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- MAINTENANCE Scheduled Weekly Maintenance on 01/31/2018 [Completed] 01 31, 2018
Rangers!Combat Arms: Reloaded is back online! Maintenance ended at 08:30 CET / 1.30.2018 23:30 PST. Changes to the game are as followed:[Changelogs]1.) February EXP/GP Boost Event begins.2.) February Hot Time Event starts.3.) A brand-new Attendance Event up for grabs.4.) VALOFE Limited Edition items are now available in the Shop.5.) Profanity Filte...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Combat Arms: Reloaded | Official Staff and Moderators 01 30, 2018
Rangers!Want to avoid getting scammed by GM or FM impersonators? Check out this list of the official staff and moderators!Never give your account information especially your password to anyone! GMs, FMs, and other VALOFE Members will never ask for your password.Visit us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and our Forums to keep up-to-date with the lat...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Transfer Process (Closing Schedule) 01 29, 2018
Rangers!Transfer process is about to end, we thank you for the love and support you have given us.Before this migration ends, we'd like to remind those Combat Arms users that are not transferred yet. Transfer process will be up for a few weeks so head over to the transfer page and TRANSFER your ACCOUNTS now to VALOFE.[Closing Date]March 9, 2018 [Ti...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Announcement: 12 15, 2017
Rangers!There have been multiple reports indicating that some players are having a hard time creating/logging into a VALOFE account due to the error message: 'Failed to send verification email.' from the website after creating an account. There are even some reports indicating that they did not receive this error but have not received the verificat...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Create Character Issue Fix 12 15, 2017
Rangers!We'd like to request everyone that has encountered the Create Character Issue while having their VALOFE Transfer Status Page inform them that their character or account has successfully been transferred to please repeat the transfer process again before logging into the game.Read more
- MAINTENANCE Scheduled Weekly Maintenance on 12/13/2017 [Completed] 12 15, 2017
Ranger!Server is back up! Maintenance completed at 8:00 AM(CET).[Changelogs]- Launcher is updated to reflect the upcoming Holiday Season.- Item Giveaways from December 13 - January 3- Create Character Issue Fix- VALOFE's First Holiday Events with Combat Arms: Reloaded!You can either start playing now or maybe finish doing something nice for someone...Read more
- EVENTS Migration Events 11 23, 2017
Rangers!Over the weeks, we've had lots of messages both on Facebook and Discord about what kind of rewards they'd have if they'd transfer their accounts. This post is to remedy that. Going to our event page will let you see the three events we have in store for everyone.ACCOUNT TRANSFERPlayers that have transferred to VALOFE will automatically get ...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS VALOFE Combat Arms: Reloaded Launch 11 23, 2017
Welcome, Rangers, to VALOFE Combat Arms: Reloaded! Everyone here at VALOFE understands that change isn't always what everyone wants but we're doing our best to make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible. We are proud and humbled at the same time by the number of players that have transferred to VALOFE from NEXON. We understand pretty w...Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Pre-Launch Announcement 11 23, 2017
Rangers!We're few days away before the maintenance until we finally takeover the game. We are proud and humbled by the large amount of transfers we've had over the past two months and we here at VALOFE are all excited to be playing with everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all in the first hour of launch, Rangers!Read more
- ANNOUNCEMENTS Urgent Announcement: Early Account Login 11 23, 2017
Rangers!It has come to our attention that our main website was accessed by a number of players and were able to scour the site from top to bottom including the download links for the official game client. This is to inform everyone with the our game client already installed that we advise you not to login whatsoever using your account that is still...Read more


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Morning fellas. I keep reading that sausages should be hung for a while before heading to the fridge to bloom overnight. Is this to dry them out? Is it necessary? How long should they be hung for, and what do you guys use to hang them on?
The last 2Kg batch of Lincolnshires I made were placed straight in to a large foil tray after linking, then sent to the fridge. I did notice a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the tray, so would hanging the sausages beforehand avoid this? Most importantly, does it produce a better sausage?

subset: commoncrawl


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Bed bugs earned their name for good reason. These little pests love to make their home in your mattress, burrowing into the cracks and crevices and only coming out at night when you are sleeping in order to bite you for sustenance. If you suspect you have bed bugs in your North Carolina home, your bed is the first place you should check–but there are plenty of other likely locations in your home that might be harboring bed bugs.
Expand your search to any upholstered item in your home. This includes couches, sofas, easy chairs, and ottomans. They could also squeeze into the cracks of your floorboards or along your wall boards. You'll want to start by examining furniture closely, looking for dark brown or red staining (blood) or the dried husks left behind by adult bed bugs. If you see either of these, you'll know for sure that bed bugs have been there and are probably still active. If you don't see any of these signs but are still waking up with bites on your skin, you'll want to call in an expert team to find your infestation.
One of the hardest parts of getting rid of bed bugs is just finding them in the first place. They are experts at hiding, and you may need to bring in a team like Ray Pest Control to locate and eliminate these pests. We can use advanced technology as well as tried-and-true methods like bed bug sniffing canines to hunt down the little pests. We know how to get rid of them fast, too. Give us a call today and we'll handle your bed bug problems in a hurry!


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There is a divine moment in our lives when we all become one. It's called procreation, and it is reborn, continually and forever.view
It is a good motive, fame and money, as it is tangible and measurable. Being an artist is neither measurable nor tangible and certainly not a way to become rich.view
Time is money, as they say, and it was never more apropos than on a television show, where a minute is worth about $200!view
I write from my imagination, not from what I've read in books or seen on TV or to make money. I wrote from an idea I was passionate about.view


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Back Issues
Contact Us
D-11 board liking staff ideas for Westside
White Acres: Developer, City Parks talking again
Garman's gallery not closing after all?
Mesa Road houses saved from fireworks-caused fire
EDITOR'S DESK: Hot (or at least warm) off the presses
What do you do? Marilyn Eisenhauer
COBWEB CORNERS: The shops in the Midland yards
Biz Buzz: Baalman's unique tribute to Lincoln
Letters: Fish important in Fountain Creek from Geraldine Kirkmeyer
Homeless: Police hope to resume camp sweeps
Surprise DVD in West recycle bin
Sentinel phases would upgrade area south of Fillmore, developer says
Perfect dual-meet seasons for CHS swim, wrestling
Shoppes seeking options to 7th Street access
No obstacles for T-Days from committee
TABOR topic of Feb. 19 meeting with city heads
Jewelry box recovered; may have been dealer's
Front page of this issue


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Wreck of Confederate ironclad gunboat CSS Neuse gets a new home
Scuttled by its crew in March 1865, the Confederate ironclad CSS Neuse spent nearly a century crumbling in its namesake river, occasionally serving as a makeshift dock for swimmers. In 1963 local businessmen pulled the warship`s remains out of the water, and since then the Neuse has rested outdoors in Kinston, North Carolina, where workers fitted it out for battle at the height of the Civil War. After a turbulent 150 years spent waiting for either battle or salvage, the one-of-a-kind gunboat will be safely ensconced in a new facility - a climate-controlled exhibition space in Kinston, North Carolina.
Union County to build memorial for 10 black men who served in Confederate Army
Long ignored by history, local slaves who served in the Confederate Army will receive some rare recognition. The Union County Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously to approve a plan for a privately funded marker to honor 10 black men, nine of whom were slaves, who eventually received small state pensions for their Civil War service. It will be one of the few public markers of its kind in the country, and arrives in the midst of commemorations of the Civil War`s sesquicentennial. The granite marker will be placed on a brick walkway at the Old County Courthouse in Monroe in front of the 1910 Confederate monument.
Long-accepted death toll of 620,000 might actually be closer to 750,000
Nearly 150 years after the last battles of the Civil War, historians are still finding new topics to explore as the nation commemorates the sesquicentennial of America's bloodiest conflict. Even the long-accepted death toll of 620,000, cited by historians since 1900, is being reconsidered. In a study published late last year in Civil War History, Binghamton University history demographics professor J. David Hacker said the toll is closer to 750,000. "That number just sat there - 620,000 - for a century," said Lesley Gordon, a professor at the University of Akron and editor of the 57-year-old journal, considered the pre-eminent publication in its field.
Photos: Inside the military fortress that guarded New York harbour during the Civil War
It was built to guard New York Harbor from the Confederates during the Civil War. But the embrasures that anchored cannons to the stone floors of Fort Totten, in Queens, New York never faced enemy fire. 150 years after the fortress went under construction, its eroding walls are a haunting reminder of American history. Plans for the Fort Totten Water Battery at Willet's Point were initially prepared by Captain Robert E Lee in 1857. After Congress appropriated $155,000 for its construction, the first block of granite was laid - five years later.
Complete Confederate Civil War submarine Hunley unveiled for first time
Confederate vessel H.L. Hunley, the world's first successful combat submarine when it sank a Union ship in 1864, was unveiled in full for the first time after a decade of preservation. The narrow "torpedo fish," built in Mobile, Alabama by Horace Hunley from cast iron, arrived in Charleston in 1863 while the city was under siege. In the ensuing few months, it sank twice after sea trial accidents, killing 13 crew members including Horace Hunley. The Confederate Navy hauled the sub up twice, recovered the bodies of the crew, and planned a winter attack - which succeeded in sinking the Union warship Housatonic in winter 1864.
James Brown Sr., one of last real sons of Confederate veterans, dies at 99
James Brown Sr., one of the last real sons of a Confederate veteran, has passed away at the age of 99. His father, James H.H. Brown, served in the 8th Georgia Infantry's Company K and fought throughout the Civil War, seeing combat in in 19 major battles, including Manassas, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Campbell Station and Fort Sanders.
Robert E. Lee: Outwitted and outmaneuvered during West Virginia campaign
Robert E. Lee's rise to the peak of success as Confederate military leader seemed unlikely as he rode through the West Virginia 150 years ago. After three months of failure in engagements with Union troops at Cheat Mountain, Elkwater and Sewell Mountain, Lee had been recalled to the Confederate capital of Richmond. "Outwitted, outmaneuvered and outgeneraled," wrote an editorialist for the Richmond Examiner, in commenting on Lee's recall. Other newspapers referred to him as "Granny Lee" for his lack of military decisiveness or the "King of Spades" and the "Great Entrencher" for his propensity for building earthworks to protect his soldiers, rather than attack the enemy.
Lee & Grant - Two very different men (DVD Review)
The two most important generals during the Civil War were Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederacy, and Ulysses S. Grant the leader of the Union forces. These were two very different men, as this documentary film reveals. Between 1862 and 1865 the most critical chapter in American history was to be written mainly by the actions of these two generals. Rarely does history find two generals so different in personality, character, upbringing and strategy as were the ultimate commanders of the Northern and Southern Armies.
How destructive was Sherman's march?
To some, General William Tecumseh Sherman was one of the few Union generals who understood modern war. To others, especially to the Southerners whom he defeated, he is a war criminal. From August 1864 through April 1865, Sherman blazed a path through Georgia and the Carolinas, destroying anything of military value including railroads, grain bins and livestock. While Sherman did play a large part in consigning the Confederacy to the ashbin of history, the extent of the destruction he caused by his march has become exaggerated by folklore.
Antietam: America's bloodiest day in military history
More words have probably been written about the Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg as it is known in the South) than any conflict other than Gettysburg. Taking place near a small creek called Antietam in Maryland, the final casualty total was 23,000, both North and South, in a single day`s fighting. All this took place on September 17, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign. It was the first major battle to be fought on Northern soil. For all those men and all the deaths, the sad fact remains that it was tactically a draw, with no winners and many, many losers lying that day in The Sunken Road.
Robert E. Lee tintype picture fetches $23,001 for Goodwill
A Goodwill worker who spotted a photograph of Confederate General Robert E. Lee has helped the charity make $23,001 in an online auction. The tintype photograph was in a bin, about to be shipped out to an outlet store, when a worker grabbed it and sent it to the charity's local online department. The item was put up for auction.
Secret Agents in Hoop Skirts: Women Spies of the Civil War
In July 1861, Rose Greenhow obtained critical information about the Union Army`s planned attack of Manassas, Virginia. She sent her 16-year-old courier, Bettie Duvall, through 20 miles of Union territory with a coded message for Beauregard tucked into her hair. Confederate President Jefferson Davis later credited Greenhow for his army`s success at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). On August 23, 1861, Allan Pinkerton, head of the federal government's secret service, arrested Greenhow. She was placed under house arrest and later sent to prison. Despite her confinement, Greenhow still managed to transmit cryptic notes to Confederate leaders.
Blockade of Confederate ports - Squeezing the South into Submission
Though the Union army was still getting its war footing, by August 1861 the Northern blockade of Southern ports and waterways was almost complete. That month federal ships closed the Mississippi River to commerce between loyal and secessionist states, while naval squadrons were in place off the coast of most Southern cities, from south Texas to the Chesapeake. A large number of blockade runners managed to slip past the Union ships, but the relevant data point is not how many ships evaded capture, but how many ships never sailed that, undeterred, otherwise would have.
Pictures of a blockade runner: Civil War-era Wine, Cologne Found
On September 6, 1864, pilot John Virgin was at the helm as the Mary Celestia left the harbor at Southampton, Bermuda. The Civil War was in its third year, and the fast vessel - bound for Wilmington, North Carolina - was loaded with rifles, ammunition, and other supplies needed by the Confederate States. Virgin raced the roughly 255-foot-long Mary Celestia toward the open Atlantic, only to hit rocks and reefs. Within minutes the Mary Celestia and its cargo were on the bottom of the ocean. Salvagers recovered the war supplies, but the bow, of the wreck was soon covered with silt and lay undisturbed, some 60 feet (18 meters) down, until the recent tempests.
Last living eyewitness to Lincoln assassination interviewed on Feb 9, 1956
Lincoln Assassination eyewitness appears on I've Got a Secret in 1956.
Peek inside a hand-cranked Civil War submarine Hunley
Peek inside a hand-cranked Civil War submarine Hunley.
American history 1861-1865: U.S. Civil War was a conflict between the Abraham Lincoln led Union and 11 southern states that formed CSA - the Confederate States of America, led by Jefferson Davis. In the first year the Union got control of the border states and established a naval blockade as both sides raised large armies. In 1862 the bloody battles began. Robert E. Lee get a series of Confederate victories, but his best general, Stonewall Jackson, was killed at the Chancellorsville in May 1863. Lee's invasion of the North was repulsed at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. In July 1863 Ulysses Grant seized control of Mississippi by capturing Vicksburg, thus splitting the Confederacy. The war ended after the Confederacy collapsed following General Robert E. Lee's surrender at the Battle of Appomattox.
Also called: 'War of the Rebellion', 'War of Southern Independence', 'War of Northern Aggression' and 'War Between the States'.


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See also God; Idolatry; Image
Put away the strange gods, Gen. 35:2 (1 Sam. 7:3).
against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment, Ex. 12:12.
Lord is greater than all gods, Ex. 18:11.
shalt have no other gods before me, Ex. 20:3 (34:14; Deut. 5:7).
no mention of the name of other gods, Ex. 23:13.
make us gods, which shall go before, Ex. 32:1 (Acts 7:40).
shalt worship no other god, Ex. 34:14.
shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, Deut. 4:28.
to go after other gods to serve them, Deut. 28:14.
sacrificed … to gods whom they knew not, Deut. 32:17.
Elijah said … call on the name of your gods, 1 Kgs. 18:25.
Cry aloud: for he is a god, 1 Kgs. 18:27.
he judgeth among the gods, Ps. 82:1.
I have said, Ye are gods, Ps. 82:6 (John 10:34; D&C 76:58).
Among the gods there is none like unto thee, Ps. 86:8.
give thanks unto the God of gods, Ps. 136:2.
cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, Isa. 37:19.
changed their gods, which are yet no gods, Jer. 2:11.
I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, Ezek. 28:2.
thou hast praised the gods of silver, Dan. 5:23.
gods are come down to us in the likeness of men, Acts 14:11.
seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods, Acts 17:18.
changed their minds, and said that he was a god, Acts 28:6.
though there be that are called gods, 1 Cor. 8:5.
god of this world hath blinded the minds, 2 Cor. 4:4.
service unto them which by nature are no gods, Gal. 4:8.
sacrifices unto their idol gods, Morm. 4:14.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end, D&C 132:20.
worshiping of the gods of the heathen, Abr. 1:5 (1:8).
they would not … worship gods of wood, Abr. 1:11.


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Please bring Holly back in stockings and big black cock up her ass!
Featuring: Holly Claus and Johnny Champ
Date: December 14th, 2012
Photos: 71
Blond hair, blue eyes, big tits and dick-sucking lips..there's nothing not to like about Holly, a 41-year-old newcomer from Key West, Florida (born in Pennsylvania) who's making her 40SomethingMag.com debut right here. A local photographer who shoots pictures in south Florida strip clubs told us about her, and we wasted no time getting her into our studio. Yes, that's right. Holly is a stripper. She calls it the "most fun job I've ever had." But what's more important is that she also said, "I like to fuck whenever the opportunity presents itself." And, wouldn't you know it, the opportunity presented itself in our studio. A few basic facts about Holly: 1. She has four rings by her pussy, two on either side of her labia, and a barbell through her clit hood. But she doesn't have any tattoos. 2. She's 5'4", weighs 118 pounds and has measurements of 34DD-26-36.
What Members are saying about this update...
April 02, 2014
December 17, 2012
Piercings should be banned.
December 17, 2012
All the piercings are too much on vagina.
December 17, 2012
Wow, wouldn't I love to deck the halls with this 'holly'. Fantastic boobs. Lovely long legs, and a pussy to take you to heaven. If she want's a job as my secretary, just name the day.
December 16, 2012
Please get this beautiful, sexy woman on video, she is incredibly beautiful with a great body and a awesome set of tits.
December 16, 2012
Holly is a beautiful sexy woman, I love her body and those beautiful tits. I would love to see this session in video, that would be great


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|2017-06-28, 14:59
|Link #421
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Southeastern US
Anime-only viewer with no knowledge of the source material...
This was an odd experience for me. The further into the series I watched the less I was invested in the story of the two principle characters but the more interested I became in the world and the side characters. By the last episode, I had lost any character attachment and was just watching things play out as expected. Thought the emotional aspects were pretty shallow, largely unearned and bordering on just pandering to the audience. Key-story lite.
I am left thinking there is a way more interesting story here than what I watched in this anime series.
|2017-06-29, 23:12
|Link #422
Join Date: Jan 2008
Age: 30
|2017-06-30, 00:38
|Link #423
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
|2017-06-30, 02:26
|Link #424
Join Date: Jul 2013
That's a flashback showing Chtholly being born, not a flashforward showing her being reborn.
Let's demonstrate it rather than just give the simple conclusion :
1) Willem knew of leprechauns more than 500 years ago. At that point of time, there was no reason to create the faeries to fight beasts since beasts appeared after Willem got petrified (as he didn't know of them before he was taught about them when rescued from the surface and un-petrified). Yet, leprechauns existed.
2) the current "leprechauns" are secretly being created using necromancy. Such a process of creation is obviously not being publicly known, since even Nygglatho doesn't know about it, and Willem had to get the answer from the man who created those himself.
3)The official explanations for those faeries being able to wield weapons that only humans can use is that "they're leprechauns, leprechauns can use human's tools, so that's why". *
4)Leprechauns are clearly stated (even in that verse, by willem, who is surprised they changed appearance so much) to not have that "little girl" appearance 500 years ago.
5)Leprechauns are faeries that used to live in humans towns, in our legends. Humanity was wiped out of the map very quickly.
My conclusion : the real leprechauns went extinct together with humanity, they didn't make it to the floating islands. The officials are using the "leprechauns" name for the "faeries" because it's very convenient, as there's no real leprechaun anymore to deny what they are, and that this makes a believable explanation for why they can wield human weapons. Considering how those "faeries" are created, they wouldn't want peoples to be too curious about where they come from. The real leprechauns were probably far more similar in appearance to what you're thinking of. We'll never know, because there's no way that a race that was basically living in town's storehouse and the like could survive what happened 525 years ago.
So those are not real leprechauns, that's why they don't look like real leprechauns. QED.
|2017-06-30, 02:36
|Link #425
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Age: 43
|2017-06-30, 03:01
|Link #426
Join Date: Jul 2013
The only reasons people nowadays automatically associate troll with big monstrous appearance is that tolkien chose that type of legend for his troll, and tolkien heavily influences most of the modern fantasy.
The type of Troll legend used in Sukasuka is the human looking troll that live away from human cities in proper houses, and will offer hospitality to human travellers that find themselves outside when the night come. offering them dinner, and the like, before eating them during the night. That type of troll cannot look monstruous.
|2017-06-30, 15:16
|Link #429
Paranoid Zebra
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Demonreach
Wrote quite a long post about the lovecraftian influences in character naming scheme of this show. Its really quite fascinating.
Already answered multiple pages ago. There are more than few types of trolls and troll-witches in folklore, most of whom are shapeshifters.
|2017-07-01, 15:06
|Link #430
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Good show. I had my grievances with how it handle certain things and the ending didn't hit me as could have but this was ultimately more of a sum of it's parts. Willem and Chtholly relationship was quite well done and shows just because a romance starts from "love at first sight" does not mean it cannot be compelling and develop muturally. Ending was good, but everything happened was perfunctory for this type of bleak tale.
Of course there still tons questions and whatnot the anime could not reasonably anwser since it is an adaptation at it's core. However this provided enough of a closure to most important and immeditate matters which largely revolved around the two leads which was generally satisfactory to me. Agree with SeaDoor that sometimes it did feel like a Key show.
Last edited by Applehell; 2017-07-01 at 15:41.
|2017-07-03, 11:57
|Link #434
Join Date: Aug 2010
Age: 31
|fantasy, light novel adaptation, military, post apocalyptic, science fiction, tragedy
|Thread Tools


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Are you experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, relationship issues, family of origin concerns? Is your adjustment to college life not going as smoothly as you would like? Are you concerned about self-esteem or self-image issues, difficulties forming friendships, sexuality matters? Drug and alcohol abuse, past or recent trauma, self-harm issues?
Take heart—you are not mentally ill! You are normal! We all experience some of these concerns, and many others, during the course of life, particularly at times of significant change like the period of late adolescence and early adulthood.
And that's where we come in. We're the UD counseling team, and our job is to work with you in responding effectively to whatever difficulties you might be facing. We are licensed therapists with wide and varying backgrounds in the mental health and wellness fields, as well as supporting fields such as education, chemical dependency, and ministry.
Counseling is available to all undergraduate students, as well as to those graduate students who are enrolled fulltime and completing coursework. Counseling is not available to students who are employed fulltime and taking occasional classes in the graduate programs. There is no cost for counseling services.
We are located in Haggar, upstairs next to the medical clinic.
We provide counseling related to all late adolescent and early adulthood issues (for example, personal identity and social and relationship concerns), college life issues (coping with the various challenges of university life such as managing time and interacting with new social groups), and psychological issues such as stress, depression, anxiety, self-esteem and self-image, and family of origin issues.
The most frequently noted concerns brought to counseling at UD are depression, relationship issues, family issues, anxiety, stress and coping, social skills. No problem is too big or too small for counseling.
Because of the nature of the counseling relationship, counselors are both ethically and legally bound to honor the confidentiality of their adult (18 and over) clients.


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In a move that has created shockwaves among chocolate lovers, but delighted headline writers everywhere (credit crunchie anyone?), Cadbury's has cut the Crunchie from boxes of Heroes.
And the mindless culling doesn't end there - they've also ditched Dreams. The replacement? Bournvilles and toffee Eclairs. In an attempt to justify this madness, spokespeople have been mumbling on about the growing army of dark chocolate fans.
Now far be it from me to cast doubt on this explanation and imply that, even though profit is expected to grow in this coming year, as the company capitalises on our collective desire for a relatively cheap treat, this is surely plainly and simply a cost cutting exercise.
A Cadbury spokesman couldn't confirm that Bournevilles and eclairs were cheaper to make, but conceded: "Cadbury is always looking at costs right across the business." And let's take a more detailed look at the argument that has been put forward (I know, I know, I should get out more).
The company claims that Bournvilles have replaced Dreams because black chocolate is now more popular than white. This is disingenous. Yes, no one in their right mind likes the insipid white chocolate, but if this was about consumer choice, why hasn't the hateful Dream been replaced with some milk chocolate favourites? Rumours are rife online that, for example, the Dairy Milk Whole Nut has become ever rarer in the box, and some people are still feeling "spiky" about the demise of the Picnic.
And how about introducing a new addition instead? After all, who the hell likes Bournevilles? Why, when Nestle's research shows that the toffee penny is the least popular sweet in Quality Street, would Cadbury think including toffee Eclairs was likely to be a popular move? And - forgive me while I get personal for a moment, but why are there no mini Flakes, Cadbury? Huh? Huh?
I thought so.
As if anticipating swathes of mail from angry sweet lovers, a spokesman said it was "impossible to create a selection that pleases everyone all the time." This, I'll give them - never a truer word was spoken by a chocolate manufacturer, and never at a better time of year than selection box time.
So, now that they've brought it up, I think we should take this opportunity to let them know what we think. What will you be most disappointed to find in your selection box this year? And, specifically, how do you feel about the Heroes move? Is it about saving money or consumer demand?
People are already sharing frustration at this reviews site in angry capitals: "I AM BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED".
Are you?


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Modern Marketing
Missed Our Road to Success Virtual Event? Get the Recap Here!
After months of anticipation, Marketo's Road to Success Virtual Event has come and gone. There were two fantastic keynotes, 14 sessions (on topics ranging from social media intelligence to taking your marketing global), and over 2,800 attendees…were you one of them?
If you missed the Road to Success Virtual Event, or you need a refresher course, never fear! Read on for a recap of the amazing event, and free links to the recorded presentations. (Check out the full agenda here.)
Opening Keynote: Mobile Moments
What happens when we reward people during special moments in their lives? Brian Wong, CEO and Co-Founder of Kiip, asked himself this question. Eventually, this question led to him founding a company – Kiip, a mobile rewards program that rewards people during important milestones.
Brian explains that during these milestones, consumer attention is heightened, which presents the perfect opportunity for marketers to serve up relevant messages. In the course of Kiip's extensive research, the company found that marketing during critical moments result in increased engagement, increased happiness, and – most importantly – increased purchase intent.
This keynotes discusses all of the different moments a person experiences, and how marketers can tap into these moments as they are being experienced. Brian also presents a challenge to the audience: How can marketers be more relevant to their audience, so that buyers enjoy ads, rather than dismissing them? What moments can marketers start taking advantage of today?
Watch the full presentation here: Mobile Moments Keynote with Brian Wong
How to Make Your Website as Personalized as Your Email
Jon Miller, VP of Product Marketing and Co-Founder of Marketo, and Mike Telem, VP of Product Marketing for Real-Time Personalization at Marketo, discuss how websites can become as customized and targeted as emails have become today.
Jon leads the discussion by explaining how emails have become more and more personalized, largely because of the marketer's ability to segment and target. But email personalization, according to Jon, is not enough – because today's consumers jump from one channel to another, marketing requires personalization across all of those channels.
Real-time personalization is the ability to personalize your website based on:
- Identifying a person's attributes (contacts + firmographics + context)
- Customizing their experience by presenting people with relevant content, calls-to-action or visuals
- Speed. According to Microsoft Research, marketers have roughly 10 seconds to convince website visitors that your product/services are relevant to their needs
Jon and Mike then discuss the 3 w's of real-time personalization:
- Who: Organization, Location, Behavior, Persona
- What: Content, Case Studies, Videos
- When: Website, Mobile, Advertising
Watch the full presentation here: How to Make Your Website as Personalized as Your Emails
Conversations Not Campaigns
The average consumer is exposed to over 3,000 marketing messages in a day, but only they remember four. In this session with Matt Zill, Director of Product Marketing at Marketo, we explore ways that marketers can break through the noise and create memorable impressions.
The first thing we need to improve is the way that we send email. Nobody should be batch and blasting these days – it's all about sending the right message, to the right person, at the right time.
Matt suggests that effective marketing must be:
- Trustworthy: People have to trust the source
- Relevant: Time your messages based on a consumer's place in the buying process
- Conversational: Listen more than you speak
- Coordinated Across Channels: Consumers are now multi-channel; be everywhere they are!
- Strategic: Examine your marketing holistically – it's not just about opens and clicks
Watch the full presentation here: Conversations Not Campaigns
Closing Keynote: The Marketing Hourglass
The Marketing Hourglass is a framework created by John Jantsch, thought leader and author of Duct Tape Marketing. This framework challenges both marketers and sales people to stop trying to dictate the buyer journey, and to start trying to truly understand behavior.
The future of marketing, John argues, is about organizing behavior. Let people do what they want, when they want. Here are the seven consumer behaviors that marketers should be most aware of:
- Know: Who and How
- Like: Social Media
- Trust: Webinars, Materials, eBooks
- Try: Workshops, Demos
- Buy: Service Team
- Repeat: Cross Selling
- Refer: Champions
John then applies these four steps to the marketing hourglass framework:
- Understand what your experience looks like
- Audit your content
- Review your sales process
- Examine partners
John quips that for marketers to understand buying behavior and effectively market and sell, marketers and sales people should hug.
Watch the full presentation here: The Marketing Hourglass with John Jantsch
Thank you to all our sponsors and attendees who made yesterday such a successful event! To view all sessions and recordings in the virtual environment, register here!


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WordPress Meta Description
Wordpress Meta Description is being used by all major search Engines to display excerpt on their Search Results.
SEO WordPress Plugin could be used to enter the Meta Description on each page of your website. This WordPress SEO Plugin can be downloaded from here ( Download SEO WordPress Plugin ).
Its very easy to use this plugin. On each page of your wordpress posts, there is a box below the content, where you can enter your meta Description.
Most Search Engines accept in an average of 170 characters on their Meta Description.
Keeping the Meta Description related to your page makes it more optimized for Search Engines.
SEO WordPress Plugin provides you with a flexible way of adding your Meta Description.


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I woke up this morning craving strong coffee and crisp, fall weather. I guess getting 1 out of 2 isn't bad. Am I the only one completely over summer?
What has been the highlight of your summer, so far? I think mine was having a mini creative retreat for myself and really figuring out what I'd like to do in the next six months in this space. Clarity is a great thing to have, you know?
Links I Loved…
+ Why growing your Instagram may not need to be such a priority.
+ Would you ever go goal-less?
+ A roundup of places to find FREE art (maybe this will help me finish putting my apartment together?).
+ Since summer is still here for a bit, here's a bright and light sangria recipe to try.
+ Behold the Dreamers was an amazing book and I loved learning more about the author, Imbolo Mbue.
+ Create for passion and pleasure, not just for profit (AMEN AMEN AMEN!!).
+ For all of my fellow twenty-somethings, we've all been this blog post.
Happy Sunday, friends.


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Simon Venture Group assembles the best start ups for next generation experiential mall marketing. All of it designed to support you and your customers.
There are many exciting developments underway that will change how we shop, both online and off. Last year we launched Simon Venture Group our corporate venture capital armed with the mission to invest in retail innovations that "enhance the shopping experience" for Simon and our retailers. (http://www.simonventuregroup.com/)
Over the past 20 months the venture group has made several investments which can be viewed as crafting eco-systems with the combined services of the companies helping create the future of retail.
One of our eco-systems is called our: Localized & Personalized Commerce ecosystem.
Collectively these companies are helping to personalize the shopping experience. Two of these help anchor the Omni-Channel Personalization and Optimization.
SmarterHQ helps unify behavioral data from online, offline and third party data sources enabling countless methods of personalization by harnessing the power of predictive modeling.
For more information on SmarterHQ, go to http://www.smarterhq.com for details or contact Skyler Fernandes at email@example.com.
LimeSpot uses machine learning and linguistic analysis to improve what content is shown to users. Shoppers are presented with related, similar, or complementary items, as well as trending items, and most popular items. LimeSpot has become the #1 downloaded app on Shopify for personalization, and offers a simple API for all ecommerce platforms.
For more information on LimeSpot, go to https://limespot.com for details or contact Skyler Fernandes at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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News item 2013/7/1/308
- CodeSnip 3.12.1 released - fixes major bug with IE10.
The arrival of Internet Explorer 10 has stopped CodeSnip v3.x working for some users. v3.12.1 fixes this problem and should allow you to continue using CodeSnip 3. If you don't want to update to v4, please update to v3.12.1 immediately. A similar bug has been reported, albeit very sketchily, for CodeSnip 4 portable. Although I can't replicate the bug I will be releasing a patch to v4 very soon that is similar to the one in v3.12.1 just in case.


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New PlayStation Gear store has opened
Gaming fans rejoice, the PlayStation Gear store has returned (under new management) and is now available for you to buyRead more
Gaming fans rejoice, the PlayStation Gear store has returned (under new management) and is now available for you to buyRead more
Far Cry 5 has been revealed to the world, set in Montana. Sporting incredible graphics and the largest world yetRead more
It's almost here, the big reveal of Far Cry 5 will take place later today. The grand reveal is setRead more
The soundtrack for Wipeout Omega Collection has been revealed in a special event put on by Playstation. The game willRead more
It has almost been a week since the gameplay reveal of Destiny 2 and I have put together a videoRead more
Rockstar's sequel to the critically acclaimed open world wild west game, Red Dead Redemption, has been delayed until Spring 2018.Read more
Ubisoft are officially revealing Far Cry 5 on Friday after teasing us with a little trailer (embedded below). The FarRead more
The highly acclaimed role playing game Horizon Zero Dawn has sold more than 2.6 million copies worldwide. The game, whichRead more
At the gameplay reveal of Destiny 2, Bungie announced a number of new things for the crucible but perhaps theRead more
We have now had our first glimpse of Destiny 2 and some of the changes that Bungie is making toRead more


text: Hi Andre and others... Andrew wrote: > No offence, but my experience of doing a PhD was that people got you to > do the boring jobs they couldn't be bothered to do themselves... ;-) I'm not that easily offended. ;-) If I were a Ph.D. student, and I was, I would like this job. It would be my way of generating _excellent_ articles. The articles would automatically contain the input of many experts. This way of communication is excellent for top quality fundamental research. People who do not enjoy the job should simply no do it, and not be forced to do it. Cheers, Marcel


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CPHI China June 20 - 22, 2017 Shanghai
2017-06-16 16:28:56 View:
What you need to know about CPhI China 2017
CPhI China - The leading pharmaceutical ingredients show in China and wider Asian - Pacific region.
The event brings together over 40,000+ pharmaceutical professionals from 120 countries around the world.
Co-located with ICSE, Innopack, P-Mec, NEX, FDF, P-Logi, EP & Clean Tech, BioPh and Lab World CPhI China is the most comprehensive, pure pharma indudstry focused event
- Back:2017 Algae Biomass Summit Agenda Posted [2017-06-23]
- Next:Which is better EPA ? DHA? [2017-06-15]


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Business systems work when people don't. I was just telling a friend the other day that I am still receiving affiliate commissions from this system or affiliate program the Renegade Network Marketer which I have not promoted in maybe eight years.
I am now in the process of cleaning up the dead links that I have floating around on the Web, but let me get to the main point. After some deep reflection about what works and what does not for making money blogging or making money in Internet Marketing or affiliate marketing, I realized technology can easily move us away from basic principles that work.
Here are a few basic marketing principles to help you along:
1. Large numbers is where you want to begin. Of the many coaches and marketing trainers I have spoken to, the ones who are not dishonest will tell you that they either started by borrowing a great deal of money to invest into their business (money into business development and advertisement) or they put in sickening hours of work. 10+ a day into building their businesses. I have read the stories of quite a few of them that would write ten articles a day or make three or four videos a day at the start. Do not expect to do less. There is a price to pay for financial freedom.
2. Know your destination. You need to decide your daily targets that you will accomplish no matter what. It is the invisible things like passion, purpose and love on which businesses stand. The results you want will come as you keep hammering at your craft of marketing. I recently read about this guy Jamie who started out online as a complete mess, sort of like I did, but after a few years he made his millions while I got derailed–determination to stick with it was the only difference. So, what I mean by know your destination is have conviction that what you are doing is working–principles work. The principle you should know is: work is rewarded, laziness causes poverty.
3. Plant or Hunt. You've probably heard that advertising is the lifeblood of a business. You need to be reaching a certain number of people each day in order for your business to stay alive, period. It is up to you to find the numbers you need to bring in the customers and/or representatives you need for your ideal lifestyle. In explaining this to a friend, I told her every article I write is like planting a seed that has the potential to bring in a new customer. Hunting is what I call direct to consumer sales. This is the type of advertising or sales presenting in which no relationship is built: a product which the prospective customer might need is presented for an immediate sale.
Are you willing to hunt or plant? Whichever model of business you choose, consistency really is the only way to make it work. Consistent action can even get you through losses and failures. Oh, and whatever model you choose, Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, makes business a lot easier.
Afterthought: The brilliance of how Ann Sieg markets to network marketers has been duplicated several times over. The strategy is to target "fish" prospective customers in the ponds of companies with large marketing budgets if you don't have one.
Example: "Are you a Herbalife representative?" -Find out the secrets to making your business work. Click Here.
More Generic Example: "iPhone user?" -Get the latest screen shield to prevent cracking your 'flipping' screen again!
This is the affiliate program I am promoting now though Ann Sieg's system is awesome too!


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I am very grateful for the generosity and support that Quest 79 is receiving from our principal sponsors, companies that are changing lives through sport, design and innovation…
A huge thank you also to the support from companies providing expertise, equipment and products to enable the Quest 79 journeys:-
It is exciting to be partnered with and supporting the Spinal Injuries Association through Quest 79.
– If you would like to find out more about Quest 79 Challenge opportunities with the charity, please see www.spinal.co.uk or contact them for more information.
– If you would like to support the charity please make a donation here https://www.justgiving.com/spinalinjuries
Website hosting sponsored by Calico UK


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your bag
Your bag is empty.
Sorry, this product has sold out!
If you would like ARCHFASHION to try to and find it for you complete the form below.
Wish 4083.452 expose coatigan. Fabric: 90% acrylic, 10% polyester. Contrast 65% polyester, 35% cotton. Contrast 2 100% polyester. Care label: cold hand wash separately. Occasion: casual,home style: yummy mummy,classic woman,everyday girl,arty chick suits shape: pear,hourglass,curvy,rectangle,apple


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Rebuilding Lives – Restoring Hope
over 35 years of humanitarian assistance in the Middle East and Central Asia
Shelter now takes your privacy very seriously and stick to the data privacy act. Personal data is only compiled to the necessary technical extent. Under no circumstances is your data beeing sold or forwarded to a third party for whatever reason.
The following explanation will give you an overview, how we ensure data security, and which sort of data we collect for which purpose.
Shelter now compiles and automatically saves in our server log files information sent from your internet browser, such as:
That data are not relatable to a specific individual. Also the data is not brought together to any other data source and is erased after a statistical evaluation. That data are not relatable to a specific individual. Also the data is not brought together to any other data source and is erased after a statistical evaluation.
Our website uses Matomo (http://www.matomo.org) an open source web analyzing tool. Matomo uses "cookies", text files that are saved on the visiting computer, enabling an analysis of the website usage.
The information generated through the cookies about the website usage stay under our soverenty. We use that information to evaluate our website access and to create reports about the website activity.
We do not share this information with third parties.
Also the content managemant system TYPO3 uses cookies for features of this website. Other than that, there is no data beeing compiled or evaluated.
We will not pass on your data to a third party without your express authorization. Any authorization you give can be withdrawn at any time. Excluded from this are our service partners who require the transfer of data to process donations or run the website (e.g. the bank charged with carrying out a direct debit or the Technical Administrator of the website). In such cases, only the minimum amount of data required will be passed on.
If you order our newsletter, we will require from you a valid email address. After signing up for the newsletter, you will receive from us an email with an activation link, which allows you to confirm your registration. In this way, we can ensure that you are the owner of the email address provided and are in agreement with having the newsletter sent to you. Further data will not be required. Your authorization allowing your email address to be stored and to be used for sending the newsletter may be withdrawn at any time.
The contents of this domain have been put together with the greatest of care. However we cannot guarantee that it is up to date or complete. We are only responsible for our own material, not for that on external websites. In order to help you find further information, we provide links to websites belonging to third parties. We have checked all these external links and at the time of checking they did not include any illegal content. Should we become of aware of any such illegal content at any time, we will investigate immediately and, if appropriate, remove the link from our website.
You have at all times the right to know what elements of your personal data have been stored, their origin, those in receipt of them and the purpose for which they are being processed.
We value your confidence in us. We are therefore happy to answer any questions you may have concerning the processing of your personal data. If you still have questions that have not been answered in this statement, or you require more detailed information on a particular point, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
Your Shelter Now team
E-Mail: email@example.com


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Elaine Marie Ruggiero
Photo: Contributed Photo
Elaine Marie Ruggiero, a Greenwich resident, died Aug. 31. She was 68.
Mrs. Ruggiero's greatest enjoyments in life came from her beloved family, who was with her at the time of her passing.
Mrs. Ruggiero is survived by her husband of 47 years, Anthony W. Ruggiero; two daughters, Alicia Ruggiero, of Darien and Audrey Kallassy, of New Canaan; and four grandchildren.
A private family service was held Sept. 3 at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in New Canaan.


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Bruce Banner, Elizabeth Kostova, Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Hulk, Los Angeles International Airport, Mighty Mouse, Pittsburgh International Airport, Port Columbus International Airport, Portland International Airport, Riverdance, The Historian, Toledo Express Airport, Vlad the Impaler
Imagine yourself in a multiplex movie theater. Curiously, no walls separate the half-dozen theaters that form the multiplex. Miraculously, you are watching six different screens all at once, thoroughly understanding and enjoying every scene, word, character.
Welcome to ADHD.
[You in the Real World, be sure to click on the red underlined hyperlinks!]
I lose Frequent Flyer miles traveling solo, but it's so much easier …
Airports and I have a rather lengthy history of mutual distrust.
Honestly, Boss, offers Screen Three, of the two, you're more flighty. He laughs at his pun, alone in his admiration. Three is easily amused.
It's not just because I miss a flight kissing a girl in Columbus. It isn't because I sleep through the Pittsburgh boarding process, plane leaving me knocked out in the gate area. It has nothing to do with Los Angeles TSA agents stealing scuba knives from my suitcase. Reasons are much deeper, more meaningful. Let me try to explain …
The year is 1988. I am at the Portland, Oregon terminal now, but just four hours ago I was in a friend's home, trying my best to calm jittery Joseph Rivera.
And losing, assures Screen One.
"You don't understand," Joseph utters plaintively. "I've been away from my family too long. I thought I could make it … get a good job, create a fine life, be able to wait for them. But they are in Puerto Rico and I am in America and" – he fights hot tears – "it is time for me to go home."
Pastor Mike shoots me a look that instructs me to give up the battle.
Not yet! replies Six. Black, remind Joseph he has a nice rental. That his brother the cop lives in the same neighborhood. That all of you are standing with him.
"It's no good," Joseph sadly tells me. "I bought the ticket. Help me pack my kitchen."
I look around the tiny home, spotlessly clean but minimally furnished. Pastor nods for me to step into a different room, one where he and I talk privately to see what solutions might arrive.
Ding dong! mimics Three. Avon calling … but not ideas!
We drive in silence to the airport, which is free of metal detectors in these pre-terrorist times. America's skies have tasted but a handful of hijackers. Potential passengers simply declare the contents of luggage and learn whether it may be carried on or must be checked.
Trying to offset our lonely family man's heaviness of heart, five screens provide a running supply of humor that is far better than Three ever offers.
Heard that! Three interjects. Not laughing, guys!
To my surprise, Pastor Mike joins in. Banter quickly grows –
Into the big, green Hulk, right? asks Two.
- and soon even Joseph is smiling, though his mind remains unchanged. However, the lonely late-night gate's one and only ticket agent, an aged chap, is less prone to levity.
Stiff, I'd say, declares Five.
Our efforts to make him laugh backfire. "Open every one of your suitcases!" the agent bellows at Joseph. "Dump it out – all of it!"
Joseph resumes his fretting but complies quickly, quietly. He has one suitcase yet to show off when Six pushes me to speak up.
"Look," I growl, "this is ridiculous. Our friend's already missing his family. There's no reason to make him go through all thi …."
Words stop. Screens gasp. World crashes as Joseph dumps the last case, spilling kitchen silverware everywhere. Elegant forks and several sizes of spoons are joined on the polished wood floor by …
Eight meat-carving knives Mick Dundee himself would envy, glows Four.
Enraged agent calls for the federal air marshal just once before Six shouts, Grab the mike!
"Please," my dry throat ekes, "he – Joseph – didn't know. Don't detain him."
Or us! adds Four, staring at the manhandled mike I hold.
"Detain?" blasts the agent. "Jailed! All of you!"
Hahahaha, laugh the screens. Jailed? That doesn't happen until much later.
They're right, of course. About the jailing being later.
Well, not jail, exactly, clarifies One.
Right, adds Five. We do finally help you talk your way out of it that time. But things sure heat up in your next airport –
I'll tell it! interrupts Four. I'm the historian.
Read that book, shivers Two. Vlad the Impaler. Not a nice guy.
Shhh! barks Four, then takes a lecturer's tone. So, Black, you're at Toledo Express Airport. But that restless ADHD energy –
All six screens salute.
– won't allow you to simply sit in the passenger waiting area. You're pacing the length of the tiny airport, swiftly making your way back and forth in mere minutes. Several such trips go by before you decide to double-check your gate assignment.
"Yes," I agree. "I walk right up to the desk to certify I'm in the right place."
But nobody's there yet because you've arrived so early. As you stand in front of an unmanned –
Unwomanned, possibly, corrects One.
– ticket booth, your ever-vigilant eyes detect the slightest movement down by your feet.
"Mouse!" I shout in jubilance. "Hahaha! Here in the midst of all this electronic gear!"
Then you realize the mouse may chew through the desk's computer cables.
"They'll kill him for this."
You flush him from the crawl space beneath the desk, chase him madly through the passenger seating (insert mild screaming here) and steer him toward certain sanctuary.
"The exit door! He'll be safe outside."
Safe he is, indeed, once you push the "No Exit – Security Only" lever that opens the path to freedom.
"And set off the ear-splitting alarm that prompts four air marshals to surround me."
Good try, explaining that whole "poor little mouse" business.
"Too bad he makes me look like a liar, disappearing from sight so fast."
Scoot, the mouse does. Guess he's leavin' on a jet plane.
Postscript: My inexplicably lumpy garment bag does not fit the blue "your bag can only be this size" bin that has just come into vogue. I plead, but huge Houston Intercontinental Airport's loud, large Luggage Lady is unrelenting.
"If it won't fit the blue, it doesn't go through," she says in a swell little rhyme that makes two of my screens nearly toss their cookies.
Four other screens suggest a ready alternative. I yank the garment bag out of its tightly-wedged, partially-inserted home in the blue bin, throw it flat upon the floor and start stomping it.
"S-s-stop!" shouts the Samsonite Strumpet, "you're breaking something inside!" But my new baby girl waits for me what seems halfway across the world, the distance I fear I'll travel in the airport to reach my next departure terminal. I dance and smash and leap, my pounding feet accompanied by terrible cracking noises and the fear-filled eyes of Luggage Lady and responding backup.
Breathing heavily, I bend down, pick up the now-smooth bag and slide it easily into the ballyhooed blue bin. I look up, ask, "Good 'nough?" – shocked faces wordlessly nod yes – and race the hallway maze to find my blondie.
Mental note, suggests One. Next time, cheapskate, skip smuggling Grandpa's walnuts. Just mail 'em.
* * * * *


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I love it when magazines always ask artists or bands things like what influenced you, or what music do you recommend. It gives people a chance to get really personal and shed light on what makes them fans and what makes them tick. After listening to the Def Con One record, I knew that this band could be a very big deal very soon for music, as will you when you listen to what they have to offer.
Johnnys top 10.
1. Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill
2. Slipknot – Iowa
3. Stuck Mojo – Declaration of a Headhunter
4. Metallica – Metallica
5. Pearl Jam -Ten
6. Sevendust – Home
7. Faith No More – Album of the Year
8. Alice in Chains – Dirt
9. Godsmack – Awake
10. Pantera – Cowboys from Hell
Daveys top 10
1.Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power
2. Alice in Chains – Dirt
3.Killing Joke – Killing Joke
4.Adam and the Ants – Kings of the Wild Frontier
5.Skid Row – Skid Row
6.Y and T – Earthshaker
7.Black Sabbath – Sabotage
8.Gary Numan – The Pleasure Principle
9.LA Guns – Cocked and Loaded
10.Paul Young – No Parlez
Steves top 10
1. Never mind the bollocks – sex pistols
2. Vulgar display of power – pantera
3. The real thing – faith no more
4. Scratch the surface – sick of it all
5. State of the world address – biohazard
6. And out come the wolves – rancid
7. Damned damned damned – the damned
8. Slipknot – slipknot
9. Far beyond driven – pantera
10. Burn my eyes – machine head
Anttons top 10
Van Halen- 1
AC/DC-If you want blood
Kiss-Alive 2
Pantera- Far Beyond Driven
Shotgun Messiah- Violent New Breed
Fight-War of words.
Racer X-Second Heat
Motley Crue-Motley Crue
Gino Vanelli-Brother to Brother
Another mention of Shotgun Messiah Violent New Breed, you cannot go wrong with that. I may need to email Relativity Records and see if they are going to get that deluxe version out for the 20 year anniversary next year. Tim Skold would be proud…Seek out Def Con One's amazing new cd, at fine music outlets everywhere and also Violent New Breed from Shotgun Messiah, and maybe Gino Vanelli? Who knows…in case you did not know he had a small hit in the 80's called Living Inside Myself.


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Getting Rid of Weeds
Weeds are a bane to gardeners. The combination of persistence and resistance makes them so frustrating.
Weeds can employ some pretty underhand tactics to get the better of us – breaking off bits of root that then regrow, throwing up seedheads that blow all around the garden, or sending their roots deep underground to evade capture.
To outwit weeds you'll need to wage a concerted campaign on several fronts, but it can be done – and without resorting to weedkillers.
Read on or watch the video for tips and tricks on how to win the war on weeds.
The Enemy
There are two types of weeds: annual weeds and perennial weeds.
Annual weeds complete their life cycle – sprouting, flowering and setting seed – in one season. They're easier to control, but spread quickly by seed.
Perennial weeds continue growing for a number of years but have far-reaching roots, making them harder to control.
Fight Back
Starting with a weedy garden can be intimidating and demoralising.
Begin your campaign to gain back control by cutting or mowing weeds to the ground, then cover with a light-excluding membrane or mulch to deprive the weeds beneath of life-sustaining sunlight. Black polythene is very effective for this.
Alternatively, you can use pieces of cardboard. Remove any staples or tape, then position the cardboard so there is a wide overlap between each piece to make it harder for weeds to push through. Weigh the cardboard down to stop it blowing away. You will probably need to replace the cardboard as it rots down.
Perennial weeds with deep or spreading roots including bindweed, ground elder and nettles can take a year or more to die off but all those weeds will eventually rot down, helping to feed the soil for the plants that follow.
Remain Vigilant
With the ground cleared, it's important to act quickly to remove any resurfacing weeds.
Carefully dig out the resurgents with a trowel or fork, taking care to remove all of the roots. Fragments of perennial weeds can easily re-root and spread, so dispose of the root away from your compost heap.
Sink Them
Another option is to submerge roots in a bucket of water for at least a month, until they turn into a sloppy 'goo' which can then be poured over your compost.
Zero Tolerance
Tackle recently germinated weeds in existing beds by disturbing the surface of the ground as soon as they appear. Use a sharp hoe to skim the surface and dislodge the seedlings.
Do this in the morning if possible, and on a windy or sunny day, so that the exposed seedlings quickly wither. Regularly sharpen your hoe so that the blade slices through the weeds like a knife.
Act fast – a little effort now will save you considerable trouble later on! Revisit growing areas once a week to remove young seedlings before they've had a chance to establish.
Quell the Uprising
The adage 'one year's seeding makes seven years weeding' is very true!
Prolific weeds such as dandelion quickly spread if they're allowed to produce seeds, so always aim to remove weeds before they get a chance to flower and set seed.
Keep on Top of 'Em
Organic mulches like compost and leafmould help to suppress weeds while feeding the soil for the crops you're growing. Lay them around existing crops to give them an advantage over the yet-to-emerge weeds beneath. Mulching like this also means you can adopt a no-till method of gardening. By sowing and planting into this top layer of compost there'll be no need to disturb the soil below, so the weed seeds within it will never reach the surface to germinate.
Ground Resistance
Resistance is far from futile!
Consider covering bare soil with a cover crop or green manure to crowd out weeds and add valuable organic material. Fast growers like mustards may be sown as late as Autumn to cover the soil surface in a matter of weeks. Weeds won't get a look in! Then, just before the new growing season, dig them in or pull them out to reveal clear soil ready for planting.
Intensive cropping using leafy vegetables to stop light from reaching the ground is another efficient way to clean the soil of weeds. Potatoes, for example, have masses of lush foliage that are great at excluding light.
Every gardener should aim to keep soil covered as much as possible, whether through efficient use of space with multiple crops grown side by side, or with generous layers of organic mulch or a temporary cover crop to nourish and protect the soil.
Peace Treaty
Peace at last! Once your garden is clear of weeds, you'll want to keep it that way.
Check new plants for lurking weeds like creeping buttercup, and check that any bought-in manure or compost is well rotted and free of weed seeds too.
Keep compost heaps and potting mixes covered to prevent blown in seeds from settling, and maintain clean tools and boots to minimise the spread of weeds.
If you have any tips or tricks for doing battle with a weedy, jungle-like garden, comment below or head over to our Facebook and Twitter page.
Tags: garden advice, garden tips, gardening advice, reduce weeds, weeds


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By Jill Besl
Heiress Huguetta Clark's death in 2011 at the age of 104 spawned numerous lawsuits that have dragged on for years. At her death, Clark's estate totaled more than $307 million and included an original Renoir, a Stradivarius violin and an original edition of Paradise Lost. She had no husband, children or siblings; only distant relatives with whom she had little contact.
At her passing, two wills were found. The first will, signed March 7, 2005, left everything to her distant relatives but this will had the word "revoked" handwritten and a line drawn through the first page. The second will, signed just a few weeks later on April 5, 2005, cut out the relatives, stating: I intentionally make no provision in this my last will and testament for any members of my family, whether on my maternal or paternal side, having had minimal contacts with them over the years." Instead, the new will left $1 million to the hospital where she spent the last 20 years of her life after a serious bout of skin cancer, $100,000 to her personal physician, gifts to the caretakers of her various properties as well as gifts to her lawyers and accountants. Her California property went to a foundation that was to be established to promote the arts and her long-time daytime nurse received Clark's $1.7 million doll collection and 60% of the estate.
It's certainly not difficult to figure out what came next. The relatives contested the April 2005 will, claiming that Clark had been coerced into excluding them from her estate. After years of legal back-and-forth, a tentative settlement was reached in September 2013. Under the terms, the relatives would divide $34.5 million among themselves and many of the other bequests from the second will would not be honored. Then, to complicate matters further, in January 2014, Geraldine Coffey, Clarks night-duty nurse for 20 years would not agree to the settlement. The attorneys for the estate argue that Coffey caused Clark distress by pressuring her for money.
The drama that has persisted for the past three years since Huguetta Clark's death and has signs of continuing. It could have easily been avoided with the proper estate planning documents. As Florida Certified Elder Law Attorney Joseph S. Karp so aptly summed it up: "Multi-millionaires or not, all of us should take steps to ensure that in death, our wishes are carried out and those we care about most are protected." Seek counsel from an experienced elder law attorney to make sure your family – or those who you wish to receive your assets – understand what you want at your death.


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Archive for the 'online theory' Category
Company car drivers go slow to save fuel
Company car drivers go slow to save fuel
The importance of fuel efficiency is is becoming a greater concern to all drivers but more importantly to business users a recent survey found, almost two out of three company car users drive slower as a result of high fuel prices, while a fifth actively try to limit their mileage. According to ALD Automotive, of the 1000 UK business drivers surveyed, 50% shop around for the cheapest fuel available, 65% drive slower and more smoothly in an effort to save fuel and 20% drive fewer miles.
'It's no surprise that drivers are taking additional steps to save fuel, whether it be through shopping around for the cheapest price, or changing their driving behavior can play in helping reduce fuel consumption.' The average UK fuel price is at a record high of £142.42/litre for petrol and £147.84/litre for diesel.
Bury Test Centre Open Day
I have just been to the Bury Driving Test Centre open day, it was great to see and have a chat with the local driving examiners again, a couple who I haven't seen since December 2010 !! We were shown around the refurbished test centre and explained what had happened to close it in the first place, it is good to have it up and running again.
David Heathcote
Bury Test Centre open day
Bury Driving Test Centre is to have an open day on the 30th March betwwen 9.30 to 11.30, all ADI's and candidates who would like to see the full refurbishment or discuss any local issues are most welcome.
I will definitely be going !
Bury Test Centre To Reopen Soon
I have received another update from my local MP Mr Ivan Lewis concerning Bury Test Centre. GOOD NEWS !!
I now have a letter from Mike Penning MP , Parliamentary Under Secretary State Department for Transport he writes;
I am writing to confirm that Bury Driving Test Centre is scheduled to reopen on 30th March.
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) was forced to close Bury DTC after a burst pipe caused extensive damage. The DSA decided to improve the facilities at the Bury DTC at the same time as carrying out repairs to the building.
Bury Driving Test Centre is now more energy efficient, with better insulation, double glazing and motion sensitive lighting. I am confident your constituents will find the new centre a great improvement.
Well at last we now have a definite opening date for Bury DTC, I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank you again to Mr Ivan Lewis MP for all of his help with this matter.
David Heathcote
Bury Test Centre Update
I have received a letter today from Ivan Lewis MP updating me on the latest news concerning Bury Test Centre.
The Driving Standards Agency have now awarded the contract for the necessary works at Bury Test Centre on the 16th Feburary 2012. The work is expected to start by the end of Feburary and should be completed by end of March, and therefore DSA expect to reopen Bury DTC at the end of March or very early April.
Again I would like to thank Mr Ivan Lewis MP for the help with this matter, lets hope this is now going to happen its been a long wait.
Bury Test Centre Update
A report in the Bury Times Newspaper dated 16th February 2012 states that the Driving Standards Agency are now confirming the Bury Test Centre should be re-opened during the month of March.
Lets hope this is going to be the case after such a long wait ! I will keep you informed with any future news.
Bury Rural Roads
Research have found that Young drivers living in rural areas are 37% more likely to be involved in an injury collision than their urban counterparts, according to a new report.
There are a lot of very good examples of these types of roads around the Bury and Bolton area, so getting valuable experience on these roads while actually learning to drive is quite easy, and should be included in a properly structured course of driving lessons.
Update on Bury Driving Test Centre
I have been in contact again with my local MP Mr Ivan Lewis concerning Bury Test Centre, and I have received another letter from him to inform me that due to the lack of work of work being carried out at Bury Test Centre, he is now again writing to the Chief Executive of Driving Standards Agency (DSA) asking for an update on the work and a likely completion date. Again many thanks for his effort in this matter, please check again for further news.
Driving Test in Bolton
Well done to Daniel Medows who passed his driving test first time today at Bolton Test Centre with only one driver fault!! Safe driving and be careful on the roads.
Institute Of Advanced Motorists
The IAM has renewed its call on the Government to make driving on rural A-roads a mandatory part of the driving test.
While I David Heathcote would agree this is a good idea, logistically I don't think it could work as a lot of Driving test centres are situated in Town centres, as a professional driver trainer I personally include ALL different types of roads and conditions, including these rural A roads and explaining how to use The Limit Point whilst on them, however as I tell my students the L test is just a start to your driving and would always encourage to take further training and tests as not to get complacent throughout their driving lives, I will be happy to receive any comments from learners drivers from Bury or Bolton on this subject.


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As you are likely to have heard by now, the Los Angeles Times recently conducted and published a value-added analysis of some of the city's elementary school teachers, using data that had been collected by the school district but never previously analyzed in this way. There was a nice summary of the value-added analysis and the ensuing controversy in the New York Times this week.
And here's a quick but thoughtful critique of that summary over at the Quick and the Ed. Its author dispels two common criticisms of the value-added analysis:
- We shouldn't criticize value-added analysis simply on the basis that it shows many teachers' effectiveness as shifting substantially from year to year. It's possible that teacher effectiveness *does* shift from year to year, for whatever reason.
- Because this particular method of value-added analysis uses individual students' own previous scores as a baseline for measuring progress, it does not penalize teachers for having slower students in their classes (at least, the criticism must be more subtle, as a commenter suggests).
Still, the most interesting thing I've read on the subject remains cognitive scientist Daniel T. Willingham's "3 key factors in teacher evaluation (beyond the hype of value added)." According to him, the key factors are:
- Figuring out the goals of schooling, and only then crafting assessments to measure teachers' success at attaining those goals. It's backwards to assume that whatever we are able to test or assess must be the goal of schooling.
- Taking into account the ages of students, recognizing that responsibility for students' learning probably falls more fully on teachers of early elementary schoolers than on those of high schoolers.
- Remaining cognizant of the limitations of any evaluation system in thoughtfully choosing criteria for firing teachers that balance the costs of keeping bad teachers with the costs of firing good ones.
Each of Willingham's three key factors gets at what is essentially the major problem with value-added analysis: its results, even if accurate, lead us away from philosophical questions about education and teaching, the answers to which have important practical and policy implications. So I want to elaborate on them, with that in mind.
The goals of schooling are far from noncontroversial. Although most people would agree that proficiency in math and reading are amongst its goals, there is significant disagreement as to what constitutes proficiency and how it ranks in importance as compared to other goals of schooling (character development, socialization, preparation for the workforce – which may or may not require proficiency in math and reading, etc). It's a mistake to establish teacher evaluation policy based on value-added analyses without having clarified at least some of the goals of schooling and their relative importances. As should be obvious, this value judgment can't be generated from the value-added analysis itself. Rather, it will be outcome of philosophical discussion regarding the moral value of character development/socialization/preparation for the workforce, the best kind of life for a human to lead, how these responsibilities should be shared between schools and families, etc.
Willingham's second point, about the ages of students and their respective levels of responsibility for their own learning, also raises moral questions. The discourse surrounding value-added analysis has seemingly taken entirely for granted that teachers ought to be doing all that they can to raise students' test scores, regardless of their ages. This stands in need of defense. While we may be reluctant to blame 7 or 8 year old students for failing to learn math and reading, it may be appropriate to blame 16 and 17 year olds for failing to progress in those subjects. Some high school teachers may manage to raise teenagers' test scores significantly, and they will come out looking better than other teachers in the value-added analysis. But, even if raising students' test scores were of the most pressing importance in their early years, other functions may be more important for teachers to engage in at the high school level – maybe helping students to think about their future educational and career plans, and taking a more laissez faire approach in order to begin acclimating them to the "real world."
So this ties back into the previous point, about the goals of schooling. If raising math and reading test scores is, literally, the one and only proper goal of schooling, then all teachers should be expected to do so each year. However, there may be many other goals of schooling that are more difficult to test. Teachers will need to make tradeoffs in pursuing these various goals, depending not only on their relative importances but based on what their students are like. Maybe, in some particular class, some of the students are ok at math but have social difficulties. Assuming that social development is one of the goals of schooling, the teacher might reasonably decide to devote more time to group work than to math drills. As a result, the students might progress more slowly in math than in previous years, while having made strides socially that do not show up on any test.
The third key factor, about criteria for firing teachers, raises even more moral questions. There are costs associated both with keeping bad teachers and with firing good teachers. If you keep a bad teacher, many students in his or her classes will fail to learn as much as they could have learned with a better teacher, negatively impacting their future educational outcomes and maybe even significantly harming their life prospects. If you fire a good (or at least adequate) teacher, you unduly harm that teacher and demoralize her colleagues (and the replacement teacher might be an unknown quantity who turns out to be worse). We might privilege students' well-being over teachers, erring on the side of firing, or we might privilege teachers' well-being in order to show respect to what many consider one of the most important professions. The methods of economics may tell us how to set teacher firing criteria so as to be financially cost effective, but that's not necessarily the end of the story from the moral perspective.
None of this to say that value-added analysis is "bad," or has no legitimate purpose. Its results might be quite accurate and useful to some degree, as is perhaps the case in this Los Angeles situation. But we need to realize how it does – or doesn't – square with our conception of what education, and teaching, ought to be (and, if we lack such a conception, we need first to develop one). At the end of the day, value-added analysis is a descriptive/evaluative tool, and not a normative one.


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Sharing the life of a virtual librarian, one day at a time.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Collaborize Classroom- Techie Site of the Week
Are you looking for a way to connect with your students outside of a blog? Then Collaborize Classroom might be a starting point. Teachers can upload any teaching materials, and then hold online discussions in their own time frame. Teachers can choose from a variety of question types including; multiple choice, yes, no and voting answers. This is one other tool to encourage student participation, and help increase learning.
To register simply fill out the registration form presented on the homepage with name and email address. Click on "Create My Free site". Complete the additional information and then sign in to add settings for your classroom and students.
Benefits of this site!
1. It is free!
2. It scans discussion overviews to see which students are participating.
3. Asks questions and surveys.
4. Encourages another form of communication with your students, which helps with grading.
If you sign up for Collaborize before November 15, 2010, the product is being offered at no-cost (read FREE) for the 2010-2011 school year! In partnership with Democrasoft, The Kids in Need Foundation made this free year possible…take advantage of it before the 15th!
Please let me know what you think of this site if you are using?
Another similar tool being used for the same purpose is Wiggio.
Image via CrunchBase
Posted by PippaDavies at 2:41 PM
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Chapter 34
There's Good
There's Very Good
And There's Jaindl-Good
- Billboard for car dealership
Kutztown, Pennsylvania (circa 1978-80)
After most of the guests left, around five in the morning, the handful that remained helped Dan clean up. Trixie, John, Bill, KZ, Brian, Jeff, Adam, Donna, and Laura were the only ones still there. Ronnie had gone home to pack and was due back around nine so Trixie could drive her car back home for her. Bill and KZ weren't doing much cleaning; they were back at in again in the spare bedroom. Of course, only Dan and John really knew what KZ was doing. The rest of the party thought she was just being lazy. John lied and told them it was the mushrooms that had made her sleepy and that it couldn't be helped. "Everybody reacts differently to them" he had told the remaining guests.
Trixie hadn't said much to Dan since the confrontation in the bedroom, but at least they weren't at each other's throats, he thought. She'd managed to be in whatever room Dan wasn't and Dan didn't force the issue. They could talk later. He knew now because of Ronnie that he would have to maintain some sort of relationship with Trixie.
Adam and his wife Donna were cleaning up the dining room with Trixie while John and Laura picked up the living room. Dan and Jeff and Brian were filling bags of trash in the kitchen and, as they filled up, depositing them outside in the plastic tubs for pick-up. The music was still going, though Dan had lowered the volume considerably so that it was now just background noise. When they had finished and the house looked presentable again, they all congregated in the living room again to say their goodbyes. All except Adam and Donna that is, who actually had to go to work in a couple of hours.
So the six of them sat around the dying fire, sipping coffee that Laura had made. Dan sat back, relaxed, and took in the events of the past week and especially the previous night. "You know what this is?" He announced, waving his arms around to indicate everything, but it wasn't clear enough.
"What's this?" Jeff asked. "What do you mean by that?"
"You know, all of it. As Douglas Adams would say, 'Life, the Universe and Everything.'" Dan explained.
"Wait, I know this." John shouted. "It's 42!"
Everybody laughed.
"Good guess." Dan admitted. "But no, I was thinking of something more local. Something I remember seeing when I was a kid."
"What's that?" Laura asked.
"Remember those billboards for that Ford dealership in Kutztown?" Dan reminisced. "There's good, there's very good, and there's Jaindl-Good."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that." Everyone but Laura exclaimed.
"No, I don't remember that." She said.
"And you said the absolute, tip-top, highest near perfect best must be Jaindl-Good." Brian recalled. "You couldn't get any better than that. You must have said that a thousand times for at least a year."
"Exactly." Dan said. "And that's how I feel right now. Everything is Jaindl-Good."
"It's the mushrooms." John said matter-of-factly.
"Maybe." Dan allowed for the possibility. "But then again, maybe not."
"Trust me, it is." John insisted.
"Okay mister buzzkill. Them I love." Dan said waving his hands around the room at everyone. "You? Not so much."
"Hey, man. I'm just trying to help." John defended himself. "By the way, I've been wanting to ask you. What are you planning on telling Abby?"
"The truth." Dan replied flatly. "She's always been very understanding. She married me, didn't she? What more proof do you need? But seriously, I do think she'll be okay with it once she's had a chance to process it. It will be a shock, I know. I can tell you that one from experience." He glared at Trixie.
"Are you going to punish me for this for the rest of my life?" Trixie asked sarcastically.
"That's my current plan." Dan replied in kind, turning back to the rest. "It was a good party, though. Lots of fireworks. Lots of old friends. Lots of drunken revelry. It was a blast seeing you guys, and everybody else. Come out to California. Seriously. It's a great place for a vacation. You can stay with us. We've got room. I don't want to wait another twenty years to see all of you."
"I'm game." Laura said.
"Cool." Dan encouraged. "That's one."
The others gave mumbled 'maybes' and "we'll sees' so Dan knew he'd have to work on them. The morning light from the rising sun was beginning to peak in through the windows.
"What time is your flight?" Brian asked.
"Around 1:30. Something like that." Dan answered.
"What time do you get in?" John asked. "Around five?"
"Nah, not until seven." Dan told him. "We have a layover in Denver. But enough of this chitchat, I have to pack."
"That's cool, Brian and I should get going, too." Jeff said.
Dan hugged them both and said his goodbyes by the door. Not counting KZ and Bill in the back bedroom, that left only John and Trixie. They both joined him in the master bedroom while he filled his suitcase.
"I have a conference in March in San Jose." Weaver told Dan. "I'm going to try to take a couple of days off at the end to come up and see you. I don't know the exact days yet, but I'll send you an e-mail and let you know."
"Excellent." Dan said.
"Now I'm going to get out of your hair, as well." John said, as he put on his coat.
"I'll walk you out." Dan said, heading for the hallway. When the reached the back door, they hugged. "Thanks for coming down, John. I appreciate you being here."
"My pleasure." John responded. "I was glad I could work it out. By the way, say goodbye to Bill for me."
"Oh, yeah." Dan remembered. "He's still back there with KZ. Is that the weirdest thing, or what?"
"Fuckin' a, man." John agreed. "If the last couple of days have taught me anything, it's that we shouldn't get too locked into our belief systems. If you had tried to just tell me about Bill I would have seriously worried that my friend was going crazy, not that I would have blamed you. But having actually seen, felt and talked with Bill, well that changes everything. It's such a mindfuck that it shatters the way I've viewed the world my whole life. And I can't really share that with too many people. You and KZ, I guess that's it. The world is never going to look the same again. Thanks, buddy." He said sarcastically.
"My pleasure." Dan replied. "Welcome to my hell." He laughed manically.
They hugged again, and just as quickly John was gone. Dan looked around the now-clean kitchen and smiled. He had a couple of hours before they had to leave. He ducked back into his bedroom. Trixie was sitting, staring out the window.
"You okay?" Dan asked.
She looked away from the window quickly, as if caught doing something. "Oh, sorry. I was just daydreaming. I think I zoned out there."
"You're probably just tired." Dan offered.
"No, it's more than that." She admitted. "You know, I often wonder how different my life would have been if I had gone with you to California. I wonder what I'd be like now if I had gone. I can hardly imagine it, you know? We can only do the best we can. Every hard choice I've ever made, I always thought at the time that I was making the best decision. But how can you know for sure? How can you know if you made the right choice? I know I defended my choices pretty strongly, but to be honest I had doubts all along, too. And you brought all of that doubt up again."
"I do that all the time." Dan confessed. "I'm filled with so many regrets that I'm always second-guessing my past decisions, even though there's absolutely nothing I can do about it now. It's unhealthy. You have no idea how I tortured myself the first few years I was in San Francisco. I drove what few friends I made crazy."
"So when did you stop 'torturing yourself?'" Trixie wondered.
"I suppose after about five years or so." Dan reflected. "Something like that. After what seemed like a very long time, I eventually started making some good friends and I felt like I was starting to belong to a tight knit group of people. Once I felt like I was no longer a complete stranger, then I started to relax more. The more I relaxed, the better time I had, the more I started doing, and it sort of snowballed from there. You're not going to like this, but my friends and I entered into a pact not to speak of you. In fact, when I told a few of them I was coming here for the funeral, it was hard for them to even ask me about whether or not I might see you. It was kind of funny in retrospect. They were so conditioned not to even use your name that they all hemmed and hawed."
"What's funny about that?" Trixie sounded a little hurt.
"I guess you had to be there to understand the humor." Dan suggested. "I talked about you all the time until most of my new friends felt as if they knew you. My friend Kevin, who I talked to right before I left to come here, even said to say 'hi from him' if I saw you. That's how well my friends felt they knew you. That went on literally for years. It became too much after a while. Actually, in retrospect, it was much too long before I was able to admit it. I needed to do something drastic and so my friends staged what was essentially an intervention. And it worked, I guess. I was able to put my past in the background, if not completely behind me."
"Well I guess you better tell your friend Kevin 'hi back from me.'" Trixie offered.
"Heh." Dan laughed. "He'll appreciate that. Thanks. I have to admit I was pretty worried and conflicted about this trip. I knew that eventually Chulkie would die. I mean it was inevitable. I actually thought it would be long before this. How many people make it to 103, for fucksakes? But every year she had a birthday was like a reprieve for me. It was putting off the inevitable.


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This week is World Childhood Retinoblastoma Week. When the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust e-mails you...it is one e-mail you're not going to be swiping to the left and deleting. I personally know one family that had a baby with retinoblastoma and as a result I'm always very alert when it comes to ruling it out… Continue reading Childhood Eye Cancer
Author: Dr Mummykins
Chicken pox (the new advice)
All you need to know, plus answers to what the fuss is about vaccination and Ibuprofen. What is chicken pox? An incredibly infectious illness caused by a virus. So infectious that 90% of people (that have never had chicken pox before) who come in contact with someone suffering from chicken pox will get it too! As you can see from… Continue reading Chicken pox (the new advice)
Babysitting and the Bubble App
You won't often catch me reviewing products or services, so this right here is one of those rare occasions, but last week I was desperate to attend an event at GoogleHQ and Bubble App came to my rescue! Impromptu evenings out With three kids under the age of 5, I have spent more of the… Continue reading Babysitting and the Bubble App
Where did you go!?
It's a fair question. Where on earth have I been indeed? Turns out keeping 3 kids under the age of 5 alive is no mean feat (#statingtheobvious), throw in 3 school runs a day, blogging for BabyCentre and having a shower now and again...it's been enough to tip me right off the blogosphere. But I'm… Continue reading Where did you go!?
5 baby health tips for the Christmas season
The last thing we all need to deal with this Christmas season is accidents and health emergencies! This week's BabyCentre post provides a few tips on how to keep your little ones well and safe this holiday period (plus where to access medical advice if needed). https://www.babycentre.co.uk/blog/mum_stories/top-5-baby-health-tips-christmas-season/ Wishing you a lovely break and healthy 2018.… Continue reading 5 baby health tips for the Christmas season
Placentas & Guinness
Did anyone else get encouraged to drink beer after birth? You won't believe it but scientists have actually researched this old wives' tale! The results are really rather fascinating (and provide you with a lovely reply to rattle back at well-meaning relatives!). The pregnancy and post birth diet can be a bit of a minefield,… Continue reading Placentas & Guinness
Fertility tests. Are they worth it?
In a generation where the average age to have your first child is said to be 32, more women are turning to testing their fertility privately or at home in order to check they "haven't left it too late". The question is, does a low egg count equal low fertility? A recent study throws a… Continue reading Fertility tests. Are they worth it?


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lunes, 8 de noviembre de 2010
And I Attacked It
Not in my case.
As soon as Clara and I got home (and it became apparent that Clara did not want to take a nap immediately), we sat down and dug into that bird. Rather, I sat down and dug into the bird--Clara is still on her vegetarian kick.
And boy, did I dig in! I began with a knife and fork to cut some meat into dainty bites for Clara. When I realized she was not at all interested, I ditched the knife and fork, and forceably ripped off that poor chicken's left leg with my bare hands. Warm, seasoned, juicy, and salty . . . I couldn't get enough, so ripped off the left wing, devouring it. After that, I dug around with my bare hands, searching for any meat that was easily pulled from the bone--and as it was roasted to prefection, that included just about the entire chicken. That meat came free as easily as walnuts in a windstorm.
Fifteen glorious minutes later, I licked my fingers, realizing that I'd get just as much enjoyment out of the second half of that chicken tomorrow (and maybe Wednesday, too). This is why I only buy one of these twice a year. I can't make it a regular habit to consume half a chicken in one sitting.
While my body and my wallet thank me for my usual restraint, my taste buds were so very happy that today was Rotisserie Chicken Day.
4 comentarios :
Thank you for lightening the end of my day. We'll talk tomorrow!
- 8 de noviembre de 2010, 21:02
- Leah dijo...
My husband is the same way. When I bring home one of those chickens he eats at least half, sometimes the WHOLE thing, minus one piece for me. I'm not a big meat eater, but I enjoy the roasted chicken. :-)
- 9 de noviembre de 2010, 6:46
LOL amusing blog! It reminded me of "the day that shall never be mentioned" A few years ago a friend and I took advantage of a 2x1 chicken special in Cancun. We were starving so after work we picked up 2 chickens and went home and literally attacked the chickens, the room fell silent, bones were flying everywhere and when we finally looked up from the carcasses while we licked our fingers we swore that we wouldn never mention that day LOL
- 10 de noviembre de 2010, 17:14
- Jill dijo...
Leah and Ashlied--
Thanks! I feel so much better that I'm not the only one who attacks a chicken like that. But that may enable me . . . which could be a bad thing (but they're so good!).
- 18 de noviembre de 2010, 19:16