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Hey everyone,
In my mailbox is a meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie. It is a list of what books you have received over the previous week, either for review, from the library, from the bookstore, or from trades.
I know I posted that I was having some computer probs, but guess what its fixed for now! Good enough for me to post this weeks IMM YAY!!! ( Thanks Josh hehe)
So here we go...
Books for Review:
Scary School by Derek the Ghost
Books that were given to me:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Books borrowed:
The Lucky One and The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The Hunter by Richard Stark's Parker
So there is my list of books, what did you get in your mailbox this week???
Also don't forget to go over to Mini Me Corner and click that follow button!!! Thanks so much

subset: commoncrawl


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Reed, Stanley Forman
Reed, Stanley Forman, 1884–1980, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1938–57), b. Macon co., Ky. After receiving the B.A. degree from both Kentucky Wesleyan (1902) and Yale (1906), he studied law at the Univ. of Virginia and Columbia Univ. and then studied in France. A lawyer of Maysville, Ky., he became general counsel of the Federal Farm Board (1929–32) and of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1932–35). He was (1935–38) Solicitor General and presented the government arguments in numerous New Deal cases. Appointed to the Supreme Court by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Reed was generally considered a moderate there and often held the balance between the liberal and the conservative members of the court in split decisions.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Supreme Court: Biographies


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Most people know that Albert Einstein was a famous scientist who came up with the formula E=mc2. But do you know these ten things about this genius?
10. Loved to Sail
When Einstein attended college at the Polytechnic Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, he fell in love with sailing. He would often take a boat out onto a lake, pull out a notebook, relax, and think. Even though Einstein never learned to swim, he kept sailing as a hobby throughout his life.
9. Einstein's Brain
When Einstein died in 1955, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered, as was his wish. However, before his body was cremated, pathologist Thomas Harvey at Princeton Hospital conducted an autopsy in which he removed Einstein's brain. Rather than putting the brain back in the body, Harvey decided to keep it, ostensibly for study. Harvey did not have permission to keep Einstein's brain, but days later, he convinced Einstein's son that it would help science. Shortly thereafter, Harvey was fired from his position at Princeton because he refused to give up Einstein's brain.
For the next four decades, Harvey kept Einstein's chopped-up brain (Harvey had it cut into over 200 pieces) in two mason jars with him as he moved around the country. Every once in a while, Harvey would slice off a piece and send it to a researcher. Finally, in 1998, Harvey returned Einstein's brain to the pathologist at Princeton Hospital.
8. Einstein and the Violin
Einstein's mother, Pauline, was an accomplished pianist and wanted her son to love music too, so she started him on violin lessons when he was six years old. Unfortunately, at first, Einstein hated playing the violin. He would much rather build houses of cards, which he was really good at (he once built one 14 stories high!), or do just about anything else. When Einstein was 13-years old, he suddenly changed his mind about the violin when he heard the music of Mozart. With a new passion for playing, Einstein continued to play the violin until the last few years of his life. For nearly seven decades, Einstein would not only use the violin to relax when he became stuck in his thinking process, he would play socially at local recitals or join in impromptu groups such as Christmas carolers who stopped at his home.
7. Presidency of Israel
A few days after Zionist leader and first President of Israel Chaim Weizmann died on November 9, 1952, Einstein was asked if he would accept the position of being the second president of Israel. Einstein, age 73, declined the offer. In his official letter of refusal, Einstein stated that he not only lacked the "natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people," but also, he was getting old.
6. No Socks
Part of Einstein's charm was his disheveled look. In addition to his uncombed hair, one of Einstein's peculiar habits was to never wear socks. Whether it was while out sailing or to a formal dinner at the White House, Einstein went without socks everywhere. To Einstein, socks were a pain because they often would get holes in them. Plus, why wear both socks and shoes when one of them would do just fine?
5. A Simple Compass
When Albert Einstein was five years old and sick in bed, his father showed him a simple pocket compass. Einstein was mesmerized. What force exerted itself on the little needle to make it point in a single direction? This question haunted Einstein for many years and has been noted as the beginning of his fascination with science.
4. Designed a Refrigerator
Twenty-one years after writing his Special Theory of Relativity, Albert Einstein invented a refrigerator that operated on alcohol gas. The refrigerator was patented in 1926 but never went into production because new technology made it unnecessary. Einstein invented the refrigerator because he read about a family that was poisoned by a sulphur dioxide-emitting refrigerator.
3. Obsessed Smoker
Einstein loved to smoke. As he walked between his house and his office at Princeton, one could often see him followed by a trail of smoke. Nearly as part of his image as his wild hair and baggy clothes was Einstein clutching his trusty briar pipe. In 1950, Einstein is noted as saying, "I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs," Although he favored pipes, Einstein was not one to turn down a cigar or even a cigarette.
2. Married His Cousin
After Einstein divorced his first wife, Mileva Maric, in 1919, he married his cousin, Elsa Loewenthal (nee Einstein). How closely were they related? Quite close. Elsa was actually related to Albert on both sides of his family. Albert's mother and Elsa's mother were sisters, plus Albert's father and Elsa's father were cousins. When they were both little, Elsa and Albert had played together; however, their romance only began once Elsa had married and divorced Max Loewenthal.
1. An Illegitimate Daughter
In 1901, before Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric were married, the college sweethearts took a romantic getaway to Lake Como in Italy. After the vacation, Mileva found herself pregnant. In that day and age, illegitimate children were not uncommon and yet they were also not accepted by society. Since Einstein did not have the money to marry Maric nor the ability to support a child, the two were not able to get married until Einstein got the patent job over a year later. So as not to besmirch Einstein's reputation, Maric went back to her family and had the baby girl, whom she named Lieserl.
Although we know that Einstein knew about his daughter, we don't actually know what happened to her. There are but just a few references of her in Einstein's letters, with the last one in September 1903. It is believed that Lieserl either died after suffering from scarlet fever at an early age or she survived the scarlet fever and was given up for adoption. Both Albert and Mileva kept the existence of Lieserl so secret that Einstein scholars only discovered her existence in recent years.


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The tourism industry employed 497,800 people in 2007-08 (table 23.2). The number of tourism employed persons grew 8% between 2003-04 and 2007-08, slower than the growth in total employed persons (11%) over that period. Consequently, the tourism share of total employed persons has fallen between 2003-04 and 2007-08.
Tourism consumption is defined as:
'...the total consumption made by a visitor or on behalf of a visitor for and during his/her trip and stay at the destination' (Explanatory Notes, Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (5249.0)).
In 2007-08 tourism consumption was largest for long-distance passenger transportation and takeaway and restaurant meals (both 15%), followed by shopping (including gifts and souvenirs) with 14%, and accommodation services (11%) (table 23.3).
However, there are some marked differences in consumption patterns by type of visitor. Long-distance passenger transportation is the dominant tourism product consumed by domestic business/government (33%) and international visitors (23%). In contrast, domestic household visitor consumption is dominated by expenditure on shopping (including gifts and souvenirs) (19%) and takeaway and restaurant meals (18%).
International visitor consumption increased by 6% between 2006-07 and 2007-08 while total exports rose by 8% over the same period (table 23.4). Growth in international visitor consumption was strongest during 2006-07. In 2007-08, these visitors consumed $24 billion worth of goods and services produced by the Australian economy, representing 10% of the total exports of goods and services.


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Welcome back to the garden! As we do every once in a while, allow me to take you on a seasonal tour of garden education at Julian Elementary.
We started the year by "decorating" the garden with flowers. We let many unirrigated flower boxes and pots go over the summer, so we freshened them up with some color.
Third-fifth graders created/updated their garden journals for the year with seed catalogue collages. This lesson was forced inside because of the wind.
We have the best apple harvest to date. We've been picking them like crazy.
Last week I did lessons on how to use a dehydrator. I did a small demo in the class, then we went out to the garden for the students to get a chance to use the peeler/corer/slicer and layer up the trays.
We also talked about pears and made a "pear salsa" served on graham crackers. Students then took home small pear recipe booklets with an "at home cooking challenge."
I also chose a new crop of garden ambassadors, and they jumped right into their new jobs: helping with lunchtime composting and giving the Monday Morning Garden Report.
Garden education is expanding at our school. We split my job from last year and now I am the in-school garden educator two days a week, and the unbelievably awesome Miss Kat is the after school garden educator three days a week.
Though I have the best support imaginable from administrators, teachers, staff, Pathways, and Pathways director and rockstar-in-residence Susi Jones, it is so awesome to have an in-the-garden, shoulder to shoulder, fellow teacher in Kat. I have enjoyed so many things—the technical garden planning, the lesson sharing, the inspiration of a kindred vision—but I'll focus on one thing in particular.
Every week I go to the garden and there are wonderful things happening that someone else made happen. It is downright thrilling. Thanks Miss Kat for bringing so much wisdom, experience, love for children, and love for the earth to our little public school….
Here's a sample of Miss Kat's work in the garden in our first month of school:
She collected coyote gourds and the students decorated them and chose seeds with which to fill them:
Students collected and examined seeds:
She also taught the students to make tiny Johnny Appleseed dolls with dried apple faces:
Finally, she and her husband Jim created this beautiful "eat a rainbow" mural for the outdoor lunch area. We love you Miss Kat!


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Whether God has decreed all things that ever come to pass or not, all that own the being of a God, own that He knows all things beforehand. Now, it is self-evident that if He knows all things beforehand, He either doth approve of them or doth not approve of them; that is, He either is willing they should be, or He is not willing they should be. But to will that they should be is to decree them.
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)


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I like to think of myself as a connoisseur around a few highly important topics.
Certain books and authors, sure. The Beatles, definitely. Classic jazz, I've taken the classes. Nerd films like Star Wars? I have three lightsabers in my house, thank you very much.
But here is the thing- over the last few years I feel like I've added a new one to my list.
PBS Kids.
Yes, I am now an expert on PBS Kids and I feel I have the power (nah, not just the power, but the knowledge) to back it up, to say what is working and what is not on the lineup of shows PBS gives to our little ones.
There are the shows I love (Wild Kratts [which I wrote an entire post about here], The Odd Squad, Word Girl, and Daniel Tiger [a post here]); there are shows I like (Curious George, Peep and the Big Wide World); there are shows I think that need a lot of help (Sesame Street, I've written a few posts about them, but I would like the writers to stop and consider this: parodies don't work when the audience doesn't know the reference; all you are doing is negatively impacted their future enjoyment of the work being parodied- mind blown, eh?); and finally shows I think are awful (Clifford and Caillou). I've seen them all. I've been to the mountain, climbed it and returned with my tale.
Yet, there is one show I truly cannot put my finger on. My opinion changes every time I watch it. Sometimes I feel love for it (real love), and others I shake my head wondering what the writers were thinking.
It's like leftover night for dinner, when sometimes things taste great and other times you just wish you ordered pizza.
I'm talking about Arthur, based on the books by Marc Brown, one of the great mainstays of PBS Kids, airing now for over 20 years. A show that has grown so vast since it started—with characters, subplots, etc.—that an encyclopedia around the world would not be unheard of. That is the show Arthur, and honestly, I have no idea how I feel about the residents of Elwood City.
Yes, It is my television broccoli. Continue reading


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Ian Hodder and Lynn Meskell published a piece titled "A 'Curious and Sometimes a Trifle Macabre Artistry': Some Aspects of Symbolism in Neolithic Turkey" in the April 2011 issue of Current Anthropology. It's paywalled, sadly, but you can read the abstract for free, which I'll copy here:
Comparison of two Turkish Neolithic sites with rich symbolism, Çatalhöyük and Göbekli, suggests widespread and long-lasting themes in the early settled communities of the region. Three major symbolic themes are identified. The first concerns an overall concern with the penis, human and animal, that allows us to spread of a phallocentrism in contrast to the widely held assumption that the early agriculturalists in the Middle East emphasized the female form, fertility, and fecundity. The second theme concerns wild and dangerous animals, even in sites with domesticated plants and animals, and particularly the hard and pointed parts of wild animals, such as talons, claws, horns, and tusks. We interpret this evidence in relation to providing food for large-scale consumption and the passing down of objects that memorialize such events within specific houses. The third theme is that piercing and manipulating the flesh were associated with obtaining and passing down human and animal skulls. The removal of human heads was also associated with symbolism involving raptors. Overall, we see a set of themes, including maleness, wild and dangerous animals, headlessness, and birds, all linked by history making and the manipulation of the body.
This summer about half of the excavators read the article and it became a hot topic of discussion, discussions that obviously quickly degenerated into "finding cock" on site. I don't necessarily have a huge problem with the article, but I think it is an interesting example of just how different interpretations can be on site. I don't have a lot to say about Göbekli, though I'd love to work there, but I find myself mystified at some of the central arguments regarding the Çatalhöyük imagery.
There is little doubt that there are a lot of little penis figurines. They're really cute, and though they're not prominently featured, you can check them out here:
There are also a whole lot of cute little fat people. Are they ladies? Are they guys? Does the sex or gender matter? You'd have to ask a figurine expert. I have to say that I generally prefer the little animals:
So cute! There is little doubt that there is a variety of imagery coming from the figurines. To be fair, the Macabre article cited above is also ambiguous about the figurines, though they state that a lot of the zoomorphic figurines are represented by horns which they link to maleness. But female aurochs and sheep/goats had horns too…perhaps that is beside the point. In contrast to the hard things that are emphasized in the article, the horns, claws, beaks, etc, I can't help but remember the soft curves of the benches, pillar caps, ovens, and the voids of the crawl-holes and niches that are often nearby in the same house.
I should probably just skip to the heart of what is bothering me–the murals. In the 1960s Mellaart's team excavated a stunning array of murals, a few of which I had the pleasure of seeing up close and personal a couple of days ago in the Museuem of Anatolian Civilizations. A couple of these murals depict hunting scenes and wild animals, but the majority of the murals on site are geometrical patterns, solid blocks of red, or hands, many of them child-sized. These former hunting scenes are what dominate the article, with no mention of the geometric patterns found in a majority of the paintings uncovered.
This year an extraordinary large panel was uncovered (by a fantastically dedicated team of undergraduates and conservators!) in the South shelter area. This painting was similar to a painting that I excavated in building 49 in 2008, with twisting, cellular shapes that look like an M.C. Escher-esque interpretation of a mudbrick village.
A few days ago ten red hands were discovered in the 4040 area, again by a trusty group of undergraduates who had to pick away at the plaster layer by layer to reveal the paintings. Hands are everywhere on the site–tiny, large, red, orange, white–yet they are only mentioned in reference to their redness, which Hodder and Meskell link to the representation of blood.
So, while I'm not a big fancy famous archaeologist by any means, I am dissatisfied with the picture that Hodder and Meskell paint of the imagery at the site. I have little doubt that blood, sex/penises, and wild animals were very much a part of life in the Neolithic, and I know that Hodder and Meskell were not trying to provide a holistic view of imagery at Çatalhöyük. But I feel like they miss other, perhaps more interesting aspects of the abstract imagery in their focus on the figural/phallic.
What are people doing when they are creating geometric shapes and connecting them in patterns? Even as they were excavating the latest panel, the students were speculating that the patterns were bricks, roads, or…"just doodles." While the last suggestion is tempting, there was too much preparation involved in priming the surface and mixing the paint. Do they represent weaving, as was speculated by Mellaart, or counting, or even architecture–the cellular forms look like bricks, after all. Just what is the brain doing when it is creating abstract designs? What kinds of synaptic paths are formed? Many of these paintings are overlaid, time and time again, often directly on top of one another. Why? And if there are disruptions in the continuity, can they be linked to other stratigraphic "events"?
I'd also like more a more systematic study of the hand paintings. Where do they occur? How many are created with an actual hand? What sizes/shapes are they? Why are there so many of them? Can they be tied to other archaeological "moments" in the stratigraphy? Do these moments correlate across buildings?
There are seven responses to the Macabre article, and then a response to the criticism from Hodder and Meskell. All of the responding professors are better equipped than I am to provide a larger perspective to the article–I can only mention what I've read over the years, what I have uncovered with my hands, and what my fellow excavators have shown me. These moments, by the way, are the best–when the person in the next trench over catches my eye and waves me over. The discussion in low tones over a discovery, sometimes only just beginning to be revealed, before the conservators, the directors, and certainly the news media get to see it. That simple shared wonder over the stuff of the past. To get back to the article, while this sense of discovery does not necessarily privilege my interpretation over that of more experienced archaeologists, I cannot help but feel like this part of the past is erased when omitted from larger narratives constructed about the site.
(edited March 4, 2013, after Stanford decided to break all of my image links.)


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It's a strange feeling, being disappointed by the release of a 2NE1 music video.
Perhaps the closest analogy would be a few weeks after you first leave home, when the excitement of non-stop partying wears off. Suddenly, you realize that it's up to you to do the housework, take care of yourself, and somehow pay the bills. Maybe even—heaven forbid—go to bed at 10 like your parents did.
Likewise, Areia's trance remixes of Follow Me (날 따라 해봐요) and especially Can't Nobody are how I personally came to love 2NE1, and they're such epics that I couldn't help but be taken along for the ride. But, once the magic had worn off a little, I had to admit that their music videos made little sense really, placing the onus on YG Entertainment to produce something more original and coherent this time.
And in the same style as the above image, the teasers did make me hopeful, especially given the constant delays to its release. Like Ashley at Seoulbeats said:
Is it too much to hope for an entirely animated MV with with the girls clearing out a warehouse, Tomb Raider style? They've got guns!
But instead we got a veritable smorgasbord of images and props again:
About which Noelle of the (awesome) Always Rational K-Pop Podcast said:
Let's see… CL the boxer (or wrestler, take your pick) and the mental patient in a straightjacket and later on with a kitten that looks suspiciously like one of my kittens; Bom in skintight leather and studs rocking the dominatrix look with a poodle; Dara in a sports car and later with a hat with two ice creams in metal; Minzi in armor (which reminds me of Joan of Arc) who shows off her nifty dance moves…and all the girls with guns shooting glass. Nice!
What can I say? Well, nothing much but yeah, the world is theirs to conquer.
To which I'd add the—yet again—outrageous expense of their outfits, which surely undermines their maverick and/or bad-girl image?
Much as I'd like to deconstruct Bom's BDSM side then, or ponder the symbolism of CL stroking her pussy, the incoherence of the video defies such efforts, so I'll wisely just concentrate on the lyrics here. But don't get me wrong: disappointment at missed opportunities aside, the video is still very addictive(!), and I love the song itself so much that it's no less than my second ever MP3 purchase! (600won/US$0.55 from Naver, if you're curious)
Update – My First Love Story puts my love-hate relationship with the video very well:
"I Am The Best" is the title of the new 2NE1 single. Fitting, as 2NE1 may in fact be the best girl group in the world at this very moment. And this is taking into account that the above video is rather typical 2NE1. It's flashy, sleek, and professional, but it's not like we haven't seen this type of look-book video from them time and again. Thankfully, a typical 2NE1 video is still worlds better than an amazing video by approximately 99% of other girl groups in the game right now.
Update 2 – And Subi at Seoulbeats discusses the question of if this music video means that 2NE1 is really as original and unique as they seem.
(Source, all screenshots)
내가 제일 잘 나가 (x4)
Bam Ratatata Tatatatata (x4)
Oh my god
누가 봐도 내가 좀 죽여주잖아
둘째가라면 이 몸이 서럽잖아
넌 뒤를 따라오지만 난 앞만 보고 질주해
네가 앉은 테이블 위를 뛰어다녀 I don't care
건드리면 감당 못해 I'm hot hot hot hot fire
뒤집어지기 전에 제발 누가 날 좀 말려
I am the best (x4)
Bam Ratatata Tatatatata (x4)
Oh my god
Whoever sees me thinks I'm a little killing hot
To be second to someone would be such a pity
You follow behind me, but I look ahead and race forward
I jump around on the table you sit at, I don't care
If you touch me you won't be able to bear it
Someone stop me before I go crazy
I'm surprised to learn that this is actually only the second 2NE1 song I've translated on the blog, and so will try to speed up the other 2 or 3 almost-completed ones I have floating around on my hard drive somewhere. Until then, please take my word for it that the brevity of their lyrics tends to belie their vagueness and contradictions, and in particular that subjects and objects are so often omitted in this song that—lest they make the translation unreadable—I decided to forgo all the extra square brackets to indicate my guesses (but I think I've got most of them right!).
That caveat aside, in line 4 "killing hot" is my wife's literal translation, but which I'm sure you can make more natural-sounding in English ("looks to die for"? "looks that kill"?). Likewise, I thought the "a little" (좀) detracted from, maybe even flatly contradicted the point that she was very attractive, but as it's in the original Korean then there you have it.
Fortunately the rest is just a matter of getting the dictionary out, as is the next verse, so I'll pass it on without comment. But as always, please feel free to ask any questions about anything I don't cover (and I'll add my explanations in the corresponding sections of the post).
거울에 비친 내 얼굴을 꼼꼼히 살피고
지금은 여덟 시 약속시간은 여덟 시 반
도도한 걸음으로 나선 이 밤
내가 제일 잘 나가 (x4)
I open my wardrobe and throw on my sweetest clothes, then
meticulously inspect my face shining in the mirror
Now it's 8, my appointment is at half past
I leave this night with a proud, arrogant step
I am the best (x4)
네가 나라도 이 몸이 부럽잖아
남자들은 날 돌아보고 여자들은 따라해
내가 앉은 이 자리를 매일 넘봐 피곤해
선수인척 폼만 잡는 어리버리한 Playa
넌 바람 빠진 타이어처럼 보기 좋게 차여
어떤 비교도 난 거부해 이건 겸손한 얘기
가치를 논하자면 나는 Billion dollar baby
뭘 쫌 아는 사람들은 다 알아서 알아봐
아무나 잡고 물어봐 누가 제일 잘 나가?
내가 제일 잘 나가 (x4)
Whoever sees me thinks my look is the end
Even if you were me, you would be envious of my body
Men turn their heads and look at me, women follow me
I am tired of people trying to take my place [as number one] everyday
A stupid, naive playa who only poses like one
Like a tire that's had it's air let out, you look well rejected
I don't accept some comparison, this is my modest story
If you planned to guess my worth, then I'm a billion dollar baby
People who know about stuff, recognize all this by themselves
Grab anyone and ask: who is the best?
Lulled into a false sense of security by the previous verses, this one frankly had me wanting to rip my hair out. Fortunately, I don't actually have any, but you get the idea!
- In line 1, as you can probably guess "my look is the end" is a literal translation, but note that it means exactly the same thing as "I'm a little killing hot" in the corresponding line in Verse 1.
- If you're confused by line 2, because you think that if you were one of the 2NE1 members then surely you wouldn't be jealous of their body because it was now yours, then you're not alone. So please don't shoot the messenger!
- In line 3, don't misread the "돌아보다" like I originally did: it's not "돌보다", which means "to look after".
- Line 4 is literally "athlete-pretend-form/pose[only]-grab[that]-stupid/naive-playa"…after reading which I seriously began to despair. But my wife telling me that "선수" (athlete) also means "playa" in many contexts helped, and our final "a stupid, naive playa who only poses like one" does make some sense: the guy referred to is a poser rather than a genuine playa perhaps?
- Line 7 would be better translated to "Nobody compares to me" in English, but what's up there is closer to the original Korean. No, I don't think that that's a "modest story" either.
- Line 9 I couldn't make any head or tail of, and so the translation is entirely my wife's. I throw myself on the mercy of the court!
In compensation for the difficulty I had with all that though, fortunately the song is already almost over:
No no no no!
Na na na na! (x4)
Bam Ratatata Tatatatata (x4)
Oh my god
Who? You are better than me?
No no no no!
Na na na na! (x4)
Bam Ratatata Tatatatata (x4)
Oh my god
And on that note, apologies for the slight delay with this post. But for my severest critics demanding to get involved however, then it would have been up several hours ago:


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The latest edition of Bringing the Heat takes us to the left coast with the Anaheim Angels*. And I must say that I'm disappointed in them. There are no real hotties on the team. Sure there are some cute guys, but no smoking hot pieces of ass that you want to spank. Maybe Bill Stoneman need to take a cue from his counterpart up in Oakland and learn to draft some good hot players.
Despite that, the Angels are already in control of the AL West, with a 5 ½ game lead on Seattle, 6 ½ lead on Oakland, and a 16 game lead over Texas. Oakland is a notorious second-half team, but I wouldn't blame anyone if they called this division done for. And with that said, on to the cuties from Anaheim.
*I refuse to call them that fucked up name their owner gave them.
Chris Bootcheck
If there is an ass shot out there, you better believe I'm going to be posting it. For head shot, go here.
Reggie Willits
Look above. Head shot here.
Francisco Rodriguez
I'm a sucker for a cute smile.
Shea Hillenbrand
The Angels are depressing. Hell, there aren't any really good pictures of them out there on the internets. Is there any way I can start a petition to get more hotties on the team next year?


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God blessed me with pleasing blonde hair. Okay, it's actually strawberry-blonde-gone-silver. Fine, it's gray in some light.
Cursed fluorescents.
My eyebrows however are less fetching. Not only are they not detectable outside strong sunlight, they're also asymmetrical. Worse yet, summer colors, especially any shade of yellow drains all color from my skin.
Ah, vanity. My life has been a cosmetic adventure. How I wish I could regain the time spent penciling and brushing in combined color products that just aren't right.
Erin introducing me to L'Oreal Stylist Plumper Brow Gel changed my world. Well, that and returning home.
The Back Story: On my first night home I crashed hard on the sofa in the main house. I typically shower before retiring but on rare occasions I'm too tired. Waking that first morning I was amazed to find my brows entirely intact with the previous day's makeup. Seriously, we sat in the truck for 12 hours stopping twice for fuel, etc.
Aware of the steady stream of people on the property and anxious to get the day's hard labor behind me, I wiped a cleansing cloth around my face leaving brows perfectly intact. I was impressed how my yesterday's face remained my secret until nearly noon when we took a break from unloading for lunch. And for me, bathing.
For the next week, as we hauled items and I rearranged my "cottage," my aching feet hit the floor running and I practically passed out at night. I appreciated my unretouched brows in the morning. Truth be told, I quickly mastered the art of washing without removing the gel, making it last up to 36 hours. Fine; 56 hours so far. I know; gross. Cole leaves before I'm out and about and his help or customers rarely see me. My dirty little secret is secure.
Annnd then with the cooler weather Cole activated the heater in the paint shop. The
extremely, incredibly, really loud blower motor is mounted on the wall that separates my headboard, pillows and wall from the fan. I learned that first cold night that it restarts every 30 – 90 minutes. All. Night. Long.
On the second cold night Cole had repaired the offending heater fan. I again crashed hard into bed again, brow gel and all. After sleeping soundly every night for weeks, imagine my disappointment seeing the mirror the next morning; one brow rubbed onto my pillow slip and the other in patchy disarray.
Even so, after soap and water, a brisk brush of the teeth, four swipes of the tiny gel brush, and a tie in my hair I'm out the door, soy latte breakfast and all.
The mare, the cows and the calf are glad to see me just after dawn. I'm sure they're impressed by my perfect eyebrows, not the hay, alfalfa and grain.
"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."
Philippians 4:11, 12 (NLT)
Cartoon image courtesy Pinterest
L'Oreal Image courtesy Amazon


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Earlier in the Fall, we joined friends for a Dim Sum lunch in Boston's Chinatown. After a belt-loosening fiesta, we ambled through the Boston Commons and Public Garden for nature's Fall color show.
There I took pics of their kids, the eminently cuddly Sahana and her adorable brother Suneel. Over the holidays, Sahana showed me with great pride, her newly painted toe-nails and secretly whispered in my ear: "I love you!" I want two, just like her!
Suneel has a knack for stumping us with a question for everything. For eg. when noticing the signs, "Stop on Red!" he asks why there are no signs which read, "Go on Green?" He is a riot, and leaves his school teachers and even his karate instructor scratching their heads. When Suneel is asked to do a side kick, he retorts, "Why should I kick on the side, there is no one there!" Thankfully during our Dim Sum lunch, we were able to satisfy some of his queries.
And one, which made their Holiday Greeting card.
Previous pics from the Boston Public Garden:
- Make way for Katrina & Brandon
- Maximum Cuddly
- Thanksgiving: Boston Public Garden
- Spring in the Boston Public Garden
- Cherry Blossoms in the Boston Public Garden


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What a beautiful way to start my day! I awoke to an email this morning from Silver Birch Press to inform me that my poem is now running. Thank you all for your support and love! Have a beautiful day! Here in Greece, it is still warm and sunny so I am not really in the mood to get down to some honest-to-goodness work! However, September is almost here and about time for a U-ey in attitudes.
Cry me a river
by Sofia Kioroglou
I spread my palm in valediction,
memories of my childhood packed in boxes
tissues handy and dark sunglasses to hide my puffed-up eyes
a flood of feelings I can't contain
I cry a river as my dad takes us to Maroussi
Two jobs and a hefty deposit on a better future
What good is complaining?
I am too young to understand
PHOTO: Ermou Street in Maroussi, Greece (Flickr.com)
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: In this poem, I wrote about my pangs of pain as I bid goodbye to my childhood friends. I was only seven and couldn't understand the reasons why my parents decided to move out. My childhood memories in Nea Filotheiare still etched on my mind.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sofia Kioroglou is an English teacher and translator. She works as a copywriter for Matadog.com and writes poetry and flash fiction…
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Infor Values:
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Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. This employer uses E-Verify. Please visit the following website for additional information: www.kochcareers.com/doc/Everify.pdf


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Goodword Books
Goodword Islamic Studies: Textbook for Class-10
- 24083
- 9782990589079
- Availability:
- Usually ships in 24 hours excluding weekends
- Shipping:
- Calculated at Checkout
- Author:
- Farida Khanam
- Binding:
- soft cover
- Pages:
- 64
- Size cm:
- 17x24
- Publisher:
- GoodWords
Goodword Islamic Studies: Textbook for Class-10/h3> 00000
This course has been designed to present the young students comprehensive Islamic education, comprising general Islamic knowledge based on the Quran and Hadith. Instead of teaching moral principles directly, they are taught through themes chosen from the Quran and other Islamic sources. A major portion of the course comprises the text of the Quran, which is followed by exercises to test the depth of understanding of the students. Though basically intended for use as a school text book, it is also an ideal tool for home schooling involving both the parents and the children. In this way children will nt only learn the ethical values conveyed by the message of Islam but will also be stimulated to want to know more about Islamic teachings when they grow up..


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Jewish World Review June 7, 2004 / 18 Sivan, 5764
George Will
An optimist's legacy
The Iron Curtain that scarred a continent is gone, as is the Evil Empire responsible for it. The feeling of foreboding the sense of shrunken possibilities that afflicted Americans 20 years ago has been banished by a new birth of the American belief in perpetually expanding horizons.
In the uninterrupted flatness of the Midwest, where Reagan matured, the horizon beckons to those who would be travelers. He traveled far, had a grand time all the way, and his cheerfulness was contagious. It was said of Dwight Eisenhower another much-loved son of the prairie that his smile was his philosophy. That was true of Reagan, in this sense: He understood that when Americans have a happy stance toward life, confidence flows and good things happen. They raise families, crops, living standards and cultural values; they settle the land, make deserts bloom, destroy tyrannies.
Reagan was the last president for whom the Depression the years when America stopped working was a formative experience. Remarkably, the 1930s formed in him a talent for happiness. It was urgently needed in the 1980s, when the pessimism of the intelligentsia was infecting people with the idea that America had passed its apogee and was ungovernable.
It also was said then that the presidency destroyed its occupants. But Reagan arrived at the office, looked around and said, "This is fun. Let's saddle up and go for a ride." Which he did, sometimes in the middle of the afternoon. Scolds, who thought presidents were only serious when miserable, were scandalized.
In an amazingly fecund 27-month period, Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II and Reagan came to office. The pope and the president had been actors. Reagan said he wondered how presidents who have not been actors could function. Certainly the last century's greatest democratic leaders Churchill, FDR mastered the theatrical dimension of politics.
Good actors, including political actors, do not deal in unrealities. Rather, they create realities that matter perceptions, aspirations, allegiances. Reagan in his presidential role made vivid the values, particularly hopefulness and friendliness, that give cohesion and dynamism to this continental nation.
A democratic leader's voice should linger in his nation's memory, an echo of his exhortations. Reagan's mellifluous rhetoric lingers like a melody that evokes fond memories. Because of demagogues, rhetoric has a tainted reputation in our time. However, Reagan understood that rhetoric is central to democratic governance. It can fuse passion and persuasion, moving free people to freely choose what is noble.
He understood the axiom that people, especially Americans, with their Founders' creed and vast reservoirs of decency, more often need to be reminded than informed. And he understood the economy of leadership the need to husband the perishable claim a leader has on the attention of this big, boisterous country.
To some, Reagan seemed the least complicated of men an open book that the country had completely read. However, he had the cunning to know the advantage of being underestimated. He was more inward than he seemed. And much tougher. The stricken fields of American and world politics are littered with those who did not anticipate the steel behind his smile.
The oldest person ever elected president had a sure sense of modernity, as when he told students at Moscow University that mankind is emerging from the economy of muscle and entering the economy of mind. "The key," he said, "is freedom," but freedom grounded in institutions such as courts and political parties. Otherwise, "freedom will always be looking over its shoulder. A bird on a tether, no matter how long the rope, can always be pulled back."
Reagan was a friendly man with one close friend. He married her. He had one other great love, for the American people, a love intense, public and reciprocated.
Presidents usually enter the White House as shiny and freshly minted dimes and leave tarnished. Reagan left on the crest of a wave of affection that intensified in response to the gallantry with which he met illness in his final years.
Today, Americans gratefully recall that at a turbulent moment in their national epic, Reagan became the great reassurer, the steadying captain of our clipper ship. He calmed the passengers and the sea.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


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DESCRIPTION: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) refers to cognitive decline, commonly involving memory that is greater than expected for age, but does not markedly compromise independence in carrying out daily responsibilities. Learning the ROPES focuses on optimizing cognitive health through lifestyle choices, memory training and psychosocial support and is facilitated by Registered Social Workers. It is a 6 week program for those living with MCI and their care partners held on March 21, 28, April 4, 11, 18, 25.
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To Register:
Email [email protected] or call 519-680-2404.


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The Neuromarketing Frontier
The field of neuromarketing is actually still very young. Although cognitive neuroscience has been researched for decades, neuroscience as it pertains to perception and decision-making in business is still in its infancy.
My research and experience with neuromarketing has taught me a few important things about the nature of this field. Before assuming the role that I am currently in now, I was actually looking to go back to school to obtain a PhD in neuromarketing. Over the past 18 months as I searched school by prestigious school I noticed something, there were little to no neuromarketing PhD programs – largely because there were little to no professors of neuromarketing.
Although specific research was being conducted at schools like Emory, Cal Berkley and many more, there was little academic support for neuromarketing as a major program inside business schools. This confused me as I continued to read study after mind-blowing study regarding neuromarketing, and then it hit me. The university labs that were conducting these studies were academic partners with major corporate sponsors and neuromarketing companies.
Where is Neuromarketing Research Coming From?
Companies like NeuroFocus, Buyology Inc., Sands Research, EmSense, and The Consumer Neuroscience Division of Millward Brown have been directing this field and driving neuromarketing research for all. As neuromarketing becomes a more familiar research tool for companies, these will be the names that businesses most likely to turn to improve their marketing effectiveness.
And suddenly you're hit with a new and exciting thought – how do the companies that provide neuromarketing consulting effectively market to their customers in this new and soon to be highly competitive market? This is the beauty and superb difficulty of marketing and sales strategy that all companies face in varying capacities.
Neuromarketing companies, better than most, are supposed to understand the scientific process of marketing design, communication, and strategic execution – so it very exciting to see how they will approach business development in this new market. And it would seem that some of these companies are starting to make their first strategic marketing moves already.
NeuroStandards and The Law of Leadership
A month ago I came across a press release that announced that the world's largest neuromarketing firm NeuroFocus had created NeuroStandards, the first and only set of scientifically sound principles for conducting EEG-based, full-brain measurements intended for application to market research studies. As I read the press release I recognized that this was no ordinary press announcement. It was also a strategic marketing move, and a very good one at that.
The Law of Leadership is a term that comes from Al Ries and Jack Trout's book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and builds off of positioning strategy. The core lesson behind positioning strategy is that it doesn't matter where you're at in the market place, but more importantly where you're at in the mind of the consumer.
The Law of Leadership is the rule for the importance, and advantages, of being first in a product category in the mind of the consumer, and the marketing behaviors a company should take when widely recognized as a leader. And that brings us back to NeuroFocus, because in the past year they have been continually recognized as the world's leading neuromarketing firm.
What stood out about NeuroStandards is that it was a press release that presented standards for conducting neuromarketing research for an entire industry. Rather than boast their own standards for research, NeuroFocus effectively positioned themselves firmly in the mind of the consumer as the leader by educating the consumer as well as other neuromarketing companies on best practices for the industry – something they can leverage in sales processes moving forward.
For example if the neuromarketing industry was a pie and each neuromarketing company was a slice that makes up the pie, as the leader it doesn't make any sense to grow just your slice of the pie. It actually makes more sense to grow the pie as a whole – thus indirectly growing your slice of the pie. By using NeuroStandards, NeuroFocus was able to effectively communicate their role as the leader by providing industry-recognized education for all.
The Emerging Role of Education in Marketing
Today's consumers are smarter than they have ever been. The Internet has drastically reshaped business by allowing people to research and compare every product, service, and company. This has prompted companies to add another layer, education, to their marketing and branding strategies.
I'll end this post with a bit of sales and marketing advice that has helped me over the years. Provide education relevant to your customers, and sell industry knowledge just as much as you sell your products and services. Consumers are hungry for knowledge relating to their emotional buying intent and interests. So give them what they want, especially if you're the one leading the pack.
Thank you for reading!


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Skyward Roofing – Queens
Roofing Contractor Queens
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Business Name:
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About Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long Island to its west, and Nassau County to its east. Queens also shares water borders with the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island (via the Rockaways). With a population of 2,405,464 as of the 2020 census, Queens is the second most populous county in the State of New York, behind Kings County (Brooklyn), and is therefore also the second most populous of the five New York City boroughs.
Neighborhoods in Queens, NY
Astoria, Bayside, Bellerose Manor, College Point, Corona, Douglaston, East Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Pond, Glen Oaks, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills
Things to do in Queens, NY
Our Newest Profiles


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Check Point Systems UTM-1 and Crossbeam Systems – resolving the confusion
When Check Point Systems first briefed me on their new midrange UTM-1 appliance, they neglected to mention that their hardware designs were first worked out by Crossbeam Systems. Actually, it turns out that they even buy the hardware through Crossbeam. It took a comment here from Crossbeam's Chris Hoff for me to realize the true story. Today, I connected with Paul Kaspian of Check Point to straighten things out. Here's the scoop. Read more
|Categories: Check Point Software, Computing appliances, Crossbeam Systems, Hardware, Platforms, Security and anti-spam
|3 Comments
Check Point caves in
Not long ago, I wrote of Check Point Software's unusual appliance strategy. While a lot of their sales were on partners' Type 1 appliances – custom boxes with standard parts — the only appliances they sold themselves were Type 2 – software-only.
However, that turns out to be wrong in two interesting ways. First, it was slightly incorrect all along; Check Point's "Edge" product line has been Type 1 for almost five years. Second and more important, a few weeks ago Check Point announced that it was finally entering the Type 1 appliance mainstream market itself. Read more
|Categories: Check Point Software, Computing appliances, Crossbeam Systems, Security and anti-spam
|3 Comments
Appliances — my conclusions! (For now, at least)
Network World today posted my column predicting a rosy future for computing appliances. A lot of the supporting research has been posted in this blog recently; here's what was a preliminary summary and survey of appliance vendor strategies.
Subsequent to submitting the column, I developed a simpler taxonomy of computing appliance types, namely:
Type 0: Custom hardware including proprietary ASICs or FPGAs.
Type 1: Custom assembly from off-the-shelf parts. In this model, the only unusual (but still off-the-shelf) parts are usually in the area of network acceleration (or occasionally encryption). Also, the box may be balanced differently than standard systems, in terms of compute power and/or reliability.
Type 2 (Virtual): We don't need no stinkin' custom hardware. In this model, the only "appliancy" features are in the areas of easy deployment, custom operating systems, and/or preconfigured hardware.
Here's what I predict for each of them.
|Categories: Check Point Software, Computing appliances, Crossbeam Systems, DBMS vendors and technologies, EMC and VMware, Virtualization
|3 Comments
Guide to my recent research on computing appliances
My recent flurry of research into computing appliances was spurred by a column I just submitted to Network World. In that column there's a URL – pointing to this post – promising a guide to more details on that research. Thus, here's a set of links to my posts of the past few months on computing appliances, both here and on DBMS2.
Half or more of the computing appliance vendors I've looked into follow very similar hardware strategies: They use mainly standard parts; they include uncommon but off-the-shelf networking (and sometimes encryption) accelerators; and they of course optimize the mix of those parts and general hardware architecture as well. (EDIT: I actually gave names to three strategies — even if they were just "Type 0", "Type 1", and "Type 2" — in this overview of data warehouse appliance vendors. And in another post I considered arguments about whether one would want a data warehouse appliance at all.) Examples I've posted about recently include – and I quote the forthcoming column – "DATallegro and Teradata (data warehousing), Cast Iron Systems (data integration), Barracuda Networks (security/antispam), Blue Coat Systems (networking), and Juniper (security and networking)." (ANOTHER EDIT: But I think DATAllegro's strategy has changed.)
By way of contrast, there's also a group whose stance is more along "hardware/schmardware" lines. Sendio and Proofpoint (in most cases) don't really do anything special at all in their boxes; what's more, Proofpoint actually has significant software-only deployments over VMware's virtualization layer. Kognitio and Greenplum think their software-only data warehouse offerings are appliance-equivalents too; indeed, Greenplum's software is sold mainly bundled with Sun hardware (to the extent it's sold at all), and Kognitio is hinting at an appliance-like offering for competitive reasons as well. Check Point Software plays both sides of the field; it offers its own kind of "virtual appliance," but also gets many of its sales through appliance vendors. Its most interesting such partner, if not its biggest, is Crossbeam Systems, which in my opinion may very well represent the future of appliance technology.
|Categories: Barracuda, Blue Coat Systems, Check Point Software, Computing appliances, Crossbeam Systems, DBMS vendors and technologies, EMC and VMware, Juniper Networks, Proofpoint, Security and anti-spam, Sendio, Virtualization
|3 Comments
Check Point Software's unusual appliance strategy
Check Point Software is the traditional leader in the firewall market, having seized large market share in its early days by innovating convenient, GUI-based policy management tools. Except in niches, its competitors today are mainly networking giants Cisco and Juniper. (Juniper acquired Netscreen in 2004.) Unlike most other security software vendors, Check Point continues to focus on being a packaged software vendor (but see below). Even so, almost all Check Point software is sold either on appliances or as a "virtual appliance." I'll explain.
Check Point started out selling software on Sun boxes and the like. Rather than get into appliances itself, it formed partnerships with hardware vendors who'd roll its software into appliances, and soon a lot of its business came from this channel, especially via Nokia. This strategy has continued, with Crossbeam Systems joining Nokia in providing large chunks of Check Point's overall revenue.
While not liking to disclose much in the way of revenue breakdowns, Check Point admits that appliances dominate its business at the high end of the market, where high-speed networking, extra reliability, and so on are important (especially the reliability). Appliances also dominate at the low-end, where ease of deployment is crucial. ("Custom" hardware in this case is best represented by an accelerator card called "VPN-1," made by Silicom, Ltd.) But in the big middle, packaged software is still highly competitive, accounting for (according to outside estimates that the company doesn't laugh at) half or so of Check Point's business.
But here's the thing. Relatively little of that software is still, say, a firewall you can install on a Linux server. Rather, Check Point sells many more firewall/OS bundles, which are (it is claimed) super-easy to install on random Intel-based boxes. These are the "virtual appliances."* Is this cheaper than a tailored appliance? Well, that depends a whole lot on whether you had an extra box lying around, or whether you have a master maintenance contract with a standard box vendors, and so on. Evidently, many customers think it is, while many other customers prefer physical appliances.
*Check Point also has VMware-based virtual appliances, but so far isn't getting much uptake of those except for demo purposes.


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This Week's Theme
The Righteousness of God through Faith
Romans 3.21-26
In chapters 1-3 of Romans, Paul discusses how humankind, both Jews and Gentiles, are worthy to be under God's judgment. We have failed to keep God's law, making it impossible on our own, unaided by God, to meet his perfect standard of righteousness. How can an infinitely holy God simply forgive the sin of those who have transgressed his law? How can God justify sinners and still maintain his perfect standard of righteousness?
In verse 21 of chapter 3, Paul begins to speak of another kind of righteousness through the Gospel: a righteousness of God manifested "apart from the law," testified throughout the Hebrew Scriptures ("the Law and the Prophets"). What is it? "The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (v. 22). This righteousness is available to all people everywhere – for no distinction exists among the peoples of the world; "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (v. 23). Since all have been found guilty under the Law's condemnation, now all can be declared righteous ("justified") by his grace, as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (v. 24).
Paul suggests that God put Jesus forward as a "propitiation" (atoning sacrifice) by his blood, (not our good deeds in the law), to be received from God on the basis of faith. This work of God in Jesus, according to Paul, was offered "to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins" – God set up this way to himself a long time ago, saving those who looked toward it, as well as saving those looking back at it. This amazing plan was given that God might show his righteousness, in order that he might both be just and justify those who have faith in Christ. By faith in the Gospel, God can actually forgive the sinner and still be righteous in his demands and standards.
We are made righteous by faith, not by the law. Because it is by faith, all who believe in the Gospel can receive the very righteousness of God in Christ.
Preparing Our Hearts
Invocation: Our Prayer of Acclamation
Eternal God, the entire human race is condemned because of its inability to keep your righteous commands. Not a single person (with the exception of your Son) has ever met your high standards in the Law; apart from the righteousness you provide, we stand condemned before you. Thank you for the gift of Christ, and the hope we have now in him. He has atoned for our sin, and granted his righteousness to us! Glory to his name, amen.
Call to Worship
Blessed are you, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And blessed is your Kingdom, both now and forever, Amen.
Praising Our God
Te Deum Laudamus
You are God: we praise you; you are the Lord; we acclaim you; you are the eternal Father: All creation worships you. To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you. The noble fellowship of prophets praise you. The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you; Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship, and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father. When you became man to set us free you did not shun the Virgin's womb. You overcame the sting of death and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. You are seated at God's right hand in glory. We believe that you will come and be our judge. Come then, Lord, and help your people, bought with the price of your own blood, and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.
Praise and Thanksgiving (songs and prayers)
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father,
And to the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, amen.
Listening to His Voice
Chronological Reading for the Day
Sunday: Mark 14.1-2, 10-26; Matt. 26.1-5, 14-30; Luke 22.1-30; John 13.1-30
Lectionary Readings for the Day
Psalm: Ps. 146
OT: Amos 6.1a, 4-7
Gospel: Luke 16.19-31
NT: 1 Tim. 6.6-19
Reflection: Silence and/or Journaling
Responding in Faith
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he arose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*In the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, the term catholic refers to the Church's universality, through all ages and times, of all languages and peoples. It refers to no particular tradition or denominational expression (e.g., as in Roman Catholic).
Prayers of Confession
Let us now confess our sins to God and receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need.
Assurance of Pardon
Having faithfully confessed and renounced your sin, Christ also has been faithful to forgive your sins and to purify you from all unrighteousness. It is certain, that there is One who has spoken to the Father in your defense, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. His grace and peace are with you now. Amen.
Petitions and Supplications, Ending with The Lord's Prayer
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
~ Matthew 6.9-13 (KJV)
Doxology (and/or closing song)
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Departing to Serve
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for what we could never give the Father in terms of obedience to the Law, you provided through your death on the cross. Now the righteousness of God has been made available to all who believe in Jesus Christ. We have sinned and fallen short of God's glory; now in you, we have a Way to God. Thank you for your sacrifice and love, which has opened a pathway for us to God's righteousness. In your name we pray, amen.
Affirmation for the Day
There is now no distinction among us; the righteousness of God in now available to all through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe (Rom. 3.22).
Pray without Ceasing – Flash Prayer for the Day
There is now no distinction among us; the righteousness of God in now available to all through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. (Rom. 3.22)
Let God Arise! Seasonal Focus
Contend for the Faith Once Delivered to the Saints
Jude 3-4
Book Reading
Olson, Bruchko
Our Corporate Disciplines
Concert of Prayer: Tuesday, October 1, 2019


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Sebelius: ACA enrollment 'very low'
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today acknowledged that long-awaited enrollment figures for the rocky first month of Obamacare will be "very low."
"We intend to give you as much information as we can validate," Sebelius told a Senate Finance Committee hearing where lawmakers from both parties harshly criticized the rollout and her agency's lack of foresight about the massive problems. She said the initial batch of enrollment figures being released next week cover "the first month of enrollment" and will include both Medicaid and health plan numbers in the new insurance exchanges.
Tthe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also announced the abrupt retirement of the chief information officer — the first high-level departure since the botched HealthCare.gov launch on Oct 1. CIO Tony Trenkle is leaving Nov. 15 for a job in the private sector, CMS said. His deputy, Henry Chao, has been identified as a liaison to key contractors who built HealthCare.gov as well as the official who briefed the White House monthly on implementation. The CMS email sent to agency employees made no mention of the flawed rollout.
( PHOTOS: 10 Sebelius quotes about Obamacare website)
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who helped write the law and get it through the Senate in 2009, told Sebelius bluntly that Obamacare's early problems have been "unacceptable."
"Needless to say, it has been a rocky rollout," he told her.
"It has been disappointing to see members of the administration say they didn't see the problems coming," he said amid growing consternation with how the website may hamper enrollment, and the firestorm over cancelled health policies.
Other Democrats expressed vast "frustration" with HealthCare.gov — and the contractors tasked with building it.
( Understanding Obamacare: POLITICO's guide to the ACA)
"I want you to burn their fingers and make them pay for not being responsible," Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) told Sebelius.
Sebelius repeated the administration's commitment to having the site repaired by the end of the month. She reported progress on the list of a "couple of hundred" fixes that have been identified but admitted, "we are not where we need to be." Sebelius said experts who looked at the site advised HHS that it could be repaired without having to take the site down completely.
Citing numerous improvements to HealthCare.Gov in the past five weeks, Sebelius also strongly pushed back against demands that the administration delay Obamacare implementation.
( PHOTOS: Sebelius testifies on Obamacare rollout)
"For millions of Americans, delay is not an option — people's lives depend on this," Sebelius said.
It was her first appearance before the Finance Committee since April, when Baucus memorably told her he worried about a "train wreck" if implementation of the health law did not improve. On Wednesday, he addressed the comment indirectly, saying his words have been used to "malign" the law. "Make no mistake," he clarified, "I believe in this law."
Republicans chastised Sebelius for what they called misleading testimony that the enrollment website would be working when it went live Oct. 1, and a broken promise that consumers could keep their coverage.
Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from Sebelius's home state of Kansas, repeated his call for her to resign because of her poor leadership. Sebelius did not respond.
The top Republican on the committee, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), said Sebelius's earlier testimony to the committee about the website's readiness was "at best, misinformed." He predicted more problems ahead and called for Sebelius to visit the committee once a month with status updates.
Several Republicans questioned the security and testing of the website, pointing to warnings from outside experts said password glitches and incomplete testing that could make it easier for identity thieves to attack. Sebelius said that neither security consultants nor the administration felt those concerns warranted halting enrollment.
"No one suggested the risks outweighed the importance of moving forward," she said, "including Mitre, who made recommendations to CMS as is required." Mitre is a federally-funded nonprofit that handles much of the federal insurance marketplace's security.
The hearing came as Sebelius's agency faces two subpoenas and numerous other demands to turn over information on HealthCare.gov. House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has demanded HHS release a slew of documents, including lists of the "technical problems" with the site, the user capacity of the site, the testing information and the number of people who have enrolled or attempted to enroll, among other requests. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp on Tuesday issued a subpoena for CMS to turn over enrollment figures.
The hearing is the fifth so far in a string of House and Senate hearings on the rollout of HealthCare.gov. Four main contractors involved with the site went before the House two weeks ago in a scene filled with finger pointing and blame game. CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and Sebelius testified in the House last week, both apologizing for the HealthCare.gov disaster and both pledging to make it right.
Jessica Meyers and Brett Norman contributed to this report.


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PM urges TNB, Perodua to work together to introduce affordable EV charging rates
PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that cooperation between TNB and Perodua would help Malaysia hit its target of being a carbon-neutral nation by as early as 2050. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, July 20, 2022.ug环球会员开户(www.ugbet.us)开放环球UG代理登录网址、会员登录网址、环球UG会员注册、环球UG代理开户申请、环球UG电脑客户端、环球UG手机版下载等业务。
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today proposed to the national utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sendirian Berhad (Perodua) to cooperate in introducing affordable electric vehicle (EV) charging rates for the people.
Ismail said that TNB was currently working to increase its energy production by using renewable energy sources and providing adequate EV charging stations.
"At the same time, Perodua can use this opportunity by exploring new fields such as producing high-quality EVs that Malaysian families can afford.
"In fact, telecommunications companies like Telekom Malaysia can also work with these two parties to provide data packages that will enable users to book EV charging sessions online," he said when launching the all-new Perodua Alza at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.
The PM said such smart cooperation should be forged as soon as possible to overcome the effects of climate change that had hit the world, and also to ensure sustainable development of the country.,
He said the cooperation would also help achieve Malaysia's target of being a carbon-neutral nation by as early as 2050.
Ismail added that the government was willing to discuss with the private sector how to ensure that all policies or initiatives introduced were in line with the country's direction.
He said he had recently asked Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, located in the High-Tech Valley, to develop a training and research centre, to be known as the Centre of Advanced Automotive Research and Training.
On the all-new Perodua Alza, Ismail said the new model would be well-received by the people because of its competitive price and improved safety features.
"Based on media reports on this all-new Perodua Alza, I am impressed with its advanced features with significant improvements made in terms of driving comfort and versatility," he added. – Bernama, July 20, 2022.


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"For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." (Romans 7:5)
The technological advancements made by mankind in the last century or even the last 20 years are astounding. Yet with all our technology, we still have to wait for lettuce to ripen and for olives to mature. Lettuce ripens a month and a half after planting, but for an olive the wait is at least four years. Some of us, like the lettuce, are maturing quickly while others, like olives, are improving more slowly. Something changed in you when you were saved, and still… God is making changes to you.
"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6)
We should all be bearing fruit. There may be times that you need to endure pruning before you bear fruit. Pruning redirects energy to the right places. If you are not being fruitful, maybe you need to redirect energy toward the Lord. Don't just come to church, be the church. Be praying, giving, serving – joining hands with your church to achieve something far greater than any one of us could achieve alone.
"Christianity is not do-it-yourself religion. Its a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and fellowship with the family."
Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving me. Give me the desire to grow in righteousness through the washing of Your Word, in serving You and prayer. Help me to love and serve others in the place where You want me to grow and bear good fruit. In Jesus' name. Amen.
If you are in need of prayer for yourself or others, please Click Here
If you are seeking Jesus in your life or want to recommit your life to Him. Click here to learn more.
Rob Lavallee
Scriptural Seeds Ministries


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It has been over 70 years since the Wizard of Oz graced the silver screen, so obviously Disney decided it was about time to make the prequel to one of the most beloved cinematic works of all time. Of course their decision could only have been easier once they opted for action/horror movie extraordinaire, Sam Raimi, as the director. Have I sold you on the concept of this movie yet? Alright, so maybe it doesn't sound like a sure home run, but as a whole, the movie doesn't strikeout either.
We are first introduced to Oz (James Franco) as he is readying to perform his sideshow magician act at a traveling circus touring in Kansas (yes, there is no shortage of direct allusions to the original movie). His narcissistic, yet charming personality is immediately put on display for the audience as he all but seduces his naive assistant. After a very rocky performance in which he is booed offstage, the con man Oz is then assaulted by the circus strongman and only narrowly escapes in his very convenient hot air balloon. This is only the beginning of the adventure since his hot air balloon is sucked into a tornado and transported to the wonderful world of Oz. Oz immediately meets a witch named Theodora (Mila Kunis) who informs him of a prophecy that a great wizard will save the people from an evil witch and become king of Oz. The reluctant hero only agrees to become that wizard after meeting Theodora's sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) who reveals the massive amount of wealth that the ruler would inherit. After almost killing Glenda (Michelle Williams) the good witch by mistake, Oz learns that Evanora is the true wicked witch that must be defeated.
Cue the inevitable "ethically questionable protagonist learning that he needs to help the oppressed because he is a better person than any of his actions have so far suggested" scenes. This is paired with the equally predictable comic relief sidekick Finley (Zach Braff) who just also happens to be a flying monkey. I am not sure if I have mentioned that they are indeed in the land of Oz.
Despite the feeling that you are being beat over the head by the constant, overt references to the original movie, the action is fairly enjoyable. The 3-D was  very well done along with the rest of the cinematography.The world that Raimi has created is visually stunning and clever to say the least.  This is one of those movies that probably needs to be viewed in the local cinema to be fully enjoyed. The movie also retains some of the lovable camp of the original while maintaining a fresh and current feel. However, with that lies possibly the biggest flaw of the movie.
At times, the direction felt very conflicted. No doubt with the Disney tag and the PG rating, the movie is made to be a family affair. But much too often the audience is forced to shift from fun, kid-friendly dialogue and music to disturbing visuals and violent confrontations.  It seemed as though Raimi was constantly fighting the urge to turn this into a wannabe Snow White and the Huntsman. Ultimately, the movie will overcome this detail for many people given the nostalgic affection for the land of Oz. Unfortunately, I cannot say that this movie was either great or powerful, probably more like decent and capable. Either way, let's just hope that Disney leaves that old Casablanca prequel alone for a few more years.


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Notifications rank amid the most widespread features in mobile apps. Whatever they may concern – a message or a comment in a social network, an update of an app, an announcement or a reminder – notifications are made to bring useful information to users in a convenient way. However, these seemingly simple parts of your software require as much thinking as anything else, especially in terms of the message you want to send. After all, if you pay less attention to tinier things, it's much easier to make them bad.
What's In A Notification?
Apple divides notifications into local and push (remote) ones. The difference has been very clearly set by Apple:
– Local notifications are scheduled by an application and delivered on the same device.
– Push notifications, also known as remote notifications, are sent by your server to the Apple Push Notification service, which pushes the notification to devices.
Aside from alerts and banners, notifications include sounds and badges, as exemplified by iOS. This is what's visible to users. Badge numbers usually indicate a number of specific things (upcoming events, unread messages, or updates /files to download). An app can also specify a short distinct sound to alert the user.
Functional Notifications: Right Time, Right Place
Local notifications are delivered to users when the app runs in the foreground. They are often used for asking users to rate the app and write a review, offering rewards, offering to download and install a new update, as well as offering to show new features afterwards. All this works for encouragement of users, for the sake of rich experience.
Push notifications involve interactions with the server, and they are usually delivered to users when the app runs in the background. While local notifications engage users, push notifications draw users back to the app.
In a nutshell, quality of the message defines its success. Both push and local ones are widely used in mobile marketing. And it's quite easy to keep in mind the following things that will help your notifications be healthy.
Notifications In Marketing: How Not To Overdo
Notifications are made to draw users' attention. But for the same reason they get overused, since any app owner can find so much to inform users of. But notifications in marketing must mean effective dialogue and clear answers to their questions, not mobile spamming. Let your users decide whether they want to receive anything, how they will receive it, and which topics would be relevant for them.
– Abusive apps are generally hated – irrelevant and interruption notifications are treated by many as eye-offenders, and are hated as much as irrelevant ad banners with striking colors. While users love the value that's given by apps, they hate everything valueless.
– Content and frequency of notifications matter. The less personalized these notifications are, the more annoying they will seem to users. Different users find value in different information and different message. Then they can decide whether to open the app or dismiss the notification.
– Timely notifications mean success. The schedule of notifications must be properly written, with adjustments to time zones. They can be recurring – daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
– It is always recommended to take notice that push notifications, requiring Internet access, drain the smartphone battery – another good reason for not to overdo it.
The rule here is turn to the right people with the right offer and be moderate at that. Unfortunately, each of us must have encountered at least one app where this rule is broken to a certain extent. Instead of location-aware and relevant offers, news, and reminders, users can simply get a perfect anti-engagement tool, which will be abandoned.


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The Usual Suspects1995 Drama | Suspense/Thriller
When a truck loaded with stripped gun parts is hijacked outside of Queens, five notorious thieves become overnight guests of the NYPD, but that's all they need to hatch a plan that brings them to Los Angeles for the ultimate take, $91 million in hard cash. Roger "Verbal" Kint, an apparent victim of cerebral palsy yet an accomplished con man, soon falls under the persuasive powers of U.S. Customs Special Agent David Kujan, who's hot on their trail. Kint weaves a tale that begins six weeks ago, back at the police shake-down in New York. Assembled among the professional felons are hardware specialist Todd Hockney, entry man Michael McManus and Dean Keaton, an ex-cop whose hijacking and smuggling exploits have incurred Kujan's wrath. Customs has been building a case on Keaton for three years, and despite Kint's claim that Keaton is dead, Kujan looks to squeeze Kint until he gets his man. In a surprise plot twist, a pitiable con man is being outwitted by an eager Fed. Or is he?