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Welcome to Built By Waters Inc
Providing Truly Unique Home & Commercial Construction for Over 20 years
Since 1995, Built By Waters Inc has been a trusted name in commercial and residential construction in Winter Haven, FL. Our meticulous attention to detail and our experience with guiding a client through each phase of the building process is what sets us apart from others. We truly dedicate ourselves to the art of craftsmanship and custom design. We want your project to be a unique reflection of your style and taste.
Whether you're looking to build a new home or remodel your existing home or business, our award-winning professionals are here for you. Built By Waters Inc lives by the motto, "Your Dream, Our Team." If you have a vision for your project, we want to be the team to help it come to fruition. We aim to make every project truly unique and want to be the first team you think of for your next construction project. For examples of our work or if you need ideas, please visit our gallery.
We offer and promote the design and construction of green buildings to help your home or business conserve energy and you save money.


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Gonads and Strife
From Encyclopedia Dramatica
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is ancient history. You can help by reliving the moment.
Gonads and Strife is one of the first popular unfunny internet memes. It begins with a singing squirrel, who bounces around to a sped-up guitar track, ranting incoherently about drugs while yelling "WEEEEEE!"
The flash animation is made further unfunny by the insertion of various images to personify "gonads" (a penis, Ron Jeremy) and "strife" (lightning, Stephen Hawking).
It is purported that Web 2.0 was the result of an attempt to make an entity completely free of Gonads and Strife.
This article is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Today we got to meet the students from the RCM who will be potentially composing pieces for our films. Have to say that they were a really talented bunch. Did spend some of the presentation time with Han discussing who's music suited each animator, with the class agreeing unanimously with subtle nods that one of them is perfect for Emma.
At the moment I'm working towards the rough-cut deadline of next Friday at 10am. Fiddling about with some shots and angles. Main concern is that the timing will still be too fast and now the RCM are involved there's a pressure not to let them down by screwing around with your timing, so has to be airtight!
Wish me luck.


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Stop the self-blame cycle: You''re a better mom than you think.
When my daughter was a fledgling toddler, I would watch her sitting on the couch happily sucking away at her bottle and know for a fact that I was ruining her life. What if her "baba" fixation was behind her recurrent ear infections? What if her baby teeth rotted away? What if I was stifling her emotional growth? On the other hand, I would think, what if I forced her to wean? How could I just yank away her lovey, her crutch, the last vestige of her infancy? Sometimes I feel as if I'm drowning in guilt.
If I am, I'm not going down alone. Guilt is one of the universals of motherhood — even impending motherhood. My friend Diane spent a sleepless week certain that her occasional cups of coffee were doing untold harm to her unborn child. When her daughter was 1 year old, Ambre was convinced that her child wasn't talking yet because of day care. Lisa was sure her daughter suffered socially from staying at home with her all day.
Some mothers even feel guilty that they don't feel enough guilt. "There's so much information out there about what you should and shouldn't do that it just drives people crazy," says Joanne Stone, M.D., a specialist in maternal-fetal medicine, perinatology and high-risk obstetrics and co-author of Pregnancy for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1999). "We need to give ourselves a break."
Where does it come from?
My guilt trip began in my fifth week of pregnancy, when I broke out in hives and had to take a prescription antihistamine. For other women, the trigger is that one drink they had before they knew they were pregnant, the food they haven't been able to keep down, the sex they had the night before they started spotting.
At the root of all this guilt is a basic issue of control, says Stone. We want to believe that we can keep our children — born or unborn — safe and healthy through sheer willpower. But we can't. "Three percent of babies will be born with some sort of birth defect," says Stone. "It's nature, something we can't control. Yet even though most of these things aren't caused by anything mothers do, if something does happen, the first question they ask is 'What did I do wrong?'"
Anxiety and self-blame don't end with the birth of a healthy baby, either. Raising a child is chock-full of guilt-provoking choices, and everyone from the "experts" to in-laws seems to think it's necessary to get in his or her two cents. "When parents follow their own instincts, they don't feel guilt," says Loraine Stern, M.D., an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles. "But when they're assaulted by everyone's opinion, it fosters that feeling." Of course, relying on instinct is no guarantee of guilt-free motherhood: Some parents are bound to worry that they haven't read enough or considered the right number of options to make informed decisions.
Blame social and biological forces. "There is significant pressure on women to be everything: good wives, good mothers and hard workers," explains Marjorie Hardy, Ph.D., a clinical child psychologist at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., and a mother of two. "Often something has to give, and that is bound to lead to guilt."
In addition, says Hardy, women often shoulder the lion's share of guilt because of their hormonal programming. "An infant or child's cry evokes a certain physiological response in women, motivating them to figure out what is wrong and help," she explains. "If the mother knows she is the source of that crying — because she disciplined the child, left him at day care or is trying to get him to sleep through the night — then guilt is inevitable."
When guilt is good
Just because guilt makes you feel bad doesn't mean it always is bad. In fact, it can prompt you to act positively, according to Hardy. "Guilt is a motivator," she says. "If a mother feels guilty that she's not spending enough time with her child, she'll make more time." Feel guilty about missing your prenatal vitamin this morning? You're unlikely to forget it tomorrow. Kicking yourself over your child's first sunburn? Next time out, you'll remember the sunscreen.
"Guilt is good when it's due to something that you really are responsible for and can apologize for," adds Stern. Perhaps you gave your toddler daughter a time-out for something it turns out she didn't do, and you feel guilty about it. "You can say, 'I made a mistake,' and tell the child why it's a mistake. This way, guilt can be used to show a child how to cope with fallibility."
Of course, not every guilty moment can be used as a learning experience. In those cases, the anxiety that is provoked by the emotion is simply wasted energy. "Guilt is not good or useful when it doesn't motivate positive behavior or when the source of the guilt is not under a mother's control to begin with," Hardy says. "So it doesn't do any good to feel guilty about putting your child in day care if you simply have no other choice."
Getting rid of guilt
Knowing that the guilt you feel is doing you no good is one thing; doing something about it is another. How can you sweep guilt out of your life? "If you can't change the source of the guilt," says Hardy, "then you need to work either on reframing the situation in your mind ('I hate leaving my child in day care, but I'm providing food and shelter for her as well as a positive role model') or on modifying your behavior in some way ('I hate leaving my child in day care, so I'll make sure to put aside some time at the end of the day just for him')."
Moms who've been there have come up with different strategies for working through the self-blame cycle. Some women actually set aside one afternoon each week to mentally kick themselves for all the mistakes they've made; when a guilt-provoking situation comes up during the rest of the week, they simply file it away for later.
If that seems too contrived for you, you could always try the "bad daddy" test. "One thing I do when I get a 'bad mommy' attack is try to turn it around," says Hilary Perkins of Webster Groves, Mo., mother to 3-year-old Maia Langdon. "For instance, my husband both picks up and drops Maia off at day care. I started to feel guilty, thinking they probably considered me a bad mommy because they rarely saw me. Then I thought, 'There are probably tons of families where they see only the mother; does that make the dads 'bad daddies'? Probably not. End of guilt." Translation: Women need to stop being so hard on themselves.
"Kids are awfully resilient," Hardy says. "Yelling at your child once or twice is not going to do lasting damage. Most of the good that a mother does far outweighs the bad, so mothers need to remind themselves of these good traits and behaviors whenever they get a case of the guilts."
Banishing guilt is fundamentally a process of modifying your expectations of yourself, of understanding just what you can and cannot control. "We are not responsible for our children's thoughts, personalities, vulnerabilities or strengths," says Stern. "We are responsible for keeping them safe, for making them see the world as an interesting place, for encouraging them to explore. A parent's task is not to drive children through life, but to teach them to drive so they can find their own way."


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I'm so thankful for the time I've had to spend with family recently. I was just able to spend a few days with my aging parents in Alabama…..and it was good. Can I tell you, Alabama in the country is sweet….the pine trees….the quietness….the stars!!!! This time, I went alone, but the trip there was refreshing as I prayed, listened to talk radio or blaring worship music my entire trip! I left the windows open most of the way, and as I started west on interstate 10, I could smell the pine.
After a few days of cooking chicken and dumplings, peach cobbler and biscuits and gravy, it was time to return home. I love trips, but I always love coming home. I split my trip in two when I travel alone, and always stop at the same Hampton Inn in Ocala. They pretty much know Sammy and I. The following morning, I decided to get up early to get ahead of the traffic in Orlando, so I was showered, packed and headed down for breakfast by 6:30. I noticed as I sat down to eat, a very important item was missing from my luggage! My buddy pillow!!!! I pretty much panicked!! I take this little U shaped pillow with me everywhere! I can't sleep without it. It's one of those memory foam neck pillows that you just can't stop squeezing!
Without even thinking, I left my luggage unattended and headed back to my room. As I turned the corner of the long hall toward my room I saw it…..there it was…so little…on the floor where I dropped it in the middle of the hallway. I smiled and was relieved, but felt a little silly! It's so funny that even as adults we have things that are extra special to us and trump more important things in our life! I mean, after all, I left all of my luggage, including my computer in the hotel lobby to go after my old, worn U shaped pillow.
I was reminded of the story of the lost coin in the book of Luke.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
Luke 15:8-10 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn't she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
I love how God uses the simple, everyday experiences in my life to remind me that each one of us is important to him. Whenever someone crosses the line of faith at our church, I always envision the angels singing, clapping and rejoicing!


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Canadian Law Students / Re: Help« on: July 24, 2007, 12:58:06 PM »
Wow, thanks a lot for the help. That is a lot of insight to some questions i had. I will be doing some more research on my own towards each individual school but it is sure uplifting to hear that i do have a somewhat good chance at some schools such as U of A.
Anyways thanks again
Anyways thanks again


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Joe Simpson's quick speculation on Juan Soto's age lasted seconds, but it appears to have a lasting effect in the eyes of where the Washington Nationals phenom used to play in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Prospect League, where Soto played before signing with the Nationals, released a lengthy statement Thursday accusing Braves announcer Joe Simpson of racism for implying the 19-year-old Soto might have lied about his age and demanded Simpson recuse himself from at least one game as punishment.
What Joe Simpson said about Juan Soto
Simpson really didn't dwell on Soto's age for too long, and definitely not as long as he did with Chase Utley, but his baseless use of the word "if" was enough to signal that he wasn't convinced by the baseball world saying that Soto is 19.
"If he's 19, he has certainly got his man growth," Simpson said. "He is big and strong."
Simpson would later renounce the comment in the second game of the Braves' doubleheader against the Nats, saying it was "off the top of my head" and firmly stated he's a "bona fide 19." He also praised Soto, who is currently hitting a jaw-dropping .305/.423/.551 as a teenager, as the clear front runner for Rookie of the Year.
Apparently, that wasn't enough.
Dominican league calls Joe Simpson racist for Juan Soto comment
You can check out the DPL's full statement here:
Our official response to Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson for remarks directed at DPL alumnus Juan Soto of @Nationals pic.twitter.com/mNFdoVKIJZ
— DPL (@DPLBaseball) August 9, 2018
There is plenty to unpack in this two-page statement, starting with the league demanding that Simpson sit out a game, or be suspended by the Braves or MLB. There has so far been no indication that Simpson will face punishment for his statement.
The DPL goes on to openly question if Simpson had ever speculated on the age of teenage phenoms like Bryce Harper in 2012 or Robin Yount in 1975 and implied the fact the he didn't was due to Harper and Yount being white and Soto being Dominican. If Simpson isn't punished for his "off the top of my head" statement, the DPL said it believes similar speculation devaluing the talent of young Dominican players would be seen as acceptable in the future.
"Moreover, we refuse to believe that an Oklahoman man of your age and from your generation is naive enough to not understand how such questioning of Mr. Soto's age, based on his origin, is a subtle yet powerful of form of denigration. We refuse to believe that a man with your years of experience in the industry does not understand the power of the platform you have and consider the impact of your words have, not only on your subject but on your subject's family and the class of people your subject represents."
After that, well, the DPL got personal. The league then asked how Simpson would feel if his children's accomplishments and qualifications were questioned, specifically using the names of Simpson's children and their schools, to ostensibly prove a point about how Simpson doesn't have enough personal question to Soto to understand the pain of his words.
The statement also goes through all the hoops Soto had to jump through over the course of his career, from playing as a little league All-Star in Puerto Rico as a nine-year-old to MLB's age and identity investigation before he signed with the Nationals in 2015.
Those facts echoed a statement from Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan the day of Simpson's comments, in which Passan noted that age fraud hasn't been prevalent in Latin America for nearly a decade.
Age fraud hasn't been a thing in Latin America in nearly a decade. But then again Joe Simpson is stuck in the past, so it's not a surprise that he proffers this sort of garbage. Ignore it.
Juan Soto is 19. Period. Full stop. And he's doing things the game never has seen before. https://t.co/V5iWMkkleF
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 8, 2018
The statement ends by noting that Simpson's apology was both too little and might have not even come had Nationals GM Mike Rizzo not reportedly confronted Simpson between games. It was signed by DPL vice president Ulises Cabrera.
How the Nationals responded to Joe Simpson
It didn't take long for Rizzo to hear about Simpson's comment, and it also didn't take long for Rizzo to find Simpson and talk it out.
From The Washington Post:
"Our PR people, when they see these tweets out there and that type of thing, I get alerted to it," Rizzo said during his weekly appearance Wednesday with the Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan. "Because I have nothing to do with social media. They alert me when things come up that I need to know about, and they thought I needed to know about this. Then I handled it. It took all of about 10 minutes."
Very little reaction came out from the Nationals clubhouse and Soto, who all probably just wanted to move on after a statement that none of them heard live. This isn't the first time that Simpson played it loose with the truth about the Nationals players though, as he also provided a misleading description of the verbal confrontation between star pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.
While neither player came within a foot of each other, Simpson still described the confrontation as "chest-to-chest, nose-to-nose" and speculated that Strasburg was hiding a black eye after a theoretical fist fight, according The Washington Post.
It might just be time for Simpson to find a fill-in for when the Braves visit Washington.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Dan Wetzel: Don't let NCAA fool you with its rule changes
• LeBron shows off Lakers uniform while giving Kobe a shoe shoutout
• Ump pulls giant bug out of ear during MLB game
• Terez Paylor: Bears bring 'fun-n-gun' offense to NFL


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It was a very big tournament, so I got to see a lot of people doing kata competition, with really varying levels of skill. What was interesting was that it seemed as if the better half was separated from the bottom half of competitors by a couple of very specific characteristics which could be addressed (at least in part) through a strength training program.
In other words, I saw some things that might not help the third place person beat the first place person, but that could probably help most of the competitors who finished near the bottom see some quick improvements that might move them towards the middle of the heap.
Owning the Level Change
What does that mean?The first trait that put certain competitors towards the top (or bottom) of the competition was owning the level change. Karate doesn't have the same kind of super low, deep stances that you'll see in certain kung fu styles (at least not in very many places), but there are still distinct level changes. Your hips should drop noticeably between a fudo dachi and a kiba dachi, or between fudo dachi and kokutsu dachi (standing position to horse stance or back stance), for example.
In my experience very, very few people have problems getting the proper depth in stances because of a lack of flexibility. Almost everyone (barring those with some kind of structural injury) can get into a proper back stance or front stance - the problem is holding that depth, which puts a lot of strain on the quads and hip extensors, or moving in the stance while maintaining a low elevation, which also requires a lot of leg and hip strength.
If you think you're too inflexible to hit a deep stance, try laying in bed, maybe on your back or side, and pull your legs into the right position. If you feel tightness doing that, you may have a flexibility issue. But I bet the real obstacle is muscular pain.
Owning the level change is not just about getting into deep positions, but about descending into them quickly and (apparently) effortlessly, and then popping up (when appropriate) dynamically. In other words, you have to be able to drop down quickly, stay level where you ought to (no bouncing up while shifting stances), then pop up easily and quickly when switching into a higher stance.
How do we own the level change?Developing the strength you need to get deep, stay deep, and move while staying deep can be done with traditional weightlifting exercises. You could deadlift or squat with a barbell and it would certainly be helpful.
However, a standard barbell squat might not be the best tool for this job for a couple of reasons. First, it requires safety equipment (a rack) and space and a bar and plates that aren't cheap and that take up a lot of space (none of which is a problem if you use a gym, of course). Second, the barbell squat trains your legs together - both work at the same time. When you get into a deep stance other than kiba dachi, most of your weight is often on one leg or the other, not both (zenkutsu dachi, kokutsu dachi make obvious examples). And when one leg has to work without the other to support you additional muscles are called into play to stabilize the hips and keep them level - hip adductors and abductors and rotators that just aren't challenged (sufficiently) in the traditional squat.
So how can we work these muscles?
If you have access to a gym, you can do rear foot elevated split squats with a barbell (or a trap bar). Basically, you start by either putting a bar on your back or holding dumbells or finding some other way to load yourself. Then you stand in front of a bench. Keeping one foot on the floor, lift the other foot and put it on the bench behind you. Then squat down and (hopefully) up. Most of the load will be carried by the front foot.
This is a great exercise, but I think people tend to cheat on depth - they don't go deep enough, and more than just building strength, the kata competitor has to build strength in the lower positions that they might need for certain stances to look good. It's also a somewhat awkward movement if you don't have a spotter to help you get set up.
An alternative exercise that doesn't require any equipment is the pistol. With a pistol, you don't need weight. Instead, from a standing position, stick one leg out in front of you, in the air, keeping the knee straight. Then squat down until your butt cheek is touching your calf, then stand back up.
I like pistols, but I find them kind of hard on my knees, and very hard to learn. It takes a lot of mobility and skill to do them correctly. And honestly, if you can do any significant number of pistols, leg strength just isn't your issue in kata - you're already strong enough that it isn't thigh strength that's limiting your kata performance. So I tend not to make them my go to exercise.
So my recommendation is the skater squat (which does have other names):
To do:
- Stand in place, feet shoulder width apart.
- Lift one (let's say left) leg off the ground, picking your heel up so it's close to your buttock.
- Squat down until the left knee just barely touches the ground. Your upper body will be leaning forward, and you can hold onto something in front of you for balance (I use my kitchen counter). The left knee is still bent, so the left foot never touches the floor.
- Stand up, using just the strength of the right leg.
- Either repeat for several reps on the same leg or switch legs with each rep, depending how fit you are (more fit = more reps before switching).
- Once you get good at these, you can add weight (wear a weight vest or hold dumbells in your hands) and add a jump to the end, so you're driving up and jumping with just one leg.
Skater squats are significantly easier to do than pistols, aren't as taxing on your knees (your knee never really goes into maximum flexion), and will build plenty of strength in the range of motion you need to maintain and move in a nice, deep karate stance.
Core Stiffness
The second physical trait that seemed to separate the not - as - good competitors from the upper tier competitors was core stiffness.
What is core stiffness?Imagine two people: one has a steel rod for a spine, the other has a spine made out of a Slinky. Now imagine how they move - imagine what their upper bodies would do, for example, when they throw a hard kick, or rotate into a punch.
You don't want a lot of extraneous motion (i.e. flopping around) when you deliver your techniques. Nothing impresses more than a high, clean quick - except a high, clean kick with your upper body locked in tight as a rock.
How do we get core stiffness?There is not, as far as I can see, a single best exercise for core stiffness. A few I like,. roughly in order of difficulty, are:
- Crunches and leg raises.
- Planks/pushups
- Single arm planks/ single arm pushups.
- Planks on an exercise ball, rotating your base (forearms) in circles as you do them.
- Ab wheel roll outs.
Kick Height
I've written about this before. I have some new thoughts on this topic, but I'll save them for another day. Let's just say that a clean, well executed kick at head height usually impresses more than the same kick to the stomach area (although, do the kata correctly before any other considerations).
In short, a few basic strength training exercises might be all you need to take a big leap forward in how good your kata look. If you have these weaknesses, shore them up and see how much that helps. Having said that, nothing you do with regards to strength training is going to replace actual kata practice, only enhance it somewhat.


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Element 315. Perfect Before. Brilliant After.
Conveniently located in the Lobby of the Hilton Hartford, Element 315 is a contemporary cocktail lounge rendezvous that combines warm, inviting decor, with a sophisticated menu of cocktails, spirits and wines. Take a seat by our fireplace and you will immediately find yourself in your element... Element 315.


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The Exped Pegasus is a 4-person expedition mountaineering tent for severe conditions. It is a free-standing, exoskeleton geodesic dome with a combination of features that make it unique in its class.
Average Minimum Weight (poles, inner tent, fly):
- 5.55 kg/12.25 lbs
- 4 main poles and 1 vestibule pole
- Aerodynamic flat pole sleeves
- Exoskeleton design allows guying directly to the pole sleeves
- Snow flaps
- 2 vestibules, 2 doors
- Sleeps 4
- Highly wind stable and resistant to snow loading


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After Carvanning4U website took delivery of the new Bailey Ranger 620/6 caravan, managing director Eric Gwilt was eager to test it and decided on a trip to France, but not before insuring the new vehicle with Cover4Caravans.
Shortly after making sure he had full caravan insurance, Mr Gwilt hitched the caravan up to his Kia Sorento using a Powrtouch caravan mover and set off towards Folkestone.
Although Mr Gwilt was impressed with the new Bailey Ranger model, some of the trip was beset by bad weather. While on the road to Mont Saint Michel, via the Paris Periferique, Mr Gwilt had to deal with high winds and rain. Although the worst did not happen, caravan insurance is vital for driving in bad weather to ensure that your vehicle is covered in case of flooding or lightning strikes.
One of the caravan parks that Mr Gwilt stopped at with his Bailey Ranger was the Camping Bien Assise near Calais. He points out in his blog of the journey that the site is "widely used by people starting and ending their holiday so has plenty of comings and goings early and late". Although it is always nice to see some friendly faces on the road, you never know who might be out there wanting to steal your motorhome. In this instance, caravan insurance in case of theft is vital.
The key features that impressed Mr Gwilt about the Bailey Ranger 620/6 were the stability of the caravan, its fuel efficiency, comfort and spaciousness. And overall, he believes it is the "very best caravan" he has ever had for towing in 40 years on the road.
But what impressed Caravanning4U's managing director about Cover4Caravans' insurance deal? Mr Gwilt said: "The Paris Peripherique is no place to be without good insurance. I chose Cover4Caravans because it was quick and easy and the company offered value for money insurance."
But you don't have to possess 40 years of caravanning experience to know that Cover4Caravans cover is the best. If you want to trial a new caravan on a French adventure, why not try our caravan insurance package? Cover4Caravans offers all our customers 240 days in any year of insurance to tour in Europe at no extra fee. Click to get a quotation.


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NCCGAPNA Chapter Meeting
Posted about 2 years ago by Jennifer Serafin
Our next chapter meeting will be held on 4/22/17, 11am-3pm, at:
Kaiser Permanente, Martinez
200 Muir Rd Martinez, CA 94553
Ensenada Bldg, 3rd floor conference room E1 (this meeting room is at the west end of the bldg directly across the hall from the Pharmacy).
Our speaker will be:
Mary Cochrane Abraham, GNP
Neurology and Memory Clinic
Kaiser Permanente, Martinez
Topic:" Techniques in Care Excellence for Dementia Patients -examples of multidisciplinary approaches to care."
Lunch will be provided! If you can attend in person, YOU may receive a special gift!
If you cannot attend in person, WE WILL AGAIN OFFER an on-line option (such as GO TO MEETING or ZOOM) for you to hear our speaker and our business meeting that day. This link will be sent closer to the 22nd of April, the meeting date.
Questions? Email firstname.lastname@example.com


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Our Undergraduate Applications page has a full explanation of the application process.
We strongly encourage you to come to one of our Open Days to get a feel for the University and its facilities.
Each programme has their own entry requirements. Find out what we require from applicants below.
All applications, both UK/EU and international, should be made via UCAS at www.ucas.com
UCAS equal consideration deadline: 15 January.
Applicants who meet, or are predicted to meet, our minimum entry requirements and have applied for Fashion Design, Fine Art, Games Design and Art, Graphic Arts, or Textile Design will be invited to attend a portfolio interview, which allows you to demonstrate your creative ability. Portfolio guidance can be downloaded from the link at the bottom of this page under 'Useful downloads'.
International and EU students: We do not expect international students who are not already studying in the UK to attend an interview here. On some occasions a member of staff may be visiting your country and an interview can be arranged. As a general rule international students are invited to send in a portfolio of work by post or email.
Applicants who are applying to our non-studio-based Fashion Marketing with Management programme will not be required to attend a portfolio interview. An applicant's personal statement, previous qualifications and reference will all be taken into consideration and applications are considered on an individual basis.
Select a course that suits your interestsFind out more


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Heflin Holistics, PLLC
When you come to the Croasdaile Village Retirement Community, only one gate is open to the public. (one of the two Wesley Chapel Drive entrances off Croasdaile Farm Parkway)
The gate that is open has a guard shack that looks like a big doll house.
After 5pm, there is a guard at the gate. Tell the guard your name and that you are coming to see the chiropractor.
Drive forward from the guard shack. Look for signs to the "Village Commons", which is on the left about a block or two up. The entrance to the Village Commons looks like where you would check into a hotel. (portico)
Park as far from the door as you are capable of walking, to leave the closer spots open for residents who have issues with mobility. (thank you)
While inside the retirement center, please be courteous to the residents. Walk slowly and speak quietly. Your voice will carry into the apartments from the hallway.
Come into the Village Commons and sign in at the front desk and take a visitors badge.
Turn immediately to the left from the desk and get on the elevator to the 3rd floor.
When you step out of the elevator, you can only go left, but after 2 or 3 steps take an immediate right.
Follow that hallway until you get to the first intersection and turn right.
The office is all the way at the end of that (long) hall.
Navigate as if you are in a hotel.
The room numbers do not flow with my office number.... so navigate as if you were going to Apt A313.
Heflin Holistics is at the end of the hall beyond apartment A313.
There is a beige chaise lounge outside the office.
The office has a glass door.
Please wait in the hall if the door is closed.
What to expect


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Free style guides that will help you kickstart your style and dress better!
Want to kickstart your style? You will love our free guide!
Free style guide – How to find your style in 10 steps
Our 10 step guide that will kickstart your style in no time!
Happy styling!


text: On 1 Nov 2005 at 11:25, Joe Pruett wrote: > as for your local traffic, the vpn only sets up a route for the > natural netmask of the remote end. so if the vpn server is > 192.168.1.4, then a route for 192.168.1.0/24 will be installed. > you can see what routes get setup via 'route print' at a dos > prompt. if you need other routes setup, then you have to do it > manually after the vpn is running. i seem to recall there might > be a way to invoke the vpn from a command script, so you might be > able to start it and add the routes from a .bat file. Thank you for the assistance. I have reached the point where I seem to have resolved all the firewall issues that were contributing to my problems and I can now reliably connect a vpn between my MS-W2K box on one C class to a CentOS4.2 box running PopTop pptpd with 128 bit MPPE. As you anticipated, now I am down to routing problems. I have set up the pptpd server to supply a non-routable address in the range 192.168.209.194-254 as the client side IP and a routable address from the remote C block as the server side. I have very little knowledge and even less experience with this so please bear with me. Here is what I want to do: Case 1. Typical: >From any arbitrary external IP address, establish a VPN to a pptpd server inside our firewall that will route all traffic consigned to our internal network over that VPN while all other traffic goes over the gateway established before the VPN is set up. I cannot seem to get this to work with the MS network connection client. I have turned off the "use default gateway on remote network" option in the tcp/ip advanced networking options in the MS client, but the only effect that seems to have is that no traffic goes over the VPN at all. I have confirmed via tracert that the destination IP of the VPN tunnel is recognized on the eth0 interface and responds to ping and traceroute, but the routing from my test workstation is invariantly over the public gateway and not via the vpn. Case 2. All traffic is routed over the VPN and then, if necessary, out onto the Internet via our own gateway. I need to get case 1. working before I do this, but this will be a another requirement that will have to be available in addition to case 1. for some users. What I need is a way of configuring vpn clients on Windows 2K and XPpro so that these two cases work automatically from some sort of simple to deploy client install script. I am open to using alternative vpn client software if that is required. As this is evidently a client side problem I understand that it is not strictly CentOS related. However, this issue naturally falls on the server end to provide an answer and I hope that someone here has gone through this already and can provide me with some advice or referrals to other venues for help. Presently, this is what I get on the MS-W2K client when I establish a VPN between netblock A and netblock B: ==================================================================== ======= Interface List 0x1 ........................... MS TCP Loopback interface 0x1000003 ...00 48 54 8c 2a fb ...... NDIS 5.0 driver 0x2000004 ...00 53 45 00 00 00 ...... WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface ==================================================================== ======= ==================================================================== ======= Active Routes: Network Destination Netmask Gateway Interface Metric 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 A.1 A.77 1 127.0.0.0 255.0.0.0 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1 192.168.209.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.209.214 192.168.209.214 1 192.168.209.214 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1 192.168.209.255 255.255.255.255 192.168.209.214 192.168.209.214 1 B.21 255.255.255.255 A.1 A.77 1 A.0 255.255.255.0 A.77 A.77 1 A.77 255.255.255.255 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 1 A.255 255.255.255.255 A.77 A.77 1 126.96.36.199 126.96.36.199 192.168.209.214 192.168.209.214 1 126.96.36.199 126.96.36.199 A.77 A.77 1 255.255.255.255 255.255.255.255 A.77 A.77 1 Default Gateway: A.1 ==================================================================== ======= Persistent Routes: None The only route to the B network seems to go through the usual gateway A.1 and not over the VPN. If I do NOT clear the use default GW option then all traffic goes from the client on A.77 over the VPN Default Gateway (192.168.209.214), reaches the IP at the server end (B.214), but then is not routed off the pptpd server (forwarding is enabled): # cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward 1 Regards, Jim -- *** e-mail is not a secure channel *** mailto:byrnejb.<token>@harte-lyne.ca James B. Byrne Harte & Lyne Limited vox: +1 905 561 1241 9 Brockley Drive fax: +1 905 561 0757 Hamilton, Ontario <token> = hal Canada L8E 3C3


text: Hi, How can I in Multicharts save data 365 days back? IB provides data only 365 days back. Tomorrow the accessible data has moved one day forward again and one more day will not be available so I would like to save it but it doesnt get saved automatically like in NT. Thanks for any tips!


text:
University of Miami
Miami Hurricanes basketball flat in lopsided loss to Eastern Kentucky
Its early-season momentum has faded. And likely so will its Top 25 national ranking after another lopsided home loss to an unranked team.
Following a 10-day layoff, the University of Miami men's basketball team was thoroughly outplayed by visiting Eastern Kentucky during a 72-44 loss at BankUnited Center.
The No. 18 Hurricanes (9-2) suffered their worst loss during coach Jim Larrañaga's tenure and most lopsided defeat since a 105-64 rout at North Carolina Jan.31, 2007.
It was UM's worst defeat at home since another 28-point loss on March1, 1997 to West Virginia.
"We were very bad from start to finish, and they were very good," Larrañaga said. "Our lack of focus was very clear, whether it was due to the layoff or us not respecting the opponent, there is no good reason not to play as hard as you can all the time."
Following a win against Illinois, a ranked team on Dec.2, it appeared the Hurricanes were entering a winnable three-game home stretch.
Miami lost two of those three.
The Canes followed the first defeat, Dec.6 against Wisconsin-Green Bay, with a 70-39 win against Savannah State two days later that appeared to get things back on track.
But Friday night's performance was downright ugly.
"We didn't share the ball very well, we didn't shoot very well, and we didn't defend at all," Larrañaga said. "They get everything they wanted. We've had a number of these already.
"We started out [the season] with a clear focus of working hard, and we did that. We got our defense up to one of the top 40 in the country. But over the last three or four games, it's really not been where we'd hope for."
Eastern Kentucky (6-4), which entered the game ranked second in the nation in steals per game, only had five, but its ability to pressure the Canes both in man-to-man and zone defenses limited the Canes to their lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring 40 in a loss to Virginia last season on Feb.26.
The Colonels outscored Miami 20-2 in points off turnovers, forcing 14 and committing only nine.
"We just played with no effort and didn't rotate on defense," said guard Sheldon McClellan, who led the Canes with 14 points and was their only player in double figures. "We had no energy."
The Colonels outscored Miami 45-19 in the second half, which was also a season low for the Hurricanes for points in a half.
Miami shot a season-worst 29.3 percent, going 12 of 41 from the field. The Canes made eight three-pointers but shot 4 of 16 from that range in the second half.
UM's inside game was virtually nonexistent as Eastern Kentucky outscored the Canes 24-6 in points in the paint and outrebounded them 37-26.
Eastern Kentucky, meanwhile, hit 14 three-pointers and used a 14-0 surge in the second half, hitting four three-pointers during that run to take a 43-27 lead with 13:09 remaining. The Hurricanes finally broke the run with 10:41 left on a pair of free throws by Davon Reed.
UM went eight minutes and 27 seconds without scoring and went 10 minutes and 33 seconds without making a field goal. Reed also ended that drought with a three-pointer with 8:34 to go, but it meant little as Eastern Kentucky answered with two quick buckets to extend the lead to 23 points.
"The layoff is no excuse," UM guard Deandre Burnett said. "We came out flat, and it showed during the whole game."


text:
Temperature for December 2004
In December 2004 the average high temperature in Delta Junction, AK was 14.9°F, and this was 8.6°F warmer than the average of 6.3°F. The hottest day in December 2004 was 23 December when the temperature reached 43.0°F. Overnight the average temperature in December is -8.0°F and in 2004 the average overnight temperature was 5.7°F warmer at -2.3°F.


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Diabetes Australia Announces Research Grants Into Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes
I have been waiting for a cure for type 1 diabetes since being diagnosed in 1979….I was told it would be 20 years to a cure, and here I am 37 years later still waiting…I have heard many of you out there with similar stories. I guess it is a case of giving us hope at diagnosis, and that is important, but sometimes this hope being dashed over and over can lead to a sense of hopelessness. I think it is important to have a balance between hoping and supporting the drive to a cure for diabetes, with research that actually makes our lives with diabetes easier, better, less troublesome, because let's face it, for many of us already living with diabetes, the chances of a cure are pretty low. Much of the research currently is targeted at prevention of diabetes (type 1 and type 2) and this is a great thing. The more we can prevent the condition developing, the better. It is still just as important to keep creating better options for insulin delivery, better devices and medications, and reaching for the epic concept of a closed loop system which will help those of us with type 1 diabetes in particular, to get on with a better life.
It is easy to become cynical however….especially when there are regular headlines pronouncing the "cure" for diabetes has been found. Only to discover it is a study in mice that may never be translated to humans, or that it is a clickbait article, or worse….an article claiming to cure diabetes with a fruit from some random island, or a diet involving raw foods…
However, despite this cynicism, the need to push on for seeking a cure for diabetes remains paramount and there are many steps taken on this journey, that may uncover something, however small, which may just lead to the golden egg. Research is like that – a lot of steps in various directions have to be taken and they are not always fruitful, yet something that seems insignificant, may later become very important. Associate Professor Stuart Mannering, a global leader in diabetes research, is hoping he can discover a therapy that will 'turn-off' the immune response that may cause type 1 diabetes. This has always been the biggie when it comes to type 1 diabetes, because even if you transplant a healthy pancreas, or islet cells, into a person with type 1 diabetes, our immune system is still the major issue.
Diabetes Australia have just announced the prestigious 2017 Millennium Award for Type 1 Diabetes to Associate Professor Mannering for his work at St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research. The Award provides funding of $150,000. Diabetes Australia also announced the 2017 Millennium Award for Type 2 diabetes which goes to Dr Seth Masters from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research who will be able to continue his research into how the immune system contributes to obesity, associated with the development of type 2 diabetes.
Diabetes Australia CEO A/Professor Greg Johnson said Diabetes Australia is committed to funding research into all types of diabetes to discover new therapies and treatments to help Australia respond to the diabetes epidemic.
"Further research into all types of diabetes is essential. The Diabetes Australia Millennium Awards provide significant funding to world leading researchers working on projects that will help us understand fundamental questions like what causes type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes," A/Professor Johnson said. "The holy grail of diabetes research is a cure and we will continue to invest in research until that becomes a reality. We have some of the world's best diabetes researchers – but they need our support with funding and other assistance."
Associate Professor Stuart Mannering said he hoped his research would pave the way for a vaccine to prevent people from developing type 1 diabetes.
"We are looking at the specific immune responses that we think trigger type 1 diabetes," Associate Professor Mannering said. "At this stage we have identified a particular molecule, 'C-peptide', which may trigger an immune response that leads to the development of type 1 diabetes. We are looking at ways of developing a blood test that could alert us to this immune response at work which could then lead us to developing a vaccine."
Dr Seth Masters from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said his research was focussed on immune signals that can fight obesity, and help to prevent people from developing type 2 diabetes.
"The immune system can detect when an individual is becoming obese, and sends signals to try and stop this from happening. We think that the body becomes resistant to these signals, increasing the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes," Dr Masters said. "My research is looking into how the immune system detects persistent excess food intake and then how molecules made by immune cells can keep fat levels in a normal range. If we can understand how these immune molecules deplete fat stores, then we may be able to use them safely to treat obesity and prevent type 2 diabetes."
The Millennium Grants are part of a suite of research projects Diabetes Australia funds through the Diabetes Australia Research Program. In 2017 the Diabetes Australia Research Program funded 50 new research grants across all types of diabetes, and in a range of aspects of living with the condition. The Diabetes Australia Research Program was established in 1987 to support and develop diabetes related research across Australia. The programme provides funding towards the prevention, management and cure of all types of diabetes, as well as enabling and fostering young and upcoming researchers in the field of diabetes research.
Let's hope that they can crack the code, and prevent more people in the future from having to live with the roller coaster of diabetes, and if not, then let's hope it leads to something that will.
3 Comments
Great information regarding current research, Helen. The management of diabetes has changed so much since 1979, when diabetes first entered our lives. These changes and improvements in management certainly help people with diabetes to stay healthy for longer, but as you say, prevention would be a wonderful achievement, if it is possible. I think that research into the Mental Health of people with diabetes is also very important. From my own experience working as a health care professional in this area I have found that people with diabetes, for the most part, need only a little input and information to be able to better self manage both their diabetes and their own mental health. Of course, Clinical depression requires medical intervention, but the fear and anxiety that most people with diabetes feel can be abated with just a small amount of input and peer support from someone who 'gets it'. Thank you.


text:
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text:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The U.S. Embassy warned Friday that Somali-based extremists may try to kidnap American citizens from Kenyan beach resorts.
"There are indications that Islamic extremists based in Somalia may be planning to target Westerners, especially American citizens, in the Kiwayu Island tourist area and other beach sites frequented by Western travelers on the northeast coast near Somalia," the embassy, which is also responsible for Somalia, said in an e-mail to U.S. citizens.
An embassy official - speaking on condition of anonymity, citing embassy guidelines - said the warning was based on a tip from Kenyan security services this week.
And Muslims still insist Islam does not target innocent civilians.


text:
The Future of Management
In the world of business today, a manager's responsibility is to lead an organization's staff to the achievements of previously set goals by planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The future of management seems to be going in the direction of eliminating leading from the list of responsibilities. The role of leading is more frequently being given to employees. The technique of the "team" approach is being added to the workforce, which allows for employees to control ideas and the implementation of the ideas along with many other aspects. Almost always in a team situation, a leader or a spokesperson will emerge. The responsibility of the manager, when using the team approach is to control the amount of work being produced from the team(s). The manager is not managing the business, but managing the employees and allowing employees to run the business. This only happens when the employees are competent and aware of their responsibilities.
Usually this acknowledgement of awareness for responsibility stems from the teachings of a good manager.
A manager's obligation is to guide an organization of staff to the achievements of previously set goals. In order to achieve set goals, a manager must utilize all resources available. An option available to managers is the opportunity to appoint or allow the rise of a shift leader or an area leader. A manager utilizing employees is the most efficient way to delegate responsibilities and to achieve goals. Leading is the process of moving resources toward objectives and goals. A strong leader and motivator keeps employees performing at high-energy levels during low times. It is the manager's responsibility to monitor and keep in line the productivity levels. This trend of appointing shift or area leaders is a method that can be expected to continue to be implemented...


text:
|Foreign Companies must Disclose Ownership before Buying English Property
The UK government is proposing to force foreign companies to reveal their beneficial owners before being allowed to buy land and property in England or Wales.
The principal aim is to stop the proceeds of corruption and organized crime being laundered through investments in high-value property, particularly in London. According to the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS), which is conducting the consultation, a March 2013 survey by the Solicitors Regulation Authority found that a quarter of solicitors' firms had experienced clients attempting to use property transactions to launder money or commit fraud.
The high values of property in London in particular presents an opportunity for criminals to launder considerable sums of money in one transaction, says BIS. Over GBP180 million worth of property in the UK was investigated by UK law enforcement as suspected proceeds of corruption during 2004–2014. BIS cites a report by the lobbying organization Transparency International claiming that over 75 per cent of these properties were owned by offshore firms. This, it says, is 'believed to be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the scale of the proceeds of corruption invested in UK property through offshore companies'.
UK companies will very soon have to provide information about their beneficial ownership (or Persons with Significant Control) to a publicly available central register. But this will not apply to foreign companies.
Current position
At the moment, where a non-UK company registers its legal ownership of land in England and Wales, the Land Register shows the name of the company and its territory of incorporation. All companies are also under an obligation to provide their beneficial ownership information to their legal representatives during a property or land purchase as part of the due diligence process.
However, the government believes that the due diligence requirement does not provide sufficient transparency on beneficial ownership information, as it can be circumvented by not using legal representatives. Even where information is provided, it is not made public. Moreover, says BIS, the degree to which the information provided is verified depends on the risk assessment applied by the lawyers handling the transaction, which may not be stringent enough.
Proposed new regime
The government is thus considering a new regime under which a foreign company planning a UK property investment would have to submit beneficial ownership information in a form that is easily accessible to 'law enforcement and investigatory organizations''. It would then be allocated a unique identification number, which it would have to provide to the Land Registry when registering a purchase of land or real property in England and Wales, as domestic UK companies already have to do. (Property transactions are a devolved matter, so that Scotland and Northern Ireland would have their own rules.)
As a first step, the Land Registry is publishing a data-set containing the legal owner and addresses of all properties owned in the UK by foreign companies.
There may be an exemption for foreign companies incorporated in jurisdictions which already have an accessible central register of beneficial ownership information – which will include all EU member states once the Fourth Money Laundering Directive is implemented. This would avoid the need for them to provide the same information to a UK register.
The BIS discussion paper admits that there will be difficulties in enforcing the new regime, both for existing properties owned by foreign companies and for new purchases. This and many other aspects of the plan are open to public consultation, which ends on 1 April.
An aspect of the consultation envisages that foreign companies bidding for public procurement contracts in England will also be subject to the new transparency rules. Money laundering is again cited as a justification, though no details are provided as to how public contracts can be used for the purpose.
The opinions expressed do not constitute investment advice and specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
Published on our website on Mar.11, 2016


text:
Readers always want to know where authors find their inspiration. Often there is no easy answer to that question. Ideas come from all around: family stories, life experience, news articles even jokes. Often a story comes from a combination of ideas.
In the case of "The Stone Beach," inspiration was a clear as a knock on my door. Our cat, Casey, an alarmingly orange, long-haired tabby, had been diagnosed with diabetes and hyper thyroid disease. He was fourteen years old, and as I watched him shrink from a robust 17 pounds down to 11 pounds (he shrunk to only 6 pounds in his final days), I knew that we didn't have much time left with him. My daughter was only five-years-old at the time. One afternoon, after one of our many trips to the veterinarian, she asked, "What if Casey just doesn't wake up one morning?" My heart broke to tell her that might happen. I thought back to other pets I had lost and realized how hard it was to speak of such things to a child. As a parent, I wanted to brush her worries aside, tell her everything would be all right. But how could I make such empty promises, when her heart was so full of love and worry?
So I wrote The Stone Beach. In the course of editing it, I've read this book dozens of times, and my eyes still prickle with tears in certain parts, but it brings me comfort. I hope my daughter and all the children who are hurting from the loss of beloved pets, will read it and find comfort too.
Casey (March 31st, 1992 - October 18th, 2007)
Casey started life as a runt. He was so tiny, I worried he wouldn't live. He was also shockingly orange with wide, blue eyes. His brother, Moe, was identical, but black. I called them my Halloween cats. They came into my life in 1992. It seems like a lifetime ago now, and I guess it was—Casey's lifetime. We lost Moe in 1995. Casey spent weeks sitting on our back deck, scanning the horizon for his brother.
Casey was a trooper. For the first two years, he came to work with me everyday. We moved ten times in sixteen years and adopted numerous kittens, puppies and other critters. Casey took it all in stride.
For the first few months, he hid from me constantly. He was so timid; I thought I'd never get a cuddle. By the end of his life, he was my constant companion. Many of my typos can be blamed on his big pink and orange paw stretching out to tap my keyboard.
Though he outgrew his runtiness (he was 17 pounds in him prime), his life was plagued with inexplicable illnesses, so I am thankful that I had sixteen fabulous years with him.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Inspiration Behind "The Stone Beach"
Readers always want to know where authors find their inspiration. Often there is no easy answer to that question. Ideas come from all around: family stories, life experience, news articles even jokes. Often a story comes from a combination of ideas.
Posted by castelane at 10:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: cats, eternal press, Kim Chatel, paranormal, YA Fantasy
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Excerpt from The Henge Betrayed -- Flight
The Henge Betrayed – Flight Janet Lane Walters Mundania Press Two sets of twins must flee their home and seek the teachers their parents have called to help them. To survive and to defeat Dom Senet, he who walks with evil, they must to learn to use their affinities. Ashlea is Air, Brandien is Water, Kylandra is Fire and Jaydren is Earth.
He removed the scrying cup from one of the cloak's inner pockets. The need to know burned. He filled the cup, then sat cross-legged and held the cup in his hands. Once more, he stilled his thoughts and rippled the water with his breath. He thought of his parents. An image formed. He saw the spiral staircase and the wall that contained the inner chamber. Of his parents, he caught no sign, but the hidden room was sealed against invasion.
He released the image and sought further. This time he wanted to see what passed beyond the walls of the henge.
Pictures rose in rapid succession. Men mounted on war steeds, their single horns polished to a silver gleam, followed scores of foot soldiers to the first wall. The secret gates opened and the army entered the gardens of the henge.
"Who has done this?" His question caused the water in the scrying cup to bubble. A distant figure grew larger. On a rise at a great distance from the henge, a man stood with his arms wide. The sides of his black cloak spread like wings. Bran shivered for the man resembled one of the carrion birds that feasted on the dead.
The water in the scrying cup stilled. Bran saw the man's long pale hair and skin and knew this enemy wasn't from the lowlands. He was a dom of highland birth.
The dom raised his head. His pale eyes bore into Bran's. He sees me. Bran's heart beat a staccato rhythm. He tore his gaze from the face he'd never forget. His hands shook and the scrying cup fell. Water splashed across the cavern floor. Fear erupted inside him. Had he betrayed his siblings? Did the enemy know where they were?
He looked at the torch and saw it had nearly gone out. With a fresh one from his bundle, he touched it to the dying flame. Then he knelt beside Ash. "I've lit the fifth."
She stretched. "Then Let us go."
Ash woke Jay. Bran touched Ky's shoulder. "Time to go."
A spatter of flame zipped across the rocks. "Sorry. Did I burn you?"
Bran pulled her to her feet. "You must learn how to be awakened without singeing people."
"I only react when someone rouses me. There's no problem when I'm not disturbed."
Before they left, they filled their flasks in the pool. "How long before we can sleep?" Jay yawned through his words.
"Two torches," Ash said.
Bran shook his head. "We'd better keep on as long as we can. Papa said not to tarry."
The others nodded. "This way." Ash strode around the pond.
Bran saw three gaping holes. "How will we know which is the right one?"
"In two, the air leaves. We'll use the one where the air enters the cavern.
He was glad she'd come this way before. Otherwise, they could wander forever. She
must have heard his thought because she grinned. He answered her smile with his,
Posted by Janet Lane Walters at 8:35 PM 0 comments
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Stone Beach by Kim Chatel
When Caroline begins her last year of middle school, she barely recognizes her best friend. Brenda dresses differently. She blows off classes, homework and friends. But has Brenda really changed, or is Caroline just seeing her with new eyes?
Caroline has worries that Brenda doesn't even understand. Her fifteen-year-old cat, Casey, is sick and the vet has been hinting that it's time to put him to sleep. How can Caroline lose her two best friends at once.
In the next few months, Caroline learns that some friendships are not worth keeping, others are worth fighting for and still others will endure into the afterlife.
Read more about Casey and Caroline at www.kimchatel.com.
"Casey! Casey!"
She felt foolish calling him, but she was far enough from the house that no one would hear her. She walked along the river's edge toward the stone beach and was so intent on peeking under every shrub, she didn't see the river open up before her until she came right up to the beach. When she saw the pink stones under her feet, she looked up and held her breath for a moment. The stones were a mirror of the sunset sky. The river was smooth obsidian. The sun lit the willows from behind and they glowed like gold filigree.
This is truly the most beautiful place on earth, she thought, and sat on a large rock to enjoy the play of light area.
"I never should've shown you this place," said Aimee, from behind her, as she clambered onto the rock beside Caroline. She carried the same purple book which had caused the fight earlier in the week.
"Now I guess I have to share it with you," she added.
Caroline didn't say anything. She wasn't in the mood for Aimee tonight. Casey was lost. It was getting dark and she'd have to leave him outside, to fall prey to whatever the night would bring.
They watched in silence for a while as the last light faded, leaving the stone beach in shadow. Suddenly, from high up in the trees behind them, Caroline heard yelling. She tensed for a moment, thinking her mom had called, but no. The voices were an angry man and woman. They were too far away to hear the argument, but the rage was clear enough. Something shattered. The voices were quiet for a moment and then exploded again, louder than before.
"I guess I can't even escape them here," said Aimee. Caroline was about to ask who, when she noticed the strange expression on Aimee's face, embarrassment. She hadn't thought it possible to embarrass the brash Aimee Jones.
"My parents," said Aimee, with a shrug, as if it explained everything.
"Oh," said Caroline, hating herself for uttering such a stupid response. She didn't know what to say. Her parents rarely argued, and never with such vehemence. How did Aimee stand it?
The two girls sat on the stone beach, listening to the parent-storm above them. Caroline was too embarrassed to get up and leave now, as if it would make it worse somehow. Aimee, clearly, had nowhere else to go.
Eventually the storm blew itself out. Aimee still made no move to leave, despite the growing dark. Caroline's mother would be worried about her, but she couldn't make herself leave. Not without saying something.
"So how come you spell your name that way?" she asked, pointing to the notebook with "Aimee" scrawled all over it.
"It's French. My grandma's from the south. They still speak French there, or something like it." She smiled at Caroline wryly. "It means 'loved'."
Caroline smiled back at her.
"That's pretty sucky," she said. Both of them seemed to know, Caroline would never tell another soul Aimee's name meant something so mushy.
"Yep," said Aimee. "I sure feel the love."
The girls burst into nervous laughter that turned genuine.
"I think my parents were hippies," said Aimee, finally catching her breath.
"Mine still are," said Caroline. "If I have to hear one more time about the benefits of compost, I'm gonna puke."
After another moment of companionable quiet, Aimee asked, "So what are you doing out here, anyway?"
"I'm looking for my cat," said Caroline. "I haven't seen him all day. I'm worried he might be hurt."
"You know," said Aimee, "Cats often go off to hide when they're about to die. It's instinctual or something."
"Why do you always have to do that?" said Caroline, getting to her feet.
"Do what?"
"You know what!" Caroline's voice cracked, and she fought back tears.
Not in front of Aimee, she thought. Please, not it front of Aimee.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Spaz. I was telling the truth."
"It might be true, but it's really mean."
"So sue me," said Aimee.
"See what I mean," said Caroline. Anger had won out over the tears. "Every time you're nice to me for even a minute, you have
to ruin it. You're such a . . .such a . . .jerk!"
She spun to leave and her ankle turned on a stone. She went down with a thud, banging her knee and badly scraping both hands.
"Dammit!" she swore. Aimee always made her feel so awkward and small. There was nothing nice in her. No point looking for what wasn't there.
As Caroline painfully got to her feet, Aimee shushed her.
"Shush yourself," said Caroline, but Aimee waved at her curtly with one hand while she listened to the night.
A pathetic mewling came out of the bush behind them followed by a bedraggled cat.
Caroline ran toward him, ignoring the pain in her leg. Then she noticed the strange way he walked as if he were drunk. And his meow was almost strangled in his throat. He took another step and his back legs collapsed on him.
"Oh, Casey!"
She sat beside him and gently stroked him all over, looking for broken bones. He didn't hiss at her touch, so he wasn't in any pain. In fact, he purred. Caroline wondered if it was a nervous purr. He did that sometimes at the vet.
"I've got to get him home," she said. "Something's wrong."
"Wait," said Aimee, staring intently into the bushes. The night was silent. Unnaturally silent. No crickets, no frogs, no rustling leaves. A chill shook Caroline. As she bent to pick Casey up, a shadow burst out of the bushes, knocking her to the ground.
Except she'd felt nothing, even as it pushed past her. No, not past her. Through her!
Another long wraith erupted from the bushes, and then another and another until the beach was filled with the bounding shadows. They ran along the edge of the river, never touching the water.
"They're cats!" said Caroline.
Orange cats, black cats, striped, calico. Hundreds of cats.
She held onto Casey as the ghostly cats ran around them. He mewled, and Caroline bent herself over him, protecting him from the wraiths. They caterwauled with an ear-splitting howl. Caroline covered her ears but nothing could block out the piercing noise. She shut her eyes tight, but she could still feel the wind against her skin as they swirled around her.
Casey squirmed in her arms, and Caroline held on tight. The ghost cats wanted him. Deep in her heart, she knew it. They wanted to drag him off on their monstrous hunt.
They screamed and raced around the beach until Caroline thought she would go mad.
As suddenly as they'd appeared, they were gone. Caroline opened her eyes to see the last ones running on sleek soundless paws along the river's edge. They melted away, shadows into shadows.
In the silence that followed, Casey mewed loudly. One of his eyes drooped shut. Caroline had to get him home, but she couldn't move. She looked over at Aimee, who also looked frozen in place. Aimee met her eyes and shook her head.
There was nothing to say.
Coming Soon: Read about the real Casey, the cat who inspired "The Stone Beach."
Kim Chatel is a Canadian born novelist and picture book author. She now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, daughter and assortment of animals, which, until recently, included an alarmingly orange tabby cat named Casey. Website www.kimchatel.com.
Posted by castelane at 8:47 PM 0 comments
Labels: cats, eternal press, fiction, ghosts, Kim Chatel, paranormal, YA Fantasy
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Ninth Lord of the Night
Ninth Lord of the Night
Moonlight floods the ancient ruins of Tikal. The park's gates are locked, the tourists safe and comfortable in their hotels. Only the night creatures and ghosts from the past are witness to the eerie shadows cast upon the Great Plaza by the giant temples. From the depths of the jungle the roars of howler monkeys and the drone of insects mimic ancient Mayan voices.
In the bright moonlight a lone figure crosses the plaza. The Mayan chimán climbs the North Terrace stairway, ascends the stone steps of a temple, and disappears into a small opening at the summit.
Deep within the innermost chamber, he sits cross-legged on his multicolored woven mat. He faces northwest before an altar of white flower petals, beeswax candles, and copal incense. Under the flickering candlelight the grotesque drawings on the walls seem alive while the corners of the cell remain shrouded in darkness.
The medicine man's weathered face bears a vacant, glazed expression as he enters his self-induced trance and concentrates on the vision appearing before him. He sees the image of a seventeen-year old boy with long reddish-blond hair, troubled blue eyes, and a glint of gold in his left earlobe.
The vision fades leaving the chimán with a clear mental picture of the youth. The waiting is almost over. Soon the chimán will attempt the most important ritual he has ever done, a ritual taking a lifetime of preparation. Using knowledge passed from father to son, from generation to generation he will invade nighttime dreams, create daytime visions, and use his influence to bring this young man to a point beyond fortune and personal gain. This boy is destined to return to the Mayan people a part of their lost and ancient heritage.
Chapter 1
Zack tucked an unruly lock of curly hair behind his ear and checked his watch. In exactly twenty-nine minutes he'd planned to be cruising down Sunrise Boulevard. This unexpected family meeting definitely cut into his schedule. What the heck was it about anyway? His family wasn't a democracy. They didn't discuss problems in an open forum.
More annoyed than worried, he sauntered into the den and joined his family for what would turn out to be their last family conference.
"Let's get this over with quick," he said. "I have things to do, places to go, people to see."
The silence was deafening.
Zack's father sat in the faded tan recliner, his large body bent over, his powerful forearms resting on his knees. He didn't bother to look up, but kept his eyes focused on his shoes as if they possessed some fascinating feature he'd never seen before.
His mother sat on the sofa, very businesslike in her brown suede suit. Her face was dry-eyed, serious, and composed as if she were about to give a major presentation to a potential client. Only her hands betrayed her nervousness as she rubbed her palms over non-existent wrinkles.
Even Zack's older brother remained mute. Kyle leaned against the patio door, gazing out at the swimming pool like a kicker who'd just lost the team a championship game by punting the football wide of the uprights.
Zack began to get panicky. Whatever this family meeting was about, it was big. He slid from the sofa arm to the seat cushion trying to make himself small and mentally inventoried his latest escapades. He could think of several exploits that would mean his death if his parents knew of them and they wouldn't look so serious unless they had extremely damaging evidence. He steeled himself for a barrage of accusations and the lecture he knew would follow.
"Okay," he conceded. "What'd I do now?"
But, it wasn't about him. Not directly.
His mother's voice possessed a gentleness he hadn't heard in months as she explained that she and their father had problems they couldn't seem to work out. Every now and then her voice would quiver and catch and she'd pause as she fought to regain her composure. She cast pleading glances at her husband, but he continued to stare at his feet. He wasn't helping her out of this one.
Zack's eyes drifted beyond his father to the trophy case that housed Kyle's gleaming football trophies and his own tarnished little league ones. Memories of glory days flooded over him. He shifted his gaze to Kyle who shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'Well, what did you expect, fool?'
Not this. Not ever.
"Jeez," Zack whispered. "When?"
His mother stood up and took a deep breath. "This summer. Right after school is out."
Couldn't be. School ended in two days.
"Holy shit!" Zack blurted. His father arched an eyebrow.
His mother continued on, "I've purchased a townhouse and I'll be moving my things out at the end of the week."
"You're moving out?" His mom bit her lower lip and his father looked up. The sadness in his eyes told Zack all he needed to know.
"Your father earns more money in construction than I do in health care," she said, making the word construction sound like a swear word. "And, teenage boys should live with the father."
"Where'd that come from?" Zack said. "You making up new rules as you go along?" From the corner of his eye he saw Kyle frown.
His mother continued, "As you know, Uncle Clifton is at an archaeological dig in Guatemala. You boys will spend the first month of summer vacation with him while I get settled in my new place and your father and I work out the details of the divorce."
First month?
Zack shook his head. "Nope. No way. Can't do it. I've made plans with the guys and my first month of summer is all booked up."
"Unbook it," his father stated. "You're going to Tikal."
"Tikal?" Kyle asked.
"Tikal is an ancient Mayan city," their mother explained. "One of the archaeologists, a Dr. Collins, has brought along his daughter and a group of her friends. You and Zack will be staying with them. Your passports are still current and we've already purchased your plane tickets. You'll be leaving Wednesday morning."
Whoa. The lump in Zack's throat grew larger and a knot appeared in his stomach. There wasn't a lot of time to prepare. Only two days.
"Hey, cool!" Kyle piped up. "New babes."
Their father gave Kyle a slight smile.
Zack groaned. "Oh, right. Chicks."
"Well, I guess that's all for now," their mother said.
Zack leapt to his feet, towering over his mother. "What do you mean, that's all? Excuse me, Mom, but don't we get a say in anything? First, you lay this divorce thing on us. Then, you add that we're being shipped off to Guatemala." For an instant emotion appeared in her blue eyes, then faded as Zack blundered on. "What about what we want? Huh? Did you even think about us? Maybe we don't want to go to Guatemala!"
Kyle stepped away from his spot by the door. "Zack, cool it."
Zack stared at his father. His dad had always been such a tough guy. He never took any shit off anyone. "Why are you letting Mom get away with this?" Zack demanded. "What's wrong with you? Tell her to forget it. Tell her she can't have a divorce."
His dad's muscles were taut and well defined underneath the white cotton of his v-necked T-shirt. The veins in his neck began to stand out as a warning of his anger.
Zack's mother positioned herself between them. "Stop it," she said. Zack's dad stared at her for a second then stood and quietly left the room. "Kyle, you and Zack need to think about what to pack. Later you'll be given a list of items to purchase. Zack, you look like a slob. Get a haircut and lose that earring. I want you to look presentable around your uncle. Is that clear?"
They were dismissed and there was to be no discussion. Zack retreated to his room and flopped down on his bed. At least finals were over. These last two days of classes would be a breeze. He slammed his fist into the pillow, leaving a nice dent right in the middle.
When had his parents begun to think about a divorce? Where had he been? Kyle didn't seem too surprised. Somehow he'd seen it coming. Zack hadn't. He recalled vague memories of his mother on the phone, discussing real estate. He hadn't paid too much attention, never thinking that she might be buying a new house for herself.
Jeez, now he'd have to call his friends and cancel his plans. No cruising tonight, and no scuba diving off the California coast this weekend. No surfing in Malibu, no camping trip to Yosemite, no hiking in the Sierras. Not for the first month of summer anyway. After that, he would be back home and his life would get back to normal. Except, of course, that his mom wouldn't be around anymore. He tried to imagine what his father was feeling and couldn't. What would it be like not to have her in the house? Would there be an emptiness? A void? Or would they just be eating more take-out? He felt someone watching and rolled over to see Kyle standing in the doorway.
"What?" Zack demanded.
"Hope you're friggin' satisfied," Kyle said, and left.
Zack's reflection stared back at him from the mirrored doors of his closet. Blue eyes peered out from underneath reddish blond hair and once again he was reminded of how different he looked from the rest of his family. Wrong, he corrected himself. Kyle's family. They were Kyle's family.
Being adopted was a slap in the face, especially when he'd started high school and his failures were measured against Kyle's successes. The more he competed in sports, the more he was compared to his brother, and the more apparent it became that Kyle had not only inherited his father's physical stature and looks, but also his natural athletic ability and timing. Last year Kyle was the football team's MVP. Zack only made the second string, spending most of the season sitting on the bench. He lifted weights and busted his butt, but he couldn't compete with an older brother expected to be the next great pro quarterback.
This past year it finally got around school that he and Kyle weren't from the same gene pool and Zack quit getting so much pressure to perform. It bothered him though that being adopted elicited so much sympathy, as if there was something very sad about it and something very wrong with him. Public attitude negated his parents' supposedly loving explanations.
He hated being compared to Kyle – especially by his parents. And, he hated being constantly hassled about his grades, his hair and his dude attitude. Kyle was their golden boy. Kyle could get away with murder while he got clobbered over the slightest infraction. Kyle dated the prettiest girls, was favored with the use of his mother's ice-blue Mercedes convertible, while Zack was lucky if he got to drive his father's trusty Toyota.
Things could be worse. The number of cute chicks who schemed to get Kyle's attention by dating his younger brother was staggering. Although it was pathetic to see the disappointment in their faces when he pulled up in the Toyota instead of the ice-blue status machine. He never bothered asking the same girl out twice, though. Why set himself up for more humiliation than necessary?
Only now, Kyle's life was as screwed as his. He, too, was going to Central America; hot, humid, buggy Central America where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger got sick while filming the movie, Predator. If the climate in Central America could make a fitness expert like Arnold Schwarzenegger sick, then Zack knew he'd probably die.
He pushed his hair away from his face and winced as it tangled on his earring. Lots of guys had longer hair than his, but he was willing to bet they didn't get hassled the way he did. Didn't matter. From this day forward, his mother had relinquished her authority. No longer did she have the right to order him around. He wasn't going to get his hair cut, and he wasn't going to remove the small hoop earring he wore in his left earlobe.
The next two days of school passed quickly and Zack got his report cards. His lowest grade was a C in history. The grade wasn't unexpected, as he hated studying about dead people. In fact, he got the shivers just thinking about spending the next four weeks in a city whose only claim to fame was that it had been built and deserted by people long dead and decayed.
By Tuesday evening he and Kyle had purchased insect repellent, good flashlights, and cool cotton clothes. Zack had also packed a few CDs and his player. Their father assured them that money wouldn't be a problem as he handed both boys a small fortune in cash.
Zack fingered the wad of twenties and fifties. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad. Then he reconsidered, yeah it would. He would be bored, absolutely bored to death. It would be hot and humid and there would be nothing to do except sit around and look at a bunch of stupid ruins.
Before dawn on Wednesday, Kyle and Zack were dropped off at the airport. They departed Sacramento, changed planes in Dallas and continued on to Guatemala City, the whole time traveling in relative silence. Zack and Kyle hadn't discussed the divorce before and they avoided the subject now. Kyle never explained the remark he'd made when he asked Zack if he was satisfied.
He didn't need to explain. Zack knew what he meant.
They arrived in Guatemala City at 6:30 p.m., central time, and Uncle Clifton, white Stetson in hand, met them at the airport. In less than eight hours Zack had gone from California, land of fun in the sun, to the third world nation of Guatemala. In less than eight hours, reality as he'd known it had forever changed. He was now a statistic, a child of divorce and a kid from a broken home. There was nothing he could do to alter the situation even though he'd been the one to set these events in motion the previous January, on Super Bowl Sunday.
Posted by Diana at 5:44 PM 0 comments
Labels: action, adventure, archaeological, magical realism, teen, temples, the maya, tikal


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Easter Vigil Mass: April 23, 2011
Readings for the Great Vigil of Easter: Genesis 1:1—2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a; Genesis 22:1-18;
Exodus 14:15—15:1; Isaiah 54:5-14; Isaiah 55:1-11; Baruch 3:9-15, 32C4:48;
Ezekiel 36:16-17a, 18-28; Romans 6:3-11; Matthew 28:1-10.
Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B.
St. Gregory's Abbey: Shawnee, Oklahoma
My brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is risen from the dead! Alleluia! It is right that we celebrate both with great solemnity and great joy this holy night that sees Christ rise from the dead.
A couple of days ago, I saw an editorial cartoon in a local newspaper that depicted an open rock-hewn tomb with the figure of the Grim Reaper sitting dejectedly alongside it. The hooded figure was holding a sign in his hands. The sign had one word on it: "Unemployed." I admit that I was not very alert that day, and so it took me a few seconds to realize that it was not commenting on the ongoing difficulties in our national economy, but rather on the most important economy of all: the economy of salvation. The cartoonist was anticipating what we celebrate this night- the mystery and reality of Easter.
But it seems to me that the cartoonist slightly missed the mark. Tonight we do not celebrate merely the unemployment of death, we celebrate the defeat of death. As St Paul wrote to the Romans: "We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him." Just a few lines before this, St. Paul reminds us: "We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life." What good news this is for us indeed!
The defeat of death sounds wonderful, but what does it mean? After all, we all know that each of us will at some point experience the difficult reality of physical death – both in the deaths of those we love and in our own death. While we do not know the circumstances of the death that we must personally face, we do know that it will be part of our experience. And so it is natural for us to ask what it means for us to celebrate the defeat of death in the Resurrection of Christ?
One might be tempted to make an analogy with retirement from work by wondering if participation in the resurrection of Christ is like retiring from a difficult or stressful job in order to be freed from the drudgery of the rat race. Some folks fantasize about retirement as being the chance to be at ease and to do all the things they really want to do, rather than always being tied to the duties they have to do. After both my parents retired from careers of hard work, they used to like to say that the only bad thing about retirement is that they no longer had a vacation! Well, is eternal life a perpetual vacation that comes after death?
Truth be told, that is probably not a helpful way to understand the victory of Jesus over death. Our longed-for participation in the resurrection is not retirement from life as we know it. Rather, on the contrary, the resurrection of Jesus actually makes possible for us an even more complete experience of God's precious gift of life!
As we witness in the gospel tonight, and as we will continue to see in the readings of the Easter season, the Resurrection does not involve Jesus in a complete break from his earthly life. He neither becomes someone different, nor does he leave behind his relationship with this world. Rather, he greets the brave women who went to the tomb on that first Easter morning in a familiar way, and then instructs them to tell "his brothers" to go to Galilee where they will encounter him again. In other words, he tells them to go home – to the places with which they are familiar for it is there that they will see him again. In this way, the victory of Jesus over death means that his relationship with his disciples continued beyond the separation and silence of the tomb and was to be restored in places that were well known to them.
From this perspective, the gift of eternal life is not another life that begins after one has died. Rather, the gift of eternal life is something that begins now, in these familiar places: it is our loving relationship with the Lord which begins now and which death cannot destroy. Death has no dominion over us because through baptism we have entered into a relationship with the one who has defeated death.
Of course, our experience of death remains a painful reality in our earthly experience. Even the Venerable Pope John Paul II, who faced death with such courage and faith, once wrote that "…the evil which the human being experiences in death has a definitive and total character." But he also believed in the victory of Christ and courageously proclaimed that death does not destroy the loving relationship between Jesus and those who are united with him through Baptism and the Eucharist.
Like Pope John Paul II, St. Paul, the women at the tomb and the apostles, we also are called to give witness to the resurrection of Christ not merely as a far-off reality that is to be experienced only after our mortal bodies succumb to physical death, but also as a reality that gives direction to our lives in the places that are most familiar to us – our own Galilean homes. Through the teaching he has given us, we know that we will encounter the presence of, the reality of, the Risen Christ in one another and in those who are in most need of love: the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned, the sick, the lonely and the poor to name a few. It is through our Christ-filled response to their needs that we begin on earth the eternal life of heaven. It is through our Christ-filled response in their needs that we proclaim and celebrate our belief in the Lord's triumph over sin and death.
My brothers and sisters, we look forward in faith to the Kingdom of God in its fullness in the life of the world to come. And yet, we can also show our belief in Eternal life by living fully now, with joy and generosity. Our present life is to be valued and cherished because it is a gift from the one who already is beginning to give us everything. Through him, we are we are free to love, free to do what is right, free to give our lives away, even when we must do so in the face of death itself. If we live now in the light of the resurrection we will no longer fear death, but will be ever more confident in the victory of Christ Jesus, our Risen Lord who lives and reigns forever! Amen, Alleluia!


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Scientists believe that the unique atmospheric conditions of the planet Neptune cause it to rain diamonds there, and they've just put this theory to the test. Using the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Laboratory, a research team successfully re-created the methane-rich conditions of the gas giant and created diamond rain.
They did so by subjecting a plastic material called polystyrene to high pressures using SLAC's Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) component of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Also known as the most powerful laser in the world, the MEC created shockwaves in the plastic that turned the carbon atoms inside it into diamonds just a few nanometers in size.
While the diamond raindrops created in SLAC are much, much smaller than those that fall on Neptune, this technology could be used to create nanodiamonds for commercial purposes in the future. And scientists are now one step closer to uncovering the many secrets of that distant planet in our solar system.


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Blog or comment on your experiences to date with any aspect/application of mapping tools. If you have no previous experience, what interests you about this topic?
A pretty old article (2012) but one that lists some interesting ways people have used google maps: http://www.noupe.com/development/collection-of-the-coolest-uses-of-the-google-maps-api.html
I think it's interesting how location and space can be used enrich a story, a piece of information or data, or an experience. It especially works with historical maps. I'd seen the SLNSW historypin stuff before.
I also think it's cool that significant sites and landmarks have been captured on google street view, not just streets:


text: This book contains over 1,000 unique rhythm patterns for developing slap bass technique, inspired and derived from drum rudiments shared by professionals and educators around the world. The exercises are designed to improve an array of aspects across slap and double thump styles: technical ability, precision and timing, rhythmic awareness, speed and accuracy, and dexterity. The Slap Bass Encyclopedia is an intensive guide for the curious bass player that wants to improve their slap bass performance. Includes access to online audio.


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Monday, 19 September 2011
I know I've already posted it on the facebook, the twitter and all the other social networking sites but I literally CAN'T GET OVER how bloody good it is - Walter Van Beirendonck, Nick Knight and Simon Foxton all together in one immense fashion film!!! It's like a dream team of all the greats collaborating on one massive project. The film is to coincide with the launch of Walter Van Beirendonck's retrospective at the Antwerp Fashion Museum celebrating the life and career of one of fashions true mavericks. Walter Van Beirendonck needs no introduction, he is probably single handedly the most influential designer I have ever looked up to throughout my entire fashion obsessed life. Graduating from Belgium's Royal Arts Academy in 1980, he was one of the distinguished 'Antwerp Six' - alongside Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee and Dirk Van Saene (his partner of 30 years) - who together disseminated a radical new aesthetic pioneering a whole new movement in fashion and placing Antwerp firmly on the map as THEE PLACE to study fashion.
Now the Antwerp Fashion Museum (MoMu) is celebrating the 54-year-old designer's three decades at the cutting edge with the first ever large-scale retrospective of his work, entitled 'Dream the World Awake'. I NEED TO GET FLIGHTS BOOKED NOW!
Posted by Samantha McEwen at 09:48
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HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage For Client Virtualization
Client virtualization is an important IT strategy aimed at improving employee productivity by supporting mobility and bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives while assuring application and data security. At the same time it has the ability to improve efficiency and reduce IT infrastructure management costs. On the surface the benefits of client virtualization are very attractive, but without proven deployment methodologies based upon storage that is purpose-built for virtualization, they can be difficult to achieve. Read this paper to learn how HP can offer a complete approach to client virtualization to ensure success no matter how small or large the project.
Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.


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Not sure how to reserve space for practicing outside of lessons? Here's a little help!
Here is the link to reserve UVa gym facilities practice space. You must make an account, but it is free for all users with a valid gym membership (all students have one). See below for a description on the various multipurpose spaces conducive to practicing!
The best places to practice are the various multipurpose rooms in the UVa gyms: the AFC, North Grounds Rec Center, Slaughter, or Mem Gym. Click Here to see the hours of operations for UVA's gyms!
AFC: MP 2/3 is the space where we hold lessons. MP 1 is the room across, which is slightly smaller but still large enough for the majority of dances. MP 4 is located on the top floor near the track, and has a curved shape. It is still sufficient for the majority of practicing.
North Grounds: MP 1/2 is another joint room similar to MP 2/3 in the AFC, however the divider is more often up. MP 1 is larger and therefore better to practice in than MP2. MP3 is located upstairs, by the pool, and is large enough for most dances.
Slaughter: MP 1/2 is another joint rooms, but again the median is often up. They are similarly sized.
Mem Gym: MP1 is a dancing space located behind the office where they swipe your ID, and is roughly the size of MP1 in the AFC. It is often open for booking, but is NOT air conditioned. The other multipurpose rooms in Mem are not dancing spaces.
We're working to use this calendar to allow our members to open up their practice space for people who can't get reservations. If you would like to drop in on another person's practice space, please ask them before showing up, even if their reservation is on this calendar.
You can add your practice space to this calendar in 30 minute blocks using this link. Include your name and location in the title. Note that it may take up to half an hour for your appointment to appear on the calendar. Thanks!
If all the spaces are booked when you want to practice, or you don't have a gym membership, there are plenty of spaces around grounds that you can practice in even if they aren't as ideal as gym space, such as the Chem Building Lobby. Good luck!


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What Kind of Materials Does The Institute Publish?
Main Content
Available on this site are copies of our newsletter, recommendation brochures from institute symposiums, the institute's occasional papers, and other reports produced by the institute.
Institute publications are available in the following pages:
The Simon Review (Occasional Papers)
The Simon Times (Newsletter)
Recommendations/Past Initiative Programs