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Oh to picnic!
Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 | home, weekend | No Comments
Sat on a Gatwick Express train, gently swaying through the countryside, all around is green but looking decidedly murky. Today has been muggy, particularly so. There have been glimpses of sunshine in Shoreditch, but mostly it has been threatening a downpour that so far hasn't come. It is June but this year this gloomy weather does not surprise me.
It does, however, make me long for a picnic. A good, old fashioned, picnic. I yearn for a thick tartan blanket, with slight hints of cat hair. There will be a trestle table that someone has used for wallpapering, with a clean, white tablecloth to cover it. Someone will have brought folding chairs, canvas ones that you sit in momentarily and then fear you may never get out of. There will be cushions, old ones that "don't matter if they get grass stains". They will get grass stains. At one side there will be a large umbrella, for shade, that looks like it might blow away in the slightest breeze – someone will try to anchor it.
Ice will be melting around cold bottles of beer and sparkling wine (we may have even splashed out on Real Champagne). There will be sandwiches of all varieties, to suit both carnivores and vegetarians. Smoked mackerel pate, sausage rolls, Camemberthamroastchickensaladscotcheggs… We'll be tearing at french sticks, smearing them in slightly warm butter and dropping crumbs everywhere. The seagulls will approve.
And this glorious picnic, this glorious day of lounging on grass and flicking off insects, will descend into the beautifulness that is being half-cut on a summer's day. There will be giggles, and short barking shouts of amusement. Someone will fall over, they'll have grass stains too. Fingers sticky with strawberry juice will reach for sparkling water in an effort to keep hydration levels up, this will be a half-hearted attempt and a quick guzzle will soon polish off what's left. Pimms will be called for. And we will smile, and tell stories, and moan and complain about the usual little things that make us irritable. We'll get slight sunburn, but none of us will think to shelter under the umbrella. It will be a splendid day and we will be happy.
So June, please do buck up. You see, I've got the plan all sorted.
Packing up and moving on
Friday, August 1st, 2008 | home | No Comments
Instead of spending my Friday night in the pub, I'm knee deep in bags and boxes, packing up the most important things in my flat. A year and nine months on and I'm moving out, leaving the fantastic wallpaper behind and settling in a couple of hundred yards down the road with Tom.
I've spent the last two hours sorting through my wardrobes and realising how many clothes I have that I simply never wear. Of course, this would be the perfect opportunity to throw things out, and I have made a bit of a dent but I'm hanging on to what is a terrifingly large amount of jeans and jumpers because, quite frankly, you can never have enough of them.
Next up is the kitchen, I'm quite determind to hang on to a large amount of kitchen implements too. You may be starting to suspect that I'm finding it quite difficult to let go of "my stuff", and you could be right. I however, have a perfectly good reason for this. My stuff is just plain better! Well, I might get away with that for some things anyway.
Despite the hoards of boxes and the prospect of deciding over which iron irons best, which kettle boils fastest and which toaster you can fit more bread into, I'm really looking forward to moving. I will miss my little flat. Unlike my last house, I'm the only person who's lived her. And it's all mine, my first mortgage. I was somewhat apprehensive at first, a mortgage means that you're old, finally grown up. In all honesty though it's been no different to paying rent. Well, except I suspect a landlord wouldn't let me get away with chinese dragon wallpaper. I shall be keeping hold of it though and renting it out for the foreseeable future and so can still call it "my little flat".
Once I've got the kitchen packed, I'm going sit back and spend the rest of the evening bathing in the nostalgia, spending what could well be my last night here. I shall settle down with a cold one, lie back on the sofa and trawl through the memories, before stepping on to the next adventure.
Friday, March 2nd, 2007 | home | 2 Comments
With a couple of early nights under my belt and finally having the wallpaper up in the sitting room (thanks Mum!), I am finishing the week in a much better mood than I started. I find myself curled up on the sofa, yet again watching rain splash against the windows, but with the whole weekend ahead of me. The lovely Donovan & Sam, just back from Australia, will be visiting this evening along with upstairs neighbours Lyndsey & Owen. Then tomorrow is Ikea followed by Amy and Em's party whilst Sunday I intend to spend nestled somewhere quiet with a book and my boy.
Top most on my mind this afternoon though, is the news that the entire back of the building needs to be re-rendered as the current rendering has blown. This is hardly surprising; the maintenance so far seems to have consisted only of patching up cracks rather than dealing with the problem properly. It's not an entirely unexpected development, but one that leaves me clutching at my wallet and wondering just how much it will cost. Perhaps replacing the kitchen will need to be put on hold for a while. But this work does need to be done, if the builder who looked at the building today is anything to go by, it hasn't been for the past forty years! It'll save time and money in the long term, but means that I won't be decorating the bedroom just yet. There is damp coming in through the wall and I want to wait until any work is done before I start on that room.
So as I look up at my new wallpaper, and marvel as its lovely iridescence, I'm fully aware of just how much I will appreciate having one room done. It may be a long while yet before I can do anymore.
home and dry
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007 | home | No Comments
Today is a day when it's good to be home and dry. I can hear the rain lashing against the windows, watch the drops run down, glistening in the streetlight and all the while hear the gentle tick of the radiators warming up. Zack, who is a bear of much sense, is nestled on a cushion next to me, occasionally opening his eyes to give me a look before stretching out a paw and letting his chin fall back into place.
I have found myself thinking more often of living in the countryside over the past few weeks. This evening is one I can imagine being perfectly spent in front of an open fire, watching the flames crackle and snap whilst knowing full well that the downpours continue on the other side of the walls. The church bells I can hear ringing from St Peters I imagine are from a village church, nestled between yew hedges with a graveyard full of stones bearing barely legible epitaphs.
It is fortunate that I have nothing planned for the evening but to cook lasagne and curl up on the middle of my sofa, cushions and blankets and bears at the ready with an Agatha Christie or P D James and nothing to interrupt but Mr Zack's slow purr. I have prescribed this night of self-indulgence to help ease the melancholy that has slipped over me for the past week or so. I shall refuse to let the grey clouds past the windows, instead basking in the soft light and tempting smells of browning mince and garlic.
Friday, December 22nd, 2006 | christmas, home | No Comments
I've wrapped all the presents, I've put up the tree, I've put the tree up again once the cats had knocked it down, I've cleared the dust and cleared more dust from the plasterers and I've finished work until next year.
Tomorrow I'm going to pick up the joint of wild boar ready for marianading. I will
do this for approx 48 hours with red wine, ginger, chilli, bay leaves, garlic and onion and will also use this mix as a baste whilst I slow roast it on Monday. I'm then going to make the Biscuit Tortoni for the dessert, a frozen mixture of sherry, cream and biscuit that was my favourite for a number of years. I'm really looking forward to cooking again, having not had time to make anything resembling a proper meal for weeks now. The days of catching up on our working day over the oven have been few and far between and I've really missed the joy I get from concocting something heavenly.
I'm so looking forward to relaxing for the next week and a half. Christmas Day will be lovely and relaxed, and after that we're off to Mum & Dad's for Boxing Day. Lyndsey and I are off to the ballet on Wednesday evening and that is all I have planned until New Years Eve. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that I don't need to do anything for days on end.
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There's sure to be hundreds of musical and culinary marvels at Ruido Fest, but we're looking forward in a special way to the following acts, which include several Chicago debuts.
Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas
From Detroit, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas serve up a tropicalized Motor City rock with a whole lot of soul. Born to a Mexican American mother and Cuban dad, Hernandez is blessed with a powerhouse voice that seems to be possessed by Amy Winehouse's spirit, and she can do it all in both English and Spanish.
Playing Chicago for the first time, the Puerto-New York-Rican duo of Buscabulla, i.e., Raquel Berrios y Luis Alfredo del Valle, will cool us off with their deliciously chill take on reggaeton and bachata's dream-pop side.
Mon Laferte
Mon Laferte, the Chilean diva now based in Mexico, sets stages on fire with or without Juanes (the two sing about getting tied up in the amorous sense in a recent duet). In her latest album, Laferte channels the longing-filled passion of old school trios, with an indelibly feminine touch.
Javiera Mena
Also from Chile, indie singer songwriter Javiera Mena deploys computers, synths and a lovely voice in tunes that evoke 21st Century updates of the classic pop rock in Spanish for which her homeland became deservedly famous world-round.
Las Piñas
We were delighted to discover Argentina's Las Piñas thanks to the Ruido Fest lineup. It will be a treat to check out their particular brand of slightly dark surf rock that despite being immensely danceable, foresees an inevitable winter even while celebrating summertime waves.
Check out more Ruido Fest sounds on Beat Latino's special preview edition!
Featured photo: Jessica Hernandez, Courtesy of the Artist

subset: commoncrawl


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Classifieds WordPress Theme is a business friendly classified ads theme from PremiumPress. Theme is ideal for online classified websites with many payment gateway integration. It has unmatched features for better ads posting experience. Theme include advance search fields to search any products by categories, zip code and distance.
Classifieds WordPress Theme is similar look like OLX.in and Quikr.com website. It contain carousel slider for show recently added classifieds. Built in account page template to easily manage profile. It has customizable listing packages. Admin can easily setup both free and paid listing packages. Showcase your team and staff member in team page.
Download Classifieds WordPress Theme
Classifieds WordPress Theme has ad post button in header bar to instant post an ads. Wide range of media types supported like images, video, music, PDF. Allow your users to upload and share their content. It has complete responsive framework. Classifieds theme look great on any device such as mobile, desktop and laptop. Drag & drop home page layout builder. Easily add or remove modules from home page.
Features of Classifieds WordPress Theme :
- Fully responsive design – Fits in any browser and any screen resolutions
- Suited for create classified websites and other online selling website
- Look like OLX.in and Quikr.com classified website
- Customizable fonts – Uses Google font library
- Account page – Manage your and seller profile
- 20+ major payment gateway integration with Paypal
- Upload own background image
- 30+ various theme designs
- Advance search panel – Easy to find any product by categories and by distance
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- Upload theme logo and favicon image
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- Classifieds WordPress Theme is compatible with WordPress 3.9+ above versions
For Classifieds WordPress Theme Package: $79.99
For PremiumPress VIP Collection: $249.99 ( Get access to all themes )


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If you have saved filters on the dashboard and wish to clear them or if you wish to restore the reports displayed in your dashboard to the default settings, take the following steps.
- Select the System Functions wrench at the top of the screen next to the IndustrySafe Logo.
- Under Preferences, select the Set Preferences link.
- To clear your saved dashboard filters, click the Rest Dashboard Filters button.
- To reset the reports on your dashboard to the defaults, click the Reset Dashboard Reports button.
- Click on the Dashboard tab to return to the Dashboard.
For more information on configuring your dashboard, see the Dashboard category.


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After a messy divorce, corporate lawyer Eilish (played by Roisin Gallagher) has swiped right on her 'Big Fish' dating app and met businessman Conor (Michael Condron). The nervy, fumbling chit chat after their first date along with jokes that fall flat quickly have the audience giggling with schadenfreude as we revel in the pair's discomfort.
"In Iceland they put bankers in jail; here they run around sabotaging businesses."
The walls of Eilish's modern apartment spin round to create work environments and we are introduced to the world of corporate lawyers examining paperwork to find the loopholes that will allow big banks to maximise their return from the failing businesses they once supported.
"I sell underwear and the bottom's falling out of the market."
The big reveal occurs as the work lives of Eilish and Conor collide into their personal bliss and the continued success of their respective careers appears to rely on their professional combat. When the consequences of Eilish's day-to-day work are laid out on the couch before her, she is forced to rethink her priorities and decide between the two men who dominate her life.
If Love or Money has a weakness it is that its binary analysis sets up the finance industry and its legal teams as totally beyond redemption. Yet the underdeveloped character of Travis – who has first hand knowledge of traditional Northern Ireland techniques of intimidation to thwart legal action – is allowed to remain a soft and acceptable reaction to mis-selling loans and poor product sales.
Roisin Gallagher and Michael Condron are a particularly loveable couple on-stage and bring Rosemary Jenkinson's witty script to life. Towards the end, their unrushed delivery and sense of timing introduces a subtle element of doubt as to whether Conor has been "all aboard the truth train" or has been taking Eilish for a ride. I interviewed the playwright in a preview post last week.
Full of laughs, pathos and pity, Love or Money is a left-wing rom com from C21 Theatre Company that champions the underdog and shines a light on the murky world of how big banks treat their soon to be former clients.
Love or Money runs in the Lyric Theatre until Saturday 27 February before touring Ballymena (29 February), Newtownards (2 March), Newtownabbey (3), Cushendall (4), Limavady (5), Newry (8), Derry (9), Armagh (10), Downpatrick (11) and Lisburn (12). Details on C21's website. Suitable for ages 16+.
Photos by Ciara McCarrie


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1976 Leyland Princess HL 1.8 from UK and Ireland
Despite the problems, it left me with a smile
Cracked head.
Serious overheating problem, resulting in most of my coolant ending up on the road.
Choke lock never worked (had to hold it open with clothes pegs), and remove each clothes peg as the engine warmed up.
Cold starting problem (never rectified) - had to bump start it.
Hot starting problem (never rectified) - had to bump start it.
In effect, whenever I wanted to go anywhere, I had to make sure I was on a convenient gradient. The same for filling up with petrol... trying to find a petrol station on a hill was a right pain.
Drivers door window would retract at a 45 degree angle after winding down about two thirds of the way. In the end, I never actually saw the window again... it disappeared somewhere into the depths of the door. Still nobody stole it!!
Despite being powered by an engine of reasonable size (sort of), it had all the acceleration of the Ark Royal. Fastest I ever had out of her was 85mph downhill... terrifying.
Drivers seat collapsed with me sitting in it at the time. Fortunately, I wasn't moving, the result of which would have been interesting.
Radio could only pick up Radio Four (not good when you are in your twenties and like rock music!) Installed a Goodmans car stereo (packed up), installed another Goodmans stereo (a replacement for the first... fell to bits after two weeks). Installed a Saisho (what happened to them?) car stereo (devoured my tape and packed up).
Rear window demister never worked.
Heater (a contradiction in terms), never actually blew heat, only cold air. Great in the winter!
Headlights were sealed beam units, so gave off as much light as a candle - result: I fitted a pair of incredibly powerful (but not exactly legal) spotlights to the front.
Took it through the car wash, and the brushes took the vinyl off both c-pillars.
General Comments:
Moaning about it aside, it was given to me, so never cost me anything to buy. I'd previously had a 1100 (we are talking back in the mid-80's), which although technically it was my first car, due to numerous problems, I only drove it twice. I therefore consider the Princess to have been my first 'real' car.
One of the big headaches of owning one of these things, was that damned stupid Hydragas suspension. Like Citroen and their hydro-pneumatic suspension, BL seemed to think that this would be a good idea when in effect, it was over complicated, often went wrong, and had to be constantly pumped up with air. God help you if you sprang a leak somewhere in the system. Conventional springs would have been much simpler.
Masses of room inside, but a pig to negotiate into tight areas...no power steering (at least not on the HL, unless it was an optional extra). It was hard work. No need for airbags or crumple zones in these things. If anything hit you, you had a fair chance of survival (that's how it felt when driving anyway).
In the end, I admitted defeat and decided to scrap the car (for £25). Bought a Renault 9.
Despite the fact mine was a '76 model, so therefore one of the early Princess 'wedges', it was on an 'S' plate (apparently, it had spent its first two years on Jersey).
The Princess should have been a hatchback from the start, but this obvious idea escaped the boys in the British Leyland design studios. The inclusion of a hatchback was finally built into the equally as bad, Austin Ambassador some years later. By that time the competition had stolen the march, and BL's past was already haunting them.
It summarised everything about British Leyland at that time. Unreliable, over complicated, awful build quality, quirky, but able to withstand all the ravages of war.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 2nd November, 2006
26th Nov 2007, 07:02
I drive a Princess from 1980. It has proven to be completely reliable.
It starts first time, every time, is very comfortable and economical (for its size and weight).
It also passed it's last MOT without any problems!
Did I somehow manage to get the only one that worked?
18th Jan 2008, 11:00
I had one given to me, a 1979 2.0 HLS, it was rotten as a pear, but totally reliable for the 10 months I had it (until the mot ran out and I scrapped it) had great seats too, with armrests in the front.
18th Jan 2008, 11:49
I've had four BL cars (two 1300s and two Princesses) with hydragas suspension, and I didn't think the system was any less reliable than a conventional setup, provided it was looked after.
A very common bodge is to use mains water to refill the system, rather than hydraulic fluid. This is probably the root cause of most problems.
26th Dec 2008, 17:09
I own very last Princess 2.0 HLS, very comfortable car, I also have an 1978 2.2 HL auto, also vert comfortable and smooth, shame BL didn't mate a 5 speed box to the range. I did have an Ambassador 2.0 Vanden Plas, that was a very nice car, the car that the Princess should have been with the tailgate. The Princess was a well designed car for the the time.
5th Feb 2011, 21:02
I had a 1982 Prinny 1700 HL years ago. It was, I guess, about ten years old when I bought it. It actually wasn't a bad car - very comfortable and basically reliable. Not a bad car to drive either, with a well struck balance of driver appeal and supreme comfort - far better than Citroen's oleopnuematic system. There was a good car in there somewhere, but confused marketing, glaring omissions (wot, no hatchback) and shoddy build quality ultimately put paid to its deserved success. And now for a confession - I was one of the few who thought it was a good looking car, still think so today...


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Resources within the UMW Community:
- The Office of Disability Resources
- Student Health Center
- Student Veteran Resources
- Career Services
- Academic and Career Services
- The Speaking Center
- James Farmer Multicultural Center
- Dean of Student Life
- Violence Prevention & Threat Assessment
- Student Activities and Engagement
- Campus Recreation
Local Mental Health Provider List:
- Mental Health America Fredericksburg List of Fredericksburg Providers. Includes therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Click on "Provider list" on the left column to access most updated list.
Other Services Available from Private Agencies:
- Snowden at Fredericksburg– In addition to inpatient psychiatric care, Snowden also provides a partial hospitalization program, and an intensive outpatient program for substance-related disorders. Click the link above to see a virtual tour of the new facility.
- Rappahannock Area Community Services Board– Provides 24 hour crisis intervention. Can help facilitate after-hours inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Facilitates admission to Crisis Stabilization program (Sunshine Lady House), an alternative to psychiatric inpatient care.
- Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center Behavioral Health– Located in the Spotsylvania Regional Hospital about 10 minutes drive from campus, this is a 10-bed acute inpatient psychiatric unit. There is also a partial-hospitalization program off-site.
Local Support Groups and Resources:
- Mary Washington Health Care Support Groups.
- HIV and AIDS Support
- Mental Health America list includes Survivors of Suicide, and Depression and Bipolar Support Groups
- INFO Newsletter– Courtesy of Fredericksburg Counseling Services. Comprehensive list of mental health resources, support groups, and AA/NA meetings.
- Bereavement Support Groups List– Courtesy of Mary Washington Health Care
- Sexual Assault Support Rappahannock Area Council Against Sexual Assault (RCASA)
- Empower House (Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence), Resources for women in abusive relationships.
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- Narcotics Anonymous
Online Support Groups and Useful External Websites:
- National Institute of Mental Health – Public Information
- American Psychological Association – Public Information
- National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
- Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA)
- Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD)
- Go Ask Alice – Columbia University's Health Q & A Internet Service
- National Alliance on Mental illness (NAMI)
- Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
- Wrong Planet– Wrong Planet is the web community designed for individuals (and parents / professionals of those) with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, PDDs, and other neurological differences.
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network
- What a Difference a Friend Makes Learn more about how to support your friends, classmates, or students with a mental health disability.
- "Am I Gay?" A Guide for People Who Question Their Sexual Orientation
Brochures and Information
- Depression and Mood Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Alcohol and Drinking
- Test Anxiety
- Public Speaking Anxiety
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Coping with Disaster and Crisis
- Coping with Grief and Loss
- Mental Health and the College Experience
- First Year Survival Guide
- Understanding Self-Injury, Cornell University
- The Student Counseling Virtual Pamphlet Collection – A large collection of pamphlets from different college and university counseling centers covering a wide variety of topics.


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LED Desk Lamp, TaoTronics Stylish Metal Table Lamps, Office Light with USB Charging Port, 5 Color Modes, 6 Brightness Levels, Memory/ Favorite Function, Timer, Night light
The TaoTronics Multi-function LED Desk Lamp lets you select from 5 light modes and 6 levels of brightness for the perfect lighting. With a full metal body and high quality LED light can also be an art-piece on your desk, whether it's on or off. Metallic and Flexible The TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp features a… Read More »


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Three quarters of all seeds planted in Tanzania are farm-saved seeds, while only a third are bought from the commercial seed companies. Small farmers prefer the so-called "informal" seed system because the seeds are affordable, available and reliable. Commercial seeds are expensive, only available for mainstream crops like maize and vegetables, and often found to be fake, failing to germinate when planted.
Yet the smallholder farmers are encouraged by extension staff to drop their seed saving practices and buy 'improved' seeds from the stockists. Government policy is focused on facilitating the seed companies to take over seed supply to the nation, with new laws and policies that support and protect the seed companies, while marginalizing small farmers' seed-saving practice.
Tabio is working to support farmers and make their voices heard by the policy makers and donors who drive the commercial seed agenda. The farmers are calling for government to:
- Educate farmers to improve the productivity of local seeds
- Improve the QDS quality declared seed system for seed security
- Recognise that local seeds are a forgotten treasure
- Abolish the distribution of fake seeds
The farmers are calling on their local politicians and decision makers to:
- Use crop cess (local tax) to improve QDS provision
- Stop fake seeds, and compensate farmers
- Improve the farmer-managed seed system to enhance farmers' seed rights and security
- Involve farmers and recognize farmers' views in the seed law making process
Tabio's current work includes a comprehensive study of the farmer managed seed sector in Tanzania, organizing meetings to bring together seed savers with government officials, supporting farmers to lobby their local politicians and decision makers, and a documentary film to bring farmers' seed rights to a national audience.
The African Centre for Biodiversity have developed a collection of informative posters on seeds:
Rights of Farmers (Swahili) -Haki za Wakulima: Download here
|Farmers' rights and the seed treaty : Download here
|Haki za Wakulima na mkataba wa mbegu: Pakua hapa
|Farmer-Managed Seed Systems in Africa: Download here
|Mifumo ya Mbegu Inayosimamiwa na Wakulima Barani Afrika: Pakua hapa
|What is Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and Protected Varieties?: Download here
|Ulinzi wa Aini za Mmea/ Mbegu na Aina Zinazolindwa ni Nini?: Pakua hapa
In 2015, the Bureau for Agriculture Consultancy and Advisory Service (BACAS) of the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) were commissioned by TOAM to study Farmer Managed Seed Systems (FMSS) in Tanzania. The Study can be found here: Download here
Policy Briefs
TABIO has prepared policy briefs to inform decision makers.
Domestication of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in Tanzania (ENGLISH): Access here


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None of these pieces were made from patterns. The bag design was shown to me from a friend and the skirts, dresses & aprons were made up based on samples & measurements of the girls I was sewing for.
Very large pile of homemade Christmas presents:
Library Bags:
Shopping or baby change bags:
Shirred dresses - my fave!!! I really need some daughters! ; )
I'm trying to find my sewing mojo again to think of some goodies for this coming Christmas. Next week is my toddler's 3rd birthday so hopefully after that, I'll start thinking of some new creative bits to make with my HUGE supply of fabric!
Love Amy xoxo


text: Judith Heft Appointed to the Senior Services of Stamford Board of Trustees Stamford, CT – (June 29, 2011) – Judith Heft was recently named to the Board of Trustees for Senior Services of Stamford. The organization, which has been in operation for over a century, offers financial assistance, counseling and advocacy for senior citizens in Stamford. Judith Heft & Associates recently celebrated its… Continue Reading..


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Go Back >>>
What would you do, particularly as you don't know anything about road building? It would take a long while to master a breadth of knowledge that has taken many centuries to accumulate. Many mistakes made over many years in many ways have been invested in that knowledge. It takes years to learn about that knowledge, it would take a lifetime if you had to start from scratch without learning from the past.
One of the secrets to life is learning from those who have gone before. Nobody undertakes an important project without being trained. It is the same with life. Life is infinitely more important and complicated than building a road, yet many of us think we can get on with living without learning from those who have gone before.
The writer of Proverbs says that to succeed in life you have to desire wisdom. Pursue it; seek it out with passion and enthusiasm; hang out with wise people; observe how they apply it to living; ask questions and keep asking questions. Make it a lifelong quest. But how many of us actually do that?
The choice to seek wisdom requires a certain amount of humility, a willingness to acknowledge your own ignorance and a preparedness to put to aside your own wants and needs. By seeking and following wisdom there are many things that you will not attempt to follow because others have been there and have found it doesn't work. In other words, wisdom trusts those who have gone before us.
"Wisdom calls us to empty ourselves, die to self, and silence our own voices.
This is what Jesus was talking about when he said that "whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it" (Matthew 16:25). Wisdom calls us to empty ourselves, die to self, and silence our own voices. Wisdom acknowledges that we don't know it all, and it is good to ask others.
Wisdom recognises that this propensity to put our own self-belief at the centre of our lives is perhaps one of the most difficult challenges in our quest for wisdom. Giving up this confidence in self and trusting in the God who made us seems so counter-intuitive in our contemporary world.
We are challenged to seek wisdom and one place to find it is in those who have gone before us and from the One who made us. Both of these are fulfilled in Jesus. May God strengthen us all to seek wisdom in him. Life is too important to leave it to guesswork.
Stephen L Baxter
Go Back >>>


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AllAboutBikes Magazine today named former Kawasaki PR Manager Jan Plessner as the Director of Business Development and Editor of LadyMoto.com. Plessner will be based in Southern California.
A twenty-three year powersports executive, advocate for women in motorcycling, and serious enthusiast, Plessner will grow the magazine's LadyMoto brand with an emphasis on lifestyle and an eye on increasing the number of female motorcyclists in the U.S.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, just over half of the nation's population is female and 120 million of these women are old enough to vote or purchase a motorcycle. Yet, the most recent Motorcycle Industry Council's owner survey found that women make up only 23 percent of the entire population of motorcyclists.
"I'd like to see LadyMoto.com play an integral part to move, inspire and enroll the millions of women currently sitting on the fence. The number of females who ride should be significantly higher," Plessner said. "There are many great motorcycles in the market that fit women and just as many legitimate options for protective and stylish riding gear."
"LadyMoto.com will complement the great work already being done by women like Genevieve Schmitt and others. We will showcase new products and new technology of course, but LadyMoto.com will also carry features about learning to ride, women who inspire, attaining life balance and improving health and fitness," Plessner shared.
"Jan's in-depth experience and success in the powersports industry make her the perfect fit for our organization and the LadyMoto brand. Her passion for motorcycles and dedication to growing our industry is second to none. We are absolutely thrilled to have her on board," said Julian Taylor, President and CEO, AllAboutBikes.
Plessner will also continue to serve as a guest contributor for Motorcycle-usa.com, Powersports Business, American Motorcyclist and others. Catch up with Jan at the upcoming American Motorcyclist Association's International Women and Motorcycling Conference or contact her at email@example.com.
AllAboutBikes Magazine is a subsidiary of JVH Media Group, LLC and is distributed nationally in print on a bi-monthly basis. AllAboutBikes.com focuses on all genres of the motorcycling industry. The magazine is also available in digital format.


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UPPER WEST SIDE — Tapas are universal.
That's Marion Maur's philosophy and part of the inspiration behind her new Spanish restaurant, Casa Pomona, co-owned with longtime New York restaurateur Sid Gupta, at 507 Columbus Ave between 84th and 85th Streets, opening Oct. 1.
In Spain, explained Maur, "it doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, everyone has tapas." It's a tradition that spans across demographics in which you spend an hour "having a glass of sherry and bringing in the evening," she said.
And it's a tradition she thinks will appeal to all the different people who live on the Upper West Side in her mind, from single 20-somethings, to young families, to older couples.
She hopes the timing of the restaurant will help add to the burgeoning foodie zone popping up on Columbus Ave.
"I think the Upper West Side is considered the Siberia of the food world... but if there was to be a hipster block, this would be it," she said, referencing popular spots like Osteria Cotta and nearby Momofuku Milk Bar.
Maur was a chef in her own restaurant in Woodstock, New York, before working at neighborhood spot Papardella.
Casa Pomona has a hip, industrial feel to the space, with rough hewed wooden table tops, chalkboard walls and a splash of bright red paint accenting the bar. It fits 114 people and has high tables and a bar in the front that Maur hopes will appeal to a younger crowd and a more traditional dining area at the back if groups want to settle in for dinner.
The menu, by Chef Jodi Bernhard, is inflected with a hipster, foodie sensibility, from meatballs with oxtail to Duck liver with spicy peach on homemade seeded rye bread to a Spanish Manhattan with unsweetened cherry juice with sherry and Spanish brandy, with tapas dishes ranging between $3 and $12.
Maur hopes the openness and affordability of tapas will encourage people to mix and match their local dining experience, perhaps with drinks and small bites first at Casa Pomona before heading next door to Kefi for dinner, or swinging by after dinner for sherry and dessert.
"For Americans, tapas is a lot of small plates until I fall off the chair, but I love that. You bring something to New York and then make it your own."


text:
Commercial Premium Envelopes...
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ENVELOPE TYPE: Wallet
SEALING: Peel And Seal
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Chatting With Creators – Stardock Talks Galactic Civilizations III
Stardock is famous for being one of the largest and longest lasting independent game developers in the world. They create some very great, and quite useful, pieces of software as well as being the producer of some very fine 4X and real-time strategy games on the PC.
Recently a new expansion pack to Galactic Civilizations III titled Revenge of the Snathi was released, as was a pretty substantial update. So we had a chat with Brad Wardell, the CEO of Stardock Corporation to talk a little bit about Galactic Civilizations II, where it's headed and what we can expect from the future of one of the most intriguing, highly engaging and very well done 4X strategy games of all time.
The Future of Galactic Civilizations III looks rather bright.
- 4X Strategy games are making a sweeping comeback with many great new titles, do you think they're becoming more accessible to more people?
- Definitely. One of the reasons they've come back is for the most mundane of reasons: Screen resolution. The evolution of useful, friendly tooltips to explain what items in the game are for has helped make these games far more approachable. But attractive, friendly tooltiops require a lot of pixels to do right and it's really only in the last few years that 1920×1080 has become mainstream.
- With the inclusion of the somewhat forgettable yet adorable Snathi, are there plans to make any of the other minor factions playable? The Exis Empire might make for a hilarious storyline by themselves.
- Ha. Yea, one of the investments we made with the GalCiv III engine is the campaign system. It was expensive to do for us but it allows us to introduce players to lots of new alien civilizations with their own engaging stories.
- Speaking of story. Side quests have been phenomenal in Sorcerer King, could that concept be brought into Galactic Civilization III?
- Absolutely. I think over the next few years, you're going to see a lot of those kinds of ideas make their way to GalCiv III.
- A fantastic part of any sci-fi space-based game is taking over planets themselves, are there any plans for letting us control the invasions on the ground themselves?
- We actually had that in the Beta but it didn't really come together. I don't know when we'll get around to that. It's something we want to do but we're going to want a long period of time with it in beta so our community can give us feedback on how they want it to work.
- Clearly, ship design is a major focus, with a lot of control offered. Are there any plans to have massive super-weapons added in the future?
- Yes. But I can't say more on that. 🙂
- DX12 is definitely a controversial topic these days. Are there plans to add support for DX12 and include support for Asynchronous compute engines?
- Eventually. Right now, DirectX 11 is still such a big boost for us. Virtually every other strategy game on the market right now other than GalCiv III is still a 32-bit, DirectX 9 game. DirectX 11, 64-bit gives GalCiv a lot of room to grow still.
- With that in mind, are there any particular ways in which you are able to do asynchronous compute on NVIDIA's Maxwell? How does that compare to AMD?
- For Ashes of the Singularity, it's a pretty big deal. But as good as Maxwell is, Pascal is going to have some really interesting features that will have a pretty big impact on the transition of games being rendered like, well games to games having engines that work more like the way movie CGI works.
- It might not be the most powerful platform, but do you think that consoles could be place to bring 4X strategy games and Galactic Civilizations III to in the future?
- A year ago I would have said no way. But one interesting development has been the Xbox support in Windows 10. Right now, I still would say no, we' re a PC games developer. But in the future, I think there will be a place for them. We do plan to support consoles with some of our upcoming projects including Star Control.
Thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our questions, and we look forward to seeing the evolution of Galactic Civilizations III.


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Troubled Teen Warning Signs
Does Your Child Need to Attend California Leadership Academy?
__ You are concerned your child will not graduate high school, let alone achieve a good grade point average.
__ He/Sheseems depressed, anxious or withdrawn, rarely coming out of his/her bedroom.
__ His/Her hygiene has gone down hill — far outside of your family's standards.
__ TOTAL (if your total is more than 9, your child is at a high risk of failure and self-destruction)
If there are red flags, listen to these warnings. It's time to step it up; not step away. Do not put your head in the sand hoping things will be okay. Listen to your own instincts. If you think you need to take action, you probably do. Trust yourself. Be the safeguard your teen can count on.
Some of the more common signs that a child needs help:
• He/She defies instruction openly and can become verbally abusive and physically violent when confronted
• He/She has run away from home and/or stays out for long periods at a time
• He/She experiments with alcohol, tobacco or other harmful or illegal substances
• He/She has sexually promiscuous behavior
• He/She has problems at school and with school authorities (fights, poor grades, etc:)
• He/She or she is or has been in trouble with the law
• He/She has participated in vandalism or damage of property
• He/She steals money or things
• He/She has changed his/her/regular group of friends or has become socially withdrawn
• He/She has sudden and radical mood changes you have not seen before, or he/she seems to lack empathy for others, and cares about little of anything of importance.


text: "Steve Vinoski" <> writes: > Seems that if you turn on OTP_SMALL_BUILD when building, you get a > very minimal system, but if you leave it out, you get everything. > Makes sense, but what if you want something in between? > > Is there a way to use OTP_SMALL_BUILD first, do a build and install, > and then individually build and install any extra packages you might > want on top of that? Or is it better to do a full build but tell > configure to leave out the packages you don't want, assuming that's > possible via --with-package=no? Leaving out Megaco and the ORB seems > like it would cut out a lot of stuff that I don't need, for example. If you first do export ERL_TOP=`pwd` (from the top-level directory of the source-code tree), you can then cd to any application and run 'make' to build it. > Also, how does one build from source (I'm on Linux, BTW) in such a way > to ensure that C object files, libraries, and executables are not > debuggable (and are maybe even stripped), erlang sources are compiled > without +debug_info, etc. in order to minimize system size? You can strip out debug_info afterwards by running beam_lib:strip/1. That's what I do in Wings 3D (http://wings3d.com). The source code package for Wings 3D contains scripts and Erlang code to package the Wings 3D application and the necessary part of Erlang/OTP into as small package as possible (for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows). Those scripts could be an useful starting point for packaging your application. /Bjorn -- Björn Gustavsson, Erlang/OTP, Ericsson AB


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Glasgow University has changed the structure of final year to now be a 52 week year- so that everyone has the most practical experience they can, before graduating as veterinarians.
I started my final year on Small animal core rotation, starting with the Dogs trust in Glasgow. This is a surgery rotation meant to let us spay/ castrate dogs. Because I got so much experience In Cyprus when I went do see EMS there, I was pretty confident. Each rotation we have to pass something called a DOPS, which is based of "day one competent" tasks we are meant to be able to do. I was DOPSed on a bitch spay the first day and passed =).
The next week I was on Dermatology, ophthalmology and rabbits. The week started with ophthalmology at the Glasgow small animal hospital with George Peplinski. We spent the day sitting in on all his consultations- getting to assess the animals that came in. I was a bit sad that we only had one day on ophthalmology because I enjoyed it so much at Willows referral hospital, aspecially that we didn't get to see any surgeries. Tuesday and Thursday we were on Dermatology on a practice outside of Glasgow in Paisley, working with Pete Forsynthe in Derm referrals. He was a great teacher and made sure we knew how to do dermatological clinical exam on the patients that came in, along with dermatological sampling, cytology and allergy testing. I had a DOPS on dermatological exam of a hyper springer spaniel, but passed this one as well. Wednesday we were doing rabbit spay/castrations with miss Livia Benato. We weren't that lucky with the rabbit spays for this day. Two rabbit were schedules for a spay, but one had complications during induction which lead to the surgery being pushed on week, and the next rabbit had a scar on its linea albae. When we opened up, it was discovered that the rabbit was already spayed previously. Therefore most of the day went to rabbit husbandry and handling instead.
In the weekend I was asked to Guide the buss for the International society of Glasgow to Alnwick castle, which is also known as Hogwarts, where a lot of the harry potter films were filmed. It was a beautiful castle and a really fun day out with Broomstick flying & Medieval fancy dress. Too bad the weather wasn't too great down in England. The weather in Glasgow had really been amazing the past weeks with temperatures up to 30'c.
This past week I was consulting for the PDSA aid hospital in Glasgow. I got to consult some of the clients that came in, then the vet had a look and I had to tell him what was wrong, formulate a plan and then talk to the owner and do what was needed. I really enjoyed this form of teaching. It made me feel like a vet, as well as I had the backup from the vet to be sure I wasn't diagnosing the animal wrong. We had everything from dogs, cats, puppies, kittens, budgies, rabbits etc. It was a lively clinic with a variety of different clinical presentations. PDSA is a veterinary practice for people on housing benefits who can afford the ordinary vets. I really like that there is a place, so that these animals are seen to, even when their owners can't afford the vet. Although most of what we did was free to the clients, there were a few health/ welfare issues where the owners had left things too long before bringing the animals in. we didn't have to put any animals down, but severe/ long term treatment was needed on some of the cases.
Next week i'm in the PDSA as well, but this time on the surgery rotation, so I'm looking forward to that =)
Also I'd like you all too meet a new individual in my life. Below picture is my new dog Tasha. She's an 11 week old labradoodle girl. I got here yesterday and she's very well so far.


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Two days ago, a close friend of mine was having a birthday, and the moment I stepped into the car, he told me his idea of celebrating the day was: AKS - 'Asal Kamu Senang' (in english: 'Whatever Pleases You'). So of course I went on board with his brilliant idea! LOL.
First stop! I chose to have a spa treatment, so he googled a bit and found this place called Bimasena, at The Dharmawangsa Hotel. Here's me on it's backyard. :)
Ok take one more, then!
Stepping in.. It was a pretty small hotel, nice atmosphere, though. :)
Both of us had the Traditional Indonesian Massage Hydrotherapy (1.5 hour) in separate rooms because we'll be wearing paper panties only wtf. By the end of the session, the masseuse patted me on the back cos I fell asleep! Woah I reaaalllllly love her massage!! So soothing and all! :D
Next, for the sake of the AKS theme, I chose to have a hair treatment at Irwan Team's Salon which located in Grand Indonesia. But, since we didn't make any reservation, it was already packed by the time we got there. T_T
It's pretty sad cos I really love their Kerastase Treatment. This is the treatment room and a pic of me wearing the robe, taken on March haha.
But, worry not my friends, there are plenty other salons in the mall! So we got to Peter Saerang instead, got Hair Spa Treatment while slurping Soup & Spoon's delicious soups (bought them on our way to the salon). ˆڡˆ
Pampered body -checked.
Gorgeous hair -checked.
Delicious appetizer -checked.
Gorgeous hair -checked.
Delicious appetizer -checked.
Ah, it's time for a meal! Hahaha actually I felt pretty awful for my friend because it was his birthday and he got to do all these girly stuffs. Well in my defense, it was HIS idea to get me pleased (:b) and in my second defense, he seemed to enjoy it as well, aside from the complaining. Hahaha.
Going on, we went to Social House; full. Paulaner Brauhaus; also full. And finally went down to Ninety-Nine and got seated by the bar after waiting for a while. Haha it was a nice spot, though! Got some food and this sweet red wine that tasted REEEEEAL GOOD: Piemonte Brachetto. I love sweet wine!
Next, we were going back to the parking lot, thinking what to do next, then we passed Fun World, and yeah, it's our next activity! ♥
Next, we were going back to the parking lot, thinking what to do next, then we passed Fun World, and yeah, it's our next activity! ♥
He just got back from the car for taking the camera, and took these pics of me playing basketball wth. Super wrong outfit for the game but, nevermind :b I scored 217 pts, btw! Hm, haven't lost my skill, apparently. Hahaha..
Lousiest karaoke ever, choosing the songs was quite a challenge with that giant remote over there T_T
And... Here's my favorite!!
Didn't ride this carousel for real anyway hehe.
And... Here's my favorite!!
Didn't ride this carousel for real anyway hehe.
Played other games some more, finally got exhausted and we decided to go home after all the fun we had. :)
He told me it was the best birthday ever lohhh hahaha! And guess what? By the time we got in my apartment's lobby, he gave me THIS:
Containing a pretty dress, a beautiful pink rose and a thoughtful handwritten letter.
Muahahahahahaha it certainly felt like MY birthday instead of his! But anyway, like he said, it was his best birthday ever, and I couldn't agree more. ;b
Happy birthday, AB!
.Photo Courtesy of Google and Elleandjess.
© Jessica Yamada 2011
© Jessica Yamada 2011
.Photo Courtesy of Google and Elleandjess.


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City South News
When hairstylist Carole Haddad was diagnosed with breast cancer on Christmas Eve in 2006, she did not believe it was true.
"I pretended it wasn't happening, then went to the doctor a few days later and it was confirmed," she said. Ms Haddad, who owns and manages CorCorz Hair and West End, said she had surgery on New Year's Day. "I am now in remission and feeling great," she said.
Ms Haddad has been crowned the Cancer Council's Pink Ambassador for 2008. "We've got to get the word out there about breast cancer. "It will affect almost everyone in some way," she said.
The Cancer Council is calling on women to get their friends together for a Girls Night In event in October, in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Pink Ribbon Day on October 27.


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"Where Conscious Mothers connect, share and grow."
A 5-session, fortnightly group in Perth, WA
Without a doubt, many parts of motherhood are wonderful.
However there are plenty of days where feeling happy as a mother and having an 'easy' baby or child is as elusive as finding a unicorn.
Even though we might be surrounded by a loving partner, family and friends we can often feel very lonely, exhausted and just 'over it'.
Sometimes motherhood simply feels boring, relentless and simply 'too much'.
If you want to find the joy in motherhood and you want to feel connected to other mothers who know what it's like then come and join us at Mum's Space.
Over the 5-week course you'll have the opportunity to
- share the trials and tribulations of mothering with other like-minded mamas,
- develop mindfulness skills to help reduce overwhelm,
- gain insight into your own parenting style,
- discover your strengths AND
- build your capacity to truly 'see' what's going on for you and your little one.
There are a number of core premises that underpin this group:
- nurturing the mother-child relationship
- committing to a journey of self-awareness
- self-compassion and gratitude
If these 'fit' for you, then please register your interest.
Groups run fortnightly and are facilitated by Kirstin Bouse, Clinical Psychologist.
To make an enquiry about Mum's Space, please phone 0411 651 274 or contact us.
Each session is $55* and it's important that you commit to coming for the Term (5 sessions).
*Medicare and Private Health Fund Rebates apply.


text:
Effective Cure For Dark Spots
A lot of people as we age will start to notice discoloration in there skin. This is a part of getting older and is a very natural process. But why should you have to deal with it? Well you shouldn't! I bet your on the war path right now for finding the best spot correcting serum to Cure for Dark Spots. There are so many untrue products out there for correcting your dark spots that it can be hard to trust any company with your skin. It is so important that you pay attention to what you are buying and find a product that is proven to get you wonderful results today.
It is always important to make sure that you are healthy when looking for a dark spot cure. Although the dark spots are not a direct cola ration to diet; it is important to stay hydrated when suffering from this problem. Many people find that a hydrated body is better at stopping dark spots from popping up. But if you already have spots that are a concern this will do nothing to help you get ride of them. It is only a measure for prevention not a cure. You need to find a skin care solution that helps diminish the look of dark spots.
Why suffer from the ageing process. Go hunting today for a product that will work with your skin. Trust me your skin will thank you by glowing in a unisom color! You have nothing to loose and only beautiful healthy skin for you to gain. So why not check out your neighborhood drug store today! You wont regret it! Not know not ever. So go today!
Warning! Never buy as a present for a self concerned wife. Trust me she will be greatly offended. I would stick with some flowers and maybe some chocolate this February. See I'm already looking for your best interest.
Click out this website for more information: http://curefordarkspots.com/Buy-Night-Skin/


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Purim Fish: The central theme of this papercut is a fish biting its own tail. This traditional symbol of Purim represents the idea that the source of the "good ending" of the story is revealed in the beginning. In the corners of the piece are vignettes of the highlights of the Purim story. The verses around the outside are from Megillat Esther and begin, "The Jews had light and joy and gladness and honor..." They are set into a ring of colored arrows that circle the fish in a clockwise direction. They are easily seen. What is not so easy to see are the white arrows going in the opposite direction. They represent the very real hand of G-d in the Purim story and throughout Jewish history. It may be difficult to see, at times, but it is there, if one looks for it. (16' x 16") P001
Back to Home Page.


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Barnet council anti-bowling?
Barnet Council is threatening to close some of the parks bowling clubs. They are looking to save £100.000. This affects 8 clubs including East Barnet Valley, Oakhill Park, Finchley Victoria which has 2 greens, Mill Hill, friary Park...and others which were not named. Each club has been told to produce a business plan by January to show they are viable with less or no support from the Council. It was the representative from Friary Park who raised this as they have so few members that they are very vulnerable. Oakhill Park has a strong membership and may be able to cope with this. Finchley Victoria have said that the think they have some sort of protection from an ancient trust as the land was donated by Queen Victoria for specific uses. F&D say they will do what they can to support but of course their powers are limited. It was mentioned that this goes against Barnet's policy to get more people active and into sporting activities.


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Mrs Energy Saving's sister heats things up
First of all, I would like to say thank you to Anglian Home Improvements for inviting me back once again! I hope I'm not outstaying my welcome quite yet, but please do make sure to tell me if I am. The weather is finally improving here in the UK – only just – although anything above 10 °C is considered a 'warm day' over here and, of course, requires that every man with pale legs should begin to walk around in the shorts their partners have kept locked away at the back of their cupboards all winter. Sadly, I failed to keep my husband's shorts hidden.
Over the past few years the Clarke household has done great things to improve energy savings, including some cavity wall insulation and a replacement boiler that I am still delighted to say we got for free! Not forgetting the amazing smart monitor as part of the energy saving pack I received thanks to Anglian, which is still changing the way the husband and I, and the kids as we educate them, use energy and, more specifically, discover how we may be wasting energy. But when I saw what my sister was doing to her family's home I knew we were just at the beginning of our energy saving mission.
First of all, let me tell you a bit about my sister: She's older than I am, she could be said to care even more about energy saving than I do (hard to believe, right?) and she has two of the most beautiful children and a husband who is just as lovely as mine. We don't see each other as much as I would like, but it was during my last visit to their household that I realised they were taking energy saving to the next level. So where to begin?
Have you heard about ground source heat pumps? No, well I'm not that surprised. It's still not really something you hear all that much about on the grapevine. But if you care about the environment and would like an energy-efficient means of heating your property, then this is something you will want to know more about. It's not something we are about to include at the Clarke household just yet, but my sister is certainly showing me the way forward, and it's something we actively encourage over at Find Energy Savings.
So, let's begin: a ground source heat pump is pretty much how it sounds. It uses pipes buried beneath the ground to absorb the Earth's heat. This is absorbed into water moving through the system, which is then pumped into a heat exchanger that takes all this lovely heat into your home. Sounds like something from a science fiction novel, doesn't it? But my sister tells me it works a treat. Although I must admit that my sister wasn't quite so pleased to see the state of her garden when the work was being done – they have to dig a trench or borehole to implement the system (eek).
Why has my sister opted for this new source of energy? Well, she has always been forward-thinking and has already got her house well insulated and working to a good standard of energy saving. But she felt like they could do more. Don't we all? She had their existing system replaced and paid around £10,000 for all the work to be done. It sounds a lot, I know, but she tells me it is the best decision she had made in a long time. (Don't forget, there are grants available for some, too!) Still, I don't think the Clarke household is quite ready to take this 'next step'.
The pumps heat their house's radiators and hot water and they've had no issues whatsoever with getting used to the system. Works easy-peasy, apparently. You do require space for the system to be fitted, but my sister has a good amount of land around her house to take advantage of. And I think it is definitely something the husband, kids and I will look into when we have the money to hopefully save money in the long run. How about you? Would you take the leap and get one of these new heating systems for your household? Please let me know your thoughts and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about this or any of my previous blog articles.
This house could use its extra land to install a ground source heat pump.


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For the second year, our Royal Bank banker has brought a team of volunteers to do manual labour. Last year they helped assemble furniture at the Oasis. This year they helped Cathy Earl clean up the shop.
They also brought a donation of $1,000 for the Oasis. Big thanks to them.


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A week is a long, infinite, tiny thing in the course of a life.
It is seven short days in which a life lived broadly, and joyously, can also become a compressed black hole; a through-the-looking-glass, spaghettified nightmare of anguish, horror and despair.
Recently, the public health system in my city almost killed my beloved Mother.
The first attempt occurred in the emergency department of a smaller suburban hospital – briefly we'll call that episode 'failure to investigate', 'failure to diagnose' and 'failure to treat'.
We might also call it 'assumptive thinking', 'ageism', 'laziness', 'inability to think logically', 'failure to take an accurate history', and pricelessly and bleakly funny, were it not so damned horrifying – they named the fracture in my mother's hand a fractured metatarsal.
Look it up, if you like.
Metatarsals are those things our toes are attached to.
The bone they were supposed to be thinking of, is a metacarpal.
Should we spell it out for them?
Is it any wonder they missed the brain haemorrhage?
Mum looked as if she'd been in a car crash, her face was so damaged. She was oriented, but her mental state was 'odd' and a bit 'dotty'. She also had amnesia and her short-term memory was poor. Mum had been knocked-out due to a face-first encounter with a footpath. Her spectacles which she'd been wearing, were smashed and crushed beyond recognition, leaving her nose and cheekbones purple, and swollen. She had a cut inside her top lip, and a simple undisplaced fracture to just one bone in her hand. None of her injuries was consistent with Mum having effectively or consciously broken her fall; she is strongly right-handed, and all injuries were predominantly to the right side of her head and body, including extensive bruising to her right breast.
What had my Mum been doing when she 'fell'? Letter-box dropping pamphlets for a local Bush-Care organisation, of which she is a fit, vital, and active member. Mum is also a keen, and formidably fit and sure-footed bush-walker. She still works as a successful CAM practitioner. Mum has never fallen in her life, and her intelligence sparkles. She's also humble, stoic, kind, non-demanding, and endearing.
The original attending doctor, discharged Mum several hours after her presentation, with dressings to her head and face, a hand in a back-slab and sling, and the advice to me, that my Mum 'had just had a little fall'. I specifically informed nursing and medical staff at this hospital that Mum never falls, and that the nature of her injuries indicated that she could not have been fully conscious when she hit the pavement. I specifically requested of them, that they Xray or CT scan my mother's head, and to consider that there may be a more sinister reason for Mum to have 'fallen'. They refused to do so.
Twenty-four hours later, at a major tertiary teaching hospital and referral centre, the system had another crack at killing Mum.
My Mother had been ambulance-transported to the larger hospital after I had her reviewed by her family doctor, who reluctantly arranged brain CT scanning [it was late in the day].This revealed the sub-arachnoid haemorrhage which the first hospital had failed to identify, least of all consider as a provisional diagnosis, or reason for Mum's 'fall'. The radiologists there, elected not to perform angiography using contrast, as Mum is considered at risk for anaphylactic shock. They – justifiably- did not want to take that risk, in a suburban clinic.
We went to the major hospital, having been advised that my Mother's treatment and further investigations needed to be expedited. Kinda stating the obvious, isn't it? The family doctor rang ahead, advising of Mum's imminent arrival.
It took this hospital another 24 hours to perform CTA scanning, and another night and morning for suitably qualified and experienced staff to be available to definitively assess the results.
This is first-world, tertiary medical care at its best.
The unofficial rules for treating Elder-women with brain haemorrhages at this major hospital are:
1. After admission, spend two or three hours failing to notice that the neurology registrar has already seen the patient. Rely implicitly upon the electronic data-management system, rather than hard-copy case notes. This enables all members of the team to access vital information such as lab and radiographic results – stored and managed electronically- at least one hour later than 'real time'.
2. Make no attempt to look for, or understand, what orders have been made – such as whether the patient can eat or drink, have toilet privileges, or needs medication.
3. Assume that missing a once-daily dose of slow release antihypertensive medication – because the hospital allegedly doesn't stock it – will have no affect on the patient's already rising blood pressure. Upon discharge, dispense the very same medication; we do stock it, but just not 'after hours'.
Leave the rising blood pressure untreated for the first 24 hours after admission, because heck, this really is best practice for chronically hypertensive folk who also have a touch of raised intracranial pressure. { Let's get it straight: 24 hours previously, when first examined by ambulance para-medics at the scene of her collapse, Mum's BP was noted to be elevated. It was high in the A&E department of the first hospital. At the tertiary hospital, one diligent RN did attempt to track down a single dose of the very common drug my Mother takes. He couldn't find any. He informed me that he had then contacted 'the registrar' and had been told that it would be 'ok' to miss the dose. I have no idea if anyone explored the idea of administering a similar drug. I certainly requested that someone give this some thought. As it was, Mum's hypertension was left untreated in this hospital for 24 hours. Subsequent to discharge, management of Mum's BP has become the primary goal of treatment, due to the fact that small-vessel disease was ultimately identified.}
4. Disregard everything you learnt at medical or nursing school about the importance of managing hypertension in people who have a history of hypertension, acute closed head injuries, and blood in the sub-arachnoid space. Spend a number of hours 24 hours after admission, giving IV-push doses of hydralazine, to get the BP down, because someone will finally notice and remember that elevated BP and a brain haemorrhage aren't conducive to good health.
5. Rush through the basic four-hourly neurological observations, and consistently fail to notice when one pupil is larger than the other.
6. Replicate the mistake, by simply following what the previous observer has noted. Just for fun, when you come on at the beginning of your nursing shift in the A&E observation unit, tell the patient that though you're conducting observations, you don't know what her provisional diagnosis is.
7. Fail to provide anti-embolism pressure stockings for the first 24 hours, because the thrill of deciding how to potentially manage concurrent clots-which-can-kill and bleeding-which-can-kill is just too exciting for words.
8. Fail to ask about, or observe, bloody discharge – via nostrils or post-nasally – from suspected fractured noses, and 'middle thirds'. Because the patient only has a mild headache, is a good enough reason to disregard the fact that the rhinorrhea may contain CSF. { My Mum encountered two A&E departments, one family physician, a neurosurgical registrar, and several resident doctors, not one of whom thought about the possibility of CSF leak, despite a face of contusions, haematomas and lacerations, an abnormal-looking nose, smashed and distorted spectacles, a history of 'face-planting' into a footpath, a loss of consciousness, and a belated diagnosis of a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage. Yes, they tell me someone examined the cribriform plate on CT, but that CT was not definitely assessed until Day 4. When I asked a resident about Mum's rhinorrhea, he looked mildly shocked, stated it wasn't "in the notes", and then told me "we go by the clinical picture." Pardon? Mum spent the first week after her collapse, mopping at the discharge trickling from her nose.}
9. At all times continue to assume that 71-year-old, little-old-ladies who fall over and smash their brains about in their heads, do this all the time. This saves the hospital many dollars in cardiac, and other general medical investigations, as the assumption is that falling and dying from it, is inevitable in this age group. Take another five days to finally listen to the family and patient, before looking for other reasons for falls – or loss of consciousness – which result in life-threatening brain injuries in Elders.
10. Be sure to pull the curtains around all patients in the emergency department observation unit for the night. This enables staff to spend the night uninterrupted by the tedious task of visually observing patients in various states of life-and-death. It's anomalous with the constant, in-full-view-observations we subsequently make of folk in the neurosurgical High Dependency Unit for the next couple of days, but hey…
11. On no account attend to matters of hygiene or comfort whilst patients are in the emergency department observation unit for 15-16 hours. Not even a warm wet washcloth, or help with teeth-cleaning. This is not the Hilton, you know.
12. When you sense that the patient and her family are inexplicably outraged and aggrieved after such impressive, expedited care, send in the most charming, engaging members of nursing and medical staff to conduct damage control. It works most of the time, and usually saves everyone the mass of paperwork which a formal enquiry generates. Note to staff – having a senior RN in the neurosurgical unit personally clean an Elder's dentures, after the communications between A&E, the Bed Manager, and the Neuro Unit have left a patient forgotten for 16 hours in a corner in the A&E observation unit, is a nice touch.
13. When conducting ward rounds, be sure members of the medical team stand at the end of the patients' beds, chatting earnestly amongst themselves about the patients. Do not make eye contact or deliberately engage head-injured folk in discussions about their treatment, as this just makes them want to talk, and ask time-consuming questions. The essential assumption is that Elders with brain injuries are probably demented, not very intelligent, and well past their prime. Why bother with basic communication skills in this patient population?
14. Never, ever transfer head-injured patients up to the neurology unit promptly. Have no provision or protocols for specialist nursing staff from the neuro unit, to visit acute neurosurgical admissions who are in the 'holding pattern' of the A&E observation unit. Ensure that no medical review is conducted for at least fifteen hours after initial presentation and assessment. Even then, we only send neuro registrars back down to A&E to re-assess patients, when their families include relatives who are medical specialists with significant medico-legal expertise, and are irritatingly expressing concern that the patient has not been medically or surgically reviewed since initial assessment early the previous evening. If patients survive this crucial period unattended and untreated, we know we will have proven Charles Darwin was right about 'survival of the fittest' and 'natural selection'.
15. Upon discharge, fail to return the patient's original, privately conducted CT scans. In the ensuing weeks, be sure to book the patient into the wrong general medical out-patient clinic; we like the fun and games of booking patients who are not having surgery, into the pre-op medical assessment clinic. Fail to schedule any follow-up appointments with the neurosurgical team, and be sure to instruct the patient that they 'missed' their fracture clinic follow-up. { This one just makes us laugh – Mum was an in-patient on the day they say she missed the fracture clinic. She was seen by an orthopod that day – in that particular fracture clinic – of course }
15. A general rule for the whole hospital: we have a fabulous new building, a great art collection, a Starbucks outlet in the lobby, and impressive landscaping. Ensuring that cleaning staff actually vacuum and mop under beds, behind toilets, and in corners, is a very silly expectation indeed. We're not talking about little balls of fluff here, we're talking about used tissues, grime, tiny dressings from venepuncture sites, snap-off lids from ampoules etc. We instruct RNs to smile sweetly, acknowledge it's 'not the best', but to ensure that detritus remains on the floors for at least 48 hours.
16. And a word about our IT. It's amazing. It's at least an hour behind real-time, which is of great assistance in situations where you need to make a prompt, well-informed decision, or get patients with life-threatening conditions out of A&E sooner rather than later. It's probably why disinterested RNs in A&E can't tell a relative if the patient has been seen by a doctor. It might also be why a patient with a sub-arachnoid haemorrhage is left unreviewed, and untrasferred to the neuro unit for so many hours. Not that we admit that, of course. { Though we might want to track down that young resident who did admit in a telephone conversation with a patient's daughter, that the 16 hour period of neglect was 'indefensible'.} We also don't see the urgency in making any lab or imaging results available for ready access in the acute A&E setting, in the neuro unit, or after discharge. When the patient comes back for neuro rehab assessments, some three weeks after discharge, we pride ourselves on running a system which does not allow the neuro rehab team to access any of the CT scans or MRIs taken during the patient's stay. It's brilliant. It's modern, and we especially like that our medical and surgical staff rarely pick up the phone and call a department to get a 'verbal result'. If the computer isn't going to give you the information, it's probably not important.
My Mother survived this comedy of dark errors, and is expected to make a full recovery.
Here's why I know Mum survived:
She is robust, youthful, and a cherished and active member of her community.
We are healers, and so too are many of our beloved friends and colleagues, each of whom sent healing, love, offerings, or prayers.
A family member with extensive medical, surgical and neurological experience in a similar hospital, knew that things weren't right, and kept calling hospital staff to account.
Mum's brain-bleed was the result of a heavy fall, not due to a ruptured aneurysm or AV malformation, so she is one of the lucky ones. The 'fall' has subsequently been identified by an independent general physician, as a loss of consciousness, most likely caused by temporary kinking of a vertebral – or related – artery. Mum has an old neck and back injury, and visually evident changes consistent with osteoporosis and degeneration. This physician took the time to inquire about – and examine – Mum's musculo-skeletal system. To my knowledge, only one of the innumerable hospital doctors she encountered, thought to examine my Mother's neck – by palpation only – and only to exclude bony tenderness. To this day, we have no radiographic or other evidence of the state of Mum's cervical, or upper thoracic vertebrae, despite regularly asking. It is the physiotherapists in the neuro rehab unit, who are finally managing Mum's neck and back concerns.
Mum lives a life rich with meaning, generosity, love and gratitude.
The world needs people like her.
We intend to initiate formal processes with each of these hospitals, so that no others may have to suffer the slow-moving chaos, ineptitude, disinterest, and age-bias which my Mother experienced.
We trust that medical and nursing directors will endeavour to implement change, rather than hide behind the catch-cry of insufficient funding, resources and staff.
Few of the oversights and omissions endured by my Mum, can be attributed to lack of human and other resources. The culture of a large teaching hospital, and the over-education of young doctors and nurses, has eliminated basic precepts of common sense, and respect for the inherent stoicism, stamina, intelligence and courage of so many Elders. An over-reliance on IT at this hospital, as the most credible and timely conduit of information, is life-threatening.
Sadly, I know that had my Mother been a famous young sportsman, the course of her treatment would have been very, very different.
And some words about basic human decency:
Pressuring the anguished relatives of an unconscious, elderly woman – in the A&E obs unit – into transferring her back to her nursing home at 9-10pm is just plain cruel. Refusing to give her any IV fluids 'because her system won't cope with it' is not a rationale I've ever heard used with clinical legitimacy. There was no conversation between that attending doctor and the patient's family about advanced health directives, or 'DNR' orders.
If you're elderly, unconscious, and not expected to survive, this hospital doesn't really want to help you. Grudgingly, the attending doctor allowed this lady to stay the night in the A&E obs unit. Her family had to plead for some time, before that decision was taken. I've subsequently been told that this hospital was 'at maximum capacity' on the night of Mum's admission, and that 17 beds in the hospital were 'closed' due to 'an infection.' Is trying to bump the dying elderly back into the community late at night, how they attempt to manage a critical bed-occupancy issue?
Nurses who intimidate and threaten vulnerable neurosurgical patients:
Yes there is one in particular at this hospital, who menaces and threatens patients who regularly pull out their naso-gastric tubes. I have no argument with legitimately and compassionately using restraints to prevent folk from injuring themselves. I know how hard it is when as an RN, you have a heavy patient load, and many of your patients have complex needs. I've been there.
I am appalled that this staff member derogates these patients quite openly to other patients and staff, and talks 'over' these patients – about their behaviours and misdemeanors – whilst attending to their needs. Mainly, I'm appalled that this nurse sternly and emphatically states "if you keep pulling your tube out, I will restrain you, and don't think I won't, I've got the legal right to do it."
Is it any wonder these patients became agitated when they were in this nurse's care?
I raised my concerns about this nurse with one of the Liaison Officers at the hospital, who suggested I talk to one of the case-managers in the neurosurgical unit where we witnessed and heard these exchanges. I informed a case manager there, who ducked into the office of the Nurse Unit Manager, and informed someone there. I was told "the NUM will come and talk to you about this". By that stage Mum had been bumped out of the neurosurgical unit to an adjacent medical ward, and was suddenly discharged later that day. This nurse's behaviour is a serious matter, which has never formally been addressed.
That medical, nursing and clerical staff are so deeply resigned to the way things are done at this hospital, worries me immensely. That there are some I encountered, who believe this hospital is doing a great job, is even more concerning.
To be unconcerned and disinterested, to buy into the belief-system of the model of care at this institution, is to practice tacit complicity.
Things will never get better for staff or for patients, if acquiescing is the preferred method of enacting change and progress, in hospitals such as this one.
Addendum: August '09. Subsequent to all of this, 'health care reform' has become big news in the US, and for a few days, was the main news story here in Australia. Go here for an exploration of 'healthy self-sufficiency & grass roots health care reform'.
July 2010: What doctors should do – but don't – when their colleagues are "impaired or incompetent to practice medicine". Go here to find out


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Finger Lakes H.B.P.A. presents awards at annual dinner Saturday night
FARMINGTON, N.Y. – Clean Jean was named 2012 Finger Lakes "Horse of the Year" at the annual Finger Lakes Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association awards dinner on Saturday. The chestnut filly owned by Mark Valentine registered a total of eight wins in fourteen Finger Lakes starts this year.
The $125,149 earner was claimed for $4,000 on May 1 by trainer Sal Iorio, Jr. She won six races and hit the board in two stakes events after moving to the new barn. Her improving class was displayed with third place finishes in the $50,000 Susan B. Anthony Handicap on June 9 and the $50,000 Jack Betta Be Rite Handicap on September 15.
She was guided by jockey Dean Frates to her tenth victory of the year on November 6. With the two length score, she moved into he lead in the 2012 North American thoroughbred standings in the category of wins.
The 4-year-old New York-bred by Ecton Park is the second foal out of Easter Buddy. She was named after the mother of her breeder Frances Ubbink.
Clean Jean received a total of two awards for her acheivements this season. She also took the honor for Best Older Filly Or Mare.
Matchmadeinheaven was the only multiple stakes winner of the meet. The talented young filly owned by Merrylegs Farm was recognized on Saturday as the Champion 2-year-old. The Chris Englehart-trainee won the $124,888 Lady Finger Stakes in her career debut on September 3. She also took the $50,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes on September 29 to remain undefeated at the Western New York Track.
Eleven horses received awards in twelve different categories at the annual dinner. Below is a complete listing of the 2012 winners:
2012 Finger Lakes H.B.P.A. Awards
Best $4,000-$5,000 Claimer (Colt, Horse or Gelding) – Shilah
Best $4,000-$5,000 Claimer (Filly or Mare) – Celtic Kettle
Best $6,000 and up Claimer (Colt, Horse or Gelding) – Alcanudance
Best $6,000 and up Claimer (Filly or Mare) – Wise Awake
Best Condition Allowance (Colt, Horse or Gelding) – Passing Time
Best Condition Allowance (Filly or Mare) – Golden Galaxy
Best Older Colt, Horse or Gelding – Ryan's Gift
Best Older Filly or Mare – Clean Jean
Best 3-Year-Old Colt or Gelding – Frisky Warrior
Best 3-Year-Old Filly – Mom's Law
Champion 2-Year-Old - Matchmadeinheaven
Horse of the Year – Clean Jean


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Imagine leading a team of highly trained special-ops on a mission to save the world from an evil villain bent on mass destruction. Now imagine those trained professionals have incredible super powers that make them unstoppable. What could possibly make that scenario more awesome? Super seals, that's what. Roll that all into one and you have the premise behind Seal Force, a unique line-drawing game by Nordisk Film Interactive unlike anything else I have ever come across.
First Things First
As I stated before, I have never seen a game quite like this one before. I've played quite a few mobile games and have yet to play an action line-drawing one. I'm not saying they don't exist, but this one has really caught my attention for numerous reasons. Aside from the new type of gaming experience, Seal Force has some pleasing visuals and graphics, and the storyline has "action-packed" written all over it.
The aim of this game is to fight off waves of baddies while trying to stop the evil Krillian from poisoning the ocean. You do so by taking control of three specially trained krill-killing seals who each have their own abilities. They hang out on the left side of your screen and can be deployed by drawing a line for them to follow, but only one seal can be sent out at a time under normal circumstances (you'll need a power-up to take control of the whole team at once). As your team swims after Krillian, waves of krill minions begin to appear from the left and can only be eliminated by a seal of the same color (sometimes blasts from other kills will eliminate other enemies). The game really starts to get fun and challenging when the screen fills with enemies of every color, making the player carefully plan out attack paths. As you advance, power-ups become available. Some will arm your seal with a super-suit, while others speed up the gameplay or allow you to deploy all seals at once.
To progress in Seal Force, you'll have to complete missions to reach checkpoints. Missions can be anything from killing a certain amount of krill, or traveling a certain distance. They are fun to strive for, really add some replay value to this game, and reward you with shells once completed. One mission that I had fun with was not using a particular seal for 30 miles, which became really complicated when his color krill appeared on the screen and I had to find other ways to kill them.
If you let an enemy past your line of defense, then you'll have to head back to base to regroup. Here you'll be able check your progress, see current missions, and buy upgrades for your seal team using shells you collect in game. While it is entirely possible to beat this game without purchasing anything, I should also note that you can purchase shells for real money should you feel the need to upgrade faster. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Oh no! Not another game with in-app purchases." Well, I can assure you that this game does not require in-app purchases at all. The gameplay will still be as fun and addictive, and you won't be missing any premium features if you choose not to buy. However, a purchase may be enticing as it also permanently removes ads.
In addition to all of this awesome gameplay, the visuals and soundtrack really make Seal Force ten times better. This game has some incredible animations and just looks great. With a typical Mission Impossible-like soundtrack, the audio really bumps up the action aspect of the game.
I really cannot find anything negative to say about this game. If you're looking for a casual game that could be played anytime, then Seal Force could be for you. It offers up some pretty unique gameplay, along with an awesome storyline and visuals. I really haven't seen anything like it before, and I can't stop playing it.
If you want to check it out, hit the link below.


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