text:
Get ready for the return of low-carb dieting….because Dr. Pierre Dukan (and his celebrity followers) are about to take the diet world by storm.
Already a hit in Europe, the Dukan Diet is about to blow up in North America thanks to the unofficial endorsements of J.Lo and supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
Recently translated into English, the Dukan Diet is similar to last century's Atkins Diet.
It has four distinct phases…with the first phase being the most strict and each subsequent phase becoming more and more carb-tolerant.
Here is a brief synopsis:
PHASE 1 – The Attack Phase
Like Atkins, The Dukan Diet starts with a very strict 'attack' phase where you eat nothing but protein – just meat, fish, eggs and no-fat dairy products.
You can spend just one day here – or as many as ten days if you have a lot of weight to lose – and many people can expect to lose as much as 7lb in five days.
During this phase, eat freely any foods on the following list – eat as much as you want, whenever you want. You must adhere to this plan strictly.
The List
- Lean beef and veal or rabbit, not pork or lamb (trim all fat and avoid ribs as too fatty). Eat meat grilled, roasted or boiled and without using butter, oil or cream (not even low-fat versions). You could also 'dry fry' it – rub the surface of a frying pan with a few drops of oil on kitchen paper. Lean minced beef can be prepared as burgers or meatballs (mixed with an egg, spices, capers or gherkins) or enjoy frozen beefburgers (if less than 10 per cent fat).
- All chicken and turkey (not goose or farmed duck) but remove skin before eating and avoid the outside part of the wings (too fatty).
- Ham if low-fat and lean, also cut rind off. Avoid deli, cured, and smoked hams (too fatty).
- Beef, veal or chicken liver.
- All fish white or oily, fresh, frozen, dried, smoked or canned (but not in oil or in any sauce containing fat), even crab sticks.
- All crustaceans and shellfish.
- Up to two eggs a day. Stick to 3 to 4 yolks per week if you have high cholesterol, but the white can be eaten without restriction.
- Non-fat dairy products such as 0per cent yoghurt, fromage frais, quark, cottage cheese, and skimmed milk. Natural ( plain) and flavoured yoghurts (coconut, vanilla, lemon) are allowed without restriction, but non-fat fruit yoghurts (containing fruit puree) should be limited to two a day (or avoided if you want a lightning start to your attack phase).
- Sweeteners (Canderel, Silverspoon Sweetener) or Stevia (a natural sweetener available from health food stores), vinegar, spices, herbs, garlic, onion, gherkins, pickled onions (as condiments, but not in large quantities), lemon juice (on food, but not to drink), mustard and salt (in moderation), sugar-free natural ketchup in moderation, sugar-free chewing gum (can slow down the mechanical swing towards eating whenever you feel under pressure).
Additional rules
- Drink 1.5litres of water per day (plain or carbonated) particularly at mealtimes to help you feel full. Tea, coffee and diet drinks (no more than 1 calorie per glass) can be included in this total.
- Eat 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran per day (as porridge, sprinkled on yoghurt, or made into a pancake).
- Walk briskly for 20 minutes every day. This is a non-negotiable doctor's prescription.
- Avoid all butter and oil.
PHASE 2 – The Cruise Phase
In Phase 2, you alternate pure protein days with days when you include a unlimited array of vegetables to your wide selection of meat, fish and no-fat dairy products. Expect to lose around 2lb a week.
The most efficient way to work this stage is to spend one day on the pure protein 'attack' diet (Phase 1), and the next on a protein and vegetable diet, switching between the two, one day at a time, until you reach your chosen weight.
Phase 2 Vegetables
- artichoke, asparagus, aubergine, broccoli, cabbage (white, red, savoy, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprout), celery/celeriac, chicory, courgette, cucumber, fennel, French beans/ mangetout, leeks, mushrooms, onion, peppers, pumpkin, radish, salad leaves (lettuce/rocket/watercress), sorrel, soya beans, spinach, swede, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnip.
Other Phase 2 Rules
- Increase oat bran intake to 2 tbsp per day.
- Increase exercise to a 30-minute brisk walk each day.
- Keep drinking at least 1.5 litres of water each day.
PHASE 3 – The Consolidation Phase
- Eat as much protein and vegetables (together) each day as you want without any restriction on quantity, time of day or combination.
- Add one serving of fruit per day (avoid high-sugar bananas, grapes, cherries, dried fruits and high-fat nuts)
- Enjoy two slices of wholemeal bread per day, spread with fat-reduced butter
- Have one serving (40g or 1.5oz) of hard cheese per day (but avoid blue cheese, soft cheese or goat's cheese)
- Factor in one serving of 'starchy foods' per week in the first half of your Consolidation Phase, increasing to two servings per week in the second half. This includes pasta (225g or 8oz serving in tomato, not creamy, sauce and with no oil), couscous/polenta (225g or 8oz cooked in stock, not butter or oil), lentils, beans, chickpeas, rice (ideally brown) and potatoes (but only occasionally and without butter).
- Broaden your meat repertoire to include any quantity of lamb, roast pork and ham (remove all fat first) once or twice a week
- Let your hair down and plan and enjoy one celebration meal a week in the first half of the Consolidation Phase, increasing to two in the second half. In this meal you really can eat whatever you want – and you should choose something you've missed during the weight-loss period.
[box type="important"]But there are two important conditions – NEVER have second helpings of the same dish and NEVER eat two celebration meals in a row. Have one of each: one starter, one main, one dessert and one glass of wine, all in a reasonable quantity but only once.[/box]
- Keep one pure protein day per week – say, Thursdays. This is your insurance policy against gaining weight.
- Take 2tbsp of oat bran per day (as a pancake or sprinkled on food)
- Walk 25 minutes per day (longer if you enjoy it and have time)
PHASE 4 – The Stabilisation Phase
This is the maintenance phase…and here are the rules
Go back to eating whatever you like, but continue to use the basic rules of the Consolidation Phase as a safety platform (eat unlimited protein and vegetables, one piece of fruit a day, two slices of wholemeal bread, a portion of cheese, two starchy foods and two celebration meals a week).
Keep this in mind as your point of healthy-diet reference, and use it as your safety back-up if you are under threat of regaining weight.
Pick one day a week – for the rest of your life – when you eat nothing but protein. This is the key that allows you to eat normally for the other six days of the week without putting any weight back on. (Drink at least two litres of water to flush the digestive system and reduce its craving for food)
Make a vow to walk (briskly) for 20 minutes every day, and never take a lift or step on an escalator. Going up or down the stairs makes the body's largest muscles contract and, in a short time, uses up considerable calories.
Increase your daily oat bran intake to 3tbsp and stick to it for life.
Well, that's the Dukan Diet in a nutshell.
Find out More:
- The Health Habits Diet – Part 1
- The Health Habits Diet – Part 2
- The Making of the Health Habits Diet
- Diet Compliance Chart
- Atkins Diet Redux – Part 1
- Caveman Diet
- Paleo Recipe Resource Page
- What Kind of Paleo are You?
- Is Paleo Eating the Cure for Diabetes?
- News Flash! Caveman Diet Good…Your Diet Bad
- Peri-Workout Nutrition
- Dukan Diet
- Daily Mail – pt1, pt2


text:
Website Builders 101
A beginner's guide to website builders. Learn about the basics of website builders, how they work, and if you should use one for making your own website.
Welcome to our Website Builders 101 page. Here, we'll discuss everything you need to know about website builders and help you decide whether using one is right for you and your business. If this is your first time making a website, we'd recommend watching our full video series guide on how to make a website yourself or request a consultation for our free training services. Although building a website will take time and offer many challenges for novices and pros alike, this article is designed to inform you about the basics of website builders – the greatest asset available to those who want to build websites themselves and as easily as possible.
What is a Website Builder?
A website builder is an invaluable tool that puts the power of web development in the hands of any "do-it-yourselfer" looking to build their own website. The key to their utility is they eliminate the need to code in HTML & CSS in order to build a fully functional website.
Website builders allow for a more intuitive development process, using a visual drag-and-drop toolset that feels comfortable and familiar to users of any technical skill level. With a website builder, you can do things like:
- Swap images in and out on the fly.
- Edit color schemes, fonts, and page layouts with a few simple clicks
- Get your site mobile-ready almost instantly without needing to rebuild entire pages
- Use premade templates to get a professional looking design
In addition to their ease of use and zero need for code, website builders can also serve as all-inclusive solutions for building, hosting, and maintaining your site.
Platforms like Wix, SquareSpace, and Weebly offer complete packages where everything from domain registration, hosting, technical support, eCommerce solutions, and email services are all provided in one place. Not only does this simplify the process of getting a website online for non-techies, but the total cost of their monthly plans will likely end up being comparable or considerably less than if you were to set up these services independently.
Website Builders are a user-friendly, one-stop shop for designing, building, hosting, and maintaining your small business website or online store—all without writing any code!Click to Tweet
Who Should Use a Website Builder?
Chances are if you're here reading this right now, then you are already the perfect candidate for a website builder. Business owners who want to take charge of their online presence, or who simply want to cut out the high costs of hiring a developer, will benefit greatly by using these tools.
Working with a website builder is a great option for anyone looking to create a blog, online storefront, landing page, digital portfolio, informational site, or just about any low to mid-traffic level website.
For much larger sites (think Fortune 500) that require ambitious backend programming or tremendous eCommerce catalogs, then hiring a skilled development team is the necessary way to go.
For Both Professionals & Everyday Users
The small business do-it-yourselfer isn't the only intended user of popular website builders. Many freelance web designers and digital agencies will now tailor their services towards website builders if the client's needs or preferences warrant it. Some agencies have even carved out a niche in the marketplace to work exclusively within these platforms.
Some web developers may turn their nose up at the idea of using a website builder, while others recognize the benefits and necessity of using one. I believe that the end product is all that counts; it doesn't matter what tools were used, just as long as they were used with integrity. Is using a site builder going to help reduce extraneous workload? Or is it going to be used just as a shortcut? Charging premium prices just to swap new text and some photos into a premade template is not the most honorable service for a client—not to mention it will likely do nothing to bolster the client's unique brand.
Website builders are ideally best served as a launching off point. Although they can be the most useful tool in a web designer's arsenal, they still require a deft hand and sharp wit to maximize their potential. (More on that later.)
Website Builders are easy enough to use for small business owners with little technical skill, while also being powerful enough for professional designers with years of experience.Click to Tweet
The Different Flavors of Website Builders
In the olden days (the 1990s), if you wanted a website built then you'd have to hand code it yourself, resulting in a hideously rudimentary page of simple text and gruesome colors. Or you could hire an "expert" in the new field of web design to build a slightly less gruesome web page for you.
Thankfully, websites have since evolved into much grander beauty and functionality—and so too have the tools that build them. To clear any confusion, it should be noted that there are different types of builders out there; some of them serve certain types of users, and others have now become obsolete. Here are some examples of what we mean by a website builder:
The WYSIWYG Editor
WYSIWYG (pronounced "whizzy-wig") editors were a web development breakthrough. Short for "What You See Is What You Get", this type of editor appropriately allowed designers to build websites visually as it automatically handled the HTML markup underneath the hood.
Their output, however, was hit or miss (largely a miss). The old versions of GoDaddy's site builder may have allowed the average user to get a website up, but their limited features and bland themes look antiquated and unprofessional by yesterday's standards. You'll likely find many websites still out there haunting the Interwebs from this initial boom of GoDaddy sites. Let's hope their owners find this article.
Macromedia's Dreamweaver (now an Adobe product) was tailored as a professional WYSIWYG editor that allowed for advanced website creation without the need to code. Again, the results rarely looked state-of-the-art—and, arguably, the learning curve required to master the software made it even more unwieldly than just learning to code anyway.
The Modern Website Builder
In just a few recent years, the capabilities of visual drag-and-drop website creators have grown exponentially. Now you really can build a website without touching a single line of code. The leading platforms offer everything one would need to get a website up, including hosting and domain registration.
Their predesigned templates are often enough to satisfy most users' requirements. If you're a restaurant owner, there are many excellent restaurant-themed templates on Wix. If you're a photographer, SquareSpace offers beautiful portfolio themes to work with. If your only objective is to sell products, there is no better solution than Shopify.
When advanced styling is needed, many all-inclusive website builders will also allow you to tweak the page's CSS if you're savvy enough—although not all will allow this level of freedom. Also, depending on which platform you use, many additional plugins and apps can expand the functionality of your site, such as form builders, media players, and members-only portals.
It truly is possible to create professional-quality websites with easy-to-learn builders. They look stunning, and they're capable of almost anything…
The Professional Builders
There is one more type of website builder out there, and they are generally reserved only for the true professionals or design experts. These serve a specific niche of freelance web designers or mid-size agencies who excel at creating pixel-perfect designs but also—you guessed it!—don't want to code.
Platforms like Webydo, Webflow, and Adobe Muse are structured similarly to the more consumer-friendly website builders previously mentioned (and even offer similar pricing models), but their design freedoms and more complex toolsets are better suited to professionals who probably could write code but just don't want to. (Nobody wants to write code.)
If you're experienced using software like Adobe Photoshop, you may find it worth your while to try out these advanced website builders. For the purposes of this guide, however, they will pretty much be excluded from the discussion.
What About WordPress?
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) on the internet—and about one third of all websites in the world are powered by it. It's a bit of an interesting beast in that, yes, it is technically a website builder, but in order to customize it you will likely need to get your hands dirty in code.
There are two options when going the WordPress route:
WordPress.com is a traditional site builder service that offers all-inclusive plans with page design tools, web hosting, domain registration, templates, and other additional features. Their monthly plans are reasonably priced and suit businesses of all sizes.
While there's not much inherently wrong with using WordPress.com as your website builder of choice, you'd be better off with using one of the major three listed above to accomplish the same thing. In order to harness the true power of WordPress, you will need to pursue WordPress.org…
WordPress.org & Page Builder Plugins
WordPress.org is a whole different monster. This open source software is free to download and start using to build websites. However, you're pretty much on your own here. You will need to set up your own domain, hosting, and perform all the customization yourself. There is also no technical support—but thankfully an enormous online community is always there to help.
When you build a site with WordPress, you do have an enormous resource of themes at your disposal to assist with its design and layout; however, there is no getting around the fact that in order to customize the appearance and functionality of those themes you are going to have to mess with code.
Luckily, that's where various page builder plugins come in. Plugins are add-ons that expand the functionality of WordPress themes, which are usually installed in order to accomplish something that dozens of hours of coding would otherwise require. Page builder plugins offer the same drag-and-drop interfaces and ease of use that services like SquareSpace and Wix offer – but with the level of freedom WordPress allows.
Beaver Builder, Divi Builder, Elementor, and Visual Composer are premium plugins (often for a one-time fee) that can create stunning websites without writing code. Bear in mind that their main objective is to simplify the design process, and they may not offer on their own the same feature set as all-in-one solutions like Wix—but that's where additional WordPress plugins come into play.
While WordPress requires a steeper learning curve to master, its freedom and level of control is unmatched. You can literally create any type of website within this powerful system, and with the help of the right plugin it's now much easier to do so.
QUICK RECAP: Platforms like Wix, Weebly, and SquareSpace are all-inclusive solutions best suited to consumers. Webydo, Webflow, and Adobe Muse are more advanced platforms better suited to design professionals. WordPress.org is the most powerful option but requires advanced coding knowledge—but with page builder plugins the design process is simplified..
The Pros & Cons of Using a Website Builder
All the website builders mentioned are technically sophisticated platforms that bring a simplicity and control to the web design process that just wouldn't have been possible five years ago. While the benefits may seem obvious, there are still a few shortcomings to be aware of when using one to build your website. Here is a rundown of some pros and cons of website builders.
Pros of Using a Website Builder
- Ease of use – Website builders are the best solution for beginners with little technical know-how. There is still a small learning curve involved, but our free online course will help get you oriented and quickly building your first site with ease.
- No Code – Did I mention there's no code? That's the whole point!
- Affordable – Many platforms can offer you everything you'd need for under $15/month. Compared to the thousands of dollars you could spend hiring a professional web designer, you're looking at a real bargain!
- Support when you need it – Included in your monthly plan is helpful email support if you ever get lost.
- Customizable designs – Although you may be sharing premade templates with other businesses in your industry who use the same website builder, many platforms nowadays offer advanced customization for design-savvy users.
- Responsive, mobile-ready designs – Responsive design is the norm on the modern web, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a reputable website builder that doesn't use mobile-ready templates. This is an invaluable time saver!
- Clean & SEO friendly markup – Your site's HTML markup plays an important factor in search engine rankings. Site builders that make it easy for users to include keywords, meta tags, and descriptions on each page will produce more SEO-friendly markup.
Cons of Using a Website Builder
- Limited functionality – Functionality may be limited to what your website builder offers. Website builders are typically not the best choice for websites that require unique features or advanced backend functionality. You'll need to hire a web developer to accomplish things like that, which brings us to the next point…
- Code – Did I mention there's no code? Oops… While it's true that most anything can be accomplished without writing code, it is often quite useful to have at least a working knowledge of HTML & CSS in order to modify a template's aesthetic to fully suit your needs. JavaScript also comes in handy when it becomes necessary to expand a site's functionality.
- Transferring your site may be problematic – Website builders often use their own specific system, and switching over to a new one may be tricky. You may even need to recreate the site from scratch. For example, Wix doesn't offer an export function so you're pretty much stuck if you ever want to leave them.
- Cost – Although website builders certainly cost less than hiring a good web designer, not all the services they offer are free, and the final bill may come as a surprise. Quite a few website builders advertise a free plan, but they usually come loaded with ads and limited functionality, such as not allowing you to use your own domain name. Though if the service is great and frees up the time you need to run your business, try viewing the extra money as an investment rather than a cost.
- Ownership concerns – If you use the builder's images and assets, it's likely you can't copy them over to your computer or publish them somewhere else. However, you should be legally entitled to do whatever you like with any piece of content you create and upload yourself. It's very important that you check the user terms and conditions regarding intellectual property of your website's content before committing to a website builder company.
Tips for Website Builder Beginners
Website builders, magnificent as they are, should not be viewed as a magical solution that will do all the work for you. While there seems to be a popular belief out there that you can have a fully-fledged website up in a matter of minutes, it's worth noting that this type of result is highly unlikely and will most definitely not serve your business well. Good websites take time, careful planning, and plenty of nurturing if you expect results for your business.
Only 2% of website do-it-yourselfers actually succeed in publishing their website on a domain.Click to Tweet
An infographic by Webydo reveals a sobering statistic that only 2% of website DIYers actually succeed in publishing their website on a domain. This suggests that many business owners begin with bright ideas and good intentions, but along the way they become discouraged by the challenges of web design.
Don't give up. Creating a website is no small feat—even with the aid of a website builder—but with enough determination you can absolutely succeed in the end. To encourage you on this journey, here are some useful highlights to consider when building your first website.
- Start by learning the basics of web design. Gaining an understanding of the fundamentals will lessen the initial panic you might feel when opening a website builder for the first time.
- If the endless options of color palettes and fonts are leaving you with a spinning head—or worse, if you're mixing and matching without really knowing what you're doing—take some time to learn about color, typography, and font pairing.
- Planning the right user experience on your site will ensure it is generating those ever-important conversions for your business. After all, you're not just building a website for aesthetic reasons.
- If you find that web design just is not your forte, or if you end up getting in over your head with ambitious customization, then hiring a professional is really the smartest solution. If you're bringing a developer on board to deal with only piecemeal modifications, the cost won't totally break the bank—and the time and frustration you'll save is absolutely worth it in the end.
By now you should have a solid idea if using a website builder is the right solution for you. If it is, then take the next step and compare website builders to make the best choice for your small business.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
"A truly great DJ, just for a moment, can make a whole room fall in love. Because DJing is not just about choosing a few songs, it's about generating shared moods; it's about reading and understanding the feelings of a group of people and directing them to a better place. In the hands of a great DJ, music creates rituals of spiritual communion that can be the most powerful events in people's lives."
Whether you are planning a Wedding, Corporate Event, Birthday Party or festival, planning and selecting the musical entertainment is a crucial step in ensuring your occasion runs smoothly and professionally. The DJ Company understands this and therefore promises a step above the competition by providing a special, unique and memorable celebration that will be enjoyed by all ages and musical tastes.
So why are we so confident we can ensure a successful and most memorable celebration? With 20 years' experience in weddings, birthday parties, matric dances, anniversary parties, private parties, office parties and university formals and with over 1500 functions completed, we specialize in making truly memorable events which your guests will remember for years to come. We have been registered with the South African Music Rights Organisation SAMRO for the last 10 years as a Professional DJ Service Provider and can cater for events of just 50 guests, right up to 500+ guests.
Regarding music what can we say…We are very versatile and have a wide selection of music that will cater for all tastes ranging from Golden oldies, Classic Rock, Hip hop, Contemporary Pop, House, 60s/70s/80s, Dance and even trance. Reading the crowd is the most important attribute of a DJ and we therefor like to keep the playlist on the night as fluid as possible to make sure we follow the dancefloor. You are however welcome to prescribe your music preferences for your function or let us, the professionals, get the party going.
We pride ourselves on the level of professional, top of the range sound and lighting equipment we use. We utilize only the best, industry leading JBL EON speakers and JBL PRX subs. Our Shure wireless microphone system with stand ensures those important speeches and announcements are heard clearly and transparently. For DJ'ing we use the industry leading Traktor DJ Pro software and the rock solid reliability of Apple Macbook Pro for our massive music library. All the above ensures your function sounds the way it should – PERFECT!
The DJ Company also offers a wide selection of lighting options. Ambient LED lighting comes standard to wash the dance floor and walls with dynamic vibrant colours. In additon we offer advanced intelligent lighting including ADJ Moving Heads, LED effects lighting, full colour lasers and production grade hazers to produce a near invisible haze which makes the light beams POP! Our lighting system has been designed to provide an elegant but highly effective production which will bring your dancefloor to life.
Our setup always begins at least two hours before your event so that everything is ready long before your guests arrive. We are affiliated with two other DJ companies so in the unlikely event of our DJ's falling seriously ill, we will ensure they are booked and receive all the necessary information.
Warren Morse (Manager & Owner)
Warren is the Manager and Owner of the DJ Company. Warren comes from a diverse musical background where he played the saxophone, clarinet and piano through his schooling and came 1st in the Western Cape for music performance in his Matric year. Warren was accepted to pursue tertiary studies at UCT for Jazz but chose to pursue a career in engineering which is now his full time job. Warren founded The DJ Company (then called "Hey Mr DJ ") back in 1998 and for the first 7 years targeted 21st Birthday parties, University Formals and Matric Dances. The company was the resident service provider to the Wynberg Girls and Boys matric dances over this period along with a host of youth events. As the company evolved, focus was turned to weddings and corporate functions and has since remained the company's primary market for the last 10 years. Warren is passionate about the business and meticulous that each event is run at its best to maximise client's satisfaction. Warren is dedicated to quality Sound Engineering and has invested the company earnings in top of the line sound and lighting equipment from only the best labels to ensure reliability and quality for his clients. Due to an expanding family and full time job, Warren has stepped back from the performance of functions since 2014 and handed over this crucial responsibility to highly talented Liam Pitcher. Liam was hand selected by Warren from a large recruitment program after which Liam trained with the company for a full year to eventually take over as Head DJ in 2014. This addition has taken the company to a new level which is evident by the subsequent testimonials. Warren maintains an active role in the management of the business to ensure the company continues to remain at the top of DJ Service Providers in the Western Cape.
Liam Pitcher (Head DJ)
Liam is currently in his final year at UCT studying Music Composition and comes from a very experienced DJ background. He has been a resident at Shimmy Beach Club, Sideshow, Dash Productions and a multitude of other top clubs. Liam trained with Warren for a year at weddings and corporate functions before taking over the performance full time in 2014. Liam is actively pushing the company's performances to levels above the competition and is quickly gaining popularity as the preferred resident DJ at the venues our clients use.
The DJ Company aims to offer the best quality of service at the most competitive rates. This means each quotation is individually tailored to suit your specific needs.
For availability enquiries and quotations please provide us the following:


text:
Meetings & Events
- Meetings & Events
Meetings & Events
The conference Room is a multi-purpose room good for 50 pax. The room is equipped with tables, and chairs, projector screen allowing multiple room configurations. Tables may be removed for discussion. The room is AV equipped with PC-compatible projection equipment. Dry erase board and easels are available upon request.


text:
Necklace with cross and pendantID:121840200
Price: 35.40 Available
Description and characteristics of the product
Necklace with cross and pendant, necklace that will be enjoyed by fans of handmade jewelry. The product is made of metal and czech crystal. Equipped with metal fittings.
Dimensions: length: 1.18 inches (3.1 cm), width: 0.01 inches (0 cm), height: 0.79 inch (2 cm), weight: 0.04 lb (20 g)
Recommendation: not less often than once a month clean the product with flannel or chamois cloth.


text:
I happen to see a lot of beauty in old Victorian and/or Vintage Gothic sculptures. To photograph the kind of sculptures I am looking for; the most obvious place to photograph is in the cemetery. I have a great respect for the dead, so when I do photography in cemeteries, I try my best to never photo the name of the person who is buried in that spot and if by chance a name does come through I delete that section of the photo or will delete the photo all together.
After I upload the photos, I take them into another computer program and do adjustments and add special effects to enhance the photo and/or to make the photo look even older. I happen to find the Goth culture very beautiful; I love the uniqueness they bring to the world. That is another reason why I have labeled this series my Goth Series, because of the uniqueness of the shots I have taken.
I have my Goth Series located in my Halloween Zazzle Gallery at :WhiteOak's Halloween. I am always adding more designs, so please be sure to stop by often.
This Angel was one of the most beautiful unique old Angels in the Cemetery.
Small Angel-0024 Sepia by WhiteOaksHalloween
Browse more Goth Mousepads
Contact me if you too would like to be a guest writer. It does not have to be about a Zazzle shop. email@example.com
WhiteOak's favorite subject is Halloween. Read all about Haunted Writings, a collection of scary and entertaining Halloween articles.


text:
YOU can. As a community member you can make the choice to be part of the solution. Become a trainer, mentor, advocate, prayer partner. The first step is the hardest, but we're here to help. As connected Christian community members we can have a tremendously positive impact on those around us. We can be a light in a dark world.
"Do Something"
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
- Matthew 5:16
Connect 4 Faith is a section 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
Connect 4 Faith | P.O. Box 368 | Alamance NC 27201
firstname.lastname@example.com | Connect4Faith.org | CSAprevention.org | 336.850.1008
Copyright 2013-2019 Connect 4 Faith. All rights reserved.


text:
The twisted hypocritical irony of the culture of death in the United States has a painful grip on a very ill society.
For forty years we have systematically executed nearly sixty million of our own, the most innocent amongst us. While committing our own genocide, we have hypocritically cast judgment on Germans who did nothing during the Holocaust. Genocide is genocide.
Really, how big of a pile would sixty million dead babies make?
Today we live in a country where the Czar is judge, jury, and executor of countless innocent with drones. The same guy then has the nerve to lecture me about violence? Serious Hypocrisy!
The twisted irony is that those who have championed the Slaughter of the Innocent for forty years are now using a mass shooting of innocent to rationalize taking guns away from the walking innocent who simply want to protect themselves from the evil caused by these same folks. Now that's some crazy shit.
How can anyone really believe these people? Seems to me there is an all out frontal attack on the innocent.
We have an inherent right to defend ourselves. We also have an inherent responsibility to protect life. The propping up of a Declaration of Independence and Constitution that are rooted in Natural Law must be the greatest hypocrisy of all!
The culture of death is diametrically opposed to Natural Law and the "right to Life, Liberty, and pursuit of happiness".
Some will argue, albeit weakly, that woman has a right to do what she wants. Remember this. Freedom doesn't give one the right to do whatever one wants. Freedom allows one to do what is right and in accordance with Natural Law.
Wake the Hell up America!


text:
Courtenay is one of three Comox Valley municipalities, and is the largest incorporated municipality in the region. To the southwest is the Village of Cumberland, and a few kilometres east of the city is the Town of Comox. Lands outside these incorporated communities are regulated by the Regional District of Comox Strathcona, which is also based in the Courtenay area. The current Comox Valley population including the three municipalities is estimated at approximately 70,000.
Courtenay has experienced very rapid housing growth over the past 5-10 years. The majority of new housing growth in Courtenay will result from redevelopment of some larger properties in the single family neighbourhoods, and development of additional multi-family sites and vacant lands that can be supplied with full utility services. This growth will be located principally east of the Courtenay River in the Ryan Road area. Assuming optimum conditions, and redevelopment, around 20,000 more people could be accommodated. Longer term growth can only be accommodated outside current city boundaries, and will require boundary adjustments.
The City of Courtenay has 40% of its employment generated from three industries: retail trade at 18.2%, government services at 12.6%, and accommodation, food, beverage at 12.2%.
Courtenay has 5 elementary schools (one has French Emmersion) and two secondary schools (one has French Emmersion) within the city.
Post secondary education is offered by North Island College which has developed a new campus north of Ryan Road.


text:
The Tradition of Edmund Rice Education
The founder of the Congregation of the Christian Brothers, Edmund Rice, was born on June 1, 1762, the fourth of seven sons, on a tiny farm near Callan, Ireland. After leaving school, Edmund went to the town of Waterford to assist in his uncle's growing export business. He married about the age of twenty-five and after only two years of happy marriage, his wife died as a result of a horse-riding accident. His daughter, Mary, who outlived Edmund, was an invalid all her life. In 1795, his uncle died and Edmund inherited the business and with it considerable wealth.
But this newly-acquired wealth did not alter Edmund's intimate understanding of and compassion for the poor and destitute. He saw that the underprivileged were being deprived of a worthwhile education and so, after 8 years of painful indecision, Edmund opened his first school in converted stables in New Street, Waterford, 1802. Edmund was now a teacher. This move, once made, clearly indicated that 'no one was ever surer of himself'. His trust was in God. He frequently prayed to Mary, Mother of God, under the title "Mother of Perpetual Help".
Before long he was training the young men who responded to his invitation to join him in this enterprise. When Br Edmund Rice died in 1844, 117 brothers made up the small congregation that had grown up around him.
The first Christian Brothers community arrived in Australia in 1843 when it was still only a collection of infant colonies. Though three small schools were opened, the venture was not a success, and the Brothers returned to Ireland in 1847.
Br Patrick Ambrose Treacey was selected to lead the second community of Brothers to far off Australia in 1868. In 1875 the Brothers arrived in Queensland and opened St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, thus beginning their association with Queensland Education. Gregory Terrace began as the first Catholic Boys' Secondary School in the colony. In 1888 the Brothers opened their second school in Maryborough, Sacred Heart College, and also began the search for a place to re-locate the Boarding House at Gregory Terrace. In 1891 St Joseph's Nudgee College was established as the Boarding arm in Brisbane but soon established itself as an equally outstanding educational centre.
Throughout the years the Christian Brothers opened a number of day and boarding colleges throughout the state and in recent years have consolidated their commitment in this area. With a rich tradition in provision of education, the Brothers expanded their commitment to other ministries as well.
In October 2007, the congregation of Christian Brothers handed over governance of their schools in Australia to the board of Edmund Rice Education Australia.


text:
Mesothelioma Lawyer
Complementary Treatment for Side Effects
Dedicated mesothelioma attorneys Williams Hart do not only care about your legal rights. We also want our clients to feel as healthy as possible while coping with the difficulties of cancer. Whether you are undergoing surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or a combination of treatments, you may be facing serious side effects that almost feel worse than the disease. This article will offer advice to help you cope with them.
Your doctor will be able to prescribe your drugs to help with pain, nausea, and other problems you may experience over the course of your treatment. You may not feel that these meds are adequate, however. Here are a few tips for treatments you can try in addition to the medicine that your doctor recommends.
This practice originated in China as long ago as 3000 BC. In this treatment, needles are placed in strategic places around a person's body to relieve tension and ease pain. The needles used are very thin, and most people report moderate to no pain from them. Many mesothelioma patients use acupuncture to relieve pain after surgery or during radiation treatment.
A gentle massage can be a great way to ease the anxiety, stress and pain that most mesothelioma patients struggle with. There are many different massage techniques using a wide variety of tools, from hot stones to scented oils to nothing but the therapist's hands. A professional massage therapist will be able to help you choose the best technique for your body.
Herbal Teas
Mesothelioma patients have reported positive effects from a variety of teas. Ginger and peppermint are each reportedly good for treating nausea. Chamomile can help with insomnia. Talk to your doctor before taking any vitamins, new herbs, or dietary supplements.
Contact Us
It isn't right for people to struggle with these difficult side effects because of their employers' neglect and disregard. A mesothelioma lawsuit can help you recover the money lost to medical bills and missed work, as well as compensate you for your suffering. Contact mesothelioma attorneys Williams Hart at 800-781-3955.


text: Snuggly Rascals - Monster Member price £13.50 *If you are a Member of the BTA (which means you pay £15 per year) please enter MEMBERSHIP in the Promo Code box on the basket page* Snuggly Rascals Comfy Kids Headphones - Monster Volume limited headphones designed to protect hearing. Main features include: Maximum of 85 decibels to protect hearing. Ultra comfortable snuggly, soft fleece fabric. More comfortable than standard headphones and earphones. Machine washable. Remove the speakers and wash the headband. Ultra-flat speakers. Only 4mm thick & padded for extra comfort. Perfect fit. Adjustable velcro closing enables a snug fit. Compatibility. Connect to the majority of portable audio devices using 3.5mm jack. Meet the Rascals. Available is a variety of designs - cat, monster, penguin and unicorn. Please note: as with any set of wired headphones, although the risks are very small we would recommend that children do not sleep with the headphones on unless supervised by an adult.


text:
Philadelphia is home to our founding fathers, great sports teams, outstanding restaurants, and a rich and diverse history, and was recently ranked by The New York Times as the 3rd top place to visit in 2015.
Here is an excerpt of the article:
"A series of projects has transformed Philadelphia into a hive of outdoor urban activity. Dilworth Park, formerly a hideous slab of concrete adjoining City Hall, reopened this past autumn as a green, pedestrian-friendly public space with a winter ice-skating rink (and a cafe by the indefatigable chef Jose Garces). Public art installations, mini "parklets" and open-air beer gardens have become common sights. The Delaware River waterfront was reworked for summer 2014 with the Spruce Street Harbor Park (complete with hammocks, lanterns and floating bar) becoming a new fixture, following the renovation of the Race Street Pier, completed in 2011, and offers free yoga classes on a bi-level strip of high-design decking and grass. The city's other river, the Schuylkill, has its own new boardwalk. To top it off, this spring, Philadelphia will get its first bike share program, making this mostly flat city even more friendly for those on two wheels."


text:
Do you have some of your reviews grouped into "groups" that have one overall meaning. Find out how to group them into what Yelp calls a List with this article.
1Open your web browser to the Yelp webpage. Make sure that you are logged in.
2Create a List on Yelp. This will also ask you to insert the reviews. However, if you do choose to forget to do this right now, you can follow on to the next step at another time
3Personalize the list you've created. Add reviews to it. Although it can only hold reviews from your account, you'll find it to be a lot more comfy to explain than having to explain to others that these reviews are placed sporadically on your complete page of reviews you've created.
4Remove the review from the list, if it was mistakenly placed, or is no longer desired for some reason.Advertisement
Community Q&A
- Remove the list should the entire list be faulty, or not to your liking anymore.Thanks!
- The Lists portion is not available to be used on the Yelp for iPhone nor Yelp for Android apps yet.Thanks!
Things You'll Need
- Internet access with web browser
- Yelp account
- several reviews on Yelp
- computer mouse and keyboard


text:
Dopo la caduta della repubblica senese nel 1555, Panzano non fu più visto come avamposto militare, si cominciarono quindi a sviluppare gli aspetti più legati all' agricoltura ed alla produzione di Vino ed Olio, per la quale tuttora è famoso.
Panzano Castle was builded between the XI and the XII century by the Firidolfi, a very important family in the Florence Republic. The reason was to build a fortress next to the romanic church of San Leolino and near the Senae Republic. During the years of war against the ghibellini neighbours, Panzano is always one of the most strong castles of the Lega della Val di Greve and an invincible fortress of the Florence Republic.
The castle has been attacked many times, from the Senae armies and his allieds from Naples and Aragon, but never surrended.
After the end of the senae Republic in 1555 the role of Panzano in the war is not more important, so the village begins to improve his agricoltural aspects like the wine and the oil that all the world knows.


text:
Beach, Food, Greenery, Happymoments, Holiday, Journal, Life, Photography, Srilanka, Trees
Normally, there is so much you can explore in Srilanka. But we wanted a relaxed long weekend tied to a beach-resort, and we wanted to save the exploratory mode for a later date.
Booked flights, sorted VISAs, zeroed on the resort, packed bags and off we went to enjoy the sun soaked beach in Srilanka. This particular resort had a lagoon as well, but we chose our room sea-facing but to our dismay we could only hear the divine sea shores as the beach was some 100-200 mts away and slightly downwards (am guessing to avoid cyclone havoc). I guess if we had a room slightly above in terms of floors, perhaps we could get the view – this resort mostly had private cottages.
This nice looking view otherwise had some coffee tables for the evenings, but who wanted this when we had the beach to relish. It was not bad though.
It was serene.
The first floor where normally food was laid for all guests, you can catch the glimpse of this beauty called BEACH.
And what should I say about this…. pure love. Salt induced love in the air. Golden beach. And distant horizon. Yes, you can now drown in dreams.
I swayed for sometime on the hammock dreaming…and occasionally looking at the sky.
And to soak in completely, and remain hydrated, I had something to drink too, yes, by the beach. Sounds so much fun. No? It was 😉
Please do not judge me by my plate, after a lot of swimming, and walking around, I was tired and lazy to fetch myself a second or later helpings, yet wanted a bit of everything to taste srilankan food, so got it all.. & It was delicious. Though I would not classify hotel /resort food as authentic, I would really wish to taste local delicacies in homestays, cooked by home cooks. None the less, it wasn't bad and gave us an idea of what and how locals ate. I feel, it was quite similar to food from Kerela.
Some local sweet …stuffed with coconut
I don't know why they are called string hoppers, but they were my favourites every breakfast morning!!! Yumm!!
To offer a glimpse of cultural dance, the resort did organise a folk dance. That was sweet.
The palm trees were a saviour in the sunny and humid weather.. On a separate note, whoever is reading this, please save trees or plant more trees and make it green around you. The earth needs it so much and so does human beings.
Such a beauty
I tried to distract and read a bit…, the idea of book by the beach is a poem to me.
Srilankan currency – interesting graphics of ethnicity.
And how exotic the beach looks by the sun downing. No?? I fall in love every time looking at this. 🙂
Hope it was worth stopping by my reviving blog :p


text:
Free Consultation
Classical music reduces vandalism
A recent report of classical music being used to reduce vandalism in an Auckland shopping centre, followed other such successful experiments from around the world.
In West Palm Beach Florida a free concert of Mozart, Bach and Beethoven is being played 24 hours a day on a blighted street corner and has proven successful in reducing crime.
Police say drug deals, shootings and thefts have dropped since the experiment began. There are fewer loiterers and statistics are surprising. Drug-related calls dropped to four from February through June, compared to 20 during the same period in the previous year, while calls for service were down to 83 from 119 the previous year. To read the article click this link.
A number of other bodies have tried similar experiments over the years. The idea was originally tested in Canada in the 1990s to clear yobbos away from supermarkets or metro systems.
"Within 18 months, robberies were cut by 33 per cent, assaults on staff by 25 per cent, and vandalism by 37 per cent as the voice of Pavarotti made troublemakers scarper." Wrote reporter David Sandison.
This reporter then discusses theories as to why the scheme works, surmising that it doesn't fit with antisocial youths' perception of cool; or that teenagers can hear high-frequency overtones that adults can't and that this upsets them.
For those of us who listen to Sound Therapy, perhaps we can think of a more humanity enhancing view. I suspect that the effect of the music is to ignite a flicker of the higher aspirations, reasoning and innate altruism of those listening. When these feelings can't be accommodated by their habitual destructive behaviours and peer group negativity, they leave the area out of embarrassment.
After all, it has been proven in other experiements that Mozart does indeed enhance spatial reasoning skills because it activates numerous brain centres including the prefrontal cortex and superior temporal gyrus, the precuneus of the parietal lobe, with much interconnection of these various networks being activated. Surely all this added brain activity must impact our emotions, thoughts and human drives?
Find the best sresearch paper I have come across on the Mozart Effect by following this link, http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/vol94/issue4/
and look for the article called "The Mozart Effect."


text:
here to return
to the Medicine Wheel page.
Click here to see our Native American
Note Cards.
The Budding Trees Moon (March 21 to April 19) is the
first moon of Wabun, Spirit Keeper of the East and occurs
at the time of the spring equinox position on the Native American
Medicine Wheel. The mineral totem for
the Budding Trees Moon is the fire opal, the plant is the
dandelion, and the animal is the red-tailed hawk. The
color is yellow. The Thunderbird clan directly influences
this position.
The fire opal can teach people in this position about
the need for water - the emotions - in tempering their
fiery energy. The dandelion can show them the advantages
of taking root as well as flying. The red hawk can
demonstrate the joy of freedom and of a long, clear view.
The Budding Trees Moon will teach you about energy,
intensity, catalyzing change, fearlessness, and optimism.
Being in this position will show you your leadership
ability, the enormity of your own spirit, and the extent
of your clear-sightedness. People experiencing the
Budding Trees Moon need to learn to channel their
energies, contain their emotions, and be more patient
with others.
Red-tailed Hawk is
the animal totem associated with the Budding Trees Moon.
The red-tailed hawk is the only hawk with a broad wing
span and fan-shaped red tail. It is a large hawk, which
has been called the chicken hawk by farmers who
incorrectly feared the birds were stealing their poultry.
Red-tailed hawks are sometimes attacked by crows,
magpies, owls, other hawks, and songbirds in territorial
disputes. These attacks rarely end in injury. Red-tailed
hawks can live to be fourteen years of age. They usually
nest in tall trees, cacti, yuccas, or on the faces of
cliffs. Both parents help raise the young. Ted-tailed
hawks often return year after year the same nest. Hawks
used to be found all over the United States. Now they
live mainly in the western states, Mexico, and Canada.
Red-tailed hawks are very adaptable and can survive
almost anywhere man leaves them alone. Their voice in
flight can sound like steam escaping from a kettle.
Red-tailed hawks are magnificent fliers, especially
during their mating dances.
Ted-tailed hawks are very special to Native people.
Pueblo peoples referred to them as "red eagles"
and felt that red-tailed hawks, like the eagle, had a
special connection with the sky and the sun. Because
hawks are high fliers who can see the earth clearly from
their heights, their feathers were often used
ceremonially to carry prayers to the sun and the Creator.
Hawk feathers, as well as eagle, were also used in
healing ceremonies. Southwestern people used them in
ceremonies to pray for rain. To the Ojibwa, the
Red-tailed Hawk clan was on of the leadership clans. Its
members have the gifts of deliberation and foresight.
Working with the red hawk can teach you about
adaptability, flying, survival, far-and
clear-sightedness, prayer, leadership, deliberation,
optimism, intensity, and openness.
is the plant associated with the Budding Trees Moon. The
dandelion is an herb with many uses. The root is good as
a coffee substitute and herbal remedy as well as a
cooking herb. The young dandelion leaves can be used in
salads. Older leaves are a delicious cooked green. They
are high in vitamins A, B, C, and G; calcium; phosphorus;
iron; and natural sodium. Dandelion is soothing,
relaxing, and mildly sedating. It can be used to cleanse
all the eliminative organs of the body. Dandelion helps
to purify and alkalize the bloodstream. It also helps to
balance the blood sugar levels in the body. The
ubiquitous dandelion can remind you of the necessity of
exploration and experimentation in life. It can also show
you the beauty of various stages of growth.
Opal is the mineral associated with the Budding Trees
Moon. The stone can connect a person with the powers of
the sun, moon, and fire. It sparks energy and teaches
about harnessing and utilizing the fire of the fife
Opal can be used to elicit intense mental, physical,
and emotional energy so it is useful for alleviating
sensations of lethargy and fatigue. It counteracts
stagnation on all levels of life.
Opal enhances any existing qualities - positive or
negative - within you and aids your ability to visualize
or to journey into other realms of existence. Opal can
assist you in understanding and healing problems having


text:
Rory McIlroy was heading towards his second major title tonight – at a younger age than Tiger Woods managed it – as the sporting attention of the world began to turn away from London.
With six holes to play in the USPGA Championship at Kiawah Island the 23-year-old Northern Irishman, winner of the US Open by eight last year, was six shots clear.
But he reached that position only after a brilliant birdie burst by Ryder Cup teammate Ian Poulter threatened to turn the final day of the season's final major into a real thriller.
Poulter birdied the first five holes, six of the first seven and from six shots behind narrowed his deficit to just one.
Runner-up to Padraig Harrington in the 2008 Open, Poulter's charge came unstuck on the back nine, however. Three bogeys in a row from the 13th took him back alongside Carl Pettersson in joint second place.
The Swede was not going to forget the tournament in a hurry. Leader after an opening 66, joint top at halfway and still in with a great shout setting off for the closing 18 holes three behind, he suffered a two-stroke penalty on the first.
His drive was pushed into the edge of a hazard and in playing his second shot he disturbed a leaf on his takeaway and was told about the penalty two holes later after it had been reviewed by officials.
Pettersson still managed a front nine 34, but McIlroy turned in 33 with birdies at the second, third and seventh and he could breathe a lot easier after holing a 12-foot putt for another on the 12th.
What was shaping up to be his second major crown promised the extra satisfaction of beating Tiger Woods for it.
Not in Washington last June because of injury, Woods was in a tie for ninth with five holes remaining after failing to make the most of his chance just like the last two majors.
Poulter's performance was guaranteeing him another Ryder Cup cap next month, while Harrington improved his hopes no end when he finished the outward half with a hat-trick of birdies to move into tied fourth.
But the Dubliner was left needing a wild card when he bogeyed three of the next four and instead it was Poulter's close friend Justin Rose who set the early clubhouse target.
Rose shot 66 for four under – seven behind McIlroy – despite rolling into the lake on the short 17th.
The action began at 7.45am and the completion of the third round certainly did not lack for drama. It even included Woods being attacked by a prickly pear cactus.
"It got in both legs – well, left shoe, right shoe and then in my right leg," he said of the incident right of the 15th fairway.
"It itched like hell for about a hole and then it was gone."
At first Woods, recovering from an "horrific" front nine 40, was limping badly as he made his way down the hole, but he called for a towel from caddie Joe LaCava and carefully extracted the thorns.


text:
According to Max Lucado of the Christian Post on November 9, the results of the US Presidential election simply don't matter. Only God's sovereignty matters. And, us silly mortals needn't worry because that won't change. Unless, of course, it never was to begin with.
Lucado quotes Proverbs "The LORD can control a king's mind as he controls a river; he can direct it as he pleases." When you stop and actually think about this passage, its in direct opposition to the most central theological tenet of christianity … free will. Now the Christian will argue that limiting options doesn't take away free will, so much as limit it. But free will is by definition the ability to choose between all options. Furthermore, why would god choose to direct so many people's river towards atheism. Why woudn't he direct us away from it?
Lucado stated that on one occassion, god changed the heart of the king of Assyria so that he aided the Jews in the Construction of the Temple. On another occassion, he stirred the heart of Cyrus to release the Jews to return to Jerusalem. But in Genesis, rather than stir the hearts of the ENTIRE WORLD; he chose to kill them all by drowning it, save Noah's family. Was stirring the hearts of the world beyond the power of god, or did he simply not care enough about people to try? So much for omnipotence and omnibenevolence.
Lucado states that god's sovereignty over the nations opens the door to peace. He states that when we realize that god influences the hearts of all rulers, that we can pray instead of worrying or, in his pithy turn of phrase "we select prayer over despair". Except, theists can't actually demonstrate that prayer works. Furthermore, why even despair, why not do something about it? Despite your candidate losing an election, a vocal dissent serves a function in politics. It serves as a moderating force and prevents elected officials from overreaching.
Lucado finally uses an analogy about some missionary work he did in Brazil. He was flying somewhere when turbulence hit the plane. He began freaking out about crash landing in the middle of the Amazon and "being gobbled up by piranhas or swallowed by an anaconda". The pilot turned to him and said "We won't face anything I can't handle. You might as well trust me to fly the plane."
The problem with this analogy is two-fold. One, there's such a thing as christian eschatology. A Christian can never be certain whether a bad turn of events is part of the divine plan for armageddon, or just a bad turn of events. Second, in a democracy, god's not in control. We are. We're the pilot of the plane. So the anxiety stems not from our candidate losing, but our worldview losing.
And that's a pretty scary place for theists to be. Not so much atheists. Most of us have had our worldview completely shattered. The anxiety stems from the doubt that arises from having your indoctrinated beliefs challenged, and that others not sharing them is a complete mystery to you. My advice to theists: embrace that doubt.
Doubt is lethal to indoctrination but vital to you. Independent thinking is scary because there is no safety net. You will make mistakes, offend others, and be corrected many, many times as an independent thinker. Many things are beyond your direct control, and sometimes you have no choice but to let those things happen as they do. I sometimes catch myself thinking "Please don't let X happen. Please please please!" but I no longer ask god to intervene.
Hope doesn't leave simply because you reject god. Hope is a natural and healthy human emotion. But hopes are dashed whether you pray or not. If prayer is a yes or no question, and god tells you no, then what good was praying? It comforts you to think that someone is listening, regardless of the outcome. There are 4 billion people on the planet who could listen to you, and you choose the person who hasn't visited this planet since the bronze age.
There are plenty of ways to self-soothe and process disappointment. In a way, prayer is self-sabotage for the believer. Enough disappointments eventually begin to call into question the existence of god. It certainly did for me.
The bottom line is that theists simply don't process doubt and disappointment in a healthy way. They rely on god to do the emotional and intellectual heavy lifting, and then complain about being persecuted when things simply don't go their way. More than anything else, this grates on the nerves of atheists. We acknowledge that things don't go our way all the time. We tend to process and move on. Theists tend to dwell in their perplexity and wallow in their disappointment. They don't have to, they choose to. They relinquish their sovereignty to a deity that simply doesn't deliver. That's on them.


text:
Last night I was chatting with a friend on the phone. I see this girl a few times a month and although she is one of my more regular friends, I have not told her about my atheism. This is mostly due to the fact that this girl is basically a clone of me at the age of twenty. It's probably why I like her, even while her piety can get a bit annoying. We met at a mutual friend's party and share a similar taste in books, movies, and food. She comes to our monthly game nights even though she isn't much of a gamer. She is also a very typical Christian with ideas about homosexuality, divorce, dating, sex, etc. etc. She's not a fundamentalist by any means, but she speaks often about how she likes her church because they don't pack any punches when it comes to preaching the "tough topics". This means that they address the "sin" of homosexuality from the pulpit. To be honest, considering how much she is like my former self, I doubt she has any friends who aren't Christian. (that she knows of. bwahahaha)
Last night she kept trying to convince me to take our Messianic Jewish son to church in order to "expose him" and let him make the "decision for himself". I gave her the usual we-aren't-missionary-adopting spiel, but she would not abate. You're not forcing him, just showing him other options. He's basically a Christian anyway so what will it hurt? Maybe he needs god in his life. He should be exposed to church so that he can learn more about religion. I now switched to explaining trauma and attachment. In my mind, forcing religion on a kid when they are this vulnerable is religious manipulation at its worst. He needs to figure out who he is, deal with his abandonment issues, and find a moral balance that isn't created by giving him a sin-complex. I don't want my emotionally vulnerable kid to go to church or youth group and them tell him what a horrible person he is for having had sex. I don't want them to poison him the notion that he is a horrible depraved person who deserves to die. That message is not good for a kid with already low self-esteem. And yeah, I did say all this to her because Christians don't get it. If you are going to convert to a religion it should be done through careful study and thought, not at the lowest point of your life. If you are going to live your life according to an ancient document, you need to understand what it says and believe it. I've seen people converted in the height of emotion. They are the ones who become extreme. There is no logic behind their actions. No thought. As for attachment, implying that he needs to choose our religion or lack of one, to become part of our family is reprehensible. I don't think it is right that my sister-in-law has done it with the teenager who moved into their home this year. He needs to know we will love him no matter what he believes. He needs to know that even though I am an atheist, he is a Jew, and my husband is a Christian...that we accept each other as is. No one needs to convert. No one needs to be bitter or angry about it.
Of course, as this usually does, this makes people wonder about my current church status. You know...because if you aren't actively trying to convert your children, you must be neglecting your own faith. I have become very good at telling the truth without telling the whole truth. I told her how I had not made any lasting church friendships, despite being actively involved in all my churches. The grand total of church former fellow church goers I see on a regular basis are: One. Just one. That's after attending churches for twenty-seven years. I talked about not ever fitting in, of rarely finding a kindred spirit. I told her how church had become a chore, something I had to do. I spoke of experiences I had had outside the church that felt more "spiritual" than anything I had ever experienced within the four walls of a church building. I told her about our weekly Sunday brunch where we all cook together and how relaxing it is. How nice it is to not have to rush off to church, spend time with my husband and son, and enjoy a morning together. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything. There is no church or religion that can replace those times together. In fact, I wasted a lot of time in the church doing nothing and I am happy to finally be living life.
"I just believe that there has to be something out there."
This has, thus far, been the most common response when I tell people that I am no longer a god believer. Immediately after revealing that I consider myself an agnostic atheist, people will barf up this one line, triggered in some way that I don't fully understand. Remember, I am not telling hardcore Christians here. These are people that I know are living nominally religious lives and feel safe telling about my nonbelief. Yet even these people cannot quite release this notion of a god or deity. So you're a deist? I counter. I normally don't press any further than that since I don't want to turn conversations into debates.
What I want to ask is, why would you think there has to be something out there? Is it based purely on a feeling or do you have facts to back this up notion? Do you think that your cultural background that is rooted so much in Christianity has swayed you towards the idea that there must be a god even though you have obviously rejected most of the tenants of the faith? Is it because you see beauty in nature and have decided that this beauty must have a meaning and if you discover it, you will find heaven and enlightenment? Is it because you fear a universe where there is no meaning and no one controlling things?
To me, the world actually makes more sense if you don't believe there is a god controlling things. It explains why our bodies aren't perfectly and wonderfully made. It explains why our planet isn't perfectly made for us and is always trying to kill us. It explains babies with bone cancer and painful diseases. It also explains why we humans have had to evolve to take care of ourselves. It makes sense why prayers go unanswered. And it places the responsibility for the world, for others, for ourselves, squarely on the shoulders of human beings. I like this. For good or bad, the idea that we shape our world, not some unknowable being, is comforting. It means that for all our mistakes, we can make things right. And in our efforts to make things right, we will make mistakes. It means we can grow and change. It makes room for scientific advancement, social change, a healed planet, and better human beings. I don't know if it is possible for humanity to ever achieve peace, but we are capable of it. A god, particularly the Judeau-Christian god, would never achieve that. Based on the Old Testament it must be assumed that that god actually enjoys war and if real, would have us fighting each other ad naseum until the end of time. It comforts me to know that there is no evidence for that god being real, nor the thousands of others with similar personality traits.
Flacid Prayers
"Well, we'll pray that all your adoption paperwork goes quickly."
Please don't. That's what I want to say. Don't. Because that is the same prayer that my friends and family have been praying since last December and it ISN'T WORKING. At all. In fact, if anything...things have gone slower. There is absolutely no correlation between these people's prayers and the speed at which our adoption paperwork is being processed. None. I know it is really just an empty Christianeeze way of saying, "I'll be thinking about you," yet when their prayers are obviously flacid, you just want to scream. Isn't it obvious your prayers aren't working?
Even before I began my deconversion process, I had quit praying years before. Sure, there were the occasional prayers thrown out in the heat of the moment, but "real" intercessory prayer with prayer requests and such had gone by the wayside long before. It wasn't because I was a bad Christian, but rather because I looked at the evidence of answered prayers vs unanswered prayers, and determined that God did as he pleased. God clearly did not care about our petty problems and was clearly more concerned about other things, what I couldn't be sure. It wasn't the big things either, like people dying of cancer. It was the small prayers too. My mother prayed for and over everything, yet her prayers seemed grossly ineffective. She prayed for colds that went away on their own at the normal time. She prayed against the "spirit of poverty", but continued to live in a poverty mentality her whole life. When I started to look at the world around me, I saw no sign of prayer actually working. In fact, it seemed that if prayer was a real thing to a real deity, the only purpose was to make the prayee feel better. Surely an all-knowing all-seeing God would be neither moved or swayed by a prayer. Add to this all the myth-like stories that Christians like to spread around about blind people seeing again (in a rural Kenyan village where it is unverifiable) and folks being cured of AIDS (even though there is no evidence they had AIDS in the first place), and I had my doubts as to whether it did any good. Not even the Bible seemed clear on this. Although it suggested that human beings could change God's mind (like in Sodom & Gomorrah), other verses seemed to suggest that prayer was more meditative and rarely changed the mind of God. Unless you are a bald prophet getting bullied by the neighborhood kids. Then God sends bears to murder them.
Here's my favorite part about prayer though. There is this idea out there that if a prayer is ineffective that it is either because of sin or unbelief. It places the burden of effectiveness on something that people can't control. There are a number of Christian writers who have written about such things. As if God only answers the prayers of the devout and only helps those who are devout. If he doesn't answer your prayer then it is because you or the person you are praying for didn't believe enough or had sin in their life. It's basically a weird version of the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy. So if our adoption paperwork doesn't go through then it is our fault, not a gods. However, if it does magically start moving at a decent pace, then all the praise and glory goes to a god. It's crazy.
Deconversion: The War of Words
My husband recently informed me that he thinks I should not use the term "deconversion" to describe my path from Christianity to atheism. "You didn't deconvert from anything," he said. "You were a Christian and then an atheist. It's just a conversion." Implied within this is that atheism itself is a religion of sorts since it is, in his mind, a belief system. This is one of our major sticking points when it comes to my atheism, but more on that in a moment. My reply? I wasn't born a Christian. I didn't have any faith when I was born. He shrugged. "You may as well have been. You don't remember a life before religion." Although it is true that I said the sinner's prayer at four-years-old and have no memories of being non-religious, the truth is that I was actively indoctrinated and converted to Christianity. My parents were not Christians when I was a small child so I wasn't born into a religious family either. Nevermind that I was not born a Christian. Period. Indoctrinated at a young age, but there is no such thing as a Christian newborn. Frankly, I really don't think there is such a thing as a Christian four-year-old.
As for the whole, atheism is a religion thing, this just bugs the shit out of me. Atheism is not a religion. It's right there in the word. There are no gods, no deity to worship, no rituals, no holy book, no set guidelines to follow, no definitive philosophy. Atheists can span the spectrum politically, socially, and philosophically. I am against the death penalty, but I am sure you can find atheists out there who aren't. There is a common misconception by the religious that atheism is the belief that there is no god. That is not what it is or at least not what it is supposed to be. It is the understanding that there is no proof that there is a god and unless there is some kind of evidence to back up the extraordinary claim, there is no point in worshiping one. Agnosticism is wholly separate and asks whether one can truly know or not. I don't think it is possible to know, but I am aware that there is not good enough evidence to support the claims of an all-knowing supernatural being. To worship a god without evidence is something I can no longer do. Hence, I am an agnostic atheist. It isn't a belief system as much as a demand for truth and information. Until recently there weren't even organizations. I'm a bit iffy on these secular Sunday services that have started around the country because it just feels way too much like former religious people trying to recreate the things they miss about the church sans the actual deity worship. It's weird.
I am a word person. I don't love labels, yet at the same time I think it is important for people to find words that best describe and define them in order to clarify their position in the minds of others. And I don't think anyone has the right to tell you what you are and aren't. I am a deconverted Christian. It is the best way I know how to describe myself with the understanding that I have. It may not be a perfect word, but it sure is better than the words that Christians have come up with. Apostate. Backslider. Defector. Heretic. Those words give them the power. I like the word deconverted. It recognizes that at one point I was converted to that religion, even if it was at a young age. It also recognizes that I have not converted to a new faith.
My husband may never understand this, blinded by the rhetoric that his faith has filled his head with for four decades. I love him anyways, but this may be one of those things that we will never fully agree on. Does it bother me that he thinks I have converted to a new religion? Yes. But I can't make him believe something different and I'm not going to bother trying. If he wants to believe atheism is a religion, then so be it. He's wrong, but there isn't a damn thing I can do about that. Other than to just keep talking about my deconversion.
A Foot Outside the Closet
I've been an atheist for over two years now and thus far, have avoided telling my fundamentalist parents as well as my more dogmatic friends and family. Since I know what they believe, it is usually easy to avoid or walk away from hot-button topics like evolution, the validity of the Bible, Biblical literalism, abortion, etc. I know I am not going to change their minds and since I am a grown married adult living not near them, I don't feel the need to create unnecessary friction. Sometimes these subjects simply can't be avoided though, and this morning I had the pleasure of speaking to my mother about ALL of them. Gods damn it.
I don't even know how we got on the subject, but somehow we started talking about science and my science illiteracy that was a result of religious fundamentalist homeschooling. I have been working very hard to learn what I can since abandoning young earth creationism in my late teens, but it has been an uphill battle with quite a few wonderful college science courses. "Well, you didn't like science," my mother said. I informed her that at one point I wanted to be an astronaut and had looked up what the qualifications were for it. At the time, I was sure that I could do it and even applied for the summer space program, but didn't get in. I sent the application in with my allowance money because I knew my parents wouldn't be very supportive. But, you know, I didn't like science. What the real issue was was math. I had a hard time with formulas and such, which began to make science courses super difficult. Of course, I found out as an adult that I was being taught math in a way that only someone who is really gifted at math would actually get. And nevermind that my mom determined that I disliked science because I wasn't interested in plant biology, a passion of hers and boring to me. So because I didn't like the kind of science she did, I didn't like science. You have probably already guessed that this was the only biology I was taught too. No animal biology. God made animals just the way they are don't ya know.
So our conversation quickly turned into a, "Yes, I know that is what you believe. I do not. You know I don't. We've talked about this before." And every time she would just come back with a, "Well, I believe the Bible is true." That's nice. I told her that there was a lot of evidence to back up science and that her trying to force science to support her religion simply because she *believes* it to be true, isn't evidence. Of course, evidence doesn't mean a damn thing to her. The Bible is the inspired word of a god, therefore everything in it must be true. If scientists don't see that then it MUST mean there is a worldwide conspiracy and science just can't be trusted at all. I informed her that this was insulting to all the Christians who are scientists and all my friends who are scientists. Basically calling them liars because you don't like the data is wrong.
And then we went down the road of crazy. Adam and Eve having babies of every ethnicity. Science doesn't back it up, but it's the only way to account for the variations in our race...so that's the answer. Noah's ark happened because the Bible says so and there is evidence of floods all over the earth. Yes, because it floods everywhere and humans have a habit of building their cities near water. Animals used to talk because the snake talked to Eve and she wasn't scared. Rainbows are a promise from God. After the flood God changed the atmosphere so that we now have rainbows when it rains. Twisting science in order to fit in with a literal interpretation of the Bible. It's nutballs. I have read fantasy books that make more sense than this bullshit my parents believe.
"Well, you at least believe Jesus existed. There are multiple accounts of it from other sources," my mom finally huffed out. I paused and slowly said, I'm not sure if I do. There is only one account and most Biblical scholars agree that it was probably added in later to give validity to the story.
I didn't say I wasn't a Christian, but I may as well have because questioning the existence of Christ is the same thing. There was a lot of shock and confusion on her part and annoyance on mine. I do not want to talk to you about this, I kept thinking. I know what you believe. But at least now it is clear to her that I do not. She, of course, recommended three Christian books that I have read several times actually and find their arguments crude at best. I hope she gossips about it to everyone because that would make my coming out of the closet so much easier.
It was bound to happen eventually and I don't have a lot of patience for people who shit on facts just because it doesn't align with their beliefs. I don't know if anything will change, but I'm kind of counting on it. My mom is not a rational person and my dad is only slightly better. Should be interesting to see how things go from here. Religion is far too important for my mom to simply let this go.
June 19th, 2017
"And that's how we know the Bible is true."
This has been a common phrase used in my home since I was a small child. Usually, this was said after some "evidence" that my mom or more often than not, dad, would present while in conversation. In one of my more recent conversations, my dad's proof that the Bible was in fact historically accurate and true was because there is mention of a town in the Old Testament that, until recently, archaeologists have been unable to find. In his mind, stating that you couldn't find this place was the same as an archaeologist or scientist saying it never existed. Once the town was found using geomapping from space, scientists had to "admit" (my dad's words) that it was true.
Let's get one thing straight here, I absolutely do not believe the Bible is the inspired word of god. Not at all. However, I am completely aware that it was written by very real people, in historic times, in very real places. Ninevah was a very real town. It doesn't make the story of Jonah true or accurate, nor does it validate the Bible being true. That's like suggesting everything in The DaVinci Code is true because the Vatican exists. Or to use a more ancient example, just because Troy was a real place doesn't mean Odysseus fought a giant cyclops. All that this tells us is that yes, some nomads knew their part of the world fairly well. IF any archaeologist actually stated that since a place hadn't been found, it didn't exist and therefore the Bible was inaccurate, is plain bad at their jobs. Period. Non-discovery just means there is no evidence. It doesn't mean something didn't exist, nor does it mean it did. It is equally illogical though to go around telling people that the Bible is true based on something that hasn't been discovered yet. "This town existed because the Bible said it did. We haven't found it yet, but obviously the Bible is right so we will eventually because it is never wrong."
Poor Christians are going to be searching for the Garden of Eden for an eternity. At least the literalists will be. I don't bother to respond to this bullshit. I'm not sure if my parents just can't help themselves or if they still think that I believe this stuff too. I have been more than up front with the fact that I accept evolution and science as fact. I am also obsessed with ancient history, which is actually what began leading me away from Christianity, because the truth is, history doesn't line up very well with the Bible. I've spoken with my father often about this and although he has conceeded that it is probably likely that the earth took a while to form, he has also told me that he chooses to believe the Bible's way because it "doesn't hurt anyone." I completely disagree, but when people don't think logically, there is nothing you can do. Other than write a blog post about it because it is annoying as shit.
I was thinking this morning about some of my old "friends" from previous churches this morning. I've cut ties with most of these people, but there are still a few that show up in my Facebook feed sometimes. People that I got to know a little more than casually, but still wouldn't look up if I was in town. You know how it is. But when I started to think about these people and why we were ever considered friends in the first place, I realized that the only commonality was a shared religion.
Typically when I make good friends, it is because we have shared interests. I have a good friend who I call my Book Buddy, because we are both very well read and can talk about books for hours. Many of my friends are geeks like me with some interest in at least one of the following: Sci-fi, Action/Adventure movies, Superheroes, Comic Books, D&D, Writing, Reading, Board Games, Video Games, History, Archaeology, or Science. My really good friends share several of these interests. With my church friends though, the commonality seemed to be only a belief in a god. We were expected to connect, not through any common extracurricular activities, but rather a theistic belief system. Looking back, this seems ridiculous because it meant that people with vastly different personalities and interests were being thrown together and expected to become fast friends.
Let's look at some examples:
Laurel - Laurel was a beautiful petite girl who was extremely talented in the areas of graphic design and photography. She used these talents to work for the church creating their weekly pamphlets, helping with video editing, and setting up the PowerPoint slides on Sunday. She loved getting her nails done, romance movies, and her much younger little sister. She was terrified of trying new things and refused to move anywhere that would take her away from her little sister even though she was a grown adult. We were often teamed up together when volunteering because we got along all right. I spent a lot of time with this girl and yet wouldn't call her my friend. She seemed emotionally distant and had little regard for other people's feelings. Her talents were appreciated, but in the end wasted.
Trevor - Trevor was also part of the core group at the same church as Laurel. Trevor played guitar for the worship team, had an acceptable Hipster beard, and was outgoing. As an extrovert, he seemed to make friends easily and fast. Yet, he was a complete flake. They would often have unscheduled worship team meetings and get-togethers, but would "forget" to invite certain people just because they didn't feel like hanging out with them that night. I saw this man several times a week for four years straight and yet when I bumped into him at the grocery store, he would act like he didn't recognize me. Beyond a shared religion, there was absolutely no connection there. Yet, we were expected to get along for no other reason than we both were a part of the worship team.
Clarion - Clarion was a handsome woman who was obsessed with the Red Sox, traveling, and finding a good Christian man. She was extremely friendly, but would suffer no negativity surrounding the pastor of the church nor his family. She worshiped the ground they walked on, babysat their children, and eventually quit her career to work as the church secretary. At one point she tried to sabotage a man's relationship because she had a crush on him and he ended up leaving the church over it. Clarion was my friend as long as I attended her church, agreed with the pastor, and was volunteering. Her friendship was contingent on these three things. The minute I started to question the pastor, Clarion became guarded. When I decided not to go to her church anymore after moving back from Boston, she was horribly offended and that was the end of that "friendship". Looking back though, we didn't have much of a friendship to begin with. We had nothing in common beyond GOD.
Danielle - Danielle and I were the main female singers at a small church and were in the same small group. We saw each other at least three times a week. Occasionally we would "get the girls together" (all from church) and go see some cheesy romantic comedy and grab dinner. We were constantly trying to find common interests, but other than a love of books (and never the same books) there was zilch. She couldn't even come to game night because her husband is such a competitive asshole that even a game of Apples to Apples was unenjoyable for them. To be clear, this guy was fairly nice about everything else, but his competitive side made any kind of game that involved winning and losing a nightmare. I knew this woman for four years and yet at the end of the day, didn't develop a lasting friendship because apparently, believe it or not, gawd wasn't enough to form a friendship.
The problem with all of this is that I have heard it preached from every pulpit that community is important. That connecting with other Christians is part of being a Christian. Whether this is right or wrong is beside the point. The point is, rather than connecting Christians with similar interests, they seem to believe that gender and age are the things that really build connection. I would have really loved a book club, one that didn't read bad Christian novels either, but a real book club where we read actually decent books and discussed them from a Christian perspective. How awesome would it have been to have a board game group that had a small Bible study followed by an hour or two of gaming? Or at the very least connecting people who like to volunteer for similar things like Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald house, or Book Harvest. By the by, whenever there was something even remotely like these things, I formed a book better connection with the people in that group.
What I am not finding as an atheist is that the new friendships I am forming, based on common interests and meshing personalities, are so much better than the superficial ones created within a church. And looking at my good friends, the ones who have withstood the test of time, I have realized that all of those friendships were also built through commonalities rather than faith. Of course, I still have a few friends who are devoted Christians, but when I examine why we are friends, it is not because of God. Also, none of my good friends have ever attended the same church as me. Food for thought. Are these friendships that folks are making at church really that deep or are they just superficial and based purely on mutual deity worship? I'm sure some are genuine, but would love to know how many people suddenly found themselves without friends when they walked away from the church.
This is a personal, but secret, blog archiving my deconversion from a Christian to a non-believer.
October 2018


text:
Dashboard Livestock G02411
Dashboard Livestock (formerly Dashboard Lite) lets you check and record animal data on your phone when you are out and about on yourproperty.
Sign up now for Dashboard Livestock to get a free trial. See details below.
Clickhereto sign up.
- Keep your information safe with online back-up of animal data
- Synchronize data between your phone and APS software on your PC
- Look up weighing sessioninformationand summary statistics on your mobile device
- View individual animal history (from visual or EID number) and weight gain on your phone and record notes as needed


text:
Editors handpick every product that we feature. We may earn money from the links on this page.
A good exfoliator is the stuff of skin miracles: fighting acne, dull skin, and discoloration at home without even having to book a facial. Ahead, eight new and tried-and-true options you should be slathering on your face at the next possible opportunity.
Josie Maran's signature argan makes the ultimate exfoliant in this powder scrub that mixes crushed argan shells and rice powder to buff away dry skin. Count on the added tea tree and green tea to help improve your complexion whether you're using it as a mask, spot treatment, or cleanser.
Josie Maran Argan Exfoliating Cleansing Powder, $40; sephora.com.
No one wants her face rubbed raw, which is why this gentle, hydrating scrub is the ultimate cleanser for brighter skin.
Skinceuticals Micro-Exfoliating Scrub, $30; dermstore.com.
Created by Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Lancer, this specialized scrub looks to soothing natural ingredients like sea algae and lavender oil to avoid skin irritation, so it's worth the extra splurge.
Lancer The Method: Polish, $75; sephora.com.
Tightening pores and relieving clogged ones is the aim of this gentle, creamy scrub, so it's basically made to nip bad breakouts in the bud.
Murad Pore Reform Skin Smoothing Polish, $30; sephora.com.
Combining physical and chemical exfoliants, this gentle scrub has a softer texture that's perfect for sensitive skin types.
La Roche-Posay Physiological Ultra-Fine Scrub, $18; dermstore.com.
Greasy skin gals: this is your holy grail face scrub. The mineral-rich clay granules work like a charm at sloughing away dead skin and sopping up excess oil, so you don't look like a shiny mess throughout the day.
Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Face Exfoliant, $33; sephora.com.
Algenist's clay-based exfoliant isn't pulling any punches when it comes to skincare. It's formulated with salicylic acid for a one-two punch of exfoliation and acne zapping, whether you're using it on certain spots or your entire face.
Algenist Multi-Perfecting Detoxifying Exfoliator, $38; sephora.com.
When you want to focus on repairing skin discoloration on a dime, look to this natural drugstore favorite to improve tone and repair dry skin. P.S. It smells great, too.
Yes to Grapefruit Correct & Repair Facial Scrub, $10; ulta.com.
Save these to your Pinterest!


text:
DaaS is a cloud based service in which the virtual desktop infrastructure is hosted on the cloud be a service provider.
Using a multi-tenancy architecture; which is a fancy way of saying a single instance of a software image, in this case the desktop (virtual machine) is served to multiple customers, also known as tenants. Each tenant is given the ability to customise their user, like the desktop wallpaper, or their default browser (as long as there are multiple browsers installed on the base image), but cannot change the underlying OS, like apply updates or install software.
All the responsibilities for the back-end are left with the service provider who manages the backup, patch updates, storage and security. All personal data for each customer is normally copied to and from the virtual desktop during logon and logoff. The customer would usually access the service via a device or a web browser.
All this, is provided on a subscription basis, with the extra benefit of adding new users to the subscription at a simple request. This service is very advantageous to small and medium sized companies who do not want to worry about all the extra grief that comes with running IT equipment like updates, and backup etc…
Currently Conscious IT is trialing DaaS with a few clients, to see how convenient and practical it is for them, before we roll it out as an official service. Watch this space.


text:
Looking for the perfect presents to say "Be mine!" this year? Love doesn't have to be shown through flowers or heart shaped boxed chocolates this Valentine's Day. Treat your Valentine to timeless trinkets from Land & Sea and charming jewelry from Joyce's Closet!
Conveniently located in downtown Calgary at TD Square, Land & Sea has a perfectly quirky selection of love-themed gifts for your Valentine. Make the shopping experience quick and easy by visiting Land & Sea for unique treats.
Share your love this Valentine's Day with loveable presents from Land & Sea! Our favorites from the Valentine's Day selection include the Knock Knock: Keep it Simple Stickies for the cute list-lover in your life, Sexy Rendez Vous: The Sexy Romance Game for Two, perfect for that playful couple, and premium beard care products from Mammoth Beard Co. Land & Sea also offers a beautiful selection of gifts from CoutuKitsch Jewelry and Lamb's Soapworks Bath Products.
Another gift to treat yourself or your Valentine to this year is with 20% off all jewelry at Joyce's Closet. With incredible designer brands from Tiffany & Co. to Links of London, it's always nice to shop from the cozy confinements of your own home. Our favorite gifts on sale now at JoycesCloset.ca are the 'Return to Tiffany' Sterling Silver Circle Charm Bracelet for $245 and the Links of London Double Pewter & White Double Wrap Bracelet – gifts that exude classic refinement and refreshing taste.
No matter how you gift this Valentine's Day, celebrate love in style! Happy Valentine's Day!


text:
Niacet sold to SK Capital
SK Capital is recapitalizing Niacet in partnership with Kelly Brannen, who will continue to serve as CEO and retain a significant stake in the Company. The transaction follows nearly four decades of Brannen family ownership after the purchase of Niacet from Union Carbide in 1978, during which time the Company grew significantly to become the worldwide leader in its core products.
Niacet is a leading producer of organic salts, including propionates and acetates, serving the food, feed, pharmaceutical and technical industries. With two fully automated manufacturing sites, located in Niagara Falls, NY and Tiel, The Netherlands, Niacet offers world-class quality products to global markets that fill vital needs in a broad range of applications that are essential to everyday life including food preservation, antibiotic formulation, dialysis treatment and energy production.