text:
Dear Diary,
Last week I wrote a blog post entitled Why The Gays Hate Their Bodies. Some people loved it, many people hated it, and what I learned was that everyone else is as sensitive about their bodies as I am. My reasoning for posting was threefold. I wanted to expose the conflicted feelings I have about my own body so that other people struggling with the same issues would feel less alone in their worries. I wanted to point out that there are specific factors to being a gay man that lead to us having a heightened self-consciousness about our bodies. And finally I wanted to poke fun at how stupid this whole thing is by satirizing it. Clearly, I have genuine issues with my own body and my own hatred of it. But I also have issues with my issues, realizing how lame it is to spend time thinking about something so superficial.
There were plenty of responses to my post, most of them biting and witty. The award for best title goes to:
Terrible Gay Man Figured Out That Terrible Gay Men Make Gay Men Feel Terrible
The post itself is deliciously biting at times but mostly a lazily written series of quotations out of context followed by a rallying cry for hating me. Which was productive in that the "me" he was railing against stood for body-conscious gays who judge other people based on their bodies. That's not really me, but I can imagine how the author came to that conclusion. I don't resent the article and I appreciate its sentiment. But I do think it could have been more fleshed out because the writer is clearly a clever and analytical person.
The Gawker article written by Louis Peitzman was more thoughtfully written and much more nuanced. Peitzman felt I was contributing to gay body panic, which is probably true considering I was talking about my own gay body panic. He also wrote that I told gay men to hate their bodies. This is completely up to interpretation, and I can see how someone would think that. Sometimes, when we talk about things we hate in ourselves, it makes those around us worry about that very same thing. Sometimes the opposite happens and they realize they are not alone in their worry. This is why the responses to my post were so polarized. Some people felt validated and comforted that I shared their body worries, some people felt that as I was judging myself, I was also judging them. Both are valid feelings that are more about the reader than my original text.
Over at Huffington Post, Derek Hartley wrote the type of post I'd expect a friend (or someone who loyally reads my blog) to have. Basically he understood that it was satire, that I am not a gay body hegemon, and that I was writing to satirize a flaw that I see within myself and my community. After reading articles and comments from so many people who read my post out of context, it was nice to read something by someone who knew my "voice" enough to know I was on his side. I do not want people to feel badly about their bodies. I want the opposite.
By far, the most thoughtful conversations came from the comments field. To be sure, there are a lot of internet trolls out there who got some sweet satisfaction calling me vapid, fat, and ugly, but there were also a lot of people who contributed great things to the conversation about body image. If you haven't sifted through the comments field, I'd take a browse because there is a lot of helpful insight amongst the angry two-dimensional responses.
Now, I'd like to clear a few things up. A lot of people were wondering if I the post was meant to be serious of if it was a joke. I can see why this was confusing because it was both. Yes, I'm serious about hating my body, and yes I'm smart enough to know what a stupid waste of time that is. When things bother me, I tend to joke about them. It's always been the way I deal with stuff. I'm self-deprecating about my looks, about how co-dependent I am, and about how sometimes I think about superficial stuff. My hope was that the image of Ursula the Sea Witch and my sarcastic tone would clue people in to the fact that the article was meant as a satire. Of myself. Instead of feeling in on the joke, many continued to satirize me, which was probably the most productive thing that could have happened, proving my point even more that while gay body image is a relevant topic of discussion, it's also kind of a stupid one.
Another issue most responses (especially the Gawker response) brought to light was that of privilege. My joke about gay men all being wealthy was mainly one making fun of that perception. I think generalizations are inherently funny. It's like generalizing that all white people love corn dogs. It's not true but saying it is so ridiculous that it makes me laugh (Sidenote: all white people do love corn dogs. And apple picking. And rural county fairs). The real issue of privilege here comes in all of our privilege to even worry about something like body image. If I had been raised in an area where there was a scarcity of food and I had to worry about where my next meal was coming from, would I have been anorexic in high school? Probably not. The fact that we are even having this conversation is an act of privilege. Which doesn't mean body image issues are not a worthy conversation. We (most of us reading this) live within our own context as people residing in the first world, and our "problems" exist fully within the context of our [relatively privileged in the scheme of the world] context.
Ultimately, what everyone wants to hear is that we should all just love our bodies. Which is the truth and something we all know. However, if it were really that easy we'd all love our bodies, love ourselves, and be perfectly happy all the time. The fact is that we don't always love our bodies. We don't always love ourselves. And unless we talk about why, we'll never get past all the stupid hang-ups that impede our happiness.
So until we are advanced enough to stop critiquing our bodies and hating them, I will continue to make fun of how much I loath mine. Don't take it personally.
More Links:


text:
Necessary Monsters #2
By Daniel Merlin Goodbrey and Sean Azzopardi
Straight up, I must say you will be let down if you read this comic expecting the giant dinosaur from the cover to stomp around eating people. What may be a dinosaur shows up in an old photograph in a presentation for a couple of panels, but it looks like we'll have to wait until the next issue to see the dinosaur in action.
What we do get is a seemingly immortal bad guy, who can turn into a monster, teaming up with a woman, who can grow rapidly aging offspring from egg sacs on her back, to rebel against the Chain, a secret organization made up of paranormals who are dedicated to stopping those beings that what to erase existence.
Super powered secret agents trying to stop Lovecraftian horrors isn't exactly new ground (what issue is BPRD up to?), but there are enough original elements here to make it worth checking out, and enough questions are raised to make me want to read more.
What's the deal with Chicken Neck? Will that early twentieth century guy with tentacles for a head show up again? Why is that goth girl so perky? Hopefully the next issue will answer at least one of those questions.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Čačanska rodna
It resulted from the cross of 'Stanley' and 'Požegača'. Hybridization was performed in 1961. It was named and released in 1975. The breeders were Dr. Staniša A. Paunović, Dr. Milisav Gavrilović and Dr. Petar Mišić.
The tree is moderately vigorous. The crown is medium dense, pyramidal and also wide pyramidal under crop load. In improperly formed crowns scaffold branches have narrow angles and are therefore easily damaged, but they are very supple and rarely break under crop load. They abound in fruit buds. It bears fruit on one-year-old branches and requires severe pruning due to its high yielding potential. Flower buds contain 2.1 flowers on average. The leaf is medium large, light green on trees in good condition, but small to very small in over cropping trees. In these trees only fruiting buds are borne on bearing twigs, where there are no or few leaves. Leaf shape is ovate, with pointed tip. Petiole is medium long, thin, with glands at the leaf base. The flower is medium large, white. It flowers mid-early, with plums 'Čačanska Rana' and 'Čačanska Lepotica'. Self-fertile, with up to 40% fruit set. It is a cultivar with outstanding cropping potential that is particularly exhibited with full application of cultural practices. Omission of adequate management brings about alternate bearing, branches brake and become bold. Fruits remain small and of low quality. It is rather susceptible to the causal agents of red leaf spot (Polystigma rubrum Pers.), plum rust (Puccinia pruni spinosae Diet.) and moderately susceptible to Plum pox virus. Distinct symptoms of Sharka are displayed on leaves, fruit ripen earlier and drop in higher percentage but are not malformed. Highly compatible with Myrobalan seedling rootstock.
The fruit is small to medium large (26.4 g, sometimes attaining over 40 g), ovate. Dimensions: length - 45.0 mm, width - 37.0 mm, thickness - 36.5 mm. The skin is thin, tough, blue with heavy bloom and reddish-blue in trees with heavy crop. Flesh is firm, yellow, very juicy, sweet-subacid and aromatic. It contains 4.36% glucose, 1.75% fructose, 4.35% sucrose, 19.6% soluble solids and 0.92% total acids. The stone is small, long-ovate, light brown, free. Dimensions: length - 24.0 mm, width - 13.5 mm, thickness - 8.0 mm; stone mass - 1.22 g.
It ripens in late August-early September, several days before 'Požegača'. Good transportability.
A heavy cropper, suitable for drying, processing and fresh consumption. It produces a high-quality prune when regularly and severely pruned. It bears alternately otherwise, producing small, low quality fruits. Grows well under different agro-ecological conditions. It does not require pollinators. This cultivar is produced in many European countries, and in New Zealand, as plums 'Čačanska lepotica' and 'Čačanska najbolja'.


text:
Murray's® Grated Pecorino Romano
Product Details
From the island of Sardinia, this hearty full-flavored sheep's milk cheese has been made in the region for 2000 years. Distinctly aromatic, pleasantly sharp, and packing a strong salty punch, grated Pecorino is perfect for adding depth to your cooking, especially in a classic Italian dish like spaghetti al carbonara.
Nutritional Information
Pasteurized Sheep's Milk, Salt, Enzymes.
Allergen Info
Contains Milk and its Derivatives.
Actual product packaging and materials may contain additional and/or different ingredient, nutritional, or proper usage information than the information displayed on our website. You are responsible ... Read More
Product Reviews
Fred Meyer is not responsible for the content provided in customer ratings and reviews. For more information, visit our Terms and Conditions.


text:
Samsung opened Galaxy S8 preorders last week which means many people have already committed to buying the phone. However, if you still haven't preordered yours, you should know that Sam's Club has a deal that's even better than Best Buy's deal.
As long as you don't want a T-Mobile Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+, and you're comfortable choosing either AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon as your next carrier, then this deal is something you should check out.
Sam's Club will give you a free $150 gift card when you preorder any Galaxy S8 version and activate it on any of the three mobile operators mentioned above. The free gift card is on top of the free Gear VR with Controller that'll be given to everyone who preorders the Galaxy S8 phone.
If that's not enough, Sam's Club is also waiving activation and upgrade fees between April 21st and April 23rd. That said, you'll have to activate the phone anywhere between April 21st and April 30th to be able to redeem the free gift card.
There is one other thing you should be aware of. To be eligible for the offer, you'll have to become a Sam's Club member, which costs $45 per year. Even so, the Galaxy S8 deal is worth checking out, not to mention that the membership will get you access to other deals in the future. Check out the deal at this link.


text:
1959 Jeep Willy's FC170 Cabover COE Winch truck
- Price: Ask a price!
- Condition: Used
- Item location: Great Bend, Kansas, United States
- Make: Willys
- Year: 1959
- Mileage: 99,000
- Engine size: Flat 6
- Number of cylinders: 6
- Fuel: Gasoline
- Transmission: Manual
- Drive type: 4WD
- Vehicle Title: Clear
Willys 1959 Description
1959 Jeep Willy's FC170 Cabover COE Winch Truck
Here is a one of a kind '59 FC170. First of all, I do sell some vehicles on Ebay, almost always old farm trucks, as I live here in the middle of Kansas. I enjoy dealing with the farmers I buy them from, love getting them running again, and also enjoy meeting the people who buy them and seeing where they go. I've rescued a lot of old farm trucks. But this one is definitely different. First of all, I'm a little bit of a jeep nut. I have 2 49 jeeps, a 76 Cj7, and numerous AMC vehicles as well. I have never, however, owed a forward control jeep. I was offered the chance to purchase this one, and immediately snapped it up. The only reason I am offering this for sale, is that I'm more of an original vehicle type of guy, and although this truck has had a ton of money spent on the be and winch, I would prefer one with the original bed. Without exception, until now, I always list my vehicles with a starting price of $10.00 and no reserve. I've noticed that there is an ebay law of averages. Sometimes they sell a little high, or a little low, but usually sell for about market valve. This one is a little different, as it's pretty hard to value, so, I decided if it sells for $4500, o.k. if not, o.k. I'll put it in my collection.
Being a jeep guy, I'm pretty sure that they shipped them straight from Toledo with a little rust, just to get them started. This one will need cab corners. The floors are very solid. I tried to get pics of all the rust. By jeep standards, its not that bad. As you can see in the pictures, I made my own surge tank. New ones are about 400 on the internet, and this one works just fine. I did have local radiator shop solder the top in for me. Paint it black, and it will look stock. I do love how jeep named their engines, hurricane, typhoon, etc. - well this jeep will do at least 762mph, as the head bears the moniker "Kaiser supersonic". Maybe this is common, but I have never seen one. It is a flat head six. The engine runs great, carries good oil pressure, and runs cool. It actually has pretty good power, but I stopped just shy of breaking the sound barrier! Jeeps were built to be unstoppable, and the brakes on this one bear that out. They actually do work after putting in some fluid, but need to be properly bled and checked over.
As for the bed --- If I had a guess, I would say that more that the asking price was spent on the bed alone. This has a PTO driven winch, and it is even hydraulic. It is a big Garwood winch, just put transfer case in neutral, engage PTO, and you caneven shift gears to make it faster or slower. This is not a rollback, but the winch works just like the winch on a rollback. At some point, this truck had a set of winch poles with it, I was told that the guy building it got this far, and dropped the poles on the top of the cab, then quit. It passed to one owner before me, and I don't know where the poles went. That is why the top of the cab is dented and rear window is missing. The gauges work, the speedo works, the trans. shifts perfectly. The 4wd works. It even has sears roebuck lockout hubs! It will need the things typically needed by a truck that has sat for years. If it doesn't sell, I'm going to change fluid in all gear boxes, flush cooling system, etc. It will also need the fuel tank cleaned or there are plenty of places to put an auxiliary tank. I have a 2 1/2 gallon jug with an electric fuel pump that I'm currently running it on. We can use that and my battery for loading purposes, test drive, etc., but jeep will need fuel source and battery. They cost me roughly 75.00 each, so, either or, I will leave a new battery, fuel pump in jeep for 75/150 dollars.
I think my price on this unique jeep is fair, but opinions vary. As I said before, I do sell a few trucks on here, and please check my feedback. It is 100%, and I would prefer to keep it that way, so call, text, or message me with any questions. I'm easy to work with on storage if paid for in a timely manner. My name is Cort 620-786-5172. Thank you and good luck. Relisted due to non payer. Dont let your children purchase items on ebay without your permission.


text:
Hey guys just sitting here with Erika and Bahozhoni. Getting ready to leave back home! awwwwwwwwww! so sad. anyways i had soooooo much fun here, hope you could do the same! catch ya'll later!
Student Blog >
Student Blog >
Missy stosposted Mar 7, 2012, 3:23 PM by Unknown user


text:
Joe List is an American stand-up comedian who has a net worth of $800 thousand. Joe List was born in Whitman, Massachusetts in April 1982. He started his comedy career in Boston. List has gone on to be featured on TV series including Conan, ,The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and more. He was a finalist on the NBC reality TV series Last Comic Standing in 2015 and received a comedy special on Comedy network. Joe List has released the comedy albums So Far No Good and Are You Mad at Me?. He began co-hosting the podcast Tuesdays with Stories with Mark Normand in 2013. List has also been featured on Robert Kelly's You Know What Dude podcast. He opened up for Louis CK in 2016 and regularly performs at the Comedy Cellar in New York City. His special The Standups was released on Netflix in 2018.
|Net Worth:
|$800 Thousand


text:
My Blog
View all entries from My Blog >
March 8, 2018
Life changed, people changed
Some friends left, other stayed
Family was destroyed because one person left
The faster our life progresses, the sooner we'll die
We aimed high at bygones. We succeeded in our aims.
We failed in many ways, but we got up again as if nothing happened.
The wound imprints remain fresh.
Life is hard when you're going to delve it.
Life can be at sixes and sevens,
its abstruseness is fatal
Well, I am just gibbering.
Trying to think sensibly out of my being insensible. Blah blah..
More entries: No puedo entender (12/14/2018) (1), I DON'T CARE (Aug. 1, 2018), Hit it off, Humiliation (1), Contemplation (1), Aridity (Dec. 22, 2015), Nobody (03-15-18), Love (March 15, 2018), Melancholy , Melancolía


text:
STARmeterSEE RANK
Up 468,512 this week
Attila Gyula Balázs
Attila Gyula Balázs (A.G. Balázs) was born in Portland, Oregon. His father, Otto Balazs, was a first born American citizen, poet, chef and army photographer. His Mother, Cheri (Creedon), an RN originally from Ontario, Canada who provided him with the means to follow his dreams. Attila moved with his mother to Oklahoma when he was 11 years old. In ... See full bio »
More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro


text:
On the current Southern tour of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the 16-piece band is focusing on the 70th anniversary of the original Blue Note records. The New York-based label, founded by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis in 1939, became seminal for musicians like Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock, who all cut albums for it during their fruitful careers.
In addition to that project, they have been working on a lot of material generated by the band members themselves. "We have a really large repertoire of music," trumpeter Marcus Printup explains via phone while preparing for a performance. "For the past year, Wynton [Marsalis] has been featuring different arrangements from the cats in the band, and we're starting to expand our own book as well as music from bandleaders like Stan Kenton, Count Basie, and the like."
Printup doesn't seem intimidated by playing his horn next to the band's famous director — they have been playing together for well over a decade, and Marsalis' professionalism helps to keep things in the right place. There are some moments, though. "I've been playing in the band for 16 years now, so it's like second nature to me," Printup says. "But every now and then, I look over and go, 'Wow, I'm playing with the guy who was my idol when I was in college.' But he's very down-to-Earth; he's just one of us — he's no male diva at all."


text:
Even though it's that time of year when the real estate market in St Louis slows down, we are still in a seller's market in most of the St Louis metro area based upon the supply of homes for sale. Historically, a 6-month supply of homes for sale would be considered a "balanced" market, not favoring sellers nor buyers. If the supply drops below 6 months, it favors sellers as there is less competition for them and above 6 months it favors buyers.
Currently, 14 of the 17 counties that make up the St Louis MSA have a supply of homes for sale under 6 months. Two of the three counties that favor buyers, Macoupin and Calhoun, are in Illinois with St Francois County being the only Missouri County and it just barely made the list with a 6.26 month supply.


text:
Need support? Fill out our contact form below and a friendly and knowledgeable member of our team will get back to you promptly to answer your question. Our team is usually prompt in returning messages.
We look forward to connecting with you.
New Horizons Solutions New Horizons will work with you to create solutions that fit individuals, businesses and governments.
As part of the largest independent IT Training Provider, New Horizons Computer Learning Center delivers more courses than any other IT training company.
New Horizons Wisconsin understands that not everyone is the same, and we have developed a variety of innovative learning methods:


text:
I have been reading Letters of Ayn Rand, partly for research, partly for finding new quotations for The Ayn Rand Bot on Twitter.
On pp. 400-401, there is a letter from Rand to Archibald Ogden, the editor of Rand's novel, The Fountainhead. In the letter she informs Ogden that the movie version of The Fountainhead is going into production, and then she chastises him for not writing her a letter:
Do you remember that you promised me a letter? But I said I would forgive you anything, and I shall always be running after you, if you want me to. (I ought to say that with a smile, but I don't know how to convey a smile on paper.) Do let me hear from you, and if you want the details about our child's screen incarnation, I will keep you informed. It's going to be very exciting.
(Emphasis added.) Here is one of the few instances in which any 12-year-old child (maybe 8- or 10-year-old) living today could teach Ayn Rand something: "how to convey a smile on paper" — i.e., type a smile emoticon. Judging by the letter to Ogden, it seems she might have used emoticons in some of her correspondence, had she lived long enough.


text:
Meet Our Board Members
We are pleased to announce that on June 9, 2020, the Sacramento County Committee on School District Organization unanimously approved the district-area map submitted by the FCUSD Board of Education. This approval transitions the District from an at-large election to a by-trustee area election for future elections.
Only voters residing in their residential Area on the new trustee-area map will vote for the open seats and during Area elections.
Sequence of Elections
2024- Area 2 (Tim Hooey) and Area 4 (Chris Clark)
2022- Area 1 (Joshua Hoover), Area 3 (David Reid), and Area 5 (Ed Short)
Use the Interactive Map to find your trustee area.
- Enter your address in the search window, which you will find at the top right corner
Contact Information
Board member contact information can be found below.
At the Board's request, if emailing with a concern, please include Superintendent, Dr. Sarah Koligian in the email as well.
- Dr. Koligian's email address is: email@example.com
Degrees and Certifications:
David Reid
Term Expires: Dec. 2022
Election Area #3
To reach by mail:
1965 Birkmont Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
By Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
By Phone: 916-903-6031
Degrees and Certifications:
Joshua Hoover
Vice President
Term Expires: Dec. 2022
Election Area #1
To reach by mail:
P.O. Box 6761
Folsom, CA 95763
By Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
By Phone: 916-718-8544
Degrees and Certifications:
Chris Clark
Term Expires: Dec. 2024
Election Area #4
To reach by mail:
PO Box 661
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741
By Email: email@example.com
By Phone: 916-370-3383
Degrees and Certifications:
Ed Short
Term Expires: Dec. 2022
Election Area #5
To reach by mail:
1965 Birkmont Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA, 95742
by Email: email@example.com
Degrees and Certifications:
Tim Hooey
Term Expires: Dec. 2024
Election Area #2
To reach by mail:
1965 Birkmont Drive
Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
By Email: email@example.com
By Phone: 916-790-6020
2022-2023 Student Board Members - Installation Held 08/11/22
Rocio Perez - Cordova High School
Ria Srivastava - Vista del Lago High School
Contact Information
For questions about Board Meetings, Agendas/Minutes, or Board Policies, please contact:Rochelle DagnallAdministrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Boardby phone: 916-294-9000 ext 104412by email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Text Size
|This GOES-13 satellite imagery shows the Chilean caldera still emitting a steady stream of ash, three weeks after the initial eruption on June 4, 2011. The cold winter wind from the south carries it up the coast out over the Pacific, instead of over the Andes into Argentina. The video runs from June 24 through June 26, 2011. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters)


text:
Thoughts on HR and employee appreciation – William Tincup
Tap My Back – The simplest Employee Feedback app
For the few that might have never heard about you, how would you pitch yourself?
I think I'm just a curious soul. The way I came into HR is pretty interesting, I came from marketing. I owned an ad agency and a part of my role as the owner was to deal with talent, meaning payroll, benefits, internship programs, mentorship programs and kind of all the different pieces of HR.
Being a non-traditional practitioner of recruiting and HR the more I was dealing with this kind of tasks the more curious I was getting about HR.
By the time I decided to sell the equity I owned at the marketing agency I was already obsessed about what's best, what works, what doesn't and especially the intersection with technology.
Finding and learning how technology may help us, fulfills our hopes and dreams; it's what makes me wake up more curious every day.
Do you agree that we are moving one step further from the concept of employee engagement into something broader called employee experience? How does this unfolds within the companies?
Yeah, there's a couple of things that I really like regarding that evolution.
One is related to the fact that people already started to understand that engagement benefits everybody, it's in everyone's best interests. It's in our best interests as employees, as leaders, etc.
We all want to be engaged, we all want to be in environments where we're engaged and we also want to engage others. From a company's perspective why do it? Well, companies do it for a couple of reasons, they do it to get more out of people, to get people's discretionary effort. How do you get people to work beyond what they're willing to work?
They have to be engaged, no one's going to do more work for the same amount of money or less if they're not engaged through something that goes beyond money.
Engagement is like recycling. We all know we should focus on engaging people. There are loads of research studies that show that more engagement leads to more production and therefore with engaged employees you'll get better results. So we know it's a good thing, we all agree it's a good thing however the fall down or the discrepancy is related to how do you do it? What are the practical applications of engagement? What's best for one company might not be the best for another company. The way we think of engagement is more or less something that changes as it relates to the employees, the managers, the company, the values, the market, the competition and we shouldn't think one fits all.
Like a lot people look at Zappos and say they have a wonderful culture, they look at Amazon and say they have a bad culture. What's lost in that is that it isn't good and bad. I mean typically there are some things that are despicable and not despicable but not, good and bad.
Amazon's culture focus on people being intelligent, working hard, in the end, a meritocracy oriented culture and so their systems of engagement need to be different than a company like Zappos.
It doesn't mean they are either good or bad it just means that they fit the people that want to work there and so I think what I like about you kind of moving us over to employee experience rather than engagement is that the first encompasses the notion that you and me can walk into the same bit and have a different experience.
I like the idea of thinking about experiences because there's the user experience, the customer experience, the employee experience, it's a journey, it's what you want people to feel, taste, smell and so companies should think about that in order to create it for people.
Should companies invest as much as satisfying customers as having happy employees?
Well if you're a consumer brand like Nike, employees are customers as well. Now, with b2b it's a little bit harder, products or government or something like that it's a little bit harder.
I think it's the treatment and let's just put cost aside for a moment and think about how do you, as a company want to treat people.
What are your values, as a company you have shared values and that's top to bottom, that's left or right that's everybody? How do you want to treat people? What's the treatment of your customers? Do you want to make them feel special? Do you want them to feel like raving fans? Do you want to engage them in a way that makes them tell about you to other people in a good way? If that's true then you spend money to help programmatically get that outcome then why wouldn't you look at employees like that?
Everyone has a Twitter account everyone's on Facebook everyone has a cell phone or a smartphone and they can text a thousand people at once. We're to the point now where every single person has their own megaphone and so we treat customers because we want them to have a good experience, but if we treat them in one way at the exclusion of the employees then we're failing.
It's a commonly accepted fact that performance reviews currently do not work. What is the main reason behind that?
First of all, in recruiting you have a romance period, we find talent, we romance and we get all the way to a point where we drop them off to be on-boarded and it's a soulless windowless take on the job and task at hands.
We kind of hope that it works out for people and at one point we then give them a performance review and in that performance review what we give them are pieces of advice that are best for them.
Performance management has always struggled and possibly will always struggle with whose interest is being served with performance management. I mean are you giving the employee advice for his benefit or are those for the company's benefit. We like to think that it's for both.
I want the employees to be better and the company as well but what if I have to give the employees advice that's actually counter to the company's interests. Do I as a leader should give him that advice?
Imagine this situation: I've seen that an employee has grown, he's doing awesome but really what he needs is that next step, an international experience. However, our company doesn't have any of that and we're not going to have any for a while and it's an employee's best interest that I tell him: Hey, you should really take another job potentially outside of this company so that you can get this international experience and you're better.
Now, would I ever give you that advice? And that's the struggle of performance management, one of the many struggles of performance measurement is whose interest does it serve? Does it serve the company's interest or does it serve the individual's interests? And there are a few examples from the marketplace where companies actually give the employee career path advice which is just for the employee and not really tethered to the company.
However, most of the performance management systems that you see out there today, they serve the company's interests and that's what they are created for.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. The problem is employers think that they're doing employees a favour by giving them performance management, but even though it's only in the company's best interests they couch it in like: "no this is going to help you". Well let's stop lying about that, my opinion is let's just stop let's let that go and tell people: "hey this actually for us so that we do better so that we make sure that we're on the right track and we get the most out of you because we want the best version of you while you're with us. We're going to train you we're going to help you, we're going to throw some stuff in but at the end of the day we want the best version of you while you're with us, and that should be ok.
But now the game as an employee it's like: "Ok I'm sure to play the game. If you're not really trying to make me better and make sure that I perform at my highest so that I can get more money or knowledge or social accomplishment then I'll develop myself off to the side, I'll do it elsewhere."
Managers just should be straight up front with people when doing performance reviews. So you wouldn't agree Millennials are one of the reasons why performance reviews stopped working?
No, I actually don't blame Millennials I think this would have happened no matter what. I think this is just where we are in a society that we're in this era of transparency and I think that this would have happened regardless of being the millennials, generation X, baby boomers or whatever. So I think it's just more of where we are as a society than it is about one particular generation or another.
Intelligence is a buzzword in HR. In your opinion Where does intelligence stand regarding HR and recruiting?
First of all, you should map it back to what's important to the company. There are several ways people can be "intelligent". You can strive in emotional intelligence or you know there's personality and so I kind of look at all of those different things in spokes, not the wheel and so what are the spokes that are important to the company? The values of the company, the trajectory, the mission, the vision, all of those things. What's really important to the company? And then how do those things align with what the company has going on.
So to put that in kind of a real-world example, one of the key cornerstones of emotional intelligence is empathy. Let's say that a part of our company mission was to reduce homelessness in the world, having people that aren't empathetic on staff is counter to the interest of the whole mission of the firm. So you kind of see how it dovetails like the mission set forth where we want to go what's true north and if you don't have the people with the right toolset that can help you get there, you won't get there.
If we hired 100 really great people but they're all lacking in empathy or really low scores of empathy, we're not going to get there as there's no way we can reach our goals with that team. It's like having Champions League aspirations and not the roster or the talent or the payroll to support that.
So you set the dream, you set that vision first and you backfill it with the right people with the right skill set. I think that I would look at what's the purpose of the company, what's the mission, vision, values, where we want to go and then it's sort of how do we staff this with the people the most competent the most passionate about what we're doing. By the way, the most competent and I would put emotional intelligence in there as a factor of competence not that one is more competent than the other one just more appropriate for the use than the other.
Speaking about intelligence, and being you at the intersection of technology and HR, how do you look to Artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc?
Machine learning, AI and so on are tools that speak for the data. Up till now, we've not had the expectation that databases or data would inform us. Now what you're seeing, even though at very early stages, is the expectation of having data tell us something. I think we're really living in a interesting time because, we expect, the practitioners expect, the vendors expect, the investment community expects that it's not just about dumb databases, data has to tell you something and you and I are going to live through a phase where insights that used to be remarkable are going to become commonplace, a commodity. Everyone's going to have access to similarly intelligent tools that will provide similar insights. The bigger question is, what will you do with it? How do you turn it into action?
So artificial intelligence in a near future will not only give you insights but also a rational decision of what you should do so that insights become action.
Currently, people are throwing a lot of stuff against the wall to see what sticks but you and I are going to see it play out. Expectations are completely changed and what people are willing to take and pay for is going to change as well. Insights are not going to be near as important as insights that lead to action.
Do I think that's going to happen over one year or ten years? I have no idea there's no way to know and so that's the fun and fantastic phase where every time we wake up something completely new is being delivered.
What do you think companies can do to tackle the different needs every employee has? Can you give me any actionable tip managers, companies and HR staff can actually do to keep them engaged, motivated and therefore perform at their peak?
Here's the hard thing, standards are our biggest enemy and it's going to sound hard to say, because we've fallen in love with standards and the thing is that one of the premises of standards is that you should treat everyone the same, it's just like cookie cutters, everybody gets to same treatment . It's like a shortcut for our brain. We rely on standards because it's easier thinking that everyone needs the same but we know in our hearts that it isn't like that.
So you take a football example like Real Madrid or Barcelona. Imagine one of those players that are world class hall of Famers, with the likes of a Messi or Ronaldo. The point is those guys are so special and so unique and so good and gifted and talented. Can you imagine treating them the exact same way you would treat a seventeen-year-old that's on the reserves? Well, you'd never do it. You'd never say to Ronaldo: look I'm gonna put you in the same hotel I'm going to give you the exact same bus service and whole the same treatment as a 17 years old reserve? No, hell no! There's no way you do that right? So imagine if we were running this as if we were running a football club and I think it's actually really good to think of talent like that because what football clubs do really well is that they treat people differently.
They know exactly what each guy needs and they give them that. You need more training, you need to spend more time with a goalie, you need to do this we're gonna do that. If they need a private plane, a special car or anything else their "Manager" is going to provide. They give each guy on the squad exactly what they need, no more no less. They don't give him extra stuff they don't malfit him in any way they don't treat him like cookie cutters they don't do any of that stuff, they treat him uniquely as they should and as different people. I think we've hidden from that, we've run from that and we've latched on to standards far too long.
If you look at the most successful companies in the world currently it's easy to notice that those companies are the ones that know better their customers, look at Google, Facebook and so on. They perform so well because they do their best to personalize the experience for every single customer. They understand people are different and have different needs so they do their best to know each customer and therefore provide the most personalized experience possible.
In the end, their competitive advantage is related to having much more data about people than any other company.
What's funny about that is that it's a part of every manager, HR staff role to be in tune and learn about what employees need and provide, that's the game. I need to be great at kind of putting my ear to the ground and listening to what they need and then turn around providing what they need.
But I think that at the end of the day what we do is look at standards and you say to yourself are we using standards in a way that we should? Are we holding back the people that have the most potential and compromise our firm because we fall in love with standards? Because, one thing you can be sure of, that special person is going to be treated specially by somebody if not us someone will treat them special and so it becomes a game in which you either want to keep talent or you don't? Imagine treating Messi or Ronaldo in a way that wasn't respectful of their special nature. Do you think for a moment that those teams will be able to keep them? NO! They'll go to Manchester or go somewhere else where the treatment is what they want. If that's true of them that's true of us, we're no different than Messi and Ronaldo in that sense of if you know you're special you'll demand special treatment
A recent study showed that more than 15% of employees don't see themselves working at their current company one year from now.
Should we look at this as a problem or market evolution? If you consider it a problem do you find it company's or employee's fault?
Here's the deal, you want the best version of an employee while he's with you and so if you know he's only going to stay 1 year it's up to you to change that. So you need to ask yourself what can you do as a leader, as a manager or as a company to keep that person interested? There are always ways you can keep them longer if you want to. The reason we have those stats is that we're not doing stuff to make people feel special and to stay, we are not giving them a legitimate reason to stay and if we did that, if we gave them a legitimate reason to stay, guess what they would do? They would stay.
So we shouldn't blame the Millennials or any other generation because it's not their fault, if you feel like the company has given up or doesn't care about you it's time to move on.
I always used to tell my wife when she was working to corporate America: the moment you stop learning is the moment you should look for another job, that's the very moment to jump out of the boat, it's the very moment you say: yeah I'll go do something else. The fact you're not learning is both your responsibility and the company's responsibility.
If the company's not providing those opportunities and not building your skills and not caring enough to help you with your training and build the skill set that may get you to that next place, then why stay?
It's like staying in an unfulfilled marriage, well would you stay? Go do something else! Life's too short! I don't blame a generation I think it's really kind of comes down to the companies, they've got to think if they want to keep this talent, they need to be aggressive on their side and you know what? If it doesn't work than it doesn't work but at least the company tried.
A founder of a SMB company that can't afford any HR Staff comes to you looking for advice because he's struggling to keep his team motivated and focused on growing the company. What's the best advice you would give him?
The best advice I'd give a guy in that stage, which is really pretty much anybody in the world that's going through growth is, don't get out in front of your skis, grow fast but grow the right way.
I learned this actually ironically enough by a phrase that came out of Liverpool Football Club and what I liked about is the fact that underlines the fact that it's actually not just about winning , and especially in football and the sports that we love, it's not just about winning it's how you go about your winning . If you win and you're a jerk or people don't like you and your kind of throwing at people's face and people are not rooting for you, but they're really against you, then was winning worth it?
My best advice, I've been given from the triathlons guys on the swimming side, they used to say: you should "go slow to go fast" and so the whole goal when you're swimming on that part of the triathlon is that you think about your fundamentals: your stroke, your breathing, little things. You should not think either about the guys in front of the guys behind you. When you're just thinking about the fundamentals you slow things down and avoid wasting energies on distractions. The same should happen in the business world. If you're running lean with no money to afford someone with HR knowledge go back to the basics. It's people you're managing, PEOPLE, the same species as you are. So, hear them, understand what drives them and meet their needs.
So for all the entrepreneurs, my best advice is Grow, comma grow the right way!


text:
Property Template
Stylish Expansive Homes
Your Villa is designed with your future in mind. It offers space for you and your family to grow and take root. Spread across three floors with a layout making room for five large bedrooms; your villa gives you the room to dream, aspire and raise future generations. Welcome to a home where you will store precious memories, live priceless moments and celebrate milestones for years to come.
They say the love of a family is life's greatest blessing. Inspired by this notion, we created a home that goes beyond glass, paint and concrete walls, where warmth and sharing are encouraged and celebrated. With access to the large terraces, you can let the outdoors in and enjoy the green views of the community.
These beautiful homes are located at the heart of AKOYA Oxygen, an international golf community boasting acres of green space, luxury boutiques, entertainment facilities and fine dining venues. Take the family outside and enjoy space in a community that caters to all aspirations. AKOYA Oxygen is in close proximity to major road networks, allowing easy access to international business hubs and entertainment facilities.


text:
Rebecca Coulson is a freelance classical musician and writer, and the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the City of Durham.
I'm not related to Andy Coulson. And I am a nice person. Unsurprisingly perhaps, these are the words I've found myself repeating since my selection on Saturday as the Conservative Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for the City of Durham. But it's needing the second statement that I find more telling.
I'm a Conservative because I'm a nice person – not in spite of it. But Michael Portillo got it spot on when, in the run up to the 2010 election, he commented that whilst Conservatives think that Labour voters are misguided, Labour voters think that Conservatives are evil. It's about time we took the mantle of niceness – the deceit of well-meant portmanteau terms like 'social justice' – away from the centre left. If there is still such a thing in the UK.
I'm a Conservative because I'm a libertarian. I believe in a limited state and limited taxation, yet that we all, in a Contractarian sense, give away small amounts of liberty in order to gain security (defence, healthcare, education) from the state in which we live.
But there are easier, more practical ways for me to defend my allegiance. Not least that the Conservative long-term economic plan is working: we have more jobs, better interest rates, better schools, and a smaller deficit. And for anyone who won't buy the ideology, the need for us to continue on this route to economic solvency is potent.
But there's also the practicality of helping others to help themselves -the old 'give a man a fish' argument. And this for me is where the real niceness comes in. I believe in informing people, in helping them to make their own decisions, and take responsibility for themselves, rather than making them endemically dependent on state support. And that we should fight against the culture of blame that we all feed upon.
It's not fair, or by any means nice, to pay people off, and allow them to settle for a borrowed life, with almost enough money, and no certain future. Work doesn't just pay. It offers self-worth, purpose, and a place in society. And this is what Conservatism is bringing: support to small businesses, the most competitive corporate tax regime in Europe, 1.6 million new apprenticeships – rather than the invention of public sector jobs. This to me is niceness – and more.
Of course, anti-Conservative vitriol is heightened up here in County Durham, where the spectre of the late Baroness Thatcher wanders the streets of ex-mining villages. But, and this is political kamikaze, I don't think it's right for a North-East school leaver to blame their joblessness on a dead 1980s Prime Minister. Regardless of the fact that it's highly revisionist – Wilson shut down four times as many pits as Thatcher here; we were geographically fortunate to have so many mining jobs for such a long time; and the coal industry has been increasingly reliant on state subsidy since WW2 – it goes against the heart of my Conservatism: personal responsibility.
I expect hate mail for the previous paragraph – if not burnt effigies – but I really don't mind. I'd rather say it anyway, and hope it resonates somewhere. I'm very aware of my good fortune in having had an excellent (state school, if I really have to enter that debate) education in Durham, and then at Cambridge, and I think this demands a proper use. But I also think that the environment in which you grow up is just as important as the formal education you receive. A family with a work ethic – a family in which it's cool to be academic and try hard at school – is invaluable.
My dad, the philosopher EJ Lowe who died earlier this year, doesn't just inspire me through the writings he left, and his formative advice – not least in conversation about our shared libertarianism. His brilliant, yet often disputed, metaphysical arguments epitomise how to stick to what you believe will help others, in the face of their incredulity. And, because of him, I think that anything can be achieved in time, if it's right.
Even, dare I say it, a Conservative seat in the City of Durham.


text:
by Nick Hart | AHL On The Beat
Wine gets better with age. Heartbreak gets better with time. Ethan Prow gets better with experience.
Prow went through his fair share of trials and tribulations last season as a first-year pro, but he was always a consistent staple of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' line-up. At the start of this season, he found himself on the outside of the team's top six defensemen looking in. However, as the season has gone on, Prow has evolved into the player the Penguins organization thought it was getting when they signed him as a coveted college free agent in 2016. He's solidified himself as an important part of the team's success moving forward.
"He's come a long way," said Penguins assistant coach J.D. Forrest. "With time and reps, sometimes that's all it takes to get comfortable and get some confidence. And it shows, because he's producing points every other game and providing us with so many chances."
This past summer, the Penguins acquired a series of towering defenseman; the likes of Jarred Tinordi, Zach Trotman and Andrey Pedan will always intimidate opponents based on their size alone. But Prow provides Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with a different element. He's definitely not the biggest or strongest blueliner, but he thrives at passing.
"His role on the team is to move the puck on the breakout, through the neutral zone and get it into the hands of our forwards," Forrest said. "He's been exceptional at it. And his time on the power play, we have him working a lot on the first power play unit, and he makes smart decisions and ushers the puck to our weapons on either wall."
Prow's big opportunity this season came at the misfortune of his teammates. The Penguins were hit with injuries on the blue line early in the year, and he stepped in nicely before an injury of his own slowed his roll. He got another chance in the winter, when Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's defense corps was bitten by the injury bug again, and again Prow filled some big shoes and a lot of ice time.
"You don't like seeing anybody go down, but at the same time, when you see players get injured, you just have to step your own game up," Prow said. "Not just for yourself, but for the team too. At that point in time, you've got to give a little extra. Hopefully, you open some eyes and grab some attention."
It's fair to say he's grabbed the attention of Forrest, who praised Prow's puck-moving ability as well as the progress he's made since being a healthy scratch through the early parts of the season.
Even if he wasn't getting the affirmation of his coaching staff, Prow knows for himself that he's improving. He says he's learned a lot from Forrest and his veteran teammates in terms of shoring things up in his own end, but when it comes to his signature skill, dishing the biscuit, the increased experience this season has helped him thrive. And the more he thrives, the more his confidence grows.
"You can't say enough about having confidence on the ice," Prow said. "Showing that for your teammates, too, having confidence in you and your play, it goes a long way. It gives you that little extra to be able to make an extra pass or make another play that you may not have before."
The Sauk Rapids, Minnesota native has already eclipsed his goal total from his rookie year despite playing in half the games with three tallies this season, and he's well on his way to establishing a new career high in points, too. Prow's development is not complete, though. He still believes he has a lot of work to do before he can be considered for a call-up to Pittsburgh.
"Playing a whole 200-foot game, there's a reason everyone talks about it," Prow said. "You need it. You have to have it. From all the way starting in your own defensive end trying to be physical when without the puck to getting us out of the D-zone and being smart on offense. Plus, like I said, just trying to get it into the forwards hands. I can get even better, refine it, because the quicker you can do that, the quicker you get down the ice to score goals and win games."
If that's what he wants to work on, it's safe to assume that he will seize the opportunity as he gains more and more experience in the pros. He's done that already, so there's no reason to think that Prow's upward trend will stop anytime soon.


text:
In this podcast, Stephanie Nash interviews Loch Kelly about his unique Shift Into Freedom glimpse method of meditation.
Stephanie Nash is a Mindfulness Coach and Integrative Counselor who is an expert in the Unified Mindfulness system developed by Shinzen Young (with whom she has worked closely and) whose techniques and strategies have become an integral part of her personal experience as well as her teaching. Learn more at strategic-mindfulness.com.
Show Notes
Effortless Awareness (Opening) – Stephanie and Loch talk about some of the alternative approaches to traditional mindfulness and meditation available to practitioners. Loch shares the principles of effortless mindfulness that allow anyone to uncover the innate qualities of open-hearted awareness.
Find out more about Effortless Awareness at the Open Hearted Awareness Institute
A Direct Path (15:55) – Loch and Stephanie explore direct nature of these practices of effortless mindfulness. They look at the methods of entering into spacious awareness that pull us out of our ordinary thinking mind.
"It isn't like this practice is for people who have been on the spiritual path for years, someone could walk in and have never have done anything and go through this, its direct in that way." – Stephanie Nash
Joseph Goldstein introduces the four abidings of mindfulness found in The Satipatṭhāna Sutta and launches an investigation into how they provide a direct pathway to liberation on Ep. 55 of the Insight Hour Podcast
Dropping In (29:20) – We learn exercises for shifting our awareness from identification with the mind. Loch reflects on the connection that we form with our Heartmind which cultivates a greater sense of equanimity and awareness.
"You don't have to go out in a physically silent place to retreat, although that is a nice thing to do once in a while. In this training you find the silence that is already here and the stillness no matter where you are. Just find it now and then you can find it anywhere. Once you find it you realize that it is not only silence but its silence and space that is awake and embodied, dancing as energy and interconnected with everything." – Loch Kelly
Awakening Based Therapy (44:15) – Loch talks about some of the training that is available to traditional therapists and psychologists which integrates direct mindfulness practices into their methodology.


text:
This image and animation from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) show the strong convective development of Hurricane Katrina on Saturday, August 27, as it moved west through the Gulf of Mexico. Over 7 minutes during which all 9 MISR cameras viewed Katrina, the animation captures the cloud-top sides, the counterclockwise rotation of the eyewall, and the bubbling growth of the towering cloud structures. At this time, Katrina was undergoing rapid development— it had just been upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, and within 24 hours it would reach Category 5. On Monday morning when the eyewall made landfall over the United States, it was a Category 4 storm. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most powerful and destructive storms on record for the Atlantic Basin.
The image above is a false-color view (near-infrared, red, and blue wavelengths of reflected light displayed as red, green and blue) from MISR's nadir (pointing straight down) camera. In the image above, north is up. The high resolution image linked above shows a wider view of this false-color image, with north to the left. The vegetated Alabama coast in the upper left-hand corner in this high resolution image appears in red hues . The bottom panel in the high resolution image is a 3-D stereo anaglyph created with red band data from MISR's 70-degree-forward-viewing and 60-degree-forward-viewing cameras, displayed as red and green/blue, respectively. To observe the height variations in 3-D, you will need to use red/blue glasses.
MISR stereo-height estimates (not shown here) indicate that the highest clouds reach 18- 19 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. The stereo anaglyph shows relative height variations and enhances the appearance of thin clouds, such as those that mark the series of gravity waves north-east of the eyewall. Atmospheric gravity waves are caused by air displacements in an otherwise stable air layer. In this case, the gravity waves are above the hurricane arms in the upper troposphere, and were probably generated as the towering storm updraft tried to push into the stable air between the troposphere and the stratosphere (known as the tropopause). Some of Katrina's cloud tops were about 2 kilometers above the tropopause. Such high "overshooting tops" are also characteristic of strong and rapidly growing storms.
The animation progresses from MISR's most forward-pointing camera, which views the scene first, to the most backward-pointing camera, which views the scene last. It was created by aligning the views from all 9 cameras using the high clouds within the eyewall as a reference point. North is at the top. The convective cloud towers, especially those along the eastern sides of the inner and outer eyewalls, attain the highest altitudes and indicate that the storm is strengthening. Those areas that do not exhibit cloud-top convection are clouds experiencing vertical wind shear, and tend to be lower than the towering cloud structures.
The vertical and horizontal development of the convective clouds and the formation of an outer ring of growing clouds (referred to as an "eyewall replacement cycle") also indicate rapid strengthening. During this stage of hurricane development, an outer band of clouds may gradually move inward to replace the existing hurricane eyewall, causing the central pressure to increase and weaken the storm in the short term. However, eyewall replacement may sometimes be a forerunner for rapid strengthening in the longer term. This was the case with Hurricane Katrina, whose central pressure increased slightly on Saturday, but then dropped again significantly on Sunday when Katrina became a Category 5 storm. Observing the development of a concentric eyewall at this spatial and temporal resolution is a unique feature of these MISR observations.
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously, viewing the entire globe between 82 degrees North and 82 degrees South latitude every nine days. The still images each cover an area of about 827 kilometers by 380 kilometers, and the animation covers an area of about 202 kilometers by 214 kilometers. The data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 30280 and utilize data from blocks 69 to 74 within World Reference System-2 path 17.
MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology.
Images and movie courtesy of NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
Caption details provided by Clare Averill (Raytheon ITSS/Jet Propulsion Laboratory), David J. Diner, Mike Garay and Ralph Kahn (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Greg McFarquhar (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).


text:
To explore how emerging technologies can further enhance our customers' experiences, we hosted our first-ever Innovation Lab in San Francisco – an evening dedicated to shaping the future of FinTech through conversations with industry leaders, and demonstrations of experiments featuring different applications of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, behavioral science, emotion recognition, and blockchain.
Our first experiment from Intuit data scientist Colin Dillard – Predicting Business Trajectory Using Machine Learning – explores how to apply machine learning techniques like time series modeling, deep learning, and transfer learning to help small businesses better understand and manage their financials.
This application of emerging technologies is driven by the information and patterns in our customers' data. Rather than having to make their own guesses about the future of their businesses, customers can rely on Intuit for a personalized cash flow forecast that leverages their data to make predictions.
At Intuit, we're constantly working to identify patterns within the data across our full breadth of customers, in order to make personalized cash flow predictions for every small business. To do this well is a difficult challenge, involving a deep understanding of how small businesses operate, as well as utilizing sophisticated prediction algorithms – but the breadth and richness of our customers' data is what really makes this possible.
Stay tuned for more deep dives into various experiments we conducted and demonstrated at our Innovation Lab event!


text:
Google Now notifications can now be seen in your Mac's menubar thanks to today's Chrome update. The feature has been in beta for awhile, and now it's finally available for all.
Google Now cards can display contextually aware information relating to flights, traffic, weather, reminders, schedules, and more. The product works using your Google account, and it is designed to act like a personal assistant by reminding you of commute times, meetings, etc.
Available now on Windows and Mac, Google Now is accessible through Chrome's notification center in OS X's menubar. Google Now is also accessible through the official Google Search app on iOS.
Source: Google
Via: The Verge


text:
…even the blind and the lame will turn you back… So often people underestimate who we are. If I counted the number of times I've been disregarded or was told that I couldn't do something it merely strengthened my desire to prove them wrong. What they don't understand is the power within that drives us and the hope and faith in God which supersedes the arrogance of those who see themselves as great in their own eyes or make themselves feel better by putting us down. David was constantly being challenged in this way by rulers of other nations. So too will we be challenged but God in grace gives us power to act in spite of those who believe they lord over us. It is God who establishes the desires of our heart as we strive only to serve according to God's glory
Tag Archives: Serving God
Sister's Keeper
Where is your brother Abel? Genesis 4:1-16 It was a rhetorical question, not meant to elicit a specific answer but rather to make a point. God already knew that the voice of Abel had been crying out from the ground but he was giving Cain an opportunity to come clean. We all have feelings of anger, frustration and jealously, but the Psalmist reminds us that happy are they whose way is undefiled (119:1-24). The way involves our thoughts followed by our actions. Let's face it! Our thoughts aren't always directed towards God! However, through Christ we are afforded the same opportunity as Cain, whose response made clear that he had gotten the message but chose not to accept it. We too have a choice. Are we our sister and brother's keeper?
…not to be served but to serve. Matthew 20:17-28 To kick off the early Black Friday event, one of the stores decided to make one of their prized discounted items available to the customers at the end of the line that had gathered outside the store instead of the beginning of the line. I'm not entirely sure what angst that may have caused but I think it probably made some, (particularly those at the front of the line) a bit salty. To some extent in this life, we are all one managerial decision away from being chosen. The mother of James and John thought to get a jump on God's glory for her sons before the other disciples. Jesus makes clear that God's Kingdom is not about being the early worm but rather about our willingness towards God will as we work to serve one another. We serve God by serving one another. In serving one another we are all chosen.
An Unexpected Visit
But Martha was distracted by her many tasks... Luke 10:38-42 Honestly, what was Martha doing? She apparently thought it was very important to take care of some things. As Mary chose to sit at her guest's feet Martha choses to work and not only does she chide her sister for not helping her she expected Jesus to support her choice to do so. For the first time as I read this passage I can see Christ smiling in his response to Martha. When we make unexpected visits it's usually to homes of people with whom we have some relationship. Generally we don't go with any expectations but rather to sit, visit and spend some time with people we love. Sometimes the host chooses to work through the visit. My paternal grandmother did this all the time, insisting that she prepare a meal first then sit and talk over the meal. My maternal grandmother on the other hand would sit and chat awhile and then ask if you wanted something to eat. There was always that awkward time during which the meal was being prepared. Either way, I always left well fed, both physically and spiritually. Perhaps Martha simply got caught up in the logistics of the unexpected visit. Jesus' response was to help Martha understand that if a choice had to be made, Mary made the better choice. In any event people do have to eat! Together, the sister team of Mary and Martha actually made for a great combination of hosts!
Discerning The Spirits
If you are the Son of God, command this stone; If you worship me it will be all yours; "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here… Luke 4:1-13 How many times have we heard the expression "If your friend jumped off of a bridge, would you jump too?" In most cases the answer would be "no". Of course literally we wouldn't do it. However figuratively, we've probably done it many times. The key to not jumping off that "bridge" is not because of the action itself, but rather the thoughts that precede the action. The enemy of what is good and right is not really interested in what we do. The enemy is more interested in what we think and believe ourselves to be. Satan approached Jesus when he was hungry and believed him to be "vulnerable". So too, he approaches us in the same way. Our reality is that knowingly or unknowingly, in our humanness, sometimes we choose to "jump off the bridge". The good news is that our God always loves. Our God always cares. Our God always forgives. We must always remember what Christ remembered in times of vulnerability; who we are (identity), to whom we belong (inheritance), and why we are called in spiritual relationship with Him (mission).


text:
This time they're not mine, they're Robin's. You can look at them here. You can see Monaco, and Dan Scherlis, Doug Church, Jez San, Robin herself, and the lovely Mathilde Remy.
Which reminds me that I should add the rest of my pictures and finish my comments. Work work work.
And which also reminds me I should read some more of Robin's blog, there's some interesting stuff there. Work work work work.


text:
The Greek island of Kerkyra, also known as Corfu, is the second largest island in the Ionian Sea. The city is full of history, which earned it a UNESCO World Heritage designation. More than 100,000 people live in Corfu.
Corfu has four towns and regions. Corfu Town, North Island, South Island, and Benitses make up the island's main sections. Corfu Town is the main seaport for the island and is full of tourists.
Benitses is one of the island's old fishing villages. Just outside of the town is some of the most beautiful scenery on the island, including mountains, waterfalls, and rivers.
The Corfu beaches are the main attraction for the island. Sidari, Glyfada, Dasia, and Messonghi beaches are some of the popular ones.
Corfu International Airport (Airport code CFU) is an easy three kilometres outside of the centre of Corfu. The 30 airlines served by Corfu International Airport fly to and from most major European cities as well as a few Middle Eastern cities, including Tel Aviv.
Multiple low cost carriers fly through Corfu, including Condor, EasyJet, Jet2, Germanwings, Monarch, Thomas Cook, and Thomson Airways. Air Berlin, Viking Airlines, and Thomson Airways fly to the most destinations of the 30 airlines. TUIfly, Air Berlin, Jet2, and EasyJet fly the most frequently. Many flights to and from the island are seasonal, so travellers should make sure that flights are available for planned trips well in advance.


text:
I didn't know that. The word is interesting to me, because it breaks down to non-age-arian, which looks like the person is no longer aging, or has no age.
This certainly fits my dad, who is almost 92 and believes he stopped aging at 25. He attempts to defy the aging process with every doctor visit. He believes the next pill will turn back time. Even though his body is winding down with Parkinson's and heart issues, his spirit is 25. He is the eternal optimist when it comes to living. He will never permanently leave his wheel chair, but his New Year's resolution was to return to walking unassisted.
My mom will be 95 in July. She is more realistic about her physical limitations, but insists her mind is as sharp as a tack, and if anyone is confused about anything, it's going to be you. She has been diagnosed with dementia, but don't tell her that.
|My folks, Jane and Klinedale
I guess by the time you hit the age of 90, you are entitled to believe what you want, regardless of the facts. That's one of the perks of being a nonagenarian.


text:
Imagine flying into Mozambique for a beach holiday, knowing you are going to be active in the sun and sea all day long? This is the best kind of holiday – white sandy beaches, clear blue oceans and so many water sports to choose from you feel kind of dizzy!
We are here to assist you to make that decision. We offer clients stress free breaks from their usual routines. They can tailor make their holiday packages to incorporate the water sports of their choice.
These are some of the incredible water sports you can do in Mozambique:
- Diving
- Snorkeling
- Fishing
- Sailing safaris
- Ocean cruises
- Sea kayaking
- Dhow safaris
- Water skiing
- Parasailing
- Kite surfing
- Wind surfing
- Jet skis
Accommodation in beautiful settings from Ponto Do Ouro in the south to Pemba in the north will take your breath away. These are some of our ideal locations in Mozambique for world class water sports:
- Ponto Do Ouro – the perfect holiday spot and the town is surrounded by dunes, sea and casuarinas trees. It is becoming recognised as one of the top beach and diving destinations in Southern Africa and will please anyone interested in scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, snorkelling and swimming. Stay at White Pearl Resorts if you want to go swimming with dolphins, snorkelling over coral reefs and kayaking. Or embark on a deep sea fishing adventure, try scuba diving and horse riding – or take a helicopter flip!
- Vilanculos – Excellent fishing, scuba diving area. Take a dhow on a sailing trip out to sea to explore this main gateway to the rest of the beautiful Bazaruto Archipelago. Stay at Bahia Mar Club for scuba diving,snorkelling, fishing, kitesurfing, wakeboarding and stand up paddle boarding.
- Inhambane – for surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling and more! Notable sites in the surrounding district of Inhambane include the Praia do Tofo, Praia dos Cocos, Ponto do Barra, Ilha de Benquerra, Guinjata Bay. Scuba diving is particularly popular around the Inhambane province. The closest diving to Inhambaneis at Praia do Tofo. Stay at Barra Beach Club with kilometres of silky white sands and sapphire blue waters on the front doorstep – refreshments are delivered directly to your thatched beach umbrella or poolside whilst relaxing on a comfortable recliner on the beach…
We can organise your special package deal today so click here to start the process!


text:
No big teams. In the long run, We R. during the Malaysian restaurant Nyonya, I happened to be greeted by a multitude of friendly faces, mostly—but not all—women ranging in age from twenties to seventies, and felt a tremendously normal, homey vibe. After introductions, we dived straight into purchasing. We created an enormous selection to share with you, quickly making an atmosphere that is comfortable. In nyc, that claims a great deal. This brand new feature that is friends-only the most popular app permits users to dig through platonic suitors.
Find teams in ny, ny about Gay Friends and satisfy individuals in your community that is local who your away IN NYC – Gay Lesbian Bi Trans Group. Our company is an available, friendly, and group that is enthusiastic of individuals from the newest York City area. We meet about once per month, frequently at a club someplace in Manhattan, to seize a glass or two, socialize, and also make friends that are new. Our meetups are ready to accept every person; develop you can join us!.
One caveat: I Am Aware. Straight away, it had been clear that how many people into the buddy area ended up being far less than within the dating pool.
But quickly my phone beeped with my very first match huzzah! a necessitate a crisis surgery on their end nixed our gymnasium sesh.
When I exchanged figures with A l. that is present the? Think of RentAFriend as prostitution but with no intercourse material, a web page where you are able to toss some moolah down to hold down with somebody. Your voting record is total shit. Do not have we came across thereforeme body so ignorant during my life!
Here's what the results are whenever 4 grownups you will need to make friends that are new NYC
Please look up opinions through the individual you call an ignoramus and view exactly how many times he's got resorted to profanity that is using. For somebody who functions therefore knowledgeable in politics just exactly how into the globe do you never learn how to speak correctly and respectfully? You keep up to phone me a liar despite the fact that i've stated my voting record many times. Think what you need. Scrabble is my personal favorite.
There was scrabble that is on-line think, which will allow people a long way away from a single another to relax and play. We went along to Meetup.
167 Responses
In addition they had been all from my hometown too. Numerous LGBT groups also. Half the folks you posted material about have actually buddies simply not homosexual buddies. Hey at the least you all have actually buddies I have actually none. Any recommendations? We agree! We think it is very difficult to meet up with homosexual dudes for relationship! There ought to be an software designed for homosexual dudes hunting for buddies.
We came across a man, through the bar-scene, a long time ago whom had most of the good qualities We liked but he lived in a city that is different an hours drive away. Because i will effortlessly fall head-over-heels when it comes to right man, I became afraid to obtain too near to him as a result of that distance issue.
Neither of us had been willing to go from our hometowns. Therefore, our company is simply buddies now with e-mail contact and therefore turned into OK. Look for: Get Queerty regular sign up to Queerty for the day-to-day dosage of gayfriendships whisperapp tales and much more. Sebashtzen Rowan-Ferrari Aint this the reality. Sam Molina i have to be unusual because i've had the opposite experience!
J Alexander Steel If i really could provide some suggestions about that, decide to try gonna your neighborhood pride centre or search for community kind occasions.
Carlos Segura Yes for this to infinity. David Chachki Thank Jesus we became thwenking i had been the only person. Robby Robinson Want gay friends…. Cesar Fortun exclusively on Church St. Bauhaus the relative lines got blurry for me personally as soon as daf coupons. Xander Vanhooser Yeah specially when you meet they try and also have intercourse to you.
Platonic, move it, dudes. David Zakrzewski Trust dilemmas. Just as much as we hate to acknowledge it, we trust my right buddies more. Derek Perron Yup. Too homosexual to be right Too right to be gay. Tough to get shared passions and sensibilities. Where would you like to satisfy? Boxton Beats truly happens to be harder to ensure they are. Shawn Michael Gays are way too much to manage for me personally a great deal.


text:
Inhaled levofloxacin (brand name Quinsair) is an antibiotic used for long-term lung infection treatment caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). Levofloxacin is a well-known antibiotic, and tablets and solutions for infusion have been approved and prescribed for treating infections since the 1990s.
Inhaled levofloxacin has been approved in the European Union and Canada for people with CF. It has not yet been approved by the FDA for this indication in the United States. A Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT01270347) has been completed.
How inhaled levofloxacin works
People with CF have an accumulation of thick mucus in the lungs, creating an optimal environment for bacteria to easily grow, leading to infections.
Levofloxacin belongs to a group of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. They work by blocking enzymes that P. aeruginosa bacteria use to make copies of their DNA during cell multiplication. By blocking these enzymes, it stops the growth of bacteria that are causing the infection.
Studies on inhaled levofloxacin
Inhaled levofloxacin (Quinsair) was studied in people with CF and P. aeruginosa lung infection. The first study compared Quinsair to a placebo (NCT00503490), with Quinsair showing better results than the placebo because it improved the FEV1 after 28 days of treatment. FEV1 is the most air a person can breathe out in one second and is a measure of lung function.
The second trial compared it with another inhaled antibiotic (tobramycin) in 282 participants (NCT01270347) and showed that Quinsair was at least as good as tobramycin at improving FEV1 after one to three treatment cycles.
The results of a meta-analysis comparing the effectiveness of inhaled antibiotics for people with CF and Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection were presented at the 2016 International Congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and showed that Quinsair was comparable to three other inhalable antibiotics approved in Europe (aztreonam, tobramycin and colistimethate sodium).
Aztreonam 75 mg three times daily led to the greatest increase in FEV1 at four weeks of treatment, but Quinsair was found to be superior to colistimethate sodium, tobramycin inhaled powder, and tobramycin inhaled solution. Still, the results showed there was no evidence indicating the other solutions were more effective than Quinsair.
A 24-week analysis showed that Quinsair was linked to the lowest hospitalization risk, with a 96.5 percent probability of being the most appropriate treatment option. Other analyses, such as sputum density scores, the need for additional antibiotics against P. aeruginosa, and the study of abandonment rates were similar in all inhaled antibiotics in all instances.
The most common side effects of Quinsair are cough, taste disturbances, and tiredness or weakness. Quinsair must not be used in people with epilepsy and those with a history of tendon disorders related to the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Also, pregnant or breastfeeding women must not use it.
Cystic Fibrosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.


text:
If you are looking to create jobs, talk with us. We process Building Permits including Plan Review, Inspections and coordination with other agencies to issue Permits. We process Development Applications including environmental review, provide zoning information and support long-range planning through the County's General Plan. Code Enforcement responds to Building, Land Use, Abandoned Vehicles, Noise, Nuisance Abatement and the County's Restrictions on Cultivation of Medical Marijuana Ordinance complaints.
The Master Fee Schedule (effective 1/11/2021) lists the fees of different County Departments/Divisions. Within the Master Fee Schedule you will find the below fees for Development Services.
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: The fees shown for the Building Division do not reflect fees collected on behalf of other departments/divisions who have a role in the process of Building Permits.
Depending on the type and location of each permit – there may be fees from Agriculture, County Clerk-Recorder, Fire, Land Development/Public Works, and Environmental Health; as well as Impact Fees, drainage fees, etc. Additionally, there may also be school fees and parks and recreation fees.
Due to the complexity of Building Permits, we are working on, but not yet able to provide a cost estimator. Until then – you may request a FEE ESTIMATE from the Permit Center. The minimum charge is .5 hours at the current adopted Building Division hourly rate.
Development Services
Phone: 530.552.3700
Fax: 530.538.7785
Building - 530.552.3700
Planning - 530.552.3701
Code Enforcement - 530.552.3702
Building Inspection IVR - 530.538.4365
Submit Suggestions.
Submit Issues.
View Department Contacts.
View Full List of Staff.
View Organization Chart.
Development Services
7 County Center Drive
Oroville, CA 95965
Office Hours
Mon - 8am to 4pm
Tues - 8am to 4pm
Wed - 8am to 3pm
Thur - 8am to 4pm
Fri - 8am to 4pm
Excludes Holidays
Join a line, or schedule an appointment from your computer (click here) or mobile device (download the QLess App, and Search for 'Development Services').
E-Mail Your Building Questions
Title 24 2016 code - CA Codes online
Contractors State License Board
Flood Hazard Protection, Chapter 26, Article IV
International Code Council (buy books here)
View All Building Resources
7 County Center Drive
Oroville, CA 95965
Paula Daneluk, Director
Careers with Development Services
View Organization Chart
Department Awards


text:
From the Youtube description:
Published on Jun 5, 2015Every year, local communities on either side of the Apurimac River Canyon use traditional Inka engineering techniques to rebuild the Q'eswachaka Bridge. The entire bridge is built in only three days. The bridge has been rebuilt in this same location continually since the time of the Inka.


text:
Focus Pointe Global has rebranded as Schlesinger Group.
Since Schlesinger Group acquired Focus Pointe Global in 2019, we have integrated our teams and our services to provide one seamless exceptional brand experience. As the world's most comprehensive data collection provider, we now offer a broad range of research solutions with global reach.


text:
Amir Fallah trades in portraiture. His pattern-laden paintings typically depict subjects cloaked in yards of bright fabrics, adorned in sentimental jewelry or family heirlooms. Draped in anonymity, his figures offer only breadcrumbs—their identities hinted at through the specific cultural objects they are intricately depicted with. Yet, for Unknown Voyage, Fallahhas honed in on a rather notorious subject to act as muse to this unique body of paintings: the late Parisian painter, Henri Rousseau.
While Rousseau has now been accepted into the annals of art history, and went on to influence a number of artists of his day (Picasso, Delaunay, De Chirico, Matisse, Magritte) in his time, he was a bit of an outsider—he was ridiculed for his untrained, child-like style. Dubiously, Rousseau had a penchant for fantastical hyperbolic tales. His most well known works, such as Dream (1910), picture a lush Mexican jungle, which he reportedly experienced first hand during his years in the French Infantry. In reality, his time in the military passed with little event or adventure; Rousseau, indeed, never left France. Rather than exotic lands and brave escapades, his jungle scenes were painted from source material such as the Paris Botanical Gardens, books, ticket stubs, postcards, and detritus he encountered in his home country. In his rich fantasy life, and appropriation of multi-varied source materials, Rousseau was, in many ways, ahead of his time—the advent of the internet now allows artists to sample loosely from a well of sources online.
Fallah has created his portrait of Rousseau, much like Rousseau depicted the Mexican jungle: as a voyeur, longing to be immersed in a fantastical subject. Like Rousseau's evocation of exotic adventure, Fallah's body of paintings elicit a sense of expedition. In Adventure Awaits (2016), a cartoonish yellow hand pulls back a curtain to reveal a lush tropical scene; the curtains, which contain a pattern of traditional Mexican needlepoint, edge the jungle scene, hemming it in and acting as a frame within a frame. Flat panels of wood grain become a second layer of trompe l'oeil, while Fallah's signature "borders" add punctuation to the illusion. The work evokes a vast world; yet Fallah insists again and again on the frame edges, implying doggedly that everything we might need to decode the painting exist within the canvas walls. The jungle, which in physicality would loom deep into the background, here seems truncated as if only a few feet deep.
Winter Garden (2015) is modeled after a postcard from the Jardin Des Plantes that Rousseau frequented to study the plant life for his jungle scenes. The shape of Fallah's canvas arches around the greenhouse roofing that is depicted; again, several framing devices are utilized the composition. Low in the painting is a ticket stub from the Jardin des Plantes—Fallah here is outing Rousseau's false tales, while also paying homage to his sly methodology. In Good Holiday Left and Right (2015) Fallah nods to Rousseau's 1892 painting, Bonne fête,in which a stiff hand holds an impossible grouping of flowers that swirl throughout the canvas in perfect composure, as if floating. Fallah's rendition mirrors the original in composition, yet, while Rousseau's bouquet only held three flowers, the bunches in Good Holiday are densely layered like a Baroque still life dripping with excess. A monochromatic jungle scene encompasses the wall behind the suite of five paintings; this engulfing image was sourced from a quick Google image search of "Mexican Jungle." Here, Fallah has created a composite image from several Google images, building a pixelated and falsified landscape.
To use Rousseau as a subject is akin to using illusion itself. Throughout painting history, illusion has existed alongside representation: from early Byzantine icon paintings to Magritte's floating objects. Yet, in our current technological world, a surreal image hardly surprises. While documentary photographs once represented hard fact, today, a photograph can become fiction with the click of a mouse. Contemporary media is a myth, everything is an appropriation. Fallah's portrait of Rousseau, while rooted in depicting the alluring and arduous life of a 19th century painter, becomes a commentary on today's hybrid image culture, and an escapade into the realms of illusion and fantasy. - Lindsay Preston Zappas


text:
(Seattle, WA b. USA)
To paraphrase the artist David Hammons, my aim is to mess around with symbols to create
outrageously magical things.
As a visual artist, I am obsessed with joining elements that seem to have no relationship to each
other. As an artist parent, I am driven to spotlight the contradictory narratives in American
society that marginalize the most vulnerable. These collisions of ideas lead me to work in three
mediums: collage, assemblage sculpture and altered books.
In each medium, I explore issues of identity, trust and imperfect memories. My collages layer
translucent images over opaque scenes to illustrate how the past continues to shape the
present. Assemblage sculptures combine 2D and 3D elements to flesh out flattened narratives
attached to the Black body. Niches and tiny containers in my altered books compel the viewer to
adjust focus onto the individual realities hidden in our shared myths.
I choose to center African American and female experiences, to expand the classical practice of
using an individual narrative to illuminate the general human condition. My hope is that my
symbolic language creates a much-needed magic for the viewer -- especially those who
experience a daily sense of erasure or isolation. –LISA MYERS BULMASH, 2020


text:
God is the Father of our spirits
- God is literally the father of the spirits of all mankind (see Hebrews 12:9; Acts 17:28-29; Numbers 16:22)
- Jesus declared that his god is our god and that his father is our father (see John 20:17)
- We are created in God's own image (see Genesis 1:26-27; Alma 18:24; Ether 3:15; Abraham 4:26-27 Moses 2:26-27; Mosiah 7:27)
- God has love and concern for his children and his creations (see 1 John 4:7-10; Matthew 10:29-31; 1 Nephi 11:14-22; John 3:16)
- God's work and glory is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of his children (see Moses 1:39)
Bruce R. McConkie (Quorum of the Twelve)
Elohim is the Father of spirits…. Our finite minds cannot comprehend his infinite laws. But we can envision him as a Father, as a personal, loving being filled with tenderness and compassion. He is more than the Father of the Firstborn; more than the Father of the Only Begotten in the flesh; more than the Father in the sense that he created the first mortal man. He is, in deed and in fact, the Father of the spirits of all men in the literal and full sense of the word. Each of us was begotten by him in the premortal life. We are his spirit children. (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 61)
Spencer W. Kimball
Our spirit matter was eternal and co-existent with God, but it was organized into spirit bodies by our Heavenly Father. (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p.ix)
First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, Anthon H. Lund)
Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal body to undergo an experience in mortality…. Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes, and even as the infant son of an earthly father and mother is capable in due time of becoming a man, so the undeveloped offspring of celestial parentage is capable, by experience through ages and eons, of evolving into a God. (Messages of the First Presidency, 4:205)
Lorenzo Snow
Our spirit birth gave us godlike capabilities. We were born in the image of God our Father; He begot us like unto Himself. There is the nature of deity in the composition of our spiritual organization; in our spiritual birth our Father transmitted to us the capabilities, powers and faculties which He Himself possessed—as much so as the child on its mother's bosom possesses, although in an undeveloped state, the faculties, powers, and susceptibilities of its parent. (Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, p.4)
George F. Richards (Quorum of the Twelve)
We all had a spiritual birth, a spiritual existence and experience and we were born of God. Think of it, brethren and sisters, sons and daughters of God inheriting from Him through our spiritual birth the very attributes and qualities of Deity, which in our Father in heaven are perfect and make Him what He is. We are placed here upon the earth for the purpose, in part, of improving, magnifying and perfecting those qualities and attributes; so that, while we are now but gods in embryo, having been born of God, in His likeness, in His image, and having received from Him the attributes of Deity, through perfecting those attributes in time and in eternity we will be like Him in very deed, and be glorified with him in His kingdom. (Conference Report, October 1914, p.16)