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VMware wants to leverage its dominance in server virtualization inside of corporate data centers into juggernaut status for enterprise private clouds, and to help that process along the company is rolling out a new enterprise purchasing agreement that will presumably get some grease to the skids and the palms as companies look to install VMware's wares more widely and deeply.
We say presumably because as is always the case with any kind of enterprise licensing agreement from any major software vendor, you need a PhD in marketeering and voodoo to sort it all out to see if you will get any kind of deal. The new enterprise purchasing program (PDF) or EPP deal from VMware is no exception, and it differs from the current volume purchasing program (PDF) aimed at enterprise customers and the transactional purchasing program (PDF) designed for the US government in some important ways. Like most volume purchasing programs, the VMware programs are designed to test your patience as well as your mathematics. The new EPP discounting is not yet in the online configurator that VMware provides to customers, but presumably it will be soon.
With the VPP deal that VMware has had in effect for a number of years, you sign up and then buy software licenses, each of which grants you a certain number of points, like an airline frequent fliers club. The more points you accumulate over time, the deeper the discounts you can get, with point accumulations ranging from 250 to 1,749 giving you between 4 and 9 per cent off the cost of software licenses. If you accumulated more than 1,750 points, your discount went up to a maximum of 12 per cent. Under the VPP, when you hit certain spending levels, your discounts remained in effect for two years, and you could spread licenses around different departments and affiliates of the company. Points automatically rolled off if customers didn't use them as part of subsequent license acquisitions, which kept customers buying at a fairly steady clip. You had to buy at least 250 points worth of licenses to start, with a single license of vSphere Enterprise Plus, the top-end ESXi hypervisor and toolset, giving you 35 points.
With Uncle Sam, non-profits and academic institutions, the deal was slightly sweeter and easier to get into, with the entry point being only 50 points and the discount being one point deeper across the first three tiers in the scheme and those who went above 1,750 points in an acquisition (or set of acquisitions) getting 13 per cent off. Generally speaking, one VPP or TPP point requires around $100 in license, and under the TPP, a license to vSphere Enterprise Plus is worth 35 points.
With the EPP scheme, VMware is dropping points and moving to tokens, and instead of giving discounts on licenses, VMware is letting customers buy tokens that they then use to acquire software or support subscriptions as they see fit. As they put more tokens into their account at VMware, they get progressively deeper discounts on licenses for VMware software. There are four tiers, as before, but this time around there is one interesting twist: VMware is saying that the discounts are deeper than for the existing VPP, but its documentation does not say what those discount levels are.
You can mix VPP points and EPP tokens to do license acquisitions, and by buying enough tokens ahead of time, you can lock in pricing for future releases at the current pricing level. The tokens are valid for a three-year term; you have to spend them before the clock stops ticking on the tokens. To start using the EPP pricing, you need to be a fairly large player, with a minimum deal size of $250,000 generating 2,500 tokens (or the local currency equivalent reckoned against the US dollar generating a proportional number of tokens). Once you are in the program, you can only add tokens in units of 500, which means $50,000 at a time.
VMware is opening up the EPP pricing on October 22. ®
Sponsored: How to simplify data protection on Amazon Web Services


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You know, attractive female, former jet car driver -- right, jet car driver -- about to strap in to go down the quarter-mile again.
But this isn't in one of those 6,000 horsepower jet cars, rather it's a 4,000 horsepower NHRA Top Fuel machine and this isn't just an exhibition, it's a run to qualify for a competitor's license, to enable the driver to enter the top of the line ranks in 2008.
We've teased you long enough.
Our subject is Jessie Harris, who spent the last four days with eventual teammate Clay Millican at the Gainesville strip to make her licensing runs. That being done, she'll be ready for sponsorship with her Evan Knoll-owned machine as a companion war wagon to Millican on the NHRA POWERade series.
At age 25, she's already a veteran, albeit in the jet cars, and could also probably be a candidate for a spread in Playboy, so never mind the height and weight, which you don't ask a lady anyhow.
But how in the world did this racing involvement come about? It may be a somewhat familiar story, to a point.
"When I was six years old I met my step father and he had been a big fan of drag racing all his life. He raced at our local track, in Syracuse, New York as a hobby and I just got hooked. I was his only girl, out of four girls, who loved drag racing and he didn't have any boys," Harris says
"I just fell in love with the sight, the sound and the smell of drag racing. I traveled around with him and I started out as a crew girl with him, but then from the time I was 14 up until 19 I did a lot of the event coordinating. I met a lot of owners and operators at the different tracks.
But the jet cars?
"When I was 19 years old I met a friend of a friend who knew a jet car owner and they were looking for a female driver. I went and interviewed and the next thing I knew I was getting my license and I spent five years behind the wheel of a jet powered dragster."
"It was a great time. It got me a lot of seat time in a fast car. Ideally, my heart has always been in nitro. I have always wanted to drive a fuel car since I was six years old because I grew up watching it on TV.
"But I needed to take any opportunity I could get to:
"...number one, build a resume and number two, get seat time in a fast car."
Now, she has the opportunity, going from the feather touch to the sledge hammer wield, but we're getting ahead of ourselves.
"It's been quite a transition. In July of this year I actually came to this track, to Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School and got my license in his Alcohol Funny Car. That gave me something else to add to my resume.
"And then I came out and kept introducing myself to all of these nitro tuners, team owners and other drivers and somehow, some way, just keeping my name in front of everyone and I now have the opportunity of licensing in Clay's car and possibly be his teammate next year."
Harris says the very first contact with Evan Knoll was hers.
"Some time ago, I started getting out there and introducing myself to all the nitro owners and telling them of my interest in driving. Usually, they said, well just keep coming back, saying hello and keeping us informed of what you're doing."
She did.
And a visit at this year's Mac Tools Nationals at Indianapolis paid off.
"A couple of weeks after that he called me up and said maybe we can do something. That was when the wheels started turning. I went to Richmond, Virginia and stayed after the race and on Monday I was in on my first licensing passes in Clay's car. That was just two 300-foot passes. After that, I went to Vegas, did two half-track passes, then we came here."
Harris said in addition to attempting to get her license, the teams, with her crew chief Johnny West, and Millican's team and Lance Larson, are also working on getting the cars ready for 2008. On Wednesday, she ran a 4.66 at 305 and Thursday at a like E.T. and 314 mph.
So is everything very easy to simply jump from a jet car into an equally fast Top Fuel car?
"The jets need a lot more of what I call finesse," Harris says. "When you drive it, you kind of guide it down the track. It almost feels as if you're on ice, kind of skating along down the track. It's light weight, weighs about 1,250 pounds with me and a full tank of fuel. (To compare, a TF car's minimum weight is 2,225 pounds) Therefore, any little bump in the track or any cross winds will move you around a lot.
"You can't be overly aggressive, but you have to be ready to hold that steering wheel nice and hard and turn it when you need to."
Evan Knoll is primarily sponsoring the car at present, but the team may work on some other associate sponsors, while Knoll and Torco Race Fuels will be on this car, along with Clay Millican's.
What about goals? At least this first year?
"Along with Clay Millican's team, it's to go out there and do well, be competitive and bring home good results for Evan Knoll. He has a heart of gold and he has done amazing things for me. We want to make him proud, wear the Torco Race Fuels well on the side of our car. And I will continue to get some seat time and learn, race by race."
So we heard from Jessie Harris. What about the opinion of the instructor who saw her through his school, then observed her for licensing runs, Frank Hawley?
"Jessie has a number of attributes that I think will serve her well in our sport," Hawley says. "She first drove our TAFC earlier this year and did very well considering her lack of wheel driven experience. I signed her TAFC license on her first visit which does not normally happen.
"Her 5 years in the jet car helped more than some people might think. One area that is important is lining up the car perfectly straight. This sounds simple but takes great attention and her time in the jet helped since a thrust vehicle tends to go where it's pointed. Another consideration is that she has "seen the world" at 300 mph more times in the past five years than some of today's fuel drivers. She also has time a many smaller tracks and many runs at night. The NHRA tracks she'll be at will be better than what she has seen in the past.
"She returned and 'cross-graded' to our TAD. She is very personable and seems to love the fans and a TV camera. I want to thank Evan Knoll and Torco for giving Jessie the opportunity to license in his TF car. She is in good hands with Clay Millican, Johnny West, Lance Larson and the rest of the boys."

subset: commoncrawl


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Another Technological Leap Forward!
As you know, I am always on the lookout to identify new technology applications that will improve our lives. And today we have a major! It's called ShameBeGone. Interested already, aren't you?
I couldn't believe it when I read about it. ShameBeGone is a service that handles unpleasant situations for you. By the best method yet invented to arbitrate human differences—e-mail!
Let's say you have a problem. You forgot your mother's birthday, kind of hard to do these days with Facebook and all. Or maybe you want to break up with your current partner and unfriending them didn't send a strong enough message. Or maybe you got roaring drunk at your nephew's first birthday party and broke his new iPad and you feel bad.
All you have to do it tell the nice people at ShameBeGone all about it and they will fire off an e-mail to the parties involved and voila! Problem solved.
As the web site says:
Worry no more!
How it works:
• You tell us about a situation that you just can't deal with.
• You tell us what you'd be willing to pay to have it fixed.
• If we accept, we draft an email for you to send to fix up that mess.
You cut, paste and send—and then the shame is gone. It's just that easy.
That's the way it is in the techno world. An e-mail is all it takes to fix everything. And in order to make sure they get the e-mail just right, you can tell them how you want the whole thing to end. To do that, you just check off the desired outcome.
A kindly brush-off
Once you've described your problem and indicated the desired outcome, you then have to tell them what it's worth to you to get the problem fixed. There is actually a line on the web page that says "Tell us what you are willing to pay ______"
I am intrigued that the customer gets to determine the price. That is a unique business model but I can't help but wonder whether the ShameBeGone people have some sort of internal algorithm that pegs the amount of shame reduction they provide to the price you are willing to pay.
I don't know about you, but I'd be afraid to go cheap because you could well make matters worse! And, by the way, if you make matters worse, you're on your own. The web site has a fairly all-encompassing hold harmless clause that says they aren't providing legal, or any other kind of advice and they are not responsible for what happens. So be warned. If you pay a mega bucks to send an e-mail to your favourite reality TV star and your desired outcome is sex, you have no recourse if nothing happens.
ShameBeGone Operators Are Standing By!
Although this is clearly a major leap forward in our effort to cocoon ourselves in technology and avoid actual real world interaction with other humans, it is clear that we still have a long way to go. This technology needs to be available in an iPhone app and instead of e-mails, texts and tweets should be permitted.
I envision different modules designed for different segments of the population. For example, I think the parenting module would get a lot of use. Instead of dealing with the kids in real time, parents could have ShameBeGone handle this unnecessary distraction from Facebook and Masterchef. No longer will parents have to feel guilty by saying no. Outsource it to ShameBeGone. Desired outcomes could range from "Eat your vegetables" to "You're grounded," to "Find a new home."
It would also be a blessing to children to be able to communicate this way with their parents. After all, it's rather stressful to have to face your parents and tell them that you are pregnant and/or quitting school or have been kicked out of school or arrested. Desired outcomes could range from "You're forgiven," to "It's OK. Here's a new iPhone."
A Good Time for ShameBeGone
And that's just the home version. The workplace would be so much simpler if
ShameBeGone could handle all of our dealings with superiors, subordinates,
clients, customers and suppliers.
The more I think about it, the more I think that this application will solve virtually all of the world's problems. Instead of sending armies to invade each
other, countries could use ShameBeGone to send e-mails to each other expressing disapproval. Instead of blowing things up terrorists could tell everyone what's really bothering them and ShameBeGone would spin out an e-mail designed to generate the desired outcome.
There just doesn't seem to be any limit to what technology can accomplish!
June 23, 2011 6:25 pm
I'm looking for a service to draft my comments on other people's blog posts, also with a desired outcome in mind (e.g., "get the post author to reply to my comment" or "be put into the moderation queue").
June 24, 2011 2:16 am
Hey…I'm signing up! Better to have someone else lie for you than you do it yourself. Then wouldn't have to Google GuiltBeGone and have someone send a generic 'begging your forgiveness' email. -on your behalf. May be costly. Better than getting sued. In which case CoverYourAss.com might be of service 🙂
Great post!
July 12, 2011 9:45 am
LOL! Love your take on that odd service!
I stopped by to thank you for your fun contribution to this week's Limerick-Off. I post a new limerick challenge each week. Hope you'll become a regular participant!


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Keywords may be separated by AND and/or OR statements for greater control of the search results.For example, Microsoft AND mouse would generate a result set that contain both words. However, for mouse OR keyboard, the result set returned would contain both or either words.Exact matches can be searched for by enclosing keywords in double-quotes.For example, "notebook computer" would generate a result set which match the exact string.Brackets can be used for further control on the result set.For example, Microsoft and (keyboard or mouse or "visual basic").
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For local fisherman David Goethel, the effect of cod catch reductions decided last week by New England fishery managers is cut and dried.
"It puts us out of business. It's not a viable business anymore."
Goethel, of Hampton, sits on the New England Fishery Management Council, but voted against the cuts on Wednesday, day three of four-day hearings addressing the fate of the region's commercial fishing industry.
The Council approved decreasing the overall quota of Gulf of Maine cod by 77 percent, and by 61 percent for Georges Bank cod, for fishing years 2013 to 2015.
Those reductions mean that fishermen's allocations will drop from 6,700 metric tons to 1,550 for Gulf of Maine cod, and from 5,013 metric tons to 2,002 for Georges Bank cod.
The cuts will take effect May 1.
New England fishermen turned out in droves to the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth for the hearings, and were outspoken about their concerns for the industry and their livelihoods.
In 2012, an interim action was put in place that reduced catch limits by 22 percent. That interim action ends April 30, and while the New England Fishery Management Council had requested another, the National Marine Fisheries Service denied that request.
John Bullard, regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said an interim measure is only an allusion.
"Fisherman don't need allusions," Bullard said. "They need a big dose of reality."
The interim action kept the fishery in business while addressing fish stock assessment numbers that were much lower than initially reported.
Goethel said that discrepancy in stock assessment needs examination.
"There should have been a real serious examination from outside the organization, not just from within," he said. "We have to start looking for other underlying causes to this problem."
During the hearings last week, the council discussed environmental factors like predation and water temperatures that can lead to regime shifts, which is when the characteristics of an ecosystem change, potentially affecting a fish population.
Several members of the council on Wednesday did argue the environmental concerns may be the problem, not overfishing.
"There are a number of us who believe mortality rates are due to environmental conditions and that's something that should be examined before we reduce catch limits," said councilman Terry Alexander, a fisherman from Maine.
But Bullard said whether it's environmental factors or overfishing, reducing catch limits is a necessary move.
"It would seem to me we have a possibility these stock assessments are so low and have fundamentally shifted that there is a chance we could get to a condition where we could stop all fishing and they would not rebuild," Bullard said. "We were all hoping the stock assessment was wrong and that there would be more fish. But the day of reckoning is here."
The NOAA can only disapprove of the council's vote if it violates the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law that requires elimination of overfishing to protect stocks.
Chris Chadwick, a 25-year fisherman from Gloucester, Mass., said the stock levels should be left to mother nature.
"They (regulators) can have as much computer information as they want, but my belief is mother nature brings the fish and mother nature takes them away," Chadwick said. "Leave the quotas alone. Let mother nature do her thing."
Chadwick argues stock levels are cyclical — and he would know as he comes from a long line of fishermen and saw low levels when his father was fishing commercially in the 1970s.
But the impact the council's decision has on Chadwick's livelihood has him concerned about the next generation in his family — his seven-year-old son.
"What the council's going to do with this reduction in quota is going to impact college for my kid," he said. "It's going to be a bigger burden to me now to educate my child."
Portsmouth fisherman Erik Anderson, who is also president of the N.H. Commercial Fisherman's Association, said he's very concerned about what will happen to the fishing community.
"It's growing to the proportion that managing the marine environment is becoming an enormous challenge with everything we're trying to manipulate," Anderson said. "I think management has helped maintain the resource as far as it can possibly go."
Goethel said he tried to target other fish last year to reserve cod stocks. But even that strategy changes with the council's ruling.
"In June and July when I could have caught a lot of cod, I didn't try to catch them because I was afraid we'd run out," Goethel said. "I tried to target other fish. That used to be what you did. When one thing went down you targeted something else. But now they've cut all the other fish as well. You can't run a business with those limitations."
Goethel, who's been a commercial fisherman since 1967, said he hasn't had a chance to figure out what he's going to do come May 1. But he said he believes the discussion isn't yet over.
And Congress has a large part to play in what may come.
"It's now moved to another phase, and that phase is writing to your congressperson and telling your personal situation and how upset you are," Goethel said.
U.S. senators and legislators have been advocating for less severe regulatory measures given the threat to the commercial fishing industry. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., put forth a statement Wednesday that she will continue fighting for disaster relief funding for the Northeast groundfishery.
President Barack Obama declared the Northeast groundfishery a disaster in 2012, opening it up for financial aid for the industry and affected communities. Goethel said there is immense frustration about the debate between regulators and Congress, and about the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which he said is "unworkable" and needs to be redone.
"There's a lot of frustration with the law," he said. "Any management plan that removes an entire state from a fishery both commercially and recreationally — if you have to kill the fishery to save it, I think that's a very poor idea."


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Wish You Were Here...
Rental information for this slice of heaven
Accommodations: Two bedrooms, two baths (sleeps four, plus two on the sleeping porch)
2007 rates: $12,000 per month in season
Availability: Year-round
Location: Steps from the Gulf of Mexico (100 feet away, 60-second walk)
Need-to-know info: No pets, no smoking
Nearest airports: Naples Municipal Airport, 10 minutes; Southwest Florida International Airport, Fort Myers, 45 minutes
Amenities: Outdoor shower, gas log fireplace, central air, rain-style showerhead with body jets, washer/dryer, sleeping porch, three outdoor patios with dining table and lounge chairs, beach towels and beach chairs, flat-screen TV, Bose CD player, guest bathrobes, parking, three blocks to fine dining and shopping on Third Street. Rental rates include linens.
Don't miss: Sunset at Naples Pier, two blocks away
Contact info: Latissa Bell; 202/457-7810
(published January/February 2007, updated April 2010)


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Pictures with names
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday with names
I Love You
I Love You with names
Data: 700x540 | 103 Kb
Data: 597x483 | 214 Kb
Data: 700x516 | 147 Kb
Data: 520x520 | 69 Kb
Data: 500x500 | 134 Kb
In this section, you can choose to view and download your favorite pictures with name Brook. Total of 5pcs., just scroll the page. If possible, be sure to share with other users - add your own pictures and images with names.


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Boundary dimensions
The ISO 15 general plan for boundary dimensions of radial bearings contains a progressive series of standardized outside diameters for every standard bore diameter, arranged in a diameter series. Within each diameter series, different width series have also been established.
Dimension series are formed by combining the number for the width series with the number for the diameter series.
For super-precision bearings, only a limited number of dimension series are used. Table 1 lists diameter and width series used for SKF super-precision bearings.
Specific information about compliance to dimension standards is provided in each product section:
Minimum values for the chamfer dimensions (fig. 1) in the radial direction (r1, r3) and the axial direction (r2, r4) are listed in the product tables. These values are in accordance with the general plans of ISO 15:2011, ISO 12043:2007 and ISO 12044:1995.
The appropriate maximum chamfer dimensions are in accordance with ISO 582:1995 and are listed under Chamfer dimension limits.


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I've launched a question at ELEMENT's SONG forum. It was about nicknames' meanings.
I'll start it here as a topic.
Me, first:
I'm a CCR fanATIC, so there goes John. Flaherty goes for... well. it just sounds like Fogerty... ok, it doesn't, but anyways, I put these two together and I liked the way it sounds.
Now, my look. I see myself as a fox, regular pattern, with dark hair, a few grey hair, a scar in my face, like Seifer's, from Final Fantasy 8, but I don't act like him. I'm more like Squall. By the way, my full fantasy name is John Squall Flaherty, or John S. Flaherty. It sounds better, ain't it?
Oh yes, I have a bullet wound on my right shoulder. How I get it? I'll put my story someday.


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Description: As seen in the pages of Redbook, Women's Health and Cosmo, Masque Sexual Flavors is the first oral sex strip that dissolves on the tongue, blocking the salts, proteins and bitter tastes sometimes associated with oral sex on a man and helping improve the overall experience for both partners. Designed with couples in mind, Masque aims to increase intimacy between partners and encourage sexual exploration. Masque is available in watermelon, mango, strawberry and chocolate flavors. The oral sex strips can be purchased on the company's website, www.yourmasque.com, on Amazon.com or at select retailers for $9.95 per pack. Each pack contains three individually-wrapped gel strips. Masque Sexual Flavors is the first oral sex product of its kind, developed to neutralize the tastes associated with oral sex on a man. Several years of research went into testing and manufacturing the oral sex strips. Masque operates its business with one goal in mind: to make quality products to enhance personal intimacy and bring couples closer together. For more information, visit http://www.yourmasque.com. Follow us on Twitter: @YourMasque
Price: $9.95


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Defense lawyers and the prosecutor in the Jodi Arias trial had a series of sharp exchanges Monday over allegations of attorney misconduct and whether digitally enhanced photos of the victim should be presented for the jury as it decides whether to convict the former waitress and aspiring photographer of murder.
The arguments between prosecutor Juan Martinez and defense lawyer Kirk Nurmi showed how acrimonious the trial has become between the two sides after more than three months of testimony.
Nurmi claimed that the prosecutor committed misconduct by bullying a key defense witness. Martinez used the words "voodoo" and "fantastical" to describe a last-minute defense effort to admit digitally enhanced photos of the victim.
"This isn't second grade. It's a court of law," Nurmi said.
The jury was not present as the judge heard arguments on several issues.
The one that elicited the most colorful response was a defense effort to allow jurors to see enhanced images of Travis Alexander just before he was stabbed and shot to death.
Arias took several photographs of Alexander on the day he was killed in 2008 in his suburban Phoenix home. A defense expert claims that he can see a reflection of a person in the eye of Alexander in one digitally enhanced image. Nurmi said the image shows Arias with both hands on the camera - and not holding a knife that she used to kill Alexander.
The splotchy image is impossible to interpret with the naked eye, and Martinez ripped the defense team for trying to introduce it as evidence. He said he sees what he thinks is Alexander's dog in the reflection. He said other people might see completely different things, whether it's different breeds of dogs or even gophers.
"It's the state's position that this is really voodoo," he said.
The judge did not immediately rule on whether to allow the images.
Arias has said that she killed Alexander in self-defense, fearing for her life.
Prosecutors claim it was premeditated murder that should result in a death sentence. The defense is hoping to spare Arias' life, and get an unlikely acquittal or a conviction on a lesser charge and a prison term.
The lawyers went at it again later in the day as the judge denied another defense mistrial motion. Nurmi said Martinez engaged in misconduct by posing for photos with fans who have been gathering at the courthouse on a daily basis to witness a trial that has a large global following with its many salacious elements. Nurmi also claimed that Martinez bullied a key defense witness with an aggressive line of questioning.
Martinez ridiculed Arias' team for repeatedly pressing for mistrials in a case that has cost taxpayers more than $1.4 million for her defense.
"Perhaps they can add a few more pennies to the kettle that they have," he said.
The focus of the trial this week is expected to be rebuttal witnesses put on the stand by the prosecution.


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I'm looking for good open source software and hardware inventory management software. A quick search on sourceforge returned following inventory management system / software management apps:
=> OCS Inventory NG, Open Computers and Software Inventory Next Generation is an application designed to help administrator keep track of the computers configuration and installed softwares. Low network traffic HTTP communications between agents and server. I'm currently testing this software and I will update all of you about my results.
Other old (outdated) softwares
=> PcInventory Web-based system to track the Pc and the installed peripherals.
=> phpMyInventory is a web-based hardware, software, and peripheral inventory system using PHP & MySQL. Currently stable on PHP version 4xx only!
=> Windows Inventory. A Computer Hardware and Software Inventory system. Based around wmi, vbscript, mysql & php. Expandable via modules to include software distribution, remote control, event viewer, disk monitoring, etc.
Most of these software are outdated. Basically, I need to keep inventory for following items
- Open source inventory asset management software
- Should able to track inventory
- Auditing feature
- Inventory of equipment owned and leased (including lease expiry)
- Software inventory for both Windows and UNIX systems
- Import / Export function etc
Do you have any recommendations for me? Please add them in the comments.


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For the first time, the Presidents Cup opening ceremony will be held offsite and will be open to the public.
For the first time, the Presidents Cup opening ceremony will be held offsite and will be open to the public.
Organizers are hoping the Oct. 2 event at Columbus Commons that will feature Rascal Flatts will draw interest from more than just golf fans.
"We want to open it to the public to give the opportunity to get the community closer to the event," PGA Tour Organizer Laura Neal said, adding both fans of the Presidents Cup and those not interested in golf can find common ground at the ceremony.
The opening ceremony for the international golf event is slated to kick off at 5 p.m. Oct. 2 and will include an International Festival, opening ceremony, Rascal Flatts concert and fireworks.
"Part of one of the original conversations was about doing it differently and doing it well," Presidents Cup Director Tom Sullivan said of the opening ceremony.
"The PGA has a great relationship with the hosting golf course, but we wanted to make it an event ... ," Sullivan said.
"This is a chance for people to come out for not a lot of money and be part of something special."
Tickets for the opening ceremony are $30 and 5,000 general admission tickets will be available at Columbus-area Kroger stores and online at presidentscup.com starting today, Thursday, Aug. 1.
Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Nationwide Children's Hospital.
The golf event will pit a team of 12 from the U.S. against a team of 12 from other countries throughout the world.
It will be held in Dublin at the Muirfield Village Golf Club. Dublin Mayor Tim Lecklider said he's pleased with the focus on the region as a whole.
"I'm personally pleased with how this has been promoted," Lecklider said.
"There's equal time in the city of Dublin and the city of Columbus," he said. "We'll have an opportunity to have our event the following evening.
"Our signature event will be one people will enjoy and is not something we have done before," Lecklider said.
More details on Fore!Fest, a celebration, which will be held in Historic Dublin Oct. 3, are forthcoming, but initial plans include multiple entertainment stages and a festival-like atmosphere.
"Our event is being designed as more festival and not so golf-centric," Lecklider said of Fore!Fest.
"We hope to attract folks to that party that wouldn't attend the tournament.
"It will be a celebration of the community," he said. "This is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
The Oct. 2 opening ceremony is also boasting some original elements.
Music, food and performances representing several countries will be featured at the International Festival, Sullivan said.
Three stages will showcase local acts, with international entertainment; food from Cameron Mitchell restaurants and other countries will be offered.
"We want guests to come here and know Columbus is aware of other cultures and appreciates them," Sullivan said.
The International Festival, slated from 5 to 7:30 p.m. will also have strolling fire performers, stilt-walkers, jugglers, magicians and aerialists.
The opening ceremony will introduce players and the Presidents Cup from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
"The centerpiece will be the opening ceremony," Sullivan said.
"It will introduce the players and captains. Those who don't understand the Presidents Cup will get a sense of understanding why being a captain is such a big deal."
Rascal Flatts, which includes two Columbus natives, will play from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. followed by a 10-minute fireworks display.
The Presidents Cup is held every two years and rather than earning money, players pick a charity to receive funds.
The Presidents Cup will run Oct. 1-6 at Muirfield.
For more information, look online at presidentscup.com.


text:
Using Media in the Home
"We need to make good media choices ourselves and set good examples for our children. … We need to take time to watch appropriate media with our children and discuss with them how to make choices that will uplift and build rather than degrade and destroy" (M. Russell Ballard, "Let Our Voices Be Heard," Ensign, Nov. 2003).
We invite you to build and uplift your family by learning, sharing, and creating wholesome media experiences with the resources found in Gospel Media. Here are a few ideas to help you start thinking about ways you can use Gospel Media in your home:
- Strengthen your family's testimony by gathering together to watch a scripture video.
- Review the doctrines from the latest general conference by listening to clips or full sessions while cleaning the house.
- Invite nonmember friends into your home and share a feature film like Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration.
- Show an illustrated scripture story as an introduction to your family home evening lesson on a New Testament story.
- Download inspirational music and create a CD or playlist to use for your children's bedtime music.
- Reinforce the doctrines you share with your teenager using a video clip of a General Authority's testimony from general conference.
- Submit photos of your family doing faith-strengthening activities using Helping in the Vineyard.
- Plan an activity where members of your family express their testimony by creating a collage using images downloaded from Gospel Media.
- Participate in a create.ChurchofJesusChrist.org contest by creating and submitting original photos and videos.
Additional ideas on using media in the home can be found in the following articles:
- "Children and the Arts," Liahona, Oct. 1988, 14.
- Ed Maryon, "Look at Your Walls. What Do You See?" Ensign, Dec. 1973, 46.


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Warner Brothers unveiled a batch of clips from the big Harry Potter finale, (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2) and it sounds like the studio changed a few scenes from the book — specifically the epic end battle.
Warning: This is very spoilery!
There was about four minutes of footage screened, and according to ComingSoon.net the bulk of the footage took place in Gringotts Wizarding Bank (a moment that pops up towards the end of the book). Harry, Ron, and Hermione are riding a bank cart with a goblin (we're assuming Griphook) in search of a horcrux. If you remember the book, the vault that they're trying to break into is owned by Bellatrix Lestrange. But suddenly their cart is blasted, and the kids plummet to the ground.
Later on, a giant white dragon appears and Hermione and the boys jump on its back and end up getting flung into a lake.
Other scenes included Voldermort taunting Harry via voice over, telling him to meet him in the forbidden forest. The Dark Lord taunts Harry by listing off all of Harry's friends that Voldemort has murdered or harmed. Potter heads out to the forest and is intercepted the very dead friends that Voldermort spoke of, including Dumbledore! The two go for a walk in some sort of strange alternate world, where all of the background is white. Purgatory? Heaven? We don't know.
And finally the audience caught a few glimpses of the final battle of Hogwarts. Cinemablend noted that the entire showdown seemed restructured and reshaped to make for a grander display. Snape was now battling Minerva McGonagall in the Great Hall, instead of in a corridor. It also sounded like there was a lot more time dedicated to the Snape moments on screen than in the book. The producer told CB that these changes were made to flesh out Snape's story.
We don't really have a problem with that kind of change! Fingers crossed Harry Potter ends with a bang and not a whimper.
Images are NOT official Harry Potter posters. They're fantastic art from Jefferson Alves on DeviantArt.


text:
Rhino connects you directly to CimCore digitizers, allowing you to directly capture your existing models.
Rhino supports all CimCore digitizing arms.
Rhino has special commands for capturing 3-D points, sketching 3-D curves, and building 3-D surfaces directly from physical models. In addition, every command in Rhino that asks for point input from the keyboard or mouse can also accept input from your CimCore arm.
Support, Robert McNeel & Assoc.


text:
|Does anyone know if its okay if I drink and take the nighttime ones?
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
In Which I Discover I May Be Allergic to Wine. FML.
45 comments:
sorry to hear that. sinus headaches and facial pains can be motivated by reds specifically. i usually inhale mint steam like twice a day, and use salt water spray and medicated nasal spray to heal. i avoid wines but whisky and brandy are okay for me. ultimately, i also need a lot rest...like keeping away from exercises etc.ReplyDelete
oh, some anti-histamines help too.
hope you get better.
You should get checked by a doc before doing anything irrational like giving up wine.
Yeah, it's not wine, but the wine is exacerbating the issue. I will extol the virtues of weed, though. And in this case, it is medicinal. Oh and cocaine. Do lots and lots of cocaine. Like 1980's Hollywood mountains of cocaine. That'll fix things...ReplyDelete
Yea, I think it could be the dry air, especially during the night, noticed that at my place.ReplyDelete
Never ever give up wine!!!
Ok, Mayor, if you're shooting for re-election, perhaps your suggestions are not the way to go! If not, then choosing one vice over another may work.ReplyDelete
Because I think this is what you want to hear, I'll say I'm not sure the wine is what's "causing" your issues. However, I'm sure it doesn't help once they're there. Sinus crap is in full force for everyone right now, and I have to say that I also worship my humidifier (and don't drink wine, meaning you still should, right?)ReplyDelete
Whenever I drink wine, I get a huge headache regardless. With vodka I just get regret.
Oh NOOOOOOOO :| I think drinking in front of the humidifier is a good idea - you can't give up wine!! xxReplyDelete
You got the elephant? It's so cute.ReplyDelete
I laughed out loud with the wine glass in front of the elephant. I can't help you with this one, unfortunately. I really am allergic to wine. Well, the sulfites that are found in wine. I have no problem with beer or vodka though :-) Was it this bad in the warmer temps? It may be possible that you have an underlying infection that isn't getting fully cleared up. Then when you drink wine you get a bit dehydrated and stir things up again. Sorry! The mommy in me came out. Hope you find an answer sooner rather than later. The wine industry could take a hurtin' if they lose a girl like you.ReplyDelete
- BoyfriendFebruary 1, 2012 at 9:09 AM
Sutter Home (gag) stock just crashed.ReplyDelete
Ouch... Allergic to wine? Seriously? I feel for you...ReplyDelete
Alright. . . there are a few things.ReplyDelete
1) there is a difference between a hangover and a food allergy. I'm assuming you've enough experience with the one that you're not confusing it with the other? Because reading this, I don't get that message. Like. . . "oh my god, I have such a skull splitting headache." "maybe it was all the tequila you drank last night?" "Do you think I might be allergic to it?" "No, I think you should stop after 6 shots." Okay. . . so first let's eliminate wine as the culprit. Tonight drink the same wine that gave you the headache last time. But just drink one glass. If you wake up with a headache. . . it's probably not a hangover. If you finished the bottle the night you opened it and can't try this experiment. . . maybe it WAS a hangover"
2) What wine are you drinking. . . some wines have tons of sulfites in them, and a lot of people feel that high sulfite wine causes headaches. . . so it's not Wine that you're getting headaches from . . . it's "Shitty" wine. So the next step in this process (after you eliminate the possibility that you're a damn drunk) is to compare the effects of one wine with those of another. My wife claims to get skull crushing headaches from some wines, and zippo from others. When you find a wine that gives you headaches. . . stop drinking that one and start buying better wines that don't.
3) If you're not a damned drunk, and the wine is low sulfite. . . maybe you have "allergies" but aren't necessarily allergic to "wine" and the fact that you got a headache after a night drinking wine is less indicative of the wine and more indicative that because you drink wine nightly, you're incapable of determining whether it's a headache produced by wine allergy and one produced by plain ol' sober allergies. The older I get the more I notice sinus headaches in the morning. They typically fade after I'm up for an hour or so, but when they don't, I take a sinus pill or allergy pill, and a tylenol or something, and the pain diminishes. Failing that, get a prescription for flonase or singulair or whatever.
4) If you're not a damned drunk, you're drinking good wine, and you don't have allergies. . . perhaps you're coming down with a sinus infection?
5) If you're not a damned drunk, you're drinking good wine, you don't have allergies and you're healthy as a horse. . . maybe you're allergic to wine.Replies
Wow...that is a lot of words. Thanks for your input. I should explain that I know I'm not technically "allergic" to wine, but saying that I'm worried about having a "wine allergy" is shorter and easier to explain than "I'm worried I'm having a reaction to alcohol that isn't the same thing as a hangover because I know what those feel like but gives me a sinus headache which hurts like a mofo."Delete
As far as quality goes, I'm not sure I'd consider sutter home a "shitty wine," per se, but others may disagree. I'm also not drinking excessive quantities (ie a bottle a night). My hangover headaches are different. These sinus ones are getting worse as the day goes on.
My gut tells me that the weather, maybe an underlying infection/seasonal allergies, and alcohol are making a perfect storm of sinus headaches.
Sutter Home? Yeah, that'll give you a headache. ;)Delete
Also. . . You should read that entire comment as me being a snarky know-it-all, and tongue-in-cheek.
Also also. . . I need to leave longer comments.
- AnonymousFebruary 1, 2012 at 9:31 AM
No idea what might help - but I trust you'll come up with something - and I'm sure it will be funny and enjoyable for us to read about too lol... or at least I hope so! I don't mean to enjoy your sufferings of course - but you have such a way with words! xxReplyDelete
I loves me some Tylenol Severe sinus meds. I've been on all kinds of sinus treatments the past week. I'm sure someone has told you to get a neti pot right? They're good for instant relief.ReplyDeleteReplies
Yeah, til an amoeba gets into your brain and kills you. Pass.Delete
I tried putting salt water up my nose per my doctor's orders to clear out my sinuses. That shit went in AND NEVER CAME BACK OUT. So I tried again, following his directions to tilt my head back. AND THE SECOND dropper-full never came out.Delete
Life would cease to exist for me if I couldn't drink wine. I bet you're just getting sick. Keep drinking in front of the humidifier! That sounds logical to me. Feel better!ReplyDelete
aww you're not allergic to wine. At least I don't think. Maybe you have a sinus infection and the alcohol is making it worse. Idk what I'd do w/o a nice glass of wine at night. Sigh..ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 1, 2012 at 10:11 AM
LMAO @ Boyfriend!ReplyDelete
I think your problem solving skills are superb. If you DO need to slow down on your wine consumption I solemnly swear to pick up the slack for you.
Haha you silly!ReplyDelete
It might be the kind of wine you're drinking. Switch it up! Were you drinking white or red? Reds like pinot are sometimes hard for people. Try a smoother merlot. If you drink white don't drink chardonnay.
FYL, indeed. What would Gia be without a good glass of wine?ReplyDelete
As for advice, I can offer you nothing except a speedy visit to a doctors office to figure out the real problem. There's no need to stress yourself out over something you might/might not have googled in a panic. :-)
I avoided the neti pot for many years due to my irrational beliefs that pouring anything through my nose would kill me, or turn me in to a zombie. I am a convert. I suggest trying the NeilMed neti pot. It even comes with the little saline packets. Rinse out your sinuses every night and I bet you can keep drinking your wine. I mean, it's worth a shot, right?ReplyDelete
Also, this helps sinus infections without having to see the doctor. I hate antibiotics.
You won't ask a vegan this question "which has more taste and nutritional value?" I am a alcohol virgin.sorry can't help you rReplyDelete
being allergic to wine would kill me, so the only advice i have is to put up with the sinus headaches. I know, terrible advice, but WWCD? (What would Carmen do?) and that's pretty much it.ReplyDelete
you poor thing.
I love the elephant...now you have a wine drinking buddy and better yet, HE won't even drink your wine!ReplyDelete
As far as sinuses go, open them up. Try pseudoephedrine. It really helps me. Get the generic brand, it's super cheap. Although you do have to get it from behind the pharmacy counter.
Make sure the wine doesn't mess with the sinus meds and cause even more problems. Humidifiers are indeed magic though. I have a humidifier, a dehumidifier, and an air filter in my bedroom... wake up on point every day!ReplyDelete
I am a drunk so I can't help!ReplyDelete
LOL, oh gosh I hope you do figure it out. I know that it triggers migraines for me sometimes. Anyway, you made me laugh!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 1, 2012 at 7:33 PM
Drink an entire bottle of Middle Sister Rebel Red and then go to Walmart. It makes up for any headache that you'll face the next day because everything the night before was SO PRETTY.ReplyDelete
Lettuce Be Clear
Oh God you poor thing! I would suggest drinking a glass of water with the wine, maybe your dehydrating yourself? Or drink so much that you just pass out and don't remember your sinuses.ReplyDelete
Classic sinus infection symptoms: headache and pain in your face. Get thee to a doctor, get antibiotics, when the infection is cleared up, I'd bet the wine will not hurt you any more.ReplyDelete
But that's just me.
Might be the wine. We have a friend that gets deathly ill from red wine but feels fine with white.ReplyDelete
Vodka. Can't go wrong there!
be careful with sinus meds and booze. They will fuh-queue up.ReplyDelete
You could be sensitive to sulphites. Which would blow.
Good luck and may the humidifier force be with you!!
Well, good luck with the drinking thing. One the other side of the rainbow...if that doesn't work, at least you have enough sinus meds to make meth! You gotta look at the bright side!ReplyDelete
I can't relate. Any of the foods I'm allergic to just cause my mouth to itch like crazy.ReplyDelete
Haha, I found your boyfriend's comment about "It could also be the number of people in your head trying to get out" to be hilarious. No offense intended to you but I think it's a great line.ReplyDelete
Hopefully, you're not allergic to wine.
I've heard netty pots cure all. Try that. God forbid you have to give up drinking.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 2, 2012 at 7:09 PM
Wow, I learned so much helpful stuff! My sinuses also react to some wines - usually Merlots. And the vino I drink is not the cheap stuff. I don't buy my own; it's always a gift from a client or one of my attorneys. I use a neti pot and it helps a lot. Just be sure to use distilled water.ReplyDelete
Personally, I try to have a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage - wine, beer, mixed, whatever.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 3, 2012 at 4:48 PM
I used to be allergic to the sulphates in red wine, maybe you're having a similar reaction. I noticed that the better produced it was, the less of a reaction I had.ReplyDelete
Wine allergy? That sucks. Maybe its a specific type, like wines with a lot of "tanin"? Or like Chileans like to use lots of chemicals to keep the bugs away, and those cause a lot of headaches. Maybe stick to more expensive and organic wine. Yeah. That's the ticket. Go organic!ReplyDelete
oh look, that anonymous dude kinda said the same thing I did. Kinda.
Hangover is big problem in young age people, for that Hangover Drink is useful for us.ReplyDelete


text:
WickedSick necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 119 diseños de 21 diseñadores freelance.
We have developed a new technology: a tool for developers/programmers which integrates social networks into their applications.
It is primarily used in games, but we also see it being used in other applications.
We integrate everything you know and love into a single, unified user experience - Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Gmail, Yahoo... PlayOnSocial lets a user log in to their favorite games with ANY service. Developers will find this extremely useful in increasing the virality of their applications.
You can see how our unified login system works by trying it out at:
PlayOnSocial is an API / service which will be used by developers. The example shown above is a simple implementation of this service in a "sandbox environment," demonstrating how you can login with any service, see friends from all services, update your status on all services at once, and so on.
You may also see a PowerPoint presentation of the product in the attached files.
This website will be viewed by developers looking to license PlayOnSocial for use in their own games/applications/websites. PlayOnSocial can be used in anything from Flash to the iPhone to XBox 360, so it is not targeted at any specific developer.
Our primary target, however, is large corporate developers (not small/indie developers).
No coding necessary. Final submission must be Photoshop, Flash and/or Illustrator files, and must include appropriate layers.
We are talented flash game programmers, so a flash based website would also be acceptable.
You are to design the front page of the website, which should contain the following components:
* Our logo
* A login screen. Use the current login screen in our Sandbox as a starting point: http://playonsocial.com/sandbox/ Please be aware that this login screen may be used in a variety of contexts, and the logo may not always be present.
* Our site will contain the following sections:
-- an Overview (for learning more about PlayOnSocial)
-- a Developer Portal (for managing applications, accessed via the login, above)
-- a Developer Wiki.
++ You do not need to design these sub-pages.
* Visually compelling components which are clean and light on text in order to compel potential clients to stay on the site and read more
* The attached logo should provide a good starting point for color palette / feel, but you are free to modify all of the above.
We are looking for the cleanest most inviting design which captures the essence of our project.


text:
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I make myself available at all times. My web site is here to help you 24 hours a day. When you are ready to see a listing in person, or just have a simple question, please dont hesitate to contact me!
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text:
A 25-year-old man in the 1300 block of South Coffman Street was arrested Sunday on suspicion of several charges, including domestic violence, sex assault and false imprisonment. According to reports, the man's wife told police that her husband was angry when she asked him to move out of the home after she caught him text messaging with another woman. The husband forced her onto the bed and attempted to remove her clothing to have sexual intercourse with her against her will, police said. The woman eventually left the home and locked herself in her car before calling 911.
A Longmont resident on Sunday reported that his car was illegally entered and the stereo and several other auto accessories were stolen, according to police reports. The car was parked off the street in the 700 block of Grandview Meadows Drive.


text:
2 Vehicles For Sale
2 Vehicles For Sale
Due to huge successful sales in May, this week we are offering 90 DAY FREE CONSIGNMENT
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We want to thank our patrons for continuing to do business with us during this period. Even though our showrooms are not open to public – yet, we continue to consign and sell classic and exotic cars and trucks. Please contact us via e-mail, chat or phone call if you wish to purchase a classic.
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text:
The call girl lucked out.
Former middle-distance runner Suzy Favor Hamilton never won a medal in any of the three Olympics in which she competed. But in 2012, she was the undisputed winner of the Strangest Sports Story of the Year title when it was discovered that she had been living a double life as a prostitute.
The thing is – that news broke on December 20, which was good fortune for Hamilton. Because if the story would have come out 12 days later, Suzy wouldn't even be on the podium.
Seriously, has there ever been a more bizarre sports year than 2013? It's only March, and it has already vanquished all of its 365-day predecessors. I realize that in ancient Greece, Olympians used to compete naked, but if that were to happen this year, it wouldn't even make Page 1.
A few days ago, I asked a couple coworkers what they thought were the wackiest sports stories from 2013. One said the college basketball season, in which teams ranked No. 1 appear to have a record of 0-94. Another said Lance Armstrong, who confessed his doping sins to the nation via Oprah Winfrey.
My response? Puh-lease. Not this year. Not even close.
For example, let's take a look at the third strangest sports tale from this 2013-- Oscar Pistorius.
The South African was the feel-good story of the London Games when he became the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics – running in the 400 meters and the 4X400 relay. But the inspiration quickly morphed into devastation when, last month, he was charged with killing his girlfriend, whom he admitted to shooting.
That's wild enough on its own. But to give it that extra boost of bizarre, it was reported that the lead detective in the case was…facing an attempted murder charge! You know what they say – only in Pretoria.
Still, that's No. 3, which would be like Usain Bolt taking bronze after running a 9.2 in the 100.
In second place, you ask? Manti Te'o.
When Deadspin broke the story of the Notre Dame linebacker's fake dead girlfriend, the country exploded with reactions. Some people condemned him. Some people defended him. Some didn't know what to think. But the one conclusion everyone drew was – this is the craziest story I have ever read.
It transcended sports, with Te'o going on Katie Couric to try and explain himself. It inundated Twitter, with folks quipping gems such as "All these Manti Te'o jokes are funny, but let's try to remember that the person who never existed is dead."
Like Notre Dame's regular-season run, it both shocked and captivated the country. But like the Irish in the national championship game, this story is a distant second.
Now, to unseat someone like Te'o, you have to turn to someone special. Commissioner Gordon calls on Batman. CTU depends on Jack Bauer. And to take the top spot in the in the most peculiar sports year ever, we turn to – Dennis Rodman…the diplomat.
The man who knows more about North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un than any other American is not a CIA agent in Langley or a politician in Washington. Uh uh. The man who knows more about Kim Jong-un than any other American is a tatted-up, pierced-out NBA champion known as "The Worm" who, between winning rebounding titles and dating Madonna, would occasionally sign autographs in a wedding dress.
It was Rodman, not, say… John Kerry who informed us that Kim Jong-un just wants President Obama to call him. It was Rodman, not, I don't know…anybody else in the world telling us that Kim Jong-un doesn't want to "do war."
America's only regret is never having sent Metta World Peace to talk to Castro.
Anyway, there you have it. A year that might as well be called Friday the 2013th.
Te'o in January. Pistorius in February. Rodman in March.
Newspapers should take notice. Sometimes they like to do April Fool's editions.
Have to be careful this time, though. Everyone would think the stories are true.


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We taste-tested dozens of recovery bars to find the best postrun snacks for runners. What we learned: The era of choke-it-down energy bars is over. New options taste better than ever—while still providing the muscle-friendly nutrients your body craves postrun.
Best Chocolate
Honey Stinger Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Protein Bar
Lots of bars feature bland, waxy chocolate, but Honey Stinger's version is rich and dark—like a Lindt bar, only healthier, with 10 grams of whey protein and a host of run-fueling nutrients: Vitamins A, C, and E combat muscle-damaging free radicals, and calcium (24 percent of your Daily Value) helps stave off muscle cramps. honeystinger.com
Best Baked Good Alternative
Hammer Oatmeal Apple Bar
"It's like eating apple pie," raved one tester, who issued props for this bar's moist texture and real-food flavor (thanks to actual organic apples). The bar's 25 grams of carbohydrates rapidly replenish depleted energy stores, and a touch of iron (9 percent of your DV) preps blood cells for the next workout. hammernutrition.com
Best Mega-Protein Bar
Clif Chocolate Chip Builder's Bar
Most bars with tons of protein are just dense slabs of chalky paste, but the new Chocolate Chip Builder's bar has a much smoother consistency. Organic rolled oats and roasted soy beans are sandwiched with a soy cookie that provides 20 tasty grams of protein—making it the ideal snack for big athletes (180 pounds or more) or a meal replacement for smaller-bodied runners. clifbar.com
Best PB
Perfect Foods Peanut Butter Bar
If your recovery routine includes scooping peanut butter from the jar, try this portable version. The Perfect Foods Bar blends peanut butter with organic honey and powdered fruits and vegetables for a snack rich in protein (18 grams), carbs (25 grams), and potassium (13 percent of your DV)—an electrolyte that's lost during sweaty workouts. Unlike most energy bars, which are shelf-stable, this one requires refrigeration. perfectfoodsbar.com
Best Texture
KIND Almond & Coconut Bar
Nothing mealy or chalky here: Made with whole almonds and big coconut flakes bound together by honey, the KIND bar tastes like a pastry-shop treat. Its 13 grams of fat are mostly monounsaturated (the "good" kind that helps combat heart disease), and the carb-to-protein ratio (20 grams and 4 grams, respectively) replenishes spent glycogen stores and gives muscle a jumpstart on recovery. kindsnacks.com
Best Homemade Taste
Kate's Stash Bar
This cake of seeds and grains tastes like something that came out of a real kitchen—not a factory. Organic chocolate and peanut butter lend rich flavor, while 5 grams of fiber help curb postrun hunger pangs. katesrealfood.com
Best Granola Bar
Kashi Honey Almond Flax Chewy Granola Bar
Some granola bars are nothing but candy bars in disguise. But Kashi's bars actually deliver muscle-mending fuel, thanks to seven whole grains (including oats, wheat berries, and barley), almonds, and flax seeds, which provide 7 grams of protein and 260 milligrams of omega-3 to reduce postrun inflammation and fight free radical damage. kashi.com
Best Vegan
Vega Sport Chocolate Coconut Protein Bar
Sometimes scrupulously sourced ingredients result in a bar that tastes "healthy" rather than good—but Vega Sport's Chocolate Coconut flavor combines 100 percent plant-based ingredients (such as sprouted brown rice, pea protein and pumpkin seed butter) into a bar that's surprisingly delicious. Chocolate liquor and cocoa butter boost the "yum" factor, while dates, sorghum, and quinoa refuel muscles with 15 grams of complete protein and .4 grams of inflammation-quenching omega-3. vegasport.com
Best Gluten-Free
Bumble Bar Chunky Cherry
Like Greece's popular sesame candies, gluten-free and grain-free Bumble Bars turn sesame seeds into a bar, except this one's sweetened not with honey, but agave (which is 1 1/2 times sweeter than table sugar and contributes to the bar's 18 grams of carbs). Seeds and cherries provide antioxidants (including 40 percent of your DV for Vitamin E) to boost the immune system during tough training periods, and 5 grams of protein rebuild muscle. bumblebar.com
Best Antioxidant Boost
ZonePerfect Chocolate Almond Raisin Bar
"It tastes like a chocolate-coated cookie," reported one tester. Raisins, almonds, and soy protein nuggets give this bar bakery-good flavor and boost antioxidant content: High in vitamins A, C, and E (100 percent of your DV), and loaded with carbs and protein (15 grams), this bar supports the immune system and helps repair muscles ravaged from high-intensity workouts. zoneperfect.com


text:
skirt: H&M
blazer: topshop
necklace: eBay
sunglasses: girl props
rings: vintage & H&M
nails: Barry m 295 & 308 + Topshop Matte Topcoat + Eyeliner
This has been my go-to outfit since I actually bought the spotted t-shirt a few weeks ago! There's something I love about the slouchy fit, its so comfy and easy to wear! I had planned to wear it as a cover up on the beach, But smartened up with my trusty Topshop blazer and my favourite H&M skirt I knew it would be too perfect! Ive had so much wear out of that rosary I got from eBay, This one listed here is the exact one that I have, I paid around £2.50 for it.I'm defiantly going to buy another in black!
My leopard nails are making their last showing for a while, Work told me I had to change them as even though they are sort of lenient when it comes to nail polish, this is just too outlandish for a bakery apparently! I actually got a few compliments off the oldies who come in regarding the nails! So back to one colour for a while! Oh and also... sorry for my overly posey pictures too, I was channeling my inner Mary Kate Olsen with those glasses so felt they were appropriate!
Ive had such a great response on yesterdays Keep Or Return post. Some for and against comments, Which is what I really want from those kind of posts! One Anon said they looked like cleaning lady shoes! I think a few people are missing the point on the idea of the post though. I know I've got ultimate decision on if I keep something or take it back to the store, But the post is supposed to be like when you ask your friends what they think of something when you go shopping with them and try things on! Alot of people said they aren't "my style" which is something that's going to be addressed in tomorrows blogpost...


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The Theft of America's Soul: Blowing the Lid Off the Lies That Are Destroying Our Country
by Phil Robertson
Learn More | Meet Phil Robertson
In April of 1966, Time raised a ruckus when it printed this question in red block letters against a black background: "Is God Dead?"
It was a shocking cover posing a shocking question, and that question took root in the public dialogue of the day. Scientists, preachers, insurance agents, housewives—everyone from New York to California was drawn into the discussion. Even us river rats down in Northern Louisiana. But if the cover was provocative, the story inside the magazine was even more provocative.
"Is God dead?" the article opened. "It is a question that tantalizes both believers, who perhaps secretly fear that he is, and atheists, who possibly suspect that the answer is no." The writer added that modern churchmen were trying to reconcile God's supposed death with their brand of Christianity. "A small band of radical theologians," he wrote, "has seriously argued that the chorus must accept the fact of God's death, and get along without him." These theologians believed it was time for the church to figure out a way to "write a theology without theos, without God."
The disappearance of God in art, politics, and economics led to the death of God, some claimed in the article. Modern science had undermined or explained the mysteries of God in the natural world, others said. And in the wake of God's supposed death, many believers in the modern church turned to other things in search of meaning. Psychiatry, Zen, and drugs were the new sources of meaning for so many. Others had "quietly abandoned all but token allegiance to the churches, surrendering themselves to a life of 'anonymous Christianity' dedicated to civil rights or the Peace Corps."
Anonymous Christianity.
What in the world?
This Time article explored the very things I'd hear on my college campus at Louisiana Tech University later that year. My professors hung their hats on Nietzsche, Darwin, and Freud. Man's ancestors crawled out of the salt water, they said. Man's notions of right and wrong were taught, handed down; morality was a set of fabricated human constructs, they said. Morality was relative. Sexuality was relative. Nothing was absolute. God, the old white-bearded judge in the sky, was a myth. What's more, professor after professor implied that if man could liberate himself from this archaic myth, he'd find true freedom.
Man could be his own judge.
Man could be his own master.
Man could be the arbiter of his own freedom.
Man could be the center of his own existence.
Today, many point to that Time article as the first time the elephant in the room—the question of whether God was still hanging around—was addressed in the broader market. Some of those same folks point to that article as the culmination of 1960s enlightenment. I know the truth about the sixties, though, because I lived them. The truth is, the sixties were anything but enlightened. They were very dark.
In the sixties a deep sleep-ism settled over our country. Atheism, agnosticism, humanism, moral relativism, naturalism, personalism, rationalism, materialism—all the isms washed over us. These isms led America deeper into sexual immorality, greed, and the wholesale slaughter of the unborn. The isms led us into debauchery. I know this because, to my embarrassment, those isms washed over me. For a time, they led me down the same road of sin, a road I'll write more about in this book.
It's been more than fifty years since the publication of that Time article, and almost as many years since I was freed from the lies written about in that article. How was I freed? Only through an encounter with the living God.
The last time I checked, God ain't dead. He is very much alive. It's a fact. What's more, the latest polls I've seen indicate that the vast majority of Americans know this to be true. More than 90 percent of Americans believe in God.2 But despite the fact that God isn't dead, despite the fact that the majority of us believe that to be true, why do so many Americans seem to continue down the road of their isms? Why do so many continue toward death and destruction?
I suppose the Devil makes them do it.
Time presented Nietzsche's thesis, the thesis that "self-centered man had killed God, and that settled that." Here's what Mr. Nietzsche failed to realize: that declaration was far from settled. Here's what else he failed to realize: if the God of the Bible is dead, man has no hope of experiencing eternal life. Of course, Nietzsche discovered the truth just after he took his last breath. Nanoseconds after crossing over death's threshold, the German philosopher stood at the judgment seat of the wild, fearsome, Lord of the universe, the living God.
It's been forty-three years since my encounter with God, and I can tell you, I'm not running from anyone or anything; I'm not enslaved to the isms of the world. And if America would awaken to that same truth, the truth and good news Jesus came to bring us, it might just change everything. In this book, I aim to show you this very thing.
There's a lot of bad news today. Suicide rates are up. Abortion runs rampant. Acts of terrorism plague the world. But once you understand how bad the bad news is, you'll appreciate the good news—and it's really good. Once you appreciate the bad news, you'll have the ability to truly adore the good news. What is that good news? Follow with me. Come and see.
The Lie: God is dead.
The Truth: The God of the Bible is not dead and he never will be.
I watched Miss Kay's Volkswagen Bug pull from the trailer and disappear. She'd taken whatever household items she could—some kitchen utensils, a few pots and pans, three folding lawn chairs, the black-and-white television—and she stuffed them into the trunk. She'd loaded the boys into their seats and crammed their clothes and keepsakes around them. She'd even taken their toothbrushes.
Miss Kay, my wife of only a few years, was leaving. Maybe for good.
Before the fight that resulted in me showing Miss Kay the door, I'd been at home alone with the boys: Alan, Jason, and Willie. I was sitting on the porch, fuming while I waited to go out with my friends per my usual routine. As I sat and stewed, as the seconds ticked by, I grew more restless. I'd already started drinking and was about half-lit when Miss Kay finally walked through the front door.
"You're late," I said. "Again."
She apologized and blamed it on work, but I thought I knew better, and I told her so. I accused her of running around on me. I accused her of lying to cover it up. I was sure she was a cheater, I said, and though there was no real evidence to bolster my accusation, I was convinced. And what was most upsetting, her running around had disrupted my night. It had interfered with my plans for freedom and fun, my fishing, drinking, and carousing in the woods on State Line Road. This was the last time.
The argument escalated. So did my voice. And that's when I said the words that triggered a series of life-altering events, the words that would eventually open the door of God's grace to me.
"You're ruining my life!" I roared.
"You've been ruining my life for ten years!" she yelled back.
"Get out," I said, pointing to the door, "and take your kids with you!" As if they weren't my kids too.
Miss Kay shook from head to toe while she gathered what she could as fast as she could. Still, she knew this was the end of the line. She didn't grovel. She didn't beg. She was resolved to give me exactly what I'd asked for. In less than an hour, she'd disappeared into a Louisiana rainstorm. I stood in that rain and watched her go, and there, in that moment, I had no remorse. I thought I'd fixed my problem. I thought I was finally free.
Of course, a fight of this magnitude isn't made in a moment, or a day, or even a month. This last standoff between Miss Kay and me grew from years of unrest. What was the source of that unrest? I suppose I thought Miss Kay was cramping my style. I needed freedom, and for so many years, I'd been busy chasing some version of it. Freedom from the structure. Freedom from the law. Freedom from the rules. And there'd been so many rules.
I'd been reared by a God-fearing mother and father, and for as long as I can remember they had me in church. I attended my fair share of Sunday morning services at my country Church of Christ, heard sermon after sermon for eighteen years. I took communion, drank the grape juice and ate the stale crackers. I heard message after message about what it meant to be a member of the church. "Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized," they said, but what any of it meant was beyond me. It was religious talk, mumbo jumbo. All I knew for sure was that I was supposed to follow the rules—don't drink; don't cuss; don't dance. I was supposed to behave like the church folks, even if behaving wasn't my strong suit. And it wasn't.
Miss Kay and I met while I was in high school and we'd fallen in love. She was a good girl with a beautiful smile, and her home life was an utter disaster. When she was fourteen, her father suffered a massive heart attack and died. All that grief derailed everything, and for a time, her mother was checked out, absent. Miss Kay needed saving, I thought; what's more, I was just the man to save her. I genuinely loved her and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. So, when we discovered Miss Kay was pregnant with our first child, Al, we had what we referred to as a "pioneer wedding" in the summer of 1964. It was a brief exchange of vows. No minister. No marriage certificate. It'd be 1968 before we'd call a justice of the peace and make it legal, but in those days, our pioneer wedding was enough for us.
I'd been offered a scholarship to play on the football team at Louisiana Tech University. So, in the fall of that same year, Miss Kay and I packed up what little we had, and we made our way to Ruston, Louisiana. The sixties were in full swing when we arrived on campus; it was the height of the hippie movement. Only months earlier, Time had asked the question "Is God Dead?" And within days of starting classes, I realized my professors had already reached their own conclusions: God was, in fact, dead, and so, man was free. Free to party. Free to join the sexual revolution. Free to be whomever he wanted. Free to chase happiness.
I sat in those classes, semester after semester. Psychology classes. Biology classes. Philosophy classes. And because I'd never heard the good news of the living God, I began to buy what these professors were selling. If it were true, if God was dead, shouldn't I be free to chase my own happiness?
I graduated college by the skin of my teeth in 1969 and entered the masters of education program at Louisiana Tech that same year. That fall, I began teaching English and coaching sports in Junction City, Arkansas, while I took my master's classes at night. At Junction City I met Big Al Bolen on the first day of school. He was a large man with an even larger intellect, and his appetite for a good party was even larger still. He was a science teacher and an atheist and, for whatever reason, we took a shine to each other from the start. I'd never been much of a partier before I met Big Al, but I was drawn to the kind of freedom he seemed to embody. We were inseparable in my days at Junction City, and he invited me into his rowdy lifestyle.
We'd teach during the day and raise hell during the night. On the weekends, we'd be the last ones out of the bar, and we'd take out for the river or the woods to run trotlines and poach. We'd meet up with a small band of miscreants just off the beaten path, and we'd get high, get drunk, and get laid, mostly in that order. I did it all despite the fact that I was a husband and a father.
For the first time, I was tasting what I thought was freedom—the drugs, the drinking, the sleeping around. With each passing night, I indulged a little more. For a time, that indulgence felt so good. It was a lifestyle I'd never experienced, but as is the Robertson way, I took to it like a duck to water.
As the years wore on, my behavior became more erratic and unruly. My partying began to spill into the week; I was losing control. On so many occasions, I'd come through the trailer door after a night of partying, and there'd be Miss Kay, tending the children and waiting on me. So often I'd shift the blame; I'd light into her and accuse her of her own infidelities, of sleeping around. The irony was not lost on her, and she'd protest, tell me that she was too busy working and raising our passel of boys to cheat. (Willie had joined the family in 1972.) She was trying her best to hold the family together, she said. What's more, she knew I was guilty of my own indiscretions, and she did not shy away from confronting me.
"Why are you acting this way? Why don't you come home and be with your family?"
"I just need my freedom," I told her.
"Is this freedom? Really?"
Miss Kay was right. I didn't know what true freedom was.
As I wrote in Happy, Happy, Happy, my days of debauchery reached their height in 1975. I'd lost my job as a high school teacher the year before. If that wasn't enough, I'd owned a bar after that stint as a high school teacher and coach. And though it'd been a successful business venture, I'd lost it all in a violent dispute and resulting fist fight with the property owners. The owners had shuttered the bar. They'd pressed charges too. I went on the run.
A fugitive from the law, I was flat broke. Needing employment, I took a job on an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the between times, I hid out in the woods and partied with Big Al and the gang while Miss Kay sorted out my legal troubles. I was shirking responsibilities, controlled by my own desires. The desire to drink. The desire for women. The desire to do what I wanted to do. But the more I chased my desires, the emptier I felt. And with this realization, a deep guilt set in.
The guilt. It was the thing that led to my outburst with Miss Kay that night in the trailer. It was the source of my fury, my anger, even my jealousy. Thinking it was my family who caused all the guilt, who kept me from experiencing ultimate freedom, I could only see one solution. I had to get rid of them. Maybe by pushing them away, I thought, I'd push the guilt away too.
So, after Miss Kay pulled away from the trailer in her VW, I decided to make the most of my newfound freedom. I'd live it up. I'd work when I wanted, hunt and fish when I wanted. I'd drink what I wanted, when I wanted, and with whomever I wanted. For a week or so, I did just that. I lived in my own bachelor's paradise. But it didn't take long for the truth to set in: my ideal bachelor's paradise was no kind of paradise at all. In fact, it was a prison of guilt, shame, and loneliness. Why didn't I feel a new sense of freedom? What had gone wrong?
I didn't have the benefit of the Scriptures in those days. No one had taught me the plain truth: God was not dead. In fact, he was alive, and he'd written his law, the law of right and wrong on my heart. I didn't know that my guilt was a result of violating the very real law of a very real and living God. I didn't know the words of Paul:
- . . . when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. (Rom. 2:14–15)
Had I known the Word of God, maybe I would have understood that by choosing to violate God's law, I'd chosen judgment under the law. In that judgment, I'd condemned myself to my own prison of guilt and shame. If I had known the truth, maybe I would have understood why my conscience ached and why I felt so isolated and alone. But I didn't. And so, even with Miss Kay and the kids gone, even in the absence of responsibility, even in my bachelor's paradise, I couldn't escape my misery. Hunting, fishing, and partying had all lost their luster. I was ten times more a prisoner after Miss Kay left, and I knew it within the first week.
Little did I know, in those months, Miss Kay had her own encounter with the living God. She'd always believed in Him, but after she left me, she went all in. She'd given everything in her life to Him, and somewhere, miles away from my trailer prison, she was praying. She was praying I'd be miserable in my sin. She was praying that misery would drive me into the arms of God. She was praying God would reconcile our marriage, our family. Miss Kay was praying for my freedom.
I think it was the power of those prayers that wouldn't let me wallow in my misery for more than a month. And when that misery became too much to bear, and when I came to understand how empty my life was, I slid into the driver's seat of my truck, hungover as I was. Miss Kay was working at Howard Brothers in Monroe, Louisiana at the time, and so I set off to find her. I held the steering wheel in some kind of a death grip as I drove into town, hands trembling from nerves and engine vibrations.
I cried from the minute I hit the city limits to the time I pulled into the store parking lot. I bawled, in fact, a thing I'd been too proud to do for most of my life. In that parking lot, I sat in my truck, engine idling, head on my steering wheel, wondering what I'd say to Miss Kay if she even agreed to see me. But before I could get up the nerve to open the truck door, there she was, tapping on my window. I rolled it down.
She was rigid as a pecan tree, looked sturdy as one too. She didn't say anything at first. She just stood there, staring. I broke the silence.
"I can't sleep. I can't eat. I'm miserable," I told her. "I just want my family back."
I was the one who groveled first. Those are the facts.
"I'll quit drinking this time," I said, but I could tell she didn't believe me. It was a hollow promise, one I'd made too many times before.
"No," she said. "Promises aren't enough, Phil. You need help."
She was right. The truth was, I couldn't any more get myself sober than Big Al could stop being big. Agreeing with Miss Kay's assessment, I remembered the only man who'd ever had the guts to try to teach me something about God during my partying years. His name was Bill, and he was the preacher from my sister's church. Years ago, before I lost the beer joint outside of Junction City, he'd waltzed in with my sister and offered to teach me the good news of God. I, of course, had refused to hear it.
"Think you could find that preacher who had enough guts to come to the bar a few months back?"
She nodded and said she'd been going to his church for the last several months. She gave me the address to her apartment and asked me to meet her there at five o'clock. The preacher, Bill Smith, would be there, she said.
That night, Bill sat across from me at Miss Kay's makeshift dinner table—a small card table that almost didn't fit in her tiny apartment—and he asked a pointed question.
"Do you know the gospel?"
I stared at him, and I reckon my look said all he needed to know.
"What do you think of when you hear the word 'gospel,' Phil?"
"I don't know," I said. "The Chuck Wagon Gang? Gospel music?"
"Do you know the good news?" he asked.
The good news of what? I'd been to church for the first eighteen years of my life, I told him, but I'd never really heard what could be called good news. I'd only been told the stories of the Old Testament characters, maybe a few things about instrumental music and church structure. I'd been told I needed to hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized, but every time I heard this formula, I was left thinking "Hear what? Believe what? Repent from what? Confess what?" No, I told Bill, to the best of my recollection I'd never heard any good news in church. Instead, I was given a do-right formula, and the sad truth was, I never felt like I could do right. I wasn't good enough.
"I see," he said. "Can I tell you the best news you've ever heard? he asked.
I nodded.
"Do you trust me?"
"I don't trust anyone."
He smiled. "I wouldn't either, not considering the fellas you've been running around with."
He pointed to the Bible on the table next to him.
"Do you trust this?" he asked.
"Sure, I trust it. But my father told me never to take a man's word at face value, especially about the Bible. You can share your story of the Bible with me Mr. Preacher Man, but you should know I'm going to read every verse you quote for myself, so you'd better give it to me straight."
"Fair enough," Bill said before pulling a folded restaurant napkin from his pocket. He drew a series of hieroglyphs on that napkin. First, he drew an arrow pointing down. Then a cross. Next a half circle. Then an arrow pointing up. Finally, he drew an arrow pointing down.
"Let's keep it simple," he said, then he shared how God made man for fellowship, but how man broke God's law. As a consequence, men had been separated from God ever since. "But God never wanted that separation," he said, "and so, he made a way."
He pointed to the first arrow and explained how the God who created the universe loved man enough to step into that creation. Jesus was God's very Word made flesh, he said, and Jesus came and lived among his people. He healed the sick, made the lame walk, and brought provision to the poor. That same Jesus preached the ultimate good news: those who followed him would be free from sin and guilt and would have an eternal home with him.
Bill pointed to the cross he'd drawn on the napkin, then explained how Jesus's teachings made the religious folks angry. In fact, Jesus made the rulers so angry they'd nailed him to a cross. Here's what they didn't know, though: when Jesus went to the cross, he took on the sins of the whole world, even the sins of those religious rulers who crucified him. He took on the penalty of our separation.
He paused and asked if I was following. I told him I was, and he pointed to the semicircle, the dome. After his death, Jesus was laid in a tomb, Bill said. He pointed to the next arrow, the arrow pointing up, and he laid out the scriptures showing how Jesus conquered death, how he rose from the dead. The final arrow showed how Christ would return for those who believed.
"He's coming back for his people, for those who've trusted in his death, burial, and resurrection," Bill said. "Then, he'll take us home to live with him in eternity."
I sat there, stunned. I'd gone to church for years. How had I missed this? God could forgive me? He could free me from sin and guilt, even with all the things I'd done? He'd allow me to live in eternity with him? It was the most compelling story I'd ever heard. This was truly good news!
He finished his mini-sermon and asked me what I thought.
"I've never heard anything like it," I said, then I gave him the hardest look I could muster. "I'm going to read every verse you gave me, and if you're not telling the truth, I'll know it. If it doesn't add up, we're done."
Unfazed, he nodded and then asked me whether I'd be willing to meet with him the following evening. I told him I would.
That same night, I reviewed the scriptures he'd referenced. I read the first chapter of the Gospel of John, and sure enough, there it was. The very living God—the God who was surely not dead—came to earth in the form of Jesus. I read of his life, his death, and his resurrection. In Paul's writings, I came to understand that Jesus had died as a sacrifice for my sins. It was this sacrifice that made a way for me (1 Cor. 15:3–5).
I read the promises of John, how choosing to be in fellowship with Jesus would free me from all sins—past, present, and future. Finally, in the book of Acts, I read the ultimate promise. Jesus would return for everyone who believed in him.
Sure enough, the story was just as Bill said. The Bible showed how God was very much alive, and how he made a way for forgiveness of my sin. He could free me of all my guilt and could solve my ultimate problem—death. The notion of freedom from guilt and death filled me with great peace, a peace of mind I'd never experienced. I knew this story was the solution to all my problems. It was the solution to my disorienting drunkenness, my promiscuity, my search for freedom. And the more I considered it, the more I came to see that it satisfied a deep spiritual longing I didn't even know I had.
I met with Bill the next evening and told him I'd done my homework. I'd reviewed every scripture he gave me, and sure enough, his story panned out. It was the greatest story I'd ever heard, I said, and I wanted to follow this Jesus. I wanted to be baptized.
That night, in a near-empty auditorium with Bill Smith, Miss Kay, and my three boys, I gave my confession of faith. I believed in the saving work of Jesus and wanted to be free of sin and guilt. I wanted to follow him in baptism. Down into the water I went and when I came up from that cleansing flood I knew I was a changed man. Somehow, in that water, I'd encountered God. And that was the moment I decided I'd share the good news of Jesus with anyone God put in my path.
I stepped out of that baptistery, made my way to Miss Kay and the boys, and gave each of them a soggy hug. There was a new joy in this embrace with Miss Kay; a shift was already happening. The peace and strength I'd seen in Miss Kay over those last two days began to fill me too. Everything seemed so much lighter. And though I wasn't sure how I'd stay on the straight and narrow, shaky as I was, I figured God would make a way. Wasn't this the promise of all those scriptures I'd studied?
Years later, Bill Smith told me that our meeting at Miss Kay's apartment convinced him to begin sharing the good news of God through that same little diagram he showed me. He called it "The Witness" and for years he carried it with him everywhere he went. The church had it translated into multiple languages and missionaries shared it around the world. It's proven to be a powerful tool and, following Bill's example, I still share it with anyone God brings to me: the rich, the poor, the powerless and powerful.
In 2016, just before the presidential election, I had the privilege of meeting with then presidential nominee Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. at the Values Voter Summit. There, I asked whether I could share some good news with him. He agreed, and I pulled out a copy of The Witness I'd drawn on a card.
"Whether you win or lose, don't miss this," I said. "This is the most important thing you'll ever hear."
I explained the diagram and shared how the living God had made a way for us to have fellowship with him. I shared the truth of Jesus, of his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. I shared how belief in Jesus might free him from all his past and future sins. I shared how he might come to live for eternity. When I finished, I looked up at him, wondering what he might say.
He pointed to the diagram, which I'd placed on his desk. "Can I have that?" he asked. I handed it to him and he folded it up and put it in his pocket.
I don't know if President Trump had ever heard the truth of God before that day, and I don't know whether he's accepted the message I shared with him. But here's what I know: like all of us, God has written the truth of His law on the president's heart. And so, sooner or later (if He hasn't already), I pray that God sees fit to lead him into that truth. I hope President Trump has a freeing encounter with the God who is most certainly alive, the God who cannot be killed by human hands.
If there's one thing I know, it's this: an encounter with the living God is the only hope for mankind. It's the only hope for President Trump, for me, for America. It's the only hope for true freedom and lasting peace. And the God of the universe has made a way for us to have this kind of encounter. That way is Jesus, the very personification of God, the very hope of the world.
The personification—the one men believed they killed—defeated death. He is alive, no matter what the professors, psychologists, and scientists say.
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