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Good morning! For Dec. 16, 2015, here's the top stock market news and stocks to watch…
Stock Futures Today
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average today (Wednesday) previewed a 77-point gain ahead of this morning's opening bell. European stocks pushed higher during today's trading session after a positive day for most major Asian markets.
Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 156 points as investors await today's FOMC decision on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates for the first time since 2006. Financial stocks surged ahead of the announcement. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) all gained more than 2.8% yesterday.
Top News in the Stock Market Today
- The Stock Market Today: This is it! The Fed Open Market Committee concludes its final meeting of the year, and markets are eager for an afternoon meeting where Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is expected to make a big announcement. Traders expect the Fed will finally end its zero-interest-rate policy (ZIRP) and increase its benchmark rate for the first time since 2006. But this isn't the only big event on the economic calendar. Traders will eye critical November reports on U.S. industrial production and housing starts.
- Activist Woes: Billionaire manager of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management Bill Ackman told his clients that this year is likely going to be his firm's worst ever. In a 17-page letter, Ackman tracked his negative performance but said very few customers have asked for their money back. Ackman has seen a lot of money disappear on paper after incorrect calls on Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) and Platform Specialty Products Corp. (NYSE: PAH).
- Oil Outlook: Oil prices were falling again this morning on news U.S. crude inventories increased for the week and on expectations the Fed will boost interest rates. January WTI prices were down 1.3% at $36.87 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent oil crude – priced in London – fell 2.2% to hit $37.66. Later this morning, the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on domestic crude inventories.
Earnings Outlook: ORCL, FDX, JOY, PIR, JBL, HGR, MLHR, AAV
- Earnings Report No. 1, ORCL: After market close, Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) will report fiscal second-quarter earnings. Wall Street expects an EPS report of $0.61 on top of $9.094 billion in revenue.
- Earnings Report No. 2, FDX: Before the market opens, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) will report second-quarter earnings. Wall Street analysts projected per-share earnings of $2.53 on $12.435 billion in revenue.
- Additional companies reporting quarterly earnings include Joy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY), Pier 1 Imports Inc. (NYSE: PIR), Jabil Circuit Inc. (NYSE: JBL), Herman Miller Inc. (Nasdaq: MLHR), and Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. (NYSE: AAV).
Stocks to Watch: VRX, WBA, P, GE
- Stocks to Watch No. 1, VRX: Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (NYSE: VRX) were up another 3% in pre-market hours despite news the company slashed its 2015 earnings outlook and reduced expectations for its 2016 performance. Company CEO Michael Pearson is expected to testify before Congress on rising specialty drug costs, as well. The company saw shares surge more than 16% yesterday after signing an agreement with benefits manager Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA).
- Stocks to Watch No. 2, P: The Copyright Royalty Board – a three-judge panel – will rule today on the royalty rates companies will pay record companies for music over the next five years. Royalties are the single biggest expense for online radio services like Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) and Spotify.
- Stocks to Watch No. 3, GE: Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) were up marginally this morning after the GE stock price neared a 52-week high. This stock was facing the gallows back in 2008 during the financial crisis, but what has happened since is something every investor needs to know, whether you're considering picking up GE shares, selling them, or hanging onto them. Money Morning Capital Wave Strategist Shah Gilani explains how to play GE stock in 2016.
Today's U.S. Economic Calendar (all times EST)
- MBA Mortgage Applications at 7 a.m.
- Housing Starts at 8:30 a.m.
- Industrial Production at 9:15 a.m.
- PMI Manufacturing Index Flash at 9:45 a.m.
- EIA Petroleum Status Report at 10:30 a.m.
- FOMC Meeting Announcement at 2 p.m.
- FOMC Forecast at 2 p.m.
- Fed Chair Press Conference at 2:30 p.m.
What Investors Must Know This Week
- The Best Market Crash Insurance You Can Buy
- Grab Triple-Digit Gains from This "Stealth" Tech Star
- The Real Reason for China's Insatiable Gold Lust
Follow us on Twitter @moneymorning or like us on Facebook.
About the Author
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.
Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.


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Prasenjeet Yadav had a beast of a project before him: sifting through thousands of photographs of urban wildlife taken around the world.
In November 2015, the National Geographic Young Explorer and photographer asked the Your Shot photography community to explore their own cities and send him the most incredible photos of the critters they saw.
They had mere weeks and some clear rules, such as no domesticated animals allowed. (Sorry, lolcat fans.)
"Looking through more than 15,000 images and compiling a story out of 27 was one of the hardest things that I have ever done," Yadav, who is based in Bangalore, India, says by email.
But the project "created something special," he adds, by reminding us how alive our cities really are.
Yadav's final selection of your urban wildlife photos ranges from deer munching on a suburban buffet in England to a bird's-eye view of pigeons in Kuwait. The results show that we're "surrounded by urban wildlife, but unfortunately we tend to ignore the beauty in them," he says.
"It's high time that we bring attention to these species."
—Writing by Christine Dell'Amore. Photo editing by Jeanne Modderman.

subset: commoncrawl


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An intentionally transparant allegory of salvation and spiritual realities. These tales span both our world and "The Realm," which is populated by our twin Glimpses and where the battle for men's hearts and minds is fought. Paragor and its allies continually wage war against the realms of King Eliam the Everlasting. Aidan, Robby, Antoinette and each member of their families must choose to believe in the Realm's reality, or scoff at it as a children's tale. Among those who acknowlege the Realm, will they serve Paragor, or King Eliam?
The Realm and our world were once one and the same, but after The Schism, the two were separated, with each human in our world having a twin in the other-- not human, but a Glimpse. Aidan reads of a kind, just ruler of the land Alleble, called King Eliam. Many years ago, this king was betrayed by his first lieutenant, Paragor, who decided that being second-in-command is no longer good enough for him. Paragor attempted to seize the throne by rounding up the King's most beloved servants & their families, threatening to burn them alive should King Eliam not let Paragor behead him. King Eliam sacrificed himself for his people (Paragor burned the servants alive anyway- only one child escaped), but at the moment when Paragor believed himself king, he & all his followers were thrown forcibly from Alleble by a mysteriously returned King Eliam. Since then, Paragor and his minions have waged an unlrelenting war on Alleble and its allies. Every Glimpse must side with either Eliam or Paragor, and their choice is shown by the color in their eyes-- red for Paragor's servants, blue for Eliam's. Those who side with Paragor or are taken prisoner by him are promised everlasting torment, but those who serve King Eliam are promised to be reunited with their earth twins in the Sacred Realm Beyond the Sun in everlasting joy.


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S1496 PUBLIC RECORDS/GENERAL BILL by Oelrich (Linked S 1506, Identical H 0649, Compare H 0647) Public Records/Crime Scene Photos/Images/Videos [SPSC]; Provides an exemption from the public records law for investigative or crime scene photographs, images, or video recordings of a deceased person, a part of a deceased person, or any part of a person's extreme, severe, or acute injuries held by a law enforcement agency. Provides exceptions for certain relatives, injured persons, or their designees. Provides for future legislative review and repeal. Provides a finding of public necessity, etc. EFFECTIVE DATE: Contingent. 01/27/10 SENATE Filed 02/03/10 SENATE Referred to Criminal Justice; Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Rules 03/02/10 SENATE Introduced, referred to Criminal Justice; Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Rules -SJ 00106 04/30/10 SENATE Died in Committee on Criminal Justice In addition to the above Bill History information, the Division of Legislative
Information publishes a brief Bill Summary (PDF) for the Senate bill AS ORIGINALLY FILED.
Check the Bill Analyses section below for detailed analyses, if available, prepared by the
Senate's professional committee staff.


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Witherspoon, who looked stunning in a purple and white ombre dress, let loose to "I Will Survive." She can be seen whipping her hair, pointing up to the sky, jumping up and down, and even swinging an imaginary lasso.
Watch the video!
The festivities took place at Taverna Anema e Core in Capri on Wednesday.
Musician Guido Lembo, who performed at the party, told Us Weekly, "Reese was beautiful, natural, down to earth. She danced and sang Johnny Cash songs. She is very friendly, very easygoing."


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I recently scanned over 400 slides. I shot most of them on movie reversal film I bulk rolled to save money. The upside was I saved money. The downside was and is, they're not in great shape compared with the (few) Kodachrome slides I shot. I recently had them all scanned with ScanCafe and while my slides were a mess (very dirty) the service did a good job on them.
This is the first of many posts telling some of the stories the slides illustrate. What I've learned in looking at these scans is that in order to tell a story you don't need a perfect image, just a good enough image to illustrate the story. Of course, it's only in retrospect that a story can be built out of images like these. Interesting to think about going forward.
In the late 1970's I got deeply into rock climbing. I started small and local in Eugene, Oregon and eventually did quite a bit of climbing all over the Northwest and in Yosemite Valley, California. Those were great years and I'll be posting lots of images from many of the climbs I did back then. I shot most of them with one of two Olympus XA cameras I had back then (a fixed prime lens clamshell compact rangefinder camera).
I taught climbing classes for the Eugene, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department and did a bit of private guiding on routes too remote or difficult for classes. In 1981 I dropped out of the climbing scene and pretty much everything else for a while to try to get to the bottom of a problem I'd had my entire life: dyslexia. In those days I wasn't much of a multi-tasker: I found it difficult to do the work I was doing researching my reading and writing problems and at the same time carry on the rest of my life, so, I stopped everything until I got a handle on the reading and writing problems.
Richard writing on his Olympia manual typewriter.
One of my most significant early tools was an Olympia manual typewriter. It solved my handwriting problems completely and for the first time in my life I could read my own writing. And, it allowed me to write without pain in my hands from bearing down too hard. But, the typewriter was just the beginning.
Julia King
When I came up for air in 1982 I decided to put an ad up at the local climbing spot that I was guiding again. I needed money and for me, this was a way to make some.
Richard's climbing instruction flier.
Not long after I put up the ad I got a call from a women named Julia King. She had been on a mountaineering expedition on Mt. Jefferson in the Oregon Cascades and had watched as her then boyfriend slid down a snowfield to his death. That had shaken her up so badly that she got out of climbing. She wanted back in and wanted a gentle instructor to take her up a climb to break the ice.
We made a plan to drive up to a climbing spot called The Menagerie which is a collection of odd shaped rock formations in the western foothills of the Oregon, Cascades. The formations have names like Rooster Rock, Chicken Rock, and Hen Rock. The most well known climb there that I'd done numerous times was on Rooster Rock and that's what Julia and I planned to start off with to see how she did.
Rooster Rock
We drove up to The Menagerie and hiked in to Rooster Rock. To be honest, even though I made this trip many times I have no memory of the various logging roads, trails, or route finding to get to this place. But, in those days I knew it all well. I carried a rucksack with a small rack of gear and we probably only brought a single rope as the rappel off of Rooster rock is short on the uphill side.
I have no particular memory of this but it's a long enough drive so after picking Julia up, we had a few hours in my VW bus to get to know one another. Knowing what I know about her now, my guess is the conversation was wide ranging. Even though I've not seen Julia in 25 or more years, she remains one of the most interesting and brilliant people I've ever known (my wife has met her and agrees), but, I didn't know any of this then, just that we were off for a climbing adventure and I was hoping to make it as much fun and as easy as possible for her.
Julia King sorting slings and flaking rope under Rooster Rock.
The climb was uneventful as I remember it thirty two years later. Julia had climbing experience and knew about rope handling and belaying. Still, she was nervous and that meant I did a lot of talking to reassure her that I was well aware of her and taking good care of us while I led and she followed.
This climb was probably two pitches with a belay on a ledge between them although there are many routes on Rooster Rock and I don't really remember which one we did. No doubt an easy one.
Looking down at Julia belaying while I led the first pitch.
Julia setting up the belay for the second pitch.
At the top we sat on a ledge and had some food and water and talked both about her experiences climbing in Oregon and trekking in Nepal and my experiences of the past few years coming to terms with dyslexia.
Julia on top of Rooster Rock.
The connection
In our discussion Julia mentioned that she thought that given the types of problems I was having with writing, writing with a computer would solve some problems for me. This wasn't the first time I'd heard about the effects of editing text electronically, but Julia explained what she thought would make it work for me in a way that was both clear and convincing. She said that her then boyfriend Greg Estes had an IBM PC and I should stop by their house when we got back to Eugene to try writing with it.
I don't remember talking much more about this on our walk out and drive home. Climbing is an exciting thing to do and the purpose of our trip was to get Julia over her fear and it seemed like we'd done that. She was extremely happy which made me happy. And, I was happy that after a period of time away from climbing I could still climb well and safely lead someone up up a moderate climb. Most importantly, I'd met an amazing person who would remain my close friend for many years to come.
I can't remember if I went to their house and tried Greg's computer that very day or a day later but it was very soon after we returned to Eugene. Greg Estes was a DBase programmer who wrote and published a magazine called Programmer's Journal which Julia helped edit and lay out. They'd both trekked extensively in Nepal where they met and they were both my kind of people: informal, well informed, easy going, and worldly.
After meeting Greg, he booted up his IBM PC (no hard disk or PC AT yet) and put in a disk with a simple writing program on it. He typed in the command to launch the program and backed away from the computer, leaving a green screen with a flashing cursor and a keyboard.
He told me to sit down and type something out on the keyboard. At this point you should know that even though I could tell right away that there was little chance of humiliating myself in front of these people, I was petrified, not of the computer, but of exposing anyone else to my spelling and writing. Even though I'd spent the previous two years hunting and pecking on a typewriter and my writing had improved tremendously during that time, it was still crude and I was still sensitive about it.
I wish I could remember the first sentence I wrote but it might have been something like, "hello my name is Richard." Whatever it was I made a few mistakes which was good as it gave Greg something to teach me with. He told me to use the arrow keys to back the cursor up (the term cursor was new to me at that point) and put it just after the problem I wanted to fix, then use the backspace key to delete the problem letter and type the correct letter, fixing the problem.
Anyone reading this in 2014 takes all of this for granted and has for decades, but back then only a small number of people had experienced electronic editing and they tended to be of the nerdy persuasion. Greg talked me through a bit more writing and editing doing a few different things, then he sat down and demonstrated some other things which blew my mind.
We're talking rudimentary word processing here, nothing fancy. But in those days just a "block move" (cutting and pasting) was a big deal.
Then he and Julia walked out of the room to fix dinner leaving me with the computer and writing software. I continued to experiment and pretty soon formed a thought that has stuck with me to this day:
Writing with a pen or a typewriter is very much like sculpting stone, the consequences of making a mistake involve a complete rewrite. Writing with a computer is very much like working with clay because writing/editing and printing are separate pieces of the process, the consequences of making a mistake are eliminated because the writing remains plastic and editable at all times.
Note: I have both a BFA and an MFA in ceramics and while I was pretty much done with ceramics at that point, working with clay remained and remains an important piece of my life.
I would later go on to write numerous articles about "mistake tolerant tools and processes" comparing older analog tools with their newer digital counterparts. I had a gut feeling about this that very first day but it was unformed, just excitement and wonder.
We had dinner, talked more about it and about lots of other stuff and Greg offered to help me if I decided to get a computer. It was an incredible evening.
In the next few days I went to my local bookstore and did some research and poured through The Whole Earth Catalog which was just beginning to mention computers and got a copy of Peter McWilliams' The Word Processing Book. In the end, I decided to get an IBM PC, MS DOS and WordStar mostly because I had Greg as a local resource and I really liked him.
Richard writing with his IBM PC, image by Gary Sharp
Writing with my computer
Once I got set up using my new computer one of the first things I did was a lot of enthusiastic writing on what it was like to write with a computer.
I did a piece for The Whole Earth Software Review, Issue #1, Spring, 1984: Word Processing Computers as Remedial Writing Tools. I also did a piece for the June, 1984 issue of Softalk for the IBM PC Personal Computer: Bridge to Clarity, the computer as a compensatory writing tool. And I did various software review pieces for Greg and Julia's magazine, Programmer's Journal reviewing various writing and editing software for the IBM PC.
I did a lot of other writing as well, some of which was published in both tech and learning related magazines I've long since forgotten.
Here are two later pieces that were posted online describing that early process:
Tools for People With Writing Problems
How computers change the writing process for People with Learning Disabilities
Greg was a member of the Eugene IBM PC user's group (he may have started it) and I joined up for a while as well.
During this time a woman named Norma Fuller who lived near Anchorage, Alaska read one of my pieces and called me up to see about bringing me up to Alaska to do a series of workshops for a group of dyslexic adults there. I taught there numerous times and made a great connection with her and others in Alaska (that will be another post with more scanned slides).
During the first few years I got involved with computers I was not only writing about my experience as a dyslexic writing with a computer, I was also trying out lots of writing and spelling/grammar support software which was pretty crude in those days compared with what it's like now. During one of my trips to a computer store in Eugene, I got to play around with Apple's new Lisa computer. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it but it was definitely interesting. At $10,000 it was far out of my reach but it did get me thinking about another way of using these new tools.
IBM PC to Macintosh
In mid-1984, Greg and I decided to go down to San Francisco to attend the West Coast Computer Faire. Greg was trying to drum up new subscribers to Programmer's Journal and I was always up for a trip to San Francisco and I'd never been to a computer trade show which were relatively new.
I don't remember much about the trade show except that at some point I lost Greg and stumbled into Apple Computer, Inc's booth which consisted of a fifteen foot 128K Macintosh with a projector in it such that a person operating a real Macintosh on a podium off to the side could demonstrate on it. The Macintosh had recently been introduced so it was new but the booth, amazingly, wasn't all that crowded.
The person running the demo was Andy Hertzfeld and much of the first Macintosh team was hanging out in the booth, including Steve Jobs who I recognized immediately.
I watched the demo for a bit, then I walked up to Jobs and told him I was planning another trip to Alaska to work with adults with learning disabilities, I was taking twenty Compaq computers and I thought it would be great to have a Macintosh along so that we could see what LD adults could do with its mouse and graphical user interface.
Jobs loved the idea, called Mike Murray over (Murray was the first marketing manager for the Macintosh at Apple) and told him to send me a Macintosh immediately. Jobs gave me his card (with AppleLink email address) and told me to get back to him with whatever happened in Alaska.
I eventually found Greg and told him what had happened. In those days it was still possible to meet Steve Jobs in an Apple trade show booth and while it sounds amazing in retrospect, I did have small a sense of how important that encounter was. But, I had no sense of what was to come: my eventual migration from PC to Mac, starting the Eugene Macintosh User's Group, presenting at numerous conferences for Apple on the Macintosh and LD in the next 6 months, moving to Connecticut to start the first Mac lab in the country for dyslexic high school students (with Apple's backing), writing, editing, and publishing The Macintosh Lab Monitor with international circulation (also with Apple's backing), meeting my wife at that school, continued consulting for Apple for the next twenty years, a few more meetings with Steve Jobs, many hundreds of workshops and presentations on the Macintosh in education all over the world, and much more.
Julia and Richard after the Rooster Rock climb.
Looking at these pictures of Julia and me on that climb brings back a flood of memories and what's almost telescopic about it all is that the tool I'm writing this on and viewing the digital images on (a computer) is one that she helped lead me to and one that she and Greg were very early adopters of. They were both out in front of the digital revolution. I caught up fast but these two people were my introduction.
Julia also taught me how to make "sherpa tea" (she guided treks in Nepal before we met) and to this day I think of her when I make it. Of course, like many things, she was out in front of the wave: now chai is everywhere but back then…
Wherever you are Julia, thank you. You too Greg.


text: The Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF) and Turner Biodiversity Divisions (TBD) are dedicated to conserving biological diversity by ensuring the persistence of imperiled species and their habitats with an emphasis on private land. Our activities range from single species conservation actions to restoration of ecological communities and functional ecosystems. We are unique in our efforts to bring the role of private lands to the forefront of ecological conservation. We aim to use the best science to effectively conserve biodiversity and disseminate reliable scientific and policy information. We are determined to establish a new level of effectiveness for private-public efforts to redress the extinction crisis.


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Healthy Tofu Chocolate Ice Cream
one package silken tofu (16 oz)
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
12 packets of sugar substitue or 3/4 cup of vegan sugar
vanilla extract to taste
Put all the ingredients into a blender and blenderize until smooth!! Taste test the mix, add more vegan sugar, chocolate or vanilla if needed. Put into freezer safe container and freeze to desired consistency. (I like to freeze mine until it is hard and then soften it a bit in the microwave). This is really good and really healthy!!!!
Nutrition info for 1/4 (made with vegan sugar substitute) (varies by brand of tofu): 70 calories, 3 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein
This "ice cream" was absolutely delish! I'm new to the vegan scene and was looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth. Taking all the reviews into consideration, I cut the sweetner (I used Hawaiian raw cane sugar) down to 1/2 cup - I think I'll cut it down to either 1/4 or 1/3 on my next batch as it was still very sweet. I also put maybe 1/4 cup chocolate almond milk (maybe that increased the sweetness) to help it blend better. Oh yeah, I used soft silken tofu and it turned out very creamy - no chalky texture. Also, per another recommendation, I stirred it frequently - excellent suggestion (maybe once an hour - 3 times or so??) Thanks for the great treat!
;)b I feel like a culinary genius right now. I just made the Healthy Tofu Chocolate Ice Cream and was absolutely amazed at myself...A) because it turned out right, and B) because it tasted so good. I cannot wait for my partner to get home and finally have a dessert with dinner...instead of me saying every night that I need chocolate and ice cream and going without because nobody wants to go to the store and buy any...lol. This recipe is perfect and SUPER EASY! Thank you for sharing!
I haven't made this in a long time and forgot how good it is. I should've read my previous review first though, because I used "real" sugar again but didn't lessen it and it was actually too sweet. But it comes together in less than 5 minutes (except for freezing time) and is really good! I used lite silken tofu. Took at least 3 hours to freeze though (no ice cream maker). I might try to make a strawberry version. In the middle of freezing it gets to a nice chocolate mousse consistency.
I used regular baking cocoa & splenda.. gave it a bitter flavor & it had that scrine flavor. Tossed it and started from scratch. Still used the baking cocoa, but used rice syrup & 1/2c regular sugar. This was a lot better, but still not right. I will pick up some different cocoa this next weekend, and try it again, but with honey or agave syrup instead. Trying to not use sugar.
This really hit the spot during a chocolate fit! I used more cocoa and less sugar since I like my chocolate pretty chocolate-y.
righteous recipe! I used some less sugar and orange extract + some orange rind instead of the vanilla. Choclatey orange gourmet. haha, love it
So my non healthy version of this recipe included adding chopped pecans, Kahlua and swirling through some peanut butter and some shaved chocolate after it had frozen slightly, oh and I used sugar. I also added a little dissolved agar agar (I just found this stuff and it's my new thing, gee wonder what this would be like if I added agar agar). Maybe cause I whipped it a few times after it was in the freezer but it was a perfect consistency for me, i.e. didn't go hard.
So, maybe not so healthy but at least it doesn't contain any trans fat like the prepackaged equivalent and it costs barely a third of the price.
I liked this a lot, was pleasantly surprised. I used sugar, not a sugar sub. so unfortunately it's not healthy (although it's still pretty low-fat). But to me, it tastes just like store-bought chocolate ice-cream! And I have to say, I thought it was exactly the consistency of ice-cream. I did give it a good stir every 45 minutes or so for the first few hours (I was in the kitchen anyway), so maybe that helped. It got pretty hard overnight but I just defrosted it for a minute and it was good to go.
Also, the recipe calls for a 16oz package of silken tofu, and the only ones I've seen are 12.3oz, so I cut back a little on the sugar (still used 1/4c cocoa).
If I didn't know that this was just tofu with cocoa and sweetener, I'd probably think it was "real" ice-cream.
I'll also try other variations, maybe using those strawberries I have lying around.
Thanks for sharing! And thanks for the picture, too-- there are so many recipes on this site I never thought about trying until I saw the pic!
This recipe is a life saver since I have to walk or ride my bike to the grocery store. Now I can make at home!!
I would add that it's not so much like ice cream as a 'sorbet' type of consistency. And after it freezes completely (about 8 hours), it is VERY hard.
I plan to vary the recipe using RUM and other flavors or fresh mint leaves with the chocolate, and instead of coco powder, using frozen berries to make a tofu fruit 'ice cream'.
Thank you!!!


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"Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice." ―Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Trending: Deep Web Chat Logs Show Conspiracy to Overthrow Trump?
Jihadist Immigration: The Greatest Threat to America's Free Republic
Perhaps the greatest threat today to America's democratic republic is the immigration into the country of so many intolerant, freedom-hating people who promise to do everything within their power to overthrow that republic. As a body of law that is not Islamically guided, the US Constitution is considered to be jahiliyya by Islam and, as such, must be targeted for destruction by the devout Muslims coming here. The entire point of the jihad is to displace non-Islamic law with Islamic law, and there are four kinds of jihad that are used to accomplish this task: 1) the jihad of money; 2) the jihad of speech; 3) the jihad of writing; and 4) the jihad of murder.
Indeed, the use of money to purchase stock in news corporations, to buy control of textbook companies, and to utilize towards the endowment of university fellowships is, perhaps, more important than terror attacks when it comes to successful prosecution of the Grand Jihad—the big-picture Project of the Muslim Brotherhood to destroy the West. (Read about the Muslim Brotherhood Project here.) Speech by legal mouthpieces of the Muslim Brotherhood, such as the lawyers of CAIR, can also work untold damage, especially with the propensity of journalists to report only that which is "politically-correct" and the tendency of activist judges to rule based almost exclusively in favor of the political argument they like best, rather than on what the actual text of the law says. And misleading articles written by misguiding Islamic apologists can likewise be damaging as well. The jihad of murder is, when viewed from this perspective, only one of four different ways to perform jihad. The more all forms of jihad are utilized, the harder it becomes to protect America's democratic republic from eroding over time, ultimately risking the eventual downfall of the free world. For the sake of the pursuit of happiness and the preservation of the Golden Rule, Muslim immigration needs to be severely restricted, if not halted altogether. The consequence of not getting serious about this matter may well be the toppling of America's free republic.
Americans Must Educate Themselves about Islam
Beyond hoping for the best worldwide in terms of outcomes for the jihad, Americans need to educate themselves about Muhammad and the example he has set for Muslims as recorded in his biography and the hadiths of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Also, once Muhammad's life is understood, some Koran reading might also be in order. But learning is not enough, if Americans do not use this knowledge to inform their decisions in the voting booth. And it is incumbent on all Americans who love freedom and wish to pass it on to the next generation to teach their children about Muhammad as well. The schools and the media—even America's religious institutions—are unreliable in this regard, for the people running them have all attended the same universities who have been endowed for many years now by Islam—by the Saudis, the Qataris, the Libyans, et cetera. So, teach the children well. They need to know the truth about what they are, and will be, up against.
Turning the Other Cheek to Muhammad
The West has been turning the other cheek to Muhammad, so to speak, for centuries now, like a battered wife who continues to go back to her abusive husband, denying the terrible atrocities that have been carried out against her. The West, perhaps like a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, has been showing empathy and affection towards a terrible, genocidal ideology that has, in a very real sense, taken Western civilization hostage and has begun to tear it down, brick by brick. And the guardians and protectors of Western culture are doing nothing to stop the fascistic ideals of Islam from being carried out against Westerners. Aided by an Islamically-sycophantic media, the West continues in its failure to teach the horrible history of jihad and the real-world effects of Islamic doctrine. Western media and politicians have even gone so far as to accuse—Muslim-style—the nation of Israel for sticking up for itself and defending its citizens, the same way many beaten Muslim wives demonize liberal Western women, possibly because Western women are much less likely to agree to take a beating, and thereby submit to abuse, the way so many illiberal Muslim women must.
The Illiberal Left Is Anti-Woman, Anti-Gay, & Anti-Kafir
Originally, the term "liberal" was a reference based upon, or advocating for, the most freedom possible for the individual and for guarantees of individual rights and liberties. But many in the West have forgotten what classical liberalism is really about. Many politicians in the West, who style themselves as "liberals," have become advocates more and more for those people who despise true liberalism—such as doctrinaire Muslims. Any politician, journalist, professor, or clergyman who advocates for an increase in Muslim immigration into the country cannot claim to be liberal in the sense of being an equal-rights advocate or protector for women, for gays, for Kafirs (non-Muslims of all stripes, including atheists), for libertarians, for pacifists, for privacy advocates, or for political dissenters. All of these groups, by their very existence, run afoul of the Sharia and would incur the unmerciful wrath of any government advocating for Sharia Law or the promotion of Islamic ideals.
By importing more Muslims in general, into America, the US government is, as a side-effect, importing more jihadists in specific. And jihad, remember, is much more than the narrow definition of "holy war." Jihad, more accurately, means "struggle." The more Muslims America brings in, the more Americans will find themselves forced to confront the following: 1) the jihad of money, by spending more of their wealth to protect their natural rights; 2) the jihad of speech, by having to utilize valuable time to speak out on civil-rights issues that should have been settled; 3) the jihad of writing, by putting more effort into responding to court actions brought by jihadists employing lawfare; and 4) the jihad of murder, by having to purchase more security in the forms of alarm systems, self-defense weapons, et cetera. All of this expenditure of effort will prove time-consuming and expensive. But it will be necessary, since, undefended, the human rights of all Americans will wane into extinction. And none of this use of resources would be necessary, if only immigration into the country were being managed for the benefit of its citizenry, rather than for the benefit of a statist political class which seeks to increase the numbers of a particular voting demographic.
Westerners in general, and Americans in specific, need to arm themselves with correct information about Muhammad and Islam, because it is high time that lovers of freedom stop turning the other cheek to Muhammad. To the jihadist, doing so does not signal bravery, but cowardice.
It is time to fight back.
The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by EagleRising.com


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Barnacle Is BoredBook - 2016
From the critics
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From a Colorado author a funny, hilarious story about a barnacle and its daily Life which is a boring routine, but it is very safe finally. Simple and comical illustrations.
Cute story about Barnacle who is bored. Every day is the same (he describes them). Then along comes a polka-dotted fish. Barnacle imagines all the fun thing that fish gets to do with all the other fish in the ocean. Until another, bigger fish swims along looking hungry. We do actually see what happens to the other fish (the barnacle covers his eyes), but on the back inside cover the is an illustration of the bigger fish, with the polka dotted guy in his stomach. Suddenly the barnacle is not bored! Cute!
Great story for children old enough to have experienced boredom, and understand the concept of not taking something for granted/seeing that one experience might not be the best but it is better than being eaten. The illustrations are large enough to share with a large crowd. A quick read that will delight everyone around.
Cute account of a day in the life of a bored barnacle is a great vocabulary builder that takes a turn into a food chain lesson just before the end.
A turn of events has a mopey Barnacle reconsider his infinite state of boredom. Fenske delivers a delightful read-aloud!
Great book for storytime. Nice large illustrations and funny text. Love the surprise on the end papers.
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What's wrong with this picture? The IRS has stated that its spent $16-$18 million to recover lost emails for this one inquiry. Why?
According to estimates, it would cost well over ten million dollars to upgrade the IRS information technology infrastructure in order to save and store all email ever sent or received by the approximately 90,000 current IRS employees.
That estimate sounds low, but a million will buy a large tape library for archiving. But even if the cost were 3 times that, the IRS would have a nice return on its investment based on the savings from this one incident. How many other, smaller Congressional requests are incurring similar costs due to poor archiving practice?
But this isn't just a government problem. All companies are potentially subject to the process of legal discovery in a lawsuit, not unlike the process Congress is forcing on the IRS.
As soon as litigation can be reasonably expected, companies have a responsibility to protect relevant data. Company lawyers place a "legal hold" corporate data, notifying officers and employees of the requirement. Then that data needs to be segregated and preserved. Not doing so can have costly legal consequences.
In this case, the IRS placed the responsibility for archiving emails on individual employees instead of an automated and searchable archive. Employees typically responded by saving .PST files on their disk drives and when those crashed the "archives" were lost. By the way, Microsoft specifically recommends against using .PST files as archives.
The Storage Bits take "Penny wise, pound foolish" applies here. We underfund and undermanage critical IT infrastructures and then wonder why things blow up.
It is ironic that anti-government/anti-tax conservatives, reluctant to fund government properly, are frustrated by the results of their penny-pinching. But ultimately it is we, the tax payers, who foot the bill for their fake budgetary heroics.
For enterprise IT, this highlights the importance of enlisting support from other stakeholders - such as legal - for making needed investments. It's too easy for the CFO to look at a big capital expense request and just say no - unless other parts of the company are also saying "yes!"
Comments welcome, of course. What's your favorite missed investment opportunity story?


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A private accommodated tour including Namibia, Botswana safari and Victoria falls
(camping option is available)
This wonderful safari travels through the highlights of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. Visiting the ancient Namib Desert, the barren coastline then meandering through the vast Plains of Etosha National Park, before reaching the Northern green belt of the Caprivi which offers a stark contrast to the rest of the country from here we enter Botswana and explore the spectacular Chobe National Park. Here you will enjoy game drives and an unforgettable Chobe River cruise amongst the ellies, hippos and crocs! The tour concludes in Zambia where we will visit the Victoria Falls world heritage site and cruise along the mighty Zambezi.
Day 1 – Windhoek to Sesriem
Day 2 – Sesriem and Sossusvlei
Day 3& 4 – Swakopmund
Day 5 – Kamanjab
Day 6 & 7 – Etosha National Park
Accommodated Tour: Park Chalets (Day 6: B D, Day 7: B)
Day 8: Rundu
Day 9 – Caprivi
Day 10 and 11 – Kasane (Chobe National Park, Botswana)
Day 12 & 13 – Victoria Falls Zambia
Day 14 – Livingstone back to Johannesburg
To book any of these tours or to talk to us about tailoring a tour or finding something more suitable to your budget click here


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Life Insurance
Carnegie Institution provides basic life insurance, plus the opportunity to purchase elective life insurance. To be eligible for basic life insurance coverage, you must be an active full-time employee. As a Carnegie employee, you are automatically enrolled in our basic life insurance program. Both the basic life insurance and supplemental life insurance are provided by Guardian Insurance Company.
Plan Information
- Carnegie's basic term life insurance provides a benefit if you die when employed at the Institution. The Institution-paid benefit of two-times (2x) annual salary with a maximum benefit of $200,000 is offered at no cost to Carnegie employees.
- Carnegie full-time regular employees may purchase elective life insurance through Guardian in $50,000 increments up to $500,000. You pay the full cost of this extra insurance through payroll deduction. Coverage ends when your employment with Carnegie ends (although you may continue the policy directly with the insurance company). The monthly premium rates are based on your age and are listed in the Guardian brochure. As you grow older and move into a new age bracket, your premiums increase.
- Eligible employees who already have elective life insurance can increase it every year at open enrollment by $50,000 (with no medical exam) to the maximum of $200,000 (with completion of the Evidence of Insurability form).
- Employees who do not enroll within 30 days of their employment date are eligible for guaranteed issue of $50,000 at open enrollment. Any amount over $50,000 requires the completion of the Evidence of Insurability form.
- If you buy elective coverage for yourself, you may also purchase coverage for your spouse and unmarried children. For your spouse, you may purchase up to 50% of the amount you buy on your own life (in $25,000 increments). You may purchase 10% of your elected amount up to $10,000 for each child. **There is no guaranteed issue amount for a spouse or children, and the Evidence of Insurability form will need to be completed.


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Murdoch: Transforming The Wall Street Journal
Rupert Murdoch's 2007 acquisitions of The Wall Street Journalsignificantly altered the power structure of the U.S. newspaper industry—and of the broader business culture. In War at the Wall Street Journal: Inside the Struggle to Control an American Business Empire, Sarah Ellison chronicles the backstory behind the deal. Ellison, a former Journal reporter, spoke with NEWSWEEK's Daniel Gross. A podcast of their conversation can be heard here.
The origins of this tale are really in the Bancroft family, one of those strange, old WASP clans that nobody has much heard of. Tell us about them.
The Bancrofts are one of these old American newspapers families, and which are sort of a dying breed. They were made up of about 35 adults and largely had their roots in New England and Boston. These were the descendents of Clarence Barron who bought The Wall Street Journal very early on and was sort of the founder of the Journal and Dow Jones as we know it.
And 70 years later, the family was collecting dividends, but they weren't involved in the business in any substantial way.
Exactly. There wasn't any encouragement to be involved with the business, or certainly not within news. And while that allowed the newspaper to flourish without any kind of intervention from its owner, it created this very strained relationship and distant relationship with the company that they actually owned. And so when it came time to figure out exactly what they were going to do with it in order to keep it going, they were sort of paralyzed.
Throughout the early part of this past decade, the Journal was doing well journalistically, but the parent company wasn't performing that well. Peter Kann, a former great journalist for the Journal, was the CEO. They had lost a lot of money on Telerate, which is a data business. And this new guy comes on the scene: Richard Zannino. How did he get into the position of power at Dow Jones?
Peter Kann was an amazing journalist and maintained the journalistic standards at the Journal for a long, long, long time. There was enough concern about how the company was doing after this disastrous Telerate performance, which was a deal that they had sort of bumbled into and then couldn't really get out of without having a write down of a billion dollars. They looked outside for someone to be the chief financial officer. And a search firm found this very bright, very smart, very financially astute guy—Rich Zannino. He was CFO for several years and then became the chief operating officer and then he became the CEO once Peter Kann stepped down.
So you've got the disgruntled cousins who want money, this CEO who doesn't really care all that much about the future of the newspaper and knows his time is limited, and then the predator, Rupert Murdoch. Was he always interested in the Journal?
The Wall Street Journal is the most powerful business paper in the most powerful country in the world. And for him that is an enormously tantalizing opportunity. He tried to buy the Financial Times years ago. That didn't work. And he had his eye on the Journal and was waiting for this very opportune moment where you had a change in the CEO, a change in the trustee that was representing the Bancroft family, and a major change at the top of the newsroom at the Wall Street Journal, which was that Paul Steiger was retiring and being replaced. [Murdoch] thought he might be able to take advantage of that situation.
The way you describe it, it was sort of child's play for him. It was Murdoch against these cousins, who really had very little to do with business and didn't know much about it.
Murdoch was collecting information and doing a lot of research on the family. He is very democratic in the way he will take information from anyone who has a tip. But he managed to define the fissures in the family, which were many. And so when he finally made the offer—and the important thing about the offer is that it was $60 per share and was far higher than anyone else was willing to go—it was almost a foregone conclusion that they were going to sell.
So this offer comes, April of '07. You were at the Journal at the time. What was the reaction in the newsroom?
As much as people anticipated and knew that Murdoch was very interested in buying the Journal, when the offer actually came in people were pretty surprised and shocked by it. The reaction in the family and in management was just completely a scramble to figure out exactly how they were going to handle things. The Bancrofts had no clear leader. They were not united by any matriarch or patriarch in the family. And these old divisions that had been present for years and years came to the fore and it made it impossible for them to actually all face in the same direction and agree on a certain strategy.
The Bancrofts didn't want to be seen as simply selling out to Murdoch for whatever price he was willing to pay. So in addition to price, they tried to negotiate some protections for the newsroom. How did that pan out?
They essentially told Murdoch they were willing to sell because they needed and wanted the money, but that they wanted the Journal to remain protected. So they came up with an editorial independence agreement that is similar in some ways to what Murdoch agreed to when he bought the Times of London 20-some years ago. It was supposed to protect the three top editors of the Journal from commercial interference from the owner. Murdoch was pretty offended by that—just the overall notion that he was unfit to own this newspaper. And of course four months after he took the paper over he forced the top editor of the newsroom to resign. And now he's making all the kinds of changes that he always wanted to make to the newspaper with his new editor, Robert Thomson.
How are the Bancroft family members coping with their postownership lives?
The ones that I've spoken to recently are financially very happy that they sold the newspaper, because even though the newspaper industry was struggling in 2007, it's nothing compared to what happened to it during the financial crisis when all of the advertising really, really dried up. And some of them think that the newspaper is better than it ever was under their own ownership, because Murdoch's been able to add news pages and he's investing in the newspaper.
And does the Journal make money now?
My reporting showed that in the first fiscal year under News Corp.'s ownership, it lost money. News Corp. is saying that it's on track to be profitable for 2010. When you're a division of a larger conglomerate, there's a lot of leeway in terms of the way you allocate expenses that can have a major, major effect on whether or not you're profitable.
As you show in the book, Murdoch has a sort of obsession withThe New York Times. And literally within the past couple weeks, has assaulted them frontally with this new metro section. Was that in the works from the beginning?
No, but his motivation was always to knock The New York Times off of its perch. One of the things that Murdoch is very, very good at as a businessman is to sort of spot opportunities. So he looks around and he sees all of these New York businesses that have no where else really to advertise, except for The New York Times if they're looking for that particular type of audience. He's been able to offer enormous discounts on the advertising to local New York companies. What he also wants to do is control the conversation that The New York Times has typically controlled in arts and culture. And I think that The Wall Street Journal's embrace of more general news and arts and cultural coverage is really his effort to no longer cede ground to the Times.
With Emily James


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| 7.9°C Belfast
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted his side wasted too many chances to put the result beyond doubt before eventually beating Southampton 1-0.
Daniel Agger's 43rd-minute header came at the end of a first half the home side dominated entirely. The closest they came to opening the scoring before the goal was when Jonjo Shelvey smashed a drive against the post but a host of other chances went begging.
"The game should have been put to bed well before it was," said Rodgers. "There's no question we should have been out of sight, but the most important thing is it was a terrific performance and another win at Anfield. We continue with another three points and moving up the league."
He added: "The tempo, we shared the ball, everyone was passing and moving, the creativity [was good] in the team throughout the game and it was just getting that little bit of luck with the final ball.
"No matter how much you dominate the game, if it's still only 1-0 going into the final 10 minutes it can always offer you a bit of challenge where you have to defend."
The one downside was a booking for leading scorer Luis Suarez when he needlessly tried to punch in Steven Gerrard's cross, meaning he will be suspended for next Sunday's trip to West Ham.
"That's the way it goes. That was always going to be the risk, but it's an opportunity for someone else to come in," the Reds boss said.


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6:45-7:45pm Chima and Jessie HOH. They are talking about Russell. Chima is shocked that Russell even thinks anyone will vote to keep him Jessie tells her he came up here to take a nap he's super tired, He complains that he's tired of talking game and wants to chill. Chima just keeps going on about Russell. She says Russell is pissed because he's going home and he's going to get worse tomorrow. Jessie points out that Jeff is really laying low.. Chima agrees but tells him that she rarely see him talking to Russell anymore. Jessie saying he noticed today that ever time
Russell was inside Jeff was outside.. They start counting the votes they easily have enough votes. The talk changes to siblings Jessie tells her he empathises with her not being close with her sister.. He's 10 years apart from his brothers and he says his relationship is different with them because of that separation…he never grew up with them. He says he can?t imagine what it would be like to be 20 years apart like chima.
Natalie joins them
Chima tells them she thinks her alliance sleeps too much.. the other people are always up doing things and all I see you guys do is sleep. Natalie is laughing she says she didn't sleep all day… JEssie calls her out say she was sleeping on the couch for hours when everyone was talking. Natalie tells them she started hugging Lydia on the couch because she thought it was Jessie… WHen she realized it wasn't she said "Oh SHIT I thought you were Jessie" than I ran upstairs.
Natalie is telling them that she see Jeff and Jordan as a major threat.. She thinks they need to break them up first.
Chima completely agrees, says once Russell is gone we'll go after Jeff. Jessie says Jeff might have the power and he'll turn this house upside down. Natalie says another target should be Michelle but after Jeff leaves. Chima thinks that Jeff will be a easy target because he's with Russell. Chima telling them about spitting in Russell?s face to get him to hit her.. Jessie doesn't think she should go that far. Natalie tells her she doesn't want to take a hit from Russell. Chima goes on about if he hits her she's going to press charges on him. I could make sure that is ass sees the inside of a cell AND get r**** up the a$$ on a regular basis. Jessie and scrappy a little speechless. than chima starts laughing and all of them follow suit. CHima keeps calling Russell a terrorist and Jessie threw in a Osama … feeds get cut….Chima wonders if Russell will start following around her yelling like he did with ROnnie.. She thinks he might say something about her mother being sick, Jessie doesn't think so because than he'll have the whole house coming after him. Chima says the whole house is already coming after him or maybe you know something i don't.. .Chima points out that Russell is only going after the women, Jessie agrees she says he looks like a F*** misogynist. Jessie tells them that Russell has never yelled at Natalie.. and he thinks he's just yelling at you because of the position Chima's in. He brings up Russell yelling at Ronnie. They stat talking about Jeff and Jordan.. They agree taht they need to keep reminding j/j about
how big of a liar Russell is and how he's already won 10grand. Jessie starts talking about what it is like when you leave the house and go into the real world. He says that you will have people that like you and people that hate your guts. He tells her be prepared to see some nasty comments on you tube… Natalie is hunger and she wants Jessie to go Microwave her a steak (YUM).. They are looking at the spy screen to see where Russell is, Natalie says they should yell downstairs "TERRORIST" Chima laughs no just say "TERROR". Jessie leaves to get food.
7:00-7:45pm Backyard Russell drinking with his hat down getting ready to go Ghetto.
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Home > RCI > Center for International Stabilization and Recovery > The Journal > Vol. 18 > Iss. 2 (2014)
Article Title
While casualties inevitably occur during wars as a result of hostilities, munitions explosions are far more dangerous because they can injure or kill thousands of civilians and military personnel in a single incident. These detonations are not a new occurrence; they have happened as far back as World War I.
Recommended Citation
Zahaczewsky, George
"CWD Response to Ammunition Depot Accidents,"
The Journal of ERW and Mine Action
: Vol. 18
, Article 3.
Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol18/iss2/3
Included in
Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons


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Why is it that our brains and our bodies are normally so much more complex and ordered than our behavior?
This post is a sequel to my recent post, "God, Cows and Human Consciousness"
According to the Smithsonian, there are an estimated 37.2 trillion cells in one human body (1). In each one of those cells are 20,000 to 25,000 genes located on 46 chromosomes (2).
The nucleus of each cell in our bodies contains approximately 1.8 metres (European spelling) of DNA in total, although each strand is less than one millionth of a centimetre thick. (2).
The average human brain has about 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) and many more neuroglia (or glial cells) which serve to support and protect the neurons. Each neuron may be connected to up to 10,000 other neurons, passing signals to each other via as many as 1,000 trillion synaptic connections, equivalent by some estimates to a computer with a 1 trillion bit per second processor. Estimates of the human brain's memory capacity vary wildly from 1 to 1,000 terabytes (for comparison, the 19 million volumes in the US Library of Congress represents about 10 terabytes of data…3).
Considering such facts, I have to ask myself why there are people cutting heads off of other people, extorting huge sums of money from those who are already poor, vandalizing and stealing property which their neighbors worked hard for, walking away from their own children, and acting out a whole host of other ills which plague human existence.
Yes, some people manage to complement their physical complexity, by helping those in need without seeking enrichment, by developing incredible talents, or by helping to heal and to create. But as a whole, the human character has a sorry history. Why, if we evolved, do our bodies vastly out-perform our minds, our souls, our intellect, so that for example, while those trillions of synaptic connections were doing their job three thousand years ago, their owners were belching, scratching their behinds, yelling obscenities, and slicing at each other with swords and clubs? And things really haven't changed much have they?
Solomon in his wisdom gave far better examples to demonstrate what I'm trying to say:
"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion" (Proverbs 11:22).
(And yes, the same goes for the "cute" guy with no heart, right girls?)
There are four considered answers to this question:
1: We are not here, we just think we are;
2: After an expansion of nothing or almost nothing, we evolved on a large piece of rock, and started bashing the daylights out of each other;
3: An alien race "seeded" us here;
4: We were created by an infinite, eternal being which we call God.
In answer to the first possibility, how can non-existent creatures have ideas and then examine them? I would say that if I "think", I must really be here to think, and if I am only thinking that I'm here but I'm not, why do I think myself going to work every day to pay the bills? Can't I think of a more enjoyable, easier existence?
Secondly, while this is not a post designed primarily to cast doubt on the theory of evolution, I have to say the idea of billions of synapses "evolving" from a puddle somewhere to create Moonlight Sonata, trips to the moon and Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is more ridiculous to me than the idea that we aren't here at all.
The belief that we and all living organisms were seeded on this planet by an alien race does nothing to solve the problem of point 2. Since, according to evolution, the universe is finite, the question of how such incredible, conscious complexity arose from nothing or virtually nothing doesn't go away. Not only so, but it seems to me that if we were "seeded" the aliens brought a bad batch to this planet. We can genetically modify a tomato seed: why didn't they genetically modify our seeds before coming here? Were they in too much hurry, or, having invented and developed the technology to cross billions of light years of space, why couldn't they think up a better design, one which wouldn't turn violently on itself, or die of cancer, heart disease etcetera?
In the movie "Expelled" Richard Dawkins, having adamantly declared that the idea of the Biblical God is an abomination to him, and that no such God could have designed what we see all around us, goes on to admit that he considers alien seeding on the earth as a possibility for the origin of life here. Having rejected design, he accepts the possibility of design…so long as it wasn't the Biblical God that did it.
As you may have guessed, I favor the fourth alternative, that a supernatural, infinite and eternal being created all that we see. God is spirit, says the Bible (John 4:24), and he exists before, after, and independently of our time, space and matter universe.
So did God make a bad batch? Did he create evil? I believe the Bible admirably answers these questions: God created a creature capable of choosing to worship and love Him, for which the ability to choose right or wrong, and the potential to actuate wrong-doing was necessary. This is a heavy, meaty concept. I intend to elaborate on it in subsequent posts.
For now, I want to say that God created humankind with great potential, but by turning our backs on Him we have forfeited and thrown away that potential. It's not lost forever, though, because when he said "whoever believes in me has eternal life", he didn't have in mind a perpetual retirement plan: He had in mind the development and fulfillment of our potential as a never-ending way of life for those who have chosen to love Him.
Those who think that this is an empty, boring concept which "must" be wrong, are totally missing the point. How can a God who created the universe and everything in it, which itself "cannot contain him" be too small? How can a God who designed and made DNA, dinosaurs, deltas, dragonflies and diamonds be uninspiring? How can a God who knows all things be too narrow? How can a God who willingly died at the hands of his own creation in order to give every person on earth eternal life be too exclusive and too judgmental? How can a God who created time, space and matter be too new? How can a God who claims to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life, be ignored?
We were created to worship God: that's why we're here. And somehow, when we worship "in spirit and in truth" (John 4) we are willingly engaging all the complexity of our bodies and brains with our spiritual nature in one incredible union with the holy and almighty being who created us in the first place, and who loves us eternally.
* This is another tune I wrote and recorded about twelve years ago, on an album called "Talking Universe" © Nick Fisher
1: http ://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-372-trillion-cells-in-your-body-4941473/?no-ist
2: http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/genetics/vgec/schoolscolleges/topics/dna-genes-chromosomes


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Technical Paper
Advanced Emission and Fuel Economy Concept Using Combined Injection of Gasoline and Hydrogen in SI-Engines
In order to meet future requirements for emission reduction and fuel economy a variety of concepts are available for gasoline engines. In the recent past new pathways have been found using alternative fuels and fuel combinations to establish cost optimized solutions. The presented concept for a SI-engine consists of combined injection of gasoline and hydrogen. A hydrogen enriched gas mixture is being injected additionally to gasoline into the engine manifold. The gas composition represents the output of an onboard gasoline reformer. The simulations and measurements show substantial benefits to improve the combustion process resulting in reduced cold start and warm up emissions and optimized part load operation. The replacement of gasoline by hydrogen-rich gas during engine start leads to zero hydrocarbons in the exhaust gas.


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You put a marshmallow into it. It catches on fire. You shoot it. This, in a nutshell explains how the mazing Roasted Marshmallow Shooter works.
As far as I tell it uses a a toilet paper tube to light the marshmallows which then blow out of the the tube.
Also, don't try this at home.


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Contract Changes for 2013 – 2016
Below are highlights of the language that was Ratified (voted) on October 28, 2013 by our Classified Membership. This language is subject to School Board Approval at the November 4, 2013 meeting. Once approved, we will start the process of reprinting the new contract. You will then be able to obtain a hard copy of your new contract at the Personnel Office or one will be available to download on the district's website. This contract covers all part and full time classified employees at PYLUSD.
Please remember that as a member you have the opportunity to express your input and desired changes/enhancements to YOUR employment contract. The bargaining team is made of 5 individuals who represent 1200 employees across 112 classifications. Next time you receive a survey from us, PLEASE let us know your thoughts regarding any articles in your contract you would like to see changed.
Make sure you're signed up on our Classified Employee website www.pylcsea.com. This website is maintained by your chapter members and is just for PYLUSD classified employees. By signing up you can receive news and information regarding Chapter meetings, negotiations updates, special events, and much more.
We meet once a month at the ESC building from 5:15pm to 6:30pm. You can come participate in chapter business, ask questions, and give us your input. The next meeting is Nov. 12 at 5:15pm.
Chris Lawyer, 2nd VP Chapter 293
- All members will have an individual mailbox at their work site on or before Jan. 1, 2014.
- All members will be provided a District email address.
- Your employee monthly category will now be identified with your total number of "paid work days" per year. This change of title does not result in any changes to classified employees pay check. Those employees who start and finish the school year with students are now 9.5 month employees. See the new chart in Section 12.13.3 of the new agreement.
- "Comp time" off can now be requested at least 2 days in advance instead of 5 days.
- Bargaining unit members who are interested in performing short-term and /or substitute hours need to submit the Short-Term and Substitute Hours Form (See Appendix F in new contract). Members who submit the interest form may be offered sub and short-term work but there is no guarantee.
Hiring Practices
- Interviews for positions that are 4 hours or more will have a Personnel/District Office Manager/ Director serving on the panel as well as a CSEA Representative.
- Initial interviews for all posted vacancies will begin within 21 calendar days after the closing of the posting.
- A "List of Criteria" for each classification will be established by Personnel Office for job application screenings purposes.
- All reference checks will only be conducted by an Administrator, Manager and/or confidential employee of the Personnel Department using the Reference Check Form (Appendix C in the new contract).
- To request a lateral transfer, meaning same job classification with the same number of hours, members will use the new revised Classified Transfer Form. Transfer forms can be found on the www.pylusd.org Personnel page, see your CSEA site rep, and a copy will be printed in the new contract as Appendix D.
- Applicants considered for the transfer to a vacancy may be interviewed and if they are a CSEA panel member will be present.
- If a unit member is denied a specific transfer request, they may request a meeting with a manager of the Personnel Department to discuss their request.
Layoff and Re-Employment
- If a member goes out on a medical leave of absence and can't return to work after using all of their paid and/or unpaid leaves of absence, then they will placed on a 39 month reemployment list as a medical layoff.
- Members who are on medical leave will be notified by the District at least 30 days prior to using up all of their leave.
- In case of any future layoffs, members on the reemployment list shall be provided an interest form (Appendix E) for substitute and/or short term work with their layoff notice.The Board of Education will not authorize any layoffs of classified employees for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The Board of Education will also not authorize any layoffs for the 2014-15 fiscal year unless due to an actual reduction in Federal funding that would impact classified positions.
- Members who submit the interest form will be offered substitute and/or short term work in their own classification prior to that work being offered to other unit members and/or non-bargaining unit members.
- For work in a different classification than their own, members must meet the qualifications of the job description and hiring criteria prior to being offered such work.
Additional Assignment (Summer School and/or Summer Work)
- When the determination is made by the district that worker will be needed beyond the regular school year (except in Transportation department) such opportunities shall be posted prior to May 30th.
- An Interest Form for additional assignment in the areas of Special Ed, Childcare, Campus Supervisors and Food Services shall be provided for unit members working in the applicable classifications first. If additional assignments are available after being offered to members in the applicable classification, then such opportunities shall be posted at each work site and emailed to all members. Available opportunities in all other department and classification will be available at each work site and emailed.
- The assignment of additional work in the Maintenance and Facilities Department shall be made among unit members submitting interest forms utilizing the following factors in the following order: availability, seniority, and any documented attendance abuse.
Furlough Days Based on Calendar of Employees
|Date Scheduled
|9.5 and 9.75 Month (0-215 Paid Days)
|November 25, 26, and 27, 2013
|10, 10.5, and 10.75 Month (216-237 Paid Days)
|November 25, 26, and 27, 2013
|11 and 11.5 Month_(238-259 Paid Days)
|November 25, 26, and 27, 2013
|12 Month (260-261 Paid Days)
|November 25, 26, and 27, 2013. The remaining 0.5 day shall be considered a floating furlough day.
- ½ day floater for 12 month employees needs to be taken before 6/30/13. The employee can choose to use a vacation day in lieu of the ½ day furlough day. A Special form will be coming for you to choose which date will be either your .5 furlough or .5 vacation.
- All furlough day deduction from employee's paycheck shall be equal increments over a 8 month period starting with the 12/10/13 paycheck. (Dec. 2013 – July 2014).
- 9.5 and 9.75 month employees were added to the vacation chart found in article 21.1.1 in the same column as 10.0 month employees.
- Members will receive a statement of accrued and used vacation hours twice a year. One prior to October 30th and the second between April 15 and May 1 of each year.
- Scheduled Holidays were determined for 2013/14 and 2014/15 and 2015/16, except for Spring Recess is TBA for 2014/15 and 2015/16.


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I glance up and see him, pushing his shopping cart
he is sporting overalls and an enormous white beard
I'm sure he drives a white truck with flag (U.S. or Confederate?)
I've been accosted by his type before, in Iowa:
Hey Jap! Go back where you came from!
So I am wary
He's speaking to me right now
They have a sale on bananas! A whole bag for just a dollar!
He points to a small paper brown bag in his cart
Your kids will love 'em!
I'm jolted – surprised – dismayed
How does he know I have kids?
And I realize that what is in my cart
are bags of suspicion, dread and cynicism


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Password Evaluation in a Post-Heartbleed Web
With decryption software and hackers on the prowl and security sinkholes like Heartbleed popping up without warning, you simply can't hide behind "password1" anymore.
The Heartbleed exploit reportedly has been neutralized by OpenSSL patches, and online security experts are recommending users change any passwords on sites affected by it — which means now is a good time to re-evaluate the logic behind the passwords you use on a regular basis.
Just a few keystrokes keep hackers away from your most personal information. So, what makes a good password?
Google recommends keeping distinct passwords for each of your accounts. This limits your exposure should one password be compromised. Some sites also allow users to enable two-factor authentication upon each login, further complicating any hacking attempts.
Diversifying a password with numbers and punctuation ensures they can't be easily guessed, and it slows down potential cracks. But this practice tends to create passwords that are difficult to remember.
PCMag suggests phrase-based passwords that are easy to remember. Avoid using easily guessable dictionary words, and instead use mutations of phrases with numbers and punctuation (for example, L@dyG@g@!). But mutate too far, and you'll have a password you can't remember.
It's also good to review your password storage practices. CDW security engineer Dave Russell warns against storing all passwords in a password-protected spreadsheet. They just aren't secure enough to safeguard hacking attempts, he says.
"Even password-protected, these documents are at risk of compromise — some vendors even claim that they can crack these protected documents "almost instantly," Russell says.
Longer, Not More Complex
A 2011 report from Carnegie Mellon University on the subject of password creation concluded that shorter, more complex passwords were the hardest for users to create, due to elaborate rules requiring different cases or punctuation marks. Often users just gave up, according to the report.
But these tough passwords weren't necessarily the best. When tested, longer, simpler passwords were the toughest to crack. Specifically, 16-character passwords — even those with lax requirements — were much more difficult to crack, Ars Technica reports.
Think you've got a good idea for a password now? Put it to the test using this Microsoft site.
An alternative strategy quickly gaining popularity is a password management service, such as 1Password or KeePass. These offer a way to keep a complex array of passwords in a vault accessible with a single password. Just keep that magic phrase to yourself.
If you've forgotten your password, can't recover it or think your account has been compromised, the contact information you provided may be your last line of defense. If you haven't updated your information in a while, now would be a good time to check your accounts.


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- Niagara Landing Wine Cellars is minutes from Lockport, only 30 minutes away from Niagara Falls, and just a short drive from Buffalo.
Open year-round for wine tasting and wine sales.
Address & Hours:
Open Daily: Monday–Saturday: 10 am–6 pm / Sunday: 12 pm–6 pm
4434 VanDusen Rd, Lockport, New York 14094
p: (716) 433-8405 | f: (716) 433-5616
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED for wine tasting on weekends.
- Groups of 10+ email or call to reserve your wine tasting in advance.
No busses after 4:30 without prior approval.
E-mail us directly at: firstname.lastname@example.com OR firstname.lastname@example.com.


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David Slade is setting sail with NBC again.
The director, whose big-screen credits include "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," will direct the first episode of NBC's upcoming pilot drama "Crossbones," an individual familiar with the situation told TheWrap on Monday.
Also read: John Malkovich to Play Blackbeard on NBC's 'Crossbones'
The series, which is slated to premiere midseason, portrays an 18th century pirate society more civilized than the British Empire.
John Malkovich will play the pirate Blackbeard in the 10-episode drama, which is written by "Luther" creator Neil Cross.
This isn't the first time that Slade has collaborated with NBC. The director also helmed the first episode of NBC's serial-killer drama "Hannibal," which premiered earlier this year.


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GoDaddy Is Returning to the Super Bowl With a Humorous Ad to Launch a New Product
Will start a year-long campaign
After sitting out of the Super Bowl for the first time since 2005 last year, GoDaddy is back in the game for 2017 with a new creative agency and product.
The web-hosting company will run a humorous 30-second spot during the first half of Super Bowl 51 that will push "a new, yet-to-be-released product"—making it the first time the brand has focused its creative on a product versus the brand. After ending its relationship with TBWA\Chiat\Day earlier this year, the new work will come from Bullish, a year-old creative shop founded by Deutsch veterans Mike Duda and Brent Vartan. A rep for GoDaddy said this is the first time the brand has worked with the agency and that there will be a "formal agency relationship" announced in January.
GoDaddy is famous for its risqué Super Bowl spots, including memorable ads with supermodel Bar Rafeli, but in 2014 started shifting towards a "matured" Super Bowl strategy that promised to wipe away ads with sexual innuendos. Then in 2015, it pulled its spot featuring a golden retriever puppy after dog advocates claimed that the spot promoted "puppy mills."
In a statement, GoDaddy's CMO Barb Rechterman said that this year's spot will include messaging that will prompt people to go online to find out more about "a year-long marketing campaign revolving around the power of the internet."
"Driving viewers to the website with a digital extension is a tactic we've been using for many years, but the way we engage viewers with the 2017 digital extension won't look anything like what you've seen from us in the past," Rechterman said. "This is more than a simple brand play. This year, we're going to take viewers on a fun ride that engages them around our latest product."


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In this series, we examine the history and origins of famous sweets, confections and desserts associated with American states.
Cheesecake, like everything else of merit in this world, was invented in America, specifically, New York City.
NOT. (I bet I had you there for a second. Relax (for now) and read on.)
Cheesecake, though not the modern form many of us have come to love, can be traced back to ancient Greece where renowned physician Aegimus wrote a book about proper cheesecake cookery. His confections made use of soft cheeses, were less sweet, and did not always contain a crust.
Later, European versions of cheesecake emerged in Italy and France, which often use ricotta and neufchâtel cheese, respectively to construct the cake's hallmark dense, soft dairy interior. A German variation, also still produced today, uses dough for a crust and quark in the filling--no, the elementary matter particle but rather the sour milk spread.
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The most popular, albeit potentially apocryphal, account of the invention of American cheesecake involves William Lawrence, a late nineteenth-century food enthusiast from Chester, NY who derived a form of soft "cream cheese" to use instead of neufchâtel in cheesecakes. Hence why cheesecake is traditionally associated with New York even though virtually all American recipes call for "Philadelphia-style" cream cheese, so-called because James Craft, who developed his own version of spreadable unripened cheese, patented it as such in 1928.
While, cheesecake may be the darling of New York, with many delectable varieties available at famous establishments such as the Carnegie Deli and Eileen's, there's no need to make a trip north of the Mason-Dixon line for a premium slice.
Make your own from scratch at home (for the love of God, do skip that 'no-bake' packaged nonsense) or head to Kenny & Ziggy's, Happy Fatz, or Katz's.
My absolute favorite in Houston, however, takes the best of Greece and America: check out the the baklava cheesecake at Cafe Pita.


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WOW 2014! Where did 2013 go? Well I tell you where; hopefully somewhere dark as it was a pretty rubbish year from the horrendous floods in the Philippines, to the death of Nelson Mandela to name a few horrific events the world was faced with. Oh and not forgetting the ridiculous name of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's baby North West – seriously do they have brains… clearly NOT!
So we have thankfully said goodbye to 2013, and welcomed 2014 with open arms – well, I didn't personally welcome the new year in with open arms as mine were more folded in a bid to keep warm and stay dry (shock it was raining) whilst watching the fireworks in London with Mark. It was an incredible place to be; everyone was there for the same reasons as us; to watch the London fireworks! The view was spectacular (it actually took my breath away – cheesy but true) and the fireworks were pretty awesome as well – but the rain just had to make an appearance as per usual (sigh).
Speaking of rubbish English weather, why are we getting so much rain? January has got to be the month of looking like a drowned rat (you heard it here first people, it's this seasons newest trend) – here's hoping we get a sunny and warm summer (wishful thinking I know).
Anyway, enough of being very British by talking about the weather, when Mark and myself finally dried off from spending NYE in London, we went to a gorgeous pub in Eynsford called The Plough Inn. But first, we had to drive through what seemed like a river to get to the pub, as the river which ran adjacent had burst its banks – wow, I was sweating in places I didn't know I could (ewww!). Thankfully we crossed that 'river' (some may say it was a large puddle, I think otherwise) and ran into the warmth of the pub's arms (the relief).
A stiff drink was needed to calm my nerves which meant a pint of diet coke for me (my idea of a stiff drink – totally pushing the boat on with my choice of beverage!)
We spent the whole afternoon in the beautiful Plough Inn glazing into the open fire as it roared to it's shivering onlookers.
We decided to brace the wet and cold again to get back to Mark's for a takeaway with his family, as I was to go back home the following day. Me and Chinese food really don't get along – my eyes are ALWAYS far to big for my belly (it is just not fair!) I'm getting hungry just thinking about Chinese food!
The drive from Mark's to my home was LONG – I was still nursing a Chinese takeaway food baby! Having had such an amazing time with Mark, as soon as I got home I knew it was only a matter of days before I had to go back up to uni (I hate leaving home) – I do love uni and I worked my ass off to get into uni but I'm such a home girl; the comforts of nice carpet, a shower that is actually powerful and having no noisy neighbors, partying until god knows how late (ahhh the joy!) Anyway, uni was soon descending on me (sad face) but I knew I'd be home before I knew it, as time is going incredibly fast – scary!
You'll be glad to know that I kind of manned up (I did cry) but uni is where I am now, as I write this post – I've been back only a day and trying to get back into the swing of things is tiring already – gym, work, revision, uni and having some sort of life (which is easier said than done). Getting the balance is always the best but it's pretty damn tricky – however I know that sitting in front of the laptop watching the whole series of Breaking Bad seems far much better than doing any uni work or revision (which is my life for the next couple of weeks 'insert sad face here').
Enough of daydreaming about being lazy and watching Breaking Bad, I actually do have revision for a Law exam and an Ethics exam plus a portfolio to make – so wish me luck!
Until next time (hopefully my brain wouldn't have gone into overload by then)
Peace out.
Autumn x


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Gaza Truce Shaken as Four Qassams Slam Into West Negev
Two Israelis lightly hurt, two treated for shock; Hamas declares still committed to six-day-old truce.
Four Qassam rockets fired from Gaza struck Sderot and the surrounding area Tuesday afternoon, further imperiling a brittle truce declared six days ago.
One of the rockets struck a vacant house in Sderot and two others hit the city. A fourth rocket exploded in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council.
Two people was lightly wounded in the barrage, and two others were treated for shock.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Qassam salvo. Gaza's Hamas rulers issued a statement saying that they were still committed to the cease-fire with Israel, despite the small militant group's obvious violation of its terms.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, responded to the attacks by urging "all Palestinian factions to abide by the calm agreement," adding: "Hamas is keen to maintain the deal."
Late on Monday night, Palestinians fired a mortar shell at the Negev, in the first such strike since a cease-fire went into effect in the Gaza Strip last week.
IDF troops kill two in West Bank raid
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces troops operating in the West Bank city of Nablus killed two Palestinian militants early Tuesday morning.
One of the dead was a senior Islamic Jihad militant, and the other belonged to Hamas.
The raid took place near An-Najah University, in Nablus. Neighbors said they found the men riddled with bullets and shrapnel after the raid.
The militants were named as 24-year-old Iad Hanfar, of Hamas, and the second as Taker Abu Rali, a senior Islamic Jihad militant.
According to the IDF, Abu Rali was planning an attack on Israel. Troops discovered ammunition, explosives and rifles in his apartment.
In a statement released from the West Bank following the raid, Islamic Jihad said that "the reprisal for this noble blood will be in the depths of the Zionist entity, God willing."
An Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement was struck between Israel and Hamas last week, but the deal extends to the Gaza Strip only, leaving the IDF free to operate in the West Bank.
While Islamic Jihad said it would abide by the cease-fire, the group has also said it would reserve the right "to respond to the Zionist violations" of the truce.
"Any aggression, in the Gaza Strip or West Bank, requires a response by the resistance," Abu Ahmed told Haaretz last week. "But the mechanism of response, its place and time, will be decided according to the nature of the aggression."
Nablus's governor Jamal Muheisen called the IDF raid in the city an "unjustified crime" but said he did not believe it would threaten the Gaza truce.
In Gaza, a Hamas spokesman group accused Israel of trying to disrupt the atmosphere of calm that started five days ago.
"The resistance factions in the West Bank have the full right to respond to this crime," spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said.
Security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were deployed in Nablus late last year as part of a Western-backed law and order campaign coordinated with Israel.
But local Palestinian commanders say frequent IDF raids into the city have undercut that effort.
Also on Tuesday, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a London-based Arabic-language daily, quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as saying that if the smuggling of weapons into Gaza does not cease, Israel will consider the cease-fire agreement violated, and will be forced to respond militarily. Hamas has said it will not stop smuggling weapons.


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Hone your skills and techniques while burning fat and mega calories with these training techniques for women.
With only a few minutes of preparation, you can improve each workout, lift heavier, train longer and get greater results by using these five warm-up protocols.
Here's a quick and dirty way to train your flip side.
Crank up your metabolic conditioning by adding these two CrossFit-adapted tweaks into your workouts and bump up your intensity and volume.
Sometimes a few simple tweaks to form and function are all you need to get your body — and your results — back on the fast track.
Making a few simple changes to these six popular strength-training moves could be all you need to get great results.
The staggered sets approach to training lets you target even those muscles you may not emphasize often enough, while getting stronger and leaner in the process. In this case, it's a unique back-abs-calves combination.
Build your best body with one (or both) of these tried-and-true training protocols.
Do these skills and zigzag training drills to improve your ability to stop on a dime while burning fat and mega calories.
A flawless body begins with the ultimate workout. These 10 expert tips can help you optimize your training from start to finish.
Sculpt your physique with this supersets-based program from Canadian phenom Lyzabeth Lopez.
Get technical and get results with these tried-and-true weight-training methods to get stronger, lean out and boost performance.
Beat boredom and amp up your results with a new bodypart split.
When it comes to exercise, will extreme temperatures give you an edge?
Move over, abs: When it comes to core strength, your hips are in control.
Oxygen blogger Genevieve Gyulavary explains the clean-and-jerk and the snatch – and how these elegant exercises are for men and women alike!
What makes a workout worth repeating?
Follow these drills and workouts and you'll be burning up the track and burning body fat at the same time.
Try antagonistic supersets and add a little spice to your upper-body workouts.
Results and motivation stalled out? Get stronger by changing up your current split with one of these five unique options.
Be it more strength, muscle building, endurance or fat loss, Oxygen makes it easy for you. These four techniques will help you get the body you want.
Are you ready for an advanced technique? Compensatory acceleration training will maximize muscle gains and burn more fat!
Improve strength and power with the box jump. Here's how to do it correctly and safely.
Add intensity and sculpt muscle with negative reps.
Jump training is a great way to increase strength and stamina. Here's why you should incorporate it into your routine.


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"The foundation of every state is the education of its youth."
– Diogenes Laertius
Our Mission
HIPE's mission is to provide sustainable solutions to address health, economic and social issues in the most disadvantaged communities through youth empowerment, public health and community engagement, young entrepreneurship development.
Our goals consist of:
Building healthy communities through capacity building in youth empowerment and community development;
Reducing burden of preventable diseases and poor health outcomes through health education, promotion, and intervention activities;
Advancing students for professional and career development in social and economic innovations, community development and public health fields, and STEM;
Engaging US and Vietnam youths in young leadership cultural and social exchanges including immersion programs in English or Vietnamese.
Program Concepts
A collaboration between VANGO Network, Design Capital Asia, and Our1World, HIPE targets at- or high-risk youths and communities and is a holistic integrated program that combines health, education, social, and economic development strategies. Mostly importantly HIPE is centered on an innovative peer to peer education model designed for school-aged youths that infuses creative teaching and leadership training in health education, disease prevention, disaster preparedness and response, and community mobilization within Vietnam's poorest communities. Additionally, HIPE is heavily grounded on the principles and practical applications of public health, community development, and 40 development assets developed by the Search Institute. Hence, HIPE empowers young people through leadership training, life skills development, social entrepreneurial skills, community activism & mobilization, and self-esteem/self-worth identification & development in the greater context of life challenges & societal issues. Specifically HIPE trains students, youths, and community members to collectively address the high distribution of preventable diseases and to empower them with knowledge and skills to make healthy, sustainable, and safe life choices.
2015 HIPE Recruitment Video
Core Activities
Programmatic activities are designed into 3 tiers with elevated responsibilities for participating youths and volunteers.
Tier 1 – Young Leadership Training Program
Through the Young Leadership Training Program, HIPE trains students to become Peer Health Educators (PHE) who receive coaching and mentoring thorough the year before being qualified as Peer Health Educators to lead health education. Training programs offer building expertise knowledge and practices in local health and social priorities such as adolescent sexual and reproductive health, tobacco control and prevention, personal and environmental hygiene and protection. Youths are also trained in soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, presentation, conflict-solution, project and budget development, and activity/program evaluation.
Tier 2 – School-based Health Education Program
Working closely with the Department of Education, the school-based health education program includes the HIPE Peer Health Educators (PHEs) organizing and delivering health workshops on puberty development, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, personal hygiene, environmental protection, and tobacco control & prevention and on social issues such as gender education and anti-human trafficking to schools in rural and remote areas regularly during the academic year.
Tier 3 – Community-based Health Prevention and Promotion Program
The community-based health prevention and promotion program that includes health education classes to youths at orphanages and underprivileged villages utilizing temples, community centers, and homes of the PHEs. The community program also includes community-based promotional activities that the PHEs and volunteers working closely with HIPE program and local young and old community members to implement community benefited engagement activities such as the annual health fairs, Earth Day, World Water Day, and Coastal Cleanup Day to promote healthy living and protection of the environment. To further expanding community health knowledge as well as sustaining community health prevention and promotion activities, there are radio broadcast programs produced collaboratively by HIPE youths and local radio stations; health training workshops to teachers, parents, and community members; and a HIPE Community Coalition consisting of youths, parents, teachers, and community members.