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Warning. One of our hoarders, Peggy, is an animal hoarder. There are no living animals in this hoard; you will not see any animals suffering. It's awful. We all know it's awful. This show helps identify these folks, get them on ASPCA watch lists (to protect future animals from being "rescued") and the hardworking crew of Hoarders either gets the animals into healthy, safe environments or gently and responsibly euthanizes them. The crew usually suffers a lot of heartache on these episodes, but they're doing real good. It's hard to watch. I know. If you need to skip, please do.
Please do not insult the hoarder. We all know it's not fair, right or just. Calling names and being outraged here in comments will not do anything constructive. Let's get to the bottom of why this happens so we can hopefully stop future animal hoarders.
Peggy, Illinois
Peggy knows she's a hoarder. Well, that's a change from the previous episode, at least. The camera cuts inside and there are piles of stuff, which we expect, but when you look closely, you see that a lot of the boxes aren't boxes. They are cages. Bird cages, small animals cages, that sort of thing. There are no animals that I can see inside them. Peggy thinks she's got "some dishes in the sink, but other than that it's not in too bad of shape." Yes. It is. It's in terrible shape.
Denial is a big part of what enables hoarders to live like this. Think about it. It's got to smell like god knows what in there, the mold and dirt are creeping up the walls, the trash-a-lanches rumble and tumble regularly. But if she acknowledges that, then she has to acknowledge that it needs to change and take responsibility for making it that way. So that step is purposefully missed so it can start back again at the beginning, miss that step, then go back, again and again. An endless cycle of seeing trees instead of the forest.
Ron is the local code enforcer. He says it's the worst house he's ever seen. The stench is unbearable. The toilet is clogged (and filled), there is a bucket next to it that is filled with both feces and maggots, and this house is a nightmare of biohazard issues, full stop.
Kim, Peggy's friend, has tried to get help from the fire department, which is how the city got involved. They say the house is uninhabitable, and I agree fully. When asked about the dead carcases in the cages throughout the house, Peggy says she was too anguished to throw them out or dispose of them.
Here's the thing. I bet she was. I bet she was anguished and upset that these animals she kept to "give them love/a home" died. She had a mental picture of them being happy and healthy, and all because of her. But that isn't the reality, and that pushed her to see that forest, so to speak. That's painful. That's a lot of responsibility she's going to have to take on. Instead, however, because she is mentally ill, she tells herself it was a freak occurrence, that the animal was sick when she acquired it, that it was the animal's time, whatever the case by case is, and then she tells herself that she'll do better with the next animal. And the next one. And so on.
This is mental illness at some of its worst.
Peggy is living on her daughter Ruth's porch since the house was shut up. She knows her mother is very, very ill. At one point when Peggy was on a trip, Ruth and some folks from the church cleaned out the house, and it sent Peggy in a rage spiral. She does not want people touching her stuff without her permission. Hooboy, this is going to be a tough one.
Paul, Peggy's son, says it's always been this way. This drove his dad bananas. When he died, the hoarding got worse because there was no one to push back at Peggy. The kids would get hit if they ever challenged their mother. Ruth says her mother has said many times that she hates Ruth. That she believed in abortion, and if Ruth had never been born, their father wouldn't have died. She was 15 and had to be hospitalized because she attempted suicide, thinking she killed her father. Oh. Okay, this one is going to be tough for me, guys.I want to give Ruth all the hugs in the world.
As I said last episode, we can try to understand the disease in a calm, even-toned manner, but that doesn't mean that we're condoning this sort of behavior. Mental illness is not an excuse for abuse. Ever.
And if you don't love Ruth, she says this: "Just because she's an angry soul doesn't mean I have to be." Ruth? I think you're a work and a wonder, let me just tell you.
Mark Pfeffer is there to tour with the kids. He really wants the kids and Peggy to go in because as he says, "It's not just the smell and the squalor. It's the memories, it's the decades of hoarder abuse." This must be confronted if there is to be any moving forward. (Again, I love when the show gives us these types of insight into treatment.)
Paul steps in, then immediately steps out. "There's no point." Ruth made it a little further, then we see her shaking as she tries to smoke. Mark asks Peggy about the bird cages. "What's in them now?" he asks.
"Are there dead birds in there?" Oh, this is a brilliant question. There isn't nothing inside. There is her failing to care for a living creature. She must take responsibility for it. But will she?
"Don't ask hard questions like that. It's a difficult question for me."
Mark says her denial infrastructure is highly developed. I think she's also got some highly developed manipulation skills, too, another aspect of hoarding and survival we've come across, haven't we?
Peggy doesn't want to talk about the carcasses. "I have a hard time looking at this stuff." But… you lived with them. For a very long time. This isn't new. These cages and dead bodies and filth aren't new. She says that she is ashamed of many things and won't talk about them. Well, that's not going to fly when the garbage trucks come.
The next morning, the Got Junk? trucks pull in with Dorothy Breininger, who tells us that there is a biohazard team who will be there first, something usually only necessary in an anthrax event. (That was a big Clue-By-Four Dorothy was smacking her with, but I don't think Peggy got it.) The biohazard team suits up with special rebreathers and helmets. Wow.
The cages are carted out first. Dorothy sadly says, "This is a hoard of death. They just keep bringing out more death." There are puppies, small animals, I just… It's bad. "These animals died because of pure neglect."
She corrals the family together and wants Peggy to say she's sorry to these animals. "But I'm not sorry. I didn't do it."
Hand me that clue-by-four.
"I took them for their rabies shots. Within ten days, they were dead."
Mark cuts her off. "It was on your watch." Thank you, Mark. He tells us, "They hold onto these things to maintain control." Well, I can understand that idea. Their life is pure chaos. This house? This house is pure chaos. If she can create a narrative absolving her of blame, then she hasn't lost control of the situation.
I didn't say that it's right, just that I understand what's happening.
Ruth steps in, "Just say you're sorry for not burying them." When her mother balks, she says again, "But today you get that chance to right the wrong done. Once it happens, you can release that guilt. Because not only are you healing yourself, with you being the mom we need, you're healing us. And that's the only way we're going to get over it."
Seriously, Team Ruth all the way.
Peggy hugs her, I almost bite through my tongue in shock, and she decides she wants forgiveness. She prays an apology for not helping the animals, for not being who she should be, and asks her God to forgive her. Well, it's a step. Dorothy wraps her in her arms and tells her that was a good job.
25 dead animals pulled out. 25 animals that Peggy is finally taking responsibility for, and that's great for her kids to see. And now Peggy is ready to work.
I take it back. Peggy was. But as the things are pulled out of the house, she delights in everything, showing it to her daughter, wanting Ruth to agree that it's pretty or neat or special. Paul's face crumples. So much for progress.
Dorothy says this is one of the worst hoards she's ever been in. The floor is soaked in wet filth, urine, feces, who knows what else. We see the crews lifting dripping, sodden rugs from the moldy subflooring. Nothing is salvageable. But Peggy wants to keep it. Paul is at his wits' end. "It's your things or us."
"But Paul," Peggy says with a plaintive voice, "I need it." It's a crotched thingamabob, the sort of thing my grandmother slapped around the air freshener spray bottle. No one on earth needs this, especially when it's covered in poop, urine and visible termites.
Mark tries explaining that she is literally choosing things over her children. Again. These teachable moments keep passing her by. This clean up feels doomed.
Queue the biohazard team using industrial vacs to suck the shit out of the floor and toilets. Sorry, not couching my terminology here. The crews are literally slipping and sliding on the amount of fecal matter on the floor. (God, the poor crew…) They have to take things down to the subflooring. And that will most likely have to go, too.
Dorothy wants the family to understand just how unsafe this is. Kidneys are affected by that level of ammonia. Your lungs. This is no joke. This is the sort of thing we saw with Terry a few years back, where animals literally died from the smell. (The ammonia, but since you breath it in… You follow.) "You were killing yourself."
Peggy admits that she's in Stage Four renal failure. Paul is positively gobsmacked by this information. For those unaware, this means she will absolutely need dialysis at best, a kidney transplant at worst. This is 15% functionality. And these kids' dad died of kidney failure. Ruth is beyond upset. "It's not okay to us." Their mother has hit the bottom of the barrel.
"The barrel keeps getting deeper," Paul says with tears in his eyes. "Soon it's going to be six feet under."
Mark points out that Peggy said she wanted to make amends with her children, but she doesn't really have a response. At that, Paul says he's done and leaves. It's hard to blame him. He doesn't come back the next morning.
Peggy, however, says she's ready to let it go. "It's just got to go. I got to thinking, I love my kids more than all that junk."
Well, hallelujah and pass the peas, that is outstanding! She's ready to make big changes, it seems.
The code enforcement team is brought in. The floors are spongy. Pretty sure subflooring isn't meant to look like barely-set mud. There's a lot of mold everywhere. Ron, the CE officer, presses his foot against the wall and it goes straight through. "Nobody should be living in this house." Yeah.
Surprise, though, when Paul returns to patch things up, just in time to hear that the house cannot be inhabited. Peggy takes the time to say to her kids that she wants to fight, and that it's time to fight for them.
Paul hears it, but he wants action, not promises. I don't blame him.
"If you holler for help, and someone comes to help you," Peggy says, "then you owe it to them to change."
Well, we'll see, won't we?
Ed and Connie, Woods Cross, Utah
Connie and Ed are self-defined Halloween freaks. 50% of their stuff is probably related to the holiday. They both admit they're hoarders, and that's a start. The house has a few rabbit trails breaking through shoulder-high piles of stuff, but that's just the living room. The hoard has spread much further, including outside.
Vickie, Connie's sister, explains that Connie is the small stuff hoarder, and Ed does big ticket items. Fisher, their 14-year-old son, has grown up like this as has Hunter, 17, who has absolutely had it. He's tried to leave, in fact. Vickie knows they want out. Fisher is autistic, so this is horrible. The chaos exacerbates autism. He uses the bathroom as a place to escape. It's messy in there, but it's the most organized place in the house. Outside there's a tent, the "Tent of Shame." There's also a "basement of despair". Hunter is tired of fighting with his mom and dad over the state of the house.
Ed has had cancer 5 times, and he's living in this unhealthy environment. The family says the biggest cancer in that house is the hoard. Ed is finally in a place where he sees how tenuous life is and wants to choose time with his boys over the stuff. The hold out, it seems, is Connie not being on the same page.
Connie feels ganged up on, so there's a lot of pushback and division happening. Hunter, though, is beyond caring. He's going to leave if it won't change, and he's taking Fisher with him.
Dr. Suzanne Chabaud meets with Connie's cousin Shawna for a walk-through and a meet up with the family. Fisher says that he's very lonely in this house. There's no company but objects. And for someone on the spectrum, he absolutely needs social interactions that are healthy. It's a must.
"Hoarding takes away the human connection," Dr. Chabaud tells us.
As Connie walks through on her own, she realizes "This is a slow death." She feels helpless, so imagine how Connie and Ed, Fisher and Hunter must feel.
Cory Chalmers arrives with Steri-Clean, and hey, this is close to your new digs, man! Another great pairing, and I think Fisher and Hunter are going to connect with Cory pretty easily. However, when it starts, Connie goes through everything piece by piece. Cory can see that Connie is confused and not able to really understand things, so they promise to only throw away visible garbage, and box up the rest to be put in the back yard. He puts her back there to start sorting.
It's very hard for her. She has to find this one random lid that fits this one random container, and Cory takes it from her. "What if you lost it? What would happen?" This is an excellent tool for people with anxiety. Okay, here is what you fear. What is going to happen if this occurs? Well, she won't be able to store something in that container. Okay, what happens if you can't use that container?
This is the sort of thought process that is going to happen over and over and over until she realizes that nothing is going to happen. It's okay if it's gone. It's okay. But she's not there yet. The place she's stuck in is "But I need this lid," not "But my family is going to leave."
Vickie has to walk off to cry. She's so sad about the state of this house. Cory tells Connie that the reality is this: the boys want to run away and leave her with her stuff. Ed's visibly upset. "It's my life's energy. And I want to come home and not see all the clutter."
Dr. Chabaud is very concerned for the state of this marriage, frankly. Cory tells them that they've tried other things. Now try it his way. "You just have to trust us."
Connie, her eyes big and watery, nods and appears overwhelmed. I can just imagine. She decides to put her boys first. Hunter and Fisher are allowed to clean for the first time ever, and they're having a ball tossing stuff into the trash, being sarcastic and hilarious. They're having a great time hanging out, and that's so awesome to see.
However, Connie is still struggling with sorting through everything. Dr. Chabaud says it's time to be impulsive. Big decision time instead of focusing on little things.
Connie starts Day Two upset. She tells Ed that she stood by him without reservation during his cancer treatment. So he's going to leave her? Well, I see her point. For better or worse. This is definitely worse.
"I can't give you cancer," he replies. "But this home is making me sick. It's making the boys sick."
Well, I see his point.
Cory wants to see Connie stay calm and make strides. He puts her and Ed in the bedroom to work. She loves him very much, and he loves her, and this is just a bad situation. I just hope she can have her breakthrough moment.
Hunter is pissed at her, though. "It's just things."
Connie feels bullied by the guys not siding with her. She can't make these big sweeping decisions. Dr. Chabaud tells her that she didn't come all this way to leave Connie with a nervous breakdown. Everything that was taken out of the house and boxed or bagged gets dragged back to the basement or the tent. The master bedroom is still full. The main living areas and the boys' rooms are cleaned, at least.
They go through the house, and at last the living spaces are great. They are. Connie still struggles with the loss of her things, and something tells me there is a big surface to scratch there. The boys, at least, are pleased with their spaces being cleaned and orderly.
Ed tells us that hoarding is an illness and, "I'm going to be there to take care of her." He tells Connie while tenderly brushing the hair off her forehead, "I'm falling in love with the girl I first met." He's a good man, oh my gosh. Hunter even acknowledges that his mom took big steps, and "I shouldn't be mad." Holy smokes, these are good boys! Hunter, you're a good kid.
Well, baby steps are still steps.
After the Show
Peggy checks on the house daily, sorting through the remaining boxes of stuff and is looking into repairs. While she hasn't yet met with a therapist, she does say she feels closer to her children more than ever. So that's really great. I tell you what, if you'd asked me in the beginning who would be a success and who wouldn't, I wouldn't have pegged Peggy over Connie and Ed. I'm happy to be wrong.
Connie and the family are in therapy, good for you guys, and the family is elated by the clean spaces and the ability to have friends over. Gosh, that is so important for those boys. I'm proud of them for managing that much.
Let's take a moment to realize that in these houses where even the pros are gagging and coughing at the stench, there are cameramen and audio techs standing in the filth. These folks are unsung heroes, so I just want to acknowledge how hard their day job is. God knows I couldn't do it.
You can watch all episodes of Season 8 (and 1-6) on A&E.com, as well as On Demand through your local cable provider.


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Delta-sigma Modulator Market Pegged for Robust Expansion During 2017 – 2025
Delta-sigma Modulator Market: Introduction
In today's world, increasing usage of consumer electronic devices by people in daily activities including travel, communication, and entertainment results into the surge in of microcontroller devices market. DS modulation is a method for encoding analog signals into digital signals as found in an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). A delta-sigma modulator also known as delta sigma converter, consists of modular in connection with a decimation filter and is regarded as one of the most credited forms of conversion in the data. It is used to convert high bit-count, low-frequency digital signals into lower bit-count, and higher-frequency digital signals which is a part of process to convert digital signals into analog in a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). It primarily aims at achieving higher transmission efficiency in ADCs and DACs.
DS modulators help in reducing the analog of analog circuitry used in the converter along with an additional advantage of high speed analog circuits. Further, it is also used to reduce the sampling rate as it is usually found that the modulator signals are oversampled.
Delta-sigma Modulator Market: Drivers and Restraints
Get Sample Copy of this report at https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/22129?source=atm
Factors such as rise in number of wireless devices and developments in the wireless infrastructure and surge in global mobile traffic data are the primary factors driving the growth of delta-sigma modulator market. Moreover, adoption of IoT devices and emergence of smart grid devices and applications is also resulting into the growth of delta-sigma modulator market.
However, presence of many players resulting and price war resulting affecting performance parameters are some factors causing a hindrance in the growth of delta-sigma modulator market.
Delta-sigma Modulator Market: Segmentation
Delta-sigma Modulator market can be segmented on the basis of application and region wise. On the basis of application the market is further segmented into automotive, consumer electronics, healthcare, IT & telecommunication, industrial and others. Region wise, delta-sigma modulator market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Middle East & Africa.
Delta-sigma Modulator Market: Regional Overview
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North America delta-sigma modulator market holds the largest market share and is expected to dominate the market in the near future owing to faster adoption of technologies in this region followed by Europe. Asia Pacific contributes a significant market share in delta-sigma modulator market due presence of semiconductor manufacturers in this region. Latin America and MEA region are expected to show a moderate growth rate in Delta-sigma Modulator market.
Delta-sigma Modulator Market: Key Players
Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated, Ozic, Qualcomm Inc., Analog Devices Inc., NXP Semiconductors, National Instruments, Infineon Technologies AG, Richtek Technology Corporation and Taiwan Semiconductor are some of the key players in Delta-sigma Modulator market.
The report covers exhaustive analysis on: Delta-sigma Modulator Market Segments Delta-sigma Modulator Market Dynamics Historical Actual Market Size, 2012-2016 Delta-sigma Modulator Market Size & Forecast 2017 to 2027 Supply & Demand Value Chain for Delta-sigma Modulator Market Delta-sigma Modulator Market Current Trends/Issues/Challenges Competition & Companies involved in Delta-sigma Modulator Market Delta-sigma Modulator Technology Value Chain of Delta-sigma Modulator Market Delta-sigma Modulator Market Drivers and Restraints
Regional analysis for Delta-sigma Modulator market includes North America Delta-sigma Modulator Market US Canada Latin America Delta-sigma Modulator Market Argentina Mexico Brazil Rest of Latin America Western Europe Delta-sigma Modulator Market Germany France U.K. Spain Italy Nordic Benelux Rest of Western Europe Eastern Europe Delta-sigma Modulator Market Poland Russia Rest of Eastern Europe Asia Pacific Delta-sigma Modulator Market Australia and New Zealand (A&NZ) China India ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Japan Delta-sigma Modulator Market Middle-East and Africa Delta-sigma Modulator Market GCC Countries North Africa South Africa Turkey Rest of MEA
The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.
Report Highlights: Detailed overview of parent market Changing market dynamics of the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and product offerings Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective towards market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Umhlanga Reed Dance is a traditional dance and ceremony where up to 40 000 Swazi maidens gather and dance for the Queen Mother. This Swazi cultural event is performed as a tribute to the Royal Family and dates back centuries in time. Taking place over a week, normally the last in August, it is largely private, however its final two public days (normally a Sunday and Monday) are a spectacle that is unrivalled in Africa today. Thousands upon thousands of maidens dress up in brightly coloured attire and sing, dance together as they deliver the reed or umlanga to the Royal Residence. Their enjoyment of this ceremony is quite apparent as they use the opportunity of bonding with girls of similar ages from across the country.
As the maidens dance, warriors and other spectators often join the dance kugiya or throw money at their feet in appreciation of their skill. The King sometimes makes use of the occasion to publically court a prospective fiancee or Liphovela. This young woman will be given a dominant position amongst the dancing princesses. Unfortunately this particular feature often distorts media coverage of the event, which becomes obsessed with the polygamous nature of traditional Swazi society. However, a traveller lucky enough to witness this event will appreciate its special purpose in bonding the nation, enstalling good morals (virginity is essential for attendance) and allowing rural girls to travel outside of their home areas. It is a massive logistical mission for the Swazi government, with food, water, transport and security concerns growing with each year...but Swaziland without Umhlanga is just not Swaziland.
If you wish to have a private guide for the Reed Dance ceremony, one can be booked through Swazi Trails. Alternatively, Swazi Trails offer a guided group tour to the Reed Dance on both public days. Contact Swazi Trails for more information and advise on where to stay during the event.
Estimated dates for the 2019 are 27th of August to the 1st of September - to be confirmed closer to the ceremony (main public days - TO BE ANNOUNCED too ). This is based on an educated guess as the dates are yet to be confirmed by Royalty.
Swazi Trails recommends the following accommodation for the Umhlanga Reed Dance:
Happy Valley Resort and Casino
Mantenga Cultural Village and Nature Reserve


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PROPPER BDU Short (5-Colors Available)
Battle Rip 65/35 Material with 5-Colors Available
Propper BDU shorts come with six pockets, four of which have button flaps. The 4" waistband is adjustable with four bar tacks. These shorts also feature fused pocket flaps, drain holes in the Bellows pockets and felled inseams, outseams and seat seams.
- Battle Rip® fabric is comfortable and durable
- Fade, shrink, and wrinkle resistant
- Felled inseams, outseams, and seat seams
- Adjustable waist tabs for secure fit
- Zipper fly with button closure
- Six-pocket design (four with button flaps)
- Two cargo and back pockets with button flaps
- Drain holes in bellowed pockets
- Fused pocket flaps for clean, professional look
Battle Rip - 65/35 Poly/Cotton Ripstop
Tactical uniform fabrics must be comfortable, durable and have excellent color integrity. To achieve this criteria, Propper is proud to provide Battle Rip. This is an all-season weight, 65% polyester / 35% cotton fabric manufactured in a ripstop weave. Battle Rip is our fabric of choice for the public safety community.</p
- Color:
- Black, Dark Navy Blue, Khaki, Olive Green, or Sheriff Brown
- Manufacturer Part Number:


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Mr. Cantwell
Mr. Cantwell teaches both on-level biology and AP biology. After attending college with the intent of becoming a doctor, his father became ill, forcing him to go home and take care of his father. He attended Plattsburgh State to get his degree in teaching. Looking back on it, I could never see myself as a doctor," said Cantwell. "I see myself as a teacher."An alumni of West Virginia, Plattsburgh State, and Stanford University, he has no shortage of knowledge to bring to North Springs. His previous teaching experience includes thirteen years of teaching at St. Pius X Catholic High School,teaching at Gordon Central for one year, and taught for a year and a half just outside of Orlando, Florida. All this experience in the teaching world has made Cantwell a great source for advice for new teachers. "Always be prepared," says Cantwell. "You just don't know what you're gonna get." Cantwell will also be the head coach of the North Springs Varsity Lacrosse team. His prior experience both playing the sport in high school and coaching the St. Pius team will allow him to do the best job possible. However, lacrosse was not his major reason to join the North Springs staff. "I wanted to make sure I got hired as a teacher first, not a coach," Cantwell stated. When asked about his goals for this school year, Cantwell was hopeful without being unreasonable. "[I hope to] be the best teacher i can be," Cantwell ended with. "It's my first year teaching AP biology, so I'm learning. It's great because I get to dig a lot deeper into things I've always wanted to dig deeper into.
Ms. Pritchett
Ms. Pritchett teaches 9th grade literature, 10th grade literature, and multicultural literature. A graduate of Fareham College, Jacksonville State, and Lincoln University, she has no shortage of knowledge to share with her students. Originally, Pritchett was a business major. After a long and hilarious experience, Pritchett eventually ended up with a Bachelor's Degree in English. "I had my first class at eight in the morning with Dr. Tanakas, who had a very thick accent. I could not understand anything he was saying. I would go to sleep and he gave me a "C" in that class so I said okay, business is not the major for me. Next was psychology, but after I realized how many m
ore years of school I would need for that, I said no, I'm not gonna do that either. So I looked at my transcript and said to myself wow, I do really well in English, I think I'll major in English," said Pritchett. Additionally, she has no shortage of experience to share with her students. "I have been in education for twenty years," says Pritchett. "I've been a high school teacher, I've been a middle school teacher, I've been a vice principal, and I've worked in an alternative school. I guess you could say I've done it all." However, after working all of these jobs, she decided that teaching high schoolers worked best for her. Her wish to teach high-schoolers is what brought her from Cobb County to North Springs. "When I came here for an interview with Ms. Williams and Ms. Willis, I walked in the building and knew I liked the vibe of this school," says Prichett. When asked her best advice for new teachers, Pritchett focused more on personal relationships with students than actual education tips. "Make a relationship with your students," says Pritchett. "You're not going to be able to teach them anything until they know that you are there to support them."


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When you're walking by N and Wisconsin, look up. A new mural has been painted on the building above Paolo's. It's a trompe l'oiel, which is French for "deceives the eye". In other words, it's a mural that's meant to slightly trick you into thinking it's real. In this case, it's meant to fool you into thinking several windows line the west side of the house, which really is just a blank brick wall.
This is a new version of the mural that used to be on this wall, and which was definitely showing its age:
It's a lovely addition to the neighborhood, and will hopefully bring a smile to passers-by for many years.


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At once a relentless save-the-world sci-fi thriller, an epic romance, and an intricate police procedural, "Recursion" explores what happens when a brilliant female scientist invents a powerful technology that allows people not just to reactivate their most visceral memories but to reinvent them entirely. For some, it offers the chance to rewrite their entire lives. In the wrong hands, it will upend the world as we know it.
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The Recursion release date is to be announced on Netflix.


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Color match 3M Dark Red 483 with a Pantone book for me, please?
DHCJami posted a topic in VinylHello! I unfortunately don't have a Pantone Solid Coated color book right now, as I rarely need to color match to Pantone colors. However, I'm having some bad color translations from screen to screen, so I am looking to see if anyone could possibly color match 3M's Dark Red 483 (Mine is in my Commercial Solutions Swatch card, under Scotchcal 50) with a Pantone color from the Solid Coated Color book for me, please? I got in touch with 3M's tech support as they typically help me with my Pantone Color matches, but they said they don't have a code for that color. Thank you!


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Job Description
The successful candidate will:
- Implement, maintain and continuously improve a documented, systems-based approach to managing the high volume, sensitive and diverse incoming written correspondence, phone calls
- Provide high level, professional and confidential secretarial, administrative assistance to the CEO.
- Using a refined sense of urgency and a high level of judgement and initiative, initiate and follow up on appropriate action and reporting for or on behalf of the CEO liaising with relevant internal and external parties.
- Manage the CEO's diary, making and confirming any meetings, appointments and public appearances in consultation with the CEO, and ensuring the provision of all relevant information in preparation for diary commitments.
- Facilitate the CEO's communication with various departments.
- prepare and produce reports, presentations and business papers as requested to the highest professional standard.
- Advise and regularly brief the CEO of matters which require personal attention, with all relevant deadlines and prepared documentation.
- Research, make considered recommendations and implement special projects as requested by the Chief Executive Officer.
- Provide administrative support to Executive Management Team meetings, including scheduling of weekly executive team meetings, strategy meetings, and other ad hoc meetings and team activities as they arise. Proactively identify and take any follow up action arising from all relevant meetings.
Experience and Skills:
- Experience in previous similar role providing high quality, confidential, timely, efficient and professional administrative support services.
- High level of flexibility to meet sometimes rapidly changing priorities and variable working duties and hours.
- Ability to anticipate CEO needs, and provide reference material in advance so CEO is prepared and informed when discussing issues, attending meetings etc.
- Skills in managing time, planning and organising own work and setting priorities despite a conflicting and often changing schedule.
- Skills in preparation of confidential correspondence and reports that are clear and concise.
- High level of integrity, sense of urgency and working in a government environment.
- High interpersonal skills able to establish positive and effective working relationships with a wide range of people.
- Ability to maintain professional discretion in managing commercially or politically sensitive information.
- High standard of verbal and written communication to reflect a professional standard of interaction, in dealing with elected representatives, management, employees, external organisations and their representatives.
- Diploma of Business (or similar) and/or substantial experience in a similar role.
- Degree in public administration or business management (or similar) will be highly regarded.
To apply, click the link and upload your current resume in Microsoft Word format only (.doc or .docx). Want to know more about Davidson? Visit us at www.davidsonwp.com


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Hi there! It's been a rather long time since I've made a posting, but it's only because I was preparing for my next creative project, Strawberry Dough!!
So for starters, what is Strawberry Dough about? Well in order for me to answer that, take a look at this:
This is Squishy the Sugar Glider! He was a recurring character in a few of my CG projects during my earlier college days. I was surprised -and pretty ecstatic- to see a green furred flying possum who takes his name too literally gained a lot of notice based on two 30- second shorts. Last December, I decided to take it amongst myself to give Squishy and his misadventures a trial run in my sketchbook. The more pages I drew of him and many other related animals to a sugar glider's habitat, the bigger the idea grew into wanting to create a small book based on them! Here are some preview pages:
Most of the pages have been completed through my mixing of pencil, watercolor, and ink. The last few steps are to edit the type font and narration in the comic pages, complete three more and choose an appropriate front and back cover. Hint: the image above are the examples. I'm fast approaching the mid- August publishing date that I wish to hit, and thankfully the project is in it's final steps. Alongside the book being available on Blurb, I'm planning to make more stickers, t-shirts and the poster below available for purchase via Redbubble. I will post them once the book is completed. Thank you for all of your support and share this project with any animal lover you know!!


text: What is your New Year's Eve routine? We usually have a quiet evening at home, order Chinese Takeout and rent a couple of movies. We usually fall asleep before midnight and wake up just in time for the countdown or after when we hear the fireworks going off but maybe this year we will have some friends over to tryout these appetizer recipes.


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About Us
LP&L has served as the city's municipal electric provider since 1916, when the citizens of Lubbock established LP&L to manage the electric power needs of the city. The utility generates and distributes electricity to more than 100,000 customers in the Lubbock area and is committed to being among the most reliable, most affordable and most respected municipal utilities in the country.
Our Team
LP&L is made up of over 280 hardworking employees whose top priority is to keep your lights on, our costs low and go beyond what's expected to serve you well.
David McCalla, Director of Electric Utilities
Andy Burcham, Assistant Director / Chief Financial Officer
Blair McGinnis, Chief Operating Officer
Matt Rose, Public Affairs & Government Relations Manager
Jamie Cook, Customer Service & CIS Manager
Michelle Cook, Collection/Field Services Manager
Chris Sims, Director of Communications and Compliance
Jenny Smith, General Counsel
The Fine Print
LP&L operates within the certificated areas established by the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC), located within the Lubbock city limits. These areas are known as single, dual, and triple certificated areas.
In single certificated areas LP&L does not compete, it has either all or none of the service. In dual certificated areas, LP&L only has one competitor and in triple certificated areas, LP&L had two competitors. LP&L's competitors are Xcel Energy and South Plains Electric Cooperative, Inc. On October 29, 2010, LP&L purchased the majority of Xcel Energy's distribution assets located within the Lubbock city limits. For more information on Lubbock's certificated areas, please visit the Electric Service Map.
The PUC regulates certain utility rates, operations and services located within its state jurisdiction. LP&L is municipally owned electric utility and is therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of the PUC, except for certain certificated areas of operation and certain reporting requirements under the Texas Public Utility Regulatory Act. LP&L is authorized to charge and collect reasonable rates necessary to produce revenues sufficient to pay operational and maintenance expenses, debt service requirements and other contractual commitments.
LP&L is associated with the West Texas Municipal Power Agency (WTMPA). In 1983, the Texas cities of Lubbock, Brownfield, Floydada, and Tulia, created WTMPA as a joint power agency. WTMPA is a municipal power agency that was created to enhance the negotiating strength of the individual Cities in obtaining favorable firm electric power contracts and in coordinating joint planning for additional generation. An eight-member Board of Directors governs WTMPA. The board consists of two directors from each city. One member is elected the president and he presides over monthly meetings.


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For the month of March only, BFF will be meeting on Thursday, March 5, the first Thursday of the month.
Thursday, March 5 from 3:30-4:30PM
We have special guest, Dr. Bookworm, coming to visit BFF. Dr. Bookworm will choose a favorite Dr. Seuss book to share with our BFF group. Come join the fun in honor of Dr. Seuss' 111th birthday.
Space is limited for BFF and registration is required by 4:00PM, Wednesday, March 4th. Please call 924.3561 or email Pam at email@example.com to reserve a spot for your student.
If Northridge Local Schools are closed due to weather, there are no children's programs at the library.


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Take this Weather and Climate Webpage with You2 years ago -
Alberta and Agriculture and Forestry (AF) has just launched its weather and climate mobile-friendly webpage. Ralph Wright, head of agro-meteorology with AF, explains the features of this weather app and how it can help Alberta producers.
"What this app is doing is taking all the different sources of weather information we have out there and putting it in one place – that is – on your mobile device," says Wright. "Typically, most weather apps are just getting forecasts. The thing that always struck us about the forecasts is that it doesn't show what happened yesterday. That is a very important question for farmers. For example, when you talk about winds and when to spray, the forecasts aren't that accurate as to when the winds might diminish in the evening or maybe when they start picking up in the afternoon, or for that matter, what range of directions have they been blowing in."
This app lets producers look at all of the hourly data for winds for the past few days, says Wright. "If we're in a stable weather pattern – today is much like yesterday – you can start getting some pretty good ideas when today's winds may pick up or subside. You can look back over the last couple of days, and also see what the gusts were like. So, if you're thinking of spraying right now, you can take a look at what the winds are at several weather stations in your area. If they are all similar, there a good chance your area will be the same."
The app also features Environment Canada's radar superimposed over Google maps. "You can zoom right in on your quarter section," adds Wright. "You can see the storms coming in real time, as the radar is updated every 10 minutes. Our handy little play back slider lets you move it forward and backward to get a good feel for how fast it's moving, where it's going and how long it may last. The radar also lets you see out a few hundred kilometres to see if there is anything coming beyond the horizon."
The app keeps records of temperatures at different times of the day. "We all know what tomorrow's temperatures are forecast to be, but what was the temperature last night," says Wright. "Perhaps you sprayed a couple days ago, and you don't know how low the temperature dropped. Did you get frost? Maybe the temps dipped down to 3 or 4 degrees and the plants "shut down" temporarily. It could mean a recent herbicide application may not have been as effective as it should have been. We now have those records for producers to see."
The app features precipitation amounts recorded at weather stations around the province. "This is particularly important for producers who have insured on the weather stations for lack of moisture," explains Wright. "People are insuring on precipitation amounts for AFSC's Lack of Moisture insurance programs, and they can go take a look at any time to see how much rain has fallen. This is particularly important near AFSC's cut off times, giving the insured some insight into whether or not a payment may be triggered."
Insects – alfalfa weevil, bertha armyworm, wheat midge – are part of this app. "It will give you the heads up for scouting, some awareness of how the insects are developing, and then help you to make decisions whether or not you need to spray," adds Wright.
Fusarium head blight is another category on the app. Says Wright, "This webpage will tell you whether conditions right for infection. If they are, it's time to be extra vigilant."
Most of the weather station data being displayed goes back up to two months, including hourly data. "However," adds Wright, "We also have an almanac which allows you to go and explore climate data back to 1961. What we have available now is growing season precipitation for the last 58 years. Here, we can see that Fort Vermilion has been in a dry spell since the drought of 2002. But looking back further you can a long series of dry years in the 1960s and early 1970s. You can also look at corn heat units and frost free days. We will continue to add more features, so stay connected."
The mobile webpage also features more detailed Environment Canada forecasts, weather alerts, and the fire risk index that goes back seven days.
Find this mobile friendly webpage at www.weatherdata.ca/m to add to your smart phone's home screen. For more information about the webpage, contact Ralph Wright at 780-446-6831.
Source: Alberta and Agriculture and Forestry


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In reason of all is happening with the Covid-19 virus, a handling delay must be expected. We are experiencing an increase of order.
The delivery time depends on the availability of the product, but generally, for the major centers, it is between 3 and 5 business days in Quebec and seven business days for the rest of Canada. For a faster delivery, we offer Xpresspost (2 to 3 business days, not compatible with free delivery). The delivery time is longer for remote areas and varies from region to region.
In addition, there is a 24h to 48h handling time before the delivery.
Note that because of high volume, the delivery time of carriers is longer during holidays. As well, for sales events such as Cyber Monday or the Cyber Inventory Sale, delivery times may be greater due to the high quantity of orders.
For all orders delivered to the United States, time may vary depending on the time required to clear customs.
For Europe, the delivery time is from 3 to 4 weeks and may also vary depending on the time required to clear customs.
Note that we reserve the right to cancel an order that we deem unsafe or to request additional information to secure an order.
A signature will be requested by Canada Post at the time of delivery.
Sign up for the Latulippe newsletter and stay up to date with our new arrivals and promotions.


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The funky, flexible gadget stand
Flexzi2 is an adjustable support system for items like buddy buttons, kindles, mobile phones, remote controls and sat-navs. It is made from two strands of flexible plastic segments which allows perfect positioning of your devices. Its clamp base enables it to be fixed on the edge of tables or tubes, such as on a wheelchair. It is available either with The 'eco clamp' the discreet, lightweight and robust screw-clamp or with the heavy duty clamp.
The Flexzi 2 has two strands of 30cm long segments between the clamp base and the hook and loop fastener top.
The clamping range is 10mm-32mm on surfaces/edges and 12mm-32mm diameter on tubes.
NOTE: Ensure tubes are located in the clamp's groove before tightening. Do NOT tighten excessively!


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"David & Ruth T"
Asia South East Asia
Personal Profile
"David" and "Ruth" signed up for a church missions trip that changed their lives, giving them a passion for missions. In 2000 they became the pastors at the Hawera Assembly of God church and served there for 12 years. During that time they attended a missions conference where they heard that even though the Western World has had access to the gospel for about 2000 years, there were still places in the world that had yet to hear the Good News.
They led their church in adopting a least reached people group, called the Isan. At the same time God was working in their hearts about going to this area themselves as missionaries. In 2012 they resigned as pastors and with their four children they settled in South East Asia and are now serving in a closed country.
The family now live in South East Asia.
Their current ministry includes:
- training local Christians and churches in evangelism
Contact Details
Sponsoring Church


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Not all insurance agents are the same! Choosing the right one can make a big difference – in price, service, and value.
With other agencies, you get one company that sells one brand of insurance. With an independent insurance agency like Ozanich Insurance you get choices.
Why? Because independent insurance agencies, like Ozanich Insurance, represent a number of different insurance companies, and can compare coverage and prices to find the best possible value for your individual circumstances. As independent insurance agents, we are members of the Tacoma community, and we're committed to doing business face-to-face and being your advocate in times of need.
Here are a few reasons why Ozanich Insurance should be your first and last stop when looking for insurance:
There is a difference. To find out how our independent insurance agency can help you find the right insurance coverage, contact us today.
Information you need, when and where you need it most. More »
Mon-Fri 8AM-4:30PM
ozanich [at] ozanich-ins [dot] com
Tacoma office3925 S Orchard Street
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© 2020 Ozanich Insurance


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As I sit on the top of the world (or the top of Central America at least), I understand why George Lovell explains Guatemala as "A Beauty that Hurts." I have never been in a place this incredible, this stunning. Sitting on the peak of the highest point in Central America, watching the sun rising behind the smoking Volcán Fuego and tinting the clouds beneath us with rich oranges and pinks. It may be the most stunning – and surreal – view I've ever had. But even to get up here, I see why this beauty hurts:
- Because in the village just 1,000 meters below us, two little children with dirty faces sat on the side of the road, asking us for "a quetzal, a cookie, just one quetzal."
- Because the beautifully hand-woven traje of the women walking from a Maya ceremony is old and worn-out: they can't afford any new
- Because the trees on the way up to the top of Tajumulco are still burned, still recovering from being destroyed by the army during the 30-year civil war that Guatemala experienced, a war that disproportionately affected the indigenous and rural Maya people.
- Because the other people climbing the mountain and camping out are from the capital city or are foreigners, not the locals, who don't have the luxury to just take in the incredible scenery around them.
I can't help but feel some guilt: that I am able to experience all the beauty of Guatemala, coming in as an outsider, that so many of its inhabitants don't have the possibility to enjoy. I can't forget how much pain is woven into the fabric of Guatemala, both in the past and even still now.
I love Guatemala – the beauty and the sadness. It's all part of what makes it real. But I can't accept it as it is. I don't want to see those children begging for mere cents, I don't want to see patients suffering and dying because they cannot access healthcare, I don't want to see these disparities and injustices. But there is hope: our local staff who work so hard every day to go to our patients in the most rural, inaccessible settings, the donors who choose to share to help others, all those people with passion to make a difference.
And maybe it's cliché, but watching the sun rising instills that hope: that maybe things will change and we can see more of the beauty of Guatemala without feeling the hurt that goes with it.


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Men who're on the lookout for the very best penis care practices shouldn't simply cease with the manhood – they need to take a look at overall health as nicely. PROVIDENCE CONTINUING CARE CENTRE – MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES: Two admission items, a geriatric unit, a rehabilitation unit, a temper disorders unit, a forensic unit and an out-affected person clinic for adults. In an effort to counteract the unfavorable effects of stress on thyroid hormones, researchers corresponding to Dr. L. Yue and colleagues investigated the power of vitamin E and selenium to assist healthy thyroid operate. A extra seemingly actuality is that the reverse of the Surgeons General figures applies, that is, just one in five Americans is healthy. Starbucks' International Village store was very active in these pursuits, and some of their employees have been victimized.
V shapes and 6 packs are a results of weight-reduction plan and actually watching meals consumption in addition to mega exercising on a higher degree then most are accustomed to….does not imply you to cannot achieve this..however then again there must be some real changes in not solely actions, however what goes in your system. These include smoking cigarettes, and also can embrace a poor eating regimen, whether or not it's overeating or an overly constrictive eating regimen.
The ACS wellness honest was organized to encourage a healthy lifestyle for all students, dad and mom and staff. To preserve an excellent weight, it is essential to maintain a examine on what you eat and know what number of daily energy are needed for a greater health. Melalui pemahaman dan pengaplikasian teori Health Belief Model yang baik akan tercipta kualitas kesehatan masyarakat indonesia yg baik pula.
Jessica is a fitness skilled who's enthusiastic about educating and serving to others dwell a healthier and happier life. Achieving and sustaining health is an ongoing process, shaped by each the evolution of health care data and practices in addition to personal strategies and organized interventions for staying healthy. Regular bodily exercise improves your health as it may help in prevention of illnesses comparable to blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
Previous administrations urged Congress to enact laws requiring insurance coverage protection for psychological and bodily health remedies on an equal foundation with physical troubles. In Indonesia, health analysis knowledge base (Riskesdas) in 2007 to get the incidence of cancer is approximately four persons per a thousand population and mortality resulting from cancer was ranked seventh. In distinction to Western international locations, meat options less prominently within the conventional Greek eating regimen than fish and different seafood.


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I love football analogies, man. I probably use them too much. I ought to invoke the images of a symphony or a wild-flowered meadow more often.
But some football analogies just make sense to me at a visceral level. Especially this one: pursuing long-term body-and-soul health (at 40, 50, 60 and beyond) is like committing to the run as a football strategy.
When a team declares "we WILL run the football," they commit to guiding principles like:
- Having a more-patient approach to victory – not trying to "win quickly"
- Depending less on flashy or gimmicky approaches – what you see is mainly what you get
- Reducing costly mistakes – fumbles are less common and less damaging than interceptions
Let's consider what lessons this holds for the pursuit of decades-long fitness. I see five of them.
When I see 40+ guys successfully "doubling down" on fitness, nutrition and wellness…I see them doing five things that a good-running football team does. It this is already you – keep it up, brother. Or if you're intent on evolving your habits to take better care of yourself, these lessons are a good place to start!
1. Come from a place of confidence.
You can do this. You might need to experiment some to see what works, to endure some failures and setbacks. Just like our notional football team needs to work on blocking schemes and to dedicate practice time to the running playbook. But despite ever-present time pressures, injuries, motivation challenges, and the barrage of white flour, sugar and booze the world throws our way…you CAN find a way to make holistic fitness be part of your life. If you decide to.
2. Invest time and energy on technique basics.
Whether it's strength training, swimming, yoga or whatever…at our age, it's more important than ever to move correctly and mindfully. Just as in football, the run game is so dependent on blocking techniques and backfield coordination. So when it comes to your health, return to being a "student of the game." You may know all there is to know about your preferred fitness activities, but in some ways that's a sign that you should be experimenting with other ones, too. In the big picture, we're all beginners and always will be. It's freeing and empowering to embrace that rather than deny it, dude.
3. Mix things up.
The Green Bay Packers of yore once ran something like 17 "power sweeps" in a row. Cool. But for the most part, running the football demands that you mix things up from play-to-play to keep your opponent off-balance. Run the football, yeah, but do it in different ways. We need variety within our fitness game plan, too…to balance strength, endurance and flexibility…and to allow rest and recovery for different parts of our no-longer-25 bodies. That's how to vanquish some of the toughest opponents we face: injury, boredom, apathy and low energy.
4. Minimize costly setbacks.
Overall, teams fumble less than they get intercepted. Fumbles are also less likely to be run back for substantial yardage or touchdowns. So running the football is partly about "not defeating ourselves." In fitness, the equivalent ideas are preventing injury (see "mix it up" above), and also bouncing back from setbacks so that we don't get into longer-term "out of shape" ruts. On this latter point, research on aging and performance decline shows that one of the biggest factors is that we can't get back into shape as quickly as our younger selves…so the focus should shift to not getting out of shape, man.
5. Be patient.
Not every day can be a "triumph" in our fitness lives. Some days we have less time than ideal, some days we're just not feeling it, sometimes it's just really hot or cold outside. And so on. But we should still "move the ball own the field" a little, and be OK with that. And we should also generally avoid fitness or nutrition approaches that promise miraculously fast results. Just like our run-first football team sometimes plays the field position game, where a long drive to shift field position is still something not-bad. They don't start going to high-risk plays in the third quarter, just because one given drive didn't score.
Just so I'm clear, I'm not advocating a reduction of your ambitions. Just like teams that run the football aren't doing so to lose…they're doing it to WIN.
Having confidence, focusing on technique, mixing it up, avoiding setbacks or reducing their impact, being patient – these are winning ways-of-being for us, guys. It's like running the football. I'm sure it's also like a symphony and a wild-flowered meadow…I'm working on those angles.
"Well, I'm taking my time, I'm just moving on." (Boston, Long Time – click to listen). Note, this is the long Foreplay/Longtime version off the beyond-iconic Boston first album. If you're impatient — ironically given the topic if this article — and want to jump into the Long Time part, it starts at about 2:28.
If you think this would be useful to others, please help spread the word about OlderBeast by sharing this post with the social media buttons below. THANKS, MAN.


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This could be a Swedish or Swiss Saturday too, I suppose, but I'll go with the car's country of origin. It's also the first Le Mans car I've done in a month, appropriate to start leading up into that wonderful weekend in June that's on my mind all year.
Joakim "Jo" Bonnier was a well-respected Swedish gentleman racer who made a name for himself, working tirelessly and properly earning rides all the way up to Formula 1 in the early 70s, after a successful early career in the 50's with a series of Maseratis and Porsches. He never fully left sports cars, however, racing everywhere from Can-Am to Le Mans, where he would find himself in June of 1972 with a pair of these 280s. This one is not his, but is the team car (T280 #HU1, the first made) of Belgian Hughes de Fierlant, Mario Cabral of Portugal, and Spaniard (and Georgian royalty by descent) Jorge de Bagration. It qualified 9th but would retire after only 26 laps due to clutch troubles, with Cabral and de Bagration never having started.
Unfortunately its sister car, that of Jo Bonnier himself (T280 #HU2), would suffer a more tragic fate. Showing well early with future winners Gijs van Lennep and Gerard Larrousse, even leading and setting fastest lap at one point, Bonnier pulled out to lap a slower car on lap 213 and made contact after the amateur driver unexpectedly braked hard in Bonnier's path (according to German Wikipedia), sending the Lola into the trees, where Bonnier was killed instantly. He was only 42 years old, and had until that point recently been campaigning with other drivers for improved track safety. In fact, 1972 was the first year for what would become known as the Porsche Curves at Le Mans, themselves intended to reduce casualties by bypassing the old and notorious Maison Blanche. Shame the changes later made in the sport didn't come in time for him and the many others lost in those days.
The T280 was developed around the evergreen Cosworth DFV V8 to compete in the new top Group 6 category in the WSC. It used an aluminum monocoque, the latest thinking for its time, and was designed by Patrick Head and John Barnard, both of whom would go on to great success in Formula 1. These 3.0 versions used the DFV as a stressed member of the chassis, and had inboard rear brakes to allow wider rear wheels. A 2-liter 4 cylinder version was also developed, called the T290, which did not have these features. Bonnier, as Lola's European distributor, got the first two chassis.
This model is in 1/43 and is an older Solido scored on eBay. Never the most accurate, but as I've said before, I love these for their hefty feel and period charm.
I'm happy to have found this one, as I've gained a special interest in Jo Bonnier's career because his niece happens to be a client of mine, a wonderful lady. I recognized the last name when she first came to us, and she was amazed that a 30-something in California would know about her uncle! I've been looking for cars of his for some time, hopefully I'll land one that he actually drove, and will do a little bio piece. His niece was generous enough to give me a copy of his family-published autobiography, "Fast. Faster. The Fastest?" It's a fun read, packed with period photos, but unfortunately it doesn't go up to his later career. It'll make a fun backdrop when I can write his story up with some models here.
French Friday tomorrow!
Thanks to the always excellent Racingsportscars.com and UltimateCarPage for solid background info.


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Looking for an exclusive Indian dress for your little girl for birthday, party, festival or wedding? You cannot go wrong with this Green, Rani & Gold color lehenga choli. This 3 piece readymade outfit includes skirt / lehenga, choli / blouse and matching dupatta. Made from Net chanderi silk fabric with intricate work, your little princess can show her style and attitude. Available for kids aged 4 thru 12 year olds.
Wash & Care Instructions:Clothing with any kind of work should be dry cleaned. Cotton clothes may be hand washed or machine washed separately. Color may bleed in the first couple of washes.


text: This Tie down kit was designed for the Hobie 18 . This four strap system features patented over center cam action locking buckle. Has special attachments designed for the 18 and the straps do not touch the hulls (no rubbing or damage to boat). Come complete with mounting hardware and instructions. Hobie part # 1794


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"Extra" partnered with Sodastream to discover just how amazing it is to make fresh sparkling water at home! Star Mayim Bialik uses all her scientific knowledge to teach us how to be healthy and earth-conscious, and how to make water fun in this hilarious video. Check it out here.
Want to learn more about how NOT to become a "Homoschlepien"? Visit Sodastream.com.


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Maz Kamali was a researcher in the Co-Existence team at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Through the Global Extremism Monitor, he tracked violent and nonviolent extremism and measures to counter it, conducting research and analysis using the data. He also co-wrote the weekly Co-Existence news brief, which provided bitesize analysis of major stories involving extremism, conflict, and geopolitics from around the world.
Maz's experience includes youth development, education, and research analysis. A graduate of SOAS University of London, his main research interests included early Islamic and Middle Eastern history, contemporary Middle Eastern politics and society, and geopolitical conflict. Maz wrote commentaries on topics including ISIS propaganda, al-Qaeda, and Myanmar's Rohingya minority.


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We woke up this morning with our batteries nearly empty. The overnight temperature hit an all time low for us on this trip at 34 degrees. If it gets any lower, we might start to see some snow around here. Let's hope that doesn't happen or we might have to high tail it out of here and go south.
We have been carrying our Honda EU2000i generator with us but we have been reluctant to bring it out. There are layers and layers of fabric over it as it sits inside a carefully sealed plastic bin in the back of the van. If I take it out, it will be tough to keep the smell of gas from leaking into the van. I also don't want to be that guy who runs a generator in a parking lot.
That means our 2 straight nights of boondocking has pushed us into a wall. The overcast skies are not giving us enough solar charge to allow us to run the furnace again tonight without hookups. I think it might be time to look into installing a catalytic heater, but until then, we are going to find a campground for tonight.
We decided that a campground called Shady Acres about 15 miles south of Green Bay might be a good place to go since it will be that much closer to our next destination, Sheboygan.
We knew nothing about it except for that it comes up in a few of the web sites and phone apps we use to search for campgrounds. On our way there, we passed a cheese farm located on Steve's Cheese road. It is true, the Wisconsinites take their cheese very seriously.
Shady Acres is located right next to the highway but to get to it, you have to drive around some county roads to its entrance.
As we drove into the campground, it became clear that this is a pretty small mom and pop type of business. They don't even accept credit cards when Marlene walked into the office to check us in. The office doubles as the owner's home and she was lounging around in her pajamas smoking cigarettes as we handed over the 25 bucks for an electric and water site.
The nice thing about places like this is that there are no strictly enforced rules. We asked when checkout was in the morning and she replied with, "Whenever!"
Our pull-through site had exactly what we needed which was water and electricity. For just a one night stay, we didn't even bother hooking up the water or put the stabilizers down.
There was also a 'playground' next to us. And when I say playground, I mean a couple of plastic Toys R Us slides on its side and these faded plastic baby swings. Hey, you know what, what better time and place to put Luka in a sun-beaten and tattered swing for his first go-round?
The other reason why we are staying at a campground is so that we can detach and head into town. We didn't know what to expect in downtown Green Bay and didn't know if it would be easy to find parking. Our plan today is to visit Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.
Lambeau Field to many football fans is the mecca of American football. The Green Bay Packers holds more NFL championships that any other NFL team in the league. Their winning tradition dates back well beyond the Super Bowl era and they have won 13 league championships since its founding in 1919.
The Packers were founded by this guy whom the stadium is named after, Curly Lambeau. It is called the Packers because of the meat packing industry around Green Bay at the time. Curly also happened to be working for one, the Indian Packing Company, who sponsored him with uniforms and equipment.
Another reason why the Packers have such a rich history is because of this man whom Curly's statue is pointing at. This is none other than Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi coached here between 1959 and 1967. As a record that may never be broken, Lombardi won the Packers 5 NFL championships in the 8 season he served as head coach. The final championship game was dubbed as 'The Ice Bowl' where the game time temperature was a balmy minus 13 degrees. Against the Dallas Cowboys, the Packers scored the winning touchdown with a quarterback keeper as the time expired. If you are a fan of NFL football, you might know that the Super Bowl trophy is called the Vince Lombardi trophy named in honor of him after losing his bout to colon cancer in 1970.
We opted for a guided tour of Lambeau Field since it is relatively inexpensive at $11 per person and kids 5 and under are free. There is also a self-guided Hall of Fame tour for $10 but since it wasn't very kid-friendly, we decided to skip it.
The first part of the tour took us up to the 6-floor of the stadium and got us inside one of the biggest box suites. There are 3 different size suites and this one being the biggest, comes with 24 season tickets per its one year lease. Since the most recent completed renovation in 2003 at a cost of $295 million, Lambeau Field went from being just open during game days to open 7 days a week. That means if you are leasing one of these suites, you have access to it every day. At $160,000 a year, you are probably not going to lease this thing for personal use. Most of them are leased by businesses who can utilize the space for meetings, conferences, etc.. If you think that is expensive, it is a relative bargain when compared to similarly sized boxes at Cowboy stadium priced at over $500,000 a year.
Before the renovation, the Green Bay Packers were one of the lowest revenue generating franchises in the league out of 32 teams. The renovation allowed for the stadium to be used for private events and offer tours like this one which turned the franchise around in a single year pushing it more than 20 positions up that list.
The view from the suite was pretty spectacular. I am always surprised every time I go to see a sporting event at how close you are actually to the action. It looks so big on television, which this stadium is with a 80,000+ seating capacity, but it seems like you can almost see the people's faces who are down in the field.
The Packer's have such a loyal fan base that there is a long waiting list of fans hoping to purchase season tickets. That is amazing especially knowing that this 80,000+ seat stadium is in the city that has only about 100,000 people. They even have these handicap-friendly seats that allow for a wheel chair to be pushed right up to the railing next to a seat for their companions. There is only one other stadium in the league that has these types of seats which are the Dallas Cowboys who they defeated in the Ice Bowl of 1967.
When Curly Lambeau first founded the team, they played just in a park and did not have a dedicated stadium. In the 1930s, the city of Green Bay finally built them a stadium which they had to share with the local high school. The high school which is pictured in the lower right of this photograph still plays on this field to this day.
Finally in 1957, a new stadium was built at the location where Lambeau Field is today. It is the oldest home field of any NFL team.
Of course that feat was only possible because they opted to renovate instead of building a new stadium back in 2003. This field holds such a rich history in America football that it was fortunate for all football fans that the Packers organization made the decision to continue to play here.
The final part of our tour took us through the tunnel where the players would enter into the stadium at field level. We got to walk out of that and see the field just as they do on every game day. The famous natural grass dubbed 'the frozen tundra' is Kentucky Bluegrass sitting on top of dirt with heated pipes running through the entire field. The pipes are plumbed with heated anti-freeze fluid to keep the field at a few degrees above freezing so it is safer and softer for the players to play on it. Weaved into the grass is also a few strands of artificial turf at every 3/4 of an inch throughout the field. Before that was implemented, patches of turf had to be regularly replaced after games and practices. Since then, they have not replaced a single square inch and it is virtually undetectable to the untrained eye.
After the tour, we headed over to the gift shop to do some window shopping. We are not really big football fans but we once got to go to a Rose Bowl in Pasadena when the University of Wisconsin defeated UCLA. We knew these guys were serious about football when all we could see in the stadium was a sea of cheese hats just like these.
They didn't have one that fit Luka's head but we found a cheese beer cozy that was close.
Of course the girls couldn't leave empty handed from the pro shop so I splurged on two pairs of green and gold pom poms at a buck each.
As we were leaving, we noticed that there are some serious die hard fans living right across the street from Lambeau Field. This guy even had a massive Vince Lombardi Trophy installed right on his front yard.
Right across the field is a restaurant called Kroll's West that was featured on an episode of Adam Richman's Man vs. Food Nation. It didn't have great reviews online but it was referred to as a 'gameday institution' from the show with a perfect 8 oz prime rib sandwich.
Well, I fell for it and boy was I ever disappointed. The food was uninspired and the prime rib sandwich tasted like it came from the dining hall of a retirement home. It probably had less than 4 oz of prime rib and the au jus came in a little styrofoam cup. When I opened up the sandwich, I could see the butter still in the shape of a square that the short order cook probably just threw on there after toasting the bread on a conveyor belt toaster.
Damn you Adam Richman, you have fooled me for the last time!
over and out,


text:
Toyota upbeat despite rallies
Buys land plot for planned expansion
published : 21 Jan 2014 at 01:05
newspaper section: Business
writer: Piyachart Maikaew
Despite the ongoing political stand-off, Toyota Motor Corporation remains committed to expanding production capacity in Thailand to 1 million units a year over the next 3-4 years.
Kyoichi Tanada, president of Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT), said yesterday that the company has bought a plot of land near existing plants in Chachoengsao province but the expansion timetable is still up in the air.
Toyota runs four factories here, including a 12-billion-baht facility at Gateway 2 in Chachoengsao that became fully operational at the end of 2013 with a yearly production of 300,000 cars.
TMT aims to increase annual capacity by 100,000-200,000 cars at a cost of 15-20 billion baht a year.
Mr Tanada acknowledged that political risk is a factor that normally influences foreign investment decisions.
Toyota's Thailand plants are now running at their maximum annual capacity of 850,000 vehicles.
In 2013, Toyota sold 445,464 cars in the Thai market, down 13.7% from a year earlier, while exports totalled 430,929 units, up 6% over 2012.
The company had a 33.5% share of the Thai market, down from 35.9% in 2012. This year, TMT projects local sales of 400,000 cars, down 10.2% year-on-year. But market share is forecast to rise to 34.8%. Exports would reach 445,000 units.
"Domestic car sales are expected to stand above 1 million cars for the third straight year, but demand has decreased gradually after the first-time car buyer scheme expired in 2012," said Mr Tanada.
He said Thai car sales are likely to fall by 13.6% to 1.15 million vehicles in 2014, mainly on weaker consumption and slow economic growth. In 2013, sales fell by 7.4% to 1.33 million vehicles.
"If Thailand's political unrest is prolonged, hitting overall economic growth accordingly, industry sales may miss their target," he said.


text:
|There's more than one way to do things
Re^2: Code Maintainabilityby mpeever (Friar)
|on Dec 04, 2008 at 16:52 UTC ( #728025=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
Consider this instead:I agree that named parameters are a huge win. That's a bit of Lisp and PL/SQSL I miss frequently in other languages.
And frankly, without named parameters, it seems to me the convenience constructor debate really becomes a choice between the lesser of two evils. On the one hand we can be verbose, on the other we can be cryptic. I personally prefer cryptic to verbose: I expect a maintainer to look up parameters as he or she needs.
But I return to my thesis: maintainability is a red herring. If we choose which idioms to use based on aesthetic value, we eliminate the problem. We both agree that a constructor taking a series of numbers is ugly. But I would argue that :
my $capital = Capital -> new ("Canada", "Ottawa");Is obvious and very maintainable, even though it's conceptually the same pattern.
My conclusion is that a sense of code aesthetics allows us to choose the best (or least evil) option on a case-by-case basis.
In Section Meditations


text:
You know how I am obsessed with thinking about how celebrities and their stylists figure out the appropriate outfit for each event, especially sort of random ones. I feel like for any Spike TV-related event, there's a lot of actresses trying to decide if this means they need to look sort of….sleazy? Or what? WHAT DOES SPIKE TV REQUIRE?
Apparently it requires black and leather if you're a woman, and unexpected blondeness if you are a dude.
[Photos: Getty]


text:
ELEVEN years after the first mobile malware worm SymbOS.Cabir targeted the Symbian operating system, more than 1 million malicious apps exist in app stores and that number looks set to increase.
The Slovak market is not immune to such malware and attacks on smartphones are up 30 percent as compared to last year, according to Ondrej Macko, editor-in-chief of the TouchIT.sk website.
"Mobile devices are much more utilised tools, full of important data and work documents," Macko told The Slovak Spectator, "therefore they have become juicier targets for cyber-criminals."
Mário Lelovský, president of the IT Association of Slovakia (ITAS), agrees that the boom in mobile and connected devices has led to more frequent attacks.
"However, this fact might encourage competent authorities in the implementation of the CyberSecurity agenda and establishment of defense mechanisms," Lelovský told The Slovak Spectator.
The malicious code spreads from attacker to victim as global malware modified for the Slovak market by changing the language of displayed text, said Gabriel Braniša, Android operating system (OS) malware analyst of IT security company ESET.
"The market was hit by, in particular, customised foreign forms of potentially unsafe/unwanted applications (PUA)," Braniša told The Slovak Spectator.
Malware often targets contact databases and documents located on a smartphone and can send messages to the user's friends on the user's behalf, said Macko.
Slovakia differs from the other countries due to the lack of direct internet payments, thus malware causes fewer problems than elsewhere in Europe, he added.
"The payment after delivery of goods by mail or courier still dominates in the market," Macko said.
Infective forms
While the invaders spread malicious code via Bluetooth technology as far back as malware in 2004, today there are much more sophisticated attacks including various forms of ransomware.
In September, experts from ESET discovered an aggressive Android ransomware LockerPIN which seeks to obtain a $500 ransom by changing a device's PIN lock. It spreads through unofficial applications that are used to view pornographic videos, according to the company's press release.
Ján Kvasnička of IT security company Symantec said the latest trend includes crypto-ransomware, which over time can encrypt a mobile device up to the AES 256 level.
"We do not recommend users to pay fees for unlocking the device because with high probability the device will remain encrypted after the payment," Kvasnička told The Slovak Spectator.
According to Symantec, ransomware attacks grew 113 percent in 2014, driven by a more than a 4,000 percent increase in crypto-ransomware attacks.
Experts from ESET added that also so-called backdoor attacks, which sees apps installed in the background while the owner has no idea, have also multiplied this year. Such dangerous malware requires root rights to full control of the device which a user unknowingly and voluntarily provides, Braniša said.
"Therefore attackers can execute more targeted attacks and focus on the known security gaps of the installed operating system," Braniša said.
Alexandra Piskunová, spokeswoman of the telecom operator Orange Slovensko, added that its experts have tracked so-called stagefright vulnerability, whereby attackers are able to take control of a device via attachments in multimedia messages.
In addition, there are perhaps as many as 2.3 million so-called grayware apps that, while not technically malware, display undesirable behaviour – including bombarding the user with advertising – according to Symantec reports.
Not only Android
Though malware attacks are usually directed to the more widely utilised Android operating system, they increasingly target Apple's iOS platform as well.
In September, Apple revealed more than 300 infected apps in its store, including the well-known WinZip, Musical.ly, Mercury Browser and WeChat.
Attackers invade apps through developer's package Xcode provided by Apple itself. After the implementation, malware XcodeGhost is able to obtain sensitive data such as login passwords, according to cybernetic security portal CyberSec.
Paul Ducklin, senior security advisor of the Sophos company, says that people are accustomed to Android malware, however Apple products until recently felt safe.
"Today, even Apple is not immune from malicious code in approved apps," Ducklin said.
Fighting threats
Malware causes a variety of problems with sensitive data leakage among the biggest concerns.
Braniša said that most frequently leaks target social networks identities and credit card numbers. Attackers can also use robots to click on specific ads on the internet on the user's behalf.
"Nowadays, attackers do not aim to damage the phone or tablet as in the past," Macko said, "but it may lead to overheating after a malware attack."
To ensure adequate protection, people should download software only from publishers marked by "Top Developer" or at least not from unverified sources. Fortunately, the majority of consumers follow mainstream, proven brands, according to Braniša.
Macko stressed that they should be careful if someone offers a free app which evidently promises financial benefits.
"Be doubly careful if you are using the free Wi-Fi network in shopping malls," Macko said. "Common sense is always the best medicine."
Moreover, if a user wants to deal experimentally with less-known apps, it is important to have an antivirus programme installed on the device, Braniša added.
"Teams in IT security companies detect the latest threats for their anti-virus solution every day to ensure the best protection against malicious apps," Braniša said.
24. Nov 2015 at 6:35 | Peter Adamovsky


text:
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) (LearnOnline course)
posted by WM Admin on 25 May 2015
The National Cervical Screening Programme has produced a learning module aimed at smear takers, GPs, practice nurses and immunisation providers.
The module will support knowledge of the human papilloma virus (HPV) and the HPV vaccine. It will assist you with knowing when to order an HPV test as part of regular cervical screening, and discussing the results of those tests with women.
To find out more on the LearnOnline website, go to: http://learnonline.health.nz/course/category.php?id=83


text:
R50.00 15 minutes
Budget friendly – between grooms – non professional service
Mobile Helderberg
This service includes only a warm Bath and Towel/blow dry
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text:
There is a story about a man trapped on the roof of his house due to flood waters that had risen nearly up to the eaves, and were still rising. He was a devout man, and when two other men came near in a boat offering to save him, he declined, saying, "No thanks, the Lord is going to save me." So the men rowed on.
Next a helicopter flew overhead, and someone called down did he wish to be rescued? Again he declined, saying "I'm waiting for the Lord to save me." His idea was that some being of light—Jesus himself in all probability—would emerge from a cloud, take his hand, and lead him to safety in some distant country where strife was unknown.
Finally, as the waters were rising toward the peak of his roof, an empty rubber raft floated by. He eyed it for a moment, but then turned his gaze upward again, waiting for the cloud and the light. Unfortunately for the man, the waters continued to rise, he was swept off the roof, and he drowned in the dark, roiling waters.
At the gates of Heaven, he demanded of St. Peter, "Why didn't the Lord come and save me?'
St. Peter replied, "The Lord came to you three times. First He sent a boat with two men that could have saved you. Next, He sent a helicopter. Finally, He sent a large raft you could have leapt in and floated to safety. So instead of admitting you to Heaven, We're sending you back. Do better next time."
Perhaps you've heard this story before, and gotten a chuckle from it. It's an old story, but there's a new version that goes like this.
The Bus Stop
There was a man living in the modern world who had thrown in with a group of others who believed that aliens from another dimension were soon going to cause an Event that would Change the World for the better. Or maybe this Event was unavoidable, and the aliens could and would save them. Either way, this Event was going to happen Real Soon Now. It was going to change the consciousness of everyone, and some people would be ready for it and would go onward and upward to a Better Place, but other, not so well prepared, would be left behind. Instead of Haves and Have-Nots, there were going to be Bes and Be-Nots.
Now this man and his new friends knew that they were well-prepared for this kind of Event, because they'd all heard about it and were expecting it Any Moment. So they patiently waited for it, expecting it, because there had been Signs that meant, to them, this Event was imminent. Or they had heard stories about such Signs.
They were all, so to speak, waiting at the bus stop for the ascension bus to arrive and take them away just before this Event. Or that the aliens were just going to give them whatever they needed to get through the Event safely and move to a higher level of being –just like that!
Now one morning this man heard about a lecture that was going to be given by a famous teacher that evening in his city. He'd heard, though, that she—this teacher was a woman—demanded a lot from those who became her students, and that put him off. Besides, his own group of friends were meeting again that same evening, and he had decided months before that he was going to put in with them, and wait for the Event. No work was required. Only sitting on the bench at the bus stop.
The Ascension Bus to the Big Rock Candy Mountain
I could extend this story with additional suggestive encounters this man had, but perhaps you see how this story is going to end. There was no Event. No ascension bus ever came. Eventually the man and all his friends died, waiting at the bus stop. The moral of this story, of course, is about the balance between Inner and Outer. He had let himself be swayed by the easy path. Salvation, rapture, deliverance—whatever name you gave it—came from Outside. He had come to believe that there were Good-Guy aliens who lived in a place of peace and safety. One old name for this place, back in the Depression years of the last century, was The Big Rock Candy Mountain. There were lemonade springs, and the bluebirds would sing all day long. It was a land of hope, and the bus to it was getting closer all the time.
That bus still hasn't come.
Even so, that bus stop is crowded these days. Lots of people are waiting for spaceship-busses to swoop down and save them. They are all looking down the road, or up in the sky, hoping to see that bus. They know it has to be Out There somewhere. They pity those who aren't also waiting for the same bus, but those people are in the Out Group. There is always an In Group and an Out Group in these sorts of things. Believing in these aliens, they thought, automatically put them in the In Group. It's a status thing; it's something that gives a sense of belonging and hope. It's something that sets them apart from their own pains and cares, this hope.
But it's a false and futile hope. It's the kind of hope that convinces Charlie Brown to let Lucy hold the football for him, again and again.
Omnibus Stops
Of course, there are other kinds of bus stops, lots of them. There are political bus stops, where your candidate is going the Put Things Right, and your life will be immensely better. Those bus stops have been around for an awfully long time, but if a bus ever comes, it's so small, only a very few ever get on board.
Then there are religious bus stops. At a lot of these, everyone knows the bus isn't coming until they die, but that seems to be okay with them. There is comfort in numbers, there are plenty of benches—often in rows—and surely there will be enough busses for everyone. Certain people seemed to have promised this a very long time ago.
But no busses yet. Not one.
Vehicle Construction
Let's imagine, though, that you're the kind of person who isn't content to just wait for a bus. Or maybe you have gotten tired of waiting. You have heard there are ways to create your own transportation—take things into your own hands. It takes some work, you understand, and you'll have to practice new skills, perhaps expose yourself to new ideas and techniques. And then you find there are special teachers available who can teach you this new stuff, and show you how to build vehicles that move down the road better and faster than any bus ever could.
Also, you discover there are other people already busy building their own vehicles, and they are willing to help you build yours. They have maps and diagrams, symbols and stories that they're willing to share with you. Tools and techniques. But it's going to mean work. Work on yourself, because maybe there will be busses for the other folks, but maybe there won't be any busses.
Maybe there aren't any busses. Never were. All there were, were stories about busses that just amounted to the opinions other people had about busses and bus schedules. Maybe you finally got tired of opinions, and you wanted to know for yourself. Maybe you found out this was a real possibility, and it sure beat reading bus schedules.
But the thing is, this place—our world—is a rotten place for many people. Some of these people have heard about these iffy busses, but their pain, discouragement and disillusionment have become so great in their lives that the bus idea sounds a lot better than the drug idea, or the shopping idea, or the constant distraction and entertainment ideas—certainly better than the crime idea.
Besides there are those benches, and other people who want to go the same place you do. Out. Away from it all. If there's a Big Rock Candy Mountain, how do I get to the top? I'll even settle for the foothills.
In our complicated world, there are no certainties. Or if there appears to be one, it's soon pushed aside for Version 2.0, which is definitely better than the old one. I'm reminded of the occasional cult leader who predicts Doomsday on, say, June 16. When the peaceful Sun goes down on that day, he releases a statement that, "Oh, sorry. I miscalculated. It's really going to be December 4." The faithful stay at his bus stop; maybe a few drift away.
New Age Luggage
The bus stop folks have luggage that's full of all kinds of stuff. I know, because I had the same baggage back in the day, and it's jam-packed. Let's see, in it are aliens—lots of aliens, and they had Motherships—big ones. Also in the kit were Opinions, Promises and Predictions. Some of my favorites were the Platitudes and Glittering Generalities.
There were dead people, too, but that was okay, because certain other people said they could talk to the dead people. Elvis is probably dead, but some said he Might Not Be. Then there were all the conspiracy theories. JFK, Area 51, the faked Moon mission, 9/11 truthers, false flag attacks, reptilians, and more dimensions than you could swizzle a stick at.
Now all these theories have some truth to them (except Elvis—sorry), but I finally realized that all these things were merely distractions. Distractions from what? From looking inside.
Here's a story the Sufis tell about this.
Where to Look
A man was down on his hands and knees in the gutter in front of his house. A friend came by and asked what he was doing.
"I'm looking for something.," the man said.
"Well where did you lose it?"
"Inside my house."
"Well why," asked the friend incredulously, "Are you looking for it out here?"
"Because the light's better."
Ah. It's easier to sit on a bench at a bus stop where you can see something, than it is to take a far more risky trip down into inner darkness where all kinds of scary stuff is probably lurking. Besides, that's a trip you gotta take alone, and at least at the bus stop, there are lots of other kindred souls.
I have a friend with whom I like to argue concepts in foundational physics. Simple-seeming stuff, really, like what's an electron, why and how does gravity work, what's mass—questions like that, for which physics has no answers (noting that a description isn't an explanation!). Now he's a professional physicist, and I'm just a hacker (although a determined and knowledgeable one). But he once told me physicists believe the Standard Models of things because most other physicists do too.
Aren't we all like this? We believe all sorts of things just because other people do. Who are these others? Our parents, for openers. Our teachers, secular and religious. Doctors. Our bosses (well, we act like we believe them). The media—remember: repetitive advertising is propaganda. Our peers in the bar, around the water cooler, at the spa, at the stadium, on the soccer field sidelines. We agree to get along and to belong. This often comes at a price, but loneliness is a greater one.
Better Guides
To stretch the analogy a bit further, you can build your own bus, and learn how to drive it. In fact, there is a "bus builders" organization with qualified instructors that has a chapter near you. Okay, it's inside you. You may not know much about it anymore, although you did when you were a kid.
All right, wise guy. So show me!
Well, I can give you a map and some guidelines, but truthfully, you'll have to find these helpers yourself. In fact, nobody can get you in touch with them except yourself. They're quite willing; after all, that's what they're here for. It's sort of like Dad helping you learn to ride a bike the first time, except there's a little bicycle construction project first. You'll be shaky the first time or two, but after that, you'll be fine.
Are you following my metaphor? The only way to reach the higher realms of human existence and consciousness is an inner path. You have to take this journey by yourself, but there are guides for you, ready and able to assist you.
No one can take it for you. No one can "bless" you somehow, and say they will take it or have taken it for you. No "alien" can give you a free pass. Nor is there any "bus stop" waiting place. Spiritual advancement is always an active path, never a passive one.
How to Get Started
It's all very simple, really, but here's a shortcut. Inner peace, first, then inner stillness.
That's all. Achieve this and you'll find your guides. They'll help you from there.
Now all this is not to say we can't help each other. In fact, helping each other is a requirement, for this is a journey that can't be completed alone. My own guides have been busy for a long time now, showing me how to assist other people who want some help with this quest.
I mentioned there's a map. Here's a link to it. The map on my sister site, The Fool's Journey, where you can find a lot more information about it.
There's a description of the necessary journey at The Fool's Journey website.
By the way, there are different, valid spiritual journeys. They have different terminology, but if you look at them closely, they're all pretty similar. None of them have aliens or spaceships, however. None of them ask you to believe anything you can't prove for yourself—first hand.
They all require real work on our parts however, but they all begin—every one of them—with Peace, Be Still.
So get up off the bench. Start a journey. Be your own Mothership.


text:
Wespray On Paving
Mark Faulks
(08) 9405 7541
(08) 9405 7541
0418 429 499
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Want to find out more? Log onto their brand new website www.wesprayonpaving.com.au There you'll find many examples of designs and ideas.
For further information contact MARK FAULKS on 0418 429 499 or ph/fax 9405 7541