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I would be interested in another 3 any word on the status
I would be interested in another 3 any word on the status
I will be ordering some PCB's today or tomorrow. this run will be only about 30 or 40 I think. hopefully I get them this week, so I can start putting them together. thanks
Placed order for the PCB's today. hopefully they will be in by the end of the week.
I got 40 PCB's. Ive put some together. the PCB's alone are about $3.55 each to get manufactured, and thats without the components soldered in. I made a small change to the outer trace on the left side. I also made the Holes a little bigger, and the solder pads a little bigger. Also I am using right angle JST connectors.
Price Update includes shipping:
$13 Canada
$17 International. (almost $8 just to ship )
Last edited by nornor1; 06-08-2017 at 09:41 AM.
I def need one of these
TWITTER: MountainDewFKR
PSN: MountainDewFKR
FIGHTCADE: MountaindewFKR
Been a long time lurker on this forum, but just registered to get in on one of the pre-made dips witches for my multi cart. Let me know how to get one. Thanks
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Just got my multi cart hooked up with Nornor1's dip switch board and it works great. Quality board and also Nor is a great guy to deal with. If you have any problem, he's there to provide support. Thanks
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Hi Nornor1,
I would like to take one but I can't send you a private message (I'm a new user of this forum).
Hello nornor1 thanks for working on this for the community! Would love to buy one off of you so let me know what the best way to do that is.
It would be easier if Nornor1 sold directly on ebay. It would prevent people just register to buy. (and sorry for my english)
Ebay's fees are too damn High. I would have to sell for like double the price :O
23 left
Last edited by nornor1; 09-24-2017 at 12:06 PM.
Thanks nornor1 for the quick service...received my 138 in 1 and the switch works perfectly! thanks again for doing a great thing for the community!
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America's 50 Best Italian Restaurants Gallery
The Italian restaurant in America has changed in style probably more than any other genre of restaurant over the past several decades. Even as recently as 50 years ago, the term "Italian restaurant" conjured images of red and white checkered tablecloths, carafes of middling chianti, and a red sauce-heavy menu. But a new breed of Italian restaurants has emerged onto the scene, and from Michelin-starred temples to classic pizzerias, we've rounded up America's 50 best.
To assemble this ranking, we looked at restaurants that made it to our lists of the 101 Best Restaurants in America as well as the 101 Best Casual Restaurants in America, which we release early every year. The steps we took to build those rankings were as thorough and comprehensive as possible: We recruited a panel of judges that included some of the country's top food writers, critics, and bloggers to take a survey and vote for the best of the best restaurants from across the country. The final rankings included a significant number of Italian restaurants, and this ranking took those restaurants into account as well as ones included in recent roundups of the best Italian restaurant in every state, the best pasta dish in every state and the best pizza in every state.
All of these restaurants fit a certain criteria: impeccable, un-snooty service; high-quality food sourced from the finest purveyors; creative-yet-classic preparation and craftsmanship; and an overall experience that leaves you happy and content in the fact that you just ate a world-class meal. Our ranking runs the gamut from old-school neighborhood joints with decades of history to the fine dining institutions. Read on to learn which Italian restaurants are America's best.Noah Fecks
#50 Broders' Pasta Bar (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Molly and Tom Broder opened their "pasta bar" in 1994, and the crowds have never let up. Why? Ingredients are sourced from Midwest farms whenever possible and some vegetables are grown in an on-site garden - "but really," as the website states, "it's all about the pasta." Fresh pastas are made in-house and dry pastas are imported from Italy, and nearly 30 pastas and risottos are on the menu. You can't go wrong with gnocchi with duck cacciatore ragù; quadrucci with roasted chicken, greens, prosciutto di Parma, almonds, asparagus, balsamic vinegar, and mascarpone; tagliarini with prosciutto and truffle cream; or the paccheri with braised short rib, pancetta, red wine, tomato, and gremolata. There's also a daily risotto that's usually pretty spectacular, as well as a wide variety of antipasti. The name might fool you into thinking that this is a low-rent buffet, but it's anything but.Two H./Yelp
#49 Al di Là (Brooklyn, New York)
When chef Anna Klinger and husband Emiliano Coppa opened the Venetian-inspired Al di Là on Park Slope's Fifth Avenue in 1998, it was located on a sleepy thoroughfare perhaps best known for its ample bodega options, and most Manhattanites wouldn't have even considered heading out to Brooklyn for a meal. But by the time then-New York Times critic Frank Bruni got around to giving the trattoria two stars in 2006, it was widely regarded to be the neighborhood's best restaurant, packing in crowds every night and anchoring a burgeoning restaurant row on the now-thriving avenue. Klinger's moderately priced menu of home-style antipasti, pastas, and braised and grilled meats rarely changes despite plenty of nightly specials, and that's for a good reason: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
#48 Carbone (New York, New York)
Menus wider than your chest. The tile floor from The Godfather. Waiters... er, "captains" hired for pure theater, bedecked in burgundy Zac Posen tuxedos. A vision for the upscaling of all of New York's greatest Italian-American restaurants and a devotion to centralizing their cultures and atmospheric conventions. Carbone is a restaurant that New York, with all its storied tradition of great Italian culture (think Mamma Leone, Il Mulino, and Don Pepe), has been waiting for for decades. It just didn't know it.
At this venture from Major Food Group (perhaps best-known these days for taking over the famed Four Seasons), pastas thrill. Consider the linguine vongole, the spaghetti puttanesca, and one of the best renditions of rigatoni vodka you'll ever have (spicy, too!). The lobster fra diavolo, pork chop and peppers, and cherry pepper ribs are all fun. You have to appreciate a place that takes seriously the idea of upscaling Italian-American classics like chicken scarpariello and veal parm. And there are nice touches to end the meal: a modern art carrot cake and homemade limoncello, for example. But be forewarned: This place is expensive.Yelp / Wendy K
#47 Apizza Scholls (Portland, Oregon)
Apizza Scholls serves some of the best pizza in Portland - and, some argue, the best north of San Francisco. But if you want to choose toppings for their 18-inch pies, follow the guidelines: only three ingredients, and no more than two meats per pie.
So choose wisely from a list of toppings that, in addition to classics like anchovies, red onions, garlic, pepperoni, house-made sausage, and basil, includes Olympia Provisionscapocollo, house-cured Canadian bacon, cotto salami, arugula, and pepperoncini. (Yes, you can also top pies with jalapeños, mushrooms, pepperoncini, ricotta, green and black olives, and, sigh, truffle oil.) Just remember: Bacon is not available on custom pies.
If you aren't up to building your own pie, there are 13 classics to choose from with names like Pig & Pineapple, Tartufo2 The Electric Boogaloo, and Sausage & Mama. Among them, you'll find the signature Apizza Amore: Margherita with capocollo (cured pork shoulder) that has a spicy kick offset by the somewhat sweet mozzarella and balanced sauce.Cheng-Tsung L./Yelp
#46 Trattoria Lucca (Charleston, South Carolina)
This beloved local spot in Charleston's Elliotborough neighborhood is a winner all around. Chef-owner Ken Vedrinski was nominated for the James Beard Award in 2011, and he changes his menu daily based on what he finds at the farmers market and what local fisherman bring to his kitchen door. Pastas are handmade and cheese and salumi are imported from Italy. It's tough to predict exactly what you'll find on the menu, but recent standouts include house-made porchetta with arugula, pecorino, and apple mostarda; tagliolini with blue crab, anchovy, lemon, and bread crumbs; local doormat flounder with rye crust, cider, bacon, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts; and veal scallopini Milanese with trumpet mushroom caponata, spicy provolone, and Barolo vinegar. Hungry yet?Bill S./Yelp
#45 Patsy's Pizzeria (New York, New York)
Some would say that this is the only existing place where you can get a proper and authentic coal-oven slice in the universe, given that its founder Pasquale "Patsy" Lancieri supposedly opened Patsy's after working with the godfather of New York City pizza, Gennaro Lombardi. True or not, this 1933 East Harlem original can claim pizza heritage most only dream of, and was reportedly one of Sinatra's and DiMaggio's favorite joints. Still, the original East Harlem location is one of the most underrated and un-hyped pizza classics in the city. It's a curious thing, given the history and quality, though there are some caveats. The pizza at Patsy's is unusually thin, and relatively short compared to many other New York slices - you could easily scarf down six slices while standing at the counter.
#44 Motorino (New York, New York)
When Anthony Mangieri shuttered Una Pizza Napoletana and headed west (only to make a triumphant return to New York earlier this year), Mathieu Palombino took over the lease, renamed the space Motorino, and the East Village pizza scene hardly skipped a beat. Motorino offers a handful of spirited pies, including one with cherry stone clams; another with stracciatella, raw basil, and Gaeta olives; and the cremini mushroom with fior di latte, sweet sausage, and garlic. But contrary to every last fiber of childhood memory you hold dear, the move is the Brussels sprout pie (fior di latte, garlic, Pecorino, smoked pancetta, and olive oil). Along with locations in the East Village and Williamsburg, Palombino has also opened locations in Hong Kong, Manila, Malaysia, and Singapore.Jane Bruce
#43 Trattoria Marcella (St. Louis, Missouri)
St. Louis has no shortage of great Italian restaurants, but ask any local what their favorites are and Trattoria Marcella will invariably be on everyone's short list. In business since 1995, owners Steve and Jamie Komorek are serving stunning takes on traditional Italian fare like mortadella meatballs, toasted chestnut Roman-style gnocchi, toasted ravioli, chicken spiedini, pork osso buco, and braised veal tortelloni. The restaurant is homey and welcoming, the food is delicious, and nothing on the menu costs more than $24.Trattoria Marcella / Facebook
#42 Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen (Memphis, Tennessee)
Lifelong friends Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman created Italian/Southern U.S. fusion heaven when they opened Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in a 1940s ranch-style house off Poplar Avenue east of midtown Memphis with some 54 seats in late 2008. The two chefs credit their grandmothers, Catherine Chiozza and Mary Spinosa, for their inspiration but have plenty of culinary pedigree beyond these maternal instrumental familial food memories, old-style Italian recipes, and traditions (there's a vegetable and herb garden for the restaurant too). You'll want to try the veal breast with celery root, parsnips, turnips, carrots, spinach soubise, and truffle; maw maw's ravioli with meat gravy; and the veal agnolotti with tomato braise and lardo.Photo courtesy of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
#41 Flour + Water (San Francisco, California)
Although this San Francisco restaurant claims to specialize in house-made pastas, its pizza is formidable. Baked in a wood-fired oven, the thin-crust pizza at Flour + Water blends Old World tradition with modern refinement, according to chef and co-owner Thomas McNaughton. Pizza toppings vary depending on what's in season, making each dining experience unique, but Flour + Water's textbook Margherita is amazing. Heirloom tomatoes, basil, fior di latte, and extra-virgin olive oil... if only the simplicity implied by the restaurant's name could be duplicated in pizzerias across the country.Eric Wolfinger
#40 Fiola (Washington, D.C.)
Chef Fabio Trabocchi and his upscale Penn Quarter trattoria Fiola have both won too many awards to mention here (including a 2018 Michelin star), and the reason is obvious: Just look at the menu, which changes daily based on what's fresh and in-season. Sample menu items include beef cheek tortellini with bone marrow agrodolce, black garlic, and brodo; spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino with Santa Barbara abalone, razor clams, and 'nduja; and Canary Island branzino with prosecco zabaglione, leeks, and oscetra caviar. Can't decide on what to order? Opt for the tasting menu, which comes with two, three, or four courses and dessert.Fiola Mare DC / Facebook
#39 Totonno's (Brooklyn, New York)
By all accounts, Totonno's shouldn't exist anymore. Consider first that it was opened in Coney Island in 1924 (by Antonio "Totonno" Pero, a Lombardi's alum). Then factor in the fire that broke out in the coal storage area, ravaging the entire place, in 2009. Add to that insult the destruction and subsequent rebuilding costs (some reported $150,000 in repairs) incurred in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, when four feet of water destroyed everything inside the family-owned institution. You'll probably agree that Brooklyn (and the country) should be counting its lucky stars that Totonno's is still around. And yet Totonno's is so much more than "still around." It doesn't just keep a storied pizza name or nostalgia for simpler times alive. Owners Antoinette Balzano, Frank Balzano, and Louise "Cookie" Ciminieri don't simply bridge our modern era's fetishization of pizza to the days of its inception at Lombardi's. The coal-fired blistered edges, the spotty mozzarella laced over that beautiful red sauce... this is how you make pizza.Photo Modified: Flickr / Joe Hall / CC BY 4.0
#38 Osteria (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The more casual, trattoria-like offshoot of Philly's legeendary Vetri, Osteria is a big, lively place where the pizzas are terrific (try the octopus and smoked mozzarella) and the cooking is homey but first-rate, with items like mafaldine with beef and porcini ragu to spit-toasted duck with pomegranate and treviso. Homey and inviting, since opening in 2007 it's racked up countless accolades, including a 2010 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for its chef, Jeff Michaud.Yelp / Rachel O
#37 Il Posto (Denver, Colorado)
Il Posto means "the place" in Italian, and chef and owner Andrea Frizzi has largely backed up his contention that his breezy spot in City Park West is hot �?? it's routinely mentioned as one of the city's best Italian restaurants for years now. Frizzi, originally from Milan, imports many Italian ingredients, incorporating them into a seasonal menu that changes on the chalkboard each day - "Cooking in the present," he calls it. "It can be a rainy day, sunny and dry, or windy, or snowing - we as people react differently with the weather, so too with food." Ah, Italians... poetry. And he may be right, but most don't react differently to Frizzi's food, especially his risotto, so don't miss it.Il Posto / Facebook
#36 Di Fara (Brooklyn, New York)
Domenico DeMarco is a local celebrity, having owned and operated Di Fara since 1964 after coming to America from Caserta, Italy. Dom cooks both New York- and Sicilian-style pizza Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 8 p.m. (and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.) for hungry New Yorkers and tourists willing to wait in long lines and brave the free-for-all that is the Di Fara counter experience. Yes, you're better off getting a whole pie than shelling out for the $5 slice. Yes, it's a trek, and sure, Dom goes through periods when the underside of the pizza can tend toward overdone, but when he's on, Di Fara can make a very strong case for being America's best pizza. And if you stand at the counter and watch Dom make your pizza by hand, pull it from the ripping hot oven with his bare hands, and snip some fresh basil over it with a pair of scissors, it just might be America's best pizza experience as well. Dom's children occasionally step in to make the pies when Dom gets tired, but they've been watching him do it for so many years that the pies always turn out exactly the same.Chuck Lau
#35 Pizzeria Bianco (Phoenix, Arizona)
"There's no mystery to my pizza," Bronx native Chris Bianco was quoted as saying in The New York Times. "Sicilian oregano, organic flour, San Marzano tomatoes, purified water, mozzarella I learned to make at Mike's Deli in the Bronx, sea salt, fresh yeast cake and a little bit of yesterday's dough. In the end great pizza, like anything else, is all about balance. It's that simple.''
Try telling that to the legions of pizza pilgrims who have visited the storied Phoenix pizza spot he opened more than 20 years ago. The restaurant serves not only addictive thin-crust pizzas but also fantastic antipasto (involving wood-oven-roasted vegetables), perfect salads, and homemade country bread. The wait, once routinely noted as one of the worst for some of the best food in the country, has been improved by Pizzeria Bianco starting to serve lunch and the opening of an additional Phoenix location (as well as spinoffs Pane Bianco and Bar Bianco). Another location is coming to Los Angeles, making it one of the city's most hotly-anticipated openings.
Even though Bianco no longer makes every pie the restaurant turns out (a bout of "baker's lung" nearly killed him), Pizzeria Bianco is now an American classic. This is another case where any pie will likely be better than most you've had in your life (that rosa with red onions and pistachios!), but the signature Margherita will recalibrate your pizza baseline forever: tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil.Photo Modified: Flickr / ICMA Photos / CC BY-SA 4.0
#34 Nico Osteria (Chicago, Illinois)
Chef Paul Kahan made a brilliant move when he chose Erling Wu-Bower to head the kitchen at his Italian seafood-focused Nico Osteria, which opened in late 2013 in Chicago's Gold Coast. The restaurant racked up accolade after accolade as Wu-Bower's star grew, and in mid-2017 he departed to open the California-inspired Pacific Standard Time nearby (it's also been a huge hit). Back at Nico, however, chef Bill Montagne has updated and expanded the menu, keeping an eye on fine dining while also allowing for casual guests to simply enjoy a perfect plate of pasta and a glass of wine. Standouts from the locally-focused menu include Monterey Bay sardines with onion-currant agrodolce, pine nuts, and breadcrumbs; grilled fish collar with charred lemon; some of the finest meatballs you'll find anywhere; stellar cacao e pepe and rigatoni bolognese; and whole salt-crusted branzino with prosecco salsa verde.Balena / Facebook
#33 Cafe Juanita (Kirkland, Washington)
Located in a mid-century house near the Juanita Beach Park in Kirkland, chef-owner and 2008 Best Chef: Northwest James Beard award-winner Holly Smith's neighborhood spot Cafe Juanita focuses on Northern Italian cuisine. The menu changes frequently, "but always includes an eclectic mix of meats and seafood, illustrating the commitment to fresh, bold dishes that most often utilize organic products." Sweetbread ravioli with Madeira, rabbit with pancetta and porcini, risotto al Barolo, and Ligurian silk handkerchief with sun choke and egg yolk are just some of the delicious items you'll find on menu at this 30-seat restaurant that, from the outside at least, more resembles someone's home.Café Juanita / Facebook
#32 Delfina (San Francisco, California)
Craig and Anne Stoll helped usher in a new era for the Mission district when they opened the groundbreaking Delfina in 1998 (winning the 2008 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Pacific in the process), and while the four pizza-focused offshoots may garner (slightly) more attention at the moment, the original remains as legendary as ever. Fresh pastas, including chicken agnolotti with lemon-chive burro fuso, pappardelle with Liberty duck sugo, and spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce are the claim to fame, but other dishes including grilled Monterey Bay calamari and roasted chicken with king trumpet mushrooms and olive oil mashed potatoes are exemplars of Northern California cuisine.Delfina Restaurant / Facebook
#31 Roberta's (Brooklyn, New York)
Say Roberta's is in the new class of restaurants that has fanned the flames of the Brooklyn versus Manhattan debate, call it a great pizza joint, recall it as a frontrunner of the city's rooftop garden movement, and mention that Carlo Mirarchi was named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine, and you'd still be selling it short. Roberta's is in Bushwick, six stops out of Manhattan on the L train, and it's one of the city's best restaurants (and its next-door offshoot, Blanca, even serves one of New York's hardest-to-score tasting menus). In Bushwick! Pizza may not be the only thing at Roberta's, but its Neapolitan pies are at the high end of the debate about the city's best. As much as the Cheesus Christ (mozzarella, taleggio, Parmigiano-Reggiano, black pepper, and cream) may tempt, the Margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil) is the one to order if you're a first-timer.Yelp / Peter D
#30 Al Forno (Providence, Rhode Island)
Few Rhode Island restaurants are as legendary or groundbreaking as Al Forno. Husband-and-wife owner-chefs George Germon and Johanne Killeen received the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano from the Italian government, a rare honor for Americans, attributable to their informed passion for pasta along with their invention of the grilled pizza. They also, though, aim the culinary spotlight on Rhode Island's defining vegetables - corn, squash, beans, and tomatoes - prepared simply, with the authentic Italian panache one would expect of multiple James Beard honorees. Sadly, George passed away in 2015, but his flagship invention, grilled pizza, is still influencing chefs around the world, and Al Forno still serves the definitive version.Lexi Dantzig
#29 Vincenti Ristorante (Los Angeles, California)
Maureen Vincenti's 21 year-old Brentwood eatery is an old-fashioned Italian classic. This mature (in all the best possible ways) dining room is hitting all the right notes: Accented servers work with flawless proficiency, Maureen herself works the room like a pro, the pleasant light wood and elegant ambiance is relaxing but neither uptight nor sleep-inducing, and through the glass partition is the reassuring sight of chef Nicola Mastronardi, who's turning out nothing but stellar food. The menu is comforting and classic, with pastas including house-made fusilli with Sonoma lamb ragu and squid ink risotto with lobster and asparagus; wood-burning-oven entrées include their legendary whole roasted Dover sole, sliced New York steak with herb raviolo, and house-made pork sausage with Brussels sprouts and roasted potatoes; and on Monday their thin-crust pizzas are some of the best around.Photo courtesy of Vincenti Ristorante
#28 Nostrana (Portland, Oregon)
Nostrana is often cited as serving one of Portland's most authentic Neapolitan pies, and for good reason. The blistered cornicione and thin crust provide scrumptious, beautiful canvases for the hand-made mozzarella the restaurant makes daily. There are eight pies on the menu including standouts like the salumi finocchiona, tomato, provolone, mozzarella, oregano, honey), alla fiamma (tomato, red onion, Mama Lil's peppers, wild oregano, spicy oil, and black olives), and a vongole bianco with Manila clams and gremolata that defies New Haven tradition by featuring smoked provolone and mozzarella. No matter which pie you order, it's going to be "served uncut, as is the traditional Italian style." But chef Cathy Whims' Buckman restaurant isn't just about pizza. The delicious antipasti includes mushroom and vermouth soup and steamboat oysters with limoncello vinaigrette. Pastas like blue prawn ravioli and wood oven-roasted cannelloni Bolognese, and mains like the bistecca alla Fiorentina and grappa-braised pork shoulder are going to make it very difficult to decide what to order.Photo courtesy of Nostrana
#27 Bistro don Giovanni (Napa, California)
Usually when you talk about the warmth and hospitality of a restaurant, you're talking about the service, a smile from a waiter, the right thing said at the right time with the perfect lilting tone, and obviously how the food tastes and makes you feel. And you get all of that at Bistro don Giovanni in Napa Valley. At Bistro don Giovanni, there is also the physical warmth of fireside dining - there are two traditional wood-burning fireplaces, one in the enclosed terrace and one in the main dining room. But the heart of the restaurant, the true warmth emanating from Bistro don Giovanni, which has been delighting visitors for more than 20 years, has always come from co-owners Donna and Giovanni Scala. Donna's tragic death of a brain tumor in 2014 leaves a void (she ran the kitchen, he runs the front of house), but her spirit lives on at the restaurant. The menu features simple pizzas and pastas, sustainably-farmed local fruits, vegetables, and organic meats.Yelp / Mark F
#26 ll Buco Alimentari & Vineria (New York, New York)
For nearly 25 years, Il Buco has been one of New York's most appealing Italian restaurants, serving unpretentious, homestyle fare based on first-rate American and Italian ingredients. In late 2011, the proprietors opened this more casual sister restaurant - a loose translation of Alimentari & Vineria is "food shop and wine bar" - and it's so lively, with such vivid, hearty food, that it has all but overshadowed the original. Chef Josh DeChellis took over as executive chef late last year, and he's serving a menu of hearty and comforting dishes including Calabrian pork sausage with broccoli rabe and braised rabbit, pork cheek with beluga lentils and giardiniera, ricotta gnudi with hazelnuts and parsley, salt-baked whole branzino, and porchetta with dried cherry mostarda. The bread basket may cost two whole dollars per person, but it's a steal.Noe DeWitt
#25 Valter's Osteria (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Valter Nassi is the natty ever-present proprietor of his eponymous restaurant, and his lineup of Tuscan classics inspired by his mother have kept crowds coming back to his stylish, modern restaurant for years. The homemade fresh pastas are all standouts, but you'll find the best dish on the menu - and the one that Valter's most proud of - among the dried pastas. It's the Rigatoni al Sugo Della Mamma, perfectly-cooked al dente rigatoni with a tomato-based porcini and meat sauce based on his mother's recipe. Other standouts include fennel-crusted duck breast in cognac and grape sauce; salmon topped with clams, scallops, and baby calamari in tomato sauce; and butterflied pan-fried pork tenderloin with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil.Tom D./Yelp
#24 Vincenzo's (Louisville, Kentucky)
Vincenzo's Palermo-born chef Agostino Gabriele has been cooking professionally since 1963, and has been at the helm here since the restaurant opened in 1986. To say he's learned a thing or two in the past 54 years is an understatement, and he's turned Vincenzo's into a venerable Louisville institution and certified standout. His skills are on full display in dishes like risotto with fresh seafood in a spicy red clam sauce; mascarpone ravioli filled with grilled chicken, spinach, and mushrooms; a thick veal chop stuffed with prosciutto and fontina; and made-to-order soufflés.Vincenzo's /Yelp
#23 Razza (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Razza opened just across the Hudson River from New York in Jersey City in late 2012, and it quietly became renowned locally for its wood-fired pizzas prepared by chef-owner Dan Richer, who was a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Award and is so meticulous about his craft that he was nicknamed "the Jiro of Bread," after the sushi chef featured in Jiro Dreams of Sushi. But it wasn't until New York Times critic Pete Wells showed up last year that pizza lovers across the river really took notice. Wells gave it about as glowing a review as possible, even going so far as to deem it "the best pizza in New York." Not only has Richer perfected his crust - it's crisp from end to end and its inside is soft with a complex flavor - he's also meticulous about his toppings, which he sources locally. The mozzarella on his Bufala pie, for example, comes from water buffalo from Jersey's Sussex County; he had to wait years for the herd to grow large enough to ensure a steady supply of the notoriously difficult-to-perfect cheese. And as for the sauce, Richer told the Times that he waits for the latest vintages of tomatoes from California, New Jersey, and Italy to be canned each January before blind-tasting and grading them all, then blending them like fine wine. When assembled, the pizza is damn near perfect.Tyler R./Yelp
#22 Macchialina (Miami Beach, Florida)
Queens-born, Italy-raised chef Michael Pirolo spent time at some of Italy's finest restaurants and enjoyed a stint as chef de cuisine at the much-loved Scarpetta before branching out on his own with Macchialina in 2012. The menu is primarily composed of antipasti and housemade pasta, and we strongly suggest you try as many of the pastas as possible (especially on Thursdays, when they're just $10). Other standouts include gnoccho fritto, veal cheek and pork meatballs, and a 21-day dry-aged New York strip.Giovanny G./Yelp
#21 Sally's Apizza (New Haven, Connecticut)
Sally's Apizza is a New Haven classic, operating from the same location in Wooster Square where Sal Consiglio and his wife Flo opened it in the late 1930s. Today it's run by their sons, Richard and Robert, and their pizza is a traditional thin crust, topped with tomato sauce, garlic, and "mozz." The pies look pretty similar to what you'll find down the street at Frank Pepe, which, as any New Haven pizza believer will note, is because the man who opened Sally's is the nephew of the owner of Pepe. The folks at Sally's will be the first to tell you that Pepe makes a better clam pie, but as for their tomato pie (tomato sauce, no cheese)... well, Sally's has the original beat.Joy C./Yelp
#20 Café Bottega (Birmingham, Alabama)
Over the past 30-odd years, chef Frank Stitt has been credited for significantly raising the bar in Alabama's culinary scene. As if the success of his restaurant Highlands Bar and Grill and the roster of culinary talents who have launched their own successful careers after spending time in his kitchen weren't impressive enough, he's now doing the same thing for the state's pizza scene. While devoted regulars may have trouble steering themselves away from Stitt's classic dishes at Café Bottega like the seared beef carpaccio, Niçoise salad, and chicken scaloppini, they'll find themselves particularly rewarded by any of the eight pizzas on the menu. There's a white pie with fennel sausage, a grilled chicken and pesto combination, and even a pizza with okra and corn. But the signature pie that the restaurant pointed to as the biggest crowd-pleaser is the "Farm Egg," topped with mushrooms, guanciale, Taleggio, and porcini oil.Chrisopher/Yelp
#19 Arancino di Mare (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Located in the Waikiki Beach Marriott, Hawaii's best Italian restaurant is renowned for its impressive pasta dishes and super-fresh local seafood. Standouts include elegantly plated scallop carpaccio topped with sea asparagus, tobiko caviar, and red onions; insalata frutti di mare with shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels, and local greens and tomatoes; spaghetti with fresh uni in a garlic wine cream sauce; spaghetti tossed with a simple sauce of garlic, white wine, and olive oil and topped with a bounty of calamari, clams, mussels, and shrimp scampi; and a 32-ounce bistecca alla fiorentina.Arancino di Mare/Yelp
#18 Marea (New York, New York)
When it opened in 2009, Marea was immediately acclaimed as one of the most original and consistently wonderful upscale Manhattan restaurants in recent memory. This very handsome establishment on Central Park South, in a sunny dining room that long housed San Domenico, specializes in exquisitely fresh fish and shellfish in Italian-inspired preparations by skilled chef and restaurateur Michael White. Try the crostini with lardo and sea urchin or the now-iconic fusilli with octopus and bone marrow, both of which caused waves of buzz at the time and have since become two of the city's "checklist" dishes.Noah Fecks
#17 Domenica (New Orleans, Louisiana)
In the casual and elegant high-ceilinged dining Domenica, located in New Orleans' Roosevelt Hotel (home of the original Sazerac), chef Michael Wilson is serving eight pizzas, including the Calabrese (tomato, spicy salami, mozzarella, capers, olives), Roasted Pork (roast pork, mozzarella, red onion, Anaheim peppers, salsa verde), and Tutto Carne (salami, bacon, and fennel sausage). There's also a wide variety of house-cured meats, pastas including ceppo with slow-cooked rabbit and porcini mushrooms, and entrées that include redfish with mushrooms, olives, and charred herb vinaigrette. Make sure you save room for desserts like banana cake trifle, peach cake, and chocolate hazelnut pudding.Domenica / Facebook
#16 Costa di Mare (Las Vegas, Nevada)
When Paul Bartolotta's excellent and beloved seafood palace Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare abruptly closed its doors in 2015, only to reopen the next day with a new name (Costa di Mare) and a new chef (Michael Mina alum Mark LoRusso) at the helm, customers had a right to be apprehensive. Thankfully, they had nothing to worry about. Forty varieties of fresh fish are still flown in daily from Italian coastal waters and served whole, live langoustines in four sizes are still a menu centerpiece (ranging in price from $30-$45 apiece), fresh pastas are still stunningly delicious (try the oven baked spaghetti with shrimp, spiny lobster, clams, mussels, scallops, and flying squid), the menu still changes daily based on what comes in, and prices are still astronomical. It's a bit strange to think that what's quite possibly the best seafood restaurant in the country is located in the middle of the dessert, but hey, that's Vegas for you.Wynn Las Vegas / Facebook
#15 Cotogna (San Francisco, California)
Chef Michael Tusk's Quince offers a refined, modern Italian and French-inspired menu. But its adjoining Jackson Square sister restaurant Cotogna just shows another great side of the same chef, something mirrored in the spot's name. Cotogna, which means "quince" in Italian, is a casual spot that harbors a more rustic menu featuring spit-roasted and grilled fish and meats, homemade pastas, and wood-oven pizzas that change daily. Don't miss pastas like strozapretti cacao e pepe, foie gras tortelli, and perhaps most important, the raviolo di ricotta with fresh farm egg and brown butter. Notable also are the Sunday Suppers, a four-course menu that changes every week (with special menus for holidays).Cotogna / Facebook
#14 Frank Pepe (New Haven, Connecticut)
If you want to discuss the loaded topic of America's best pizza with any authority, you have to make a pilgrimage to this legendary New Haven pizzeria - whose "clam pie" has taken first place in The Daily Meal's ranking of The 101 Best Pizzas in America nearly every year. Frank Pepe opened his doors in New Haven, Connecticut's Wooster Square in 1925, offering classic Neapolitan-style pizza. After immigrating to the United States in 1909 at the age of 16 from Italy, Pepe took odd jobs before opening his restaurant. Since its inception, Pepe's has opened an additional 9 locations.
What should you order at this checklist destination? Two words: clam pie ("No muzz!"). This is a Northeastern pizza genre unto its own, and Pepe's is the best of them all - freshly shucked, briny littleneck clams; an intense dose of garlic; olive oil; oregano; and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano atop a charcoal-colored crust. The advanced move? Clam pie with bacon. Just expect to wait in line if you get there after 11:30 a.m. on a weekend.Photo courtesy of Frank Pepe
#13 Oliveto (Oakland, California)
With acclaimed chef Paul Bertolli at the helm, Oliveto was considered by many to be the best Italian restaurant in the United States for many years before he left to start Fra Mani in 2005 and the restaurant began to coast on its reputation. But all that changed in 2010, when Jonah Rhodehamel took over. The menu he introduced was vibrant and soulful, and since then Oliveto has returned to be a major player in the scene. The menu changes daily, but always features unexpected local fare like pan-roasted Monterrey Bay sardines (with fregola) and Santa Barbara sea urchin (with spaghetti in tomato sauce), and purveyors are always listed on the menu. At Oliveto you'll try dishes and flavor combinations that you've never experienced before that are at once familiar and completely unique, and you'll be very glad that you did.Photo Modified: Flickr / Edsel Little / CC BY-SA 4.0
#12 Ristorante Bartolotta (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Renowned chef Paul Bartolotta's flagship Italian restaurant is located on the outskirts of Milwaukee, and it's been drawing guests from downtown for more than 20 years. A must-order is the Uovo in Ravioli (a single large raviolo encasing ricotta, spinach, and a whole runny egg yolk). Other standouts include hand-cut pappardelle with slow-braised duck ragù, a half chicken roasted under a brick, an assortment of grilled seafood, an oak-fired filet of beef with pureed potatoes and Umbrian black truffle sauce, and whatever happens to be on the chef's three-course seasonal menu that day.Ristorante Bartolotta/Yelp
#11 Chi Spacca (Los Angeles, California)
Chef Nancy Silverton's Chi Spacca ("he who cleaves" - in other words, "cleaver" - in Italian) is, as the name might imply, a temple to meat. At this restaurant, appetizers like roasted squash blossoms with ricotta and tomato vinaigrette, rabbit terrine, and salumi platters are preludes to big, meat-heavy entrees like porcini-rubbed short ribs with salsa verde, roasted lamb rack with black garlic and Dijon, and beef and bone marrow pie. The 36-ounce dry-aged bone-in costata alla fiorentina is one of the country's best (and most expensive, at $190), and the tomahawk porkchop is also a force to be recoked with.
Yelp / Eli G
#10 Valentino (Santa Monica, California)
For more than 40 years, Piero Selvaggio's Santa Monica landmark Valentino has set the standard for Italian fine dining in America. He served real Italian pastas and things like radicchio and balsamic vinegar when they were exotic in this country; he absorbed the inspirations of the nuova cucina and modernized his menu without losing touch with the homeland; he survived earthquakes and economic downturns and the onslaught of new, hip places that could have pushed his restaurant into the Boring Old Standby category - but didn't. Today, he is increasingly turning back to Italian regional cooking - especially that of Sicily. Yes, you can have prosciutto and melon or spaghetti alla carbonara here, and they'll be impeccable, but why not try the crudita di pesce (Italian "suchi" marinated with citrus and colatura di alici, a kind of anchovy syrup), the lasagne della nonna (grandmother's lasagna) with mushroom and duck ragù, or the veal ossobuco with risotto milanese? The wine list is one of the largest and richest in America, and service is perfect. If you want to dine there, however, you better do it quick: Selvaggio recently announced that the restaurant will be closing at the end of the year.Valentino Santa Monica / Facebook
#9 Scampo (Boston, Massachusetts)
James Beard Award-winning chef and Daily Meal Council member Lydia Shire is one of Boston's legendary chefs, and her restaurant, Scampo, is one of the best Italianish restaurants you'll ever dine at. While Italian at heart, Shire isn't afraid to incorporate a tandoori oven or Spanish ibèrico ham into the mix, and the menu is fun and playful. Handmade breads come in seven varieties. There's a full "mozzarella bar" five different seasonal fresh mozzarella-based dishes (just opt for the mozzarella tasting, you know you want to). Spaghetti comes topped with cracklings and hot pepper and pizza is topped with white clam and bacon, among other things. Entrées include brick chicken with black garlic purée and Meyer lemon risotto, cotechino sausage ravioli with truffle foam and purple kale, and braised short rib with whipped celeriac. It's one of those menus where literally everything looks delicious... but we'll be waiting for Friday night, when the special is roast suckling pig.Photo courtesy of Scampo
#8 Frasca Food & Wine (Boulder, Colorado)
In the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, a "frasca" is a roadside farm restaurant, serving simple regional food. Frasca Food & Wine captures the spirit of these venues, while also championing the vast diversity of Colorado's unique culinary resources. Owners Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson have created a warm and inviting space that can accommodate an impromptu dinner or an evening of fine dining. They offer three unique menus that change daily - a four-course menu for $85 (with dishes also available à la carte); a "Friulano Tradizionale" menu of Friulian regional specialties for $115; and a $55 four-course Monday tasting menu.Photo courtesy of Frasca Food & Wine
#7 Babbo (New York, New York)
Critics, philosophers, and pop-culture columnists have long argued, some more articulately than others, about whether we can separate the art from the artist. Can we appreciate the skills of a Roman Polanski, a Floyd Mayweather Jr., knowing what we do about how they've treated their fellow man and (especially) woman? How about a Mario Batali? Batali has indisputably influenced the American culinary landscape, through his restaurants, cookbooks, and TV shows, as well as his and his partners' multi-unit Italian market Eataly. Do the accusations made against him (which Batali doesn't seem to have refuted) suggest - or demand - that we shouldn't patronize businesses with which he is or was associated? That's a decision each of us has to make personally (presumably bearing in mind that a complex commercial empire like Batali's employs a great many people who are likely innocent of misbehavior but who would be affected by a Batali boycott).
On the basis of present evidence, not many diners feel the need to avoid Batali's flagship, Babbo. Although it turns 20 this year, it's still difficult to get a table there - even after damaging revelations about its creator. The art, in this case as in so many others, seems to transcend the artist. Must-order dishes? Considering that the menu has become its own greatest hits list, that's a tough call. You can explore Italy by land and sea with things like grilled octopus in spicy limoncello vinaigrette or pig foot milanese, but you'll probably want to make sure you at least try the mint love letters with spicy lamb sausage; black spaghetti with rock shrimp, spicy salami calabrese, and green chiles; and beef cheek ravioli.Yelp / Megan S
#6 Bestia (Los Angeles, California)
Located in an old industrial warehouse in the Arts District of downtown LA, the only clue tipping diners off to Bestia's location is its spray-painted name and valet stand in the alley by the main entrance. Inside, Bestia has an upscale urban architectural feel with exposed brick walls, concrete floors, and an open kitchen where chef Ori Menasche (who owns the restaurant with his wife, pastry chef Genevieve Gergis) turns out near-miraculous Italian-inspired creations that have made his restaurant one of LA's toughest reservations since it opened in 2012. Standout menu items include a wide selection of housemade salumi, roasted marrow bone with spinach gnocchetti, pizza with housemade spicy 'nduja and black cabbage, and spaghetti with lobster and sea urchin.Bestia DTLA / Facebook
#5 Quince (San Francisco, California)
Located in a historic brick and timber building dating back to 1907 in San Francisco's Jackson Square neighborhood, Quince is both charming and elegant. Chef and owner Michael Tusk, who won the 2011 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific, creates a dining experience rooted in his relationships with a tightly knit network of only the best Northern California food purveyors. Every night, the ten-course, $275 seasonal tasting menu features vegetable-driven dishes highlighting the season's produce, including some things grown on the restaurant's rooftop garden ("first of the season" peas; Marcho Farm veal with Swiss chard, hedgehog mushrooms, and celeriac; and Monterey Bay abalone with green garlic, lardo, and plankton...).If you're looking to spend a little less, you can take a seat in the salon, where an abbreviated tasting menu is available for $180 (along with a variety of a la carte caviar-based dishes). Now's as good a time to visit as any; Last year, the restaurant was bumped from two Michelin stars to three.Quince Restaurant / Facebook
#4 Spiaggia (Chicago, Illinois)
Decades before the likes of Mario Batali and Michael White reimagined fine Italian dining, Tony Mantuano taught Chicagoans how to enjoy refined Italian fare at Spiaggia ("beach" in Italian). Mantuano has won countless accolades, including the 2005 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest. Reopening after a redesign in 2014 (its first since 1999), the restaurant added 50 percent more seats with views, a new lounge, and a floor-to-ceiling glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled wine room showcasing 1,700 of Spiaggia's nearly 5,000 bottles. The new restaurant menu follows the traditional Italian courses of antipasto, pasta, secondi, and dessert, but with almost entirely new dishes. One thing that hasn't changed is Spiaggia's ability to delight diners. Much of that can be credited to Mantuano and chef de cuisine (and Top Chef champion) Joe Flamm, who serves mouthwatering fare like duck tortellini with cherry, pistachio, and Parmigiano-Reggiano; dry-aged bistecca alla fiorentina with truffle hollandaise, turnip, and onion jam; and their famed gnocchi with black truffle, ricotta, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. A five- or eight-course tasting menu is also available, for $95 and $145, respectively.Jeff Kauck
#3 Vetri Cucina (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
In this little jewel box of a place, now 20 years old, chef Marc Vetri offers diners sophisticated, hand-crafted Italian and Italianate specialties, including house-milled pastas made with sustainably-grown grain, served only in the form of multi-course tasting menus. Available items are listed under Antipasti, Pasta, Secondi, and Dolce (dessert); and chef de cuisine Matt Buehler's menu changes daily. But you might end up with, for instance, roasted cauliflower with bagna cauda, lumache with duck ragù, guinea hen with seasonal mushrooms, and chocolate polenta soufflé for dessert. All is served with precision and grace, and there is a wine cellar of more than 2,500 bottles to choose from.Photo courtesy of Vetri
#2 Osteria Mozza (Los Angeles, California)
B&B Hospitality's Osteria Mozza, helmed by La Brea Bakery founder Nancy Silverton and restaurateur Joe Bastianich, is a really good LA restaurant. There's a mozzarella bar with some dozen options; a menu that includes fantastic (and sometimes unusual) pasta (goat cheese ravioli with "five lilies," meaning five members of the allium family); maltagliati with lamb ragu, olives, and mint; and squid ink chitarra freddi with Dungeness crab, sea urchin, and jalapeños), and main dishes ranging from pan-seared ribeye cap with potato and brodo di Parmigiano to deep-fried whole branzino with eggplant and pickled Fresno chiles.Kelly Campbell
#1 Del Posto (New York, New York)
Del Posto is the result of a collaboration between Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich, and (formerly) Mario Batali. With these three big names banding together (even though Batali has stepped away from his restaurant group), the result may be (as Del Posto's website proclaims) "the ultimate expression of what an Italian restaurant should be." As a relative newcomer to the fine dining scene, Del Posto opened in 2010 in New York's Meatpacking District, and received a coveted four-star review from The New York Times, the first Italian restaurant to do so in nearly four decades. Executive chef Mark Ladner left in 2016 to launch a quick-serve pasta concept called Pasta Flyer and former chef de cuisine Melissa Rodriguez has taken over (she's now, amazingly, the first women to helm a New York kitchen that's received four stars from the Times); her menu includes lobster caponata with fried artichokes; orecchiette with rabbit sausage, turnips, and Castelvetrano olive passato; Moorish spiced crispy lamb neck with labneh; and pork ribollita with bacon and onion marlellata and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It's easily one of the top fine-dining restaurants in America.
More From The Daily Meal:
The 101 Most Iconic Restaurant Dishes in America
101 Best Casual Restaurants in America
The Oldest Restaurant in Every State
America's 50 Best Steakhouses
The Most Expensive Restaurant in Every StateDel Posto Ristorante / Facebook

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On June 19, 2018, the Department of Justice sent ato Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requesting answers to questions about Texas' pending request for certification for purposes of obtaining the benefits of Chapter 154 of Title 28. The questions were based largely on comments submitted in response to the Texas application. There is no specific due date for the response.
Latest News
On March 20, 2018, the Supreme Court granted a stay of execution to Missouri death row inmate Russell Bucklew pending the disposition of his certiorari petition. The Chief Justice and Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch would have denied the stay application. Bucklew's cert petition raises the following questions: (1) Should a court evaluating an as-applied challenge to a state's method of execution based on an inmate's rare and severe medical condition assume that medical personnel are competent to manage his condition and that the procedure will go as intended? (2) Must evidence comparing a state's
On March 21, 2018, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Ayestas v. Davis, 584 U.S. ___ (March 21, 2018). This case concerns the denial of funding to a habeas petitioner. The Supreme Court assumes, without deciding, that a COA is required to appeal the denial of funds and finds that the rule applied by the district court in denying funding was not only debatable but actually erroneous. It further finds that the district court's ruling on the funding request was not an administrative decision such that the court of appeals and the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Turning to the merits, the Supreme Court held that the lower courts applied the wrong legal standard when denying petitioner funds under 18 U.S.C. §3599(f). The statute authorizes funding that is "reasonably necessary" for the representation of an applicant. The Fifth Circuit's requirement that an applicant establish a "substantial need" for the funding was arguably more demanding than the statute requires. The Fifth Circuit exacerbated the problem by invoking precedent that a habeas petitioner seeking funding must present "a viable constitutional claim that is not procedurally barred." This precedent is too restrictive
On February 23, 2018, a complaint and request for injunctive relief was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Texas Defender Service, et al. v. Sessions, et al., 1:18-cv-00426-RBW. This action under the Administrative Procedure Act,, 5 U.S.C. §§
551-59, 701-06, seeks injunctive and other relief to set aside the Final Rule regarding Certification Process For State Capital Counsel System, 78 Fed. Reg. 58,160-01 (Sept. 23, 2013), issued by the Department of Justice. Various comments challenging the applications of Arizona and Texas seeking certification as compliant with Chapter 154 have been submitted to the Department of Justice.
On February 26, 2018, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari review in Madison v. Alabama, 17-7505.
The preamble to the questions presented explains: On January 25, 2018, the State seeks for the second time to execute Vernon Madison, a 67-year-old man who has been on Alabama's death row for over 30 years. Mr. Madison suffers from vascular dementia as a result of multiple serious strokes in the last two years, and no longer has a memory of the commission of the crime for which he is to be executed. His mind and body are failing: he suffers from encephalomacia (dead brain tissue), small vesselischemia, speaks in a dysarthric or slurred manner, is legally blind, can no longer walk independently, and has urinary incontinence as a consequence of damage to his brain.
On November 16, 2017, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's denial of relief on Virginia death row inmate Anthony Juniper's Brady claim and remanded for an evidentiary hearing. Juniper v. Zook, ___ F.3d ___ (4th Cir. Nov.
On November 16, 2017, the Department of Justice published in the Federal Register a notice advising the public that the State of Arizona has by the Attorney General and that public comments may be submitted to the Department of Justice regarding Arizona's request. Also on November 16, 2017, the Department of Jusice published in the Federal Register a
In Kirkpatrick v. Chappell, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Oct. 10. 2017), the majority of a three-judge panel reversed the district court's ruling that certain claims in William Kirkpatrick's federal habeas petition were unexhausted and, therefore, subject to dismissal.
In a pre-AEDPA case, Eric Kimble received habeas relief, on a claim, inter alia, of ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase of Kimble's capital trial. , 2:90-cv-04826-SVW (Order Granting in Part Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus - June 19, 2017).
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View Maps and Directions
We are located on Highway 2, about 3/4 mile North East of Warrens. The church sits on a corner, on the left, just before the Lester Vaughan School, St. Thomas.
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It's safe to say local Democrats had more fun at their election night shindig than their competitors. But the other kind of results watch party—with concession speeches, stiff upper lips and questions about what went wrong during the campaign—is not so long in the past for the Dems, either.
With our two-party political system, we're all on a seesaw. Rs up, Ds down, and vice versa. It makes for predictable election night stories. You're either at one party or the other. There are usually veggies and dip. And drinks.
Ex-Gov. Gary Johnson's gathering on Tuesday, Nov. 6, was different. The familiar snacks were in place on a banquet table. But the Libertarian presidential candidate wasn't cloistered inside a room at Hotel Albuquerque waiting to find out whether he'd won or lost. He'd lost. He knew that going in. Instead, he spent his time hanging out with a couple hundred supporters.
Those clusters of enthusiastic Libertarians didn't come from any particular demographic. They're hard to characterize or force into statistics. They'd campaigned for Johnson and cast their ballots against more of the same.
Johnson didn't do as well as anyone expected him to in the end. He took a paltry 3 percent of the vote in New Mexico. If he'd received 5 percent, the Libertarian Party would have become a major party in our state during the next election cycle. When Johnson first announced his candidacy, pundits suggested that number could hit the double digits here in his home state and wondered whether he'd pull more from President Obama or Mitt Romney.
"I thought we would have done better than what we did," Johnson told the Alibi in an interview. "We really saw things just evaporate at the end. I guess it has something to do with the election being pegged as so close." The presidential race, we know now, was not at all close. Obama took 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
"We really saw things just evaporate at the end. I guess it has something to do with the election being pegged as so close."
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson
From the podium, Johnson's running mate asked the former governor to try again in four years. Judge James Gray—a conservative and longtime advocate for legalizing drugs—said their platform was the right choice in 2012 and will remain so in the future. "We just need to make this happen. And we will."
Johnson wouldn't reveal whether he'll be hitting the trail again for another run at the presidency. "This has just been so wearying. Everyone's so tired of presidential politics. So I don't even want to say."
His speech reiterated his talking points as the crowd cheered: "Roll back the police state. Stop the war. Stop the military intervention. Marriage equality is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Repeal the Patriot Act." Righter than the right fiscally, and lefter than the left socially—that was the message of his campaign.
As Johnson left the stage, fervor was renewed as an audience member shouted the breaking news that Colorado had legalized marijuana. "This is going to change worldwide drug policy," Johnson said. "This is going to do it."


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Family Medical Leave
AUI/NRAO Policy
The Observatory provides family medical leave of absence for up to 12 weeks* per rolling 12-month period to eligible employees who request leave under any of the following situations:
(1) The birth or adoption of the employee's child or the placement in the employee's care of a foster child;
AUI provides 8 weeks of Parental Leave for qualifying employees. More information is available here. This leave can be used to provide pay for FML absences due to the birth or adoption or placement of a foster child.
(2) The serious illness of the employee's spouse, child, parent, or stepchild living in the employee's home; or
(3) The employee's own serious health condition.
(4) Qualifying military exigency. Eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave because of "any qualifying exigency" arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is on active duty, or has been notified of an impending call to active duty status, in support of a contingency operation.
(5) *Military caregiver leave. An eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered service member who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty on active duty is entitled to up to 26 weeks of leave in a single 12-month period to care for the service member.
Eligible employees are required to use any accrued sick leave and vacation leave before the start of unpaid Family Medical Leave (FML). Sick leave may be taken as follows:
- Six weeks – after normal, healthy birth of child.
- Eight weeks or more – after complications arising from the birth, or a Caesarean section is required.
- All accumulated sick leave - employees who are incapacitated.
- Ten days (family sick) - to care for an immediate family member.
Family Medical Leave is unpaid. Use of sick leave, vacation and doctor/dentist visit leave is required to continue your salary on FML. If leave without pay is used, the employee is responsible for paying benefit premiums directly to the Observatory.
When an employee who takes FML returns at the conclusion of the FML, s/he will be reinstated to her/his former position, or an equivalent position, with the same pay, benefits, or other employment terms.
In any NRAO location where state law provides for greater FML benefits than are required under Federal law, the provisions of the state law shall apply.
Who is eligible for Family Medical Leave (FML)?
Employees who have been working for the Observatory at least one year and who have worked 1250 hours or more are eligible for FML.
If both spouses work for the Observatory, they are eligible for a total of 12 weeks' leave (not 12 weeks each) if the leave is taken for the birth or adoption of a child, to receive a foster child into the home, or to care for a seriously ill child or parent.
How do I request leave? Do I have to request FML?
Employees or supervisors must notify human resources after three consecutive days of absence for the above situations.
When the need for leave is foreseeable, such as the birth or adoption of a child or planned medical treatment, employees are expected to give the Observatory reasonable notice of their intent to take leave. This notice should be given at least 30 days before taking the leave where possible.
Once notified of an FML eligible event, HR will send the employee a Notice of Eligibility. This form may require the employee to provide additional medical information and/or a physician's certification. Failure to return the appropriate certifications will result in denial of the employee's request for FML.
Employees who take FML must keep their supervisors informed of their status and of their intention to return to work by regular contact at least every two weeks.
Can I take Family Medical Leave in small increments?
Yes. This is known as Intermittent FML.
If it is medically necessary for a serious health condition, employees may take FML on an intermittent or reduced leave schedule. Intermittent leave may also be taken for the birth or adoption of a child or the placement of a foster child. The total intermittent leave may not exceed 12 weeks in any rolling 12-month period. Employees requesting intermittent leave may be required to transfer temporarily to another job better suited for such leave. In such cases, pay and benefits will be unaffected.
How do I keep track of Family Medical Leave? Is there an ETK code?
Family medical leave is tracked in ETK through the "FML" code. The FML code will pull from your sick balance. Then you will have to use vacation or leave without pay. Supervisors must update human resources of the status of their employees on FML.


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Staffordshire Pottery - the History
Staffordshire pottery is pottery that is produced in the Staffordshire potteries area of the United Kingdom. This area is in the Midlands - the potteries used to centre around six separate towns (Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall) which are now Stoke on Trent.
The area really came into focus as the powerhouse of pottery production in the UK and indeed in the world in the 1700-1800s but, the truth is, that this has been a significant pottery producing area for centuries. Staffordshire has plenty of clay, lead, salt and coal in the area which made it a perfect place for pottery production.
In early days potters would simply dig clay up from roads which is thought to have led to the term 'potholes'! It was quite common for farmers to make pottery at this stage - the land was not good enough for them to make enough money from farming so many worked as potters as a sideline. Gradually many of the farmers moved into full-time pottery production.
In its heyday there were hundreds of manufacturers producing all kinds of pottery in Staffordshire - some of whom became famous names and some of whom are still producing pottery to this day. Well known pottery companies include:
- Wedgwood
- Spode
- Minton
- Aynsley
- Doulton
- Twyford
Many of the world's innovations in pottery production either happened or were brought to general attention in the Potteries. In the 1600s, for example, salt glazing and saggars were used by local potters but there is evidence that potters were working from much earlier than this. For example, excavations in Burslem found examples of pottery from the 1400s. Burslem was actually the centre of butter pot production in the 17th century.
In the 1700s the area saw the innovation of grinding flint in water and one of the most famous figures in the area - Josiah Wedgwood - was born and started work in the family pottery where he created his famous Queensware line. Spode also came into the picture here - he was famous for bringing bone china to the market.
This century also saw local potters use transfers to decorate their products and the opening of better roads and canals in the region allowed potters to transport in raw materials from around the country and to ship out goods more easily. Local potters began to favour using clays from farther afield (the local clay was red and potters wanted white china clay) and started to bring it in from Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.
Although global market drivers have seen much of the pottery industry move abroad, Staffordshire pottery is still made in the area and the sector is still a significant employer, exporting table china, tiles and sanitary ware all over the globe.
Statue of Josiah Wedgwood


text: Thunderhead GSP's is dedicated to producing a dog that will not only excel in the field as a hunting dog, but will have a great temperament to be a fine addition to any family. Our dogs have a high level of desire in the field, but are calm in nature in the house. Cooperativeness and trainability make them dogs that the average person can develope into a fine hunting companion.


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I had the pleasure to be invited to present the Hawkular eco-system at GrafanaCon 2016.
The venue for this 2-day conference was certainly not your everyday conference venue in a hotel ballroom or cinema, but a lot more heavy-metal:
And thus the sessions of the first day all happened in the on-board theatre which used to be one of the elevators that moved the aircrafts from the hangar to the flight deck.
Former aircraft elevator
The sessions were kicked off by Torkel Odegaard, the creator of Grafana by giving some numbers about the growth and versions of Grafana and the community of users and contributors.
In the next session Kevin from Fermilab talked about lasers and how they are connected to Grafana (hint: monitoring of the huge infrastructure that monitors the collider experiments).
And then next was something that probably most have been waiting for: the official launch of Grafana 4 by Torkel. This included a demonstration of some new features like Alerting, where you can define alerts directly on a graph including a visual value-picker and a simulation mode. The announcements continued later by announcing the renaming of Raintank to GrafanaLabs and the completion of the Stack with Intel Snap, which was announcing its version 1.0 followed by Graphite doing the same
I am not going through all the sessions here, but still want to mention the presentation of Kyle Brandt, creator of Bosun alert engine. His talk was less of a product presentation, but rather a philosophical one on getting the communication right. If one engineer sets up an alert trigger and another one has to work on the fired alert, it is important that the later gets enough context to be able to quickly react to the alert.
The afterparty in the evening happened in a nearby bowling place. Those balls are a lot larger and heavier than those we use in Germany for Kegeln.
The second day had a format with 2 parallel sessions, which was a lot more "how-to" like, which included a good presentation by Brian Brazil of Promtheus fame and a nice (hi)story of monitoring at Sony PlayStation. My talk took place on the afternoon at 3pm. It went well and I got some good questions and feedback.
As this was the first day with better weather I also toured the flight deck and the bridge of the Intrepid
Bridge of the Intrepid
Lockheed A1
Space Shuttle Enterprise
View from the bridge
All talks were recorded and will be pushed online once the video team has edited in the slides. My Slides are available in the meantime from http://www.pilhuhn.de/GrafanaCon2016.pdf. I will update this post once the recordings are online.


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I've got a copy of The Lord of the Souls, the second Elder Scrolls novel, sitting on my night stand. It's buried under a few other books I've got to read first.
I'm hoping to eventually write something about what I thought of the book. But if you'd rather not wait and want to see for yourself, Random House has put up a 50-page sample of the novel.
I believe this hand-dandy Scribd embed will let you read through it right here. Let us know what you think.
LORD OF SOULS by Greg Keyes, Excerpt
You can contact Brian Crecente, the author of this post, at email@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


text:
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone to move to featherweight after UFC 167 in Las Vegas
Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone seemed on track for a revenge tour through UFC's lightweight division at 155 pounds. But the Denver mixed martial arts fighter instead will take on a new set of rivals.
Cerrone on Monday told The Denver Post he will move to the featherweight division (145 pounds) after his next fight, against Evan Dunham at UFC 167 in Las Vegas on Nov. 16.
"It was my idea," said Cerrone, 30. "(UFC's) response was, 'As long as you do it healthy, it's fine.'
"Right now, my diet, I can eat what I want. I'm not really disciplined on that side. But if I tighten up what I eat and train a little harder, I'll be fine," he said.
Cerrone, who's lost two of his past three bouts but is 9-3 in his past 12, could have set up for rematches after recent lightweight losses to Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. But Cerrone (20-6) instead has his eyes on a featherweight veteran.


text:
Columbia County, Pennsylvania records site today stands as one of the most reliable data directories dealing with familial pedigree in details. It is an incredible way to locate out all the hidden clues of ancestral genealogy. Thus one would find it easy enough to gather all the required data by means of internet with a sheer excellence.
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Fast, reliable and being cheaper comparatively, the Columbia County data repository of the state of Pennsylvania delivers important information regarding the forefathers and relatives exclusively on birth, adoption and adoptee particulars including inheritance rights, land assessment and property allocation deeds, legal and guardianship documents, marital status, death and burial news, last will and estate rights, ancestral SSN, divorce decree, civil wars data, census details with naturalization and immigration particulars, military duty and enlistment history with grade and entity details, civil lawsuit information and much more.
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text:
A joint initiative between the American Immigration Council and AILA seeks to change the playing field for immigrants facing deportation.
AILA's Featured Issues pages provide a one-stop shop on current immigration-related issues that AILA is actively tracking. This includes government actions and resources, AILA's policy recommendations, and materials and talking points to engage with Congress and the press.Start Your Research
AILA Doc. No. 08031941 | Dated March 19, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) welcomes today's announcement by USCIS of an interim final rule that tries to make the "lottery" process for obtaining scarce H-1B numbers more equitable. More importantly, however, AILA calls on Congress to enact legislation to fix the broken H-1B system as well as to provide new legal avenues for employers to fill legitimate labor needs.
"Once again, the U.S. government is stymied in providing businesses with the legal tools needed to address the economy's demand for skilled workers to compete in our global marketplace," said Kathleen Campbell Walker, President of AILA.
Walker added, "It is embarrassing that there is even a need for the processes announced today. Providing for visas based on a lottery, rather than on the needs of the economy, is no way to run an immigration policy. A recent study by the National Foundation for American Policy shows that every new H-1B employee hired increases a technology company's hiring by five to seven new jobs. Now is the time when Congress should be acting to upgrade the engines driving our economy, not slow them down."
The H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to augment the existing labor force with highly skilled international workers, such as research scientists, to provide expertise to American companies for temporary periods. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years. An H-1B worker must be paid the higher of the actual or prevailing wage for the specialty occupation in the area of intended employment. The H-1B visa is utilized by U.S. businesses and other organizations to employ international workers in specialty occupations that require specialized expertise. Typical H-1B occupations include scientists, architects, engineers, systems analysts, accountants, doctors, primary and secondary teachers, and college professors.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members. For more information call George Tzamaras at 202-216-2410 or Annie Wilson at 202-216-2435
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 08031941.
American Immigration Lawyers Association
1331 G Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Copyright © 1993-2020
American Immigration Lawyers Association.


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Freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal necklace. The champagne coloured freshwater pearls have each been hand-knotted on skin-tone nylon. A golden Swarovski crystal encompasses each pearl to create sparkle and bring light to your skin. So easy to wear, will go with everything from jeans and a t shirt to a dressy evening outfit.
A sterling silver box clasp gives a neat finish.
This collection has been designed to be worn on their own or layer for an individual look.
Length: 18½"/47cms


text:
Measures of Faith, Gifts of Grace, Ministry in Small Groups
From Gospel Translations
By John Piper
About Small Groups
Part of the series Romans: The Greatest Letter Ever Written
Romans 12:1-8
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Small-Group Sunday
I remain with the book of Romans this morning, but depart from our sequence in chapter one, and ask you to focus with me on chapter twelve, especially verses 3-8. The reason for this is that we put a tremendous weight on participation in small groups at Bethlehem, and this is Small-Group Sign-Up Sunday.
We think that living the Christian life calls for small groups. And we think that shepherding the church calls for small groups. The elders are committed to overseeing the small group leaders, and the small group leaders are committed to helping a small flock - a small group - care for each other. We believe in the New Testament teaching about the eldership and the priesthood of all believers. All Christians are ministers, but not all are overseers. The ministry of the church does not belong to the elders; it belongs to the body, the flock, the saints, the believers. Overseers exist to equip and to protect and to guide; but all of this is done to liberate and empower (Ephesians 4:12) the priesthood of the believers (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; 5:9).
So my aim today is to take you into the mind of the apostle Paul and the mind of God in regard to the kind of mutual, one-another ministry that we believe small groups are all about. My prayer is that you will love what you see, and that you will join a small group that exists, or get the training to start your own. Staying with the book of Romans, this meant going to Romans 12:3-8.
Connecting with Romans 1:16-17
Let me begin by connecting the great gospel truths of Romans 1:16-17 with Romans 12:3-8, about the mutual ministry of believers in the body of Christ. We have seen that all of us are ungodly and unrighteous and under the wrath of a holy and just God. In ourselves there is no hope for us. We are sinners and our hearts are rebellious against God.
There is only one hope: that the righteousness that God demands from us, he himself will give to us. Not because we have earned it with good works, but because we receive it by faith. That is what the book of Romans is about: this great salvation of sinners by the free grace of God imputing to us sinners a righteousness not our own, so that a holy God may not only now receive us into his presence, but devote his infinite energy to saving us from every enemy and giving us every blessing imaginable. "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies! Who is to condemn, it is Christ Jesus who died" (Romans 8:33-34). In other words, "the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). "Having been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him" (Romans 5:9).
Now the danger with all this is that a person might begin to think that God's purposes are very individualistic. Each is a sinner. Each is guilty and under condemnation. Each must believe. And each will be saved if he or she does believe. That is all very true. The gospel is addressed to individual sinners. No one can believe for us.
United to Christ - United to His Body
But when we believe, we are united to Christ in a way that also unites us to each other. That is what needs to be stressed today. Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." So the gift of God's righteousness comes to us and takes away our condemnation "in Christ Jesus." That is, in relation to Jesus. In spiritual union with Jesus, created and preserved by the Spirit through faith.
Now notice the link with Romans 12:4-5, "For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ [note the phrase], and individually members one of another." So the faith that unites us to Christ, also unites us to the body of Christ, the church.
Now consider this carefully. You may have never thought about how utterly crucial the local church is to your life in Christ. Verse 5 says that "we are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." What does that last phrase mean - "individually members one of another"? It means that in belonging to the body, we belong to each other. Connection with Christ means connection with each other. If one arm is bleeding badly, every limb in the body will grow weaker, not just the arm. If one arm is working hard to feed the mouth, every limb will be strengthened.
But think about the importance of this for your relation to Christ. What would it mean if one limb of the body said to the other limbs, "I don't need you and I don't like you, so I choose not to be attached to you; I want no relationship with you"? What would that mean? Well, that limb would be saying: I choose not to be in Christ. You can't have it both ways. Paul says, "In Christ we are individually members one of another." That is a reality. We don't make it a reality. It is a reality. And if we reject the reality, we reject Christ. In other words, the reality of the church - the local body of believers - is crucial.
Why a Body, a Church?
Now why is this? Why would God set it up this way? Why not just a great multitude of individuals all justified by faith and relating with Christ directly and only dependent on the Holy Spirit and not on each other?
The answer is given in Romans 15:5-7: "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God."
Notice that two times Paul explains what the aim of Christian unity and mutual acceptance is, namely, the glory of God. God has ordained that a church be a unified body of diverse individuals and not just a collection of isolated individuals. Verse 6: "[Strive for unity] . . . so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify God." God gets more glory through a body of believers functioning in a unity of truth and love than he would through a host of supposedly holy individuals who don't relate to each other or minister to each other or worship with each other or do missions with each other.
Then he says it again in Romans 15:7: "Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God." Christ accepted us in our sin and misery, and loved us and saved us. Why? To glorify his Father (John 12:27-28; 17:4-5). So Paul says, Let that be your motive as well. That is why God designed salvation the way he did. Being united to Christ means being united to a body of believers, because this way God will get more glory than if he had saved us another way. God does everything to magnify his glory. That is why the church exists, and that is why small groups exist.
A group of people learning how to love each other in the power of the Gospel and in the power of the Spirit glorifies God more than single individuals relating to Christ in isolation. That's not hard to understand. It's easier to stay at home and watch TV than to get together with people different from you and carry their burdens in prayer and minister to them with your gifts and strategize with them to reach the lost. But God doesn't get more glory when you just do the easy thing. He gets more glory when you depend on him to help you do the hard thing - and especially when you do it with the joy of hope.
Spiritual Gifts and Faith Are Both from God
Now that idea of depending on God to help us minister to each other brings us to a very crucial teaching in this text - the idea that ministry to each other in the body of Christ is done with spiritual gifts and by faith that are both the work of God's grace in our lives. And the reason for this is so that God gets the glory.
So I want to show you that we must trust God's grace for the gifts we need to help each other in our small groups, and that we depend on God's grace for the very faith we need to receive and use our gifts. In this way, God gets all the glory, and the ultimate purpose for small groups and the church and the universe is fulfilled.
First consider a principle that runs through the whole Bible: working in our own strength magnifies us, shows that we have too high a view of ourselves, and gets the glory for us. But working in the strength that God supplies magnifies him, and shows that we have a sober, dependent view of ourselves, and gets the glory for God. This principle is stated most clearly in 1 Peter 4:11b, "Whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." You see the principle: the giver gets the glory. If you go to your small group not in your strength, but utterly dependent on God's strength to help you and use you for the good of others, then God will get the glory in your ministry and in the group. And that is the goal.
Now this helps makes sense out of the amazing emphasis in Romans 12:3-8 where Paul really emphasizes that not only are spiritual gifts a work of God's grace, but even the faith that depends on God's grace is a work of God's grace. In other words, small groups are a great work of sovereign grace. Let's see this in the text.
In verse 3, the first thing Paul does is call attention to his own dependence on grace in the use of his apostolic gift: "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think." He's saying, in other words, is, I could easily begin to think too highly of myself as an apostle were it not for one thing: all my calling, all my gifts, all my authority is a work of free grace in my life. I don't deserve it. I didn't muster it up. It isn't owing to my self-wrought abilities and skills. It is all of grace.
Then he calls attention to the same thing in regard to all of our spiritual gifts. Verse 6: "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly." The phrase is almost identical with the one in verse 3: "according to the grace given to us" (verse 3: "through the grace given to me"). We don't choose our gifts, and we don't design the body of Christ so that it has the diversity that it has. Paul says that God's grace is what does that. We have gifts and they differ not according to our will, but according to God's grace.
This is because God means to get the glory for all things, including the ministry of small groups. We get the gifts and the help and the blessing, but God gets the glory.
Thinking too Highly of Ourselves
But now comes the final remedy to thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think - which is what Paul is very concerned about (Romans 12:3a), since it robs God of his glory. One might be tempted to say, "Well, yes, our gifts are a work of grace and we cannot boast in them. But the use of the gifts is up to us and, and so there is some reason for pride in whether we use our gifts or not." What is the remedy for this final vestige of pride in our small groups?
The final remedy is stated in verse three at the end: "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think [so the issue is clearly pride; but what is the remedy? He goes on. . . ]; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." There's the remedy. Sound judgment about yourself is based on the recognition that the measure of faith you have to receive and use your gift is "allotted" to you. Varying measures of faith to use our gifts, as well as differing gifts themselves, are the work of God's grace. God allots differing measures of faith to each of us from time to time (see also Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 2:25).
If God Is Working, Why Do I Need to?
Therefore all boasting is excluded. But a great danger looms just over the horizon - namely, the danger that we will become passive and say, "Well, if I am to do my small group ministry by faith, and faith is a work of God's grace, then there is nothing for me to do, and I will just stay at home and watch TV." Now that is an unbiblical and irrational response.
We know it is unbiblical because, right here in the text, the whole point of verses 6-8 is to exhort the Roman Christians to do something. "Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness." In other words, exercise your gift. Don't let it lie dormant. Take hold of it by faith and use it.
Resist passivity and look to God and say: "Lord, I know that you have given me a gift. I am tired, and I am anxious that I will not do a good job. But, Lord, I trust you, not me and not my gift. I trust your enabling grace. In fact, I trust you now to help me trust you more. And I go tonight to my small group in the strength that you supply, so that in everything you might get the glory" (1 Peter 4:11).
We also know that passivity is unbiblical because of Paul's own testimony in 1 Corinthians 15:10, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me." He labored more than all of them! That is not passivity! But look at the conviction beneath it: "Nevertheless it was not I but the grace of God with me."
The great words, "Not I but grace" are not energy-destroying words, but energy-producing words. Listen to Paul again from Colossians 1:28-29, "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." Paul labors. Paul strives. But it is by the mighty power of Christ that works in him, enabling him.
God Wills His Will through Our Willing
The point is this: God does not will his will instead of our willing; he wills his will through our willing. God does not work instead of our working, but through our working. God does not energize us instead of our having energy; he energizes our energy. Therefore it is unbiblical and irrational to say that, because the grace of God produces in us an active trust in God, we don't need to exert an active trust in God. Is it not irrational to say, "God enables us to trust him; therefore we don't need to trust him"?
At the end of your life, after decades of ministry in small groups, being used by God to stir up the obedience of faith in others, do you know what you are going to say - you saints and sages? You are going to use the words of Paul in Romans 15:18, "'For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles.' If I had a gift, and if I had the faith to use the gift, it was of God. To God be the glory!"
The Lord has given spiritual gifts to every Christian in this room. Let us pray that this year he will measure out to us mighty measures of faith. Find your gift. Embrace it by faith. Use it in the strength that God supplies, so that God will get the glory and you and your small group will get the joy.


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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - 01/11/2018 — CAN Community Health is proud to announce a joint venture with Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida (LSS) in Jacksonville.
The new clinic will be opening mid-January 2018 and will be housed inside the Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida building at 4615 Philips Highway.
President/CEO of CAN Community Health, Richard Carlisle is "proud and excited about this partnership and looks forward to bringing its medical team to serve the entire community through its federal and state programs. Florida is currently #1 in the country for newly diagnosed infections of HIV and Jacksonville ranks 3rd in the state. The numbers are still rising so there is still a lot of work to be done!"
LSS has been providing HIV patients with wrap-around services for thousands of clients since 1992. CAN is proud to serve Florida with 27 medical clinics throughout Florida and South Carolina. The Jacksonville location will offer medical care including HIV and hepatitis C and STD testing as well as education, prevention, case management, mental health services, PrEP information, shared housing programs and additional services.
"This partnership is outstanding news for our clients and the community," stated LSS President and CEO Mary Strickland. "We're proud of the way our AIDS Care and Education (ACE) Program connects those living with HIV/AIDS with the necessary resources to not only function, but to thrive in the community. Adding access to a CAN medical facility within our campus makes that mission easier to achieve, and is a great benefit for our clients."
For scheduling or to find out more information about the Jacksonville clinic, please call (904) 508-0710 or (844) 922-2777.
CAN Community Health is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the treatment, care and continual wellness of people living with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and other STDs. The clinics offer the finest medical, dental, psychological and lifestyle counseling to all patients, regardless of their financial situation, insurance status or ability to pay. For more information visit www.cancommunityhealth.org.
Media Contacts:Company Name: CAN Community Health