text:
Xanax has some notoriety on U.S. streets and in recreational drug circles. In fact, many people abuse this helpful medication because it causes a soothing, pleasurable high. While people who need the drug use it under a doctor's care for anxiety, others misuse it to feel calm. If you find yourself unable to quit using Xanax, you need help from a quality Xanax addiction rehab program.
Specifically, Xanax is a type of benzodiazepine, a highly addictive class of drugs. Doctors use the medication for treatment of anxiety disorders. Whether you start using Xanax under medical care or do so recreationally, addiction often quickly takes over your life. Moreover, this happens to many people each year, those taking the most-widely prescribed psychiatric medication in America.
Why People Need Xanax
Many Americans need Xanax for very real panic and anxiety conditions. These mental illnesses cripple people in their own worries, fears, and nervousness. Xanax makes the brain produce GABA, a brain chemical that relaxes your body. In addition, for people with anxiety disorders, the brain does not produce enough of this chemical.
Using Xanax under doctor's care helps you be more social, engage in your life fully, and enjoy activities others may take for granted. The medication slows your panic responses and helps you stay calm and relaxed.
However, using Xanax when you do not suffer panic or anxiety disorders leads you to experience the drug's effects as a high. For example, you feel impaired, sleepy, and slow to react. You also feel relaxed, at ease, uncoordinated, lightheaded, and emotionally unbalanced. Although these effects feel soothing, they lead to a dangerous addiction with very serious consequences.
Xanax Addiction
Xanax addiction comes from the drug's effects in your brain. The medication brings on those euphoric and tranquil effects that make your brain adjust to having the drug in your system. Once your brain works with the drug, it needs it to function normally. However, when you do not use Xanax, you suffer the ill effects of withdrawal.
Abusing Xanax causes many side effects. These include diarrhea, slurred speech, anxiety, depression, and agitation. It also causes seizures, mania, dry mouth, and tremors.
Some of the symptoms of withdrawal from the drug include shaking, twitching, intense anxiety, depression, fear, and high blood pressure. Additionally, you can also suffer seizures from your addiction to Xanax.
Through quality treatment in a Xanax addiction rehab program, you can let go of your addiction. In this type of program, you learn how to live without substance abuse. You rebuild your life one day at a time, setting new goals, finding pleasure in life again, and achieving what you truly want in your life.
Xanax Addiction Rehab Program in Utah
Finding the right Xanax addiction rehab program takes work. However, that program exists and waits for you at Acqua Recovery. The highest quality of Xanax rehab treatment comes from an accredited treatment program, one proven effective by the Joint Commission.
Acqua Recovery in Midway, Utah provides luxury Xanax addiction rehab program treatment. At Acqua Recovery, you gain a wide range of treatments and addiction therapy services in Utah. For example, these programs include:
- Residential rehab treatment
- Individual counseling
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Group and family therapies
- Holistic methods
- Experiential therapy
- Quality nutrition therapy
Call Acqua Recovery at 866.830.4628 now to learn more about our Xanax addiction rehab program. You can get a fresh start, you just need the right help, support, and treatment.


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Sarpiya Accepts Invitation to Peacemaking in Rockford
by Sierra Neiman Westbrook
"Somebody told me to come to you because you're the only one who can help me." This plea came when Samuel Sarpiya was engrossed not only in preparations for co-moderating the 2017 Conference of the Church of the Brethren, but in efforts to create a computer coding boot camp for youth in his community. Sarpiya studied the expectant face of the 18-year-old African American boy, "Micahel" (name changed for confidentiality), standing in front of him. Can I actually help? Sarpiya asked himself. In addition to the two significant projects demanding his energy, a host of everyday responsibilities vied for his attention. As pastor of the Rockford (Illinois) Church of the Brethren, co-founder of the Center for Nonviolence and Conflict Transformation (CNCT), D.Min. student at Portland Seminary, husband, and father of three daughters, Sarpiya looks back on that summer and sums it up conservatively: "I felt busy."
"You're the only one who can help me," Michael implored, and then explained, "I don't want to go to jail." These words gripped Sarpiya. "My mother is in jail," Michael continued. "My father is in jail. Everyone in my family has been or is in jail, but I don't want to be in jail. Please help me."
Sarpiya traces the development of his work as a peacemaker back to 2009, when he responded to a call to plant a church in Rockford. For Sarpiya, transitioning from Hawaii where he was working as a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) missionary to Illinois meant more than the switch from flip flops to snow boots. Sarpiya prioritized studying his new community to "understand the culture for the kingdom of God." Why was getting a read on the culture a crucial first step in the church planting process? Sarpiya explains by sharing an insight he gained from his D.Min. studies: "The first words Jesus' disciples heard [from Jesus] were 'follow me.'" Sarpiya hears Jesus' words as a call to "so much more than reading my Bible….It's following Jesus where Jesus is at work in the community."
Discerning Jesus' invitation to kingdom work in Rockford was easy. Coinciding with Sarpiya's arrival, two white police officers shot an African American teenager in the basement of a Rockford church. "The community was in uproar," Sarpiya recalls, and he notes that the question, "What can we do to prevent a reoccurrence?" hung thick in the air. The calling Sarpiya sought emerged as an invitation to peacemaking.The Church of the Brethren's historical precedent for peacemaking gave Sarpiya a sense of backing in this call, while training in Kingian nonviolence (peacemaking modeled after the work of Martin Luther King, Jr.) equipped him with tools for community organizing. Sarpiya's local peacemaking efforts, which led to his co-founding the CNCT in 2014, began with two primary areas of focus: empowering the local police force and the citizens to partner in community policing, and educating underserved pockets of Rockford youth in being agents of peacemaking and conflict resolution.
It's no wonder Sarpiya felt drawn to Michael's appeal for help. Nudging people toward reimagining their stories and instilling hope that transformation is possible are key pieces of this semiotician's mission. Stirred to point Michael toward practical tools, Sarpiya told Micahel, "I'm about to start a coding boot camp. I don't have a specific program yet, but call me in two weeks."
The next morning Michael called. "I'm just checking to make sure this number works," he said. The following morning, he called again. "I just want you to know that I don't want to be disappointed," Michael explained. The next morning, he called again. "I just want to make sure you're there." Every day for two weeks Michael called, and as soon as the CNCT boot camp was ready to launch, Michael enrolled. Then each day after camp, Michael worked on his coding projects at the public library. He'd work on one computer until he got timed out at the 60-minute limit, and then immediately hop to the next computer, demonstrating his determination by continuing this process for 7-8 hours each day.
Despite these glimpses of hope, Sarpiya knows discouragement. Recently while traveling, he received word of an incident in Rockford involving a police officer and an African American citizen, both of whom were killed. After Sarpiya's seven years of fostering respectful police/citizen partnership, an incident like this leaves Sarpiya "shocked and heartbroken."
Yet stories like that of Michael, who graduated from camp as the cohort's best student and now has a solid job prospect, give hope. "These stories show me that we can change the world," Sarpiya relates. Sometimes the task feels unwieldy, but with a chuckle Sarpiya asks, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."
Sarpiya continues: "I am convinced it is possible to see peace in this lifetime. Peace is not the absence of disagreement or war, it is the hope that…we can still live together, despite the challenges." Sometimes moving toward peace means stepping out of busyness and helping a desperate teenager believe in a new story. Whatever form our calling takes, Sarpiya contends, we must recognize the humanity of others. This is our first bite of the elephant. This is the beginning of our kingdom work.

subset: commoncrawl


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|21st October 2019, 13:48
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Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Similar discussion on Uber vs Ola - link
Depending on who you listen to, Amazon & Flipkart have anywhere between 70 - 80% of the market (example news). Still, while I shop on Amazon all the time, I have used Flipkart just 3 - 4 times, and only for stuff that's unavailable on Amazon (e.g. Google Chromecast).
I like Amazon better in every way, be it the familiar interface, variety, shipping, product listings, reviews, Kindle, Q&A section and more. Of course, there is also Prime Video which is included with Amazon Prime membership. Amazon probably accounts for 75% of my online spends & most of my product searches start there itself (not Google). Still, for the sake of competition, I'm glad Flipkart is there .
Which of the two do you prefer & why? Am especially interested in hearing from Flipkart loyalists.
Last edited by GTO : 21st October 2019 at 14:52.
|21st October 2019, 13:54
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Initially, I was using Flipkart, have bought a Bridge camera Nikon Coolpix P510) and a DSLR (Nikon D3200) and a few lenses on it. Then I shifted to Amazon on the advice of my son. The experience has been positive on both platforms. Haven't been shortchanged or cheated by either. Very transparent and efficient. Prices are also reasonable. Now I have gotten hold of some camera dealers also for my needs they offer better prices than the above sites. Batteries, adapters, perfumes, etc You don't need to step out. I don't buy apparel online. I prefer to go to a store and those are many in my area!
Last edited by Durango Dude : 21st October 2019 at 13:57.
|21st October 2019, 13:56
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
+1. It is Amazon for me too. I do tend to see Flipkart for costlier purchases to compare prices. But otherwise Amazon is the default option. The main reason is the Prime membership in the beginning and now over time I have just become comfortable with the whole user interface. Also it helps that the same user interface is carried over to Amazon sites across the world ( I use the USA and Dubai portals quite often).
|21st October 2019, 13:58
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
I use both quite a lot. On Amazon, I find the entire process to be quite smooth and delivery is pretty much on time. However, I just can't seem to trust all the vendors on the Amazon platform. Though it is Amazon preferred and as a prime customer, it's still a gamble I would say. Some products are pretty cheap (touch and feel) and do not really have the same finish as shown on the website (yes, this is always the case with every product I know).
Flipkart, I feel the vendors are bit more looked into here and have not faced any issues with the products purchased from Flipkart. However, their delivery SUCKS!! The delivery guys have not clue about the location at times and they are never on time! Never received a single product that says it would reach me the next day morning by 11!!
|21st October 2019, 14:01
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
I usually do most of the purchasing in amazon. My prime account is the main reason. But somehow I end up making my bigger purchases in flipkart. I bought my laptop, mobile phones etc from flipkart. Don't know why it happened, but for the bigger stuff I always get better deals in flipkart.
|21st October 2019, 14:09
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
I use both. Both are excellent in their own way. Amazon has good customer care support but Flipkart has fast deliveries. But amazon is catching up fast in terms of deliveries.
For general household goods, Amazon is cheaper and has better collection, right from soaps to mattresses, Amazon is better. But Flipkart is better in high value goods. Mobile, Tablets and other electronics are significantly cheaper on Flipkart than Amazon, especially on Big Billion Days.
Clothing, Flipkart>Amazon. Their website is simpler and buying clothes is easier.
Overall I had 80 orders on Amazon in the last 365 days but around 20 on Flipkart. But the purchases on Flipkart were of higher value than Amazon.
I use HDFC Smartbuy. It enables me to compare the prices of the same product on Amazon, Flipkart and other retailers. Also, I get a 10x rewards point boost for purchasing the item through this channel, that's easily a saving of 15% on top of the discounts by Amazon and Flipkart.
Also deliveries are free on Flipkart for Flipkart Plus customers, essentially a free service. But Amazon wants me to pay Rs.999 for Prime membership.
Returns: both are equally good. And the money gets reversed in 6 hours of pickup
Small low value rare items: Amazon
Big high value items: Flipkart
Last edited by Aditya_Bhp : 21st October 2019 at 14:16.
|21st October 2019, 14:09
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Amazon -
1. Cleaner user interface, with better description of products. User questions answered too.
2. Many product reviews available. Additionally, if a product has fever reviews and is a global product, you can read reviews from their USA page, which is generally hyperlinked on the same web page.
3. Easier / convenient return process. Flipkart return process used to be cumbersome, haven't bothered since then.
4. Prime - when you have a prime account with free delivery for many items, why go elsewhere.
The only reason I choose Flipkart, although rarely, is if and only if I am buying something which is not available in stock on Amazon, I check Flipkart. (Still not saying I buy it from Flipkart).
|21st October 2019, 14:25
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
I've been following a simple rule ever since I started shopping online.
For anything related to mobile phones, accessories and any electronic gadgets and appliances(air conditioners, TV sets, Microwaves).
For everything else be it shopping for shoes, clothes, basically anything that isn't related to electronic gadgets
Never had a bad experience with either of them.
Last edited by Skyline_GT : 21st October 2019 at 14:27.
|21st October 2019, 14:27
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Amazon easily. Faster delivery and support. Except for mobile phones don't use Flipkart. Also their content page with item descriptions very lacking compared to Amazon. Prime membership for 999 provides much more than Flipkart plus.
|21st October 2019, 14:28
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Was equally for both but now favouring Amazon. The Flipkart courier service is terrible (product arrived on 6th October, delivery not done till 16th types) plus, for the past 3/4 times, the product I got was not the one I ordered.
I got reimbursement quickly, no issues there, but why should I take a chance? Flipkart had COD which was working for me in case of a bit expensive products and even today if you are ordering mobiles over 50K or any other product over 50K, Flipkart delivers, Amazon doesn't.
I am on my 2nd or 3rd Prime, so that too helps a bit. Product quality/guarantee and reviews are better on Amazon.
Last edited by Sheel : 21st October 2019 at 14:29.
|21st October 2019, 14:39
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
I don't have any experience with Flipkart, at least nothing recent that I can remember.
Took Prime membership last time I was in India and used Amazon to shop for a few items. All items were delivered on time. There was a problem with one order - I had ordered two pieces of the same item, but only one was delivered. The extra payment was refunded promptly after only one call to the customer service. Prime video and ad-free Prime music makes it a sweeter deal. In short, very happy with Amazon.
|21st October 2019, 14:59
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Used to use only Flipkart initially, even when they had higher prices compared to Amazon, out of some misplaced notion to 'support an India-based company over an American one' (with the Walmart deal, I guess both are American companies now ). But the Flipkart delivery guys were consistently very unreliable, impatient and often rude even.
Used Amazon for a long time, their delivery guys used to be very well-behaved. Of late have seen Amazon delivery go down as well. But unlike Flipkart, they seem to take delivery feedback seriously. So now, just go for the one with lower prices with a slight preference for Amazon.
Last edited by am1m : 21st October 2019 at 15:00.
|21st October 2019, 15:07
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Checked Amazon since with Prime etc, been tuned in to it better. Used Flipkart before and still do sometimes based on prices.
One advantage of Flipkart is for some orders, even if you order them in evening, you get them by noon next day. Really useful when you need them fast.
|21st October 2019, 15:26
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Bengaluru
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
Amazon again.
Flipkart used to be better but after the Bansals left it has gone for cats and dogs. Once I remember, they didn't honor an order. Although I got my money back, honoring an order is a basic attribute of any seller. Any lapse on this critical aspect leaves a bad taste.
Last edited by Thermodynamics : 21st October 2019 at 15:29.
|21st October 2019, 15:35
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Re: Amazon vs Flipkart - Which do you prefer & why?
We use both these days. Amazon Pantry is which we consider for groceries and other kitchen stuff. For all electronics/mobiles, home appliances, home decor, etc. both are thoroughly compared for best deal. In my experience both are equally good these days.
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Spinach Watercress Juice
Here's a Spinach Watercress Juice that will clean your blood.
Watercress is full of anti-oxidants, vitamin C, beta-carotene, folate, potassium, calcium, phosphorous and iron. And, watercress also is a good source of fiber and iodine as well. In fact, it has more calcium than milk and more iron than spinach.
Also, the main active aspects of watercress are classified as thioglycosides (glycosides containing sulfur)—an anti-thrombosis with a mild anti-coagulant effect. Finally, watercress also contains moderate amounts of vitamins B1 and B2, zinc, copper and manganese.
Spinach Watercress Juice Ingredients:
Jam it all through your favorite juicer and you've got a blood cleanser that Count Dracula would appreciate!


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Wawasee Senior Overcomes Vision Loss
Keyan Peete wears a patch following a surgery that replaced his left eye with an artificial eye when he was 8 years old. Photo Provided
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Keyan Peete overcame his vision loss to play football for the Wawasee Warriors. Peete, now a senior, lost sight in his left eye when he was 2 years old, but still managed to start as a running back and linebacker for the Warriors. Photo Provided
SYRACUSE – Keyan Peete has half the vision and twice the focus of your average high school athlete.
Peete, a 17-year-old senior at Wawasee High School, lost sight in his left eye when he was 2 years old. However, he didn't let that stop him from playing multiple sports and being a force for the Warriors football team this season.
"If you get knocked down, you just keep fighting," Peete said. "And if something happens that you may look at as negative, you just have to build on it and make it positive."
That's what Peete set out to do after the injury that changed his life.
When he was a toddler, he regularly accompanied his grandmother to her Wednesday morning bowling league.
One Wednesday, Peete was playing with another toddler who threw a tantrum and flung a toy airplane at him. It hit him in the left eye and damaged his cornea.
Peete doesn't remember that day, but his mother, Kelley Miller, remembered how her son wouldn't open his left eye.
"Of course Keyan cried, but he's always been just a little bit tougher," Miller said. "I called him a bull in a China shop. He was all over, and I was like, 'Man, is this kid ever gonna run out of gas?'"
Tough as he was, Peete still needed medical attention. He and his mother went to a hospital in Goshen, and the doctor who treated him deferred to a specialist in Indianapolis.
Miller was scared of the uncertainty: what would happen to her child?
Peete, however, was his usual jolly self.
"Here I am, I'm a small town girl, I have my 2-year-old little boy," Miller said. "I'm in the big city, no car, no phone, no idea what's gonna happen, and he just kept looking at me (saying), 'Love you. Love you.'"
They got the news that Peete had lost vision in his left eye. He was too young to process the information, but his mother was flooded with fear, uncertainty and anger.
She thought of all the things that he'd be missing, including the chance to be in the military or be a pilot. And, she thought, he'd never be able to play sports.
"Somebody took this from him, and I didn't think it was fair," she said.
Miller didn't harbor resentment at the child who threw the airplane, though, calling the incident "a freak accident."
Instead, she focused on helping her son adjust. The incident at the bowling alley happened on December 17, 2003, and for the next eight days Peete didn't open his right eye. He didn't know how to open one without opening the other.
Miller sat him down on Christmas morning and told him he should open his eye, because there were so many presents for him to see.
That was the day Peete gave the first indication of how he would overcome his loss of vision throughout his life. He learned to open his eye, and he's been exceeding expectations ever since.
He wouldn't let his mother help him eat. Instead, he sat in front of his tray every night during dinner, feeling around for his food.
"This boy was just so independent and it was like, 'Wow,'" Miller said.
As Peete learned how to do things with half his vision gone, he ventured out in the world with his family.
That meant people seeing his eye for the first time. Peete's left pupil was thick and cloudy, and drew stares and double-takes from passersby.
Peete took it in stride, and had a big sister, Kiana, who stared down anybody who dared to gawk at her little brother.
"You don't look at her brother without getting a look from her, because she was very protective," Miller said.
Peete was game for sports, and refused to let his visual impairment stop him from joining in the fun. He began playing baseball at 5 years old.
Miller fretted over her son's safety, but he wore a helmet with a cage in front for protection when he batted.
His relatives encouraged him, even getting him a slingshot to play with. Peete would not miss out on anything, they told Miller.
Though she was worried, Miller relented, and supported her son's endeavors.
For Peete, playing baseball, or basketball – during which he wore goggles – was no problem, because he can't remember what it's like to see out of both eyes.
"I'm just grateful that it happened (when I was 2 years old) and not now," he said. "It's so much easier to adapt to everything, just like sports. And even just doing anything through my normal day."
Peete continued to have issues with his eye. It became susceptible to infections, so he underwent anesthetics 64 times while doctors treated him.
When he was 8 years old – around when he began playing football – his left eye created problems for his right. Doctors were concerned he'd lose all his vision.
They performed emergency surgery on Peete, taking out his left eye and replacing it with an eye made of plastic, wax and acrylic.
The vision in Peete's right eye was saved, and for him, it was back to business. That meant playing football, which he did with a protective visor on his helmet and courage in his heart.
As for being blindsided, it was a possibility Peete was aware of, but didn't let stop him.
"If it happens, it happens," Peete said. "I'll just keep playing through it."
Peete eventually suited up for the Warriors. Former Wawasee coach Mike Eshbach, who resigned after this season, remembers being impressed when he took the reins at Wawasee and met Peete in 2017.
He commended Peete's work ethic on the field and in the weight room. However, he also said that Peete, a running back, sometimes had trouble with his field vision. This led to fewer carries than he would have had.
In response, Peete diligently watched film of his opponents so he knew where and when to expect would-be tacklers as a running back and would-be blockers as a linebacker.
His studious approach paid off, and he got more carries this season.
"He was better as a senior from a vision standpoint, and being able to predict where things were coming from," Eshbach said.
There was talk of switching Peete from strong-side linebacker to weak side, so he wouldn't miss anything from his left side. However, Peete held strong to his capabilities and used having half the usual vision to be twice as cognizant.
"That really helped my football ability, to be more aware of what's going on around me," he said.
Peete's awareness allowed his coaches to create schemes with only a few minor adjustments for him. They made sure to design wheel routes that didn't pass to his blind side, and he said he had to put in extra effort as a linebacker when covering crossing routes.
Aside from that, though, Peete played just like any other athlete.
It's something with which Eshbach was very impressed, especially given the running back and linebacker positions require strong peripheral vision.
"For him to have the courage to not use that as an excuse is amazing to me," he said. "I can't imagine always taking a snap and thinking somebody could blind side me and knock me out of the game, and that not (affecting) my play. But it never affected his play."
It certainly didn't. Most of Peete's opponents didn't know about his eye, so he was treated as any other player. Though Wawasee struggled this season with a 1-9 record, Peete excelled.
Offensively, he averaged 3.4 yards per carry and had 9.8 yards per catch. More impressively, even with the constant threat of being blindsided, Peete fumbled just once. The fumble was not lost.
Peete's true area of excellence was defense. He led the Warriors with 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and three recovered fumbles, and was second on the team with 55.5 total tackles.
The result? Peete was named All-Northern Lakes Conference honorable mention.
As well as Peete has done on the playing field, Miller is most impressed with what he's taught her in life.
She had part of her index finger amputated in 2012, and initially struggled to adapt to everyday tasks.
However, instead of feeling sorry for herself, she followed her son's example.
"It was like, 'What am I boo-hooing about?'" she said. "My child doesn't have an eye, and he never missed a beat."
Peete doesn't harbor resentment over what happened to him; he knows it was an accident. He sometimes wonders what it would be like to see out of both eyes, but ultimately is content with his vision.
"A lot of people question me about it, and I kind of like that," he said. "It's kind of a cool thing for me."
Peete will graduate from high school in the spring of 2019. He plans to attend college to study sports marketing next fall.
He'll approach his studies with the same can-do attitude that has led him to be successful so far.
"That's what I've done throughout my life and sporting career," Peete said. "The best thing I take away from it is, even if something goes wrong that you weren't expecting, you just have to keep trying."


text:
441 Cases of rabies during last year in Republican Hospital in Mahwit province, in statement obtained by Saba.
The report referred, in a statistical that the hospital received in the last year 441 cases. 192 cases were given the vaccine, but 249 cases not given vaccines for lack of availability.
Dr/ Mohammed al-Showa said that increase rabid dogs in cities has increased dramatically.
He stressing the importance of carrying out regular periodic campaigns to exterminate stray and feared dogs, especially in the absence of treatments.
Source: Yemen News Agency


text:
My experience with Ceiba from start to finish was fantastic. Everyone on staff was friendly, helpful, and responsive. You made this process as easy as humanly possible for us as a group. I'm grateful and I was very impressed. I would gladly recommend you to anyone I know. Thanks for everything.
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Acrylic 8×10 inch on sketchbook paper
Tag Archives: abstract
Abstract acrylic painting
5×7″ gessobord
Abstract painting 8/22/18
Acrylic on 16×20 inch stretched canvas
Abstract expressionist
acrylic on 11×14 inch stretched canvas
Figurative Painting with Collage – sold
This is a 16×12 inch acrylic on stretched canvas painting with two collage elements using acrylic painted cut out canvas. It was painted from life. Available in my Easy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/209214150/original-figurative-abstract Sold
Abstract Figurative Seascape
This is a little 5×7 inch acrylic on bristol board that I painted using a palette knife. It is available in my Etsy shop:
Still Life with Peanut Butter and Jelly
This is an original acrylic painting measuring 8×10 inches on paper, painted from direct observation.
Abstract Figurative Seascape
Seascape 5/28/14
Abstract Oil on 16×20 stretched canvas


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Oakland, Berkeley, And East Bay News, Events, Restaurants, Music, & Arts
Play is not only important for children to learn, it is important for adults too. Play relieves stress and encourages problem solving and positive metal states, when done genuinely. Play brings about interaction and connection, softens us, and helps us think and see more clearly. So it is not only important to encourage children to play, it important to be playful ourselves--at any age. Being playful ourselves, also, has the benefit of being the example by which children can learn to play, genuinely and responsibly.
Please visit our Privacy Policy for information regarding how we use this information.


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Located in Benedict Canyon, Beverly Hills. The 11,700 square foot Tuscan-style residence captures views of the canyon and the surrounding hills. This luxury two-story new residence comprises of 7 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms with a basement devoted to a home theater, sauna with steam shower, bar, and play area. The second story covered patio, with the view of the infinity pool, alongside the landscaped yard. Featured with a pavilion, river, and multiple fountain walls; creates an exceptional moment of outdoor seating.
Wrought iron railings, parquet, limestone and marble flooring, wall paneling, exposed beams, and custom designed molding and trim; are the exclusive designed components implemented to decorate this prestigious home.
Kitchen and bath cabinetry designed and manufactured by Hi Tech Kitchens and Cabinetry division.


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The North West Learning Partnership is made up of:
St Mary and St Thomas Teaching School Alliance and STRATEGIC PARTNERS (Provide strategic direction and evaluation of teaching school activities. These schools will provide the trainers to lead on areas linked to new curriculum change)
St Austins Catholic Primary School (St Helens)
St Ann's C.E. Primary (St Helens)
Newfold Primary (Wigan)
St Silas (Liverpool)
Rainford High School (St Helens)
Liverpool Hope University (Liverpool)
Plantation Primary School (Knowsley)
St Theresa's Catholic Primary School (St Helens)
St Mary and St Thomas ALLIANCE MEMBERS (confirmed)
St Anne's Catholic Primary (St Helens)
Nutgrove Methodist Aided Primary (St Helens)
St Aidan's Primary (St Helens)
Willow Tree Primary (St Helens)
Rectory (St Helens)
Chorley New Road (Bolton) (St Helens)
Holy Cross Catholic Primary (St Helens)
St Mary's Catholic Infant and Junior School (St Helens)
St Basil's Primary School (Halton LA)
Sutton Manor Primary School (St Helens)
Queen's Park Primary (St Helens)
Corpus Christi (St Helens)
St Michael's Catholic Primary School (Halton)
St James CE (St Helens)
Holy Family Catholic Primary (Wigan)
Newton le Willows Primary School (St Helens)
Hope Primary School (Knowsley)
St Michael with St Thomas CE Primary School (Halton)
Tyldesley St George's Central CE Primary (Wigan)
St Gerard's Catholic Primary (Halton)
St John Fisher Primary School (Halton)
St Michael's CE Primary School (Wigan)
Leigh St Thomas Primary School (Wigan)
St Marie's Primary School Standish (Wigan)
Ashurst Primary School (St Helens)
St Margaret Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School (Manchester)
St Ambrose Catholic Primary School, Speke (Liverpool)
Green Bank Primary School (Liverpool)
Woodfield Primary School (Wigan)
Sutton Oak Primary School (St Helens)
Allanson Street (St Helens)
Northwood CPS (Knowsley)
Moorfield Primary (Halton)
Huyton with Roby (Knowsley)
St Peter and St Paul (Knowsley)
Westvale (Knowsley)
Broad Oak Primary School (St Helens)
Holgate Primary School (Wigan)
Belle Vale Primary School (Liverpool)
Hindley All Saints (Wigan)
Woodfield Primary School (Wigan)
Any school (primary, secondary or special) that is interested in becoming a member of the North West Learning Partnership should contact Lisa Bradshaw (Director of the North West Learning Partnership) to find out more.
Tradewind Recruitment are established, market leading specialists delivering bespoke education recruitment solutions to primary, secondary and SEND schools across the UK; our reach is global, our focus is local.Tradewind are committed to exclusively supporting each school within the North West Learning Partnership with our expertise and specialist recruitment skills across the education sector, including SEND, further education, leadership and early years.
Our dedicated team also specialise in permanent recruitment, as well as long term and emergency cover with around the clock contact. We are also on hand to provide ongoing support for NQTs, helping them get into paid teaching roles upon completion of their schools direct/SCITT course.
For more information or to discuss your schools needs please contact Wendy Rowell on 0151 221 9666 or email email@example.com


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Last year Razer officially launched the Nabu and Nabu X fitness trackers, and this year during CES they unveiled the Nabu Watch, a wearable from the company that normally produces gaming peripherals for PC gaming and consoles. While the Nabu Watch does look like a smartwatch, in true fashion it's more of a fitness tracker with a couple of extra capabilities that we haven't seen from the likes of the standard Nabu tracker. It's more akin to something like the Fitbit Surge.
The Nabu Watch comes in two variations, the Standard Edition and the Forged Edition, both of which look almost identical save for a slight difference in some of the color. The design looks almost like a Casio G-Shock watch and those familiar with the G-Shock will immediately see the resemblance. The watch features a small OLED display along with physical buttons for bringing up the light, setting a timer and adjusting different settings and modes. The watch also has a secondary screen which is used to display your notifications for incoming emails, texts, and other alerts, and also for displaying things like steps, calories burned and things of that nature. The watch will also track your active minutes, and hours slept, and when it comes to design the watch is mostly the same on both versions, but the Forged Edition will come with more metal as part of the watch casing, and will come in all black as opposed to having the green accents. Check out the gallery of images below for a closer look at the Razer Nabu Watch.


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From 2015 to Now: A Collection of Annual Reports
2018 Annual Report
In times of conflict and exclusion, barbershop inspires us to blend, to cooperate, to create beauty, and to love each other.
In 2018, Everyone in Harmony hit full stride as we opened our doors to all.
We worked hard to bring the barbershop experience to more communities than ever before, and to show that singing belongs to everyone.
Singing together changes lives and inspires communities:
- 12.5 million YouTube views
- Over 1,000,000 Barbershop experiences that you've shared with us
- 30,341 participants across BHS districts
- 7,135 convention attendees
Click on the button below to learn more about the impact barbershoppers have made in the year 2018!
2017 Annual Report
In 2017, we introduced our new vision for the future of the Society: Everyone in Harmony.
It's GREAT to be a Barbershopper! We are excited more than ever with the progress we've made to spread the joy of singing to millions of people all around the world.
Our increased awareness efforts continue to take off. We are bringing together a community of Barbershoppers and barbershop fans we've never seen the 'likes' of before:
- Our Facebook page approached 30,000 'likes' for the year.
- Our YouTube subscribers just exceeded 50,000 people, and 31.2 million minutes of content was streamed for the year.
- The reach of our most viral posts and videos extends well into the millions thanks to high-profile performers like Forefront quartet with Mike Rowe and Main Street quartet.
We are continually investing in educational and outreach activities to attract more singers. In this report, you'll see how Barbershoppers across the U.S. and around the world are using the power of song to create healthy communities and to work together to bring Everyone in Harmony.
2016 Annual Report
A Better World. Singing.
On April 11, 1938, 26 men gathered on the roof of a Tulsa hotel to sing, and they unwittingly gave birth to a movement. Today, close to 80,000 male and female singers regularly sing barbershop harmony in more than a dozen nations.
The Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) is reaching a tipping point. This is the moment when we are ready to leverage our rich musical history, geographic reach, organizational infrastructure, and dedicated corps of passionate artists to make an impact that was previously no more than a dream. We are a group of intergenerational singers who demonstrate every day how singing together in harmony transcends anything that may divide us.
Most of the good we do as a Society takes place far away from our headquarters. Across North America every week, thousands of male Members and an increasing number of female associates not only enjoy singing for our own sakes, but also share the joy of singing in our communities. Together, we're building A Better World. Singing.
2015 Annual Report
For the Joy.
With 22,000 members, the Barbershop Harmony Society is a major arts organization that has a $30 million annual impact across all business units.
We leave a far larger impact throughout North America, where nearly 800 chapters and thousands of quartets freely give to their communities, and are often cherished as valuable community assets.
We are far more than hobbyists. We are working with music educators and arts advocates to change lives through singing.


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Category Archives: Routine Not So Routine
10 Ways to Make Your Routine Not So Routine
You know that guy you see in the gym every Thursday night, and every time he's doing the same exercises and the same reps? He's been there as long as you can remember, doing the same thing on the samenight, year after year. And when you think back on how he looked when you first noticed him way back when, he looks…the same.
Yeah, let's not turn into that guy.
Consistency is good – it's essential – but if you've been doing exactly the same workouts for a bit too long, it's time to switch things up. Sure, you may have had some decent results while lifting the same weights in the same movements through the same range of motion at the same speed, but come on, man, it's the 21st century.
Don't be the guy who still has a picture of Jessica Simpson circa 2005 in his locker. Be the guy who tossed that picture out when you learned who Adriana Lima was, and then tossed her picture out when you learned who Gina Carano was. See? It's consistent, but evolving.
Many of the methods we're going to discuss play upon the concept of neural engram remodeling, where a well-known pattern with some added variables has to be relearned as if it were a totally new pattern. An example of this would be running on concrete compared to running through sand.
The movement is basically the same – run real fast-like – but in sand, the difference in ground reaction forces applied to the body to propel it forward cause the muscle activity to change, the response time of the stretch-shortening cycle elongates, and the person doing the running wants to puke blood sooner, compared to running on flat, solid concrete.
By introducing just one or two variables to a familiar exercise, you can create a new stimulus out of a movement that's already well practiced, which can prevent you from plateauing and even spark some new progress. Here are 10 suggestions:
1. Get a (Different) Grip
Grip is something that many people don't seem to like to mess with. They see a bar, they grab the bar, and they start their lift. Most people want their grip and hand position to be as familiar, reliable, and uncomplicated as their daily bowel movement. Any deviation, to either, makes them feel anxious and totally ruins the rest of their day.
The funny thing is, that by altering your grip even slightly, you can make different muscles fire and different fibers within those muscles fire more than you were with your previous grip. Plus, a new hand position means the weight is in a new position, which can alter the leverage being used.
Grasp a dumbbell in the dead center of the handle and the weights are equally distributed on both sides of the hand, requiring little stability from the forearm muscles. But shift your hand position either to the very top, with the thumb against the weights, or to the very bottom, with the pinky against the weights, and you've adjusted the dumbbell's balance and altered the activity of the forearm muscles.
You have even more options with a barbell:
These are all basic and effective variations. In addition, you can change grip width on the barbell from narrow or very narrow to wide or super-wide like a snatch, or even try an off-center grip with one hand slightly closer to the weights than the other.
2. Base of Support
When, or if, a police officer asks you to walk on the white line heel-to-toe, he's not just being a jerk by pointing out your embarrassing lack of coordination and even more embarrassing propensity to tip a few before heading home. He's also giving you an easy way to make your workouts different.
The base of support can be best described as the square area that makes up the distance between both feet and the distance from the point of one toe to the heel of the other. The bigger your base is, the more stable you are and the more weight you can successfully manipulate.
A square stance, as used in squat patterns, can work the hips more when in a wide stance and with feet slightly externally rotated. When the squat stance is narrower, it requires more work from the ankles and more flexibility through the hips and thoracic spine.
Balance becomes a challenge when you move from a square stance to a narrow split stance, as in most lunge movements, and it becomes even more challenging when you go to a closer heel-to-toe position.
One of the most difficult progressions would be to perform single-leg exercises (single-leg squats or one-leg deadlifts) since you'll obviously have only one foot to provide the base of support. For upper body work, consider the multiple foot positions available for a push-up – feet close together, wide, staggered, or even changing your foot position during the exercise.
3. Speed of Movement
Rep speed, or tempo, can be one of the easiest variables to manipulate, yet it can produce dramatic differences in what the movement actually does and its level of difficulty. Performing an exercise at a moderate pace, such as one to two seconds for eccentric and concentric contractions, is typically the easiest and safest method, but it's more mind numbing than the "Ben Stein Reads the Dictionary" audiobook.
A faster speed with more explosive movements generates a higher level of force production within the muscle, and allows bigger force outputs to the weights being lifted. So you get to throw around more plates than a dishwasher at Denny's.
A deliberate and super-slow pace, such as a 10-second eccentric and concentric, can make you hate life by increasing the torturous time under tension, limiting the amount of weight you can lift but increasing the level of post-workout muscle soreness, and still end up being very useful for muscle hypertrophy.
4. Rest Intervals
Honest question: When was the last time you timed your rest intervals? If you're like most people, you can't remember, because it's just not something you do. That's for newbies who don't know any better. You lift when you feel "ready," whatever that means.
But by holding yourself accountable to the clock and starting each set within a specified time, you can actually increase the overall demand on your system while reducing the time you spend in the gym. Not such a bad deal, and all you have to do is glance at a clock every once in a while.
For most programs, the length of rest time will be determined by the relative intensity of the lift being attempted. In most circuit-style workouts, where the relative intensity is roughly 50% or less of the individual's 1-rep max (1RM), the rest time could be under 30 seconds.
For intensities between 60-75% 1RM (generally 10-15 reps per set), a full 60 seconds is usually adequate. For work in the 80-90% 1RM range (around 3-6 reps), 90-120 seconds rest between sets is typically required. Lastly, for true max weight efforts, a solid 3-5 minutes may be needed.
The longer rest periods for higher intensity work are needed to allow for neural recovery, while the shorter rest periods in the lower intensity sets allow for cardiac recovery, which can occur relatively quickly.
The higher the intensity, the more demand on more tissues is present, beginning with cardiac demand (heart rate response), progressing into muscle demand (perfusion of substrate into the working muscles and removal of metabolic byproducts), and finishing with neural demand (ability to generate a synaptic impulse repeatedly and with some power).
5. Use Dynamic Resistance
Using a form of resistance that changes throughout the movement can make a big difference in the activity. Two examples of this would be using heavy chains or bands when performing free weight movements.
With chains, as you lower the weight, more chain collects on the floor and less weight is applied to the bar. As you lift up, the chain comes off the floor and adds to the weight being lifted. For example, a bench press with 225 and 50 pounds of chain would provide a total weight of 275 at the top of the movement, but only about 230 at the bottom. Bands work on a similar premise – added resistance at the top of the lift, reduced resistance at the bottom.
Another form of dynamic resistance would be to use something with an unstable load, such as sand bags or slosh pipes. The weight shifts while moving and creates an unstable load that requires more work to simply stay vertical and not get crushed while trying to move from point A to point B.
6. Use Rest-Pause Breaks During Sets
Let's say you're in the middle of a tough set of squats and you're getting close to your work capacity. Instead of racking the weight when you get to the last rep, just stand there with the weight on your shoulders and take a few deep breaths. It won't be fun, but you'll survive. After you catch your wind, knock out another rep or two. Repeat the process until you see your late Aunt Bertha waving at you from the light at the end of the tunnel.
Don't go to the light, just rack the bar and grab some water.
By using a short mid-set break, where you still bear weight but aren't actively going through a range of motion, you reduce the systemic stress on the body for a short time and allow for more oxygen into the working muscles. This can help power you through a couple of extra reps, which will add up in the long run.
7. Breathing
This is another one of those things that most people don't really spend time thinking about, simply because they either have the pattern ingrained to breathe a certain way or they simply set it up the same way every time.
The mechanics of breathing means we have three distinct regions where we can draw in a breath: the diaphragm, intercostals, and scalene (through the neck). If you're not using all of these areas properly, you don't get enough air, period.
This past summer, I was working with an elite marathon runner who had some pretty messed up breathing patterns. She was only shrugging her shoulders to breath (scalene) and getting just a little bit through her intercostals. As a result, she was essentially only using about two-thirds of her lung capacity:
After a few sessions going through some breathing mechanics retraining and postural work, we were able to get her using more of her intercostals and some of her diaphragm, as well:
Coincidentally enough, when we first started training, she complained of cramping around her left shoulder, close to her neck, which is where her scalene were overworking and fighting back.
When people get "side stitches" when working in a really anaerobic state, their diaphragm is often doing the same thing due to the intercostals and scalenes not doing their job. By balancing her breathing out, she managed to shave eight minutes off her personal best marathon time without altering her run mechanics or training program.
8. Exercise Order
One day I had the great idea of switching around my bench workout order so that I'd finish with bench press after doing six other exercises. Needless to say, it didn't go well. Getting totally pinned with just one 45 on each side of the bar, and having some old guy in knee-high grey socks and disturbingly short-shorts help me out while telling me, "I shouldn't lift so much without a spotter," was definitely a highlight moment in my lifting career.
If you're used to doing exercises in the same order, switch it around, but maybe not to the extreme of doing the biggest exercises dead last. If your training exercises were usually 1,2,3,4,5,6, something like 3,2,6,1,5,4 would be enough variety to get some benefits without totally sacrificing the weight on any exercises.
By altering the order, when you would previously be tired on certain exercises, you'd now be fresh and conceivably move more weight. Similarly, by moving an exercise later, you'll be more fatigued which means the same movement will require more work at the same weight.
9. Add Weight
Yep. Go heavier. Shocker there, huh?
But really, add some weight to the bar and lift it like it'll squash your dog if you don't. Keep technique in mind, absolutely, but if you happen to lose a textbook-perfect neutral spine for a split-second because you're pulling significantly more than you've ever pulled, it's okay.
Top powerlifters will tell you that when it comes to setting a PR, technique will tend to go out the window to pull more. Don't be afraid of the weight, make the weight afraid of you.
10. Change Your Set and Rep Scheme
If you've been using the same 4×10 or 5×5 scheme, it's time to change it up. Do some higher rep marathon sets or low rep power sets. Choose one exercise and work up to a heavy, confident single, and then bang out 10 sets of fast doubles for others.
Get back to pyramiding (increasing weight and dropping reps every set) or include dropsets, staggered sets, supersets, or any variation of the theme. By switching the set and rep scheme, you change what the end-focus of the workout will be, whether it's strength, power, hypertrophy, or endurance. Occasionally, it's good to do different, even if it might seem contrary to your current goals.
If you consider that with each of these 10 methods of altering an exercise, if there were only three variations that would possibly occur, that makes 59,049 possible ways of altering each individual exercise.
If each method had four options, it would mean 1,048,576 possible ways of changing an exercise. This would conceivably mean that you could apply these changes to the same exercise everyday for the next 2,870 years and never repeat the same exact design.
So, you officially have zero excuses to be doing the same workout next week that you did this week. Play around with different variables and try to get some crazy inconsistency for each exercise in your workouts.


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Take Your Date To FRINGE WORLD This Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it doesn't get more romantic than a night at FRINGE WORLD Festival.
Whether it's catching a show or just heading to the Woodside Pleasure Garden for a chilled night of bites and bevvies, date night will be a breeze and memorable experience at Fringe on February 14.
1. A Midnight Visit
Flirt with the surreal (and your date!) and enjoy a hedonistic night with this FRINGE WORLD big ticket item A Midnight Visit.
Part choose-your-own-adventure, part film-set and part-playground – venture into the hallowed halls of the Girls School with your loved one.
2. Lovefool
Award-winning performer Morgan Wilson attempts to ask one of life's biggest questions: "What is love?" Sounds super serious for date night, but never fear!
Talented Wilson uses circus, physical theatre, sideshow and puppetry so you are sure to be entertained!
3. Valentine's Cabaret
This is a one night only show so get in quick for tix and impress your loved one! Perth's gothic heritage-listed St George's Cathedral will also be transformed into a magical Valentine's cabaret cave.
Experience the electric energy coursing through the cavernous cathedral space as performers from around the globe mesmerise the audience with a sultry selection of songs and shows.
4. Instinct
This Valentine's Day highlight sees Perth's infamous cabaret troupe Sugar Blue Burlesque put on a show that you will not forget!
Prepare to have your primal urges tantalised as this troupe unleash a world of comedy, curiosities and discoveries that can't be tamed. We can't wait!
5. Dr Felicity Rickshaw's Sex Party
Is it just us or is it heating up in here? The self-proclaimed Dostoyevsky of erotic celebrity fan fiction is set to inject some steam into your date night!
Dr Felicity Rickshaw's thrilling tales of imaginary sex with famous strangers is set to dazzle and titillate her legions of online readers. You might need a cold drink after this hot show!
6. (Not) The Bachelor Live On Valentine's Day Hosted By Luke Bolland
Reality shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are taking TV audiences by storm, but Instead of waiting months to find out who the couple is – find out in one hour!
Comedian Luke Bolland takes four real singles and attempts to make one real love match. The perfect place to bring your date or to find a date this Valentine's Day in Perth!
Cover image: Photo by Miles Tweedie.


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Rajah Indara Patra and the Dragons - A Mindanao Legend
A very, very long time ago, when the island of Mindanao was but newly sprung from the sea, a pair of gigantic dragons lived there - Omaka-an and his mate Maka-ogis. For a time they roamed over the entire island, but finally they settled in the region about Lake Lanao.
Omaka-an established one lair in the Gurayen mountain range in the northwest, and another in the Makaturing range in the southeast. They had another haunt on Mount Matutum in Cotabato. So big were these monsters that when they slept they used the summits of the mountain ridges for beds. When they wanted to fish in Illana Bay to the south, they had only to stretch out their monstrous limbs and scoop up water and fish with their great claws.
These dragons had a taste for human flesh and devoured those people who were daring enough to attempt to settle in Lanao. A very few did settle in the country, but had to hide in caves and trees, and Allah took pity on them and changed them into sprites. Reports of the cannibalistic monsters spread far and wide and reached even Mecca.
It happened that there lived in Mecca at that time two zealous servants of Allah named Rajah Indara Patra and Rajah Solaiman, the sons of the powerful Sultan Nabi. When they heard of the monsters plaguing Lanao, they decided to put an end to that terror and to bring the knowledge of Allah, the one true God, and of Mohammed, His Prophet, to that far land. They conferred with their father, and it was decided that Rajah Solaiman, the younger, should undertake the journey to Lanao first, and that if misfortune befell him, Rajah Indara Patra would follow.
Forthwith Rajah Solaiman prepared for the journey. On the day he was to depart, he planted a certain tree known as the kilala and spoke to his brother thus: "If this tree of life withers, then go in search of my remains." Then the young Solaiman set sail alone. It was years before he reached Mindanao. He found Omaka-an on Mount Matutum, and challenged the dragon. "I am sent by my father Sultan Nabi and my brother Rajah Indara Patra", he said, "to kill you because you devour all the people who come here. Prepare yourself, for you shall pay at last for the evil you have done."
The crafty dragon replied: "Well, I am ready to die, but I advise you to cut me clear through, for if you do not, I will not die."
Rajah Solaiman with one great blow cut the dragon into two, but the two pieces became two dragons and Rajah Solaiman had to fight them both. He fought long and valiantly, but the more he hacked at the dragons, the more numerous his enemies became, and he was finally overwhelmed and died.
In Mecca, Rajah Indara Patra had been watching the growth of the kilala tree. For years it had thrived, then, suddenly, when it was about to bloom, it withered. Thus did Rajah Indara Patra learn of his brother's lone death.
Without as much as bidding his relatives goodbye, Rajah Indara Patra hastily set sail, eastward bound, to avenge the death of his beloved brother. He first touched the Lanao shore at the place now known as Malabang. From there he journeyed inland and when he reached Bandar Inged, near Binidayan, he sighted the gigantic Omaka-an on Mount Matutum. "There is the monster that killed my brother!" he said to himself.
When he faced the beast, he demanded: "Are you the monster who killed my brother, Rajah Solaiman?"
"Yes", replied the dragon. "I killed him in a fight."
"Then I shall kill you!"
"I am prepared to die", said the dragon calmly, "but I advise you to cut me through, or else I will not die."
Rajah Indara Patra was wiser than his ill-fated brother. In the fight that immediately began, he did not cut Omakaan through, but only slashed and slashed at him, and after a long battle, the crafty Omaka-an, bleeding from a thousand wounds, fell before the more cunning Rajah Indara Patra.
After killing Omaka-an, Rajah Indara Patra searched for Maka-ogis. He found her at Gurayen and forthwith slew her in the very same manner he had killed Omaka-an.
Then free to roam the country unmolested, he began a search for the remains of his brother, but all his efforts were in vain. He could find no trace of Rajah Solaiman's body. He could ask for no information from anyone, for there were as yet no human beings in the land other than himself.
One day he was benighted at Marantao, near Dansalan. He sought shelter under a balete tree and began to cook his food. He was so grieved at having been unable to find the body of his brother, that the tears began to trickle down his face, almost extinguishing the fire. The occupant of the tree, a good-natured sprite, took pity on him and asked: "Why do you grieve so, Allah's favored one?" Rajah Indara Patra was startled. He looked around and saw nobody. He doubted what he had heard; but the voice spoke again: "Why do you grieve, Allah's favored. one?"
His doubts vanished. It was certainly a voice, and he answered: "I am grieving, Kind One, over the death of my beloved brother, Rajah Solaiman, whose remains I can not find."
"Your brother's body was devoured by the monster, Omaka-an, whom you have slain." "But can you tell me, Kind Spirit, where his ring is?" he asked.
"I can not tell you exactly, brave one, where it is, but it was lost near Sogod, on the south bank of the Lake during the fierce encounter."
Then the voice ceased.
Rajah Indara Patra was much heartened. The next morning he thanked the Voice and set forth in quest of the ring.
Long he searched for it. He dove into the cold waters of the Lake and scooped up sand and shells, but to no avail. The ring was nowhere to be found. The heaps of sand and shell may still be seen on the Lake shore near Sogod.
Rajah Indara Patra went back to the balete tree and asked the spirit if there were any human beings living around the Lake. The spirit answered there was none, but that, nevertheless, on some mornings a beautiful maiden was to be seen bathing at the mouth of the Masiu river on the other side of the Lake. Rajah Indara Patra was in sore need of a companion, so when he heard this he determined to find the maiden.
Very early at dawn, on a Friday morning, he hid himself in a clump of grass near the river mouth, and as it became lighter he suddenly saw the form of a fairy-like creature, who except for a loosely woven tapis of reeds, seemed to be dressed only in a veil of mist. The Rajah's heart beat fast at the sight of the supple, nymph-like maiden, whose long, soft hair fell to her feet. A lovelier woman he had never seen. He crept stealthily upon her and as she was about to step into the cold water of the Lake, he seized her.
The maiden, Potri Rayna Laut, daughter of the Sultan Nabi Bacaramata of Ingod na di Katawan (the Unknown Country), became his wife. They lived happily together for many years and begot many children; these children begot children of their own, and these in turn begot children, and these were the ancestors of the people of Lanao. Early in the morning, on foggy days, a thin mist in the form of a ring is still to be seen near Sogod, and this is supposed to be the enchanted ring which Rajah Solaiman lost in that spot.
- Rajah Indara Patra and the Dragons, Manuel E. Buenafe, The Philippine Magazine, Volume 33, Number 9, September 1936, Manila


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International Seminar : « Diffuse Cities » – Campus University of Paris East – 10-12 April 2017
International Seminar : « Diffuse Cities »
Organized by: Labex « Urban Futures » & UMR AUSser, ENSAPB; LATTS, Lab'Urba, UPEM; with the Research Department LESTARI, Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia and Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS)
Steering Committee: Olivier Coutard (LATTS); Adèle Esposito (AUSSER); Joël Idt (Lab'Urba); Etienne Monin (TELEMME); Andrea Palmioli (AUSSER-HKU); Margot Pellegrino (Lab'Urba), with Antoine Brès.
Place : Campus University of Paris East, Bienvenue Building – Room A-003
Date : 10-12 April 2017
Detailed presentation and program: click here
Registration (free but mandatory): click here
The seminar is organized around 4 panels and two keynote talks:
– Panel 1: Urbanity Beyond Centrality
– Panel 2: "Ordinary" urban production and transformation
– Panel 3: Activity systems
– Panel 4: Territorial and Urban ecologies
– Keynote talk 1 : Diffusing Urbanization: Deciphering the Spatial Assemblages of 21st Century Urbanization – Terry McGee
– Keynote talk 2: Diffuse City and Horizontal Metropolis – Paola Vigano'
Abstract : Urban spatial expansion has become over the last decades a primary concern in urban studies. A now well established, albeit plural, body of work has emphasized the importance of sprawl (Gottman), suburbia (Fishman), desakota (McGee), città diffusa (Indovina), exurbia (Nelson), ville émergente (Dubois-Taine and Chalas), post-suburbs (Phelps and Wu), the horizontal metropolis (Vigano') or urban explosion and planetary urbanization (Brenner), to name just a few. Indeed the bulk of urbanization worldwide (still) occurs in previously unbuilt space and in predominantly unplanned and scattered ways, generally leading to relatively low-density land use (when compared to the cores of the larger urban agglomerations) and raising major issues of types of infrastructure provision. And on a more theoretical level, studying urbanization and the urban condition from the perspective of suburban and periurban areas has proved fruitful in (re)conceptualizations of the urban, as the above (non exhaustive) list of concepts suggests.
Building on this literature, this international seminar brings together, and confronts, studies of diffuse urbanization in Europe and Asia. Its ambition is to produce theoretically informed and theory-informing comparative empirical knowledge on how these peripheral urban areas and regions develop and transform, how they are practiced and lived, and on the use of resources (land, energy, water…) involved in these processes. Studies of the production and transformation of, and ways of life in, urban environments abound, yet these two issues are usually analyzed separately. Above all, a vast majority of these studies disregards issues of urban form and materiality broadly conceived. Conversely architects, urbanists and geographers have described or advocated variegated land use patterns, built area layouts and building designs, but in these studies, analyses on how built environments are produced and lived generally remain either superficial, oversimplified or normative.


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Phase 1b/2a Unblinded Study of Responses in Premenopausal Women With HSDD to Lorexys Evaluating Efficacy and Safety (PURPLE)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01857596
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : May 20, 2013
Last Update Posted : October 28, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (DSM-IV-TR Defined) Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (DSM-5 Defined)
|Drug: bupropion, Lorexys low-dose, Lorexys moderate-dose
|Phase 1 Phase 2
Women are diagnosed with Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) if they experience chronic loss of desire for sex together with significant distress or interpersonal difficulties due to this lack of desire. HSDD can have a serious effect on emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships.
There are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for HSDD. Off-label treatments include testosterone, which is not always effective and can be accompanied by side effects such as excess hair growth, acne, and decreases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.
Research in laboratory animals and clinical observations in humans suggest that re-balancing chemical messengers in the brain may stimulate sexual desire. S1 Biopharma's Lorexys® is a novel use fixed-dose combination (FDC) in an oral pill. Lorexys® combines two agents intended to restore balance to the brain's centers that control sexual function. Such effects are hoped to help women with HSDD.
The compound is Phase 2-ready without prior trials (Phase I safety studies) because the two agents have often been used together; individually, they are FDA-approved for treating other disorders (depression, for example), and in a large US survey, the two were taken together in about 23% of patients who were prescribed one of the two agents.
This research study requires subjects to take three different study medications for four weeks each, with at least a one-week "wash-out" period after each, and to report on rating scales how they feel. The medication is open-label (the subjects can see which medication they are receiving). That should not interfere with the evaluations or cause a big "placebo effect" because only a low proportion of women with HSDD have responded to a placebo in prior research studies of other compounds when using the same measures of efficacy.
Participation lasts 16 weeks, with 8 clinic visits. A weekly, but no daily, self-rating is required between visits.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|30 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|A Phase 1-b Non-blinded Study of Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Lorexys in Premenopausal Women With Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
|Study Start Date :
|April 2013
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|October 2014
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|October 2014
Experimental: Bupropion -> Lorexys LO -> Lorexys HI
Crossover with all on positive comparator,lower-dose Lorexys,higher-dose Lorexys
Drug: bupropion, Lorexys low-dose, Lorexys moderate-dose
Lorexys is a proprietary fixed-dose combination of two agents
Other Names:
- Change in Desire domain of the Female Sexual Function Index [ Time Frame: Four weeks after baseline ]One item asks how often the subject feels sexual desire, and another item asks how much she feels desire. One of five answers must be checked for each item.
- Change in Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised [ Time Frame: Four weeks after baseline ]The subject self-rates 13 negative feelings, such as frustration, bother, and unhappiness, that may have occurred because of her sexual problems.
- Change in Side Effects Checklist - 24 item [ Time Frame: 4 weeks after baseline ]The subject self-rates how much (if any) she has been bothered by each of the 24 symptoms that have been commonly reported with similar drugs, such as headache, sleepy, and anxious, from "not at all" to "extremely."
- Patient's Global Impression of Change [ Time Frame: 4 Weeks after baseline ]Subject self-rates how much, if any, her sexual disorder has changed since starting the current study medication (worse, same, or 4 degrees of improvement)
- Change in blood pressure and pulse [ Time Frame: Four weeks after baseline ]Blood pressure and pulse are taken lying and standing
- Change in 12-lead electrocardiogram [ Time Frame: 15 weeks (end of last treatment) after screen ]An electrocardiogram is used to measure the regularity of the heartbeat and how well electrical impulses are transmitted through the heart
- Change in routine lab studies including pregnancy tests and screen for illicit drugs [ Time Frame: Screen (wk 0), end of treatment/new baseline (wks 6, 11, 15) ]About two teaspoons of blood are drawn to measure blood cells and body chemistry, and to see if the patient has become pregnant or has taken unauthorized substances.
- Change in Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, Screen Version (6 items) [ Time Frame: 4 weeks after baseline ]Brief interview of 3-6 specified questions asking if the patient feels like, wants to, or plans to be dead
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|25 Years to 50 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 25 to 50 and still having regular menstrual periods. Women with intact ovaries are classified as premenopausal for this study, even if they have had a hysterectomy. Women who have had both ovaries removed, even if under age 50 and with an intact uterus, are not acceptable for this study.
- In a stable, monogamous, communicative, reasonably amicable relationship for at least one year
- Meets DSM-IV-TR criteria for Generalized Acquired Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder and HSDD is her main sexual disorder
- Over the prior month, didn't respond to sexual initiations by partner
- At screen and baseline, low or no and infrequent or rare desire for sex
- At screen, has clinically relevant sexual distress as per FSDS-R score
- Otherwise healthy physically and mentally. Minor chronic conditions not affecting sexual function are allowed. Side effects from any continuing concomitant medications must be mild and stable or nil.
- Not pregnant or lactating for six months; using medically reliable contraception, i.e., diaphragm or (male or female) condom and spermicide, IUD, tubal sterilization, hormonal contraception (oral, vaginal, or implant), or (if the investigator finds the patient credibly monogamous) vasectomy of male partner.
- Gives informed consent for and is willing to undergo all of the scheduled evaluations
- Prompt for screening and baseline visits, is cooperative, and takes reasonable directions without excessive explanations
- Her sexual partner is in a monogamous relationship with her, is sexually unimpaired (erectile dysfunction allowed only if adequately treated), and is available to her at least half of the time (in days per week).
Exclusion Criteria:
- Masturbates more than once a month.
- Sexual aversion or sexual pain disorder
- Chronic conditions that may reasonably be expected to be unstable or to affect sexual function (e.g., gastrointestinal bleeding, diabetes, frequent asthma, Major Depressive or anxiety disorder, history within the prior 6 months of suicidality or drug abuse; history of breast, cervical, uterine, ovarian or other systemic cancer).
- BMI (a standard ratio of weight to height) over 35.0 (obese)
- Requires CYP3A4, CYP 2B6, or CYP 2D6 strong inhibitor or inducer drugs
- Takes any sex hormone other than an approved hormonal contraceptive
- Takes an antiepileptic/mood stabilizer, antipsychotic, antidepressant, anti-anxiety, or hypnotic drug or has a history of allergic reaction to such drugs
9. Drinks more than 7 alcoholic drinks per week (12-oz beer, 4-oz wine, 1 ½ oz liquor etc) 10. Drinks more than 6 cups of coffee or tea per day 11. History of seizures 12. Long QT syndrome (QTc <=480 msec), other significant cardiovascular disease 13. moderate or severe dysfunction of the liver (any LFT >=3x ULN) or renal dysfunction (BUN > 30 or Cr >2.0) 14. Uses sedating antihistamines or prescription sedatives 15. History of blood clots or abnormal bleeding tendencies, including daily use of medications adversely affecting coagulation, e.g., NSAIDs, systemic corticosteroids, or >81 mg aspirin daily.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01857596
|United States, Ohio
|Robert Taylor Segraves, MD, PhD
|Beachwood, Ohio, United States, 44122
|Molly Katz, MD
|Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, 45219
|Principal Investigator:
|Robert T Segraves, MD, PhD
|Levine, Risen & Associates, Inc.
|Principal Investigator:
|Molly Katz, MD
|Katz and Kade, Inc.
|Study Director:
|Robert E Pyke, MD, PhD
|Chief Medical Officer, S1 Biopharma, Inc.
|Responsible Party:
|S1 Biopharma, Inc.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|May 20, 2013 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|October 28, 2014
|Last Verified:
|October 2014
Female Sexual Dysfunction
Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder
Premenopausal female health
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological
Pathologic Processes
Neurologic Manifestations
Nervous System Diseases
Signs and Symptoms
Mental Disorders
Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation
Antidepressive Agents
Psychotropic Drugs
Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors
Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors
Membrane Transport Modulators
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Dopamine Agents
Neurotransmitter Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 Inhibitors
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Anti-Anxiety Agents
Tranquilizing Agents
Central Nervous System Depressants
Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors
Serotonin Agents


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Studies have found that 80% of learning is visual. Clear and comfortable vision is an important component of learning that helps drive academic, social, and athletic success.
School nurse or pediatrician office screenings are great at flagging students who have a difficult time seeing at a distance. There are, however, children who may pass a screening by straining their eyes. There are children who can see well far away, but whose eyes fatigue quickly with increased near tasks like reading or doing homework due to farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, and/or focusing issues. The info-graphic below provides some examples of how a child may see and process written words yet still pass a vision screening.
A child may not even realize that they have a vision problem. Vision is not something that we are taught. Since there is no reference point, many children think that the way they see is normal, so they will not tell their parent or guardian know that they have difficulty seeing or reading. Instead, a child having difficulty seeing clearly may complain of headaches or show signs of avoiding near tasks like homework or coloring, holding books too close, difficulty concentrating, hyperactivity, head tilting, eye turns, eye rubbing, tiring easily and more.
Your eye doctor will test for many things during a pediatric eye exam, including but not limited to: visual acuity, eye focusing, eye tracking, eye teaming, eye alignment, eye health, hand-eye coordination, and visual perception skills.
Many classrooms now utilize digital devices like tablets and laptops as a teaching tool. As technology advances and digital devices become more accessible, an increasing amount of children have their own portable digital device. Books, videos, games, TV shows, and movies are all moving to an online/digital platform.
Providing children with a tablet or a smart phone to watch movies or play games has become a widespread and common practice. Increased digital device usage may be contributing to the increasing nearsightedness in children while causing digital eye strain.
A prevalence study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that "the number of preschool children with visual impairment is projected to increase by 26% in 2060, with 69% of visual impairment resulting from simple uncorrected refractive error." As nearsightedness or myopia rises, "vision screening and early intervention targeting preschool populations might prevent unnecessary visual impairment and associated developmental delays such as poor reading skills."
Blue light protection glasses, anti-fatigue lenses, and limiting screen time are easy steps that parents can take to reduce digital eye strain.
In today's digital world, we recommend annual eye exams for all school-aged children. To schedule an eye exam for your child, teenager, or college student, give us a call at 713-838-2020.


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The Monster Series is BACK with two events on the same weekend!
February 13th, we host Ice Monster for its 6th year at Stirling Road CrossFit in Fort Lauderdale.
February 13th & 14th, Maverick Monster is going down at Maverick CrossFit in Melbourne.
Two events, one weekend, HUGE!
To sign up, go here: www.themonsterseries.com/registration
Spots for both events are limited and will sell out.


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I wish I could love you;
I wish I could feel.
But if I tried, you would die
At how I lie and how I kill.
I wish I could want you;
I wish I could kiss.
But if I was to, you would lose you
And be forever lost and forever missed.
You don't want to do this;
You cannot afford to fall.
If at last l touched your lips;
I'd take your heart, your life; I'd take it all.


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Metal Works
Are you looking to start a new career? Have you ever considering manufacturing? Check out this great opportunity to enter BCCC's 12-week Metalwork Training program. The hands on welding and machining training happens right here in Upper Bucks County Technical School labs. Successful completers of this program go directly to good paying jobs with local manufacturers. AND this program is FREE for eligible candidates!
Program starts September 23, 2019.


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- < June 8-9, 2013 - Really, you shot her there?!?!
- July 13-14, 2013 - Who do I have to pay off to get some good weather around here? >
In spite of the lack of a blog for last week, it was actually a good hunting weekend as we found big mangroves on the patch reefs for the first time this Summer. In fact, I shot what was probably one of my biggest mangroves yet, weighing in that 6-7lb class. I didn't think it merited a blog though, since I got it on a make up shot because my brother in law had missed it and we wanted to make sure it didn't hightail it out of the staghorn before we had a chance to boat it. Nonetheless, a great catch. That coupled with the awesome 28lb black the team brought in the week before has really made for some happy fisherman on our boats. We're not even that jealous of our friends that have made 2 trips to Cay Sal in as many weeks. But I longed for a big catch of my very own.
This weekend we decided to catch the high slack tide closer in so we could stock up on some hogfish as we hadn't really focused on those much so far and the home freezers were getting a little barren of that particularly popular and excellent keeping frozen fare. So we were diving in many of our very shallow spots looking for hogs and were doing pretty well. We were able to keep very picky and select only the biggest for the cooler and still stock up pretty well. At one of the last hog spots (#27) there are a few holes that red grouper frequent as well as lobster (in season, of course) so I decided to peek in to see if anyone was home.
I was a little disappointed to not find any residents but as I pull my head back out of the hole a shape appears to my right and I turn to see a very nice red grouper had just come in to check me out! Without hesitating, I turn the gun in its direction and land a great head shot. It wasn't a stone shot, but it was going to hold for sure. The grouper made a bee line for the very hole I had been looking in but the shaft protruding from both sides of her head kept her from being able to enter. I'm able to make short work of wrestling her in and surfacing to call the boat over (this one didn't fit in my shorts...). As I throw the fish over the gunwale (or gunnel for you landlubbers), I notice that the fish was even nicer than I originally thought when I spotted her, a thought confirmed by my brother in law when he boards and sees the fish, telling me it's definitely the biggest one we've landed in a couple of years. Needless to say the day was starting off pretty good.
The tide finally switches and forces us to move on to deeper pastures, so we pass by and over some of the usual suspects (#25, #67) when we decide to stop at one spot that I hadn't recalled very well so I figured I hadn't been here in a while. #41 is only about 35-40' deep but has very nice finger ledges with some decent relief as well as some decent sandy gaps in between. As we swim over the reef, we notice a large number of small (juvenile) black groupers darting all over the ledges and stop for a moment to discuss how many we were seeing.
As we swim on, I'm thinking that with all these juveniles around there has to be at least one good black in the bunch somewhere on this reef. It's at this point that we separate a little (still within view). I head right and my brother in law heads left. I don't think I had swam more than 100 feet when I notice an obviously legal black grouper sitting out in the open in between a sea fan and a small rock. I breathe up quickly and drop, but before I can make it half way down, she turns and starts to swim off but luckily for me not too hurriedly. So I back off easily and follow from the surface as she's still swimming pretty lazily. She stops once more and I think that this is my opportunity, so I turn my head away from the fish, breathe up and drop about 15 feet away from the fish.
This time, as I make it to the bottom she once again turns and swims softly away from me. Trying not to pressure her too much, I immediately surface. As I do, I notice a good size coral head about 25 feet away with a nice sized entrance on the side closest to me. I start to hope the fish sees it too and decides to take up refuge in the rock. Luckily for me the fish decides to do just that, and after making sure she didn't make an exit out of the opposite side, I surface to rest up and breathe up once more.
I drop on the rock and peer into the opening from which I can make out the outline of the fish on the back side of the rock. I can make out her head perfectly so I line up and take the shot. The fish barely shudders so of course the first thought that shoots through my head is "I couldn't have missed!". A thought that is only exacerbated when I go to pull on the shaft and it comes out without the fish! So I shout the typical underwater expletives as I ascend to reload and re-attempt.
As I'm reloading at the surface, my confidence in myself is renewed when I see plumes of green clouds coming out of every crevice in the rock (evidence of tremendous bleeding for you noobs). "I knew I couldn't have missed!" I thought to myself. Which is when I realized that my shot must have hit the rock behind the fish and not allowed the flopper to toggle on the other side, even though the shot was perfectly placed as evidenced by the amount of blood pouring out of the rock as green clouds.
On my next drop I decide not to wait for the flashlight (mistake) and unfortunately guesstimate where the fish's head is because of the lack of viz from the blood, I won't draw this one out... I missed. One more time I surface with nothing to show for my work. On my third (for those of you not keeping track) descent, I'm able to see the fish clearly and plant a good solid shot right in the fish's cheek and I'm able to wrangle her out of the hole when the fish starts to fight back and tears the shaft right out of its jawline. I try to pin her to the ground but am only able to grab her bottom lip and lose grip when she thrashes once more (forever more known as pulling an "Adrian"). Luckily for me, this grouper (like the big one from a couple of weeks ago) circles the rock and re-enters to hide in the same spot. Thankfully it only takes one more drop with a well placed shot through the head to get her out and in the boat.
When we got back home, we were guessing weights on the two groupers and I guessed 16 for the black and 8 for the red where my brother in law guessed 18-20 for the black and 10 for the red. Well it seems that I have a much better eye for guessing the blacks and his specialty is the reds because my 16 lb guess was right on the money for the black and his 10 lb guess for the red was also exactly on the money. The black was a great catch, but the red was my biggest one to date, so all in all it was a heck of a Grouper Saturday! (that would sound much better if Saturday started with a "G")


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Here's an interesting article by Jane Friedman about the various pluses and minuses of paid book reviews.
Are Paid Book Reviews Worth It?
What do you think?
Catherine Kane
For more information on Catherine's books, "Adventures in Palmistry", "The Practical Empath – Surviving and Thriving as a Psychic Empath", "Manifesting Something Better", "The Psychic Power of Your Dreams", "Magick for Pennies" and her urban fantasy "The Lands That Lie Between", all from Foresight Publications, click here
and for the new Kindle version of Manifesting Something Better, click here