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The years seem to be flying by. I wish there was a way to pause time for a bit but no matter how hard we try to, it's suddenly December and another year is coming to a close. The years pass too quickly and perhaps the month that flies the fastest is December. With children I find this to be the most magic month of the year: the decorations, the parties, the gifts and the joy everywhere. There were years that I tried to cram far too much in because I didn't want to miss any of the magic. Then I found that was the way to miss it – to make it so busy there wasn't a moment to stop and just enjoy. The season and I suppose life in general doesn't pass by as quickly if you take more time to relax and enjoy it. So that's what we're trying to do more of the past two years at the holidays. Last Christmas we spent the entire day in pajamas playing with toys and ordering take out. I've stopped trying "too hard" to come up with traditions or things we do each year. Instead we kind of see where the season takes us: we do get a tree, get Christmas sweaters and make a sibling handprint/footprint/fingerprint craft. A tradition that sort of happened by accident. A bit more about all 3 of these yearly traditions:
This year we set aside a whole day for our Christmas tree, something we have never done before. We ventured much further than usual to a Christmas tree farm. There was a lot of room to run around, marshmallows to roast and more than enough Christmas trees to get us in the spirit. We were trying to wrangle everyone into one place to pick a tree and then keep them away from the saw.
It wasn't happening, so we just let them run and play while we enjoyed the day. After a long fun day at the Christmas tree farm… we left with no tree. We ended up grabbing one across the street from our house as usual but hey, we tried to do the real thing! The kids had so much fun on the farm, love the tree we ended up with and couldn't wait to decorate it. So that night after many (many, many, many) broken ornaments, we had a decorated tree!
Last year I realized that without meaning to I had started a tradition making a holiday handprint craft with the kids each year.
As I was unpacking them, I couldn't believe how fast the girls teeny tiny hands and feet had grown so big. Better yet, I couldn't believe how fast we went from 2 little hands to 8. We made a special hand print craft for Miles first Christmas last year that is really special (click here to see). For a few others over the years, visit this post or this one. So this year I was trying to thing of something to do with all 4 kids. I came up with this fun sibling Christmas craft: strands of fingerprint lights. Each of the 4 kids made their own strand in order from oldest to youngest. I love how colorful it is and how all these little finger prints brighten up our holiday decor. This is certainly something I will cherish for years!
How to make sibling finger print Christmas light canvas:
Draw a strand across the canvas with a Sharpie. I made one strand for each child. Put drops of different color paint on a paper plate. Let the kids dip their finger in the paint and guide them (help hold their hand if they're really little) and make different color finger prints across the black Sharpie strand.
Festive Outfits for the Family
The festive outfits throughout the post are from our favorite, Boden. I've gotten the kids Christmas sweaters from Mini Boden for the past few years and it seems each year they holiday line gets better and better. This year I decided to join in on the festive outfits too. Alex has been begging me to get "matching clothes" with her. So when she saw that we both had "Christmas balls" on our sweaters she was thrilled. We think they look just like Christmas ornaments. I think if Maggie's sweater dress came in my size, I may have gotten that too.
Boden has an amazing sale going on right now. Click here for a 30% off code for the whole site. There's still plenty of time to shop their festive outfits for the whole family plus their cheery line of gifts. While you're picking out Christmas sweaters for the kids, get extra festive and grab one for yourself this year – you deserve it!
Two of my favorite blogs are sharing some of their favorite Boden picks from the holiday sale. Check out these posts by Jordan & Co and Momfessionals.
Moral of the story is the holidays with little kids are quite chaotic, never go quite as planned and certainly go by too fast. Enjoy it. Cut yourself some slack and kick back and just watch how much magic the kids find in the season just being together as a family.
Happy holidays everyone.


text: The Lounge The principal artists of the 2018 Festival present varied musical programs, from opera to pop to jazz to country. Give the Gift of Glimmerglass Share the Glimmerglass experience with your loved ones with a gift card or e-gift card! Buy Now Plan Your Visit Explore our website as you prepare for your visit, and please contact our Box Office staff if there is anything we can do to assist you. Learn More Support Glimmerglass Consider a gift to the Glimmerglass Festival. Your support helps ensure stimulating programs and lively interaction with artists and friends. Donate

subset: commoncrawl


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Bisection Method
|This method is known as the method of halving the interval. This interval should include the root of the function f0(x). i.e. we search about 2 points a and b such that the sign of f0(a) is opposite direction of f0(b) then finding c=(a+b)/2 then repeating this method until f0(c) lies near zero or equal zero


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NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - There is a reason that Glory Gang Ministries has become one of the go-to-charities for Nacogdoches All-Star teams at the KTRE Pineywoods Showdown.
The reason - love for a community. For 20 years, Glory Gang Ministries has worked with children all over the Nacogdoches County area.
We have like a giant Sunday school," Pastor Richard Konderla said. "We have different teams that go out and visit the children and bring them to the service and build a relationship with the children. We call it organized chaos."
Each week an average of 400 students step through the doors of the church that is loud, filled with crazy lights and offers a place of refuge from everyday life.
"At Christmas we try to give the kids presents and sometimes bikes," Konderla said. "One time we had a parent get their kid off of the bus and we had the bike and she broke down and cried. She said, 'I didn't think you were serious. '"
"Richard Konderla could have made a fortune doing many different things," Nacogdoches All-Star coach Lance Butler said. "He is a brilliant man but his calling to the Lord and Kids took precedent over all of that."
When the all-stars for Nacogdoches take the floor they are very much aware of Glory Gang. Cushing senior Madison Wright has done school community service with the group.
"I remember how they don't have what everyone else has but they are very grateful for the community giving back to them," Wright said.
Her teammate for the night, Martinsville senior Kaitlyn Revill, once was a part of the group with her stepdad while he drove buses to pick up kids.
"All of them are excited to be there and learn about God. They were just thankful that Glory Gang gave them the opportunity."
The ministry teaches the bible but they also want the kids to be kids.
"When they come in here they will experience an atmosphere that will take them away from their problems for a little bit and helps them feel loved," Konderla said. "You would think that after 20 years people would know us but we are still getting our name out there to new people. This event has helped with that. This is an event that really helps us.
he 11th annual KTRE Pineywoods Showdown, which pits high-school basketball seniors from both counties of Angelina and Nacogdoches, will be held Thursday, April 25, at the Central Heights high school gym.
The girls' game starts at 6 p.m. and the boys will follow after.
Admission is $5 at the door. Children under the age of 5 can get in free.
The 10th year saw the Nacogdoches County girls win 54-41 and the Nacogdoches County boys win 79-71.
The game pits the top seniors of Angelina County against the top seniors of of Nacogdoches County in two basketball games. Each team's coach has selected a charity to play for. The winning teams' charities win proceeds from the door.
Below are rosters for each team:
Angelina County girls, coached by Andre Emmons of Diboll. Playing for Men's Fieldhouse.
Kaylee Frazier and Madison Shaver of Central
Nia Mitchell and Michelle Finley of Diboll
Gracie England, Makiley Rhodes and Emily Vandover of Hudson
Micayla Havard and Jenna Flournoy of Huntington
Kurstyn Harden, Alexis Hood and Mikayla Bailey of Lufkin
Autymn Harrell of Pineywoods Academy
Nacogdoches County girls, coached by Lance Butler of Martinsville. Playing for Glory Gang.
Victoria Spencer of Central Heights
Briana Rushing of Chireno
Madison Wright and Shasta Thomas of Cushing
Sarah Lowery and Peyton White of Douglass
Sabrina Dove, Maci Mitchell and Selena Shepherd of Garrison
Kaitlyn Revill and Sierra Andrews of Martinsville
Tatyana Walker of Nacogdoches
Angelina County boys, coached by Patrick Sluga of Zavalla. Playing for Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure
Cash Carrell and Jacob Davis of Central
Amahd Chavis and Ty Eddins of Diboll
Cade Courtney and Darrel Douglas of Hudson
Carson Hopper and Taylor Truss of Huntington
KeVonte Hurts and Torrance Agnew of Lufkin
Kellen Kruk of Pineywoods Academy
Tyler Broderick of Zavalla
Nacogdoches County boys, coached by Danny Enloe of Martinsville. Playing for American Cancer Society.
Christian Adams of Central Heights
Hunter Metteauer of Chireno
Jeremiah Wilson of Cushing
Bryce Berthot of Douglass
Rodrick Johnson of Garrison
Jaren James and Lane Manchack of Martinsville
Devious Whitaker and Bobby Phillips of Nacogdoches
Luke Alvis, Reece King and Logan Lucas of Woden
The following are scores from the previous nine years:
Nacogdoches girls 49, Angelina girls 61
Nacogdoches boys 66, Angelina boys 72
Nacogdoches girls 36, Angelina girls 48
Nacogdoches boys 51, Angelina boys 72
Angelina girls 65, Nacogdoches girls 31
Angelina boys 84, Nacogdoches boys 53
Nacogdoches girls 28, Angelina girls 48
Nacogdoches boys 62, Angelina boys 73
Nacogdoches girls 72, Angelina girls 74
Nacogdoches boys 72, Angelina boys 78
Nacogdoches girls 67, Angelina girls 36
Nacogdoches boys 61, Angelina boys 54
Angelina girls 40, Nacogdoches girls 44
Angelina boys 70, Nacogdoches boys 66
Angelina girls 66, Nacogdoches girls 52
Angelina boys 69, Nacogdoches boys 57
Angelina girls 57, Nacogdoches girls 44
Nacogdoches boys 71, Angelina boys 66
Nacogdoches girls 54, Angelina girls 41
Nacogdoches boys 79, Angelina girls 71
Copyright 2019 KTRE. All rights reserved.


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Summit Y is a solid black parka with grey fleece inside. The solid black allows swimmers to use this parka for Summit meets & high school meets.
19 oz Artic Fleece lining & 100% Nylon water resistant coated 200 denier Oxford Nylon Shell. Parka features Raglan Sleeves for extra shoulder room, reinforced seams, lined pockets, and double sided heavy weight full length zipper. *Delivery in 6-8 weeks. May be longer in peak season.* Order by October 20th for Christmas delivery. * Your credit card will be charged in full when we process your order. Custom Parka orders are not cancelable or returnable. Suggested Sizes: XS=Under 4'6" tall: S = 5' tall: M = 5'2"-5'5": L= Teenage/College Women: XL=Teenage/College Men
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I was out this past Sunday.
Mark Clement led for me – and Bob continued his Lenten sermon series. This week – PS 23.
They opened with Famous One.
After the call to worship they sang I Am Free, You Are My Strength, Jesus Paid it All, and How Great is Our God.
We had the privilege of having some ladies from the Lovelady Center with us in worship. One of my friends does an amazing amount of work with the center, and is also teaching some Sunday School classes on the importance of mercy and outreach. He contacted me a few weeks ago and asked about the possibility of doing a cardboard testimony with the ladies from the center. They came and shared, and it was really incredible.
Looking forward to worship this week – a bit unplugged, and then our Palm Sunday worship service on the 17th!


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Brad wrote a blog based on a book by Chuck Klosterman "But what if we were wrong?" The book asks the question from the perspective of future man looking back. I haven't read the book, doubt if I ever will but very much like the notion of questioning. Questioning is most essential in any learning and any form of spiritual life. I would normally be interested in such a book of questioning but then Brad quoted some questions and I didn't see deep questioning. The first question that future man would have to ask is "Why did they allow so many wars?", and if future man is not dominated by corporations "Why did they allow corporations to create these wars for profits?"
I liked this quote about Buddhism when Brad advised against Chuck being a Buddhist "If he ever did get into a form of Buddhism that wasn't totally corrupted by religiousity or drowning in academic stuffiness, he might find it very appealing. And if he ever started writing about Buddhism his book sales would sink to the level of mine, and he'd have to go back to writing for the Akron Beacon Journal." The issue of the lack of book sales is not about Buddhism, it is about marketing. If Brad found a mainstream publisher and was willing to be paraded like a stuffed dummy to meet ….. , he might make more sales. If he wrote for profit he might make more money. Tom Clancy, or mainstream galaxy shoot-em-ups with Godzilla. It is the truth that makes Brad's books unmarketable (or unwilling to be marketed). I do not know why Eckhart Tolle was successful, after Oprah I know why. End rant.
For me what was interesting in this blog was his discussion of intelligence especially his experience at the Tokyo park bench. "I can recall a moment around 15 years ago when I was sitting on a park bench in Tokyo eating my lunch. I was watching some crows strutting around the park looking for food. Suddenly I noticed that the very same intelligence that looked at the world through my eyes also looked at the world through the eyes of those crows."Immediately after he wrote "It's very difficult to write a good, watertight, rational kind of explanation for why I knew this to be true. …. It even sounds dopey to me and I know it to be true." Brad, do you expect there to be a rational explanation? It frustrates me to see this type of quote. The explanation is not rational, it is beyond reason as Dogen says (paraphrase):- reason drops away in zazen. This truth is about Unity, about Intelligence that is Unity, you know it is truth, why be ashamed of that truth – dopey? True thinking is not normal thinking or why would the world be in such a mess? There is a huge question that I wonder whether Chuck Klosterman asks "Why do we assume that we are separate beings simply because our bodies are separate?" There is wisdom and tradition that talks of this Unity yet that wisdom is ignored. Does Chuck ask "Is it wise to ignore traditional wisdom of centuries?"
"This insight seems to be connected to my Zen practice, but it's difficult to say just how." For me it is one understanding of Vipassana meditation that the purpose is genuine insight. Since doing Zazen I feel that the purpose of meditation is this genuine insight. Buddhadasa was always keen to stress insight, and I have a feeling he liked Zen because it didn't bother with the proliferations that abounded in his own Theravada tradition.
"None of my teachers ever told me anything like this. It's not part of Buddhist doctrine. At least not as such. But if I go back and read some of the older Buddhist writers with that insight in mind, some of the stranger things they said start to make a lot more sense." This issue of Unity is commonplace but I suspect that perception comes from my background. My first dogma approach to this stuff came from theosophy, and then a fusion of Hindu-Buddhist teachings until eventually I reached Zen.
This is worth considering so we can understand intelligence "Intelligence isn't a function of the brain. It isn't contained there. The complexity of a creature's brain doesn't determine its intelligence.
"It (BZ The brain) does determine how that creature is able to use its intelligence and what it can focus its intelligence on and to what degree it can maintain that focus. So there are huge differences between creatures (and non-creatures)."
Brad obtusely referred to measuring intelligence for comparison. At present we don't measure our own intelligence. What we measure is an ability to do IQ tests or their equivalent. These tests are created by academia, and as such would obviously rate academics with high scores. Academia, being the lynchpin of the Church of Reason, is not going to see intelligence as beyond reason. When we examine the intelligence of dogs or other animals we are familiar with, we tend to ascribe human behaviour to the animals, and once ascribed value the animal as intelligent because it mimics human behaviour. The most intelligent lion I ever saw was one who sat on a chair under a tree on the edges of the desert smoking a pipe.
Brad mentioned the book by Zen Master Seung Sahn on "Only Don't Know". I have not read this but it seems to me that we have to unlearn our conditioning, and then be in a state of permanent enquiry into what we experience and what we are told.
Books:- Treatise, Wai Zandtao Scifi, Matriellez Education.
Blogs:- Ginsukapaapdee, Matriellez.
Enquiry – if wrong?Posted: 25/06/2016 by zandtao in Insight, ONE planet, Science
Tags: BradWarner, unity


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India Oven is a locally owned and operated restaurant serving authentic Indian cuisine in Miamisburg, OH. They use the finest ingredients available to offer fresh, quality dishes for lunch and dinner seven days a week. They also offer a large lunch buffet from 11 to 3. They have a private room for parties and offer dine in and carryout.
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The Nuhfer Family
Dairy Farmers from Willard, Ohio
Jason and Brandy Nuhfer are fifth generation dairy farmers. Together with Jason's parents Gary and Amy, they milk about 130 cows at Bar Lee Jerseys in Huron County. As a veterinarian, Brandy helps ensure the family's cows are healthy and comfortable.
When did you know you wanted to continue your family's dairy farming tradition?
Jason: Growing up, I always wanted to be part of the farm. It was kind of my passion as a young person. I was involved in a 4-H a lot – showed cows and did some other projects, as well. I was very involved in FFA throughout high school. Through that whole time, I knew that coming back to the farm was probably what I wanted to do. After college, in 2008, I came back and I started to do some facility improvements.
What have you done on your farm to ensure cows are healthy and comfortable?
Jason: Anytime you can make cows more comfortable, they're going to be happier, healthier and more productive. So, we've always kind of kept that in mind. The year I came home from Ohio State, we decided to make some improvements to help bring cow comfort to the next level. We decided to do the free stall barn. We put a lot of research into it. We went all sand bedding in our free stalls, and it's been outstanding. The first year we brought the cows into the barn, we changed nothing else. We didn't change the parlor, we didn't change the feed. We just took them from that barn and brought them in this barn, and we gained 1,800 pounds of milk per cow per year.
Hear Ohio dairy farmer Jason Nuhfer explain cow comfort is a top priority when making changes on the farm.
What's it like being able to raise your son on this farm?
Jason: It's a really a neat feeling just I can see him doing just the same things I did. He's very interested and involved in the farm. He loves to ride in the skid loader and the equipment. He helps Mom in the calf barn all the time feeding calves and hauling buckets.
Brandy: He's always playing with tractors in the house and hauling stuff with his tractors. He gets to have lots of hands-on experiences with equipment and animals, and hopefully that pays off in life to have lots of practical, real-world experience.


text: Dreams of what we want to be and do are in all of us. Our hopes, our wants, our experiences, our life journeys. They are our core. They made us what we are today and guide us to where we are going. We all know that the world can be dangerous. The world can be … Continue reading Behold the moment. Life is a gift.


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Letter to the Ed: How do I get the right audience to my website?
Dear Ed,
I've got some pretty good traffic coming in to my site via search and social, but nobody is actually doing anything I want them to while they're there. People are telling me it's because I'm targeting the wrong audience, but what does that mean? How do I target the right one?
Ahh yes, an age-old question in the land of content strategy. We see this issue more than you'd think – numbers that look good on paper, but are ultimately meaningless because they don't produce any ROI.
To tackle this marketing mystery, I sat down with Castleford SEO guru and possible wizard Trent Paul to find out his solution.
Why is targeting the right audience important?
Trent starts by telling a story (as all the best wizards do):
"You're hungry," he says. "You walk down the street and see a shop with blacked-out windows and a sign saying "food". You think, 'Great', and walk inside. When you get in, you realise that it's a McDonald's. Is that what you wanted to eat? Maybe, but just as likely, no.
"Let's say 100 people did the same thing. How many of them would leave without buying anything? Probably a decent percentage.
"Now let's say that the shop was clearly labeled as a McDonald's. How many of the 100 people who entered would buy something? Probably all 100."
Trent explains that this is applicable to SEO and how your website is represented. If you do your best to tell people what you're offering, each visitor will be more valuable. They're people who want to convert, not a random scattering of readers who don't need your product.
How do I know if my problem is that my audience is wrong?
"Trial and error is the only way to do this," says Trent.
In short, you'll know you have the wrong audience because your traffic – even if it's significant – will not convert. One issue you might find is that you've got the wrong demographics coming in.
Imagine you want to sell Hawaiian holiday packages to 18-25 year-olds.
First, you create a downloadable ebook called "The ultimate Hawaiian beach guide", and support it with interesting blog content. You're probably going to see some solid traffic – it's an interesting topic, after all – but the leads generated will be from all over the age spectrum because beaches have universal appeal. It'll be hard to sift through all that data to pick out the people that you want to talk to.
So instead you create an ebook called "The ultimate guide to partying it up in Hawaii", again supported with relevant blog content. As a more youth-focused topic, you'll probably see fewer visitors total, but crucially, the visitors you get are more likely to be in the right age bracket. Although you have less traffic overall, you have more of the right traffic – it's a lot easier to work with, and their conversion chance is higher.
Trent, feed me strategies: How do we target the right people every time?
"Put yourselves in your target audience's shoes – what would they search for?"
People typically use search engines to find the answer or solution to a problem or desire. As a business, you need to be the one providing that direct answer. So long as you are tackling questions or problems that relate to your product, pretty much 100 per cent of the visitors who click on your article are going to be potential customers.
Example: If I Google, "How do I clean my new running shoes?", and you've written an article titled "How to clean your new running shoes," not only will I click, but I'm a potential customer, too.
"In terms of specific strategies or types of content, it varies based on what you offer and the types of content your audience is happy to digest," Trent continues.
Simple FAQs or tips like Houzz's ideabooks might work well for a DIY site that sells the products needed to complete a project – by offering suggestions on using certain tools, you're subtly convincing your reader to convert.
Alternatively, you could provide a library of whitepaper resources to potential customers who are interested in your industry, but need help. If you exchange contact details for the download, you're capturing leads from people who have a vested interest in your service, and a sales person can reach out.
And that's it! With our conversation over, I bid Trent a fond farewell and he erupts into a ball of lightning and smoke. Or rather, he hangs up the phone because he's in a different country, has work to do and I'm just blabbering about wizards.
To summarise what we've learned
If you identify who your ideal audience is, then create content that specifically answers their questions, you'll attract the right customers every time.
It's a simple as that. Thanks, Trent!


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UampI Software Metasynth 5 Right-Brained Sound Design From Another Dimension
When it comes to secret weapons, U&I Software's Metasynth has been a suitcase nuke in the arsenals of sound designers for nearly a decade. So why haven't more people heard of it? Well, for starters, Metasynth's functions defy easy categorization. It's not a synth you can play with via MIDI. It looks a bit like a DAW, but recording a traditional song or remix with it would be challenging at best. It includes audio editing tools, but no plug-in support. To call it unclassifiable is an understatement. Metasynth is a beast that can do tricks no other sound design tool can touch, but taming this creature requires a bit of patience and dedication.
[Click image for a larger version with numbers that correspond to the legend. Click linked text to hear audio examples. -Ed.]
1. At the top of Metasynth are tabs that switch between the various sound manipulation modes.
2. The upper section of Metasynth's interface displays rendered audio wave data for the sounds you create in the lower panels. It also provides basic editing like normalization and DC offset removal.
3. Above the image window are menus for selecting factory presets, analyzing and filtering the audio, and switching between the various tone generation modes.
4.Sound design tricks like reverb, echo, and repeat are all graphic-based, delivering results that range from ethereal swoops to bizarre techno rhythms.
5. An array of common and not-so-common drawing tools lets would-be graphic designers flex their sound design skills. 6. What does a picture of Amsterdam sound like after it's been mapped to a Pythagorean scale, then processed by a repeating ramp envelope? Click here to find out.
Since the initial release, Metasynth's trademark feature is its ability to translate images into sounds. Ever read about psychedelic drug users "hearing colors" or "seeing sounds"? It's like that, only without the cottonmouth. Using painting tools straight out of Photoshop, and a canvas that maps pixels to specific frequencies, harmonics, semitones, or microtonal scalings, producers can whip up extraordinary additive synth loops and drones using the intuitive right brain instead of the more logical left brain.
What's more, even graphically challenged musicians can join the fun, since Metasynth also allows the importing of existing images, even photographs, which can then be modified with everything from blurs to repeating patterns. That's just scratching the surface.
In addition to Metasynth's hallmark image-to-sound tools, the environment includes a dazzling array of Fourier and resynthesis tools that eschew classic technical approaches in favor of intuitive visual techniques. Everything from spectral slicing and manipulation to classic piano roll sequencing lurks under its hood, but getting at them requires users to unlearn their existing DAW skills, instead approaching these tools with an open mind and few preconceptions. If you can do this, you'll be deeply rewarded with a tool that goes beyond "How'd you do that?" into wholly uncharted waters. Secret weapon, indeed.
Here's where the action begins. You start by selecting the pixel dimensions of your image, with options ranging from 64 x 64 to 2,048 x 1,024. As with standard graphics tools, higher resolutions deliver more complexity and detail. The quickest way to get a feel for Metasynth is to cruise through its extensive collection of presets. After about 15 minutes of WTF-ing, its visual approach starts to make sense. Many presets rely on simple sine waves mapped to the pixel grid, but if you pop open the instrument editor, you'll be greeted with a wide array of alternatives. In wavesynth mode, you can either draw your own single-cycle waveforms or create hybrid waveforms by blending multiple selections from its palette. This alone provides a lot of sonic diversity.
As you dig a bit deeper, you'll find that you can map to alternate tunings as well. For additive and resynthesis effects, you can stick with the exponential map, or explore deeper options such as semitones, major scales, harmonic minor, melodic minor, several microtonal scales and — for the truly adventurous — the ability to create your own scales from scratch. U&I tells us that soon, you'll be able to download over 1,000 custom tunings as well.
Once you get a feel for what's what, the temptation to load an existing image becomes irresistible. Since quite a few preset images include blurry organic forms, I hopped online and picked a nebula from NASA's Hubble collection (see Figure 1 below). I started with an exponential map and a sine wave synth, resulting in a harsh,abstract, morphing drone. Switching to the melodic minor map with the same sine wave generator transformed the sound into a shifting, organ-like drone.
That was a good start, but I wanted to see how far I could push Metasynth while still staying in somewhat familiar territory. I selected the Whole Tones map, applied the Motion Blur and Pulse Image tools, then switched to the new granular synth with a touch of traditional hall reverb. The result still evoked an organ-like texture, but with pitch swoops, rhythmic interest, and a lot more depth--click here to hear it.
That's just ten minutes of fooling around with a space image. Had I delved further into Metasynth's other new synthesis modes, I could have "played" the image using FM or multisampled instruments.
The best musical results, though, come not from importing an image, but from drawing one yourself. To do this, you select from a palette of tools: line, spray paint, parallel line (for chord riffs), and a bunch of really useful new shapes that are great for creating rhythmic sequences that make sense visually. Some presets leverage these drawing tools, combined with a noise generator for the synth playback, delivering quirky old-school drum machine effects you can morph and modify to your heart's content.
The luminance (brightness) of each pixel correlates with its volume, with dim parts being quieter and brighter sections louder. This makes extreme blurring sound like tuned reverbs and washes. In addition to luminance, color plays an important role in the Image Synth's behavior, with red components on the left, green on the right, and yellow in the center. Needless to say, colors in between are positioned accordingly.
These image-editing techniques can also create evolving filter effects when used in conjunction with the Image Filter area of Metasynth, so once you get the hang of the essential concepts, you can filter imported audio, which is another universe unto itself — with effects ranging from familiar lowpass and highpass filters to intergalactic phasers and comb effects.
Metasynth's Spectrum Synth area is another highlight of this environment. In really simple terms, it extracts the spectral frequency data from an audio file, then slices it into chunks that roughly correspond with the original rhythm. Playing back the chunks in order results in a highly synthesized sequence that contains the Fourier fingerprint of the original, but there's much more to it than resynthesis tricks. Each of the chunks can be resized, reordered, and/or repeated.
A few minutes of tinkering with a wah-wah guitar loop from Loopmasters' Joey Youngman library resulted in a dirty, digital dubstep riff that reflected the original loop, but stretched and resliced in oddball ways.
Using a similar technique on the lead vocal from "Deep Down" by Winter Kills delivered an entirely new voice riff that evoked aspects of reverse reverb, time-stretching, and a bit of loop slicing (see Figure 2 at left). Going a step further took the vocals into more sustained territory, which makes me think this would be a great way to extract the formant characteristics of any vocalist, which would let you derive a unique, sustained tone, then import that into your sampler of choice to create pads and leads. Click here to hear the final result.
While Metasynth's Image and Spectrum synths are its most unique features, there are also a few modes that will feel immediately accessible to seasoned DAW users. If you want to create piano roll sequences that make use of Metasynth's new FM and Granular synths, you can pop over to the aptly named Sequencer area to whip up riffs and melodies for importing into the Image Synth for further editing (see Figure 3 at left). Since the Image Synth can be rather daunting for new users, this is a quick way to get usable results as you familiarize yourself with Metasynth's more complex amenities.
The Effects area is another recognizable set of tools, offering both common effects such as delay and modulation, along with granular exotica and timewarping processes. What sets this effects section apart is its graphic-oriented automation tools, which can be applied to multiple parameters in a given effect. While many of its tricks can be recreated using other DAWs, notably Ableton Live's clip envelope tools, Metasynth's implementation can deliver results that would be difficult to recreate otherwise, like a morphing granular harmonizer with bizarre randomization options.
Finally, the Montage Room provides a way for experienced users to tie all of the aspects of Metasynth together using a classic timeline approach. While this section of Metasynth remains its least sophisticated component, the rest of the app is so deep that the Montage Room is almost refreshing in its simplicity, though collecting the various parts can be a tad fiddly for newcomers. For more complex productions, you can always export your Metasynth meanderings to a more common audio format (now with up to 32-bit floating point resolution), then import the files into your preferred DAW, so it's no big deal.
At a list price of $599, Metasynth is a luxury item that will compliment your existing DAW rather than replace it, because comparing Metasynth to a DAW — or to more standard-fare soft synths — misses the point. This amazing tool is deeper than deep space when it comes to immersing yourself in a wonderland of digital manipulations. Describing its overall sound is a paradoxical task: It has an overall sound, but a very diverse palette — all the same, nothing else on the planet sounds remotely like it. If you're looking for an utterly unique production tool, Metasynth is an E-ticket ride to extraordinary new sonic adventures.
One-of-a-kind sound manipulation tools. Fourier transform and advanced additive synthesis techniques made easy. Painting with sound is just plain fun.
MIDI and/or plug-in support would extend its usefulness exponentially. Montage Room is very cool, but a tad too fiddly for all but the most intrepid users. No PC version.
$599 list/approx. $499 street, uisoftware.com
Is it a plug-in? No. Metasynth is a self-contained sound design environment. Other than importing and exporting audio, it doesn't talk to the outside world of software and synths.
Is it a soft synth?While Metasynth includes multiple methods of synthesis — including new FM, granular, and multisampled instruments — these are aspects of its larger sound design process.
Is it a DAW? In theory, yes. In practice, no. It's better to think of Metasynth as a way to manipulate sound in ways that no other program can touch.
Can I use third-party plug-ins with it? No. As a consolation prize, Metasynth includes its own DSP tools ranging from essentials like reverb, delay, and flange to more esoteric granular options, all of which can be automated within the Metasynth environment, then exported as audio.
So what's it good for? Generating exotic rhythmic loops by painting with sound, importing images, or processing recordings. Creating extreme textures to import into other samplers. Producing otherworldly soundscapes for soundtracks and electronica.
What platforms does it run on? Sorry, Windows users — Metasynth is Mac OS X only.


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Raglak she is my wife [shot 11]
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Hi everyone and thank u all for the lovely comments. So here is the next shot…
Ragini's POV,
I know Laksh I am hurting u because u r compelling me to do it. I have no doubt in saying that u r my Laksh. I can easily say that u r my Laksh even if u r away from me and u burry me in the ground alive. I am hurting u to make u confess that u r my Laksh. Please accept it Laksh we can talk together and sort out the problems. But for that u have to cooperate. I can read ur eyes Laksh. It shows me how ur heart was hurt when I asked u to promise on our child. After all I love u Laksh. I know I am asking u to promise on our child is wrong but my love for u have done many things in our past. Then why can't I do this simple thing? I know Laksh u can't promise on our child.
Just then her thoughts were broken when Abhi stepped forward and about to place his hand on her stomach. Ragini's eyes widened and were shocked. His hands were shaking. But still he proceeded forward. Everyone present there was shocked. They were frozen and their mind was blank even for Mansi the same condition. Mansi didn't expect that much from Laksh. Slowly she smirked on his obsession over his promise than his love. Abhi's hand was a inch away from her stomach. He was about to touch but Ragini jerked backward and pushed him hardly on his chest. Abhi didn't expect that and he lost balance and fall down on a sofa behind him. Everyone was trying to understand what was happening. Abhi looked at Ragini with shocked expression. Ragini in turn was giving him a death glare. Her eyes had the expressions that she was hurt, angry, frustrated, disgusted, broken, pain, etc. Finally the silence was broken by Ragini's cold voice which had only pain and angry.
Ragini breathing heavily like a beast in anger. She looked straight at Abhi and with cold tone: Mr. Abhimanyu Khanna. I am sorry for wasting ur time. Now everything was crystal clear that u r NOT MY LAKSH; u r NOT MY HUSBAND; and most importantly u r NOT THE FATHER OF OUR SORRY 'MY' CHILD. MY child's father had went somewhere to stay away from me and my child. He didn't love me. I am now dame sure of it. Once again I am sorry Mr. ABHIMANYU KHANNA. I now promise u that I won't disturb u saying that u r my Laksh. At least u be happy with ur family. Once again sorry!
With that Ragini went from there followed by DP, AP and Sanskar who had no idea what was going on. Now Abhi could not control his tears. Yes he could not control any more. He started to cry silently. Ragini was about to go but Mishka came before her. She saw Ragini innocently. Ragini looked at her emotionlessly.
Mishka: Ragu teacher!
But Ragini interrupted: I am sorry Mishka Abhimanyu Khanna (Mishka was shocked because she had never called her full name). I won't disturb UR FATHER from now. I won't disturb UR FAMILY. Go and be happy with ur family.
With that Ragini went from there. Abhi didn't even paid attention to Mishka and Mansi and went from there in his car. He was driving madly with all his memories revolving on Ragini.
Abhi's POV,
What I have done? WHAT I HAVE DONE? Why I did like that? WHY? I have hurt no KILLED her heart once again. I myself had proved that I didn't LOVE her. I just made her to believe that I am NOT in LOVE with her, my wife, my Ragini. I always had done to her like this. But this time, I have destroyed everything not only HER HEART, OUR love, MY love, MY life, HER belief, HER trust on me especially HER love on OUR child. Child. Baby. (He started to cry vigorously) I shouldn't have done like that. I would have to accept that I am LAKSH. But… But… That PROMISE. How can I forget that? I am suffering now because of my impulsive mind. Not only me all were suffering because of me. How can I upto promise on MY CHILD, MY LITTLE CHAMP, JUNIOR LAKSH MAHESHWARI. (He smiled sarcastically then cried loudly) I love u Ragini. I love u so much. I love our child. I am only Laksh, Ragini. I am ur Laksh, Ragini. I am the father of our child, Ragini. He is not UR child and not MY child. He is OUR child Ragini. I want to shout and tell this loudly to all, everyone. But I couldn't Ragini. I have only made u cry Ragini. I could not give happiness even in ur pregnancy period. What a husband I am? What a father I am? What a lover I am? What a son I am? What a brother I am? I am not good in any relation Ragini. But I am sure Ragini, MY LOVE FOR IS TRUE, and I WILL ALWAYS LOVE U ONLY RAGINI. I LOVE U RAGINI.
He stopped the car and cried loudly by keeping his head on the steering wheel.
At Baadi,
Ragini went to Dida's house and locked it. Sanskar explains everyone about what happened. Everyone was crying but Ragini was not even shedding a single drop of tears. She was just blank and doesn't know what to do. She could not recover back from that shock. Suddenly she heard outside sounding 'Badi Maa', 'Purna', 'Kakisa', 'jiji'. Ragini panicked and rushed outside and found AP lying unconscious with her hands on her chest and her head was on the lap of DP who was crying. Everyone was shouting for help.
Swara: Sanskar. Take her inside.
Sanskar nodded and took her inside the house and Ragini immediately called doctor. After sometime, AP was lying unconscious on the bed and doctor was examining her. Everyone was tensed on looking her condition. Doctor stood up.
DP: doctor. How is she? Is she fine? Nothing had happened to her right? Please say anything.
Doctor: Mr. Maheshwari. Her condition was quiet serious. If she didn't gain conscious within 3 hours then we had to admit her in the hospital and keep her under observation. Then her condition may get more critical. I have given her an injection. Please take care of her and try to make her conscious by speaking to her, especially her loved ones may help her to recover easily. I hope u understand. I will come after 1 hour.
Shekhar send off the doctor and DP could not take it anymore and started to cry. Ragini was standing there still with tears in her eyes. Swara looked at everyone's face. Then she took a long breath and went outside of the room. Swara took her mobile and called Abhi. Abhi who was in the car found his phone ringing, he wanted to ignore it. But something inside him says to attend it.
Swara: Please Laksh. Don't cut the call. (He was shocked to hear Swara and could feel that she was tensed). Badi Maa's health was not good. (He was shocked more) Doctor asked us to speak to her especially her loved ones and it may help her to recover faster. (Before he could respond, Sanskar snatched the phone and glared at Swara)
Sanskar: What r u doing Swara? Why have u called him? Don't u know he was now Abhimanyu Khanna (He could not control his tears and started crying). (He took the phone and started to speak). I am sorry on behalf of my wife Mr. Abhimanyu Khanna. We won't disturb u. Sorry once again (Saying this he was about to cut the call but AP shouted 'LAKSH' while in unconscious. Abhi whispered 'MAA'. But Sanskar cut the call and again glared at Swara. Ragini who was hearing this felt her heart ache in pain but covered herself as though she was not affected by his voice.)
Abhi drove the car to Baadi and Ragini and Sanskar were standing outside thinking on the further treatment for AP. Just then Ragini saw Abhi and he too saw her. He slow down his speed and walked very slowly looking at her but she turned away and Sanskar noticed Abhi. He became hell angry and went near him and as in serial tried to stop him by locking the door and they both started to fight. But Ragini did not even interfere between them and finally,
Abhi: Yes. I care about her because she is my maa. She needs me now. If u doesn't allow me now then I will forget that I had a brother.
Sanskar became happy and said: U have already forgotten it and I just remembering it u now. (Saying this he wiped his tears and said) Go inside. Badi maa is waiting for u.
Ragini was standing emotionless but still she went near the door and opened it. Abhi, No! Laksh walked forward and was about to get in, he saw Ragini's face that doesn't even look at him.
Please guys don't bash or curse at me for making the story like this. I just wanted to have a good reason for Ragini's anger. So now I started Ragini's anger track and later will be hard working of Laksh to get back Ragini's love. So please tell me how this part was. According to ur thoughts I will try to modulate the story. Keep smiling and stay happy. Bye.
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Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
Welcome to Steamboat Springs and hosting a special event in the Yampa Valley. Steamboat Springs has been home to international, national, regional and grass-root events, many of which have firmly established themselves in the history and heritage of the community.
Whether you're putting on your inaugural event or have been a fixture for more than 100 years, this section will help guide you through the permitting process and set up your event for success.
Existing and new events have different time periods for securing a venue. To check venue availability and ask questions on confirming a venue pending issuance of a special event permit, please contact Rachel Lundy.
A complete event permit application, with application fee, must be submitted no later than 45 days before your event. Applications turned in less than 45 days prior to the event will be charged a $500 late fee in addition to the standard application fee.
Please plan accordingly and use the APPLICATION CHECK LIST ensure that all required materials are submitted.
Applications carry a standard $150 fee and are due at least 45 days in advance of your event. Some of the fees are highlighted in the table; however, all charges may not be listed and these fees may change without notice.
The Steamboat Springs Chamber has implemented an Event Fee Service Assistance for 2020. If you applied for and were granted assistance in 2019, you will not be eligible for fee assistance in 2020. Please contact Sarah Leonard at firstname.lastname@example.com or 970-875-7006.
|valid through 12/31/20
|Parks & Trails
|$36.50/hour or $292/day
|$36.50/hour or $292/day
|Community Service Officer (CSO)
|Late Fee
|$500 (<45 days)
Facility Rentals are managed outside the special events permit. If you are interested in renting a park pavilion or a city facility for a private function, please use the Facilities & Use Rentals section.


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How to choose a perfect rug?
There is a huge selection of rugs available on the market, ranging from different styles, sizes and materials and you can find yourself a bit lost in all the variations.
Here are some tips on how to choose and what to choose:
- Think of space and environment
You need to know where exactly you want to place your carpet and what is going to surround it. Rugs can make a space look smaller or bigger. If the intention is to create a feeling of spaciousness then light colours and simple patterns will work. If you are looking to make space cosier – rugs with dark colours and some ornament or bold pattern will be ideal.
Places to put the rug in:
Rugs in kid's room can be very functional. In addition to a lovely design, it can provide a soft and protected area for a baby to walk and play on, as well as will cushion parents' tired feet. Children can be accident prone, however, so perhaps best to avoid light colours.
Living Room:
The living room is where you can expect the most traffic or, so you will need to make sure to get a very durable carpet, which means it should have denser, stronger pile which will not flatten easily.
Compared to the living room, the bedroom carpet can be less durable, as there is far less traffic. Choose something soft and comfortable, maybe in a higher pile.
Dining Room:
Dining rooms are where unexpected spills and dirt can occur, so when choosing a carpet, make sure you choose something easy to clean. Dark colours or patterns can help to hide resistant stains.
- Find the Focal Point of the room
Rugs can attract or distract attention from different parts of the room, so think of places you want to highlight and those which are better to hide.
In a way, the rug itself can be the focal point of the room. In this case, you can choose a rug with some ornament or pattern; it will visually drag the attention away from the furniture and surrounding décor. Rugs which work as focal points are better to combine with neutral or soft-coloured furniture; in essence, the rug becomes a piece of art and furniture – a frame. If everything in the room looks too busy, it creates a very restless atmosphere.
- Size
You need to be very precise with the size of your rug, as the wrong size can make a room look small or cluttered. Small rugs are good to highlight small pieces of furniture. Large rugs are used for bigger spaces like a lounge or dining room.
How to measure:
If you have chosen to get a large carpet to cover the entire floor area, measure at least 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) from the wall, to avoid any problems with over-sizing and carpet not fitting in properly - it will look nicer as well.
Another option is to get a smaller rug and place in the seating area, directly between sofas. In this case, there is one little tip – the sofa and chair legs should be all on the rug or all off the rug. It will look very inconsistent if half of the sofa is on the rug and another part off it. If you choose to have everything on the rug then make sure to have 6 to 10inch (15 to 25 cm) on either side of the sofa. If the width of the rug is the same as the as width of the sofa, it can look too small.
If your intention is to put a rug under your dining table, you need to make sure that the length of the carpet includes space for chairs when pulled out.
- Colour, style and material
The rug should always compliment the style and colour scheme of the interior. You can try to match colours with other objects in the room: furniture, curtains and sofa, throws, decorative accessories - but not all together.
There is an option to go classical and choose Persian or Oriental rugs, or to choose more contemporary rugs which can be made from plain, natural materials, such as sisal, jute and coir. They can also have some pattern and graphic elements on them.
Wool is most luxurious carpet material on the market. Wool is soft, strong and durable and is excellent for absorbing moisture. It gives warmth and an attractive appearance.
There is no 100% Acrylic carpet, but it is a material that is found in many carpets. It is often blended with wool to provide a lower priced alternative to a 100% wool carpet.
Natural Fibre Carpets.
Jute is one of the softest natural carpet fibres. This could be the perfect choice for a bedroom.
Sisal is hard-wearing natural fibre which handles day to day use very well.
Coir is made from coconut husk. It is a tough, resilient material. It can feel quite harsh on bare feet so it is most suited for conservatories or entrances.
I hope that our guide has been helpful and that it gives some guidance on the do's and don'ts of choosing a rug. There is no one ideal rug - you just need to find your own preference based on some simple rules and common sense.
John Lewis has a wide selection of stylish rugs, ranging from classic to contemporary, which you can easily find in store and online:


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Starliner blues: NASA blames 'timing error' for Boeing spaceship lacking mark in orbit
The take a look at flight of Boeing's Starliner to the Worldwide House Station was purported to be a serious step within the triumphant US return to crewed orbital spaceflight. Then one thing went fallacious. ...
Actually Unhealthy African Paratroops Reveal Each Bounce Ramp Error in One Bounce
Posted On Saturday, March 9, 2019 By Russian Opinion. Under WORLD Tags: African, demonstrate, Error, every, jump, Paratroops, ramp, really
This video appeared on social media early this week from the Flintlock 2019 army train within the Sahel area of Africa. Whoever the unit is within the video- and nobody is giving them credit score (or blame ), they reveal about each plane exit mistake a static line parachutist could make ...
Amazon error allowed Alexa person to listen in on one other house
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A person of Amazons Alexa voice assistant in Germany acquired entry to greater than a thousand recordings from one other person due to a human error by the corporate. The client had requested to pay attention again to recordings of his personal actions made by Alexa however ...
Sniffing out error in detection canine knowledge
New analysis finds three various solutions past errors in handler or canine coaching that may clarify why canine educated to establish scat for conservation functions generally acquire non-target scats.
Audio recording seconds earlier than An-148 crashed close to Moscow reveals piloting error
The audio recording recovered from the flight recorder of the An-148 plane that crashed close to Moscow quickly after takeoff on February 11 has been printed. The recording reveals what was occurring within the cockpit of the passenger airplane a number of minutes earlier than the crash. The readings of ...
Skaters Tarasova and Morozov takes into account the error in the last Grand Prix in the selection for the Olympic games
Russian sports pair of Evgeniya Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov commented on his performance in the Grand Prix final. Skaters of words leads TASS. "Do not rent, we make mistakes. What happened, it turns out there ...
Products as a result ofâ error in pay executives millions of dollars
Posted On Wednesday, May 24, 2017 By Russian Opinion. Under AMERICA Tags: Dollars, Error, executives, millions, ofâ, products, result
Part of the compensation is meant for those who do not agree with the company. Us company Uber, which provides on-line services taxi service, it will pay its drivers in new York, compensation in the amount of approximately $ 45 million for errors in the financial calculations.
The Pentagon gave error bombs hospitals in Afghanistan
Posted On Tuesday, October 6, 2015 By Russian Opinion. Under IMPORTANT Tags: Afghanistan, bombs, Error, gave, hospitals, Pentagon
Pentagon chief Ashton Carter regretted the loss of lives as a result of air strikes in the Afghan city of Kunduz hospitals. He acknowledged that the military service has made a mistake and promised that everything will be done "to determine the causes of this tragic incident."
Jeb Bush is due to an error, the editor was the victim fotolyapa
American photo editors spoiled campaign leaflets photo US presidential candidate Jeb Bush, depicting him. With a black hand The election campaign in the United States began badly for one of their candidates.
Delta Airlines a "sale" of the cards due to an error
Itar-Tass. American Airlines, Delta Airlines due to technical problems on the site for two hours, the sale of tickets for domestic flights at very low prices. It was at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) and lasted until around noon on the website.


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Atlantic Canadians were very fond of the Ford Ranger. Consumers, and dealers were upset when Ford decided to discontinue the popular small truck in 2012. Ford said it was due to sagging demand in the American market. Good news! The Ranger is back!
The mid-size pickup segment has more than doubled in the last six years. GM has introduced the Canyon & Colorado, joining the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. Ford is not one to be left behind when it comes to pickups, so it reached out to its Australian subsidiary. It developed, and has been marketing a mid-size Ranger pickup for several years. To meet North American expectations, and standards, the Australian Ranger got a serious makeover.It has received a unique frame, suspension, drivetrain, and a host of segment exclusive technologies.
Let's address the elephant in the room right of the top. The 2019 Ranger is not a compact truck like the version that graced our roads from 1983 until 2012.
click here for my full review of the new Ranger as it appeared in The Halifax Herald and other Saltwire network newspapers.


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Continuing the mythology theme in line with this month's featured books for this month's review however, unlike some of the contemporary retellings highlighted, this title was originally published back in 1919. This is important to note because naturally it means the style, language and approach.
On the cautionary side, I would say this falls into the category of being fairly academic and therefore not always the most accessible. Squire steams through huge swathes of history, literature and analysis drawing from across his vast research, interpretation and conclusions. While it is utterly coherent throughout, it's also a massive amount to digest all at once and there is no attempt to cut it into bitesize chunks and spoonfeed the reader. I suspect this is especially challenging for anyone not already familiar with the Celtic pantheon or stories as no sooner are you introduced to a particular deity or hero than you are given several other names and variations to compare and contrast them with or distinguish them from (and that's just before you get into immediate and extended families, foster families, friendships, feuds and fates!)
On the other hand, I don't think anyone can make a serious study of any mythology without getting caught up in the romance, adventure, symbolism and complexity of it and this more than comes through in the sheer poetry of the language used when discussing the great Celtic heroes and their deeds. This is the style in which I was used to reading mythology when I grew up and, as much as I have enjoyed some of the modern takes, experiencing them again in a 'traditional' (classical?) style only helped to add to the enchantment for me. There is a clear love and admiration that shines through and a desire to share these tales and their significance with the wider world.
Compared to more recent explorations this is a title that might take a little more effort in the reading, but I think the richness of both style and substance make it more than worth it.


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A paper released in Physical Review B by Boston University researchers, Xin Zhang, a professor at the College of Engineering, and Reza Ghaffarivardavagh, a Ph. D. student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering demonstrates that it is possible to silence noise using an open, ring-like structure, created to mathematically perfect specifications, for cutting out sounds while maintaining airflow.
"Today's sound barriers are literally thick heavy walls," says Ghaffarivardavagh. Although noise-mitigating barricades, called sound baffles, can help drown out the whoosh of rush hour traffic or contain the symphony of music within concert hall walls, they are a clunky approach not well suited to situations where airflow is also critical.
Imagine barricading a jet engine's exhaust vent—the plane would never leave the ground. Instead, workers on the tarmac wear earplugs to protect their hearing from the deafening roar.
A shared passion of Ghaffarivardavagh and Zhang in mathematics has buoyed both of their engineering careers, made them well-suited research partners and has guided them toward a workable design for what the acoustic metamaterial would look like.
A calculation was done by them on the dimensions and specifications that the metamaterial would need to have in order to interfere with the transmitted sound waves, preventing sound—but not air—from being radiated through the open structure. On this, they said that the basic premise is that the metamaterial needs to be shaped in such a way that it sends incoming sounds back to where they came from.
First, as a test case, a structure was created by them that could silence sound from a loudspeaker and based on their calculations, they modeled the physical dimensions that would most effectively silence noises.
Bringing each of the tested models to life, they used 3-D printing to materialize an open, noise-canceling structure made of plastic. While trying out in the lab, the researchers sealed one end of the loudspeaker with a PVC pipe. On the other end, the tailor-made acoustic metamaterial was fastened into the opening. With the hit of the play button, the experimental loudspeaker set-up came oh-so-quietly to life in the lab.
Standing in the room, one would never know if a loudspeaker is turned on with blasting an irritatingly high-pitched sound, based on the sense of hearing alone. But the thrumming of the loudspeaker's subwoofers can be seen clearly if peered into the PVC pipe.
While testing the metamaterial in the lab, the metamaterial worked like a mute button incarnate ringing around the internal perimeter of the pipe's mouth until Ghaffarivardavagh pulled it free. The next moment, the lab was filled with the screeching of the loudspeaker's tune.
"The moment we first placed and removed the silencer…was literally night and day," says Jacob Nikolajczyk, who in addition to being a study co-author and former undergraduate researcher in Zhang's lab is a passionate vocal performer.
"We had been seeing these sorts of results in our computer modeling for months—but it is one thing to see modeled sound pressure levels on a computer, and another to hear its impact yourself."
It was found by comparing sound levels with and without the metamaterial fastened in place that an exact of 94% of the noise could be silenced, making the sounds emanating from the loudspeaker imperceptible to the human ear.
With the prototype being successfully proven to be effective, the researchers have some big ideas about how their acoustic-silencing metamaterial could go to work making the real-world quieter.
"Drones are a very hot topic," Zhang says. Companies like Amazon are interested in using drones to deliver goods, she says, and "people are complaining about the potential noise."
"The culprit is the upward-moving fan motion," Ghaffarivardavagh says. "If we can put sound-silencing open structures beneath the drone fans, we can cancel out the sound radiating toward the ground."
The acoustic metamaterials can be of great help to fans and HVAC systems that are closer to home or the office that render them silent yet still enable hot or cold air to be circulated unencumbered throughout a building.
Ghaffarivardavagh and Zhang also point to the unsightliness of the sound barriers used today to reduce noise pollution from traffic and see room for an aesthetic upgrade. "Our structure is super lightweight, open, and beautiful. Each piece could be used as a tile or brick to scale up and build a sound-canceling, permeable wall," they say.
According to Ghaffarivardavagh, The shape of acoustic-silencing metamaterials, based on their method, is also completely customizable. "We can design the outer shape as a cube or hexagon, anything really," he says. "When we want to create a wall, we will go to a hexagonal shape" that can fit together like an open-air honeycomb structure. Such walls could help contain many types of noises. Even those from the intense vibrations of an MRI machine, Zhang says.
According to Stephan Anderson, a professor of radiology at BU School of Medicine and a co-author of the study, the acoustic metamaterial could potentially be scaled "to fit inside the central bore of an MRI machine," shielding patients from the sound during the imaging process.
Zhang says the possibilities are endless since the noise mitigation method can be customized to suit nearly any environment: "The idea is that we can now mathematically design an object that can block the sounds of anything," she says.


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Let's learn together!
Parent Training and Education Opportunities:
In partnership with various technical training programs, Boise State University, and other community resource agencies, FOCAF's experienced staff helps parents acquire education and employment-related skills.
Brief training sessions may occur at center Family Fun Nights. More in-depth trainings are conducted by staff and/or professionals from a variety of community groups. We value your suggestions and ideas, as we want to meet your needs and interests.
Educational workshops are scheduled during the year and parents are always invited to attend. These are opportunities to share information between parents and staff, to get acquainted with other parents, and to learn and have fun.
Proposed Parent Education Workshops Survey:
We want to hear from our parents on workshops and classes they are interested in. If you are a current Head Start or Early Head Start parent/gaurdian please take the time to let us know your thoughts.
Click here to take the survey.
Copyright © 2020 Friends of Children & Families, Inc


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Servings: 4
Prep time: 15
This lighter version of cream of mushroom soup packs protein and taste. It's SO easy to make. The perfect addition to a weeknight dinner. A must if you want something fast, savory, and delicious.
1. Heat butter in a small saucepan. Sweat onion 2 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, star anise and bay leaf. Add almond milk and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and remove bay leaf and star anise. Whisk in Greek yogurt to thicken. Top with fresh herbs (optional)
Peter Schoemer, Drexel Food Lab
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Try These Tips For A Successful Fitness Plan
Physical fitness is a lot more than simply appearing tond and healthy. You also want to live a long, healthy happy life. You have to build up the skills in your mind that let you make positive changes that help you to better care for yourself. This will give you the right tips to get good insight on your fitness journey.
Signing up for a multi-month gym membership is a great way to make sure that you stick with your fitness program You will be more motivated because the money is already spent. If you don't follow through with your workouts, paying your fees upfront can end up wasting a lot of money, so only use this tactic if you've tried everything else.
Choose an exercise program that tones your muscles as well as offers flexibility exercises. Search for fitness classes in your surrounding area.
Even if you have not completely achieved your fitness goals, you should still allow yourself an opportunity for a confidence booster. For example, you could purchase new workout clothing. Even if you purchase a small item, it can motivate you to go to the gym and show it off.
One way to improve your fitness is calorie counting. Knowing how many calories you consume a day is key because it determines whether you'll lose weight or gain weight. If your calorie consumption is at your maintenance level without exercise, and you lose calories by exercising, you are going to be lean and fit very quickly.
Begin with smaller machines when you start weight lifting. Your smaller muscles get tired before larger ones do, so it makes sense to start with dumbbells or barbells before the bigger machines, for example. When you move up to the bigger muscles, your smaller and more delicate muscles will have a breather.
When working out your abs do not only do crunches. Studies show that after 250,000 crunches only a pound of fat is burned. Simply performing crunches is not as effective as a more comprehensive program. Find other, more strenuous ways, to work those abdominal muscles.
Are you like many others and have very little free time in your life? Split up your workouts. You don't have to make the workout longer, just split it. Rather than getting an hour's worth of running in at once, try half before work and half later in the day. If you would rather not go to the gym 2 times a day, then do one workout at the gym and one at home.
Start a diary that contains your fitness efforts from the day. Note your regular workouts as well as any extra moving you do. Wear a pedometer while working out so that you know exactly how many steps you've taken daily, and make sure to add that to your journal as well. Seeing everything in writing will help you to determine what is working best for you and will best help you toward your goals.
Muscle Mass
When weight-lifting, many repetitions of a lighter weight will far increase your muscle mass as compared to fewer repetitions with a heavier weight. Strength and muscle mass are needed to maintain endurance and strength. The best lifters keep that in mind.
You should not worry if the standard workouts don't suit your lifestyle. Also try biking for a fitness alternative. Biking is an expensive, fun, and effective way to get in shape. You can start by biking to work. As a plus, wherever you choose to ride, you get to ride back as well so it's like getting two workouts for the price of one.
Try counting backwards instead of forwards when you work out. For example, pick the number of repetitions you want to do and start there. This helps you know how many more you have left while keeping you motivated to finish.
This tip brought to you by tennis players will help you build strength in your forearms. Place a large piece of newsprint on a flat surface or table. Crumple up the whole sheet of paper in your dominant hand for a half of a minute. Once you have finished doing this, do this exercise once with your off-hand, then switch back to your dominant hand and do two more repetitions.
Not giving fitness a try means you are missing on the possibility to improve your lifestyle. Following the advice in this article is one of the many ways that you can start or continue to make advancement in your fitness levels.
When working out using weights, start by using smaller machines first. Because these small muscles tire before the large ones, it is logical to work with dumbbells, barbells and other small weights before moving on to the larger machines. Also, this process can create a better transition when you lift heavier weights.


text: Mr Mriganka De « Locate our hospitals » Make your booking Consultant ENT Surgeon MBBS FRCS Specialty + ENT surgery Endoscopic sinus surgeryMinimal access thyroid surgeryMyringoplastyNasal polypectomySeptoplasty and submucous resectionStapedectomyThyroidectomy for GoitreThyroidectomy for NoduleTonsillectomy adultTotal thyroidectomy Personal profile Mr Mriganka De is a Consultant ENT Surgeon at the City Sandwell Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. He provides all his patients a personalsed service supported by the best available evidence based treatments. He offers outpatient and inpatient services for general ENT and specialist treatment for head & neck problems as well as developing the head and neck/thyroid service at City hospital and providing complex surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. Mr De completed his basic surgical training in South Wales and higher surgical training in ENT and head / neck surgery in the West Midlands, followed by a Travelling Fellowship (Head & Neck Surgery) in Amsterdam with a Clinical Fellowship (Head & Neck Oncology) in Glasgow. Previously he has practiced at Royal Derby Hospital for over 7 years, before coming back to Birmingham. Hospitals West Midlands, BMI The Priory Hospital Request an appointment West Midlands, BMI The Edgbaston Hospital Request an appointment Professional Memberships MDU BAHNO BAETS MIO Clinical Interests Transoral Laser Surgery Transoral Robotic Surgery Transnasal Esophagoscopy Contact us now Call us free on: 0808 101 0337 Make an enquiry Live chat Book an appointment Back to top Facebook Twitter Linked in Pinterest


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Are you concerned about wasting time and money jumping into college? Only 36% of students graduate in 4 years! More than 20 colleges, from Harvard to the University of Alabama, now recommend gap years to their accepted students.
Are you tired of other people telling you what to do with your future? Do you want to learn how to figure that out for yourself?
There are far more ways to succeed in life than most people realize.
The Great Connections Leap Year in Chicago is the nine-month gap year program that gives students 18-24 the life changing tools they need to make a better future for themselves.
- Radically strengthen your reasoning powers and knowledge
- Use great thinkers to find your own path
- Work on real-world problems with the help of accomplished mentors
- Make life-long friends
Learn how to live as a free person.
Applications must be received by July 8th to be considered for the 2019-2020 Leap Year Program scholarships. Please go to thegreatconnections.org or call 773-677-6418 and mention "Wired Homeschool" to be considered.
Thanks to Marsha Familaro Enright, the Program Director, for reaching out and letting me know this program is available to homeschoolers.


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|Vol 6, No 3 (2017)
|Hyperuricemia and prognosis in chronic kidney disease
|D.D. Ivanov, L.M. Savitska, Z.V. Babaenko
|Vol 7, No 1 (2018)
|Renin-angiotensin system antagonists, glomerular filtration rate and blood pressure
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov
|No 3.17 (2016)
|Intravenous Iron Drugs Usage in the Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anemia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease
|D.D. Ivanov, Ya.A. Dombrowski
|Vol 7, No 2 (2018)
|Renin angiotensin-aldosterone system blockers: chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular risk
|D.D. Ivanov, O.V. Kuryata, I.P. Garmysh
|Vol 6, No 2 (2017)
|The impact of urate-lowering therapy on kidney function (IMPULsKF)
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov
|Vol 7, No 1 (2018)
|Endothelial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease
|A.I. Gozhenko, H.S. Kuznetsova, K.S. Kuznetsova, S.H. Kuznyetsov, T.M. Byts
|Vol 8, No 1 (2019)
|Predictors of chronic heart failure development and progression in pre-dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease
|V.V. Rodionova, O.O. Boyko, O.A. Turenko, O.O. Denisenko
|Vol 7, No 3 (2018)
|Analysis of the factors of survival to renal replacement therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease
|O.V. Kuryata, Ye.O. Frolova, T.D. Yashenko
|Vol 6, No 2 (2017)
|The correlation between renal functional reserve and serum uric acid and quality of life in chronic kidney disease stage I–III
|L.M. Savytska
|No 1.07 (2014)
|Alpha-erythropoietin in the treatment and prevention of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease
|Ya.A. Dombrovskyi, M.D. Ivanova
|Vol 8, No 1 (2019)
|Thyroid dysfunction and kidney diseases
|О.О. Melnik
|Vol 8, No 1 (2019)
|Additional diagnostic capabilities of water-salt loadings in patients with chronic kidney disease stage І–ІІІ
|L.M. Savytska
|No 2.16 (2016)
|Next Step in Chronic Kidney Disease Therapy
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov
|Vol 8, No 1 (2019)
|Diuretics and advanced features of nephroprotection
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov, Lionel Rostaing
|Vol 7, No 4 (2018)
|Renoprotection and its association with eGFR and renal functional reserve
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov, A.I. Gozhenko, L.N. Savitskaya
|Vol 8, No 3 (2019)
|24-hour blood pressure profile in children with chronic pyelonephritis and chronic kidney disease stages I–III
|Abstract PDF
|L.I. Vakulenko
|Vol 8, No 2 (2019)
|Heart rate variability in children with chronic pyelonephritis and I–III stages of chronic kidney disease
|Abstract PDF
|L.I. Vakulenko
|No 1.3 (2013)
|The experience of the Use of Essential Amino Acids and Their Keto-analogs in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease
|S.V. Kushnirenko, D.D. Ivanov
|No 4.18 (2016)
|International Course of Postgraduate Education REENA™ «Clinical Case in Nephrology»
|Dmytro D. Ivanov
|Vol 8, No 1 (2019)
|Hyperkalemia and chronic kidney disease
|S.V. Kushnirenko
|Vol 8, No 3 (2019)
|Chronic kidney disease and anemia: application of ferrous bisglycinate chelate for correction of iron deficiency in patients with chronic kidney disease
|D.D. Ivanov
|Vol 8, No 3 (2019)
|Contrast-induced nephropathy: searching for new solutions to prevent its development
|Abstract PDF
|D.D. Ivanov
|No 2.12 (2015)
|The use of statin drugs in patients with chronic kidney disease, combined with dyslipidemia
|D.D. Ivanov, Ya.A. Dombrovskyi
|No 2.12 (2015)
|Use of Angiotensin Receptor Blockers in Combination Therapy of Patients with Essential Hypertension and Diabetes Mellitus
|M.D. Ivanova, N.N. Skalii, D.D. Ivanov
|Vol 6, No 2 (2017)
|Hyperuricemia — an independent factor for the progression of chronic kidney disease
|M.D. Tronko, M.N. Dolzhenko, S.V. Kushnirenko, V.L. Orlenko, S.V. Potashev, O.O. Shevchuk
|1 - 25 of 50 Items
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If you love pizza, then this easy pizza chicken and potato casserole will be a new family favorite.
It combines all the great tastes of a loaded cheese pizza with adding chicken and potatoes to the mix.
Now it's the most asked for a chicken dish.
If your family loves pizza or even chicken parmesan, this is the best of both worlds.
This chicken is cooked in a rich tomato sauce layered with cheeses, spices, and potatoes.
The bonus is added pepperoni to taste like a pepperoni chicken pizza.
The meal is all in one pan and so easy to make.
This is one of the kids and the whole family will love and ask for again and again.
A family favorite for years that is done in no time.
Scroll down to see this easy recipe, and do tell me how you like it after you try this!
The Kids Will Love This!
What better combination than pizza, chicken, and potatoes?
This was a huge hit for dinner!
I had my four-year-old grandson here for the weekend and made this pizza chicken.
The first thing he said when it came out of the oven, wow Gramma, I can't wait to eat that pizza, it looks so good.
Even Picky Eaters!
Well, besides Antonio making my day thinking this was a pizza, I need to try it out on him.
Our Antonio is one picky little eater, so if he said he likes it, and that was a great victory for me.
Antonio is pretty much a pasta and pizza boy, and he loved this pizza chicken and potatoes meal.
If it fooled him to eat it, I guess kids who eat everything will love it too right?
Broiled or Just Melted?
I took the photos on how we like our cheese crispy, we love our pizza like that too!
I love the mozzarella when it gets browned, so the trick is to broil it at the end.
I do that with anything topped with shredded mozzarella to include pasta, pizza, chicken parmigiana or anything else smothered in delicious melted cheese.
This one-pan pizza chicken and potatoes is one of our favorite Italian American meal of all time!
What Do You Like On Pizza?
Ok so you're not a pepperoni lover?
Whatever toppings you like can go into this Pizza Chicken.
I suggest cooked meats like Italian sausage, hot capicola slices.
Vegetable Lovers?
You can actually add a layer of vegetables if you would like, eggplant and zucchini work well.
Then of course if you love olives, mushrooms, peppers, and anchovies, feel free to load it up.
This is just a guideline for an easy delicious pizza chicken and you can make your pizza any way you like it.
Easiest One Pan Meal Ever
When I first made this, I didn't add potatoes, then I thought wow I potatoes and pepperoni taste great together and melted mozzarella just made it even better.
The flavors from the chicken baked made the potatoes crispy and perfectly cooked in no time from the oil in the pepperoni and the seasoned chicken breasts.
I use around 3 to 4 chicken breasts sliced around 1/2 inch thick.
It all cooks pretty quick.
Pizza Chicken and Potatoes Pin for Later
Thinly Sliced Potatoes
The potatoes I use are Yukon gold, you can use any kind of potatoes you like, I prefer these because the sauce absorbs the flavors better to me.
I have used red or russet potatoes also.
Some potatoes require longer cooking, so be sure to slice them thinner if you use a potato that is for boiling not baking.
Chicken Breast Sliced
As I mentioned, chicken breast is much easier to slice when partially frozen.
I like to get them to around 1/2 inch thick, again they cook quickly in the sauce and stay juicy and tender.
If you prefer a stuffed chicken you can slice the chicken even thinner, fill with cheese and pepperoni and bake.
That takes more time and effort, this recipe is an easy one pan pizza chicken recipe.
Boneless Chicken
Always use boneless chicken, no one likes to pick out the bones from meat and not especially if it's on pizza.
The chicken breast is easy to slice or you can even buy them already thin sliced and boneless.
Other Tips and Suggestions
I like to slice my chicken when it's partially thawed, it's easier to cut.
I season the chicken with herbs that are fresh when possible, like rosemary, basil and parsley.
I prefer tomato sauce instead of crushed or whole, its seems to cook the chicken and potatoes quicker and evenly.
Adjust your salt and pepper to taste and I like a little heat so add cayenne pepper if you love spicy pizza!
More Of Our Favorite Recipes
Rosemary Chicken
Italian baked Chicken
Italian Cacciatore
One Pan Chicken Stew
Beer Roasted Paprika Chicken
Bundt Pan Chicken Roasted
Always Looking for New Chicken Recipes?
If you love eating pizza and a potato lover, this will be your go-to recipe for sure.
This pizza chicken has all the flavors of pizza just with chicken and potatoes baked all in one pan.
The best part is baking it on parchment is easy cleanup, this fast easy meal will be loved by any pizza and chicken with potatoes lovers.
It's just the best comfort meal all in one pan.
Try It Plain
You can also make this chicken dish with just chicken, sauce and just top it with pepperoni and cheese.
This will cut the carbs if you're watching them!
Watch This Pizza Chicken and Potato Video for more Tips!
Pizza Chicken and Potatoes


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As part of our aim to establish strong links between school, parents and pupils, this section includes information about the curriculum we teach at St. Mary's.
To all our pupils,
Every day at St Mary's, the staff and governors are working to make sure that by the time you leave us:
At St Mary's, we ensure our children receive high quality teacher and learning on a day-today basis, not only in our classrooms but also in the varied outdoor learning areas we have on our grounds. Our school places high value on the learning environment, both in and outdoors, that our children are exposed to every day. Through this approach, we believe we secure the best possible learning environment for children to grow and flourish as learners and people.
How is The Curriculum organised and why have we planned it this way?
At St Mary's School we offer an exciting, deep, rich, challenging and experiential curriculum which inspires learning, identifies talents, promotes achievement and celebrates personal achievement.
Our curriculum offer ensures that all our children become engaged, active and responsible citizens who recognise and value their contribution to British society and its institutions and that they gain a perspective of themselves as both local and global citizens.
We endeavour to fulfil the potential of every child academically, socially, morally, spiritually and culturally in order to prepare them for the next stage of their education and their life beyond school and help them to look after their own mantle health and well being.
Religious Education is the core and we plan our curriculum so that we can take every opportunity to view, with awe, the wonders of all elements of God's world.
Our curriculum has been designed around the requirements of the National Curriculum and the needs of our children. We work with lots of external partners and are influenced by educational research, for example the work we have developed around learning to learn and Growth Mindset. We also model what we say to the children about continuous self improvement and work closely with Manchester University on evaluating the impact of our work.
Each year, staff from each year phase get together to plan review the year and the long term topic plans. Here we will look at National Curriculum objectives and the children that will be taught in each year group. With this in mind, topics and themes are adapted to take into consideration children's interests and individual needs. During this time we ensure that there is a range of creative and active themes planned to allow all types of learners to be catered for. Subject leaders then revise these plans to ensure the children at St Mary's are receiving a broad and balanced curriculum that is innovative and creative.
To allow children to become immersed in themes and subjects, as well as being able to create a whole school approach to teaching subjects within topics, each subject is taught during the same half-term across the school. This can be seen on each year groups long term plans.
R.E, English, Maths and Science, being core subjects are taught every week across the year, with Computing having a stand alone theme for one half-term and integrated into other subjects and themes each half-term throughout the year.
Music is taught both through the themed units and as instruction - in Key Stage 2 all pupils learn at least one instrument and have the opportunity to perform.
In Key Stage 2 the children learn Spanish and this is taught by a languages specialist on a weekly basis.
PE is a taught discretely and all children have two hours of PE a week and from Year 1 upwards we have 'The Daily Mile'
Any questions you have about the Curriculum can be addressed by Class teachers or Senior Leaders on request.
Phonics: Letters and Sounds
We follow the Letters and Sounds Phonics programme.
In common with all Catholic schools in the Salford Diocese, we follow the Salford Religious Guidelines. Throughout the year we hold weekly class assemblies, to which all parents are invited. During Year 3, the children will make their First Confession during Advent, receive their First Holy Communion on Easter Sunday and be confirmed on Pentecost Sunday.
As an integral part of the school curriculum, we would ask parents to ensure that all home learning set is completed on time. The school has a strict home learning policy which details time and frequency for both Key Stages.


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Book reviews: love to do 'em, but they take about 10,000x the effort of a music, film or concert review, so I don't do them often enough. Here's two recent ones from yours, truly.
First is Francis Fukuyama's "The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution (Vol. 1)":
When you're penning a two-volume series ambitiously titled The Origins of Political Order, every word counts. When it comes to the word count of political philosopher Francis Fukuyama's newest book, it's a rather large one, splayed out over 600 pages. Cognizant of that, perhaps it's better to spare the extraneous; Fukuyama's investigation concerns no less than the historical development of human social organization from tribes, bands, clans and chiefdoms through 10,000 years to kingdoms, empires and modern democracies, examining in particular the origins of three political institutions: the state itself, the rule of law and accountable government. By no means mutually inclusive, they've been either present or noticeably absent from every regime in history at some time or another, and throughout history the most effective states have successfully leveraged the latter two in support of itself, the first. Beginning with ancient Chinese tribalism – one of the earliest known forms of political organizations – and hopscotching eras and regions, Fukuyama makes note of where those three institutions succeeded and where they led nations (both real and de jure or only technically existent) to ruin.
Read the rest over at Spectrum Culture.
Second is Richard Klin (and photographer Lily Prince), "Something to Say: Thoughts on Art and Politics in America"
To what extent and in what proportions do art and politics converge? Should they at all? These two concepts' messy ideological footprints (and any overlap between them) comprise the purview of Richard Klin and Lily Prince's Something to Say, containing 15 profiles of both famous and lesser-known artists on career-long quests for a better world. Finding this intersection and thus learning what specific influences hold the most sway for each individual creator – in his or her own words, pooled among some of the most esteemed and most treasured artists of the past few decades – is the book's aim, and in that modest goal it is largely successful. The book's subjects, likely owing to the important issues to which they feel personally connected, weave gratifying if slightly scatterbrained (or one might use the kinder "open-ended") tales of success and failure in their respective fields. Overall, Klin's actual presence within the profiles is unobtrusive, almost nonexistent save for providing a contextual construct, even as the questions and descriptions he leaves behind populate the book's pages; mostly he relays as much background as is necessary only before allowing his subjects to fill in the blanks – to tell the stories themselves, as they should be told.
And the rest? Spectrum Culture, of course.
Thanks for reading! Coming soon will be reviews of James Gleick's The Information and a few concert/album reviews. Cheers!


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With its vibrant yet non-gimmicky Mexican decor, El Charro Mexican Cantina brings the spirit of Latin America to Hong Kong. From tacos to tostadas, the menu features flavor-packed Mexican favourites, served up in a stylish setting with warm orange walls, talavera tiles and trendy mismatched furniture. Gather up all your friends and take advantage of the El Charro sharing platter (chalupas, tostadas, chimichangas and refried beans) before tucking into some tasty tacos de pescado filled with baja Californian-style battered fish, some enchiladas, a hearty bowl of chilli or frijoles charros, a traditional soup from Northern Mexico with tomato, onion, bacon, chorizo and beans. You'll find El Charro Mexican Cantina inside The Arcade out at Cyberport on Aberdeen's Cyberport Road. Book now for a Mexican adventure!
We were a party of 8 and we were very pleased with the service. It was our first time to visit and we enjoyed our time very much. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and the set lunch menu had a great variety of options. The quality of the food was good too! We will definitely go again.


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Dear parents and children of year 4
Sadly, I am unable to come along today to our year 4 children's First Holy Communion celebration to a previously arranged family birthday event.
I would like to wish all the children, parents and families the very best of wishes for a lovely and special day.
I look forward to attending our second Holy Communion day in a couple of weeks time and our special assembly in the hall, when all the children and families will be there, which follows soon after.
Many thanks to Mrs Slocombe and the year 4 team for all their hard work organising everything.
All the very best for a terrific day. Enjoy the parties after!
Best wishes Mr Byrne