 1 person drawings XD"
Rated 5 / 5 stars Jun 30, 2012
Rated 5 / 5 stars Jun 23, 2012
yet another awesome one!! like the other one this also looks like it may move any minute now!(like the movie is on pause) is there an animation of this yet? this seems really cool and it would be a waste not to anime this! so go for it!!!!
Rated 5 / 5 stars Jun 23, 2012
Perhaps Hana should break a few hearts?
Anyway, this looks great.


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If someone can't handle the STEM majors (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics for those who aren't familiar with the acronym), they have no business in college.
This article may just be the biggest crock of shit I've ever read. Yeah, there are plenty of people who go college to slack off and party (his argument against "easy" Liberal Arts degrees), but guess what? They are in "STEM" majors as well. I personally know a few of them. My neighbor in my dorm building is a Math major taking advanced Calc classes right now, and yet she's out drinking herself into oblivion every night and putting the pictures on Facebook to prove it. It's not Liberal Arts, buddy. It's people.
There are so many NECESSARY majors that do not fall into this guy's version of "real" college majors that it's laughable. Criminal Justice? Mass Communication? (I'm a little biased on that one, but seriously? Does the news report itself, among other things?) Psychology? Sociology? Economics? (Which is sometimes considered Math, sometimes Science, but usually a Liberal Art nonetheless.) Um, LAW school? And many, many other majors? Seriously, Matt Saccaro, please think about what you're saying BEFORE you make an ass of yourself.
What matters isn't your major, as much as what you decide to do with it. Look at this list, for instance. This is a list of 30 highly successful people today who had Liberal Arts majors in college. Over half of them are, guess what? English majors. Shocking, right? (Wrong.) Non-STEM majors teach you plenty of highly valuable, highly sought after skills as well, some moreso. (Speaking of, do you know which skill many employers are looking for now because so many people lack the ability to do it well after college? Being able to write. Gee, I wonder which major could prepare you for that…)
STEM majors aren't for everyone. If you're one of those people who's great at one of them, great! Fantastic! We need you, get cracking! But if not? That's perfectly fine too. Anyone has the option to apply, or not apply, themselves when it comes to college. Those who do will succeed, regardless of whether or not their major is "easy," as arbitrarily decided by Mr. Saccaro. (Then there's the whole matter that college itself isn't for everyone, but that's another rant-filled topic all together…)
In closing: "If you want to study history in 2013, order whatever books interest you off Amazon and engage in historiographical discussions via Internet forums—no need to pay $40,000 or more for a degree that gains you nothing." Why don't you tell that to Ken Chenault, Saccaro? But then again, he's just the CEO of American Express, nothing fancy, right? Or Sam Palmisano, the former CEO of IBM? (What?! The CEO of IBM wasn't a STEM major in college? Saccaro, you might want to look away…) Or Robert Gates, but he was just the Secretary of Defense, no biggie, right? Or… you get the point. Seriously, get off your high horse and take a look at the world, Saccaro (and those who agree with him). Liberal Arts? Necessary. Your mindless blathering? Not so much.
What she said, and I'm a sociology and history major.


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Reclaim the Life You Love!
It's easy to lose yourself in being a mother and a wife. So often, we put others first, sacrificing our hopes, dreams, and desires in order to make sure everyone else is alright.
If you've ever daydreamed about reclaiming your life, your passion, and your joie de vivre, then you can't miss "The Secret" star Lisa Nichols' newly released book, No Matter What: 9 Steps to Living the Life you Love.
In No Matter What, Lisa shares her real-life challenges, defining moments, and personal stories about how she turned breakdowns into breakthroughs with readers so that you can do the same.
With Lisa's help and insight, you'll be able to tap back into your passions and your purpose, and make a commitment to making it happen no matter what -- after all, as we all know, a happy mom means a happy family.
In the book, Lisa has created 9 Steps -- or "muscles" -- that need to be exercised to help you achieve happiness and off-the-charts success. Some of the things you'll be working on include: confidence, taking action, saying yes, and forgiveness.
Over the next three months, Lisa will be touring the country and sharing her love and knowledge at seminars across the country -- so be sure to check out her No Matter What site to find out what's happening in your area.
Win a chance to meet Lisa Nichols!
|Lisa Nichols is a popular public speaker, charismatic teacher and powerful coach. She is the founder of Motivating the Masses and CEO of Motivating the Teen Spirit, LLC. Her transformational workshops impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of teens and adults. She is the author of two best-selling "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books, as well as her new book, "No Matter What." She lives in southern California with her teen son.
wow abbi, that's pretty harsh and mean.
Honestly, her looks have nothing to do with her message. Grow up.
I saw her in Long Beach and she's amazing. You owe it to yourself to listen to her first before you judge.
Thank you Lisa for sharing your heart, I can't wait to see you in New York, I'm bringing my bookclub to see you. You ROCK!


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Starting on September 22, American Public Media's Marketplace Morning Report will be featured daily as part of Morning Edition, broadening the reach of this robust business segment.Read more
"Carmen" has it all - melody, color, drama, excirtement, passion and death.Read more
Liam Neeson isn't taken in this latest thriller, but he does perpetuate his tough guy act. Composer Carlos Rafael Rivera keeps pace with a score that features an unusual instrument.Read more
Talk about dad rock, Tweedy is the collaboration between Jeff Tweedy of Wilco and his 18 year old son, Spencer on drumsRead more
Classical Music is full of pieces celebrating Fall and its arrival. Join WHRO FM on Monday and Tuesday as we welcome the new season.Read more
The music featured in THE ROOSEVELTS: AN INTIMATE HISTORY includes over 15 original compositions and arrangements – a mixture of early 20th Century music and new orginal songs – crafted by up-and-coming composer/pianist David Cieri.Read more
Now that the height of hurricane season is upon us, let's batten down the hatches with some music to honor that element we love and sometimes fear: the wind.
Just the fact that Robert Pant spurned a reunion with Led Zeppelin to record his new album "lullaby and The Ceaseless Roar" says a lot about it.Read more
Hosted by WHRV's own Jae Sinnett, who is not only a wonderful host for great jazz, but also he is also a widely recorded professional musician.Read more
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- The 2014 Big Picture on Cyber Security
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Search Tags: acquisition workforce
Q & A with OMB's Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan, administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at OMB, joins host Roger Waldron to discuss a wide range of procurement issues.
March 12, 2013
Tags: acquisition , procurement , contracting , Joe Jordan , Federal Procurement Policy , OMB , FSSI , strategic sourcing , Small business contracting , Roger Waldron , Off the Shelf , Coalition for Government Procurement
Q & A with OMB's Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan, administrator for Federal Procurement Policy at OMB, joins host Roger Waldron to discuss a wide range of procurement issues.
January 29, 2013
Tags: acquisition , procurement , contracting , Joe Jordan , Federal Procurement Policy , OMB , FSSI , strategic sourcing , Small business contracting , Roger Waldron , Off the Shelf , Coalition for Government Procurement
NASA's $1 billion opportunities and a preview of the 113th
On this week's Bloomberg Government Capital Impact show, analysts examine NASA's acquisition forecast for this year, and the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.
January 10, 2013
Tags: acquisition , NASA , contracting , Congress , budget battle , fiscal cliff , sequestration , Hurrican Sandy , Matthew Zisman , Cameron Leuthy , Loren Duggan , Allen Scott , Bloomberg Government , Capital Impact
Pentagon Solutions: Longstanding challenges plague federal acquisition personnel
Stan Soloway, the President and CEO of the PSC, and Phil Kangas, a principal with Grant Thornton, joined Pentagon Solutions with Francis Rose to discuss the findings of a survey of federal acquisition personnel.
Tags: In Depth , Francis Rose , Pentagon Solutions , acquisition , Grant Thornton , PSC , Stan Soloway , Phil Kangas
Federal acquisition leaders distressed over workforce, budget cuts
Latest edition of a biennial survey, sponsored by a contracting industry group, finds acquisition leaders have the same challenges they had a decade ago. But they fear tighter budgets will reverse progress toward improving the government's acquisition workforce.
Tags: acquisition , contracting , industry , Professional Services Council , Army Contracting Command , Camille Nichols , Grant Thornton , Stan Soloway , Alan Chvotkin , Phil Kangas , Jared Serbu
For DoD, better buying demands high quality acquisition workers
The Pentagon releases Better Buying Power 2.0 with a new focus on professionalizing the procurement workforce. The updated program includes seven major focus areas with 36 initiatives. Ashton Carter, the deputy secretary of Defense, said version 2.0 takes the lessons learned and data from the last two years to further improve efficiency and cost savings of DoD procurement.
Tags: acquisition , contracting , industry , DoD , Frank Kendall , Better Buying Power , training , Jason Miller
GAO: DCMA hampered by contingency contracting, DCAA
The contract management agency has added staff in recent years and sought a pivot in strategy, the GAO found. But DCMA still faces issues, such as contingency contracting and its reliance on DCAA, that impact its ability to meet its mission, GAO's John Hutton said on In Depth with Francis Rose.
Tags: DCMA , John Hutton , GAO , workforce , In Depth , DCAA , contracting , acquisition , Jack Moore
New OFPP administrator has sights set on workforce, 'buying smarter'
Joe Jordan has led the Office of Federal Procurement Policy for a little more than two weeks. But he's wasting no time setting priorities. Jordan spoke to In Depth with Francis Rose as part of Federal News Radio's week-long special report, Inside the World's Biggest Buyer.
Tags: acquisition , acquisition policy , Inside the Worlds Biggest Buyer , Joe Jordan , OFPP , SBA , In Depth , Francis Rose , Jack Moore
Analysis: Partisan climate stymies long-term acquisition improvements
Two former administrators of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Al Burman and Steve Kelman, discuss how acquisition reforms and improvements often fall prey to partisanship. One of OFPP's goals is not only to create acquisition policy, but systems that last beyond one administration. "You want to try to have continuity, as much as you can and keep better management of the procurement system out of partisan politics as much as you can," Kelman said. "If it's just an initiative if it's forgotten in six months it's never going to accomplish anything."
Tags: Al Burman , Steve Kelman , acquisition , acquisition policy , In Depth , Francis Rose , OFPP , Jack Moore
Q & A with Dan Gordon
Dan Gordon, associate dean for Government Procurement at the George Washington University Law school will discuss a wide range of procurement issues.
October 2, 2012
Tags: acquisition , contracting , procurement , Dan Gordon , OFPP , GW Law School , low cost technically acceptable , contract duplication , Interagency contracting , strategic sourcing , Roger Waldron , Coaltion for Government Procurement , Off the Shelf


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Crime in Pennsylvania was down by nearly one percent last year, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced Tuesday.
Overall the number of reported crimes decreased by .7 percent while violent crime declined by .9 percent, bringing it to the lowest level since 2003.
But Noonan cautioned that just because numbers are down doesn't mean the public should let their guard down.
"We must continue to remember that each crime represents a victim whose freedoms must be protected," he said.
The total number of crimes reported to state police in 2011 was 927,271, compared to 934,248 in 2010. More specifically, there were fewer murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and arsons in 2011 while thefts and burglaries increased.
3235 Hoffman Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110
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Posted 9 months ago with 115 notes
Tagged: ● fandomcon ● pensacola ● first time ● personal ● me ● cosplay ● john egbert ● my face ● my cosplay
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AHHHHH these pics are lovely~ And yes, we were very much so watching hiimdaisy after I got a commission for persona. :3
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I'm Ethan, I was cosplaying John at Fandomcon in Pensacola with my cousin and my friendWhich ones are you?
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LE GASP WE'VE BEEN CAUGHT ON CAMERA KADY OOOO NOOOO omg, it looks like we were watching the persona videos on youtube...
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Number of ratings 5 / Average Grade: N/A Submit a correction
I had Mrs. McGlynn for lab in Nursing 1. She is extremely caring and truly wants you to be your best. You are never afraid to ask her a question or ask for help. That is the way ALL teachers should be. She really loves to be a nurse, and it definitely shows. Very positive outlook and is married to a real sweetheart! They make a great team!!
Mrs McGlynn is a wonderful, caring person. She is one of the few teachers who supports her students.She really cares. She is a great teacher and really an awesome woman!
Mrs. McGlynn is one of the finest teachers Orange County has to offer. Whether the didactic portion or clinical, her demeanor is professional, yet relaxed. Stressed, she'll offer a piece of chocolate, upset, a kind word. Mrs. McGlynn is half of Team McGlynn, her husband Alan McGlynn, the other half, is also an outstanding teacher.
Mrs. McGlynn has been one of the first teachers that I have had that has PATIENCE! We are students that are learning new skills and concepts. She welcomes questions and answers HONESTLY. I am very interested in her classes, leaving every session with more and more knoweldge. I am so lucky to have her, especially since the subject matter is diffi
She is a wonderful teacher, she is very clear and focused on material that needs to be covered, relates a lot of information with personal stories which helps a great deal. Mrs. McGlynn is very approachable and kind, she is one of the few instructors in nursing that still has a heart.
More Nursing professors at Orange County Community College (SUNY)


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In e-mail terminology, co-registration refers to arrangements between companies to collect user information. Usually this would be a separate check-box on a Web signup form where the user can opt-in to receive messages from a third party. For example, a magazine running a contest may include a checkbox for registrants to accept e-mail future announcements from them, and also from the prize sponsor of the contest. Co-registration usually adds the subscriber, provided they check the boxes to give permission, to two or more opt-in mailing lists.
See "How Affiliate Marketing Works" in the "Did You Know..." section of Webopedia.
Also see Refer-It.com, a directory of referral & affiliate programs for e-commerce, featuring information on over 6,500 affiliate programs.
The future remains, well, cloudy. But either way: Amazon, look out. Microsoft is gaining fast. Read More »Hype Versus Action in the Developer's World
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. SHORT SALE!! GREAT INCOME PRODUCING OPPORTUNITY!! 2 BED / 2 BATH UNIT + DEN - 2 BED / 2 BATH UNIT -More info
, 4 full bath. Investment opportunity for sale. The property consists of a fourplex located in a very desirable seMore info
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Welcome to the Kansas City, Missouri Community Development CDE (KCMO CDE) website.
The KCMO CDE is a 501(c)(4) community development entity committed to creating opportunities in Kansas City's most economically distressed communities.
Whether it is providing financing to a business or catalytic development project through the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program, financing property improvements through its façade improvement loan program, supporting microlending to start-up and small businesses, or helping to deliver services and resources to small business owners and residents of low income communities (LICs) through its many strategic partners, the KCMO CDE is dedicated to promoting and supporting innovative, targeted and collaborative economic and community development initiatives to help build and grow vibrant, sustainable and prosperous communities throughout Kansas City, Missouri.
KCMO CDE Awarded $38MM in NMTC
- The KCMO CDE was recently awarded $38 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) allocation under the 2013 funding round. This is KCMO CDE's fourth allocation award since 2008, bringing the total amount of tax credit allocation received to $158 million. The KCMO CDE was one of only 87 community development entities (CDEs) to be selected out of a pool of 310 applicants from across the country.
To date, the KCMO CDE has helped to facilitate financing for 11 investments ranging from operating businesses to real estate development projects all located in historically underinvested and under-resourced communities in Kansas City, Missouri. It has, and will continue to, use its allocation of tax credits to help finance a variety of real estate investments including industrial/manufacturing facilities, mixed-use, commercial and office developments, as well as educational and community facilities. It will also continue to actively finance the working capital, equipment & machinery, and other CAPEX needs of operating businesses located in eligible census tracts.
The KCMO CDE will officially open up its next round of request for proposals (RFP) for NMTC facilitated financing on June 30, 2014 at which time prospective businesses, organizations, and real estate development entities will be able to begin submitting to the KCMO CDE a preliminary investment/project eligibility checklist and full application. Both the checklist and application are available on the KCMO CDE's website at http://kcmocde.org/nmtc.html.
For specific questions about the NMTC Program, please contact the KCMO CDE's Executive Director Ruben Alonso III at 816-216-1851, ext. 2 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO)
The KCMO CDE is proud to be an Affiliate Partner of New York-based Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO). We offer the WIBO 16-Week Workshop, How to Build a Growing Profitable Business, to support the startup and growth of entrepreneurs from low-income and underserved communities. The WIBO 16-Week Workshop is held twice per year in the spring and fall.
Enrollment is now open for the fall 2014 session beginning on Thursday, September 25th.
The Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) 16-Week Workshop: How to Build a Growing Profitable Business is for entrepreneurs currently running a business or who plan to open a specific business within one year. WIBO is comprehensive and rigorous, combining extensive curriculum, a supportive and interactive class format, the expertise of business owners and subject experts, guest speakers, and mentoring to offer participants a truly unique experience. Participants learn the skills and confidence necessary to start and manage all aspects of their own business. With a strong emphasis on marketing and financials, participants learn how to build a profitable business model.
Visit the WIBO website to learn more. If you are interested in this program or have any questions about the WIBO workshop, please contact Amanda Wilson at 816-216-1851 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Community Capital Fund
- The Community Capital Fund was founded with an initial grant by the KCMO CDE in 2012 to support innovative and measurable community development in historically under-invested and under-resourced areas of Kansas City, Missouri. The CCF supports community development and neighborhood capacity building in Kansas City through thoughtful and targeted programming with the Neighborhood Opportunity Grant program and the Community Development Workshop to transform communities of distress into communities of opportunity. Visit the CCF website to learn more.
- The KCMO CDE is proud to be an Affiliate Partner of New York-based Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO). We offer the WIBO 16-Week Workshop, How to Build a Growing Profitable Business, to support the startup and growth of entrepreneurs from low-income and underserved communities. The WIBO 16-Week Workshop is held twice per year in the spring and fall. Enrollment is now open for the fall 2014 session beginning on Thursday, September 25th.


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Most Popular in:
New in Sustainability (page 5 of 11)
Green Objectives for 2009: Reflect, Refine, Remind and Redesign
By: Frederic J. Holzberger
Following these four Rs can help you build a brighter future for your spa, as well as for the entire planet.
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Give business a boost with some easy strategic suggestions.
10 Steps to Help the Environment
The PBA provides 10 small yet realistic steps spas can use to help the environment.
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Focusing on a recalibration of health, wellness and sustainability issues, the Natural Marketing Insititute (NMI) has released its 2009 annual trends report.
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The year has seen the strengthening of all things green in both the political and public consciousness. However, how is the cosmetics industry reacting to these shifting ideals and principles?
What Do Ethical and Sustainable Meant to Today's Beauty Consumer?
By: Imogen Matthews
A decade ago, performance benefits were uppermost in consumers' minds. Today, many people are adding ethical and sustainable considerations to their lists of requirements for beauty products.
NPD Says Eco-beauty Products Still Have Growth Potential
The NPD Group reported that there is a continuing growth opportunity for "eco-beauty" products.
More Shades of Green
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Shades of Green
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Environmental responsibility can be fun if you take tips from some of these leading eco-friendly spas.
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